E-NewsletterJUNE 2005
Summer is here and that means one thing….WasteCap is planning lots of events. This Newsletter will focus on upcoming events and important dates to mark on your calendar.
Waste Reduction at WasteCap…. In an effort to reduce office paper waste at your office and ours, WasteCap utilizes an electronic newsletter. Past e-newsletters can be found on our website under the “Archives” tab. Our new website is still under construction but you can check it out at www.wastecapne.org for the latest events, publications, and new member listings for WasteCap Nebraska.
What’s New for June 2005:
¨ New Member Profile-City of Omaha ¨ EcoStores Nebraska Talk & Tour Was a Success ¨ Clean Your Files Week Awards ¨ WasteCap Receives Environmental Trust Grant ¨ What to Do When Your Computers Byte the Dust: July Lunch and Learn Topic ¨ 2005 Nebraska Reduction and Recycling Event ¨ Retrofit Recycling Pick-Up Days ¨ U.S. Cities Ranked on Sustainability
Welcome the City of OmahaThe City of Omaha is WasteCap’s newest member. Omaha's recycling program dates back to the early 70's when newspaper was collected curbside. Since that time the program has gone through many changes and expansions, including the nation's first, famed/infamous co-mingled/co-collected blue bag recycling program (recyclables are placed in a blue bag and collected with garbage and later removed). This program ran from 1991-1995.
Omaha changed to a curbside bin program in 1996. Collection services are provided, including sorting materials at the curb, by Deffenbaugh Industries. Weyerhaeuser Recycling processes and markets the material sharing the recycling revenue with the City.
Beginning in 2006, Omaha will be changing to a co-mingled, single stream, collection program with Firstar Fiber providing the processing and marketing. Firstar Fiber will pay the City a flat per ton fee for the recyclables. Currently Omaha recycles more than 12% of its waste stream and composts more than 23%, so a total of 35% of Omaha's residential waste has an environmental benefit. Omaha's compost product, Oma-Gro, is sold from 110 retailers in a four state area. Most recently, Omaha opened UnderTheSink, Nebraska's second permanent household hazardous waste collection facility. UnderTheSink is a regional program for Douglas and Sarpy Counties.
EcoStores Nebraska Talk & tour ResultsForty three attendees were at the EcoStores Nebraska Talk and Tour on June 15, 2005. EcoStores Nebraska is a reuse store dedicated to the reduction of waste of natural resources by collecting and reselling salvageable building materials, equipment and systems. The items are then resold to people at a discounted price. It is operated by the Nebraska Center for Sustainable Construction (NCSC), which offers educational and research programs dedicated to reducing waste of natural resources in design and construction practices. NCSC also operates Deconstruction Nebraska, whose teams deconstruct whole or partial buildings and salvage the materials and fixtures for resale at EcoStores Nebraska.
W. Cecil Steward, president of the Joslyn Castle Institute for Sustainable Communities (JCI), founded the NCSC as a component of JCI in 2003. A $246,000 grant award from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality's Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Grants Program provided initial funding for NCSC.
The Talk & Tour began with a presentation by Sharon Baum Kuska and W. Cecil Steward. In the presentation they discussed the five domains of sustainability, other reuse stores’ approaches, how the store will operate, their deconstruction training programs, potential partnerships, and the importance of reducing construction and demolition wastes that go into the landfill.
After the presentation the attendees were given tours of the facility. The facility consists of an upstairs were offices are located as well as a conference room. The main level has different sections that currently contain materials such as windows, doors, flooring, and other miscellaneous items. A training/meeting room is located on the main level for future meeting needs and deconstruction classroom training. There is also a docking area for receiving and loading purchased items. The store is set up similar to most home improvement stores.
Twenty six of the attendees filled out an exit survey regarding the event. The overall experience of the Talk & Tour (facilities, registration, tour, and presentation) was rated above average to excellent. Twenty of the twenty six stated that they would be interested in attending other Talk and Tour events. Some of the things learned at the event were: deconstruction is a learning process, the mission and goals of EcoStore Nebraska, reuse options for materials, the process used to run EcoStores Nebraska, national trends, and the connection between economics and the environment through waste reduction practices.
