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E-News: Green Star's Electronic, Environmental Newsletter!
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Green Star E-News Vol. 3, No. 5 May 8, 2002 Recognizing businesses committed to environmental responsibility. In this issue: * Shining Stars * Green Star Board Election * Join Cleanup Activities * Why Recycle? * Commuter Choice . . . What Is It? * Hydrogen Fuel Cell Research and Applications In Alaska * Recycling Volunteers Needed For Alaska State Fair * Become a Member * Recycling 101: Telephone Directories * This Month’s Hot Link: Recycling Factoids * Thank you 2002 Sponsors SHINING STARS Green Star is proud to announce three new Awardees. On Earth Day, these organizations were presented with awards at the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce “Make It Monday” Forum. The Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association (AWRTA)/Alaska Institute for Sustainable Recreation & Tourism (AISRT) and Alaska Interstate Construction both earned a Green Star. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA)/Alaska Energy Authority received both the Green Star and Air Quality Award. A big thank you to our most recent Platinum sponsor. BP Exploration Alaska donated $10,000 to Green Star and its programs. We also would like to thank NAPCOR (the National Association of PET Container Resources) for granting us funds to help make recycling at the 2002 Alaska State Fair a success. NAPCOR is providing indoor recycling bins, as well as funding to purchase supplies for our hundreds of volunteers. ================================== GREEN STAR BOARD ELECTION The Green Star Board of Directors will be electing new board members and officers at its next meeting on May 28 at 4:00 pm at AMC Engineers (701 E. Tudor, Suite 250). Members are welcome to attend this and any Green Star board meeting. ================================== JOIN CLEANUP ACTIVITIES Spring is the time of year to get out and clean up our neighborhoods, city streets, and parks. Before flowers start to sprout up along the sides of the road, first hundreds of orange and yellow trash bags appear. During the annual Spring Cleanup is a good time to think about recycling. Integrating recycling into your or your group’s cleanup efforts will help reduce the amount of trash we send to the landfill during Cleanup Week. Last year, it was estimated that Anchorage residents collected 7.5 million pounds of trash during Cleanup Week. The Municipality’s Spring Cleanup and the Chamber of Commerce’s Citywide Cleanup Week coincide to kick off a great spring and summer season in Anchorage. The cleanup events begin May 4th and run through May 11th. Visit http://www.muni.org/sws/springcleanup.cfm for information about free disposal at Municipal sites in Anchorage, Eagle River, and Girdwood. Chamber of Commerce events include the “May March” parade, at 8th and Cordova, at 10:30am on Monday, May 6th, followed by the Blue Jeans luncheon from 11:30am to 1pm at the Sullivan Arena. Elementary schools can get involved on Saturday, May 11th from 10am until 2pm by cleaning up a neighborhood. Visit http://www.anchoragechamber.org/pro_events/cleanup.htm for more details. Contact the Chamber for information at (907) 272-6527 and talk to Denise Thompson about participating in Cleanup activities. Creek Cleanup is May 18th from 9am until noon, with a volunteer celebration at Valley of the Moon Park at 1pm. This year, the Anchorage Waterways Council, coordinating organization for Creek Cleanup, will incorporate recycling into its cleanup efforts. Cleanup teams will put reyclables into a separate bag and sort them by material once the cleanup is completed. For more information, contact the Anchorage Waterways Council at 277-9287 or awc@alaska.net. ================================== WHY RECYCLE? Recycling is one of those activities that we think of as “doing the right thing,” but why is it the right thing? In some places, recycling can save a business money or even earn extra money. The possible savings fluctuate with the markets just as they would with any other commodity. Currently recycling markets are poor, meaning that many recyclables have very little value right now. However, during other periods, recycling can be quite profitable. Still, recycling is the right thing to do for several reasons. Diverting recyclables from the landfill extends the life of the landfill. Our landfill is developed one cell at a time. At current disposal rates, a new cell is required about every five years. Design and construction of a new cell costs $6-10 million. Through recycling efforts, the cost of the design and construction of new cells would be incurred less frequently. Recycling conserves certain resources as well. The water, energy, and raw materials that are necessary to produce virgin products are much greater than what is necessary to produce the same products using recovered material. For example, making new aluminum cans from used cans uses 95 percent less energy than making aluminum cans from raw materials. Twenty recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore. To put it into terms that we all can relate to, recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours. Recycling aluminum also lessens the damage done to forested areas in countries that mine bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum. These areas are often virgin tropical forest and land where indigenous people live. The story is similar for other materials. Recycling newspaper, cardboard, office paper, mixed paper, or magazines reduces the need to harvest trees, and