Welcome to the Shoreway Environmental Center
SanMateo.Patch.com published a story about the students from Baywood Elementary School in San Mateo, CA. They were the first group of students to participate in the free tour of the solar-powered ReThink Waste Shoreway Environmental Center.
The students learned about the 4Rs, resource conservation, the CartSMART recycling, composting and garbage collection program, and met Recyclist, the talking robot made from recycled materials. The grand opening also featured haute couture fashion modeled by some of Recology’s zero waste staff. This fun field trip is more than an introduction to recycling.
Learning about resource conservation and a resource recovery program like CartSMART is essential in preparing students for the world they will inherit. Recently, the National Climatic Data Center, a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), published a graphic showing some of the significant climate anomolies and events that occurred across the world 2011. Among them were extremely hot weather in the United States and the United Kingdom, France, Spain Switzerland, and Finland, and torrential rain and floods across Central America, in Thailand, South Korea, Norway and Brazil, and unusually heavy snowfall in Chile and New Zealand. Extreme weather events are not only disasterous for those whose lives they affect, they are also expensive. The NCDC created a chart to illustrate the growing number of climate and weather disasters since 1980 whose costs exceeded $1 billion.
The connection between resource conservation, resource recovery and the climate is clear only to some. Fortunately, organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have developed educational resources to help bridge the gap. Rethink Waste and the folks at the Shoreway Environmental Center and doing their best to fill in the rest.
A direct portal to a landfill
There was an article posted last week on tinygreenbubble.com about the semantics in the world of resource recovery. Jocelyn Saurini wrote “don’t think that I’m one of those girls on a bandwagon about how San Francisco does everything right. Believe me, I am not that girl. However, the city has nailed one thing fabulously: They’ve found a way to make residents think about landfill size every single time they throw things away.”
During her trip to SF, she discovered that landfill-bound material is collected in a container labeled “landfill” and not “trash” or “garbage”.
Semantics do matter in what we do because the materials that go into the green and blue containers ARE NOT garbage. According to one dictionary, garbage means: “any matter that is no longer wanted or needed; trash.”
But in the areas where we work, what diligent people do every day is make a decision to save our natural resources by recycling and composting. They are not “throwing away” anything except what there is no next best use for. The materials we recycle become the same or next use items. We convert the organics that we collect into compost. Let’s stop calling it garbage.
As for landfill size–yes, landfill space matters. In some communities people do not think about what they throw away and quickly use up the area available to dispose of true garbage. That means they end up having to find more land to use for landfilling “garbage”. But we see a more fundamental problem. Many useful resources are buried in the first place because no recycling alternatives exist.
As for everything that goes in the landfill container, yes its true that has no chance to be recovered. It doesn’t get sorted for usable material. So we depend on people to make the wise choice and minimize the amount of true garbage they put in that container. We know, like Jocelyn does, that “waste doesn’t just disappear.” That’s why we say WASTE ZERO.
Go Green This Memorial Day!
Photograph by Jeff Kubina via flickr.com
No matter what you have planned – a day at the park, a backyard barbecue, or just a simple family gathering – make it green!
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Before everyone arrives, be sure to set out different containers for recycling and composting. This will make it easy for everyone to put items in the right place once they’re done.
Use reusable utensils, bowls and cups. Cloth napkins work great instead of paper napkins. But if you do go with paper plates and napkins, be sure to buy recycled – and then compost them when you’re done.
Pass on those condiment packets! Buying in bulk is cheaper, more convenient and much more eco friendly. For example, provide bottles of ketchup and mustard instead of individual packets.
Avoid Styrofoam! Polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, takes up to 1,000 years to break down, and can’t be recycled! In addition, products made of Styrofoam leach toxic chemicals out into the food or beverage they contain – especially when heated.
Clean off dirty chairs, tables and other outside patio furniture with biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning products instead of using chemical based cleaners.
