MAILBAG:

The bottom line is that if the Newport Beach City Council hadn’t dithered around for such an interminable amount of time about where to locate a new city hall, this last election would not have been necessary!

We elect our officials to make decisions for us; but if they won’t or can’t, the citizens too often have to take matters into their own hands.

By the way, has anyone ever found out what the plans were for the “park” above the library? What was the timeline on changing that from an unsightly weed patch into a park?

NORA LEHMAN

Newport Beach

Donate goods instead of sending to landfills

Thank you for publishing a story on our green efforts to rebuild our home (“Starting over solar,” Feb. 4.)

My wife and I would like to mention one more item on our list of things we are doing.

This might help your readers learn more ways they can be eco-friendly in their own remodeling projects. The article mentioned conservation of water, electricity and gas in the finished house, but another important thing to save is landfill. When it was time to plan the house’s demolition we thought: If something were still usable, why not donate it? Then, if not still usable, is it recyclable?

We have donated things like sinks, cabinets, lighting fixtures, doors, etc. to Habitat for Humanity so that these items can serve other purposes and not wind up in a trash dump. Our demo debris such as drywall, lumber, concrete and more went to a construction recycling center.

There they sort all materials for reuse or recycling. Facilities like this may cost a little more, but they guarantee reuse of at least half of the materials brought in.

In addition to conserving resources, we are also working hard to find suppliers that are green as well. Our new doors, floors and cabinetry will be built using sustainable materials. We will try to select as many products as possible that are recycled, made of post-consumer materials, or sustainable products.

Building green and building solar is as new to us as many of the people who read about it. We are actively trying to learn more about what we can do that supports the green effort, and trying to do what we can to conserve.

BARBARA AND BILL SWITZENBERG

Costa Mesa

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