Take your tree to a yard waste site or contact your waste collector for opportunities to give back to the environment through recycling

DOVER – Delawareans are encouraged to give their recycling spirit a boost after the holiday season by delivering their Christmas trees to one of many yard waste recycling facilities located throughout the state. Please note that Christmas trees are no longer accepted for recycling at any Delaware State Park locations.

Christmas trees will be accepted free of charge for recycling from Delaware residents at facilities listed below. Residents may bring in their trees as as late as Jan. 30, but first should contact a facility for specific hours and details. Trees will not be accepted from commercial haulers or tree vendors without prior approval from a yard waste facility. Also, Christmas tree decorations, including hooks, wire, tinsel and ornaments, as well as wood and metal tree stands, must be removed from all trees before dropping them off for recycling.

“Many Delawareans have been recycling their Christmas trees for many years, and we encourage everyone to establish or continue this eco-friendly tradition,” said Bill Miller, program manager in DNREC’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Section. “Recycling Christmas trees that are a product of nature is a wonderful way of giving back to the environment.”

Christmas tree recycling also saves valuable landfill space. At least 23 percent of residential waste in the state is composed of grass, leaves, brush, trees and other lawn maintenance and landscaped materials. Prior to Delaware’s yard waste bans, these materials – considered a resource for recycling rather than waste – were deposited in landfills, using capacity while at the same time limiting local markets for mulch and compost products.

Many entities across the state also collect Christmas trees, including various waste haulers and landscapers. Your regular trash hauler may offer special collections for Christmas trees in January. Kent County will collect Christmas trees from Jan. 9-13 and Jan. 16-20 (on your regular trash day) for customers in trash districts that have yard waste collection service.

Christmas trees – again with the stipulation that they are stripped of all decorations and detached from tree stands – can be dropped off by Delaware residents for free at any of the following locations:

New Castle County

Polly Drummond Hill Road Community Yard Waste Demonstration Site
Located in the Pike Creek area on Polly Drummond Hill Road, about 1/2 mile north of Kirkwood Highway.
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays ONLY, 8 a.m. – sunset, through Jan. 15. The site will close on Jan. 16 and reopen April 1 (More info: www.dnrec.delaware.gov/yardwaste)

South Chapel Yard Waste Site (operated by Holland Mulch)
1034 S. Chapel Street, Newark, DE 19702; phone 302-737-1000
Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday 7:30 a.m. – noon*

Copeland’s Mulch Depot (free for trees purchased at Copeland’s; otherwise $2)
2 Honeysuckle Drive, Stanton, DE 19804; phone 302-633-9536
Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.*
Closed until Jan. 2.

Sussex County

Blessings Greenhouses
9372 Draper Road, Milford, DE 19963; phone 302-393-3273
Hours: Monday-Saturday 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.*

Grizzly’s Landscape Supply Service
18412 The Narrow Road, Lewes, DE 19958 (phone 302-644-0654)
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.*

Mr. Mulch
22288 Coverdale Road, Seaford, DE 19973 (phone 302-629-5737)
Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.*

Millville Organic Center
Whites Neck Road (0.5 miles North of Rt. 26) Millville, DE 19967 (phone 302-423-2601)
Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.*

Selbyville Pet and Garden Center (free for active customers within the last 6 months)
38205 DuPont Boulevard, Selbyville, DE 19975 (phone 302-436-8286)
Hours: Thursdays and Fridays 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.*

Stockley Materials
25136 DuPont Boulevard, Georgetown, DE 19947 (phone 302-856-7601)
Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.*

*Please call ahead as businesses may alter their hours of operation around the holidays.

Only Christmas trees from Delaware residents will be accepted for free. Please note that facilities may charge a fee for other yard waste. Also that there are other locations than those listed above throughout the state also accept Christmas trees for recycling, but charge a fee for the service. For information on other yard waste drop-off sites in Delaware, go to: www.dnrec.delaware.gov/yardwaste and click “Yard waste drop-off options.”

Delawareans are also reminded that DNREC’s Polly Drummond Hill Road yard waste site is closing Jan. 16, 2017, and is tentatively scheduled to reopen on April 1, 2017.

For more information about yard waste, visit DNREC’s website, www.dnrec.delaware.gov/yardwaste or call 302-739-9403 ext.1.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 427

REHOBOTH BEACH – With predictions of snow in the forecast, DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation reminds residents and visitors that dunes should not be used for sledding or snowboarding.

“Dunes contain fragile habitat and provide protection for the beaches and the communities that border them,” said Pat Cooper, Cape Henlopen State Park superintendent. “Recent storms have already caused some damage, so we’re asking the public to help protect the dunes in our ocean parks.”

Except for marked crossings, dunes are closed year-round to pedestrian traffic and activities in Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore State Parks.

Vol. 47, No. 3

Contact: Beth Shockley, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902 or Pat Cooper, Delaware State Parks, 302-227-2800.