Grill organic, hormone-free meat, sustainable caught fish and organic fruit and vegetables. Go shopping at your local farmer’s market! The fresh produce and local products will please everyone’s palate, and you’ll help support local farmers. And as a bonus – you can avoid crowded grocery stores!
Grilling:
Over half of all Americans will be having meals from a grill this Memorial Day weekend. While the effects of one or two grills may seem small to you, the overall impact of millions of barbecues around the country can have a very serious impact! Try some of these tips to lessen your bbq footprint:
- While they are still toxic, gas, propane and electric grills burn cleaner and more efficiently than charcoal or wood. Electric grills are the cleanest, releasing 99% less carbon monoxide and 91% less carbon dioxide than charcoal. Next best is propane, followed by natural gas-fired, which burn cleaner.
- If you do use charcoal, consider lump brands. These are made from real hardwood firewood chunks which have been charred and do not contain chemical binders or igniting agents.
- Switch from lighter fluid, which releases smog-forming Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), to a chimney starter.
Cleanup:
Be sure to recycle all the glass bottles, aluminum cans, plastic tubs and bottles from your party.
Remember that paper plates, cups, napkins, plain cardboard and waxy cardboard boxes and containers – they can all be composted.
Be sure to encourage guests to take home leftovers, and remember – leftover food can be composted!
Whatever you end up doing, have a happy and healthy Memorial Day Weekend!
Learn how to WASTE ZERO at the Free Small Business Week Workshop
Don’t Let Your Bottom Line Go To Waste – WASTE ZERO
Recology Sunset Scavenger and Recology Golden Gate, in partnership with the San Francisco Department of the Environment, invite you to attend a lively discussion centered around reducing waste at your business. By maximizing recycling, composting, and reuse options, you can help reduce your impact on climate change, save natural resources, and improve your company’s bottom line.
This interactive panel discussion will focus on the meaning of zero waste, how to take effective steps to reduce waste at your business, and will also provide you with information about the many free resources available help your business go green.
Panel
Bob Besso, Recology
John Hanscom, LEED AP, ESA, Renewable Resources Group
Alex Dmitriew, San Francisco Department of the Environment
Moderator
Chris Levaggi, Recology
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Session 4, 3:20-5:00pm
Small Business Conference
SF State Downtown Campus
What Does Green Mean To You?
Photo by David McLeish via flickr.com
What is “being green”? Does it mean you dye your hair green or wear green clothes?
Or does it mean you are reducing your environmental footprint? We hope so!
“Being green” can be as simple as turning the water off when you brush your teeth! Are you green when you donate your clothes to a local non-profit? Yes! What if the switch broke on my vacuum cleaner? If I take it to the repair shop to get it fixed? Without a doubt!
Being green doesn’t mean you need to save the world (all at once). It just means doing the small things that collectively can have a huge impact on our planet.
Check out RecycleWorks of San Mateo County’s website for things you can do at home or in the community.
Make Every Day Earth Day! Take the Earth Day 2011 Pledge.
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame Residents – It’s Time for BYOB!
It’s a Compost Giveaway on April 16th!
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame residents, join Recology for this Compost Giveaway–just in time for Earth Day!
Each resident is welcome to take up to 5 gallons of compost (while supplies last) made from yard trimmings and food scraps to enrich their gardens.
Compost is used as an amendment to enrich soil for lawns, gardens, trees and plants. By applying soil mixed with nutrient rich compost, you’re putting organic nutrients back into the soil, using a non-chemical alternative to fertilizers and giving a healthy boost to your garden.
Saturday, April 16th
Atherton: Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave, 9AM-Noon
Belmont: City Hall Parking Lot, One Twin Pines Lane, 8-11AM
Burlingame: Burlingame High School, 420 Carolan Ave, 9AM-Noon
Remember, it’s BYOB! Please bring your own bags/buckets.
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame residents only. Please bring proof of residence.
