It all comes back to you. Your attitude and your actions can make a world of difference.  Recycling has three distinct stages, just as the chasing arrow symbol has three separate parts.  The stages are precycling, recycling, and buying recycled.

• Precycling means shopping with the end in mind. Choose products that can be recycled or reused, versus single-use and disposable.
• Recycling is collecting recyclable material from your home or office and taking them to a recycling drop box or center.
• Buying recycled is the final and, in many ways, the most important part of the cycle.  Select products that have been made from recycled fiber or material collected in communities like ours.

• Did you know recycling one ton of aluminum cans saves enough energy to power 120 100-watt light bulbs for a year? One ton equals about 53,300 cans.
• Did you know recycling one ton (about 10,000) of plastic milk jugs saves enough energy to light a home for approximately one year?
• Did you know that recycling one ton of glass bottles saves enough energy to light 471 100-watt bulbs for a day? (about 39 homes).  One ton equals 2,824 8-12 oz glass bottles.
• Did you know recycling a ton of newspaper saves 4,074 kilowatt-hours of electricity?  That’s enough to heat about 6 homes for a week.  A one foot high stack of newspaper equals 35lbs.

Recycling Newsletter http://www.dtn.earthworksrecycling.com/
Newsletter of the Technical Assistance Program  (http://tap.plastics.org)
Litter Prevention Campaign (http://www.dangerboy.org/wa_litter/comps.htm)
Recycling Newsletter: subscribe for free -  jschrock@cet.com
Recycling Council of BC's 27th Annual Waste Reduction Conference and AGM: http://www.rcbc.bc.ca/upcoming_events/events.htm
Earth 911 (http://www.earth911.com) Local environmental resources.
Community Learning Network (http://www.cln.org) Database of lesson plans and curricular materials, K-12
Eco-Artware (http://www.eco-artware.com) Gallery of innovative recycled material gift items by independent artists
Additional Recycling Links Go to the RECYCLING page on this site.
Green Advisor http://www.greenadviser.org/Solutions for Living Green: Green Adviser offers the best resources available on
the web to help you help the environment. Find tips on buying environmentally friendly products, cooking green healthy meals, recycling and reducing waste. Learn how small changes in your everyday life can benefit the Earth.
Waste Calculator (http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/ecoconsumer/calculator.asp)
The World's Shortest Comprehensive Recycling Guide http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/shortest.html
Washington Environmental Services Directory http://www.esdwa.comEvents of interest to Washington's environmental industry.
Freecyclehttp://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=freecycle&submit=Search  This is a great "recycling" site for household things, or nearly anything, called Freecycle.  This is a Yahoo group of several local groups giving away needed things in a relatively close proximity.
Curbside Recycling http://www.co.snohomish.wa.us/publicwk/Everything you need to know about curbside recycling.
Zero Waste http://www.grrn.org
Zero Waste & Emissions http://www.zerowaste.org
Resource Recycling, Inc. http://www.resource-recycling.comandhttp://www.myimprintstore.com/wsra_store/index.htm
EPA Pollution Prevention http://www.epa.gov/p2/new/index.htm
King County’s Waste Calculator http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/ecoconsumer/calculator.asp

