The Environmental Digest is a list of brief news items about the actions of individuals, organizations and businesses that affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the landscape that surrounds us. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact environment reporter Peter B. Lord at (401) 277-8036, or by e-mail at plord@projo.com or by writing him, care of The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.

Hazardous, e-waste recycling planned

 Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation and the Town of West Greenwich will host an e-waste recycling and Eco-Depot collection from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, June 20, at the West Greenwich Town Hall, 280 Victory Highway.

 The collection is free and all Rhode Island households are invited to dispose of small amounts of household hazardous waste, such as poisons and chemicals including cleaners, pool chemicals, oil-based paints, propane tanks, fluorescent light bulbs and fertilizers.

 Computers and televisions cannot be disposed of in local trash collections but Eco-Depot collections take them for free.  To reduce waiting time, appointments are necessary for Eco-Depot drop-offs. Call (401) 942-1430 ext 241, or sign up online at www.rirrc.org and click on the Eco-Depot logo on the right-hand side of the page. No appointment is necessary for e-waste recycling.

DEM funds available for pumpout facilities

 The Department of Environmental Management is accepting applications from qualified public and private marinas, yacht clubs and municipalities to construct, replace, retrofit and maintain marine pumpout boats and land-based pumpout facilities.

 Up to $18,750 is available for each land-based facility grant, and up to $56,250 is available for each pumpout boat. Each type requires a 25-percent match.  Applications are available on the DEM Web site, www.dem.ri.gov, by clicking on “Topics,” then “Sewage Treatment,” then “Marine Pumpouts.”

 Applications are also available at the DEM’s Office of Water Resources at 235 Promenade St. in Providence from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. The deadline for submitting applications is July 6. The DEM expects to announce selected projects and begin issuing grant agreements by the end of July.

 For more information, call Joseph Migliore at the DEM at (401) 222-3961 ext. 7258, or e-mail at joseph.migliore@dem.ri.gov.

Presentations planned on the natural world in R.I.

 Every Wednesday night throughout the summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hosting expert presentations on the natural world in Rhode Island and beyond. For the complete schedule, check out the bulletin board at http://www.charlestowncitizens.org/cbb.html.

Public invited to stakeholder meeting

 The state Coastal Resources Management Council invites the public to the Ocean Special Area Management Plan stakeholder group meeting from 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, June 30, in Hazard Rooms A & B at the Narragansett Bay Campus, University of Rhode Island. Robert Kenney will give a presentation on marine mammals and sea turtles.

 The Ocean SAMP stakeholder group promotes a balanced approach to considering the development and protection of Rhode Island’s ocean-based resources. For more information call Jennifer McCann at (401) 874-6127, e-mail mccann@crc.uri.edu, or visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu/oceansamp.

Talk on climate change set for July 18 in Newport

 The 10th annual summer community lecture series, sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant and the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension/Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at the Newport Public Library Program Room, 300 Sprint St.

 Kate Moran, an associate dean of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography and Pam Rubinoff, URI Coastal Resources Center/ Rhode Island Sea Grant coastal management extension specialist, will discuss Understanding Climate Change: What it Means for Rhode Islanders. To register for the free lecture call (401) 874-6800.

Volunteers needed for annual butterfly count

 The Audubon Society of Rhode Island seeks butterfly enthusiasts for its sixth annual butterfly count from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays, June 27 and July 11. Amateurs and experts team up to identify and record all the butterflies they can spot in one day. Orientation sessions before the count will help participants identify butterflies.

 There is a $5 participation fee for adults; no charge for children younger than 12. Participants may choose to survey for the whole day or for a shorter period if they choose.

 Attendance at one of the following Audubon Orientation meetings/Butterfly Identification Workshops is required to prepare for the count: Tuesday, June 23, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Portsmouth Free Public Library, 2658 East Main Rd., Portsmouth; Wednesday, July 1, 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Audubon headquarters, Powder Mill Ledges Refuge, 12 Sanderson Rd., Smithfield; Tuesday, July 7, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Kettle Pond Visitor Center, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown; and Thursday, July 9, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Audubon’s Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge, Pardon Joslin Road, Exeter.

 To register for the event and arrange a survey site, or for more information, contact July Lewis at jlewis@asri.org, or call (401) 949-5454 ext 3044.

Photo entries sought for Bay tide calendar

 The editor of the Narragansett Bay Research Reserve’s tide calendar for the Bay invites photographers to enter an image in the 2010 calendar photo contest.

 Submitted photos should show the Bay and may include landscapes, portraits of wildlife above or below the water, plant life, or people interacting with the Bay.

Submissions are due by July 31.  The winning photograph will be on the cover of the 2010 calendar. More information about the contest and specific directions for entering images can be found at: www.nbnerr.org/contest.htm.