If you have questions regarding EcoStores Nebraska call them at (402) 477-3606. Thank you again to the staff at EcoStores Nebraska for opening their doors to us and the hard work they put into having the Talk & Tour.
WasteCap Members Receive AwardsGene Hanlon, the City of Lincoln Recycling Coordinator stated that forty five offices and schools participated in Clean Your Files Week on April 18-22, 2005. More than 53,000 pounds of paper was recycled by the participants during the week long event. Recycling that amount of paper saves 454 trees and 80 cubic yards of landfill space.
Mayor Coleen Seng presented two WasteCap members with Clean Your Files Week Awards. For the second year, Ameritas Life Insurance Company collected the most amount of paper during the week at 15,116 pounds. Cornhusker Bank also received an award for collecting 242 pounds of paper per employee that participated in the event. Great job to everyone that participated in Clean Your Files Week 2005. Congratulations to our members that received awards.
WasteCap Receives Environmental Trust GrantWasteCap Nebraska will receive funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for the Universal Waste Recycling Outreach Program. The program is one of 72 projects receiving $9,046,319 in lottery proceeds this year from the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
The Universal Waste Recycling Outreach Program will educate members of the Nebraska business community regarding the proper handling of mercury-containing lamps and electronics. Proper disposal of the toxic materials contained in these items is essential. According to Carrie Hakenkamp, Executive Director of WasteCap Nebraska, “The Universal Waste Recycling Outreach Program will assist businesses in reducing the level of hazardous waste being disposed in our local landfills by increasing fluorescent lighting and electronics recycling.” The program will hold a series of educational workshops over a three-year period across the state of Nebraska to present information to businesses. To complement the workshops, WasteCap Nebraska will work with local organizers to host special recycling collection events specifically for business electronics and fluorescent lighting wastes. For more information about the project contact Carrie Hakenkamp at (402) 436-2384 or chakenkamp@wastecapne.org.
July Lunch and Learn: What to do When Your Computers Byte the DustWasteCap Nebraska will hold a Lunch and Learn at the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension Center at 444 Cherrycreek Road in Lincoln on Thursday, July 28, 2005 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Lunch and Learn will consist of a catered lunch and presentation given by Carrie Hakenkamp, Executive Director of WasteCap Nebraska. The presentation topics will include recent changes in Universal and Hazardous Waste Regulations, State and Federal proposed legislation, what to look for in an electronics recycler, and liability issues associated with confidential information. The cost is $20 for non WasteCap members and $15 for WasteCap members. Contact Carrie Hakenkamp at (402)436-2384 or chakenkamp@wastecapne.org for more information.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS TODAY:The Nebraska Reduction and Recycling Conference is Set For September 29thWasteCap Nebraska and the Nebraska State Recycling Association are partnering to hold the Nebraska Reduction and Recycling Conference on September 29, 2005. The event will consist of environmental service vendors, an awards luncheon, the first ever Nebraska Mobile Environmental Educational Trailer, training sessions on a variety of environmental topics, and networking opportunities with others in the environmental field.
A Recycling Bus Tour will be held on September 28th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Stops included in the tour are the Bluff Road Landfill and compost facility, Waverly Computer Scrappers, and Midland Recycling. Lunch will be provided.
For more details contact Tonya Bernadt at (402)436-2383 or tbernadt@wastecapne.org. You can also check for information on our website at www.wastecapne.org, which will continue to be updated regarding the event.
Retrofit Recycling Pick-Up DatesWasteCap Nebraska members 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. Pick up dates are subject to change, please call 5 to 7 business days ahead of time if you wish to schedule additional pick ups.
July 2005: Week of July 4th Week of July 25th
City’s Ranked Based on SustainabilitySan Francisco, Portland, Berkeley, and Seattle took the top four spots in a new ranking of 25 U.S. cities based on sustainability practices. Bay Area green group SustainLane created the list after scrutinizing the metropolises based on 12 criteria, including air quality, transportation, green building, and land use. Read more at http://sustainlane.com/cityindex/citypage.php?name=ranking. |