the recycling process uses less water than making paper from virgin pulp. Recycling also instills community pride. It is standard practice in hundreds of communities in the Lower 48. As a vacation destination, Alaska highlights its beautiful wilderness and pristine landscapes. Tourists and business travelers alike expect to see recycling when they visit as part of our commitment to keeping our landscapes pristine. Recycling helps us to put our best face on for visitors and for our fellow citizens. ================================== COMMUTER CHOICE . . . WHAT IS IT? Commuter Choice is a program that allows businesses to assist their employees in commuting to work by paying vanpool fees or public transportation bus fares. Anchorage Public Transportation — both People Mover buses and Share-A-Ride vanpools — have recently started participating in this program. Your employer may pay the full amount or a portion of your monthly commute cost, up to $100 a month for an individual employee. Currently bus passes are only $36/month and all vanpool fares are less than $100/month so your employer may pay your entire amount if they desire. You benefit by having your commute cost reduced or eliminated and your employer may declare the expense as a deduction on Federal corporate income taxes. We all benefit from reduced air pollution when fewer cars are on the road. Everyone is a winner! For more information, contact People Mover at 343-4536 (Customer Service) or 562-7665 (Car/Vanpooling). This information was provided by People Mover. ================================== HYDROGEN FUEL CELL RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS IN ALASKA On May 20th, the Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology (ACAT) presents a talk by Dr. Dennis Witmer. Dr. Witmer will speak about current hydrogen fuel cell research and applications within Alaska. A Visiting Assistant Professor with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Energy Center, Dr. Witmer is conducting research into the use of fuel cells in rural areas. He will make a presentation about his work, then lead a discussion with audience participation. Hydrogen Fuel Cells are represented as a potentially sustainable alternative to conventional electrical generating systems. One manufacturer asserts, "The fuel cell will change our lives as much as the computer it powers and the internal combustion engine it replaces." From their early application in spacecraft, fuel cells have recently been used to power remote villages, homes, vehicles and even cell phones! A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts hydrogen directly into electricity. Hydrogen - the most plentiful gas in the universe - is contained in commonly available fuels such as gasoline, propane and natural gas, and can also be "harvested" through renewable energy systems. WHEN: Monday evening, May 20, 7-9 p.m. WHERE: Pioneer School House in Anchorage. Directions available with RSVP. COST: 15$ for non-ACAT members, $5 for ACAT members RSVP: by May 5: to Mark Masteller at m.masteller@acat.org, or 907-376-6275, or 907-373-0909 (msg). Call to see if space is still available. Carpooling is encouraged. If you'd like more information about the Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology you can check out our web site at www.acat.org. ================================== RECYCLING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR ALASKA STATE FAIR Wanted: Organizations, clubs, and businesses to adopt a day at the Alaska State Fair by supplying volunteers to collect and sort recyclables. Volunteers receive free parking and entry to the Fair, as well as refreshments. Volunteering organizations receive recognition for their strong community support of recycling. Contact in Anchorage: Jeanne Carlson, (907) 278-7839 or jeanne@greenstarinc.org. Contact in the Valley: Mollie Boyer, (907) 357-4765 or solutions@valleyrecycling.org. ================================== BECOME A MEMBER Are you a Green Star member? If not, consider enrolling in Green Star today and working toward achieving a Green Star and/or Air Quality award for your business or organization. Your membership benefits both your business and Green Star. As a Green Star enrollee, you are eligible for our free Site Assessment. We can help you identify areas where you can reduce waste, conserve energy, and save money in the workplace. As an Award winner, you will enjoy increased publicity and will attract customers and clients who make a point to look for the Green Star when doing business in the community. Your membership also helps to financially support Green Star and its programs, which benefits the Anchorage as a whole by creating a cleaner and greener business community. ================================== RECYCLING 101: TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES This is the sixteenth in a series of articles about recycling in Anchorage. This is the season that we all get a new phone book and we wonder what to do with all the old ones. Businesses especially often receive dozens and sometimes hundreds of books. This means that there are usually that many old books to get rid of. Here’s some information about what you can do with the old books. The National Picture In 1999, 680,000 tons of waste telephone directories were generated. Of this quantity, 110,000 tons were collected for recycling, or just 16.2% of the total quantity generated, leaving 570,000 tons to be disposed. Telephone Directories in Anchorage Although the 1997 waste sort conducted in Anchorage did not specifically look at phone books, we might assume that they fall under the category