Recycling Bench Update: Our bins should arrive in a week. In the meantime, please start collection of the following items: Grocery bags, Bread bags, Dry cleaning bags, Newspaper sleeves, Ziploc and other reclosable bags, Bubble wrap, Cereal bags, Produce bags, Ice bags, Wood pellet bags, Case overwrap and Salt bags. Simply bag them up in a trash bag or a large grocery bag, and once the collection bins are placed in town, you can begin the drop-off. Our goal is 500 lbs. of materials between EARTH DAY (4/22) and October 22nd. Putting a collection bin beside your trash can at home can help your family make good decisions about waste disposal. BUSINESS OWNERS: We are in need of locations in town willing to host a collection bin for the 6 month period. Besides hosting the bin you will have no responsibilities, as volunteers will collect the materials on a regular basis. Please reach out to me on facebook or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to offer your space.
Recycle benches
TREX, a company that makes recycled plastic wood substitutes, offers the opportunity to win a FREE recycled park bench to communities that participate in a recycling program. I'm reaching out to gauge public interest and see if any businesses in our town would be interested in hosting a drop-off bin. To win a bench, we would need to collect 500 pounds of plastic refuse in a six-month span (about 40,500 plastic bags), which sounds crazy, but that's only about 11 bags per resident (based on ~3,700 population). Please reach out to me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by message if you have interest as I am happy to head up this effort.
Collecting Sap
Merchantville's Maple Project is up and as of 2/2/25 the sap is running. We have 10 volunteer teams collecting from 49 sugar maple trees on municipal property and 4 additional trees on homeowner property. Volunteers are checking buckets daily, collecting the sap daily while it's flowing and pouring off into 5 and 6-gallon storage buckets beneath the back deck at the Community Center. They check sap for any risk of spoilage to make sure it is clear and odorless. If it has a cloudy or yellow appearance, a foul odor,
The Merchantville Maple Project
Incredible Edible (IE) Merchantville is a Borough sustainability partner within the Green Team. It began in 2018 as a grassroots project with a mission to nurture environmental stewardship and food security through the development of edible landscapes. Our goals are to support food security, promote good health, foster sustainable living and connect communities. Two years ago, IE became interested in becoming a HUB for the Stockton University Maple Project. This project is funded through a USDA grant
Up-cycle gardening ideas
Gardeners are a pretty thrifty bunch and it’s in the garden where repurposing old items into new really comes into its own. From transforming tins into planters to repurposing old furniture for storing produce, there are countless ways to put worn out or unwanted items to good use in the garden. In this short video we’ll share some of our favorite garden up-cycling ideas. If you love growing your own food, why not try some of these clever recycling ideas.
We're Tapping!
On Saturday, February 1st, Merchantville's Maple Project held it's initial workshop and Sugar Maple tapping event. Over 65 adults and kids attended the session lead by Lindsey brown and Debbie Sommers fro The Stockton University Maple Project. The Stockton Maple Project continuously offers educational workshops to members of our local community and to educators in P-12 schools that incorporate science, sustainability, and reciprocity - a Native American and ecological concept focused on returning resources
IE @Stockton's Maple Project
Our mission at Incredible Edible Merchantville is to nurture environmental stewardship through the development of edible landscapes that support food security, promote a healthy culture, connect community and foster a sustainable future. Stockton University's Maple Project is currently looking to identify several more hubs before the maple season starts in January and our team is working to pilot this program in town. We recently received a $1000 grant from Sustainable South Jersey's Caren Kaufman Memorial Grant to pursue this initiative.