compostable cups, plates, silverware and to-go containers to biodegrade in a way that reduces greenhouse gases, they must be disposed of in commercial composting facilities - a backyard pile won't do the job. When those products get dumped in landfills, they release methane gas, which has greater heattrapping ability than carbon dioxide gas.

The idea of organic wines is a little laughable in Europe. 'I've actually gotten scoffed at,' Joanne Keys, executive director of the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado and co-owner of the West End Wine Shop, says of her inquiries into sustainable wine-making in Europe.

leave a lot of footprints, but there's one that running shoe companies are starting to pay more attention to: the one on the environment. Running shoes are made with plastic, polyester and synthetic glues.

'With each of those memberships, each of those levels, every ride you take under an hour is free,' says Elizabeth Train, Boulder B-cycle's director of community engagement. 'You can ride all day, if you ride for an hour, dock it, take a new bike, and ride for an hour.'

A dozen Nederland residents sat down on May 9 to start planning how to craft a vision statement for their community that will empower residents to take action - Nederland's Envision 2020.

Part of the problem with plastic - as much as we enjoy clear plastic wraps, resealable food containers, and infant incubators - is that plastics, once created, don't ever go away.

'It's a state-of-the-art facility,' says David Nightingale, principal at Special Wastes Association in Olympia, Wash., author of the HHW Collection Facility Design Guide and a consultant to the Boulder County project.

If Bo and Nancy DeAngelo's kids are hunting for eggs this weekend, it won't be the first time this week they've gone to the yard looking for eggs. And the ones they'll return with won't be hard-boiled and dyed. They'll be freshly laid and ready to be made into breakfast.

The 75th Street center, which receives and treats all commercial and industrial waste from the city of Boulder, is equipped to handle up to 25 million gallons of wastewater daily. The actual amount is closer to 15 million gallons, which is treated through physical, microbiological and chemical methods.

If you use municipal water, you can't use a rain barrel or cistern to collect rain that would otherwise run off or disappear into areas where it's not needed. Having a private well may grant you a permit to use rainwater for irrigation, but not if the well is already restricted for.