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Phoenix Golf Tournament to Go Zero Waste

Trey Granger — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:00:45 +0000

Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911

With 500,000 expected attendees, the Waste Management Phoenix Open has the potential for a large environmental footprint. But this year’s event has a Zero Waste Challenge, including the presence of zero trash cans on the course.

This is the third year that Waste Management is sponsoring the golf tournament, and it will once again feature nearly 500 recycling ambassadors to monitor what is being thrown away. Waste Management is also working with all food vendors to minimize waste in the first place, such as keeping beverages in their original containers instead of pouring them into cups.

Fans looking for trash cans will have a few alternatives on-site: recycling bins for paper and plastics and compost bins for food waste. Attendees can also utilize Greenopolis reverse vending machines, which will provide discount coupons.

“The Zero Waste Challenge is an incredible opportunity for Waste Management to energize and educate this broad audience about our efforts to triple the amount of recyclable materials nationwide by the year 2020,” said Waste Management senior vice president Duane Woods. “As a company committed to extracting the most value possible from all of the materials we manage, we continue to look for ways to make WMPO the greenest tournament on the PGA Tour.”

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is still looking for Recycling Ambassador volunteers. The tournament takes place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5 at TPC Scottsdale.

5-Step Guide to Treecycling

Trey Granger — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 07:01:45 +0000

As of Dec. 26, Earth911 has collected treecycling information for more than 85 percent of the U.S. population for the nation’s largest Treecycling Directory.

Treecycling is an easy way to return a renewable and natural source back to the environment instead of disposing it in a landfill, where decomposition rates are slowed due to lack of oxygen. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911

Considering the U.S. EPA estimates 20 percent of our municipal solid waste is already organic, it’s worth the time to properly dispose of your tree.

So, as you get ready to undeck the halls, here are a few helpful tips to guarantee your Christmas tree doesn’t end up in a landfill.

Find your holiday recycle
solution for Christmas trees

1. Ask the Important Question

What happens next to my tree? The truth is that just because someone picks up your tree, it doesn’t mean it will be recycled or composted. It could very well end up in a landfill, where it will take additional time to biodegrade.

And this doesn’t only apply to the small rural communities. With a population of more than 200,000, residents of Richmond, Va. will tell you that Christmas trees are collected and not recycled curbside, but you can bring your trees to a yard waste facility for recycling.

So, the moral of the story is, unless you ask the person taking your tree, how will you know for sure where it’s headed?

But if that’s not enough incentive, what if we told you that you could actually get some freebies? In cities such as New York and Denver, Christmas trees are mulched, and the remaining material is made available to the public free of charge. Your community may also offer to redistribute the mulch to residents, saving you money on garden supplies in the spring.

Earth911 reached out to every city with a population of more than 30,000, the team has already contacted 52 percent more cities over 2009 and increased the number of treecycling records by 30 percent. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911

2. Be Timely

Are you the neighbor who keeps the Christmas lights up until March? With Christmas trees, timing is of the essence because most recycling programs only last a few weeks into January.

If your curbside collection program accepts trees, it likely only does so for two or three weeks, because it often requires a separate truck to haul the extra waste.

Many yard waste facilities operate under special hours in January, as there isn’t a lot of yard waste to compost when trees are bare and there’s snow on the ground. If you’re late on recycling your tree, your curbside program may consider your tree to be “bulky waste,” thus requiring an extra fee.

A good rule of thumb is once you flip the calendar to January, start packing up the lights and ornaments and get your tree ready to recycle.

3. Keep It Simple

The value of recycling Christmas trees is that they are considered organic waste, which means they can be composted, mulched or even converted into fuel.

But the tree is only organic if it’s stripped down to its original form, which means removing all the lights, ornaments and tinsel.

Another recycling nightmare is the “flocked” tree, in which the tree is spray painted white for a more “wintry” feel. Flocking pretty much guarantees that the tree will be landfilled, so consider this while you’re dreaming of a white Christmas.

If you’re recycling the tree in a curbside program, you’ll want to make sure it doesn’t block your other bins because there are typically different trucks that haul each product. For larger trees, cutting them in half will make it easier during transport.

Approximately 33 million real Christmas trees are sold in North America each year, according to the U.S. EPA. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Spend

You may be asking yourself: “I’m doing a good thing for the environment, so why should I have to pay for it?” The answer is that it takes money to turn a Christmas tree into something usable, whether it’s mulch or even landfill cover. If you’re dealing with a recycler that isn’t paid by taxes, it’s only logical to pay for disposal.

