Christmas Tree Recycling

Colorado Recycles has compiled a Christmas tree recycling guide at recycleyourchristmastree.com.

Aurora will be recycling Christmas trees Dec. 26 through Jan. 12 in the following locations: Del Mar Park, 6th and Peoria in the west parking lot; Olympic Park, 15501 E. Yale Ave.; Murphy Creek Golf Course, 1700 S. Old Tom Morris Road; and Saddle Rock Golf Course, 21705 E. Arapahoe Road.

For more cities and recycling locations, see the Denver Post article here.

Trash to Trees at the Inverness Hotel

Trash to Trees is a tree decorating contest at the Inverness Hotel that challenges students to use recycled or re-purposed items to decorate a holiday tree. It is aimed bring awareness to the importance of recycling during the holidays using a creative and educational approach targeted at school age children.. The trees are on display at the Inverness from December 5-14.

The Trash to Trees tree challenge was open to Arapahoe, Douglas County and Denver county 4th - 8th graders only. Each participating school was challenged to decorate a 5-foot tree using recycled or re-purposed items only. They selected a ‘theme’ to guide their decorations and a list of all the recycled items they used. Beyond those rules, students were encouraged to get creative!

The trees will be on display beginning Dec. 5 – Dec. 14 in the main lobby and along the main entrance hallways at The Inverness Hotel located at 200 Inverness Drive West, Englewood. The Inverness Hotel will invite the community to stop by the hotel Dec. 5 – Dec. 14 to cast their vote and enjoy complimentary cocoa and cookies. There will a total of 10 judging categories, such as Most Recycled Items Used; Best Tree Top Decoration; Most Original Decorating Theme; etc. The Inverness Hotel will tally the votes on Dec. 14 and list the winners on their Web site by Dec. 15.

Curbside composting in Denver

City recycling officials are stunned at the initial success of their curbside composting program, as volunteers for the pilot put 31 pounds of organics a week into their green bins instead of the expected 18 to 22.

Denver launched curbside composting bins in September for 3,000 homes in about a dozen selected neighborhoods. The green bins were picked up every week until the end of the fall leaf season and are now every other week, just like the purple recycling containers.
The organic waste — yard debris, food waste, vegetable greens, wet coffee filters, etc. — goes to a private composting facility for self-baking into garden soil. If the $215,000 state startup grant is successful, recycling officials will ask Denver to expand curbside composting throughout the city.

Read the article from the Denver Post....

Read more about Denver's composting program...

Holiday Ideas

Look for cards that contain recycled content or are actually recycled materials, make your own cards from scrap paper, or even use old cards as gift tags or something else creative!

Wrap boxes in magazine pages, the funny pages, or old maps. Think about using reusable containers like tins, baskets and boxes. If you do buy wrapping paper, look for recycled paper and reuse.

Give an environmentally-smart gift, such as a refillable thermos, a canvas tote bag, items made from recycled materials, homemade gifts, plants, concert/movies tickets, dinner out, candles, soap, seeds for next year’s garden, national parks pass, membership to the botanic gardens/zoo/aquarium.

Take your own tote bag shopping to avoid using a lot of plastic bags on just a few items.

Make your own ornaments from found objects, or use edible/compostable items.

Consider decorating with LED lights, which are up to 90 percent more efficient than the traditional incandescent. These newer bulbs are sturdy, last up to 100,000 hours (or 20 years) and barely warm up, eliminating fire concerns.

Use timers to limit light displays to no more than six evening hours a day. Leaving lights on 24 hours a day will quadruple your energy costs – and create four times the pollution.

Donate your unneeded clothes/jackets to a shelter for the needy.

Share your ideas for being more green this holiday season!

60 Minutes Exposes Toxic E-waste

60 Minutes corresondent Scott Pelley and crew went to China to investigate illegal smuggling of "E-waste (electronic waste)." Pelley's investigation will be broadcast this Sunday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Blurbs from the article posted on cbsnews.com:

60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley and crew got roughed up at a Chinese dump while working on a story on toxic electronic waste.

