Winter, 2009
Extra ! Extra ! Read all about it! PAPERBOARD accepted at the curb!
Because of the success of our pilot paperboard collection program at the West Avenue public drop-off, we are extending the service to our curbside customers. There are a few “rules” that must be followed to make this work and continue to allow us to pick-up paperboard at the curb.
What is paper/chip board?
Think single-layer “box-type” non-corrugated material:
- FLATTENED cereal, cracker, or beverage (6 or 12 pack) boxes, and paper egg cartons.
- Empty toilet paper tubes and empty paper towel rolls (NO tissue or paper towels.)
What do I not include?
We ask that you remove all liner bags that are inside the boxes and throw them out.
NO Cartons (milk, orange juice, soups or broth, soy/rice milk, or ice cream cartons)
NO laundry/dish detergent boxes or cartons.
NO food-soiled paperboard
NO waxed frozen food containers.
(Scratch with your fingernail, if wax peels up, then please throw out in the trash.)
Where do I put it? Mix paperboard with your newspapers, magazines, and opened junk mail for curbside pick up. Drop-off customers are asked to keep it separate from paper and put it in the bin provided for paperboard.
- Reminder: NO film or photographs, plastic fake credit cards or other non-paper inserts: NO “stickies”- (stickers, return address labels or sheets of stamps.)
- Greeting cards are okay, but NO photographs.
- AGAIN, please flatten your paperboard, and remove all bags or liners. PUT WITH YOUR NEWSPAPER (NOT with corrugated cardboard.)
We are always working toward improving recycling for you! You will find you are taking out the trash even less often now!
Why we never jumped on the single-stream* bandwagon
(*ALL RECYCLABLES IN ONE CONTAINER)
REASON #1 : GLASS BOTTLES If properly done, recycling glass has multiple, huge benefits to our planet and to our quality of life. One of the many benefits is: Reduced Energy Consumption.
Here is the axiom:
The more energy it takes to produce something the more pollution is produced.
Virgin glass is made from sand,soda ash, and lime-stone. These materials must be heated to 2,600 degrees (F) to melt. Recycled glass melts at a lower temperature. The lower melting point reduces the need for energy by 40%!
Making new glass from recycled, crushed glass (cullet) can be successfully accomplished if three criteria are met by recyclers. Recyclers, in this case, means the participant (you) and your recycle center (us). The bottle manufacturer must have; 1) glass jars, jugs, and bottles only (No light bulbs, ceramics, window glass, etc.) 2) clean cullet…no caps, corks, or lids, no plastics, metals, or trash. 3) a certain color. For example, a bottle manufacturer that is making brown beer bottles has little use for clear glass.
According to Resource Recycling (May 2009) the availability of glass cullet is limited by the practices of some recycling programs. Quoting from that article, “For example, in a single-stream system, once glass is mixed with other commodities (plastic, paper, cardboard, steel, and aluminum) and placed curbside for recycling, the material often becomes contaminated and cannot be recycled into new glass packaging containers. In fact, much of the glass that consumers think is being recycled actually ends up in a landfill.” While in the past some glass collected for recycling in Mesa County has ended up in the County landfill, GJ CRI has never landfilled glass. Every jar and bottle collected by GJ CRI is recycled.
Keeping a clean commodity that contains only glass jars and bottles of a particular color is accomplished via a partnership between the participant (you) and your recycling center (us.) You place your bottles at the curb and we collect them, sort them by colors, and crush them into cullet. We keep that cullet clean and sorted, then ship it to Miller-Coors where it is recycled into new bottles.
The system works. Let’s keep it that way!
Recycling facility goes SOLAR
by Scott Wegs, High Noon Solar
GJ CRI staff has always been aware of re-use and re-cycle, and now they are also familiar with re-new. Those of you who drop off your recycling goods to the recycling center at 333 West Avenue have more than likely noticed (thanks to the 40 foot wide black, white, and yellow sign) the new solar (photovoltaic) panels on the roof. High Noon Solar has designed and installed a solar electric (PV) system comprised of 45 highly efficient SunPower 215 watt solar panels. Thirty panels are ballast mounted-or weighted down-on the flat portion of the roof and the remaining 15 panels are mounted awning style, to be visible from the dropoff area and the riverfront trail. This system is intended to produce over
15,000 kWh annually which will offset approximately 55% of the historic consumption in the building.