    Our current "recycling" practices are a joke.  It's not even recycling in the sense that it's not a cyclical process.  It's a linear process.  We take petrolium, make it into plastic bottles.  We go, "glug, glug, glug" and set them out at curbside for "recycling".  Some guy shows up and jumps out of a big truck (leaving the engine idling).  He then tosses the different plastic and other containers into various bins and MAYBE the plastic will get "recycled" into some form of plastic lumber which will then go to a landfill when it reaches the end of its service life.  I see this a merely postponing the ultimate arrival of a silly plastic bottle at a landfill. Landfill, by virtual definition, is unsustainable.  The land will ultimately fill up.  The plastic liners that they use to contain the toxicity of landfills willl ultimately fail and the groundwater will be irreversably polluted by all that stuff that we're burying in a big hole in the ground. It will not happen in our lifetimes, but there will be future generations paying the price for our "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.  In our truly sustainable, advanced civilization of the future, the practice of landfilling will be dramatically reduced if not fully eliminated. I should mention also that the energy required to melt an old glass bottle into a new glass bottle is almost the same as the energy required to make a new glass bottle out of freshly extracted sand. Aluminum is an extremely energy intensive product.  While it is better to recycle old aluminum than to produce new aluminum, aluminum cans are so light (as a ratio of surface area to weight) that a substantial amount of slag is produced when recycling an aluminum can.  Although aluminum oxide has various industiral uses, that slag will probably be landfilled. While biodegradable plastics CAN be composted, I expect that the vast majority of them are going to a landfill where they will sit forever - taking up the same amount of space as conventional plastics. At 44 years, I'm old enough that I remember when milk, soda pop and beer came in bottles that were not recycled - they were sent back to the bottling plant, washed out and refilled.  There is no reason why all of our packaging couldn't be handled in this manner.  If we had real leaders and an informed population, we could have a standardized set of 30 or so bottles and jars that would be reused indefinately.  You could buy pickles in a jar one week that had peanut butter in it the week before.  Some people might complain at having to lug the empty bottles back to the store from which they managed to carry them full in the first place, but I feel that a far reaching vision of humankinds future will call for something entirely different than our present packaging practices.
- Rob

                   As they bundle catalogs and newspapers or scour the fine print on cereal boxes for post-consumer content, most avid recyclers will, if pressed, confess to seditious thoughts that maybe recycling amounts to little more than a penance that makes us feel better.  But now all good recyclers can rest assured that recycling is truly worthwhile: two new reports show that recycling does pay off environmentally and economically.
                  According to "Greener Cartons" from the Alliance for Environmental Innovation (a project of Environmental Defense), companies can cut costs, demonstrate environmental leadership, and maintain package quality by switching to recycled paperboard packaging. Paperboard is used to make the folding cartons that package everything from aspirin to cereal, toothpaste to software. Not only does paperboard with post-consumer recycled content have less of an environmental impact (it uses less wood, energy and water, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and air and water pollutants, and cuts the amount of trash sent to incinerators and landfills), it is cost effective and almost identical to virgin paperboard in terms of performance and appearance.
                   These savings were demonstrated in a recent Alliance project with UPS. Among other innovations, the project resulted in a recycled, reusable paperboard overnight mail envelope that better meets their customers' needs and created substantial cost savings. Other top brand names now packaged in recycled-content paperboard include FedEx overnight shipping envelopes, Kodak film cartons, Warner Bros. videos and DVDs, Excedrin and Celebrex painkillers, Clairol Natural Instincts and Wella haircolor, Duracell batteries, Hewlett-Packard printer cartridges, and Gillette Sensor shaving cartridges, as well as half of the food products on supermarket shelves. "It is a win-win opportunity for companies; they cut costs and help the environment at the same time," says Bruce Hammond, Alliance paperboard project manager.
                   A study from the Environmental Protection Agency also clearly shows the economic benefits of recycling. Among the key findings of the national "U.S. Recycling Economic Information (REI) Study" (in cooperation with the National Recycling Coalition) are that recycling and reuse add value to the U.S. economy: 56,000 establishments employ over 1.1 million people and generate an annual payroll of nearly $37 billion, demonstrating that the industry makes a vital contribution to job creation and economic development. Moreover, it is competitive with other major industries and has indirect benefits as well.

According to new data from the Department of Ecology, Washington's recycling rate rose to 35 percent in 2000, up from 32.5 percent in 1999.  This reverses a general downward trend that occurred during the mid-1990s. Over all, Washington continues to do better than the national recycling average of 28 percent.  The Department of Ecology encourages citizens and businesses to purchase products that come in recyclable packaging, and to take advantage of recycling programs that are available in most areas of the state.

For more information about recycling: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa
(From a Washington State Department of Ecology News Release)

People in Eugene throw away an amazing amount of useable items.  Mike Horowitz salvages an average of two pick-up loads each weekend, cleans them up and gives them away.  According to his friend, Dennis Lueck, he has been dumpster diving every weekend for the past 5 years.  He has found clothing, house wares, light bulbs, plastic coolers, backpacks, school supplies, and electronics.  Some of these things were brand new; still in the box.  Some Battery-operated equipment just needed a battery.