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DOVER – Governor Jack Markell joined DNREC Secretary David Small, DNREC staff and project partners today to announce that DNREC’s downtown Dover campus, the Richardson & Robbins (R&R) Building, has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in the category of Existing Buildings: Operation and Maintenance from the US Green Building Council.

LEED certification is a globally-recognized benchmark for environmental sustainability. Beginning in 2009, DNREC staff and partners implemented a series of energy efficiency and sustainability projects which, among other benefits, resulted in a 40 percent reduction in energy use and a 24 percent reduction in water use in the building, bringing significant savings to the state’s utility costs.

“My Executive Order 18 asked state agencies to lead by example towards a clean energy economy and increased sustainability for Delaware, including goals for reducing energy use, increasing recycling, promoting clean transportation and saving money while benefiting the environment,” said Governor Markell. “The announcement of LEED certification of the Richardson & Robbins Building epitomizes the type of results we aimed to achieve in this process and I applaud the hard work and commitment to environmental stewardship by the DNREC staff involved in this effort.”

“LEED certification for existing buildings in operations and maintenance is based on a rating system that holds facilities to the highest standards of sustainability. Earning this certification is a prestigious achievement that recognizes sustainability in every aspect of a building, its systems and its employee activities,” said Secretary Small. “It’s a testament to the perseverance and dedication of our staff and to the benefits of forging partnerships with other agencies and organizations that we are here today to celebrate the success of this low-cost, high-return project.”

Inspired by Executive Order 18 and building on the earlier energy efficiency upgrades made to R&R, DNREC’s LEED team formed in 2011 with the goal of “walking the walk” on sustainability and reducing environmental impacts, said LEED Team Manager Bahareh van Boekhold, calling the results “a triumph of inter-departmental teamwork and coordination.” Staff from seven DNREC divisions joined forces with staff from the Office of Management and Budget’s Division of Facilities Management and Government Support Services, working with partners including LEED consultant Lorax, energy upgrade contractor Ameresco and state vendors and service providers including Goodwill, the state’s janitorial contractor.

“Richardson & Robbins is the first state-owned building and one of only three buildings in Delaware to achieve this specific LEED certification – an especially significant achievement for a building constructed as a cannery in 1881 that was modernized into a state office more than 30 years ago,” said van Boekhold. “Our DNREC staff and the Office of Management and Budget formed a strong and continuing relationship while working collaboratively and persistently with our partners for nearly five years to establish cutting-edge 21st century sustainable processes that will continue to improve operations even after certification,” she said.
Project achievements include:

• Lower energy and water usage, resulting in utilities cost savings
• Sustainable purchasing and waste management practices
• Green no-irrigation landscaping with native species and restored habitat
• Integrated pest management and green cleaning practices
• Lower-impact employee commuting supported by preferred parking for “green” cars and carpool vehicles
• Improved work environment inside the R&R Building for the health and comfort of employees through indoor air quality monitoring and reduced exposure to hazardous chemicals

“Most importantly, the LEED Team has demonstrated that by working together on a common goal and finding creative solutions, state buildings can be operated in a sustainable and healthy way, while saving the state money,” said Susan Love, Climate & Sustainability Section Lead, Division of Energy & Climate. “This project and its LEED certification ‘greens’ the way for other state-owned buildings to operate more sustainably and efficiently, providing a template for other state buildings to achieve similar savings and improvements.”

The Richardson & Robbins Building was built in 1881 by food-canning pioneers Alden B. Richardson and James Washington Robbins to house their Dover canning operation, which produced a popular line of products including canned meats, locally-grown fancy fruits and vegetables and their award-winning plum pudding. In 1959, the company and its cannery complex were sold to the William Underwood Company, which continued to make some of R&R’s products. The landmark Dover cannery was closed by Underwood in 1976.

In 1979 – the same year the State of Delaware purchased the empty cannery complex – R&R was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Victorian Dover Historic District. The abandoned complex was extensively renovated, while retaining its tall arched windows, ornate exterior brickwork and massive, rough-hewn exposed ceiling beams. It was dedicated as the new main office of Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in April 1983.

The US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. The LEED Rating System for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance provides a set of performance standards for operations and maintenance of existing commercial or institutional buildings of all sizes, both public and private. The intent is to promote high performance, healthful, durable, affordable and environmentally sound practices in existing buildings. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance is used by owners and operators of existing structures to implement sustainable practices and reduce the environmental impact of their buildings over their functional life cycles.

Issued in February 2010, Governor Markell’s Executive Order 18: Leading by Example towards a Clean Energy Economy & Sustainable Natural Environment, states that the State of Delaware’s agencies shall integrate the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) practices into all new construction, renovation and operation of state facilities, with a particular focus on integrating technologies and design/material/construction elements that generate lower long-term operating expenses. EO 18’s mandates include implementation of energy conservation and efficiency measures; use of clean, renewable energy; environmentally-responsible and energy-conscious construction; environmentally-sensitive procurement and recycling practices; and reduction of emissions from state vehicles.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 47, No. 2

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DOVER – Governor Jack Markell has appointed H. Donovan Phillips, Jr. to serve as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC), created by the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council through the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. The Chesapeake Executive Council – whose members include the governors of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission Chair and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator – was established in 1983 with responsibilities for guiding the Chesapeake Bay Program’s policy agenda and setting conservation and restoration goals for the bay.