E-waste workers in Guiyu, China, where Pelley's team videotaped, put up with the dangerous conditions for the $8 a day the job pays.

"We throw out about 130,000 computers every day in the United States...we throw out over 100 million cell phones every year," says Hershkowitz. A great deal of this American e-waste winds up in places like Guiyu. In fact, even some companies promising to recycle it safely will illegally export it, as 60 Minutes reveals.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/06/60minutes/main4579229.shtml

Wait...before you recycle that...

What YOU can do before you recycle your paper!

REDUCE!

• Use email, voicemail and bulletin boards to circulate branch or district-wide messages.
• Save and proof documents electronically rather than printing a hard copy.
• Think before you print (do you need to print every email...)!

REUSE!

• Use both sides of the paper and print double-sided in copiers/printers.
• Make scratch paper from otherwise waste paper.
• Reuse envelopes or use two-way envelopes.
• Use manila folders for multiple projects.
• Reuse cardboard boxes for storage or shipping.
• Use paper for projects, wrapping gifts, etc!

What other ideas do you have for REDUCING and REUSING before RECYCLING?

Stores that recycle your stuff!

Stores that recycle your stuff
By Lori Bongiorno

Wondering what to do with all the broken, used up, and unwanted stuff accumulating in your home? In some cases, you can take it back to a store. A growing number of retailers are offering programs that make it easy for you to responsibly recycle castaways. So, next time you go shopping consider packing more than just your reusable shopping bags. Here's a sampling of some national programs.

Aveda collects water, soda, detergent, and shampoo plastic bottle caps at its retail stores and some of its salons. Caps are recycled and used to make new Aveda packaging.

Best Buy takes cell phones, rechargeable batteries, and ink jet cartridges at all its U.S. stores. You can learn about its weekend recycling events and other programs at the company's website.
Home Depot has a recycling program for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), cell phones, and rechargeable batteries available at all of its stores in the continental U.S. and Canada.

Ikea takes plastic bags, CFLs, and batteries at its 35 U.S. stores.

Office Depot will give you a $3 coupon for every ink or toner cartridge you bring in. Drop off old cell phones and rechargeable batteries for free. For other tech trash, Office Depot sells Tech Recycling boxes (for $5, $10, or $15 depending on size) that you can fill with an unlimited amount of electronics and hand back. Check out its website for more details and other recycling programs.

Radio Shack accepts old cell phones and rechargeable batteries. They also have an online program that's worth looking at.

Staples offers free recycling for smaller electronics (like cell phones, PDAs, and rechargeable batteries) and computer peripherals (such as mice, key boards, and computer speakers). Bring in your old computer, printer, or other office technology and pay a $10 fee for recycling. You'll also get $3 in Staples Rewards when you recycle HP, Lexmark or Dell ink and toner cartridges. Find your nearest store here.

The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. accept clean packaging peanuts for reuse at many of their locations. Each franchise is individually owned so you should call your local store before making the trip. Click on these links to find your closest options: The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc.

Wal-Mart takes plastic bags, used car batteries, motor oil, and oil filters at all of its locations.

Whole Foods Market has different programs in each of its stores so find out the details about your local market. Here's a small sampling of what you can potentially unload: Crocs, batteries, cell phones, inkjet cartridges, CFLs, plastic grocery bags, light plastics (six pack holders, dry cleaning, bags, newspaper bags, etc.), and wine corks (in Northern California starting in November).

Try searching Earth 911's extensive database for other local options.

Recycling Update from Jose

Recycling efforts are up at Arapahoe Library District since we began the program last spring. Currently, we are recycling approximately 20% more materials than last April.
Key People, our janitorial service, is working with us to collect our office materials and place them in the recycling bins at each of our locations. We would like to increase our recycling another 10% to 15% and we are asking for your help. Please refer to the Dos and Don’ts of Recycling on the Buildings and Grounds website. If you need any additional bins, let us know. We would also like to hear any ideas or comments you might have about how to increase recycling.