This year, Boy Scouts troops across the U.S. will collect trees from your curb and take them to a recycler for you. In most cases, this is a fundraiser for the troop, so the money you’re spending will cover gas costs and support Boy Scout programs.

If you are taking your tree to a yard waste facility, you’ll likely be charged a fee that is based on weight. The posted signs are usually based on per-ton charges, so don’t be scared away when you see $15+. Once your tree is weighed, it will likely cost less than $3 to recycle.

5. Recycle It Yourself

If you’re completely opposed to paying fees, or are worried about getting your tree to the curb on time, there are plenty of ways to take care of the tree on your own without a recycling program:

Chop it into firewood and kindling—A standard Noble Fir tree can be turned into more than 13 pounds of firewood to keep you warm this winter. The needles can be used for art projects or as mulch in your backyard.
Improve water quality—If you have a pond or other body of water in the backyard, tossing in your Christmas tree actually helps the fish by providing shelter and nutrients. Many communities have drop-off locations near bodies of water for this purpose. If you do not officially own the body of water (such as beach-front properties), you must get permission before disposing of your tree in this way.

Office Depot Launches New Recycling Program For Schools

Trey Granger — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:00:06 +0000

Office Depot is reaching out to students and teachers with its new Recycling Rules campaign. The company is collecting small electronics and cartridges via mail, and every box shipped will earn Office Depot gift cards.

The new Office Depot Recycling Rules program is the second major recycling program the company has launched in an effort to collect hard-to-recycle office supplies. (Office Depot Press Photo)

The store already has a trade-in program, where anyone can have their electronics appraised and recycled in exchange for a gift card, with the value based on the type of material and its condition. In both the old and new programs, Office Depot will pay for the shipping costs.

For the Recycling Rules program, classrooms are encouraged to fill the box with materials such as inkjet and toner cartridges, cell phones and rechargeable batteries. The company has not announced whether certain items will earn a higher value, but all brands will be accepted and Office Depot provides the boxes.

“The Recycling Rules program is a great way to educate students about the importance of recycling, while providing teachers with a great way to get many of the supplies they need for their classrooms,” said Yalmaz Siddiqui, director of environmental strategy for Office Depot. “This program is just one more example of how Office Depot is developing innovative ways for our customers to benefit from our green initiatives.”

Another recycling option for schools looking to raise funds is through paper recycling. Companies including GreenFiber, AbitibiBowater’s Paper Retriever and SP Recycling allow schools to place a bin in the parking lot to collect paper. The companies provide the bin and handle pick-up, and the school is paid based on how much paper is collected.

For a complete list of recycling opportunities available via the mail, check out Earth911′s Mail-in Recycling page.

Hotel Experiments With Keyless Entry Via Cell Phone

Trey Granger — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:00:24 +0000

The Clarion Hotel Stockholm has launched a four-month pilot project where guests can use their cellular phones to not only check in and out, but also as a substitute for room keys.

ID cards, credit cards, gift cards and hotel key cards are made of a plastic resin called polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that is infinitely recyclable, but often landfilled. Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911.com

The technology behind cell phone entry is known as Near Field Communication (NFC), and allows for data to be exchanged wirelessly over short distances. It can also be used as an alternative for tickets during travel, or to transfer contact information electronically without the business cards.

For the Clarion trial, guests will be provided with a Samsung phone that has both the hardware and software to open the door by holding it up to the lock. The key portion of the phone is deactivated upon checkout.

ASSA ABLOY, the company that developed this technology for the Clarion, is using the pilot to gauge the potential of mobile keys at other hotels.

“Keys are going mobile,” said Daniel Berg, Vice President and General Manager ASSA ABLOY Mobile Keys. “Thanks to our secure delivery infrastructure and mobile applications it will be possible to securely open digital door locks using your mobile phone in hotels and commercial buildings as well as in your home.”

If mobile key technology is optioned at other hotels, it would potentially reduce the number of plastic key cards in use today. These cards are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, as well as identification, gift and credit cards.

One recycling option for these cards is Earthworks, which reprocesses the cards into 100 percent recycled PVC. Earthworks accepts these cards for recycling via mail. Earlier this year, Earth911 also held a Reuse Challenge that called on its own staff to come up with creative ways to recycle plastic products. One staffer suggested using PVC gift cards, room keys to create a pyramid-shaped Rolodex. Genius!

