What's New for September 2008:

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WasteCap News

WasteCap Welcomes New Staff

WasteCap Nebraska welcomes new staff members Candy Bless, Kari Rohren, Kayleigh Peters and Ashley Baltes.

Candy Bless is our new Project Manager. Her duties will include managing the Finishing Technologies Certification Program, developing WasteCap’s Construction and Demolition waste management program and providing technical assistance to businesses. Candy has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Iowa State University and over four years experience working with non-profits in Omaha. She has been a member of the Nebraska Sierra Club for the past four years and volunteers with the Omaha Performing Arts and the Notre Dame Sisters.

Kari Rohren returns to WasteCap as the Marketing and Education Coordinator. Kari is currently a senior Environmental Studies student at the University of Nebraska. Having a background in publications and natural resources, as well as extensive experience in customer service and communications, she is warmly welcomed to the team!

Kayleigh Peters and Ashley Baltes join WasteCap as our new P3 interns. Kayleigh is currently a senior Biological Systems Engineering major with an Environmental emphasis at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Ashley is currently junior Chemical Engineering major at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Welcome Candy, Kari, Kayleigh, and Ashley!

WasteCap Members in the News

If you are a WasteCap member and have been recognized in a news story, please let us know so that we may include you in this section. Contact April Hilpert-Whitney at (402) 434-7376 or [email protected].

LES recognized for business ethics

Lincoln Electric System (LES) was one of six companies that received the 2008 Better Business Bureau Integrity Award. The companies were honored for their high standards of business ethics. LES received the award for the 100+ employee division.

LifeSpan Technology Recycling receives NAID certification

LifeSpan Technology Recycling has been certified for computer hard drive sanitization by the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID). They are among the first of only four companies to successfully complete NAID’s new security certification program. The program verifies the security of the company’s facilities, chain of custody and audit trail, while a separate independent forensic testing lab verifies the effectiveness of their quality control and overwriting process.


Congratulations LES and LifeSpan!

Another Bright Idea Campaign

For several years, smart homeowners have chosen compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) over standard incandescent light bulbs for energy savings and long-term value. Here�s another bright idea! As those CFLs begin to burn out after years of efficient use, homeowners now have a safe way to recycle burned out bulbs.

CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing -- an average of 4 milligrams -- about the amount that would cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury: an amount equal to the mercury in 125 CFLs. Mercury is an essential part of CFLs; it allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact (not broken) or in use.

Because of the mercury in the bulbs, CFLs should be properly disposed. For a limited time, additional drop-off locations have been designated where Omaha area residents can drop off old CFLs to be safely recycled at any Omaha Public Library. Since 99% of the bulb can be recycled, recycling gives homeowners a better option than disposing of CFLs in the landfill.

Find out where to drop off your expired CFL bulbs by visiting www.AnotherBrightIdea.info or call 1-888-E-Waste-9. You can also learn the benefits of CFLs and how to safely dispose of broken CFL bulbs.

The Nebraska CFL Recycling Pilot Another Bright Idea will be a three-month pilot program from September through November 2008 in Lincoln and Omaha to examine various collection methods for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The pilot program will target households and small businesses with marketing and educational materials and the website www.AnotherBrightIdea.info. Collection sites will be at various hardware stores in Lincoln and within Omaha Public Library locations.

This limited-time program of WasteCap Nebraska is supported by funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and made possible with the assistance of many program partners.

WasteCap's Annual Membership Meeting and Environmental Awards

WasteCap members have the opportunity to apply for our environmental awards that will be handed our at WasteCap’s annual membership meeting in November. Your company may apply for any of the following awards by submitting a brief description of how your business or project meets one of the following awards. You may email your submission to Carrie Hakenkamp at [email protected] no later than October 17th.

