Celebrating Earth Day at Timber Ridge

Timber Ridge has been specially-designed to be environmentally sensitive and sustainable, while offering enhanced comfort and healthier living conditions. A green lifestyle has proven to be an important component for senior individuals as they search for communities to match their lifestyles and values.

To celebrate Earth Day and highlight the different ways to stay green and be environmentally responsible, Timber Ridge and residents are enhancing sustainable initiatives throughout the community.

Timber Ridge offers eco to-go containers for residents. Prior to using Eco-Ware takeout containers, the Food and Beverage Department went through 5,000 paper compostable containers per month.

Food waste is traditionally disposed in regular garbage and transferred to landfills such as the 2,500-acre Roosevelt Regional Landfill. In 2008, Timber Ridge decided to set an example with its food and paper composting program. All food waste is placed in a three-yard composting dumpster awaiting biweekly pickup from Cedar Grove, an organic recycling company.

This food waste recycling program allows Timber Ridge to divert an estimated 55 tons of compostable waste annually from the landfill. Instead, the waste is processed by Cedar Grove into nutrient-rich soil products, which is used to grow healthier flowers, trees, shrubs and lawns.

“The community really places an emphasis on sustainable green initiatives and the residents love to get involved,” said Robert Clark, resident green advocate. “We are working to increase people’s knowledge of changes they can make to help the community and environment.”

Timber Ridge also partners with Recology CleanScapes, a zero-waste program that helps inform people on the importance of recycling and ways they can help.

Robert works with a Recology representative to gather information and have presentations scheduled for Earth Day to get residents excited about staying green.

As a former oceanographer, Robert also gives educational talks on climate change, local environment and history to residents.

“Everyone at Timber Ridge is eager to learn,” Robert said. “It’s great to have a community so willing to be involved and work together to do our part for the area and environment.”