Collingswood Goes Green This Saturday

Help paint the town green this Saturday, April 16, during Collingswood's Third-Annual Green Festival.

Along Irvin Avenue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the borough will envelop springtime in an environmentally conscious local atmosphere.

The Green Festival—known to locals as GreenFest—will run as Camden County's Hazardous Waste Collection simultaneously operates a few blocks away, at the Collingswood Public Works Department garage, located at 713 North Atlantic Ave.

According to the borough website, the joint borough-county venture will make environmental practices a convenience to locals.

"Green-minded residents can drop-off hazardous waste safely (at public works), and then check out the fair (on Irvine Avenue) to learn what businesses, organizations and other residents are doing to be green," Collingswood wrote about Green Festival. 

The fair will be ongoing throughout the afternoon, with dozens of local shops and vendor booths on-site, to exhibit green wares and distribute environmental information and host green demonstrations.

GreenFest guests can learn how to be "greener," while shopping around at the festival, enjoying food and music. 

"It's easy to give back and go green," said Collingswood Borough Commissioner Joan Leonard, an event director and locally known environmental advocate. "People who have long been recycling and making the extra effort learn new tricks at this festival, and first-timers walk away feeling like they can do so much by just making a few, small changes."

Also present at this year's GreenFest, Collingswood Bike Share will provide cyclists with a free tune-up during its Bicycle Safety Refresher.

Guests can talk to borough businesses that offer customers eco-friendly and sustainable merchandise. Soil-Testing Kits will also be available for purchase at GreenFest, so that gardeners can learn environmentally conscious planting techniques before gardening this year.

GreenFest-goers will gain access to locavore movement information—which has practitioners purchasing and consuming only locally grown, sustainable food items—and can talk to experts about benefits of cloth-diapering.

Attendees can learn how to be part of one of the most largely used green methods—composting. Compost Bin and Rain Barrel program representatives will be at GreenFest, signing-up guests to receive subsidized, $25 composters and $45 barrels. A treat, since composters usually run $50 each, barrels at $75. Guests may sign-up for these items at the festival, or may do so prior to GreenFest so that products will be ready to take home on Saturday. Classes will also be provided, teaching new users how to use each method.

According to the borough, compost programs are available through a recycling grant from Camden County. Bins and barrels will be available on a first-come, first-serve buyer basis. Quantities are limited, and Collingswood event directors expect a sell-out. Those interested in pre-ordering may pay via check at borough hall, located at 678 Haddon Ave. Questions about composting methods can be directed to Commissioner Leonard, at JLeonard@collingswood.com.

Local drives will be collecting your unused items at GreenFest, including adult and children's clothing, toys, cell phones, shoes, corks, Brita water filters, ink printer cartridges, alkaline batteries, button and rechargeable batteries, books, Capri Sun juice drink pouches, and more. So bag-up unwanted things to drop off Saturday.

Financial donations to maintain The Knight Park's natural scape are welcomed. Purchase a tree-and-bench package for $600, and dedicate them to a loved one. For more information about dedications, contact Commissioner Leonard at 856-858-4545.

To learn more about the Third-Annual Green Festival, visit the festival page on the borough's website.

With Green Festival just five days away, Commissioner Leonard said Collingswood is putting the finishing touches on its annual event.

"We are getting everything done in the borough that needs to be done for our Green Festival," Leonard said at last Monday's commission meeting. "It you want to get in the spirit of what a great town (Collingswood) is, come out on Saturday and bring all your friends. It's a great way to get everybody together and learn something about the environment."