Loading ...We found this ‘Environmentally Preferable Paper Purchasing Toolkit’. It claims to be a “straightforward, comprehensive resource to make it easier to implement a cost-effective, responsible paper policy at any sized institution.”
For those folks in the purchasing arm of local government this link may be of use.
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guidance:
California is known for it’s ambitious waste reduction goals. We noticed that they have moved back to a measurement strategy that looks at disposal rather than diversion.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law Senate Bill 1016, legislation by State Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) that shifts the focus, from 50-percent diversion to 50-percent disposal reduction, of the current requirement that a local jurisdiction reduce its solid waste disposal over what it would have been given local growth factors.”
According to the CIWMB, Wiggins noted, “California diverted more than 46 million tons of solid waste away from landfills into recycling, composting and transformation programs in 2005, for an estimated statewide diversion rate of 52 percent. Diversion has increased nine-fold since the Integrated Waste Management Act was passed in 1989.”
Wiggins added that her bill is “intended to focus on disposal reduction and enhanced program implementation efforts.”
According to CIWMB, the benefits of moving to a disposal-based system include: increases timeliness and accuracy; streamlines review by allowing jurisdictions that are in compliance to be reviewed every four years instead of every two; and, maintains allowances for rural jurisdictions. See the link to this article here.
–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
Washington, DC - May 14, 2009.
Green Seal has released “GS-46, Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Foodservices”. The standard is a result of extensive research in all areas of a restaurant’s environmental impact, with input from over one hundred stakeholders including industry trade groups, operators, suppliers, academia and environmental and health organizations. It is based on life-cycle research, involving the comprehensive evaluation of the sources of environmental impacts including such things as food, energy and water use, and waste. The results of the research that Green Seal conducted and included in the new standard will help operators prioritize where to focus their greening efforts. Green Seal’s standard development process is ANSI-accredited and Green Seal standards are cited widely by governments, purchasers, and other standards including LEED.
Food production contributes between 17-32% of all global human-induced greenhouse gas emissions GS-46 focuses on responsible food purchasing and waste reduction to reduce the impact from food.
GS-46 applies to all types of food service operations - including full-service, limitedservice (e.g. fast-food, quick-casual), non-commercial, and catering operations. The standard has three levels of achievement: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Operators are encouraged to use the standard as a guide to implementing sustainable practices, and apply for certification online. All documentation required is outlined on the Green Seal website. Fee schedules, reference guides, templates, and standards are all available on, and downloadable from, the website.
For more information, call (202) 872-6400 or visit www.greenseal.org.
–Times Free Press, DUNLAP, Tennessee–
A $22,000 cardboard compactor is the latest improvement in Sequatchie County’s growing recycling program. The new compactor already has kept 1,600 pounds of cardboard out of the landfill since it was installed a couple of weeks ago at the Southend Recycling Center, County Executive Michael Hudson said. The center is next door to the John Griswold Recreational Complex. “We have one cardboard recycling container at the county’s site in the city (on Main Street). This adds an additional cardboard compactor for the county,” he said. The county’s cost was reimbursed by a $22,000 grant through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, records show. Recycling means real savings in landfill costs, said County Commissioner David Cartwright, who serves a district in south Sequatchie County. “Garbage is nothing but cost,” he said. Sequatchie garbage goes to Marion County, which charges a per-ton fee, he said. The compactor generates a little revenue and keeps cardboard out of the landfill, he said. “That’s a plus.”
See the full link here:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/18/sequatchie-compactor-cuts-landfill-costs/?local
According to the MRM web site ( http://www.mrmrecycling.com/ ) the following locations in TN are open for electronics recycling collection. MRM’s is a company seeking to provide convenient recycling opportunities to consumers. Their long-term goal is sustainable electronic product recycling.
27 Southeast Recycling Technologies, Inc.
108 Kwick Way
Gray, TN 37615
423-282-2022
28 U-Haul Hillwood Place
3741 Annex Ave
Nashville, TN 37209
615-356-2550
You must have a voucher to recycle at this site.
Click here for voucher.
29 Nashville / Davidson Metro PW
740 S. Fifth St.
Nashville, TN 37206
615-880-1000
30 Robertson County Solid Waste
2916 W. County Farm Road
Springfield, TN 37172
615-384-0683
31 White County Solid Waste
1 E. Bockman Way, Sparta, TN 38583
931-836-3552
Electronics Waste Recycling For Campus, Businesses, Governments & Schools
Apple, Inc is sponsoring an E-waste recycling event for the University of Tennessee and the Knoxville community. Bring old, unwanted electronics to the UT Agriculture Campus this Saturday.
Location: UT-Ag Campus, Parking lot CFN1 (Brehm Animal Science Ag Campus) and Parking lot 66 (behind veterinary hospital)
Time: 9am to 3pm each day
For more information, see erecycle.utk.edu
–Forwarded from Louis Bordenave, TDEC–
Current BOPAE collectors may want to take a look at this warning coming from the US Department of Transportation. There is noted increase in the number of serious safety and non-compliance problems regarding the classification, packaging, marking, labeling, documentation, and transportation of spent batteries. This document addresses some of the storage problems DOT is seeing. Solid Waste Directors and Recycling Coordinators should confirm their contractors are fully versed with the compliance and safety issues regarding battery transportation.
You can view the document here:
battery-clarification-letter-3-april-2009
A major recycling event sponsored by Apple Inc. that resulted in tons of old and unused electronic equipment being properly disposed of last year is returning to campus May 14-16.
The public, including University of Memphis employees, will be able to drop off e-recyclables on Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Southern Avenue Parking Lot near the recreation center. Professional movers will be on hand to unload recyclable items from vehicles. May 14-15 is set aside for institutions and businesses to drop off material en mass. This location is also on the Southern Ave. parking lot.
The May 16 public day will offer an opportunity to recycle CPUs, all-in-one computer systems, laptop/notebook computers, televisions, cameras, printers, copiers, PDAs, keyboards, computer monitors, speakers, audio devices, FAX machines, cell phones and pagers, and other related equipment.
All items including hard drives will be ground down to confetti-like material to ensure information security prior to being recycled.
Contact Steve Terry at (901)678-2194 for additional information on the electronic equipment recycling effort or visit the U of M eRecycling website.
I’m not sure how many of you are following Stormwater issues in your County, but I wanted to share this newsletter that is coming out for “MS4″ jurisdictions in Tennessee. This newsletter lists education opportunities, grants, and a host of resources for MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) programs in TN.
Landfills and Solid Waste Processing Facilities are required to follow State Stormwater Regulations. This newsletter may have valuable information for you or some one in your local Public Works department.
Take a look at the May MS4 issue posted here:
–ARRA Act Funding for Recycling and Landfills–
Funding totaling more than $28 million is available for some 27 local governments from the federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program for recycling and landfill gas projects. The State of Tennessee will receive an additional $13.8 million. Communities on the funding list are encouraged to use this money to cover the capital expenses of starting or expanding recycling programs. In some cases, for example, funding may help cover the costs of transition to single stream collection or other efficiency upgrades. Investing in processing equipment is also an excellent potential use of the funds. In addition, communities may spend the money on landfill gas projects. Access to the funding requires development of an Energy Efficiency Strategy approved by DOE which must be submitted at the time of application or within 120 days of award. The application deadline is June 25, 2009.
For more information, including a list of direct distributions for Tennessee, go to: www.eecbg.energy.gov/grantalloc.html.
