Smoke Alarm Safety
October is a great time to check smoke alarms
Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical staff encourages residents to check their smoke alarms to make sure they are in working order. However, many people still do not have working alarms and are at risk if a fire would break out at their home.
“Twice a year, you should check your smoke alarm battery, clean the area around the detector for dust or debris, and check to make sure the alarm is working,” said Eve Tolefree, division chief for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.
Fast Facts on Smoke Alarms
- Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half.
- Most homes (96%) have at least one smoke alarm and 75% of all homes have at least one working smoke alarm.
- Each year, nearly 3,000 people die in U.S. home fires.
- Two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
- In over half of the reported home fires, in which smoke alarms were present but did not operate, batteries were missing or disconnected.
- In fires considered large enough to activate a smoke alarm, hard-wired alarms operated 91% of the time; battery-powered smoke alarms operated 75% of the time.
Electronic Recycling Event will be October 23rd
In an effort to encourage recycling of old, non-working electronics, the City of Lawrence will host an electronic recycling event on Saturday, October 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Free State High School north parking lot, 4700 Overland Drive.
Items accepted for recycling include televisions, computers, printers, scanners, fax machines, small appliances (including microwave and toaster ovens), phones and other hand held devices. There is a recycling fee for computer monitors, $10 per monitor, and televisions, $15 per television. There are no recycling charges for other electronic equipment. Fees may be paid by cash or check..
Electronic recycling will be provided by Extreme Recycling, a permitted e-waste recycling and reclamation facility in the State of Kansas. Extreme.
Recycling adheres to a zero landfill tolerance policy. All materials received are disassembled down to the commodity level and remarketed to domestic vendors.
For further information, please contact the Waste Reduction and Recycling Division at (785) 832-3030 or visit LawrenceRecycles.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How is the city addressing needs related to street maintenance in Lawrence?
A: The City of Lawrence places street maintenance as one of our top priorities. In 2010, the city is spending $6.4 million on street maintenance. In 2011, the city has allocated over $5.7 million from property tax supported funds for several projects and $5.6 million from the Infrastructure Sales Tax fund.
In the 2011 City Budget, City Commissioners approved the funding for the acquisition of a truck-mounted spray injection patcher. This vehicle will be helpful in patching potholes during the winter and spring months when patching conditions are not desirable due to cold weather.
Lawrence Celebrates America Recycles Day
America Recycles Day, November 15, is a nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle. The purpose of America Recycles Day is to continue to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and to encourage more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment.
Top 10 Reasons to Recycle
- Recycling is good for our economy: American companies rely on recycling programs to provide the raw materials they need to make new products.
- Recycling creates jobs: Recycling in the U.S. is a $236 billion a year industry. More than 56,000 recycling and reuse enterprises employ 1.1 million workers nationwide.
- Recycling reduces waste: The average American discards 7.5 pounds of garbage every day. Most of this garbage goes into landfills, where it’s compacted and buried.
- Recycling is good for the environment: Recycling requires far less energy, uses fewer natural resources, and keeps waste from piling up in landfills.
- Recycling saves energy: Recycling offers significant energy savings over manufacturing with virgin materials. (Manufacturing with recycled aluminum cans uses 95% less energy.)
- Recycling preserves landfill space: No one wants to live next door to a landfill. Recycling preserves existing landfill space.
- Recycling prevents global warming: Recycling of solid waste prevents the release of millions of metric tons of carbon equivalent into the air.
- Recycling reduces water pollution: Making goods from recycled materials generates far less water pollution than manufacturing from virgin materials.
- Recycling protects wildlife: Using recycled materials reduces the need to damage forests, wetlands, rivers, and other places essential to wildlife.
- Recycling creates new demand: Recycling and buying recycled products creates demand for more recycled products, decreasing waste and helping our economy. Source: National Recycling Coalition
For more information on recycling, contact the Waste Reduction and Recycling Division at (785) 832-3030 or visit LawrenceRecycles.org or facebook.com/LawrenceRecycles.