Congratulations to the Storm Drain Art Winners!

RVAH20 and the Richmond Department of Public Utilities announced the winners of the 2016 Storm Drain Art Project contest. Out of 55 entries, a panel of judges that included members of the Richmond Public Art Commission and the DPU Stormwater team selected:

"You Drop It, I Drink It" by Abby Klein
"The James" by Nicole Gomez
"Clean through the Drain" by Melissa Geedy
"Endangered" by Alfonso Perez Acosta
"Only Rain the the Drain" by Richard Lucente

All five artists submitted designs that successfully combined artistic elements with the project's suggested themes of "It All Drains to the James," the James River ecosystem and environmental protection.

Voting is now open for the Fan Favorite. Check out the winning designs along Tredegar Street in downtown Richmond and vote for your favorite here by July 31.

To view the winning designs and all the entries, go here.

Recycling Happiness

Effective July 1, 2016, Central Virginia Waste Management is accepting many more items through their curbside and drop-off recycling programs. Those items include plastic containers 1 through 7, lids and caps to plastic containers, water bottles, soft drink bottles, juice and sports drink bottles, mouthwash bottles, ketchup bottles, mustard and salad dressing bottles, vegetable oil bottles, peanut butter jars, jelly, jams and pickle jars, plastic coffee containers, plastic drink mix containers, cake frosting rubs, plastic drinking cups, margarine and butter tubs, plastic flower pots, medicine and pill bottles, and waxy coated cartons for milk, juice, juice boxes, soup, wine, cream, egg substitutes, and cat food boxes.

Just be sure each item is thoroughly rinsed out or run through the dish washer to remove food residue.

Do not recycle pizza boxes! Because of the food residue, those boxes still go in the trash. Also, Styrofoam containers, packing peanuts, and all plastic bags are still not recyclable. Plastic bags should be collected and taken to the recycling bins in grocery and big box stores like Target and Wal-Mart. Stores like Best Buy accept old ink cartridges, and Home Depot can take fluorescent light bulbs.

Here's more tips on how to recycle all sorts of things.