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Green Star E-News
* Shining Stars ================================== Welcome to our New January Enrollees! Thank you to the Nerland Agency for taking on Green Star as its annual pro bono project for 2008. We look forward to working with Nerland! Green Events Congratulations to Jennifer Williams for being our second prize winner for taking Green Star’s online commuter survey to help determine future air-quality program needs. Jennifer received a car safety kit, along with a Plug@20 sweatshirt. Thank you also to the more than 100 other people who participated in our survey. ================================= New Anchorage Recycle Blog -- The Muni’s Renewable Resource Manager recently started a recycling blog at www.adn.com/recycleblog. It is a great opportunity to comment on Anchorage’s new recycling programs. Feel free to submit questions, comments or suggestions about anything that has to do with recycling and sustainable living. We hope to make this a place for everyone to go to for information concerning recycling. 10th Annual Alaska Forum on the Environment – February 11-15, at the Egan Center. As always, the Forum is packed with exciting keynote speakers, as well as numerous breakout sessions and training opportunities. Visit www.akforum.org for a detailed agenda and registration information. Alaska Business Roundtable on Climate Change -- Green Star is partnering with the U.S. EPA, the Renewable Energy Alaska Project, the Alaska Resource Development Council, the Nature Conservancy, and many more to present the Alaska Business Roundtable on Climate Change in conjunction with The Alaska Forum on the Environment. The Roundtable will be held on Thursday, Feb. 14th, 8am – 4pm. Visit www.akrdc.org for details about the event including speakers, an agenda and registration information. Alaska Wilderness Recreation & Tourism Association (AWRTA) 15th Annual EcoTourism Conference – On February 19-21, at the Hotel Captain Cook, AWRTA will host its annual conference, this year themed Certifiably Green: Alaska’s Tourism Future! Ecotourism and small wilderness dependent operators, government officials, political candidates, university students, marketing consultants, travel industry professionals, non-profit conservation organizations and more are invited to attend. Green Star will be presenting “Green Certification, Starring Hospitality & Tourism” at 4pm on Tuesday, February 19th. Visit www.awrta.org for more details. ================================= For the past few years, Green Star has identified one business sector on which to focus its technical assistance and membership efforts for a specific period of time, typically six months to a year. To date, we have provided support to the restaurant sector and the health care sector, with great success. During 2008, Green Star is working with the hospitality, travel and tourism sector. Green Star will offer additional assistance to businesses in this sector, encouraging Green Star membership and offering resources to help the businesses create successful and cost-effective Green Star programs. Assistance includes presentation for industry groups, targeted technical assistance addressing issues specific to the industry, trainings, and membership discounts. Green Star is already working with the Anchorage Bed & Breakfast Association and will present at the Alaska Wilderness Recreation & Tourism Association annual conference. Green Star hopes to reach out to other relevant local and statewide associations throughout the year to help spread the word and provide assistance to as many businesses as possible. Federal Support for Local Initiatives Green Star will be sending out a short survey within the next week to local hotels to help determine the current needs of local hotels. Hotels that respond will receive membership discounts and an opportunity to win free water-saving devices to try. Highlighting the Successes Current Green Star Awardees in Hotel & Tourism sector include:
================================= Alaska Waste, Anchorage’s largest private waste hauler, is initiating a free curbside recycling program in select Anchorage neighborhoods for a six-month trial period, starting April 15. Alaska Waste currently provides curbside recycling on a subscription basis for paper products in some areas of Anchorage. The new program will include more materials and will reach about 6,000 households. “We have studied various options for curbside recycling and it became apparent we needed better real-world information to design an appropriate, cost-effective program,” said Jeff Riley, Alaska Waste’s Chief Operating Officer. “We decided the best way to get the local data was to simply design a free trail program and track the results.” The program will roll out recycling in three distinct trial areas throughout Anchorage. The Northwest trial area will include the Turnagain, Forest Park and South Addition neighborhoods in the downtown area between Northern Lights Blvd. and 8th Avenue, west of C Street. The Southwest trial area will include the Bayshore and Southport neighborhoods. The northern border of this area is the south side of West 100th Avenue running south to the inlet and includes everything west of Southport Drive. In Northeast Anchorage, residential neighborhoods on Elmendorf Air Force Base will participate. Current curbside-recycling customers will receive expanded service converting from the current paper-only program to all recyclables accepted in the single-stream test program. Alaska Waste also plans to expand to several other neighborhoods in other parts of the Municipality. “We are anxious to understand the different levels of participation within various parts of Anchorage in an effort to design a program which will work effectively on a city-wide basis,” said Riley. All participating single-family households in the selected neighborhoods will be provided with a single 96-gallon recycling cart to collect cardboard; mixed paper; recyclable plastics bottles, jugs and bags; steel cans; and aluminum cans. Collection will be every other week. Once the free six-month trial period is over, continued