Interesting recycling facts:
· Currently, far more paper is recovered from recycling than is in land-fills.
· Paper accounts for two-thirds of all the packaging material recovered from recycling in the United States – more than glass, metal and plastic combined.
· The average office worker generates an estimated half pound of recyclable paper per day. Based on 20 working days per month, an office of 80 people would recycle more than 4 tons of paper per year.
· By recycling and reusing 4 tons of paper, an office of 80 people would yearly save:
1. 68 trees
2. 28,000 gallons of water
3. 1,520 gallons of fuel
4. 16,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity
5. 12 cubic yards of landfill space
· Paper fiber can usually be recycled up to eight times.
· In 2006, the U.S. paper recovery rate achieved an all-time high of 55%. This was made possible by the efforts of millions of Americans who recycle at home, school and at work.

The Green Library

There is a new blog out there called The Green Library. What is it? This is what they say:

The Green Library blog is devoted to documenting significant activities, events, literature, and projects that focus on " ... increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment during the building's lifecycle, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal" of and by libraries.
http://thegreenlibraryblog.blogspot.com/

They also have a Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32308457042

US Book Industry summary report

Last March the The Green Press Initiative (GPI) and The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) produced a 86 page report called ‘Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings from the U.S. Book Industry. (order it here) Their summary by can be found as a .pdf here.
Eco Libris also produced a great summary of the report with a few key findings:

• What’s responsible for the biggest part of the book industry’s carbon footprint? First - forest and forest harvest impacts: 62.7%; Second - paper production at the mills: 22.4% share. Conclusion - the paper consumed for the production of books is main responsible for the industry’s carbon footprint (12.4 million metric tons or 8.85 lbs. of carbon dioxide per a book, 2006 stats)
  
• The sources of paper and Endangered Forests: the sources of paper come from all over the world; several places are endangered forests with too little being done to protect these natural resources from the exploitation of industries and result in tree farms with little biodiversity, fundamental changes and losses in natural systems, severe impact on species, etc.
  
• Some increase in the use of post-consumer waste (PCW) recycled paper: About 5% of recycled paper is used in books, with some companies reporting they use much higher percentage now, some up to 13% recycled paper. (data from 2006)
  
• More policies, but not enough quantitative targets: 60% report they have developed environmental policies but these policies lack much in the way of quantitative targets.
  
• Certified paper use: There is an increase in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper for books but not true data yet available.
  

Eco Libris also notes some important missing information that could have been useful in the report:

• there is no mention of e-book industry
• what about a comparison to European book industry
• what are the main reasons that stop publishers and other companies to go green

Source: http://greeningyourlibrary.wordpress.com/

Pledge this!

Take 5 for the environment!! Make your pledge here:
greenprint denver

Green Frontier Fest

August 24th is The Green Frontier Fest, showcasing everything from major renewable energy technologies to everyday products and services, aims to create an engaging, educational, and empowering view of greener living. This event is a benefit for the City of Denver Greenprint program.

Date and Times

Sunday, August 24, 2008
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Location

Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex
Intersection of Speer Boulevard and Champa Street
in Beautiful Downtown Denver, Colorado

Admission
FREE!

greenfrontierfest.com

"Green" fee for plastic bags?

Seattle became on Monday one of the first major American cities to discourage the use of paper and plastic shopping bags by requiring grocery, drug and convenience stores to charge 20 cents per bag. The City Council also banned plastic foam food and drink containers.

The laws go into effect on January 1st. Of course people avoid this fee by bringing in their own bags.

The filmy plastic grocery bags are hard to recycle and are messy. They blow around streets, snag in trees and float in waterways. Some reports say the plastic shreds are eaten by fish and other marine life, and kill them. Plastic bags are made with petroleum products, and usually are used just once, before being thrown away.

