WasteCap of Lincolns E-NewsletterJuly 2004
News
The Clock is Ticking and Spaces are Filling register now for WasteCaps first ever Lunch & Learn!! WasteCap will be hosting an educational luncheon session regarding the upcoming Changes to Universal Waste Regulations on JULY 27 from 11:30am to 1:00pm at the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County.
WasteCaps Tenth Electronics Collection will be taking place on August 11 from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the State Fair Park. Electronic equipment and fluorescent lighting be will be collected for recycling.
Waste Reduction at WasteCap. In an effort to reduce office paper waste at your office and ours, WasteCap has moved to an electronic newsletter. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any interested parties, but refrain from printing it out in its entirety. All past e-newsletters can be found on our website under the Archives tab. Thank you!
Check out our website at www.wastecaplnk.org for the latest events, publications, and new member listings for WasteCap of Lincoln.
Whats New for July 2004:
Bison Witches WasteCap to host Lunch & Learn at Cooperative Extension Office Electronics and Fluorescent Lighting Collection in August Retrofit Recycling Pick-Up Dates DEQ awards over $1.6 million in waste reduction and recycling grants A New Book on Computers and the Environment Office Depot is offering free computer and electronics recycling
WasteCaps New Member ProfileWasteCap of Lincoln is pleased to welcome Bison Witches into our membership. Here are a few words about the restaurant from their management.
Bison WitchesIn the fall of 2001, Bison Witches arrived in Lincoln ready to make its mark in the local food industry serving the best soups, in bread bowls, and sandwiches like you have never seen. As time went by, a lot of proposals and opportunities arose from being a new business in town. With that, a lot of them were turned down, being it money, time or just not connecting with the overall goal in mind. WasteCap was not one of those. All they wanted was a minimal amount of time and a smaller amount of money to achieve the big goals they had for us.
Within two weeks they had our trash bills almost cut in half. The morale of the store and its employees went up knowing we were doing more than making money and making a mess. Before joining WasteCap, most of the trash would overflow our little dumpsters and the problem with unhealthy situations seemed inevitable. Thoughts of wasting labor and space were on our mind. But by taking suggestions from WasteCap, we were able to start a successful recycling program that worked with our limited space and budget.
Making a mark in Lincoln can be a difficult task without a product that is original and having great food served in a unique way will not guarantee success. We were able to control our costs by reducing our trash and recycling. Joining WasteCap also increased our sense of community responsibility.
WasteCap to Host Lunch & Learn July 27th WasteCap of Lincoln, in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, is hosting a Lunch & Learn at the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. A Lunch & Learn is a one and a half hour educational and networking opportunity to get up to date information on business related environmental news, while enjoying good food. The presenter of this Lunch and Learn is Jim Harford, RCRA Compliance Assistance Coordinator with NDEQ. Mr. Harford will discuss:
The changes include electronic items and mercury-containing items that currently only include thermostats. The new regulations can affect current and future electronic items that are or could be considered hazardous waste and will expand the definition of mercury-containing items to include all wastes that contain elemental mercury. This discussion will give Nebraska businesses the opportunity to plan for the upcoming changes.
Who should attend this Lunch & Learn? Any Nebraska business with old electronic equipment.
WasteCaps 10th Electronics and Fluorescent Lighting Collection in August Many businesses are now aware that cathode ray tubes (CRTs), found in color computer monitors and television sets, contain toxic metals (i.e. lead, silver, and chromium) that are considered a hazardous waste and are banned from disposal in the landfill by businesses. The only problem is that they are not sure how to properly dispose or recycle their old equipment. Upcoming regulatory changes may also make the issue confusing.
To assist businesses in clearing out some of their old computer equipment, WasteCap of Lincoln, with funding from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) will be hosting an electronics collection event for local businesses. The collection will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 at State Fair Park. The first 75 business participants to arrive will be able to drop off one computer system (CPU, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers) at no charge. Additional equipment will be charged at a reduced service fee of $9.00 per monitor and $0.30 per pound for other peripheral equipment and electronics. Fluorescent light tubes will also be collected at a charge of $0.34 per bulb 4 feet and under and $0.55 per bulb for bulbs over 4 feet in length. All electronics used in an office setting (faxes, printers, copiers, phones, etc.) along with fluorescents and ballasts can be brought to the collection event. Televisions will also be accepted but will carry additional fees. Please remove all confidential information by using a wipe drive program or reformatting the hard drive prior to bringing computers to the collection.
The equipment will be collected and sent to Retrofit Recycling, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based electronics recycling company, for processing. Each participant will receive a What should I do with my old computer and electronic equipment? informational sheet listing information about electronics recycling, local service providers and other options available for used computer and electronic equipment. Please contact WasteCap of Lincoln at 436-2354, wastecap3@lcoc.com or visit their website at http://www.wastecaplnk.org/ for more information. Businesses with large amounts of materials should call in advance to schedule a time for drop-off of materials at the event.
Retrofit Recycling Pick-Up DatesReminder that WasteCap of Lincoln members do receive discounted fluorescent lamp, ballast, electronic and battery recycling services through Retrofit Recycling (800-274-1309) and Environmental Compliance Enterprises (466-2268). Please let us know if you need an updated price sheet.
July: 29th & 30th
August 10th 12th *Computer Collection on the 11th 26th & 27th
Markets Corner
Reminder that WasteCap Members using Midland Recycling are paid $20 under the reported price for loose cardboard (OCC) and $5 under the reported price for baled cardboard in bales weighing over 1,000 pounds.
Material abbreviations: OCC- Old Corrugated Cardboard CPO- Computer Print OutMag- Old MagazinesNews- Old NewspaperSOP Sorted Office Paper
DEQ awards over $1.6 million in waste reduction and recycling grants On June 23rd, Mike Linder, Director of the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality announced the awarding of $1,655,695 in grants for waste reduction and recycling projects. The Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Grant Fund makes these grants possible. Three different fees generate this fund. The fees are on solid waste disposed of in landfills, an annual retail business sales fee, and a fee assessed on the sale of new motor vehicle tires. To find out who the recipients of these grants are go to:
A New Book on Computers and the Environment If you are curious about the environmental impacts of the computer that you are reading this from, you may want to take a look at the work of Eric D. Williams from United Nations University. He has written the book Computers and the Environment, Understanding and Managing Their Impacts (Kluwer Press), that documents his findings of the benefits of reusing and extending the life of computers as much as possible. He includes information about energy, water, and chemical usage in the production and use of computers. Heres one fun fact for you; the total energy used per year from owning a computer is roughly the same as for a refrigerator. It may be wise to look over his information before unplugging that computer and trading it in for the upgrade. To read more about the book go to:
http://www.it-environment.org/compenv.html http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-1679-4 http://www.analogzone.com/grn_book041904.htm
Office Depot is offering free computer and electronics recycling Office Depot, along with Hewlett-Packard has begun a nationwide temporary offer to accept computers, cell phones, TVs and other electronics for recycling. The program limits customers to one item per person per day. Electronics of any brand are accepted at any Office Depot location. Collected items will then be sent to HPs recycling facilities in California and Tennessee. For more information go to:
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