Just in time for Earth Day, the Southborough DPW is offering rain barrels and tumbling composters at a deep discount to Southborough residents. Rain barrels are being offered at $75.95 (regularly $119.95), and composters are available for $89.95 (regularly $130-$170).
Orders must be placed by April 26. You’ll be able to pick up your rain barrels and composters at the DPW facility during the town’s annual Spring Clean-up event on May 1 (more on the clean up event in an upcoming post!)
Read on for more details about the offer.
The Town of Southborough is offering discounted rain barrels and tumbling composters as part of the Spring Cleanup Event on May 1 . The rain barrels retail for $119.95, but are available for the bulk discount price of $75.95. The Bio-Orb® composters, found in online stores for $130 – $170, are available through this program for $89.95. The town has teamed up with The New England Rain Barrel Company to help residents conserve water, reduce pollution from stormwater runoff and the use of commercial fertilizers, and cut down on the waste that ends up in the landfill.
Rain Barrels
Rain barrel use is a way to capture and store rainwater from a home’s roof gutter system for later use. The New Englander is designed for watering flowers, vegetables, shrubs and trees either by connecting a garden hose to the rain barrel or filling a watering can. By capturing the rain falling on the entire roof area, even a gentle shower will provide plenty of water…as little as ¼ inch on an average roof will fill a barrel.
Stormwater pollution is a growing problem. When rainwater flows over the paved surfaces in our cities and suburbs, it picks up fertilizers & pesticides from our lawns, oil & antifreeze from our driveways, pet waste and litter from our sidewalks and gutters, and deposits it all into our streams and rivers. Rain barrel use diverts a portion of the rainwater from the paved surfaces around the home and will filter naturally into the ground when used to water plants and shrubs. By watering plants directly from a garden hose, drip hose, or watering can, we also reduce the water wasted when running a lawn sprinkler.
Composters
The Bio-Orb® is a spherically shaped home composting bin which can be rolled to mix the compost. It’s made in America from 100% recycled plastic (50% from home recycling). Bio-Orb® is 3 feet in diameter with a 13 cubic foot capacity and assembles without tools in 10 minutes. It is an enclosed system to keep rodents and raccoons out, with small holes to let in rain, air, beneficial insects and worms. It comes complete with assembly instructions and a composting tip sheet.
Composting is an easy way to improve the health of your landscape by using all natural fertilizer instead of buying chemicals or bagged compost. Compost can be used to enrich the flower or vegetable garden and improve the soil around trees and shrubs. It also makes an excellent soil amendment for house plants and planter boxes, and, when screened, as part of a seed starting mix or lawn top-dressing. Composting kitchen and yard waste can reduce the number of leaf bags brought to the transfer station and reduce waste on trash pickup day. This translates into a smaller carbon footprint and less money spent by the city or town on trash removal which can be better spent on other municipal services.
The unique design of Bio-Orb® makes mixing the compost fun and easy. Just tip it up on its axis (think wagon wheel) and roll it around once or twice a week. This will speed up the breakdown of waste and yield usable compost sooner.
Ordering
For more information and to place your order, call The New England Rain Barrel Company toll free at 877-977-3135 or order online at www.nerainbarrel.com. Orders must be placed by April 26, 2010 for pickup at the Spring Cleanup Event, May 1, at the DPW Yard, 147 Cordaville Road.
