In the Bennington VT real estate market area, it is important to keep your home free from hazardous wastes, and the town does a great job sponsoring a free collection day,  so you have a safe and easy way to dispose of anything in your home that might be hazardous.

The following article comes from The Bennington Banner, April 12, 2011  The Bennington date in the article stated that collection would take place on May 30, but it is actually April 30.

BENNINGTON — Vermont towns are mandated to hold two hazardous waste collection days per year. Generally they are held in the spring and fall, usually May and October.

Lissa Stark, special projects manager for the Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) said most towns pool their efforts in order to save costs, but one way or another residents of all towns have a chance to get rid of hazardous waste materials such as paint, solvents, batteries, light bulbs, and aerosol cans, just to name a few.

For residents of Bennington and Woodford, the transfer station on Houghton Lane will be collecting hazardous waste on April 30 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Those living in Arlington, Dorset, Manchester, Rupert, Sandgate, and Sunderland, will be able to drop off their hazardous materials on April 30 between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. at the Fisher Elementary School on East Arlington Road in Arlington.

For residents of Shaftsbury, Stamford, and Pownal, a collection day has been scheduled for May 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. as well as October 1 for those same hours at the Shaftsbury Solid Waste Facility on North Road in Shaftsbury.

Shaftsbury residents alone will also be able to bring rimless tires, limit four per household.

Fall dates for the other collection sites have not been scheduled.

Stark said the BCRC oversees the collections for the Arlington area, and it’s not uncommon for an event to see between 100 and 200 cars turn up.

Many of the items are electronic, but paint, batteries, and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are also common.

She said many people will bring latex paint thinking it’s hazardous, but that’s only true when it’s a liquid. By mixing it with cat litter or similar material, it can be dried quickly and disposed of normally.

In October the Fisher collection day netted 10,500 pounds of electronics, 13 items containing Freon — freezers, air conditioners, refrigerators — one 55-gallon drum of pesticides, one five-gallon drum of batteries, 50 pounds of CFLs, and three 55-gallon drums of solvents were collected, in addition to other items, Stark said.

The six towns share the cost based on the number of households, while the towns served by Shaftsbury pay a lump sum. The total cost of the one in Arlington is about $14,000, but a little less than half is covered by a state grant, she said. The May event serving Shaftsbury, Pownal, and Stamford cost $5,600 total.

Stark said a number of flyers are sent out publicizing the collection days and specific information can generally be found at respective Town Offices.

Contact Keith Whitcomb at kwhitcomb@benningtonbanner.com.

Did you know that energy-efficient variable speed and two-speed pool pumps use as little as 1/3 the energy of that single-speed pump in your pool now? They also operate more quietly than most single speed models, and provide superior filtration.

Efficiency Vermont is offering residential customers a $200 mail-in rebate for installing a qualifying energy-efficient pool pump. The rebate is available for pool pumps installed between April 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010. So act now for a better swimming experience this summer.

To print the $200 Energy-Efficient Pool Pump Rebate, view a list of qualifying pool pumps, and trained pool-pump installers, go to efficiencyvermont.com/poolpumps or call Efficiency Vermont, toll-free, today at 888-921-5990.

Troy’s Comments
In the Bennington VT real estate market, we don’t see a lot of in-ground pools, but there are plenty of above-ground pools. A pump and filter system is critical to the health of the pool. Have a happy and energy saving Summer!

If you’ve been thinking about replacing your refrigerator or clothes washer, there’s never been a better time to buy than right now. When you buy a qualifying ENERGY STAR® fridge or clothes washer and recycle your old one, you could get up to $200 back with valuable mail-in rebates through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Appliance Rebate program and Efficiency Vermont.

ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators use half the electricity of standard models manufactured before 1993 and can save you up to $100 a year on your electric bills. ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers save up to $60 a year in energy and water costs.

Rebate offers include:
• $100 mail-in rebate on the purchase of an eligible ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator.

• $200 mail-in rebate on the purchase of a select ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator.

• $200 mail-in rebate on the purchase of a select ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washer.

To take advantage of this limited time offer through Efficiency Vermont, visit your local appliance retailer or call Efficiency Vermont toll-free at 888-921-5990 to reserve a rebate directly. All ARRA-funded rebates must be post-marked no later than May 31, 2010.

For more information and a list of qualified ENERGY STAR appliances, visit www.efficiencyvermont.com or call, toll-free, 888-921-5990.

Note: ARRA funds are limited and rebate forms are available on a first-come first-served basis.

BENNINGTON — Volunteers will take to the streets and back roads Saturday to pick up roadside litter as part of Vermont’s annual Green Up Day.

At Bennington Subaru on North Bennington Road, volunteers will be asked to give their names so they can be directed to a stretch of road, said Bennington SubaruBusinessManager Tommy Lions. He said the dealership has 500 bags to give out, along with a dumpster for people to deposit them in, should they opt not to leave them on the side of the road to be picked up.

