Four U.S. cities were winners in the U.S. Conference of Mayors "Buy Recycled" Awards Program. Philadelphia was the winner of the large city category; Thousand Oaks, Calif., was the winner of the medium size category; and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was the small city winner. Seattle received the "Most Innovative Program" award partly because of its five community centers constructed with a minimum of 50 percent recycled products.
GREEN SEAL HAS OFFICE BUYING GUIDEGreen Seal, a national non-profit environmental organization based in Washington, has announced the publication of its "Office Green Buying Guide." The 110-page guide lists environmentally preferable products, and gives "how-to" advice for businesses to implement environmentally sound procurement policies.
The guide helps companies in Green Seal’s Environmental Partners Program to purchase such products as energy-efficient computer monitors, copiers, fax machines and light bulbs; recycled and chlorine-free paper; remanufactured toner cartridges for printers; biodegradable, non-toxic cleaners; and other environmentally preferable products. For more information, call Green Seal at (202) 331-7337, ext. 18.
CURBSIDE RECYCLING TO GROW SAYS STUDYDespite the cost of curbside recycling, many state recycling officials say programs will continue to grow, according to a recent survey included in the "State Recycling Laws Update Year-End Edition, 1995" by Raymond Communications, Riverdale, Md. The survey of 44 state recycling managers found that 23 states have reduced landfill tonnages in the last few years, citing recycling and composting as the major factors.
The 120-page update covers 32 recycling issues, and covers durables recover and source reduction, landfill bans, tax credits, recycling progress, green labeling, battery laws, heavy metals bans, tax credits for recycling and Canadian packaging laws. For more information, call (301) 345-4237.
POST OFFICE TO RECYCLE MAILLexington, Ky., post offices now have a program that recycles undeliverable bulk business mail and cardboard. The program is expected to recycled an estimated half a million pounds of material annually. According to the U.S. Postal Service, this is the first program of its kind, however, officials say they are instituting a recycling plan similar to Lexington’s at more than 30,000 post offices nationwide.
CALIFORNIA REPORTS RECYCLING RATEAccording to the California Department of Conservation, the state’s beverage container recycling rates have risen 23 percent in the past five years. There are now also more than 500 curbside recycling programs, with about 25 million tons of trash having been diverted from landfills since 1990. "Californians have embraced the recycling ethic," says Michael Byrne, director of the Department of Conservation. "Now we must encourage people to take the next step and ‘buy recycled.’"
In addition, the department has published "Good, Green Jobs" by Joel Makower. The book profiles 20 California businesses that have melded environmental efforts with economic gains. To order a copy, call (800) RECYCLE in California, or (916) 322-0952 outside the state.
SURVEY SAYS PUBLIC IS NOT REDUCING
While a majority of consumers are aware of the benefits of recycling and reusing – two of the three environmental Rs – they are not as knowledgeable about the third R: reducing, according to a new survey released by the National Consumers League, Washington. In the survey, only 15 percent of the consumers interviewed said they look for products with reduced packaging.
"Consumers are aware that recycling reduces the amount of trash sent to landfills," says Linda Golodnor, NCL president. "Now consumers need to be educated on the benefits of reduced packaging as well. Consumers can reduce the negative impact on the environment by purchasing compacts, concentrates, refillable or bulk items, all of which reduce the amount of packaging in the waste stream."
RABANCO RECYCLING RECEIVES AWARD
Rabanco Recycling, Seattle, has been selected as the "Recycler of the Year" by the Washington State Recycling Association. The award recognizes a commitment to recycling investment and promotion.
"Our company recycled its first ton of material back in 1929, collected materials back in the forties that helped fight World War II and helped initiate Seattle’s internationally-known curbside program at the end of the eighties," says Steve Spence, vice president of Rabanco Recycling. "We’re proud of our history, but most of all, we’re very proud to have trained some of the key people who have made Washington state the country’s foremost innovator in recycling."
Rabanco started one of the first commingled curbside recycling programs in the U.S. in 1987, and its materials recovery facility now processes more than one million pounds a day.
BEST BUDDIES IS SEEKING OLD AUTOS
Best Buddies, the non-profit organization based in Washington that works to improve the lives of those with mental retardation, is looking for old cars and trucks to recycle to help fund a portion of its programs.
While some of the unwanted cars and trucks are auctioned to licensed dealers and repaired for later resale, others are taken to a recycling center, drained of their
engine fluids and
dismantled to be recycled for their various parts and mostly for their scrap metal.
Interested individuals or parties can call (800) 213-8800 to arrange for a donation. The organization will tow all vehicles free of charge.
Best Buddies can also be reached through the computer internet at http:\www.worldgames95.org.
PURCHASING OFFICERS RECEIVE BUYING TIPS
Purchasing officers from various city, county, state, federal and private organizations have begun to receive training tips on how to buy recycled products. The training sessions are being offered by the United States Conference of Mayors and Region IV of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Skills being covered in the program include knowledge of recycled product availability, specification writing, cooperative purchasing, product testing, knowledge of federal legislation requiring recycled procurement and benefits of using recycled products.
"Recycling coordinators nationwide have been tremendously successful in encouraging citizens to separate recyclables from their trash," says Cham Meredith of EPA Region IV. "The problem now lies in market shortages for the 42 million tons of recyclables municipalities collect each year. The ‘Buy Recycled’ seminars will help rectify this problem by encouraging procurement officers – people with the purchasing authority and influence in the marketplace – to buy recycled and create markets for these materials."
To date, three seminars have been conducted with the next one scheduled for Sept. 6-7 in Atlanta. For more information, call Alisa Stone at (202) 293-7330.
ALUMINUM SALT CAKE FROM FORD GETS RECYCLED
Every month, about 1,000 tons of aluminum salt cake was being landfilled by Ford Motor Company’s Essex Aluminum Plant in Windsor, Ontario. The salt cake contained only 5 percent to 7 percent aluminum, and was not considered recyclable.
However, with the help of Browning-Ferris Industries, Houston, the salt cake is now being recycled by Aluminum Waste Technology, Cleveland. BFI, which was hauling the material to the landfill, proposed the recycling initiative to Ford.
AWT uses a propietary processing technology that recovers the aluminum and the salt, which is then sold to aluminum smelters. The oxide is also recovered and converted into thermal insulation.
MCDONALD'S REACHES RECYCLING MILESTONE
McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., says it has reached the $1 billion milestone for buying recycled products for its restaurants. The effort is part of the company's waste reduction plan titled "McRecycle USA." The program was instituted in 1990, and McDonald’s says that it reached the buy recycled milestone five years ahead of schedule.
SORT SMART INITIATIVE WORKING IN NEW YORK
Sort Smart, the recycling initiative developed by waste collector and recycler Vibro Inc., New York, has generated more than $40,000 for local charities to date. The initiative began in New York City in 1993 when Public Law 87 went into effect that same year mandating separation and recycling of all waste paper in office buildings.
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