NBC Programming Goes Green for the Week

Trey Granger — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:00:26 +0000

On Sunday, NBC launched its fourth annual Green Week to spotlight environmental issues during its primetime shows, complimented with special news stories and documentaries focused on eco-friendly living. Green Week will run through Nov. 21.

The campaign started in 2007, and has integrated eco-related plots into the network’s popular programming, including “The Office,” “Law & Order” and “Top Chef.” This year, Green Week also coincides with November Sweeps.

One additional component for this year’s campaign is that NBC is holding an internal Eco Fair for its employees at 30 Rockefellar Plaza. This will feature electronics recycling and local food cooking demonstrations, among others. There was also a public-facing “Green Fest” at Universal Studios in Orlando on Nov. 13.

This year’s programming is also not restricted to going green in the U.S. On Friday, NBC News will run an interview with Prince Charles before screening the documentary “Harmony,” which discusses Prince Charles’ efforts to combat climate change.

“NBCU’s broad portfolio of media properties provides a unique opportunity to help raise environmental awareness in a fun and engaging way that fits with each show’s brand identity,” said Beth Colleton, VP of Green is Universal. “Research proves that organically weaving informative pro-social themes into entertainment programming can be one of most effective ways to get a message across,” said Colleton in a press release.

You can see what your favorite shows have in store this week on the Green is Universal website. Green content will also be featured on NBC’s sister stations, including Bravo, The Weather Channel and Telemundo.

Got Milk? An Alternative to Plastic Foam Packaging

Trey Granger — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:03:56 +0000

In the ongoing search for how to produce expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) with a smaller environmental footprint, a new competitor has entered the field, and it does a body good.

Scientists at Case Western Reserve University have discovered a way to incorporate dairy into a new type of foam packaging. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Scientists at Case Western Reserve University have developed a new form of foam plastic packaging made using a protein from cow milk, according to Discovery News. This packaging could be an alternative to traditional EPS, typically made using natural gas.

The protein in question, casein, is already utilized for adhesive products. To create a stable material, the scientists mixed it with clay and freeze-dried it to prevent the foam from dissolving in water. The product has been designed for everything from packaging to insulation and has been tested to biodegrade up to 30 percent within the first month.

The milk-based foam is another potential alternative to traditional EPS. Dell has experimented with using bamboo to package its laptop computers; the U.S. Department of Agriculture has researched making foam plastic from starches, such as potatoes; and a company called MicroGreen is using PET resin to make foam plastic from other, more highly recycled plastics.

EPS recycling rates and local availability continue to grow. For example, Los Angeles recycles the material as part of its curbside program. And while some consumers across the country may not have curbside access to traditional foam recycling, materials like the milk-based plastic may not have a likely market for recycling, considering the biodegradable nature of the product that Case Western reports.

This brings to light the continued need to grow recycling opportunities for all types of materials, regardless of their composition.

According to Dart Container Corporation, an EPS manufacturer and recycler, traditional EPS can be recycled into a variety of materials ranging from interior molding and picture frames to horticultural materials like “pony packs” used for flowers at nurseries across the country.

The Case Western research did not mention how much a milk-based plastic would cost to produce, or when it would be available in product form.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated Nov. 23 to correct the following information: Updates on current EPS recycling availability, the use of natural gas to create the material and common uses of recycled EPS.

Disney Encourages Kids to Take Action for America Recycles Day

Trey Granger — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 07:01:35 +0000

Disney is engaging the next generation of recyclers and reusers with Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green, a campaign that provides education and green tips to encourages kids to make green pledges in honor of the upcoming America Recycles Day.

Green tips range from ways to reduce waste to conserving energy and water to buying products made of recycled content. Kids can make up to 38 different pledges and then share their commitments with friends online. So far, more than 500,000 users have committed to use less water.

As part of Project Green, kids also get to vote on how Disney will divide up $1 million in donations to environmental causes. Among the causes to choose from are The Jane Goodall Institutes’ Million Trees Project and The Nature Conservancy’s Internship Youth Program. Users must register to vote and can do so through the end of November.

In partnership with Keep America Beautiful, Disney is promoting a Paper Recycling Drive that encourages kids to collect paper for their local recycling programs. It chose paper – representing the largest portion of the solid waste stream in the U.S.

From Nov. 11-15, you can bring in T-shirts to your local Disney Store to be recycled and turned into paper. You’ll also receive a discount for each T-shirt recycled.