service will be available on a subscription basis. “Our goal is to offer customers a simple way to recycle most products with the exception of glass. Glass products will continue to be collected at the community recycling centers and at the Rosewood Street facility,” Riley explained. “We think the community will appreciate the simplicity of a commingled single-container system.” Alaska Waste will work in partnership with Smurfit-Stone Recycling, the national recycling company that operates the Recycling Center in Anchorage. Smurfit-Stone will process and market the material for new uses. “Smurfit-Stone is excited to have the opportunity to work with Alaska Waste and the community on this project and we look forward to seeing the results of these efforts,” said Richard Gelowicz, General Manager for Smurfit-Stone Recycling. Alaska Waste estimates that it will cost between $100,000 and $200,000 to conduct the six-month study. The Municipality’s Solid Waste Services also is developing a curbside-recycling plan for its service area (about 20% of Anchorage). The plan will be presented to the Assembly by the end of February. This plan mostly likely will include a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) trash fee system that includes recycling. Residents would choose a container size for trash, paying more or less depending on the container size, and would receive a recycling cart as part of the program. This program will encourage recycling through a monetary incentive -- the more recyclables that are diverted, the smaller the container necessary and, therefore, the smaller the trash fee. The program would accept recyclables similar to those in the Alaska Waste program. For more information about the new Alaska Waste recycling program, contact Katy Suddock, Communication and Recycling Coordinator at Alaska Waste, at 273-2708. ================================= Interest from buyers a few years ago spurred the Alaska Railroad’s long-time pursuit of revitalizing Shop Creak area by upgrading the historic Freight Shed. Unfortunately, the non-code-compliant building systems are not suitable for retail occupancy. ARRC Facilities Director Paul Farnsworth is enthusiastic about the project but admits it is an overwhelming challenge to transforming an aging cold storage freight facility into a code-compliant building suitable for mixed use. Even more daunting are two caveats that are driving the re-design process. First, the building must remain “historic” in nature. Second, it must meet strenuous environmental design standards for energy conservation, material reuse, and waste/pollution prevention in order to be Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified. How Will It Happen? For the second caveat, ARRC has called upon ECI/Hyer to reconcile the seemingly conflicting stipulations. ECI/Hyer will work closely with ARRC Facilities Project Engineer Mike Philp, who is working toward his LEED certification. “I feel honored to pioneer new territory for the Railroad and look forward to being part of the Freight Shed construction team,” said Philp. Philp explained that once certified, he will oversee the phases of construction and the LEEP for Existing Buildings Application process. Meanwhile, ECI/Hyer is currently working on the core-and-shell design and will follow up with future tenant build-outs. ECI/Hyer is tackling quandaries such as structural deficiencies and emergency egress. In addition, the contractor is trying to accommodate the necessary energy conservation upgrades while maintaining the historic features of the building. And ECI/Hyer is just beginning to address other LEED requirements such as the use of recycled materials, reusing materials, and recycling any debris generated during remodeling activities. Design is expected to be complete by March 2008 and if the requisite tenants commit, construction could be done by the end of next year. ================================= OurEarth.org offers environmental news from around the world as well as links to local and national programs in the areas of recycling, energy efficiency and water conservation. For example, the Energy section provides links to local rebate programs, energy efficient products, and federal tax credit information. ================================= Green Star could not exist without the generous financial and in-kind support of many individuals and leading local businesses and organizations. To become a Green Star individual member or corporate sponsor, please call 278-7827 or visit our web site http://www.greenstarinc.org. A huge thank you to our 2007 sponsors! Platinum ($10,000+): BP, ConocoPhillips, GCI, Municipal Light & Power, Rasmuson Foundation, Total Reclaim, Inc., University of Alaska Anchorage, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gold ($5,000-$9,999): Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage Media Group, Chugach Electric, University Center Silver ($2,500-$4,999): REI Bronze ($1,000-$2,499): Best Buy Green ($500-$999): Anchorage School District, Clear Channel, Dan Miller Graphics, Frames Etc., Lockheed Martin Alaska Office, Peppercini’s, Supporter ($250-$499): Alaska Communication Systems, Subway Contributor (up to $250): Alaska Mountain Bike Source, Alaska Mountaineering & Hiking, Alaska Rock Gym, Alutiiq, Inc., Anchorage Guest House, Bear Tooth Grill, Carolyn Foundation, Cellular One, Chain Reaction Cycles, Choffie’s Kitchen, Chugach Electric, Chugach Optional School, Clear Channel Radio, Egan Civic & Convention Center, Free Spirit Wear, Girdwood Ski & Cyclery, Great Harvest Bread Company, Hartig Rhodes Hoge & Leskisch, The Imaginarium, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Kroeker Consulting, McDonald Waste, Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria, Odom Corporation, Pacific Environmental Corporation (PENCO), Paramount Cycles, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group, Princess Tours, Sacks Café & Restaurant, Skinny Raven Sports, Snow City Café, Studio One Pilates, Sunshine Sports, The Bicycle Shop, USKH, WeBike Bicycle Repair ==================================
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