4 Winter 2021-2022 Community Update Newsletter

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HOLIDAY SAFETY & CRIME PREVENTION TIPS Some holiday safety tips from the Louisville Police Department's Crime Prevention Specialist Scott Moore. At Home Make sure all doors and windows have secondary locks (window pins, deadbolts, dowels, etc.) and use them. Don't hide spare keys outside. Give a spare key to a trusted neighbor. Ensure that dark areas and entrances have outdoor lights that are on after dark. Keep trees and shrubbery trimmed so they do not conceal doors and windows. Overgrown foliage can provide a hiding place for criminals. Place gifts where they can't be seen from the outside. Be sure to mail cards, checks or gift certificates from the Post Office or at a blue U.S. Postal Service collection box. Lock your vehicle and remove all the valuables. Yes, even in your driveway. Package Delivery Set up notifications to track your packages. Install a security camera. Get your packages delivered to your office. Require a Signature on Delivery. Reschedule delivery or ask for a package hold when on vacation. Try smart locks so you don't need keys to lock up. Get a package guard. Insure your packages. Ask Your Neighbors to Grab Your Packages Leaving for the Holidays Ask a trusted friend or neighbor to watch your home. Use timers for lights and radios while you're away. Remember to make arrangements for mail and news- papers. After the Holidays Don't advertise expensive toys, electronics, or other gifts received by the boxes left for garbage collections. Add new items to your home inventory. Take photos or video of all items of value in your home and list each item's make, model, serial number and other information. See page 10 for Fire Safety Tips. 'TIS THE SEASON TO THINK SUSTAINABLY As much as many of us love the holiday season, the reality is that it can be the most wasteful time of the year. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's, Americans throw away 25% more trash than usual. As we celebrate the holidays, it pays to be mindful of sustainable consumption, and to recycle and compost what we can. Here are a few green holiday tips: • Buy fewer batteries: Look for gifts that don't require batteries. If you must buy a product that needs batteries, buy rechargeable batteries and give them with the gift. • Recycle your old lights: Holiday string lights can be recycled at the Center for Hard -to -Recycle Materials (CHaRM) at 6400 Arapahoe Road, Boulder. Visit ecocycle.org/charm for fees, hours and directions to the CHaRM. • Online shopping waste: Sending and receiving packages can create a lot of waste. Take your plastic packaging "pillows', plastic mailers (unlined or lined with bubble wrap), bubble wrap, and white packaging foam to CHaRM. • Wrapping paper: Wrapping paper should not end up in your curbside recycling bin! Wrapping paper is a very low-grade material and normally considered a contaminant in the recycling bin because of its high clay and ink content and low fiber content. For any questions regarding holiday recycling and composting, contact Katie Baum, Sustainability Coordinator, at KBaum@LouisvilleCO.gov or 303.335.4534. CHRISTMAS TREE COMPOSTING Residents participating in the city-wide solid waste program with Republic Services can dispose of Christmas trees free of charge on their usual compost day during the week of January 3 or the week of January 18. Trees need to be placed next to the compost bin and must be cut in half (each piece no more than 4 feet in length) and tied together with rope or twine. Trees can also be collected as a bulk item. If you have any questions, contact Republic Customer Service 303.286.5400 (Monday -Friday 8 AM - 5 PM) or visit LouisvilleCO.gov/Republic and complete the website contact form. The City's branch recycle site (open January 8-9, 2022) will also take Christmas trees from Louisville residents (proof of residency required). Visit LouisvilleCO.gov/LeafandBranch for details and directions. Page 4 • Winter 2021-22