Happy Holidays from the Harrisons
 The Harrison family wishes one and all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. As the holidays approach, we find ourselves reflecting on the past year and on those who founded and shaped our company, our parents E.J. and Myra. They instilled in us the importance of family, hard work and giving back to the community.
There is no time more fitting to thank our customers and our communities. We are
proud of the service we provide you, and remain committed to maintaining the highest level of service to you in 2010, and beyond.
We are also most thankful for the continued long life of our mother, who remains with the company she co-founded 77 years ago. Myra joins us in wishing you a Happy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.
Jim, Myron and Ralph Harrison
Recycle Your Christmas Tree
 E.J. Harrison & Sons and the City of Ventura makes it easy for you to recycle your Christmas tree. Think of it as a holiday gift to the environment.
It’s also hassle-free. All you need to do is remove the ornaments, hooks, lights, tinsel, bows, nails and tree stand. Cut the tree into four-foot sections and place them in your yard waste barrel on your scheduled pickup day. Please note, however, that flocked trees cannot be recycled.
Trees we collect will be processed by Agromin into various sizes of mulch. The material is then used by Agromin to make several products that benefit our farmlands, orchards, nurseries and our own gardens.
For other Christmas tree recycling options please call
647-1414.
Why Recycle?
 Recycling helps the environment by saving natural resources, energy, landfill space and helps to keep our air cleaner.
Thus, during these tough economic times, it is more important than ever to keep trash and recyclable materials separated and placed in their own bins.
By doing so, you are increasing the amount of materials we can recycle and sell in a market that has been hit hard by the recession
Please turn to the back page of your “Trash Flash” for recycling, yard waste and trash guidelines. It is worth the extra effort. Thanks. |
 |
Extra Trash Allowed
After the Holidays
As a special holiday feature, Harrison customers may put out twice the amount of trash at no extra charge during the two weeks after December 25. Please make sure the trash is in bags and place the bags along side the trash bin. We also collect extra recyclables, but please make sure to flatten all boxes and place along side the recycling bin as well. |
Dreaming of a
‘Green’ Christmas
Did you know that during the last quarter of the year, when we celebrate several holidays, an extra 25 percent of waste is generated? Here are a few ideas for ways to trim your wasteline and have an Earth-friendly holiday season:
Wrapping
- Reuse colorful paper such as decorative newspaper ads, comic strips, old maps or colorful magazine pages.
- When purchasing, buy recycled content wrapping paper.
- Use the front of old holiday cards as name tags.
- Save gift boxes and re-use them throughout the year for other items.
Alternate Gifts
- Open a savings account or purchase a savings bond for a child.
- Consider reused items from antique shops or thrift stores.
Ornaments
- Instead of buying ornaments, use popcorn strands, small toys, memorabilia such as a child’s first shoe, edible cookie ornaments or decorate unused cookie cutters.
Holiday Cards
- Consider e-mail or Internet greetings as an alternative to paper holiday cards.
- Create your own cards from used paper.
- When buying cards, look for ones made of recycled paper.
Celebrations
- When celebrating, use reusable plates, flatware, glasses, tablecloths and linens rather than disposable items. For large gatherings, consider renting dinnerware and glassware from a party supply company. Sometimes it is less costly than disposable goods, and they do all the washing.
Packaging
- Use crumpled newspaper or magazine pages for packing material.
Shopping
- Take along reusable bags when shopping.
- Consolidate shopping trips to save fuel.
- Cancel mail-order catalogues that you don’t want.
Unwanted Items
- After the holidays, donate unwanted gifts, clothing, furniture and housewares to a local charity or thrift store. Recycle old or unwanted electronics by bringing them to Gold Coast Recycling (5275 Colt St., Ventura) at no charge, for proper disposal.
|
|
|
2010 Holiday Schedule
Looking ahead, these are the holidays in the first half of the year that will delay trash collection one day:
- New Year’s Day
Saturday, Jan. 1
- Memorial Day
Monday, May 31
These are the holidays in the first half of the year that will not delay trash collection one day:
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, Jan. 18
- Presidents’ Day
Monday, Feb. 15
- Independence Day
Sunday, July 4
|
Pay Bills On Line
 You can now pay your bills on
line with a credit card or echeck.
It’s easy.
Go to www.ejharrison.com and check out your payment options. |
|
|
‘Go Green’ This Winter in Your Home and Garden
Winter is here! While we’re lucky to live in Southern California and enjoy the best weather in the world, it might be a good idea to prepare your home for the chillier temperatures and rainy days that lie ahead. Making it more energy-efficient takes a little time, but it’s well worth the effort.
Now’s a good time to:
- Clean out your fireplace;
- Seal and insulate your home;
- Inspect your smoke alarms;
- Change your heaters’ filters;
- Insulate your water heater;
- Clean and repair your rain gutters;
Now’s also a good time to winterize your lawn.
A healthy lawn needs care and attention all year long. Winterizing your lawn is especially important for its ability to thrive the following year.
Here’s what to do:
- Rake up leaves, grass clippings and other debris from the lawn, and compost them or place in your brown curbside yard waste bin. Raking allows sunlight and nutrients into the soil throughout the winter months.
