Monthly Archives: February 2016

CSWD Now Recycles Single-Use Batteries (for free)

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As of this past January 1st, Chittenden Solid Waste District, our local solid waste management organization, now accepts single-use batteries for free recycling at drop-off centers and the environmental depot. Batteries have a much bigger carbon footprint than most things their sizes, and they add toxicity to landfills when just thrown away, so this is pretty great news for anyone interested in a cleaner environment or fighting climate change.

batteries

Here are the details from CSWD:

Starting January 1, 2016, CSWD Drop-Off Centers and the Environmental Depot will begin accepting  alkaline single-use batteries for recycling. To date, we have been able to accept only button-cell, lithium, rechargeable, lead-acid, and NiCd batteries for recycling. We are now adding single-use batteries to the roster of recyclable batteries.

Vermont is the first state to pass a product stewardship law that requires manufacturers of single-use batteries to pay for the collection and recycling of their products. An organization called Call2Recycle is overseeing the state-wide program, setting up nearly 100 collection sites. Since 1994, Call2Recycle has kept 100 million pounds of used batteries out of the landfill across the country.

All seven CSWD Drop-Off Centers and the Environmental Depot will accept single-use and other types of batteries free of charge, beginning in January.

★ DO NOT recycle batteries of any kind in your blue recycling bin or cart. They cannot be recycled with bottles, cans, paper, and other mandatory recyclables. They must be brought to a Drop-Off Center or the Environmental Depot for recycling.

Photo by John Seb Barber

Goodbye, CCTA!

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Here’s an announcement about some great new developments in Vermont public transit from CCTA and GMTA. My favorite is the new feature that will allow finding out exactly where a bus is using your cell phone.

The new CCTA transit center in Burlington, opening in the Fall

The new CCTA transit center in Burlington, opening this Fall

In the coming months, the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) and the Green Mountain Transit Agency (GMTA) will rebrand to become Green Mountain Transit (GMT). In July 2011, GMTA and CCTA became one legal entity, which formalized the operating relationship between the two agencies that had existed since 2003. The rebrand marks an exciting time and will finalize the last step in becoming one unified regional agency.

In conjunction with the rebranding effort, CCTA will roll out a suite of new technologies to improve the customer experience, starting with a new Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system. AVL will provide passengers with real-time bus tracking information straight to their cellphones, improving service reliability and allowing CCTA to communicate changes more efficiently. This highly sought after system has been a high priority for CCTA and its passengers for quite some time. The ability to move forward with this project is due, in large part, to funding provided by the VT Agency of Transportation. “VTrans has been an incredible partner to CCTA and all of the communities that it serves. I think they are as excited about these improvements as we are!” says Karen Walton, General Manager of CCTA

On Tuesday, January 19, the CCTA Board of Commissioners also approved a recommendation from staff to go out to bid for a mobile ticketing system. A mobile ticketing app would allow passengers to purchase fare media directly on their cellphones prior to taking their bus trip. This app will provide convenience for the riders, eliminates the need to carry exact cash fare, and is one step closer to making CCTA/GMTA a paperless system.

These passenger amenities are expected to be implemented during this calendar year before or in conjunction with the highly anticipated Downtown Transit Center (DTC) grand opening. The new state-of-the-art transit center is expected to be complete in the fall of 2016. To track progress on this, and all upcoming projects, visit our website at CCTAride.org.

About CCTA/GMTA: Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) offers fixed routes, local commuter routes, LINK Express routes, and ADA paratransit services. CCTA also provides shuttles from senior housing complexes to local supermarkets and neighborhood specials for student transportation to Burlington schools. Green Mountain Transportation Agency (GMTA) provides public transportation for Washington, Lamoille, Mad River Valley, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties and the towns of Williamstown, Washington and Orange, with connecting services to Chittenden and Caledonia counties.