Did you know San Francisco has banned plastic bags from checkouts in supermarkets and LA is following in their footsteps?

What is your opinion on banning or charging for plastic bags? Have you cut down your use of them since cloth bags are so inexpensive and readily available?

You can find more info on the Seattle plastic bag fee here:
Seattle "green" fee news

9th Annual Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair

The Sustainable Living Fair is a solution based, hands-on, family oriented event designed to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about Sustainable Living Practices, Renewable Energy, Environmental & Social Responsibility, Natural Health, Green Building, Alternative Vehicles, Organic Agriculture, Local Economies and more.

Musical entertainment, kid zones, a Zen sand garden and other unique events round out the weekend. Admission is $5 per day; free for kids 12 and under.

Fair hours are: Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m

Location: Rocky Mountain Raptor Center, 720 E. Vine Drive, Fort Collins


For more green-oriented events in and around the metro area, visit Greenprint Denver

Recycling CFLs (compact fluorescent bulbs)

Did you know you can drop off your used CFLs (and mercury thermometers) at any Ace Hardware store in the state, and they will recycle them for you! CFLs contain a small amount of mercury and should be recycled properly (and not disposed of with the trash).

For more info and to find your nearest Ace Hardware, visit Xcel Energy's website

Bike to Work Day totals!

Yay for everyone who participated in Bike to Work Day on June 25 by either biking or walking to work. The number of participants and mileage are impressive. We had 9 branches, over 40 participants and put in over 130 miles one-way!! Thanks again and we look forward to doing it again next year! :)

Donna , Gay-Lynn and Maureen on their way to work on Bike to Work Day!

Improving your gas mileage tips

With gas prices so high, what can smart driving do to improve your gas mileage and save you some money at the pump?

Drive Sensibly--
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.

Drive the Speed Limit--
Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds over 60 mph!

Use Cruise Control--
Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas. (Exception--driving through hills/mountains).

Remove Excessive Weight--
Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%.

Avoid Excessive Idling--
Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.

Keep Your Car in Shape--
Keep your engine tuned, check/replace filters regularly, keep tires inflated, use the recommended grade of motor oil. All these factors affect your gas mileage!!

Take the test...calculate your MPG driving how you normally drive. Now try doing a few small things such as focusing on accelerating gradually, anticipating stops and coasting where possible to minimize braking. You could even go as far as recalculating your route to and from work to avoid too much stop and go, with less traffic, less stoplights/stop signs, less left-hand turns, etc.

Post any other tips you have for improving your gas mileage!

Sources: fueleconomy.gov

Going Green @ the Library

A blog dedicated to ideas on going green at the library and beyond!

http://greeningyourlibrary.wordpress.com/


I liked the post on selling your cloth library bags at the local farmer's market....

New reusable bags

We just got our reusable fabric bags in. This is a great option for our patrons to carry materials. Our new bags (from http://www.onebagatatime.com/) are available for patrons and staff for just $1, and they can be used again and again!

Did you know.....

It can take more than a thousand years for a disposable plastic bag to break down in a landfill.
Most reusable bags can be used thousands of times and there are so many reusable bag options!

Dump the Pump Day

Ditch the car for one day, jump on the bus and join people across the country in Dump the Pump Day!!

The day is dedicated to raising awareness that riding public transportation helps improve the environment and conserves fuel. It also offers the opportunity for people to beat the high HIGH price of gasoline and support public transportation as an important travel option that helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil as well as reducing the amount of harmful greenhouse gases that are emitted into our environment.

On June 19, public transportation agencies from coast to coast will join together to ask you to park your cars and ride public transportation instead.

It is easy to find your route to work, especially with Park n' Rides all over town! Visit RTD's website www.rtd-denver.com to plan your route, or use GoogleMap's sweet new "Google Transit" for a more detailed map.

Bike to Work Day June 25th!

