Area Farmers Markets

Sunday: Alamitos Bay Marina, Long Beach. 9am-2pm.
Certified Farmers Market in the parking lot of the Alamitos Bay Marina, on East Marina Drive, just west of Pacific Coast Highway. It’s a stone’s throw from Joe’s Crab Shack and the nearby Whole Foods shopping center. Info.

Tuesday: Seal Beach Village shopping center. 9am-1pm.
Produce and flower market in the parking lot at Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue, near Carl’s Jr. and the Roger Dunn Golf Shop. Started in fall 2008.

Thursday: Bixby Knolls, Long Beach. 3-6:30 pm.
Weekly market at Atlantic Avenue & E. 46th Street, on frontage road flanking the east side of Atlantic Ave (between Del Amo Blvd. and San Antonio Dr). Info.

Friday: Huntington Beach Pier Parking Lot, 1-5 pm.
Surf City’s farmers market and art fair near PCH and Main Street. Information: 714-573-0374.

Elsewhere: The LA Times has created an interactive online guide to farmers markets across Southern California. You can search by zip code. maret name of day of the week.

Recycle and Reuse

Save Our Beach
The group organizes monthly beach clean ups in Seal Beach and other coastal areas; the Save Our Beach website also offers tips for handling home, garden and automotive waste. Info.

Hazardous Household Waste, E-Waste: Curbside, Inc.
The Save Our Beach website also notes that pick up is now available in Seal Beach of hazardous waste and other items that are not to be placed in the trash or recycling bins — including batteries (alkaline, NICAD, lead acid), fluorescent lamps, mercury thermometers, all electronics (including tv’s computers, cell phones), and non-controlled medicines. Home pickup is not available for ammunition, nuclear/radioactive waste, explosives or commercial chemicals. Information and pick up scheduling: call Curbside, Inc., 800-449-7587.

Regional Hazardous Waste Center
Hazardous household waste can also be disposed of at the Huntington Beach Regional Hazardous Waste Collection Center, Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Closed on rainy days, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas and New Years Days.) E-waste disposal at this facility is limited to televisions and computer monitors. Proof of OC residency is required. For more information, call: 714-834-6752.

California E-waste Recycling Resource
The State of California Integrated Waste Management Board offers a great online tool that helps you find a responsible destination for your e-waste. Users enter the kind of waste they have and the county they live in to get a list of recycling or reuse sites, complete with telephone numbers and web addresses. See it here.

Seal Beach Beverage Container Recycle Station
Small recycle station, owned by re Planet, in the parking lot outside Pavilions, 1101 Pacific Coast Hwy. The stations pays CA redemption value on glass, aluminum and plastic containers — basically anything that has CRV on the label. Also accepted are items such a detergent bottles, whiskey bottles, shampoo bottles, and milk jugs by the pound. No paper recycling here. Open 9am-4pm daily, except Monday and Wednesday.

CSULB Recycling Center
Students and community members can donate recyclable materials and redeem CA Redemption Value beverage containers. The center is at the northwest point of the CSULB campus at 5800 Atherton St. in Long Beach, across the parking lot from the Pyramid. Info.

Stats: “In an average month the Recycling Center collects and processes more than 110,000 pounds of material that might otherwise be disposed of in landfills. This includes approximately 300,000 beverage containers. The aluminum cans recycled at the center in one month save the equivalent of 7,488 gallons of gasoline or enough energy to operate a television 24 hours a day for 55 years. The soda and water bottles recycled each month conserve 88 million BTUs. The paper recycling each month conserves 213,500 gallons of water and 518 trees. One month’s glass recycling saves 3,650 pounds of mining waste.”

Rossmoor RHA Paper Fund Drive
On the last Saturday of each month, from 8am-1pm, bring old newspapers to the east side of Rossmoor Park, 3232 Hedwig Road, to be recycled. Proceeds go to the RHA Paper Drive Fund which benefits community improvement projects and youth group support. Information: 562-799-1401 or online.

City of Los Alamitos Reycling Services
The city contracts with neighboring Cypress for recycling services, including used motor oil recycling, and e-waste and hazardous material disposal. Details and contact info.

More waste and recycling information is available from the county via OC.gov.

Backyard gardens, sustainable food and other resources

Some handy links:

Long Beach Green Guide: A handy collection of local resources and area events.

SoCal Harvest: Volunteer organization in Long Beach that invites home gardeners to share extra produce with needy local families.

Slow Food LA: Local chapter of national group promotes food that is local, seasonal and sustainably grown.

West Coast Seafood Watch: An online guide to healthy and environmentally friendly fish choices.

Kitchen Gardeners International: Site offers pointers for kitchen gardening, home-cooking, and sustainable local food systems.

Do you know of other green resources in our area? Please use our contact form to let us know.