The Member of the Year Award goes to the business that has shown great dedication in their environmental program. This business exemplifies the WasteCap business membership by striving to improve waste reduction, resource conservation and recycling programs, utilizing WasteCap’s Master Agreements for recycling services and supporting WasteCap through attending special events and utilizing WasteCap’s services.

The Green Business Award is given to a business that not only recycles and participates in waste reduction activities, but also includes sustainable design standards in their projects and is striving for water and energy conservation within their daily activities.

The Continued Excellence in Recycling Award goes to the business that has taken strides to continually improve their waste reduction and recycling program. This business must continually examine and seek improvements as well as dedicate time, personnel and resources to the betterment of their environmental and recycling programs.

Best Waste Reduction and Reuse Program goes to the business organization that has shown the greatest effort to reduce waste and reuse products.

Upcoming Events

WasteCap Northeast Regional Committee Meeting and Tour

WasteCap has been working in the Columbus area for some time to expand business recycling services and offer education. We are proposing to expand our reach and include businesses in the entire Northeast Nebraska region (or at least in some radius of Columbus and Norfolk). The committee will meet on a quarterly basis starting in October and changing locations between Norfolk, Columbus and surrounding communities. The meetings will include introductions, short discussion of any needs and either a presentation or tour.

The first expanded meeting will be:

Wednesday, October 8, 2008
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
EGS Appleton
2500 E. 23rd Street
Columbus, NE
(402) 562-0484 (Gay Deamer)

We will have brief introductions and discussions and then a tour of the facility and their recycling and pollution prevention programs.

Please contact Carrie Hakenkamp at [email protected] or call us at 888-EWASTE9 if you plan to attend.

Additional regional committees are being planned to start in early 2009.

Lincoln Green Drinks

October’s Green Drinks will be held on Wednesday October 22nd at Lazlo’s Brewery and Grill in the Haymarket, 210 N 7th St. Lincoln, NE. Green Drinks is a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with others interested in the quality of our environment. Green Drinks is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. until late. Walk, cycle, or carpool to the meeting and ask anyone, “Are you green?” and you’ll be welcomed! For more information, please view the Green Drinks Lincoln Flyer.

Nebraska Safety Council October Classes

The Nebraska Safety Council is offering the following classes in October:

October 14th – First Aid, CPR & AED Training
October 27th-31st – HazWoper 40-hour Training
October 27th-29th – HazWoper 24-hour Training

All three of these classes will be held at the Nebraska Safety Council, 4600 Valley Road, Ste 300, Lincoln NE 68510. To register, contact Kimberly Vahl at 402-483-2581 ext. 108 or [email protected]. You may also register online at www.nesafetycouncil.org.

(Discounts are available for multiple registrations.)

In the News

Tire Collection

On Saturday September 27th, over 900 people dropped off old tires at a collection hosted by Emerald Sanitation Improvement District No. 6. The annual collection has been held since 2002 with over 619 tons of scrap tires collected last year. The group is still working on the total number of tires collected for this year’s event.
Source: Lincoln Journal Star

Recycle on the Go

The following information is directly from the EPA website, www.epa.gov/recycleonthego.

Recycle on the Go is an EPA initiative to encourage recycling in public places such as parks, stadiums, convention centers, airports and other transportation hubs, shopping centers, and at special events.

Recycle on the Go is part of EPA’s Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), a nationwide effort to renew and revitalize the nation’s goals of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. One of the RCC's goals is to help the nation achieve a recycling rate of 40 percent by 2011.

Recycle on the Go will assist in reaching the RCC’s 40 percent recycling goal by:

This Web site provides information on Recycle on the Go, including:

Market Corner

 

October – Chicago Region

Mixed Paper

$60-65 (-20)

Boxboard Cuttings

$80-85 (-10)

News

$60-65 (-30)

OCC

$70-75 (-10)

SOP

$190-200 (-10)

Sorted White Ledger

$300-310 (-20)

Material Abbreviations
OCC: Old Corrugated Cardboard
SOP: Sorted Office Paper		 Source: Official Board Markets