Are you getting frustrated with the high price of gas and heavy traffic on the roads? Have you been wondering how you can fit more exercise into your day?

Bike to Work Day is the answer to all these problems, and a lot of fun to boot. Wednesday, June 25, is this year's Bike to Work Day, mark your calendar!

Bike to Work Day is an annual event that encourages people to try a different way of commuting. If you've never commuted by bike before, it's the perfect time to try: there's lots of support available for you on Bike to Work Day! After trying just once, you may decide to make it a regular routine, once a week or a few times a month. About 20,000 people throughout the metro area got on their bikes last year, and more are expected in 2008.

Great things you'll get when you register for Bike to Work Day:
-Automatic entry into a drawing for lots of great prizes
-Free breakfast at any one of about 100 bike stops throughout the region on the morning of the event
-Fresh air and exercise while you get to work

You can register under ALD and find all the information and resources for biking to work (routes, tips, etc) here: http://www.drcog.org/btwd2008/index.cfm

Bike to Work Day is organized locally by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, a nonprofit organization of more than 50 local cities and counties working together to solve regional problems such as traffic congestion.

Public Transit Routes for Denver and Boulder on Google Maps

Following a tip on Libnet today, I looked up the driving route from my home to work at Koelbel and found that Google Maps also gave me the best public transit route using RTD. I just selected that option on the left side of the page right under "Search Results". The map gave me the next three available departure times, the length of the trip in hours and minutes, and told me where to meet the bus and how far I'd need to walk to get there. Google Maps also lists the bus route numbers for maximum clarity.

Give it a try! See if you can get to work using RTD! If the bus doesn't reach your exact destination, the route and time it will take to walk to your trip's end is also included.

I understand that the whole Denver-Boulder metro area maps on Google now offer this option, and it's so easy to use! Besides finding routes that will work for you, I think our patrons will love this. It's so much easier than using the RTD bus route maps!

District-wide Recycling

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, we will be stepping up our recycling at Arapahoe Library District and beginning an effort to replace all desk-side garbage bins with recycling bins. In addition, we will be replacing recycling bins in patron areas and adding signage to help encourage recycling. The rollout dates are as follows:
· 5/15/08-KE&DA
· 5/16/08-GL
· 5/23/08-CW
· 5/24/08-SM
· 5/30/08-SG
· 5/31/08-KO
· 6/07/08-SH

Because it would be difficult for patrons to rinse out their food and drink containers (and non-rinsed items contaminate the whole batch of recyclables), the recycling program will differ between the staff areas and the patron areas in each library. We hope this article will help clarify that difference.

For Public Areas:
For patrons, not much will change. There will still be trash receptacles in all public areas of the library. In addition, all current recycling bins will be replaced with blue bins for consistency. Patrons would find it difficult to rinse recyclable trash (such as soda cans, juice bottles and food containers), so we are not planning to try to recycle those items in the public areas. One contaminated food container thrown into a recycling bin can ruin a whole batch of good recyclable products. So, for patron areas, the focus will be on paper, cardboard, mixed paper, newspapers and magazines.

For Staff Areas:
For staff members, the rollout will be similar the recycling program introduced at the beginning of April in the Support Services building. Desk-side trash cans will be replaced with recycling bins, and trash receptacles will be placed in common areas. These new desk-side bins will be specifically for single stream recycling, which includes magazines, junk mail, office paper, phone books, brown paper bags, newspaper and cardboard.
In kitchen areas, staff will be given the opportunity to recycle rinsed food containers such as aluminum cans, bottles, yogurt containers and the like. All non-contaminated items can be co-mingled in one recycling container. Signs explaining acceptable Recyclable Items will be posted.