Volunteers wanted
Lions said Subaru of New England is a sponsor of Green Up Day for the Bennington region. From noon to about 3 p.m., he said, a cookout will be in progress for volunteers at the dealership.

Kelly Lemieux, administrative assistant at the Bennington Town Office, said the office has already given out 250 bags to Green Up volunteers.

In Manchester, volunteers are asked to show up at the Northshire Bookstore parking lot at 9 a.m., according to a release from the town offices. About 15 cleanup routes have been identified, in addition to projects at the Town Green and Recreation Area.

The routes will be “salted” with colored blocks, which children can exchange for prizes that have been donated by local businesses. There will also be a trash sculpture contest with the theme “Make Music with Trash.” The sculptures will be made of garbage collected along routes.

At noon, hot dogs and ice cream will be served at the garden area near the bookstore, courtesy of the Spiral Press Café. According to the release, with the help of Casella Waste Management, tires will be accepted at the Merchant’s Bank parking lot between 9 a.m. and noon. Tires will be taken at the rate of $3 for a regular car or truck tire and $5 for a large truck tire.

Should rain cancel the event, cleanup will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Similar prizes are being offered in Shaftsbury, said Karen Mellinger,a member of the SelectBoard. Toy lady bugs will be scattered among the roadside trash and canbe exchangedfor prizes. She said every year the town receives 200 Green Up bags and uses them all up. She said about 100 people participate.

Volunteers should gather at Cole Hall between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Trash can be dropped off there or at the transfer station, in addition to other sites around town.

For Pownal Green Up volunteers, trash can be taken to the Pownal Transfer Station between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Bags will be at the Town Offices or the station. There will be no roadside pick up. Select Board Administrative Assistant Linda Sciarappa said it would be helpful if people called the Town Offices or transfer station to sign up ahead of time, although it is not necessary.

In Sunderland, volunteers are asked to be at the Town Garage between 7 a.m. and noon. Select Board member and Road Foreman James Ennis said coffee, tea, lemonade and doughnuts will be available at the garage. Ennis said about 25 people usually participate, but the Orvis Co. in Manchester generally funnels about 70 volunteers to the town.

In Sandgate, Green Up bags will be available at Town Hall starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, along with coffee and doughnuts. The town trucks will be loading all trash collected and leaving for the transfer station at 2 p.m. Anyone with questions, call Jack Quinn, Sandgate Green Up Day coordinator, at 375-9655.

According to www.greenupvermont.org, the first Green Up Day was held April 18, 1970. It was suggested to then-Gov. Deane C. Davis by Burlington Free Press reporter Robert S. Babcock, who was appalled by the amount of litter he saw on the side of the highway while driving from his home in Waterbury to the Statehouse in Montpelier.

Reprinted with permission from The Bennington Banner, written by KEITH WHITCOMB JR., Tuesday April 27, 2010

The 2010 plan to encourage energy efficiency is the government rebate for appliance buyers. The plan lets people swap their old appliances for new energy-efficient models at very low prices.
 
Here are some things to keep in mind:
·      State plans vary. For state by state specifics, check out the state-by-state rebate program.

·       Is it really a deal? It may not be worth replacing appliances that are fewer than seven years old, but older models can represent a real deal. Joe McGuire, president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, says a 20-year-old refrigerator uses three times as much power as a new Energy Star-approved model.

·       Buy now before it ends. There is only about $300 million available and some states got more money than others. It is expected to run out fast.

Source: The Associated Press, Vinnee Tong (12/30/2009)

U.S. government scientists say they’ve found a home’s proximity to wind energy facilities has no pervasive or widespread adverse effect on property values.

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said their study was based on site visits, data collection and an analysis of nearly 7,500 single-family home sales. They said their research is the most comprehensive and data-rich analysis to date on the potential impact of U.S. wind projects on residential property values.

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The following has been reprinted from the Battenkill Business Journal, November 2009.
By TRICIA N. HAYES

The possibility of generating hydroelectricity to power the Bennington College campus and some homes is a license away, if Bill Scully gets his way.

In June, Scully and wife Maria Scully purchased the former Vermont Tissue mill on the Walloomsac River next to the Paper Mill covered bridge.

The couple hopes to restore the historic 12,000-square-foot-building with 27-foot-tall ceilings, and refurbish the dam and hydroelectric power station to generate 250 kilowatts annually. The dam predates the entrance of Vermont into the Union as the 14th state. It powered the mill until its decommissioning in the 1950s.

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Eco-conscious residents in Bennington, Vermont make use of the landfill’s recycling program to save money – and help protect their planet.

But our Canadian neighbors have gone Olymp-eco. A metals company in Vancouver is working with the Royal Canadian Mint to create the medals for the upcoming 2010 Olympics – out of trash metal.

The medals are made primarily from computer parts and are undulating instead of flat, and will include artistic representations of the orca whale and the raven.

While checking out real estate in Bennington, Vermont, take time to enjoy and shop at the Bennington Arts Guild on South Street, where many of our art athletes incorporate recycled objects into useable items.