Now here’s the real green - with the combination of the Xcel Solar*Rewards rebate, the Federal tax credit, accelerated depreciation, and electric use offset, the system pays for itself in as little as 8 years. The best part is that once the system has paid for itself it continues to produce energy for the next 27-32 years! How would you like some free electricity? Over its lifespan, this system will offset the need to burn 2.2 million pounds of coal and save the recycling program $150,000.00 in operational costs. It will also stop the emission of 1.2 million pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.
*********
As a special incentive and “thank you” I, Scott Wegs, am offering all GJ CRI customers that agree to install a High Noon Solar system by Earth Day 2010 a Downtown Grand Junction Gift Certificate valued at $100 if installing a 1-5.9 KW array or $200 if installing a 6-10KW array. Please call me at 234-1498 or e-mail me.
THE NEW LIFE OF YOUR GLASS BOTTLES
Glass can be recycled again and again. At GJ CRI we send (by truck) all of the glass collected to the Miller-Coors Bottling Co., where it is recycled into new beer bottles.
A member of our staff recently toured the Wheatridge plant. We learned that Miller-Coors accepts glass for recycling from 200 companies and programs around the country, with much of it delivered by rail.
The nearly 3.5 million bottles manufactured each day are made from 22% recycled cullet and 78% virgin material, including sand from the Mississippi River. Miller-Coors aims to increase the recycled content to 50% by 2013. The biggest hindrance to the use of recycled content is availability of supply, and programs like ours will be important in meeting that goal!
ELECTRONICS UPDATE
by Sammie Baratta, LifeSpan Technology Recycling
Most of us own or operate electronics, items of complex circuitry from our living rooms and offices. Electronics are things like televisions, computers, monitors, laptops, scanners, printers, VCR’s, DVD players, cell phones, fax machines, and copiers. When these products break or become obsolete they become electronic waste (e-waste). E-waste has created a world wide problem because the majority of these devices contain some amount of lead, mercury, and cadmium, all of which can be hazardous to the environment if not properly managed.
Early in 2009 Colorado House Bill 09-1282 created an Electronic Device Recycling Task Force to gather input regarding the benefits and consequences of establishing a State-wide ban on the disposal of electronics in landfills. Issues before the Task Force include researching the best ways to: 1) increase diversion rates for electronic devices; 2) promote new non-toxic designs in the manufacture of electronics; 3) create jobs in Colorado; and, 4) build upon, not replace or undermine, the existing infrastructure, primarily in the private sector, that currently diverts e-waste in Colorado.
On March 1, 2009, Mesa County joined several other Colorado cities and counties in banning e-waste from the landfill.
*********
A new certification program sets guidelines for accredited certification programs to audit an e-waste recycler’s environmental, worker health and safety, and security practices. Supported by the EPA, this new program, called the “Responsible Recycling Practices for Use in Accredited Certification Programs”, or “R2”, for short, also calls for recyclers to use diligence to assure appropriate management of materials throughout the recycling chain, including those materials and components that are exported to foreign countries.
*********
GJ CRI has accepted 10 tons of e-waste since Jan.1, 2009. This is equivalent to removing 4 passenger cars from the roadway; to the CO2 emissions from the energy use of 2 1/2 homes for one year; or, to the carbon captured by 588 tree seedlings over a ten year period.
RECYCLING…REDEFINED
The term recycling is being used loosely in the industry these days. In the early years of recycling, the goal was to return a product to the manufacturing line with the aim of reducing the amount of virgin resources utilized in the manufacture of the same product. In today’s world, items collected for recycling are frequently used in industries where they meet their second and final use.
It is important for all of us to understand the distinction between the ongoing re-manufacturing of a product and a practice of arguably equal value, best referred to as “one time reuse.” Why? One time reuse is increasingly important as a source of feedstock for “greening” existing production processes and for providing a dependable supply of non-virgin material to encourage new industry.
