This week, very close to home, we have an exciting opportunity to share: make your own worm composting bin! Also, get educated about Virginia environmental issues; and stories on recycling system design, microplastics in face masks, and environmental health risks.
Upcoming Worm Composting Bin Workshop, October 4th 2-4PM – Green Acres Center, Fairfax
Sign up to make your own worm composting bin to take home! At the workshop, you’ll learn all about composting with worms and you will leave with a fully functional bin (with worms!) ready to start composting your kitchen food scraps. Sponsored by the Northern VA Soil and Water Conservation District, City of Fairfax, Pollinative Sustainable Land Management, and Clean Fairfax. Space is limited. Cost is $10 per bin.
Our Common Agenda – Virginia Conservation Network, August 2025
The Virginia Conservation Network recently published the 2026 legislative briefing book, Our Common Agenda, which summarizes the Commonwealth’s environmental policy landscape. Read up on issues and opportunities to inform yourself in advance of the next legislative session.
To raise recycling rates, look to system design: SWANA – Waste Dive, September 5, 2025
Speakers at a recent conference of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) discussed ways to improve recycling rates and limit contamination of the waste stream. They highlighted the importance of designing effective and easy to understand systems so that residents understand what’s recyclable and how and where to do so. As one put it, “Simply telling residents to recycle more or recycle correctly won’t work unless they have resources to make it happen.”
Disposable face masks used during Covid have left chemical timebomb, research suggests – The Guardian, September 8, 2025
We used billions of plastic-based disposable face masks around the world during the pandemic. A large proportion of them wound up in the environment as litter or escaped trash. A recent study found that – surprise! – they are leaving a significant environmental and health impact, including releasing bisphenol-B, a known hormone disruptor.
The Clue to Unlocking Parkinson’s May Be All Around Us – New York Times, September 8, 2025
Scientific research is confirming links between environmental chemical exposure and the incidence of Parkinson’s Disease. Specifically, the agricultural pesticide, paraquat, looks like a major culprit. Other chemicals like TCE and PCE, commonly used in dry cleaning, may also contribute. Paraquat is banned in many other countries, including the ones that produce it. But in the US, it is still legal.
The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about – Washington Post, September 4, 2025
Phtalates are chemicals commonly found in a range of plastic products, and they’re being linked to more and more health risks, particularly relating to fertility. Pregnant women and infants appear to be especially vulnerable, but these “everywhere chemicals” affect all of us.