Recycling has come a long way. In the past we were all trained to sort recycling products, down to the staple from the papers it held together, but this is no longer necessary. Everything (as long as it is not contaminated) can now go into one recycling bin.
We have found a vendor that uses the Single Sort recycling process. Nearly everything you used to throw away can now be recycled, including glass, tin, aluminum, plastic (1-7; you can find these numbers inside the international recycle symbol on most plastic items), cardboard, mixed paper (glossy paper, sticky notes etc), newspaper, magazines, junk mail, brown paper bags, staples, and cardboard – all in one bin.

The only items still considered trash are those contaminated by food products. So, please do not put a tuna fish can coated with tuna, or a yogurt cup with yogurt and berries stuck to the bottom into the recycling bins. However, if you rinse these items out well, they can be recycled.

You can throw away food or contaminated items in the black garbage cans located in central areas, including: the kitchen, all meeting rooms, work rooms, café, and study rooms. Also, please dispose tissues, napkins and paper towels in the trash bins.

So what happens to everything you place in the recycling bins? I visited the recycling plant, and witnessed the line workers sorting the items into different bins to be correctly recycled. So rest assured, the items are being recycled in the most cost-effective way.

There will be signs posted in central areas. These signs will serve as reference tools for you. The information will also be posted on the Building & Grounds page on StaffNET, and the attached FAQ can also be used as a reference guide.
After carefully working on this project, we find this to be the best solution that will hopefully simplify the recycling process for everyone.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns, and thank you for helping make our work environment a little greener – every bit helps. Here is some general information about recycling:
· Currently, far more paper is recovered from recycling than is in land-fills.
· Paper accounts for two-thirds of all the packaging material recovered from recycling in the United States – more than glass, metal and plastic combined. The average office worker generates an estimated half pound of recyclable paper per day. Based on 20 working days per month, an office employing 20 people would generate 200 lbs. per month or well over a ton per year. Since we have over 330 people at Arapahoe Library District, that average is more than 19 tons per year. By recycling and reusing 19 tons of paper, we can save:
1. 336 trees
2. 138,600 gallons of water
3. 7,524 gallons of fuel
4. 81,180 kilowatt-hours of electricity
5. 59.4 cubic yards of landfill space
· Recycling improves public relations – 95% of businesses and customers prefer to do business with environmentally responsible organizations.
· Paper fiber can usually be recycled up to eight times.
· In 2006 the U.S. paper recovery rate achieved an all-time high of 55%. This was made possible by the efforts of millions of Americans who recycle at home, school and at work.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How will the patron recycling program work?
For the patron recycling program, there will still be trash receptacles in all public areas of the library. However, one contaminated food container thrown into a recycling bin can ruin a whole batch of good recyclable products. For patron areas, the focus will be on paper, cardboard, mixed paper, newspapers and magazines.

2. Why isn’t it the same as the staff recycling program?
The patron recycling program is not the same as the staff recycling program because we cannot expect patrons to rinse recyclable trash since they do not have easy-access to sinks in the libraries.

3. How will the staff recycling program work?
Desk-side trash cans will be replaced with recycling bins, and trash receptacles will be placed in common areas. These new desk-side bins will be specifically for “single stream” recycling, which includes magazines, junk mail, office paper, phone books, brown paper bags, newspaper and cardboard. Everything (as long as it is not contaminated) can now go into one recycling bin.

4. What does “single stream” recycling mean?
We have found a vendor that uses the “single stream” recycling process. This means that nearly everything you used to throw away can now be recycled, including glass, tin, aluminum, plastic (1-7; you can find these numbers inside the international recycle symbol on most plastic items), cardboard, mixed paper (glossy paper, sticky notes etc), newspaper, magazines, junk mail, brown paper bags, staples, and cardboard – all in one bin.

5. So do I no longer have to sort my recyclables?
No, you no longer have to sort your recyclables. Everything (as long as it is not contaminated) can now go into one recycling bin.

6. What is considered “trash” and cannot be recycled?
Items still considered trash are those contaminated by food products, however, if you rinse these items out well, they can be recycled. Also, tissues, napkins and paper towels should be discarded in trash bins.