RethinkWaste is also partnering with its member agencies for their Spring Compost Giveaway events in April and May.
Find a list of their events here: http://rethinkwaste.org/residents/beyond-cart/community-events/compost-giveaways
Hello Spring!
Got your clean on?
When it comes to cleaning, many of us don’t realize that our day to day lives are loaded with toxic substances that were designed to make life easier. The average home uses 40 pounds of chemicals each year and stores more than 60 hazardous products!
Ironically, many common household cleaning products are actually classified as hazardous waste. Hazardous chemicals endanger the environment by contaminating our groundwater, lakes and oceans. They can also be dangerous to our own health. A study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that many homes in the U.S. had chemical levels that were 70 times higher than that of the air outside. And 1 in 3 people suffer from allergies, asthma, sinusitis or bronchitis. Reducing synthetic chemicals in the home can greatly reduce symptoms.
Keep reading to learn more about healthier and environmentally responsible alternatives to kick off your spring cleaning!
Recycling =Art
As you know, Recology has promoted the Artist in Residence program for over 20 years! Our innovative program is among our many efforts to reduce landfill-bound material as part of our resource recovery services.
We are warmed to hear that artists around the world are following our lead.
One artist recently created a Nike shoe out of old computer parts. Nike Air Max+ 2011 artist Gabriel Dishaw’s intent in making the homage to Nike’s running shoe simple:
“I guess, I hope that my art starts to create a dialogue and hopefully inspires others that this tech doesn’t need to end up in a landfill. That creativity is part of the solution. We live in a very disposable world where we don’t think twice about chucking out that year old cell phone or laptop. It’s going to take some real creativity to find solutions for this stuff. I’m just trying to do my part.”
Materials used:
o Old motherboards
o Typewriter pieces
o USB ports
o Power connectors
o Chipsets
View some of the art created by San Francisco artists during their residency: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artatthedump/5510671182/
Read more about the Nike shoe at http://features.freshnessmag.com/2011/03/10/junk-art-air-max-2011-an-interview-with-gabriel-dishaw/
Want to go really green this St. Patrick’s Day?
Here are five great ideas for a WASTE ZERO party this St. Patrick’s Day.
1. Bring reusable bags when you go shopping for party supplies.
Say no to those plastic bags! Bring a few reusable canvas bags with you when you go to the store. They’re stronger, much easier to use, and don’t take hundreds of years to break down in a landfill.
2. Use reusable or recyclable drinkware and tableware.
Make sure you separate your glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans for recycling, and use reusable cups and glasses from your kitchen, or buy ones that can be recycled. Remember to look for numbers 1-7 on the bottom of the plastic container. And be sure to avoid polystyrene (Styrofoam) of any kind if possible!
3. Decorating green for the party? Go natural!
Fruits and veggies can make great decorations. Try combining limes, green apples, green bell peppers, and maybe some kiwi in a clear glass vase or bowl for an eye catching center piece. Pick a handful of flowers from your garden for a few different accent vases around the house. Houseplants in attractive containers, especially a shamrock plant, are always a beautiful way to add décor (and clean the air)!
4. Compost, compost, compost!
Got leftovers from the party? Be sure to compost them! We’ll take your chicken bones, stale chips and unfinished spinach dip. And remember to put all those paper cups, plates and napkins in the green Compost cart – NOT the garbage! Called for late night delivery? Toss the greasy pizza box and waxy cardboard containers in there too!
5. Leave the car behind
Take the bus, cab or train if you’re going out. You’ll save on gas, and will be sure of a safe ride home.
Whatever you do for St. Patrick’s Day, Recology wishes you a happy, safe, and green holiday!
Learn to be a Master Composter!
Are you interested in learning to compost in your backyard and garden?
The Master Composter Program offered by San Mateo County is just the thing for you! Classes begin March 5th and are free to San Mateo County residents.
For more information, visit www.RecycleWorks.org or call Jacqueline Rosine at (650) 599-1498.
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