Green Star E-News Vol. 4, No. 5 May 5, 2003

Recognizing Alaska organizations committed to environmental responsibility.

In this issue:
* Shining Stars
* Final Call for Electronics!
* Brown Bag Series: May 21 Wind Power Presentation
* ALPAR Honors Alaskan Recyclers
* Alaska Materials Exchange Comes to Green Star
* This Month’s Hot Link: Anchorage Citywide Cleanup
* Thank you 2003 Sponsors

==================================
SHINING STARS

Congratulations to Emerald Alaska, Inc. for their efforts to prevent waste both internally and as their business. Emerald will receive a Green Star award at the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce’s “Make It Monday” Forum on May 19th.

Green Star invites anyone interested to attend the forum. The event is from noon until 1pm (doors open at 11:30am) at the 4th Avenue Theater. The luncheon is $14 for Chamber members and $20 for non-members. Contact the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce at 272-2401 or admin@anchoragechamber.org to reserve a seat or pre-pay online at www.anchoragechamber.org.

==================================
FINAL CALL FOR ELECTRONICS!

Green Star’s Electronics Recycling Days are this weekend. Businesses, organizations, and government agencies can drop off electronics on Friday, May 9th from 10am to 4pm, and households/individuals can drop off Saturday, May 10th from 10am to 4pm. The location is the former Carrs store on the corner of Dimond and Old Seward, across from Best Buy.

This will be the one weekend to get rid of electronics in an environmentally responsible manner at such a low cost. Drop off your outdated and unusable electronics equipment for recycling. Processors will recycle more than 95% of the materials into new products.

Business and organization fees: $15/computer monitor or television, 30¢/lb. for all other items.

Household fees: $5/computer monitor or television, 5¢/lb. for all other items.

Acceptable electronics: computer monitors, televisions, computers, laptops, computer peripherals, fax machines, photocopiers, printers, electric typewriters, radios, VCRs, telephones, cell phones, electronic games, all media (disks, CDs, DVDs, tapes), and most other items with a circuit board.

Not acceptable: smoke detectors, loose batteries, microwave ovens, and electric devices without circuit boards.

Remember, if your electronics are still usable and you’d rather they remained in use, visit Green Star’s Electronics Exchange at www.greenstarinc.org to list your usable electronics equipment, to look for equipment you might need, or to post a request for needed equipment. Free, easy, and online NOW!!

Volunteer Opportunity
Green Star is still needs volunteers to help out at the Electronics Recycling event. Volunteer opportunities are available on both days of the event, from 8am until 8pm. Four-hour shifts are typical. We are especially needy on Saturday. Please contact Jeanne at 278-7839 or jeanne@greenstarinc.org for more information or to sign up for a shift.

Sponsors
This program is made possible through the generous support of BP and a grant from the Municipality of Anchorage Solid Waste Services. Other sponsors and supporters include:

Bronze sponsors
TOTE
Horizon Lines
Weaver Brothers
Carrs-Safeway
Anchorage Daily News
Odom Corporation
ConocoPhillips Alaska
Anchorage Refuse
Smurfit-Stone Recycling Company
Philip Services Corporation

Green sponsors
ACS
Alaska Computer Society
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
Alaska Support Industry Alliance
ALPAR
American Red Cross
Anchorage Chamber of Commerce
Anchorage Fur Rendezvous
Anchorage School District
Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility
Arctic Office Products
Boy Scouts Explorer Post 2014
Bredeson Company
Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce
Citizens for Recycling Solutions
Continental Allied
Corporate Express
Costco
Federal Express
Fiona Graham
Hotel Captain Cook
Kaladi Brothers
Mettler Toledo
Northern Printing
Pallet Services of Alaska
Public Relations Student Society of America, Seawolf Chapter
Spenard Builders Supply
The Home Depot
United Way of Anchorage
USEPA Region 10
Yukon Equipment
Zach Voris, Eagle Scout

==================================
BROWN BAG SERIES: May 21 Presentation

May’s Brown Bag presentation will be on Wednesday, May 21st at the BP Energy Center, 11:45am – 1pm. The topic is “Wind Power for Businesses and the Community,” presented by Steve Gilbert of Chugach Electric. Mr. Gilbert will provide an update of Chugach Electric’s work to bring wind power to the Anchorage area, including information about ongoing research into the best locations for wind turbines. Mr. Gilbert welcomes feedback from businesses on the interest in purchasing “green” power generated by wind.

The June 18th Brown Bag event will focus on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing. Details in next month’s issue.

==================================
ALPAR HONORS ALASKAN RECYCLERS

On May 1st, ALPAR (Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling) held its annual awards banquet at Kincaid Chalet. At the banquet, ALPAR recognized the efforts of numerous groups and individuals for their recycling and litter prevention projects during the past year.

ALPAR was incorporated 20 years ago and in that year, it began the Youth Litter Patrol Program in 11 communities in the State. Sometime in the next year, the backhauling of recyclables with Sealand and TOTE was solidified, which has become the backbone of the recycling effort in Alaska. The system continues to work today because of the ongoing commitment of Horizon Lines and Totem Ocean Trailer Express.