7. How will patrons be notified about the new recycling program?
Patrons will be notified about the new recycling program through signage that will be posted in each library. In addition, there will be an article in the July edition of The Dewey (available to patrons in early June) featuring our recycling program, as well as other ways that the Library District is “going green.”

For a downloadable version of this article and FAQ, please click the link below.District Wide Recycling Rollout and FAQ .doc

Just for fun and YI!

Calculate your Greendex!

Right now I'm at a 53....


What Is the Greendex?
You've read the news—everyone wants to be green now. But do you really know how your personal choices are adding up? What about the choices of your fellow citizens? How well are people around the globe adopting behaviors that can make the world a more environmentally sustainable place?
National Geographic and the international polling firm GlobeScan have just conducted a study measuring and monitoring consumer progress toward environmentally sustainable consumption in 14 countries around the world...
http://event.nationalgeographic.com/greendex/index.html

Recycling

At Support Services, there have been a lot of questions about what can be recycled. Many of those are directed toward types of plastic. Our recycling company, Allied Waste Services, has told us they will accept all forms of plastic, grades 1-7. We put everything in one large bin for them and they do the sorting at the plant (single stream recycling), which Jose visited in person.

Jose has instilled in us the motto "When in doubt, throw it out." If something is questionable, well more than likely it is probably garbage. Any paper materials that have been contaminated, with a spill for example, (glass/plastic/aluminum can be washed) are garbage. Food/candy wrappers are garbage. Rubber bands are garbage if they are not reusable. But don't waste time taking those staples out of paper, they will do that for us. Junk mail (even with a window), pretty much all types of uncontaminated paper and your typical cans, bottles, etc. are all recyclable. Bottles can be recycled in the same container as your paper, only if it is clean! Once paper has been contaminated, it won't be recycled. To make it easier, we have separate bins for paper and cans/bottles/etc to prevent unnecesary contamination!

You can find the dos and donts of recyling on B&G's staffnet page.

What questions do you have?

What else are we doing??

• Our HVAC software maximizes the efficiency of our heating/cooling systems.
  
• The waterless urinals that we will install this year @ KO and SM will help save 40,000 gallons of water per year per urinal. At least 8 will be installed for a total savings of 320,000 gallons of water each year. In the years to follow; the other facilities will have waterless urinals as well.
  
• We are encouraging library patrons to use cloth bags or resuse plastic bags.
  
• Motion sensors will be installed to help save on energy when rooms are not in use.

Share with us what you are doing at your branch, or want to do to help conserve!!

New recycling bins at Support Services

From Jose:

Beginning Monday, March 31, we will be stepping up our recycling efforts in the Support Services building and removing desk-side garbage bins. We will be replacing all desk-side garbage bins with recycling bins.

Recycling has come a long way. In the past we were all trained to sort recycling products, down to the staple from the papers it held together, but this is no longer necessary. Everything can now go into one recycling bin.

We have found a vendor which uses the Single Sort recycling process. Nearly everything you used to throw away can now be recycled, including glass, tin, aluminum, plastic (1-7; you can find these numbers inside the international recycle symbol on most plastic items), cardboard, mixed paper (glossy paper, sticky notes etc), newspaper, magazines, junk mail, brown paper bags, staples, and cardboard – all in one bin.

The only items still considered trash are those contaminated by food products. So, please do not put a tuna fish can coated with tuna, or a yogurt cup with yogurt and berries stuck to the bottom into the recycling bins. However, if you rinse these items out well, they can be recycled.

So what happens to everything you place in the recycling bins? I was actually able to visit the plant, and witnessed the line workers sorting the items into different bins to be correctly recycled. So rest assured, the items are being recycled in the most cost-effective way.

After carefully working on this project, I find this to be the best solution that will hopefully simplify the recycling process for everyone.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns, and thank you for helping make our work environment a little greener – every bit helps.

Jose