From Dumpster diving for a good cause in the Wednesday, July 11, Spokesman-Review.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=071101&ID=s990073
 

Can anyone use plastic from handles off things like pots & pans, small appliances, like electric can openers),  tools, (like electric saws and drills.)
Contact us at Earthworks Recycling  jschrock@cet.com or (509) 534-1638: Jim

Enuf! The Planet's Favorite Band announces its NEW and IMPROVED website! Same address but WHOLE different look! Stop by and have a bit of fun!

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-7508715.html
This is a really useful article, especially if you follow the hot links (such as 'take-back'). It paints a very good picture of many of the issues being worked on related to electronic waste. While the Electronic Industry Alliance (EIA) is getting a lot of  press for the $100,000 they are spending on these pilots, that is miniscule compared to what governments are beginning to spend to deal with the problem. I think MA alone has spent over $1 million the last year or so.
(Thanks to Sego Jackson, Principal Planner, Snohomish County Solid Waste Management Division sego.jackson@co.snohomish.wa.us  )

John A. Osborne turns old building materials into useful things like tables and cabinets.  He started Phoenix Materials, Inc. a year ago in Spokane, and his products always come with a story about their former life.  He finds the raw materials for his projects all over the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest.
“I don’t want to get crossways with preservationists, but when something can ’t be preserved intact and in place, this is a great way to preserve it,” he says.

This comprehensive document provides extensive details for more than 300 major buyers and processors of recovered plastics in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.  In addition to information about each company, the resins they handle and the form in which resins are desired, the directory presents indexes by company location and resins purchased.  Produced by the publishers of ‘RESOURCE RECYCLING’ magazine and the ‘PLASTICS RECYCLING UPDATE’ newsletter, the resource document costs $54 within the U.S. Credit card orders can be placed at (503) 233-1305.

    Two projects underway at the University of Massachusetts (UM) could help reduce the numbers of used tires headed for the nation's landfills. One of team of UM researchers is looking at new methods of recycling old tires into new rubber goods. A second is developing a novel substance that is a combination of asphalt and recycled tires, and could be used in products as varied as roadways, construction materials, and roofing shingles. Both research groups are part of the polymer science and engineering department.
    "Rubber is one the most useful materials of the modern era, and  helped spawn the industrial revolution," said professor Richard Farris. "It is prized in industry for its strength, elasticity and wear resistance."
    "Unfortunately, rubber also represents one of the most difficult recycling problems ever encountered," added Farris. "One of the biggest pollution problems in this country is scrap tires. Although it's easy to collect, rubber is difficult to recycle. It's chemically cross linked, and those links will not melt and will not dissolve."
    Researchers estimate that there are about two billion scrap tires now piled in U.S. landfills, with more than 273 million additional tires reaching the waste stream each year.
    "This adds up to approximately 3.6 million tons of waste each year, or 230 pounds of rubber reaching the waste stream per second," noted Drew Williams, a doctoral candidate studying the issue. "Of these 273 million tires, about 170 million are burned for fuel, and 60 million are used in low tech ways, such as for synthetic turf for athletic fields. The remaining 40 million tires end up in landfills."
    The team led by Farris is revisiting and improving a process introduced in 1853 by Goodyear, in which the reclaimed rubber is ground into a fine powder and mixed with unvulcanized rubber. The mixture is then vulcanized: that is, the material is heated and new cross links are formed, via the additional sulfur or other reactive materials, in order to restore its strength and elasticity.
    Just five percent of scrap tires are now used this way because of quality concerns, Farris said. His team has developed a method to create a rubber material containing 100 percent reclaimed rubber, without compromising the material's quality.  Williams is developing a material that combines rubber and asphalt into a product that withstands traditional asphalt's tendency to melt or become sticky in hot weather, and remains very flexible even at very low temperatures.
    "These projects really represent 'green' chemistry at its best," said Farris. "We're generating lower amounts of waste, and reclaiming used materials, and all we're adding is heat and pressure."