In 2002, ALPAR completed a major ad campaign about recycling, helped open the recycling site at the Anchorage Regional Landfill, and continued its Christmas Tree Recycling program in Anchorage and the Valley. ALPAR funded 71 Youth Litter Patrols statewide and distributed more than 200,000 litter bags for community litter cleans-ups all over Alaska. Other programs organized by ALPAR are Can-Do Kids and School Recycling and, with the help of Northern Air Cargo and the Alaska Air Carriers Association, the very popular Flying Cans program for rural Alaska.

The awards presented were:

Outstanding Recycling Community: Eagle River

Outstanding Youth Litter Patrol: Kenai Boys and Girls Club

Outstanding Anchorage School Recycling Program: Muldoon Elementary

Outstanding Litter Program: Adopt a Highway programs at
- Fort Richardson
- Elmendorf Air Force Base’s 90th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Transportation Squadron, 3rd Civil Engineers, 732nd AMS, 611th ACS Maintenance, and 3rd Medical Support Squadron
- U.S. Coast Guard Recruiting Office, Anchorage

Outstanding Business Recycler: Alaska State Fair

Leadership in Education (2 awards): RuralCap RAVEN Americorps
& Alaska Youth for Environmental Action

Outstanding Supporter: Smurfit Stone Recycling

Board of Directors' Award: Scott Smith - Anchorage Media Group

Contributor of the Year: BP Exploration Alaska

President's Award: Tom Turner

Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners. Great job! And thank you to ALPAR for recognizing the hard work of everyone involved in recycling and litter prevention.

==================================
ALASKA MATERIALS EXCHANGE COMES TO GREEN STAR

The Alaska Materials Exchange (AME), produced and distributed quarterly by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) Compliance Assistance Office, will have a new home beginning this summer. The AME catalog, typically produced in print and uploaded in pdf format onto the web, will now be housed as an interactive exchange on Green Star’s web site. AME will be combined with the current Electronics Exchange, offering an immediate forum for exchange of all manner of materials across the State. Benefits of the new format include:
- Allowing people to list items themselves,
- Allowing anyone to list items at any time, rather than needing to wait for the next edition,
- Providing a mechanism to remove an item immediately after it has been exchanged, and
- Reducing the staff time necessary to compile and confirm information each quarter.

Green Star and ADEC hope that this change will improve the value of AME as a waste prevention tool in Alaska. To view the current AME catalog, visit www.state.ak.us/dec/dec_pub.htm. Expect the new Materials Exchange to be online by mid-summer at www.greenstarinc.org.

==================================
THIS MONTH’S HOT LINK: Anchorage Citywide Cleanup

For 35 years, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce has been organizing the Citywide Cleanup. This week-long, annual program unites local businesses, organizations, schools, the City, and Alaska residents in an effort to rid our city of trash and debris following spring breakup. Visit the web site for a calendar of the numerous events taking place during Cleanup week.

==================================
THANK YOU 2003 SPONSORS

Green Star could not exist without the generous financial support of many individuals and leading local businesses. To become a Green Star individual member or corporate sponsor, please call (278-7827) or visit our web sitewww.greenstarinc.org. A huge thank you to our 2003 sponsors!

Platinum: BP, ConocoPhillips Alaska, Municipality of Anchorage Solid Waste Services
Gold: Alaska Conservation Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, Wells Fargo
Silver: Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Anchorage Refuse (A Waste Management Company), Princess Tours, The Home Depot
Bronze: Anchorage Daily News, AT&T Wireless, Carrs-Safeway, Horizon Lines, Merrill Lynch, Northern Printing, Odom Corporation, One Northwest, Pallet Services of Alaska, Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Anchorage, Philip Services Corporation, Sam's Club, Smurfit-Stone Recycling Company, Wal-Mart ‘A’ St. Store, Weaver Brothers
Green: ACS, Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaska Computer Society, Alaska Serigraphics, Alaska Support Industry Alliance, Alaska Textiles, Alaska Wildland Adventures, ALPAR, American Red Cross, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, Anchorage School District, Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, Arctic Office Products, Bredeson Company, Chugach Electric Association, Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce, Continental Allied, Corporate Express Alaska, Costco, Denali Commission, Federal Express, Hartig Rhodes Hoge & Lekisch, Hotel Captain Cook, Kaladi Brothers, Mettler Toledo, Nabors Alaska Drilling, National Wildlife Federation, Northern Printing, Pallet Services of Alaska, Public Relations Student Society of America – Seawolf Chaper, R&M Consultants, Recycle Alaska, Spenard Builders Supply, Tikigaq Corporation, Totem Ocean Trailer Express , United Way of Anchorage, USEPA Region 10, Yukon Equipment, Zach Voris – Eagle Scout

==================================
Past issues of E-News are available on our web site, sorted by topic or date. 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
Beth Verrelli, Membership & Communications Coordinator
Jeanne Carlson, Program Coordinator

Thank you to Fiona Graham for her continued volunteer support in our office!