Category Archives: Waste Recycling ‘How To’

Waste Recycling How To Information

EPA Announces Grants To Reduce Diesel Emissions

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced over two million dollars in grants available through the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) to businesses and municipalities on the West Coast and in the Pacific Island Territories. The grants, designed to help reduce the amount of diesel emissions released into the environment by heavy construction equipment and large vehicles such as buses and tractor trailers, will be administered through the West Coast Collaborative and the EPA.

The funds will be used to clean up ninety three heavy- and medium-duty diesel engines, and reduce nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and carbon dioxide. By helping to promote clean diesel technology, the emissions reductions will help to improve environmental conditions in communities where older diesel engines can be found. The project is also expected to bring about public health benefits as well.

Some of the West Coast Collaborative projects for the prior year were:

  • California Air Resources Board: to retrofit diesel school buses.
  • Pima Association of Governments: replaced diesel school buses with natural gas buses.
  • Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management: replaced diesel garage trucks with renewable natural gas generated from food waste.
  • South Coast Air Quality Management: replaced older school buses with fully electric powered buses.
  • Port of Oakland: repowered diesel rubber tire cranes with Hybrid Electric Power.
  • Arizona’s Office of Energy Policy: repowered old construction equipment with Tier 3 engines.
  • Puget Sound Clean Air: replaced diesel trucks with liquefied natural gas.

WastCare Wants You to Remember: Is your business or municipal leadership staying aware of funding opportunities available through the EPA? Connecting with your regional office, or following the national agency’s news releases, can help to prepare you to take advantage of these grant programs when they arise!

Recycle on the Go Helps Airports Reduce Waste

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The United States Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) offers the Recycle on the Go program as a way to encourage recycling in transportation centers and public places such as airports. Participation in the program is to assist those airport facilities and businesses to achieve a forty percent waste diversion or recycling rate. The overarching goal of the program is to help visitors and travelers remember that recycling and waste reduction is just as easy as important when they are in an airport or airport-operated businesses such as a restaurant or retail shop, as when they are at home. Increased recycling not only helps to preserve the environment and reduce the space needed in landfills, but it can also help to cost the yearly waste disposal fees that facility owners must pay to dispose of materials thrown away in the garbage.

Here are just a few of the suggestions for better waste mangaement strategies in an airport facility:

1) Airports are waste generators of items such as beverage and food containers, newspapers and office paper, and cardboard. These items are ideal for recycling so having clearly marked and regularly placed recycling bins can help reduce mixing of trash with recyclables.

2) Make sure the recycling bins are visible and contain simple signage in a variety of languages such as English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Russian to help ensure that all travelers can understand what waste materials go in which bins. If multiple languages cannot be placed on a sign, use symbols for paper, plastic, and garbage.

3) Stress the importance of recycling and reducing waste in signs and recorded messages available throughout the terminals. Placing information on the airport’s website can also stress to visitors and travelers the importance of properly disposing of their unwanted materials.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you’re responsible for managing the facility of a large travel hub, such as an airport, it’s important to regularly review your waste disposal practices. You may find that by promoting recycling, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of tonnage you send to landfills every year!

Keeping School Buildings Healthy And Green

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing information and resources to municipalities, school administrators, and school building facilities managers on how to create and maintain an environmentally friendly and healthy school environments.

Called “Lessons for a Green and Healthy School,” this exhibit and corresponding materials outlines best-practice techniques for obtaining a green-efficient and healthy school building environment.

The display and program provides information about the EPA’s recommended strategies, resources, and programs that serve to protect the health of teachers, staff, and students during the hours when they are in school. It is estimated that more than twenty five percent of total weekly hours are spent in a school building for those involved with education and an unhealthy environment can contribute to illness and long-term health problems. Schools that have healthy heating, cooling, and lighting arrangements have been shown to help to promote the development of children and learning.

The EPA is providing information and resources in five different categories. These include:

  1. energy efficiency,
  2. integrated pest management,
  3. air quality,
  4. storm water management, and
  5. green cleaning materials.