of “other paper.” Therefore, 19,562 tons of paper other than cardboard, office paper, mixed paper, and newsprint, were generated in 1997 in Anchorage. A portion of this quantity represents waste telephone books. In 2001, Anchorage businesses and residents recycled approximately 176 tons of phone books. In 2000, 150 tons were collected for recycling. Before that, about 220 tons were collected annually. The drop in recycling during the past few years may be attributed to a lack of information provided in the phone books about how and where to recycle during those years. How Do I Recycle Telephone Directories? Recycling bins for phone books will be available throughout Anchorage, in Eagle River, and at Fort Richardson starting May 20th and continuing until July 1st. Look for bins at Carrs stores where you usually take your newspapers and aluminum cans. This includes the Eagle River store. Bins also will be located at the Anchorage Recycling Center, off of Dowling, at the old PX on base at Fort Richardson, and at ACS offices at 600 Telephone Avenue. A phone book collection bin will remain available at the Anchorage Recycling Center beyond the end date of July 1st until August 1st for any late recyclers. If you have more than 30 sets of books to recycle, call the ACS hotline and ACS will arrange to have the books picked up for recycling. At other times of the year, when bins specifically designated for phone books are not available, phone books may be placed in mixed paper bins. How Can I Reduce Telephone Directories? Phone book deliveries are typically based on the number of phone lines in a home or workplace. So everyone who has a phone gets a set of books. ACS contacts larger businesses each year to ask about the quantities needed but besides that, it is up to you to make the effort to reduce the number of books you receive. If your workplace receives more phone books than necessary -- and let’s face it, you really don’t need a set of books for each and every employee -- you can call the phone company before books are delivered and let them know how many sets of books you need. They may be able deliver fewer books. Even if you are not able to call them and let your phone company know of the reduction before they print the books, ACS determines how many will be printed the following year by first checking to see how many books remain in its warehouse. For this reason, extra books are better off in the ACS warehouse than they are in your warehouse or storeroom. Your efforts will mean that fewer books are printed next year. Call the ACS business office to let them know how many you need. ACS says that April is the best month to call. With fewer books in your workplace, you may want to keep several sets of phone books in a central location for all to use. Printing fewer books conserves resources, reduces transportation costs for phone book delivery, and saves space in your office. If you receive MTA phone books, contact MTA directly to determine ways to reduce the number received or for additional recycling opportunities. Resources Alaska Communications Systems 600 Telephone Avenue, Anchorage Hotline (operation starts in mid-May) 566-4718 Business office 563-2020 Matanuska Telephone Association 1740 S. Chugach Street, Palmer Directory Coordinator (907) 761-2787 Anchorage Refuse (A Waste Management Company) Doug Daniels 6301 Rosewood Street, Anchorage 563-3717 Anchorage Recycling Center (Smurfit-Stone Recycling Company) Guy Barton 6161 Rosewood Street, Anchorage 562-2267 ================================== THIS MONTH’S HOT LINK: RECYCLING FACTOIDS Amaze your friends and coworkers with your knowledge of recycling and its benefits by visiting a few of the sites below. You’ll win any argument about recycling armed with these tidbits. This month’s hot links are an assortment of sites that have compiled interesting facts about recycling, recyclable materials, waste generation, and energy use. http://department.stthomas.edu/recycle/FACTOIDS.HTM http://members.aol.com/ramola15/funfacts.html http://www.buyrecycled.com/facts.html http://www.pso.siu.edu/recycle/factoids.htm http://www.thomasrecycling.com/kids.html ================================== THANK YOU 2002 SPONSORS Platinum: BP Exploration Alaska, Municipality of Anchorage Solid Waste Services, Phillips Alaska Gold: Alaska Conservation Foundation, AT&T Wireless, KTUU Channel 2, Wells Fargo Silver: Anchorage Refuse (A Waste Management Company), Phone Directories, Inc., Princess Tours, The Home Depot Bronze: Data Pro, Odom Corporation, Sam's Club, Smurfit-Stone Recycling Company, Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Anchorage, Wal-Mart ‘A’ St. Store Supporter: ALPAR, Anchorage Daily News, Chugach Electric Association, Corporate Express Alaska, Denali Commission, Nabors Alaska Drilling Contributor: Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Serigraphics, Alaska Wildland Adventures, Arctic Wire Rope & Supply, CH2M Hill, Fowler & Associates, Green Connection, Shoot-N-Edit, Spenard Builders Supply, The Body Shop, Webb Consulting & Management Services ================================== Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for future E-News topics to us at enews@greenstarinc.org. Forward this newsletter freely. Send us any email addresses you wish to add to our mailing list. Thank you! The staff of Green Star, Anchorage: Sean Skaling, Executive Director Jeanne Carlson, Recycling Program Coordinator Beverly Short, Air Quality Program Coordinator If you would like to discontinue receiving E-News, please write to enews@greenstarinc.org. |
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