Many of you have already heard that Staples Stores will be offering tree-free paper for Earth Day. AOR did a quick follow up with the manufacturer of the paper regarding its availability and recyclability. The following is the response we received:
     "All Staples stores will be carrying it by Earth Day April 20. It will be in all Staples at the same time.  The paper is totally
recyclable.  You can visit our website:  www.livingtreepaper.com "
    Here's a little info about the paper:  Vanguard Recycled Plus(tm) is a 90% post-consumer waste, 10% nonwood paper manufactured by Living Tree Paper Company (Eugene, Oregon). The versatile sheet is guaranteed for use in ink-jet
printers, laser printers, and copiers and works very well as business stationery.      The label reads, "No new trees went into this paper!" Instead, Vanguard Recycled Plus(tm) is made from recycled office paper and Hemp/Flax, a combination of hemp and flax fibers.  The 24# premium white bond paper is acid free and process-chlorine free, and the Hemp/Flax portion is totally chlorine free.
(From the AORlist newsletter.)

ATHENS, Georgia, October 7, 2002 (ENS) - A team of researchers has developed the first transgenic system for removing arsenic from the soil by using genetically modified plants. The new system could help remove the toxic metal from naturally and artificially polluted soil and water, reducing their threat to the environment and to human and animal health around the world.

**CARPET SQUARES--Too small for doormats, but fantastic to patchwork together for area rugs, soft mosaics, wall hangings that warm a space & baffle noise**

Cut them into coaster-sized pieces (so you could even use them as coasters too) and place them fuzzy side down under the legs, corners, or edges of furniture.  On wood or other solid floors, these squares prevent the furniture from scratching the flooring while allowing you to more easily move and slide the furniture.  On carpet, these carpet squares help minimize the "dents" left in carpeting by the pressure of furniture legs.  On any type of flooring, these coasters can be used in stacks as
needed to steady the piece by leveling up the leg/side of the furniture that is not quite as long as the rest.

Carpet sheets can also be a great grass/weed killer in the yard.  Set them down in strips or sheets under a ground cover to retard weeds or to remove grass from an area.  (Be aware that the carpet may have non-organic/chemical elements associated with it you may wish to avoid in an edible garden).

Pieces of carpet can be placed between breakable/scratchable items when moving and storing them for added security.

Happy Reuse,
Michelle Minstrell
EcoLights/Total Reclaim

I wanted to let everyone know about our Waste Calculator, a cool new feature on our King County EcoConsumer Resources website:  http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/ecoconsumer/calculator.asp.  With this calculator, people can get an idea of the impact of their purchasing choices, for eight common products.  Jay Beach in our office did a great job designing the calculator, which is based on the New York City Department of Sanitation's "Measure Your Impact" website.

Also as part of our EcoConsumer public awareness project, I am writing an EcoConsumer column for the consumer page in the Sunday Seattle Times/PI.  It runs as the main feature on the page every three to six weeks.  An archive of past columns is on our EcoConsumer website:  http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/ecoconsumer/columns.asp

The short address for the King County EcoConsumer Resources home page is:  http://www.KCecoconsumer.com
(Thanks Tom Watson of the King County Solid Waste Division, for sending us this interesting article!)
 

Is your business “Truly Green”?
*Do you use fluorescent lamps to reduce energy consumption and provide high quality illumination? The use of fluorescent lamps is good for the environment because they require less electricity and they typically have a long life.

*Are you aware that ALL fluorescent lamps (even green tip and CFL’s) contain mercury as a necessary element for their operation?  In fact, one spent standard four foot lamp contains enough mercury to contaminate 7,000 gallons of water. As such, when they are disposed of they require proper handling to reduce/eliminate mercury emission into the environment.

“Partners in Planet Protection” (PIPP) is an organization driven by a “Truly Green” objective to create additional awareness regarding Mercury contamination of the environment and to offer a low cost, federally compliant recycling service for mercury containing lamps.

EPA has established a special category called "Universal Waste" to encourage recycling of certain common items.  An item that is eligible for classification as a universal waste is exempt from many of the cumbersome aspects of hazardous waste regulation that might otherwise make recycling impractical. Nevertheless, these items need to be recycled. Mercury-containing items that qualify include:

• fluorescent bulbs and other mercury-containing lamps
• mercury batteries
• thermostats

You can make a difference and PIPP can help. We are partnered with several of the largest environmental recyclers in North America. Our service offering provides small facilities with the same low cost, federally compliant, recycling services that have previously been exclusive to large organizations. Contact us today for additional information and a breakdown of our services.