Schools can opt to participate in all areas or select those that present the most crititcal need to their school building or district. EPA national programs such as Tools for Schools; Design for the Environment, and Energy Star are also featured in the program with information about how schools can join and take advantage of additional resources.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: A healthy building not only means healthy, productive employees but it also means reduced costs in energy use, heating and cooling, and payroll loss due to sickness or poor working conditions. Making simple changes can result in big improvements and potential profits!

Recycling Record For State Fair

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Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa is a popular annual event, attracting both local residents and tourists from all over the United States. This year, the event planners and administrators behind this week-and-a-half long Fair wanted to make sure that waste disposal costs were kept to a minimum while waste recycling rates were maximized. After working with Waste Management, the national waste disposal firm contracted to handle all waste and recycling for the Fair, to develop a strategic plan, at the close of the Fair they were able to report that the recycling rate reached an all-time high.

It was reported that the total weight for recycled waste, which included items such as paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and others, topped thirty five tons bypassing last year’s collection amount of twenty nine tons. In the last three years, the total amount of recyclable material collect has nearly doubled. The Fair brought over one million people to Des Moines this year over an eleven day period.

With a goal to not only increase recycling at the Fairgrounds but to educate visitors, attendees, and participants in continuing recycling after they leave, all involved feel that the strategy was a success and will be built upon in the years to follow.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: You don’t have to go it alone when it comes to improving your recycling rate! Be sure to involve your contracted waste hauler about the recycling services they offer and how they can help. If the company you work with doesn’t offer those services, maybe it’s time to look for another who can!

 

Apple Starts New Recycling Program

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The internationally popular computer and cell phone maker, Apple, has come forward with a consumer-focused plan to make it easier to recycle old iPhones and receive credit toward the purchase of a new one. The new program will be called iPhone Reuse and Recycling and be available at all Apple retail store locations.

The program, which started at select stores in late summer, and will roll out to other locations throughout the fall months, allows any individual with a valid cell phone contract using the iPhone to trade their unwanted, out dated, or used phone for store credit. The credit is designed to be used towards purchasing a new iPhone. The only qualification for participating is that the used cell phone must be in working order in order to participate and receive store credit funds.

The launch of Apple’s new recycling program coincides with the company’s release of the new iPhone 5S. Expected to be a popular choice among iPhone users, the recycling plan will provide consumers with a safe and easy way to recycle their old cell phones while receiving some credit towards a new one.

Wastecare Wants You to Remember: Providing product recycling solutions to your customers is a great way to encourage recycling and enhance the buying cycle. This strategy works well for all kinds of electronics waste such as cell phones, computers, and home electronics as these items have value on the after-market once they are dismantled. However, if you think creatively, you might be able to offer a similar bring-back program for other items that have value in your area.

 

Ontario City Sets Waste Diversion Record

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A Canadian city has recently announced that it has surpassed the California city of San Francisco as the new leading municipality for overall waste diversion and recycling in North America.

City administrators from Markham, Ontario, part of the Toronto area, have announced that the city has attained a eighty one percent waste diversion rate, beating San Francisco’s eighty percent diversion rate. City officials are citing the use of new, clear garbage bags to help residents ensure that garbage is free of food scraps and organic waste and recyclable materials.

Markham had successfully held a seventy percent diversion rate for many years, but waste officials knew they needed to try something different if they wanted to continue the improvement. Switching to mandatory clear plastic garbage bags, along with the city provided bins for food compost and recyclables, resulted in the ability to see items being categorized as garbage – so “hiding” recyclables n trash bags increased in difficulty.

The jump in waste recycling and diversion is even more remarkable when one considers the city was at a thirty three percent diversion rate in 2001.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Even if your business or facility is brand new to recycling and waste diversion, it pays to remember that everyone has to start somewhere! If your diversion rate is very low, make a consistent effort to improve one year at a time by implementing well considered strategies. Over time, you’ll be saving more in waste disposal fees and on your way to a achieving a zero waste goal!

EPA Helps Teams Go Green

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created a new Resource Directory for “Green Sports” aimed at helping sports teams, athletic facilitates and both professional and recreational leagues tips and strategies for reducing energy and waste.