- Place weed control on your lawn. By doing this, weeds won’t return in spring.
- Look for the Agromin’s “PowerMix Top Dressing for Lawns.” Agromin is the local company that converts yard waste from your brown curbside bin into mulches, compost and soil amends that naturally fertilize your lawn, plants and trees. Lay the “PowerMix” on your lawn. It will help the lawn hold onto its nutrients throughout the winter months.
For more winterizing tips for your lawn and garden, and for more information on Agromin products, visit www.agromin.com.
|
|
Scavenging from Curbside Bins is Illegal – and Costly
Scavenging from curbside trash and recycling bins is illegal in Ventura, and should be reported.
You may not realize it, but scavengers searching in bins for aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic containers and other recyclable materials can cost you money in the long run since recyclables that E.J. Harrison & Sons collect are used to help off-set our service costs.
Another concern about scavengers is they also might seek or find documents containing personal information like Social Security and credit card numbers. You can help prevent identity theft by shredding documents with personal information before placing them in your blue recycling container.
In some areas, Ventura residents have reported bands of people being dropped in neighborhoods to search through bins just before collection time.
You should not approach people caught scavenging. Instead, call the Ventura Police Department’s non-emergency number (650-8010). You may also contact the City’s Code Enforcement Department (658-4711). If the person is driving, please note the color, make and model of the vehicle and write down its license number, if possible. If you have a camera handy, take a picture of the vehicle or the activity.
 Ventura Police also recommend getting a description of the person or persons scavenging, including their height, weight, hair color, clothing and race.
Ways to Reuse Your
Plastic Bags
There are two things that you should NOT do with plastic grocery bags as well as film plastics, which include food storage bags, clear plastic dry cleaning and newspaper bags, and plastic bags used to wrap products.
- Do not stuff them into your blue recycling container.
- Do not stuff empty plastic bags in your green trash container. They cause major litter problems for our community.
If you are going to throw away your plastic bags, weigh them down with trash. You also can line your small bathroom trash containers with them, or take them along on your dog’s walk and use them for scooped out remains from your cat’s litter box.
Another alternative is to bring your plastic bags back to the supermarket. Take them to the check stand and reuse them yourself, or deposit them in plastic bag recycling bins that you can find near the entrances of most supermarkets. |
|
No Meds Down the Drain
What should you do about all the expired over-the-counter medications you have taking up space in your bathroom’s medicine chest?
Do not flush them down the drain, and do not throw them in your green trash bin.
 Bring them to the City of Ventura’s monthly Household Hazardous Waste collection event, held the third Saturday of every month except December. The next HHW waste event is Jan. 16, 2010.
Other materials accepted include: latex (water-based) and oil-base paints; pool and photo chemicals; cleaning solvents; pesticides and insecticides; fertilizers; automobile batteries; used motor oil and filters; single-use and rechargeable batteries; and fluorescent light bulbs.
Ventura residents need to call 652-4525 to make an appointment.
|
How Do I Get Off All
These Mailing Lists?
The following options can help reduce the amount of junk mail coming to your home.
Credit Cards: Contact the credit bureaus by calling: 888-5-OPTOUT (888-567-8688), or online at www.optoutprescreen.com.
Direct Mail: Most major catalogers and mailing list companies are members of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The DMA’s Mail Preference Service can be used to remove your name from many direct marketing lists. Visit www.DMAchoice.org for more information.
Catalog Mailings: Register with Catalog Choice at www.catalogchoice.org to reduce unwanted catalog mailings.
Other Tips: Contact charities or companies directly and ask to be taken off their mailing list (this is often the quickest way to be removed from an organization’s mailing list).
Return Junk Mail: Envelopes marked “address correction requested” or “return postage guaranteed” can be returned unopened to the sender by crossing out your address and writing “Refused, Return to Sender” on the envelope. Without this special notation the post office will not return the mail to the sender.
Use the postage paid envelope that is included with the mail solicitation and send the information back to the addressee requesting that your name be removed from their mailing list.
Be patient, it might take three to six months before you notice a reduction, and please remember to recycle the junk mail you do receive.
|
|
E.J. Harrison & Sons
Recycling, Yard Waste and Trash Guidelines
|
What goes in the Trash?
Hopefully, very little.
After you have recycled,
composted, filled the yard waste cart, donated
old clothing and goods, and done all of those good things and more—most of the rest can go in the trash. |
|
How to Place Your Cart for
Automated Collection
The automated
arm of the collection
 truck needs
room to grab
the cart. Carts
should be placed
2-3 feet apart from each other and from objects
such as mailboxes and cars with wheels facing the curb.
Carts should be out
by 7:00 a.m. on collection days.
|
What Doesn't go in the Trash
or any other cart?
STOP No Hazardous
Waste!!
These items are NOT accepted for
Trash or Recycling.
- Hazardous Waste
- Tires
- TVs/Computer Monitors
- Batteries
|
|
- Closed Containers
- Oil or Paints
- Fluorescent Light Tubes
- Medical Needles
|
For information on how to dispose of these items,
please call:
Ventura: 652-4525 |
|
