Our Readers Write

Short-term rentals benefit the area
Editor:
Yes, Hank Alderfer makes a great point in his column about the history of Evergreen with short-term rentals.
Many areas are doing these short-term rentals very successfully: Salida, Durango, Leadville. They are carefully licensed, inspected and managed. They bring up to 8 percent of gross income in those areas. We could use that income to save our libraries and support our community.
We strongly support short-term rentals in Jeffco to help middle-income residents make it in Evergreen/Conifer. Write to your commissioners. Votes are coming up soon.
Marilyn and Rich Naylor
Evergreen

EAS+Y lauds Mt. Evans Home Health’s zero-waste efforts
Editor:
Mt. Evans Home Health & Hospice has always looked after our physical and emotional well-being, whether for chronic conditions or in phases of temporary need. Now it is including care of the environment we depend on by reducing waste, with the aim of achieving zero waste both at the office and at its community events.
This year 980 runners participated in the July 4 Freedom Run — 140 more than last year — yet the reduction in trash going to the landfill decreased by 50 percent.
How did they do this? “We planned ahead,” says Nancy Hiester, director of development. Instead of offering runners refreshments in plastic bags at the end of their run, they handed out 1,000 small, reusable tote bags with locally produced goodies in them. The set of bags donated by Vitamin Cottage sported its logo, while the rest, underwritten by a  board member, displayed the Mt. Evans Home Health & Hospice logo. Instead of commercially made foods, wrapped in non-recyclable materials, The Bagelry provided fresh bagels at a discount, and Mimi Nelson of In Good Taste Catering donated delicious fresh-baked cookies directly to the runners. The clean, reusable bags eliminated waste from excessive packaging and did away with an order of more than 1,000 plastic bags to give away for one-time use.
There was less cardboard to recycle because the order for T-shirts was reduced to just a little above the number needed for runners. This cut costs of shipping more boxes than necessary in addition to ending up with fewer cardboard boxes to recycle. The amount of cardboard collected this year was between half and one-third of the amounts collected for recycling in previous years. Runners’ bibs were made of paper rather than plastic so they could be recycled.  
Runners helped by using recycle stations thoughtfully. Each station consisted of a pair, with a trash bin next to a recycle bin. The recycle bin sported clearly marked signs provided by EAS+Y, indicating which items could be recycled: plastic bottles, plastic cups Nos. 1-7, aluminum cans, and glass bottles.  This made for “uncontaminated” streams for EDS Waste Solutions to deal with and reduced amounts going to the landfill.
Next year Mt. Evans Home Health & Hospice hopes to find an underwriter for compostable cups. At last year’s spring 9 Health Fair, it collected three bags of non-dairy and non-meat food scraps for vermicomposting at Cactus Jack’s in Evergreen.  
Recycling paper, glass and beverage bottles at the office is an ongoing affair. Each office station has its own recycling container, emptied into two large, wheeled totes provided by EDS Waste Solutions for weekly pickup. As trash amounts decreased from 3 to 2 yards, and recycling collections increased, they have experienced no cost increase despite recent increases in hauling costs. Confidential material is handled separately and shredded for recycling into end-use products like napkins and towels.
Overlooking no conservation effort, staff works by natural daylight. Lights are left off after use in dark areas. Washable dishes and cutlery, rather than paper products, are used for meetings. Plans continue for additional adaptations over time.  
Evergreen Alliance for Sustainability