Mr. Phillips, Delaware’s LGAC appointee, is a Laurel town councilman, and a founding member, chairman, and board member of the Laurel Redevelopment Corporation (LRC). The mission of the LRC, a non-profit corporation, is to enhance the quality of life in Laurel by obtaining, rehabilitating and revitalizing properties that increase economic development for the town.

DNREC and the Division of Watershed Stewardship work in partnership with the Town of Laurel, the LRC and Chesapeake Bay LGAC to enhance the natural assets along the waterfront of Broad Creek, a tributary of the Nanticoke River. The LRC’s vision is to create activities and businesses that will enhance the attractiveness of the town while protecting and improving the health of important aquatic resources. The LRC owns, develops, and protects the parks and properties along 95 percent of the Broad Creek shoreline within the town’s boundaries.

As an LGAC member, Mr. Phillips will advise the Chesapeake Executive Council on how to effectively implement projects and engage the support of local governments to achieve the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Signatories to the 2014 agreement include representatives from the entire watershed, committing for the first time the Bay’s headwater states to full partnership in the Bay Program.

The Chesapeake Bay LGAC’s mission is to share the views and insights of local elected officials with state and federal decision-makers, and to enhance the flow of information among local governments about the health and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Also of importance to the LGAC’s mission is the challenge of nutrient and sediment load reduction facing local jurisdictions within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

More information on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement can be found at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/chesapeakebaywatershedagreement/page. More information on the Chesapeake Bay Local Government Advisory Committee can be found at http://www.chesapeakebay.net/groups/group/local_government_advisory_committee

Contact: Jennifer Walls, DNREC Watershed Assessment and Management Section 302-739-9939; email: jennifer.walls@delaware.gov

Vol. 46, No. 434

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Reminder for the week: Purchase your 2017 Delaware fishing license starting Jan. 1

DOVER – To achieve public compliance through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between Dec. 19-25 made 710 contacts with anglers, hunters, boaters and the general public, including 38 vessel boardings for boating safety, hunting and fishing regulation compliance checks, issuing seven citations. Officers responded to 18 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. An increased Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and associated recreational trail.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Actions

Incident of note:

• On Dec. 20, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police arrested Mathew C. Ryan of Smyrna for unlawfully selling white perch without a commercial food fish license. An investigation revealed that Ryan sold 100 pounds of white perch to a seafood buyer in Milford on May 14, 2016, without having first obtained a 2016 Delaware commercial food fish license. Ryan was charged with one count of selling, trading or bartering food fish without a Delaware commercial food fish license. He was arraigned at Kent County Justice of the Peace Court 7 where he received probation before judgement and fined $240, including court costs.

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Wildlife Conservation: Possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vessel (1), possession of prohibited lead shot/shot size while hunting migratory waterfowl (1), shooting within 15 yards of a public roadway (1), and hunting with an unplugged shotgun capable of holding more than three shells (1).

Fisheries Conservation: Commercial: Horseshoe crab dredging without a Delaware horseshoe crab dredge permit (1), possession of undersized knobbed conch (1), and selling, trading or bartering food fish without a Delaware commercial food fish license (1).

Are you AWARE?
DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind anglers that starting Jan. 1 it’s time to purchase their 2017 Delaware fishing licenses, as 2016 licenses expire Dec. 31. A valid fishing license is required for fishing, crabbing and clamming in Delaware in both tidal and non-tidal waters.

A resident annual fishing license costs $8.50 for ages 16 through 64. Anglers under the age of 16 and residents age 65 and older are not required to purchase fishing licenses in Delaware. Some requirements differ for non-resident anglers. Exempt persons may purchase fishing licenses if they so choose to help support fisheries management in Delaware.

Recreational anglers fishing Delaware waters also are required to obtain a Delaware Fisherman Information Network (F.I.N.) number, which is generated automatically on all individual fishing licenses sold through Delaware’s electronic licensing systems. License-exempt anglers, including Delaware residents 65 and older, non-resident boat fishing license holders who do not have an individual license and individuals fishing on licensed boats who do not have an individual license, must obtain their free F.I.N. number by visiting www.delaware-fin.com or calling 800-432-9228 toll-free.

Delaware fishing licenses are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase a license online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters and boaters who comply with and support Delaware’s fishing, hunting and boating laws and regulations. Citizens are encouraged to report fish, wildlife and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030 or online at http://de.gov/ogt.

Like Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/Delaware-Fish-Wildlife-Natural-Resources-Police.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Twitter, https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

Media contact: Sgt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386.

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