Toyota Launches Hybrid Battery Recycling Program

Trey Granger — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:05:18 +0000

For many components of hybrid cars, recycling is the same as with their non-hybrid counterparts. The metal body is reprocessed into steel, tires are shredded into crumb rubber or burned for fuel, even the windshield can be recycled into insulation and concrete.

Toyota announced the launch of the world's first recycling business for NiMH car batteries. The new business will reuse the recycled batteries to make new hybrid-vehicle batteries. (Toyota Press Photo)

But the hybrid car battery is a whole different story. While traditional vehicles use lead-acid batteries, hybrid cars typically also incorporate a separate nickel metal hydride (NiMH) or Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery to generate electric power.

No. 1 hybrid vehicle manufacturer ,Toyota, announced the launch of the world’s first recycling business for NiMH car batteries. The program will recover the nickel in order to make new batteries, while also lowering the production cost of future hybrid batteries.

The Toyota HV Call Center will be a resource for consumers to find out where to take their non-working batteries. It will also be constructing several recycling facilities with the help of Toyota Chemical Engineering.

The timing of the consumer-facing recycling program is timely in that Prius offers a 8-10 year warranty on its batteries, and the first model wasn’t released until 2000. The company estimates that the batteries last up to 180,000 miles and has offered a recycling program in Japan since 1998.

In the U.S., the lead-acid car battery is a highly recycled material, with a 99.2 percent recycling rate in 2008, according to the EPA. This can be partly attributed to state legislation, as 41 states have banned these batteries from landfills and nine have deposit systems that help pay for recycling at point-of-purchase. Many retailers will also accept old batteries when a new one is purchased.

As a result, many car batteries sold in the U.S. have a large portion of recycled content, including both lead and the plastic casing.

Toyota has not yet announced if it will accept NiMH batteries from other vehicle brands.

Introducing Toilet Paper Without the Tube

Trey Granger — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:02:02 +0000

The newest brand of Scott’s toilet paper is notable for something missing, specifically the paperboard tube that becomes paper waste when the roll is finished.

In a survey taken by Scott Naturals of 1,006 Americans, 85 percent said they typically throw out the toilet paper tubes, even though they are 100 percent recyclable. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Scott Naturals Tube-Free bath tissue hits the market today in Sam’s Club and Walmart locations in the Northeast as a pilot program. The paper loads and functions the same way as traditional TP, but requires no need to dispose of a tube.

These rolls are recyclable with other paperboard products, but in a survey taken by Scott Naturals of 1,006 Americans, 85 percent said they typically throw out the tubes. The company says that 17 billion tubes are used annually, which equals 160 million pounds of waste if not recycled.

“The Scott brand was the first to put bath tissue on a cardboard tube—and is now the first brand to eliminate the tube,” said Doug Daniels, brand manager of strategy and innovation for the Scott brand. “By eliminating the tube, we are making it easy for consumers to help tangibly improve the environment, without compromising on product quality or performance.”

Scott’s has previously made several other attempts to address the environmental footprint of its disposable paper products with the Scott’s Natural brand. The company produces a Rapid Dissolving tissue that breaks down in water four times faster than traditional TP, and includes 80 percent recycled content in its napkin products.

Based on popularity of the new product, Scott’s may look at national distribution and expansion to its paper towel products, which also use paperboard tubes, according to Mother Nature Network.

eBay Debuts E-waste Trade-in Program

Trey Granger — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 07:03:32 +0000

Now selling a malfunctioning product on eBay will have no negative effect on your Feedback score.

eBay recently launched Instant Sale, a fast way to sell your electronics for cash or recycle them for free. Photo: eBay

The newly launched eBay Instant Sale allows eBay members to get cash for their old electronics and offers free shipping and personal data destruction once the item is received. The collected electronics will either be refurbished or recycled, and any money received will be credited to PayPal accounts.

Values paid for electronics are dependent on factors such as how old the model is, inclusion of accessories and the current condition. The program is currently accepting laptops/tablets, cell phones/PDAs, digital cameras/camcorders, GPS systems and MP3 players.

Trade-in e-waste programs have gained popularity in recent years, with retailers including Office Depot, Radio Shack and Sam’s Club offering similar services. For larger electronics that are difficult to ship, both Best Buy and Staples offer collection and recycling, although not for trade-in value.

eBay has been promoting electronics recycling for several years through its Rethink Initiative, a partnership between manufacturers, government and environmental organizations to educate consumers on how to dispose of obsolete electronics.

The company also recently developed a new type of shipping container called the eBay Box, which promotes reuse for multiple shipments by reducing the use of tape and using water-based ink.