Green Star E-News Vol. 2, No. 3 March 7, 2001
Ten years of recognizing businesses committed to environmental responsibility.
In this issue:
* New Members: Nine Star Enterprises, Kodiak High School
* Shining Stars: UAA receives Air Quality Award
* Recycling 101: Office Paper
* Schools Greening Up
* TSI Indoor Air Quality Workshop
* Thank You AQ Workshop Speakers
* This Month’s Hot Link
* Welcome New 2001 Sponsors
NEW MEMBERS
Nine Star Enterprises, Inc. was established in 1975 and has since operated as a private, non-profit organization with a community service orientation. Offering quality education, job preparation, and computer skills training, Nine Star also cares about the environment. The organization set up a curbside recycling program to help with their in-house recycling efforts. Employees also received training and helpful waste reduction tips from Green Star at a recent staff meeting.
Kodiak High School
Students of Kodiak High School are teaming with administration and teachers to achieve the Green Star Award. Kodiak High youth attended a Green Star school training in the fall and have since developed a plan to achieve the Award by the end of the school year. One of the Standards they are working toward is making their school a Litter Free Zone. This project includes strategically placed garbage and recycling bins to cut back on lunchtime waste. The students are also organizing a school assembly to educate and engage other students in their waste reduction plan.
For a list of all Green Star Awardees, visit our web site at http://www.greenstarinc.org.
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SHINING STARS
UAA Receives Air Quality Award
Public transportation is a key component of UAA’s air quality program. To eliminate traffic congestion and pollution due to its large commuter population, UAA developed the U-Pass Program. UAA employees and students with valid ID cards can ride the People Mover on any route for free. As many as 800 rides a day are used under the U-Pass Program, keeping an estimated 400 vehicles per day at home and away from campus. UAA now has both the Green Star and Air Quality Awards. We commend them for their commitment to environmental responsibility.
To find out more about UAA, visit the organization's web sit at
http://www.uaa.edu/ehsrms/PollutionPrevention.htm
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RECYCLING 101: OFFICE PAPER
This is part of an ongoing series on recyclable commodities
The National Picture
Nationally, the U.S. generated just over 7 million tons of office paper in 1997, according to the U.S. EPA. Slightly more than 50% of this office paper was recycled. Total paper and paperboard generation, including newsprint, cardboard, and all other paper products is more than 84 million tons, which represents 38% of the total generated waste stream.
Office Paper in Anchorage
According to a study conducted in 1997, Anchorage residents generated 10,385 tons of office paper that year. Of that, 2,866 tons were recycled or 27.5% of the total office paper generated. Although the definition of office paper nationally may be slightly different than Anchorage's definition, these figures still indicate a disparity in recycling rates between local and national figures.
The paper that we recycle is baled at the Anchorage Recycling Center and shipped to the Lower 48. Since the Recycling Center is owned by Smurfit-Stone, a company whose roots are in the pulp and paper business, much of the paper is shipped to Smurfit’s own mills and plants.
Office paper waste can often be used to make higher quality paper recycled products, such as copy and writing paper, if it is uncontaminated with lower grades. Lower grades often are used for facial tissue, construction paper, paperboard, egg cartons, paper towels, and other types.
How Do I Recycle Office Paper?
Office paper is a difficult category of paper to define in just a few sentences. For those of you who may have moved to Alaska from communities in the Lower 48 with recycling programs, you may be even more confused than those who are just learning about office paper. In Anchorage, office paper is more than just white paper. It includes all sorts of paper that might be generated in an office. This means you can throw in white paper, colored paper, stickie (Post-It) notes, envelopes, shredded paper, NCR (carbonless) forms, adding machine tape and more.
What ISN'T considered office paper but may be recyclable under other categories includes: glossy paper, paperboard (cracker boxes, paper pad and desk calendar backing, paper towel tubes), corrugated cardboard, magazines, newspaper, paper plates and cups, napkins, tissue paper, carbon paper, photographic paper, paper lined with plastic or metal, paper ream wrappers, file folders, milk or juice cartons, or waxed paper. To find out whether some of these paper items are recyclable, stay tuned for next month’s issue on mixed paper.