The resource directory provides information on how to reduce the negative environmental impact sports and sports fan can cause and participate in federal and state programs through the Green Sports Alliance that help teams and venues reduce the amount of energy and water used and trash that must be disposed of. The new directory is divided into categories with resources for improving waste management, energy conservation, water conservation, and other environmentally friendly practices ideal for athletic teams and facilities.

Green Sports will also share success stories of successful cost and energy saving plans to serve as an example to those teams and clubs looking to establish a winning game plan. The Green Sports Alliance currently has one hundred and eighty members. Participants range from professional and collegiate teams and athletic venues and stadiums throughout the nation.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you are responsible for maintaining sports and recreation grounds, take some time and look at the tips and suggestions provided by the Green Sports Alliance. Whether the teams that use your space are Little or Big League-rs, saving money on waste disposal fees is always a winning strategy!

 

 

Auburn University Receives DEM Recycling Grant

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The Alabama Department of Environmental Management recently award the Waste Reduction & Recycling Department of Auburn University’s an eighty five thousand dollar grant to improve recycling services on the college campus.

The funds will be used to purchase recycling bins and equipment to increase the convenience of recycling for the entire university community. The funds will also be used to improve outreach efforts to encourage participation from students, staff, and faculty in local recycling programs. The University first began their campus-wide recycling program in 2005 and has continually looked for ways to enhance and expand the reach of their services.

The grant funds are made available through Alabama’s Solid Wastes and Recyclable Materials Management Act which places a one dollar per ton fee for all waste materials disposed of in state landfills. To date, over one million dollars from the fees collected has been awarded to community groups and organizations looking to reduce waste and improve recycling in the state of Alabama. Auburn University has received close to a quarter of a million dollars from the fund since 2009.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you live in a state that places a fee on landfill dumping, looking into recycling and waste reduction grants might just help your municipal government or local non-profit organization. A special program grant can help to start a new recycling program or energize an existing one. There’s no guarantee that a grant application will be funded, you’ll never know what’s possible if you don’t try!

 

Ohio Launches Restaurant Recycling Program

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The capital city of Columbus, Ohio, is preparing to launch an innovative new recycling program targeting to the city’s restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and eateries. With an aim of increasing the recycling rate of glass bottles, the city hopes to better include these types of businesses in a new glass recycling program that is expected to debut in the city’s popular High Street area by the end of summer.

Calling the program Recycling on High, the business focused waste glass recycling program hope to save the city and businesses money in waste disposal and landfill fees by better capturing the one hundred and fifty tons of glass bottle that are generated each week in the High Street area.

Special recycling bins of various sizes will be provided to restaurants and the glass recyclables will be collected by the city three times each week. The collected glass will be re-used by manufacturers throughout the state and region to make new products such as food containers and insulation.

The program will run for one calendar year, and if deemed success will be extended beyond the High Street area into other neighborhoods through the city.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: What is your city or town doing to involve local businesses with recycling? As the Columbus glass recycling program shows, helping business to reduce waste can also provide other businesses with valuable materials needed for manufacturing new products. Everyone saves when recycling improves!

Increasing Apartment Building Recycling

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Cities wanting to develop effective waste recycling practices for large apartment buildings face a set of challenges different from regular residential or commercial waste management.

Multi-family dwellings are typically defined as a residential building with four or more units. Often, these buildings have limited space to store recyclables making it difficult for those who live there to participate. Some large, older buildings may have hallway chutes for trash disposal, but not recycling – leaving residents to move bins on their own.

In Culver City, California the city received a special grant from CalRecycle, the state’s recycling department, to start a recycling program for apartment buildings in 2011. Residents were encouraged to speak with their property managers to offer recycling services which proved to be the most effective way to get building owners to participate.

To deal with space issues, the city utilized a “scooter” truck to accompany the larger collection truck for those apartment parking garages that were underground and low-ceilinged. The scooter truck, which is frequently used for commercial and industrial trash collection was able to successfully reach recycling areas that a large truck would not.

In the first year the city had participation from twenty eight multi-family buildings and as a result, waste disposal decreased significantly from each participating building and very close to the average rates seen in single family neighborhoods throughout the city.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you’re a building owner or property manager, what kind of recycling services do you offer your tenants? You might find that you’ll be able to save money on your garbage disposal fees by recycling more!