But it does not reduce dependence on virgin material for the production of the original product. For example, if your plastic water bottle is going to be made into carpet (which some of it is), then recycling it is not a great reason to purchase dozens more bottles for your group picnic. The only way to save resources is to significantly reduce the number of bottles you buy in the first place.
Secondly, the term recycling is often used to describe the activity of setting out or dropping off material. The truth is that recycling only happens if the product actually makes it back to a manufacturing line, and such end markets do not exist for everything that is being accepted by some “single stream” programs. These invite all plastics and glass into the mix, knowing full well much of it is destined for the landfill. Doing so makes it easy for participants and increases overall volumes of material collected, but it increases the processing costs required to sort it all out again. It also has the negative effect of creating a misinformed public. Program participants are led to believe that they can continue or even increase their consumption, because they think it will all get “recycled.”
The truth is that we will never really manage resources or reduce waste unless we are given the straight scoop as well as the opportunity to act responsibly. The best advice is to be an informed “recycler.” Reduce packaging and consumption at home, ask questions about end markets, and follow your program’s guidelines. Thank you.
RECYCLING SPECIAL HOLIDAY ITEMS
There are many new items you can recycle after the holidays. Please keep these
with newspapers, etc. and not with corrugated cardboard:
- PAPER GIFT WRAP – No foil or fabric.
- GIFT BOXES – Don’t mix with non-glossy corrugated cardboard.
- TISSUE PAPER (from gift boxes– not toilet tissues or paper towels, though!)
- GREETING CARDS– No photographs.
- SINGLE LAYER GLOSSY BOXES, like those that toys come in – Not shiny, corrugated.
- Remove and discard all packing material including: bubble wrap, styrofoam formed pieces, plastic wraps and popcorn type packing peanuts. (Check with your nearest mailing store to see if they will accept these for re-use.)
- Flatten, and contain paperboard boxes-by themselves or with your newspapers, etc.
- Please remember: NO ribbon—NO photographs-NO foil, plastic wraps or styrofoam.
Note: Christmas trees are not collected by GJ CRI and are not accepted at the City Shops.
USE CARE…at the Drop Off!
Beginning in December and continuing until next summer there will be construction underway at the West Avenue Drop Off. A new modular office is being positioned near the existing drop off and a new processing building constructed. The drop off bins will be moved about 150 feet south of the present location, changing the traffic flow pattern at the facility.
During the construction and move we ask that you use caution when visiting the drop off. Signs will be posted to keep you headed in the right direction and out of harms way!
Thank you for your patience while these changes are taking place. And, please remember that smoking is not permitted at the recycling facility!
Community Outreach & Education
The success of a recycling program depends largely on its ability to reach the public with the why’s, where’s & how to’s of recycling. Up until now budget constraints have limited our ability to advertise and “get out there.” But earlier this year we were able to move Cyndi Albers, formerly our facility manager, into a part time position as education coordinator.
Cyndi is the perfect person to do public awareness and education. With a degree in natural resources management with an emphasis on conservation, Cyndi is an avid recycler and loves working with people and groups. So far she has worked on the JUCO recycling committee, helped organize collection for Fruita’s Fat Tire Festival, and manned the City’s recycling booth at the Downtown Farmer’s Market. Cyndi has spoken to the Sierra Club, the Mesa County library staff, and the League of Women Voters. She has also done lots of in-home education, helping residents get started with curbside collection.
Cyndi has become involved with the Green Guides of the Grand Valley (which, by the way, is a new directory, listing local, green businesses and services). She attended the 2009 State Recycling Conference in Vail and the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado workshop held in Grand Junction earlier this year.
Representation at these meetings is allowing us to learn about what other communities in the State are doing to promote recycling and to share ideas with local groups for increasing green awareness in the Grand Valley.
If you have a group (think school, nonprofit, church, HOA ) that might benefit from some green education, call to schedule a time when Cyndi can come and talk to you about the world of recycling.
*********
Remember, every single daily newspaper, shampoo bottle, and pickle jar can make a difference! Last year we recycled 3,430,000 pounds of material and in 2009 we are headed towards a new record of 4,000,000 pounds! Help us continue to grow and reach a future goal for the community of 9,000,000 lbs. per year. Ask your neighbors, in-laws or close friends to sign up for the best recycling service in the valley… GJ CRI!