Office paper can be recycled at the Anchorage Recycling Center on Rosewood Street. The facility is one block west of the Seward Highway off the Dowling exit, behind the NAPA store. The Center offers a 24-hour drop-off bin for office paper. Anchorage Refuse also offers recycling dumpster service for businesses generating large quantities of office paper. Call 563-3717 and ask about services for “Office Pack.”
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SCHOOLS GREENING UP
In October, Alaska Youth for Environmental Action coordinator, Polly Carr, approached Green Star about training AYEA members to adopt the Green Star School Standards at their schools. AYEA, a part of the National Wildlife Federation, has chapters in Anchorage, Sitka and Kodiak. Green Star conducted three separate trainings for all three AYEA chapters during the fall semester. Since then, schools from the three chapters are well on their way to achieving the Green Star Award. Some members from the Anchorage AYEA chapter are mentoring elementary school students on the Green Star School Standards, as well.
Based on the business Green Star Standards, the School Standards are designed to educate and promote waste reduction in a fun, interactive way. Green Star provides training and materials at no cost for schools interested in becoming a Green Star School. Waste reduction means cost savings, and many member schools apply money earned from recycling or money saved by becoming more energy efficient to school programs or uniforms. There are currently over 50 schools in Alaska participating in the Green Star Schools program.
Due to overwhelming interest from schools across the state, Green Star is currently looking for sponsors to help supplement costs of the program. If you are interested in sponsoring the program or if you would like more information about the Green Star Schools program, please contact Betsy at (907) 278-7827 or betsy@greenstarinc.org. Green Star is a 501c(3) nonprofit and most donations are tax deductible.
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TSI INDOOR AIR QUALITY WORKSHOP
TSI supplies a number of innovative instruments that monitor and control indoor environments to help enhance the safety, comfort and health of people working and living in office buildings, industrial work areas, hospital rooms and environments where hazardous gases or airborne particles and pollutants may be encountered. Products measure air quality, air velocity, air distribution, pressure, temperature, humidity, and dust and gas concentrations. Outdoor applications include monitoring, collecting and communicating information related to general environmental conditions and hazardous waste cleanup.
“A New Approach to Eliminating IAQ Problems,” will discuss ultrafine particles as a means of tracing IAQ problems to their source and eliminating complaints. More than 2000 IAQ investigations conducted over a four-year period indicate that this new method can assist in locating indoor air quality problem sources not detectable by other means. The workshop includes hands on sessions providing IAQ survey and facility investigation training, followed by a group discussion of the results.
Seminar Schedule
Juneau: Monday, March 26, 2001
Anchorage: Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Fairbanks: Friday, March 31, 2001
Contact Elaine ela1ne@gci.net for times and locations. Or go to the TSI web site, http://www.tsi.com, select product group Health and Safety Instruments, scroll down to P-Trak and click on IAQ Seminars.
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THANK YOU AIR QUALITY SPEAKERS
Green Star wishes to thank the speakers and participants of the Air Quality Brown Bag Workshop at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on Feb. 16th. This presentation focused on Anchorage air quality and the Green Star Air Quality Award. Many thanks to:
*Sandy Clark, Municipality of Anchorage Transit Department
*Larry Taylor, Municipality of Anchorage Air Quality Program
*Corey Rennell, Carly Allen, Jessica Bedwell, & Polly Carr, Alaska Youth for Environmental Action
*Tee Little, ADEC & Green Star Board, for helping organize, host and facilitate the workshop
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THIS MONTH’S HOT LINK
Want to learn more about purchasing “green” items for your home or business? Visit the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guide. http://www.swmcb.org/EPPG/1_1.htm
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WELCOME NEW 2001 SPONSORS
Platinum: Phillips Alaska
Gold: AT&T Wireless
Supporter: Alaska Wildland Adventures
In-kind: National Bank of Alaska, Data Pro, Phillips Alaska, 2011 Enterprises
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Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for future E-News topics to us at betsy@greenstarinc.org. Forward this newsletter freely. Send us any e-mail addresses you wish to add to our mailing list, and let us know if you would like to be removed from the list. Thank you!
The staff of Green Star, Anchorage:
Sean Skaling, Executive Director
Jeanne Carlson, Recycling Program Coordinator
Betsy Goll, Membership & Communications Coordinator
If you would like to discontinue receiving E-News, please write betsy@greenstarinc.org.
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