Recycling Bulletin #18

- news from a national leader in campus recycling

October 3, 2002
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In this Bulletin:
1. CU Recycling Report: Residence Hall Cardboard Recycling 2. Local
Recycling Info: Burn or Recycle Tires? 3. Industry News: EPA Seeks
to Boost Recycling 4. Frightening Fact: Health Impacts of Landfills
5. Glimmer of Hope: Economic Benefits of Recycling
6. Get Involved / Upcoming Events: Post Recycling Info in your
Office, Composting Workshops, Tour of Solar Homes

1. *************** CU Recycling Report **************

TONS OF CARDBOARD RECYCLED DURING RESIDENCE HALL MOVE-IN

CU students in the residence halls recycled 16.5 tons of cardboard
in their first two weeks in Boulder. Almost 6,000 new students came
loaded with moving boxes for items such as computers, bicycles, and
stereos. CU Recycling’s intensive move-in cardboard recycling
program diverted 400 cubic yards of cardboard from the landfill and
prevented over 100 trash truck pick-ups. We estimate that 95
percent of disposed cardboard was recovered for recycling. This
effort also is estimated to conserve the following resources:

200 forty-foot trees
115,000 gallons for water
1,000 pounds of air pollution
68,000 kilowatt hours of electricity

2. *************** Local Recycling Info *******************

TIRE BURNING PERMIT CHALLENGED IN LYONS

The Cemex cement plant, located north of Boulder and just east of
the town of Lyons, is proposing to burn tires as a fuel source,
encountering objections from environmental groups and neighbors.

The Sierra Club is challenging Cemex’s tire-burning permit in
Boulder County District Court. CU’s Environmental Board is
considering adopting a resolution to join other members of the
environmental community in opposing tire burning at the Cemex plant,
opposing a test burn slated for this month, and opposing the
transport and storage of tires at the plant site.

Objections, based both on the chemistry involved in tire burning and
on experiences at other similar plants, stem from the concern that
hazardous levels of metallic elements and organic pollutants could
be emitted during test burns and during some or all of the plant’s
subsequent burning operations. There is also concern about toxic
emissions among neighboring land owners and communities downwind of
the plant, who distrust Cemex’s promises based on past experience
with other polluting aspects of their operation.

In addition to concerns about pollution, burning tires would deprive
the Colorado recycling industry of a large quantity of valuable
feedstock. As an alternative to burning or landfilling, new
recycling technologies and end uses for tires, with positive
environmental impacts, are emerging rapidly.

According to the Old Lyons Recorder, Cemex would receive state
funding for every ton of tires they burn. Environmental groups
argue that this money could be better spent if it was invested in
recycling instead of burning.

For more information, contact the Environmental Justice Project at
globalpeace@prodigy.net.

3. *************** Industry News *****************

US EPA SEEKS TO BOOST RECYCLING

In September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a
Resource Conservation Challenge with a goal to boost the national
recycling rate from 30 percent to at least 35 percent. The
initiative was announced at the National Recycling Coalition Annual
Congress and Exposition. To help meet the challenge, the agency
announced 12 new projects that will test creative approaches to
waste minimization, energy recovery, and recycling.

"EPA is asking Americans to adopt smart environmental practices,
make smart environmental purchases, reuse more products, and recycle
at least one pound of their household waste a day," said Marianne
Lamont Horinko, the EPa’s assistant administrator for solid waste
and emergency response. "The results of the Resource Conservation
Challenge and the innovative projects will be less waste, more
economic growth and greater energy savings and recovery."

See full story at http://ens-news.com/ens/sep2002/2002-09-09-06.asp

4. *************** Frightening Fact *****************

A British epidemiological study released in August shows an excess
of birth defects in populations living close to landfills.
Commissioned by the UK government, the study found a higher rate of
several congenital abnormalities and lower birth weights for
individuals living within two kilometers (1.2 miles) of landfill
sites. British politicians and environmental groups called for
urgent action to reduce waste landfilling and increase recycling
after the release of the study.

A peer reviewed version of the study appeared in the British Medical
Journal, http://bmj.com/index.dtl

5. *************** Glimmer of Hope ****************

A recent U.S. Recycling Economic Information Study shows important
economic as well as environmental impacts of recycling. According
to the study, recycling offers widespread benefits to the U.S.
economy by supporting more than 56,000 recycling and reuse
businesses that gross over $236 billion in annual revenues, and
employ over 1.1 million people with an annual payroll of nearly $37
billion. The study also reinforces the well-established
environmental benefits of recycling and reuse, such as cutting
pollution, conserving natural resources, saving energy, and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.

The study’s findings are available in the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s "Recycling is Working in the United States"
publication, which can be downloaded from
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/pub-r.htm

6. *************** Get Involved / Upcoming Events***************

POST RECYCLING INFO IN YOUR OFFICE
Share the benefits of recycling with your co-workers. Last fiscal
year, recyclers at CU saved the following resources:
4 million kilowatt hours of electricity
58,000 pounds of air pollutants
61,000 gallons of gasoline
1,150 cubic yards of landfill space
6.8 million gallons of water
15,500 40-foot Douglas Fir trees
"Environmental Impact Report" posters displaying this information
are available for posting next to your department’s copy machine, in
your break room, or on a common bulletin board. Send an email to
cure@stripe.colorado.edu or call (303)492-8307 if you would like an
electronic or hard-copy poster.

FREE COMPOSTING WORKSHOPS, sponsored by the City of Boulder Office
of Environmental Affairs and Boulder County Resource Conservation
Division
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 6:30 - 8:30 pm Worm Composting Workshop at
Boulder County Recycling Center
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 10 am, 11 am, and 12 noon 15-minute
Composting Mini-Seminars at Boulder Farmers Market (no advance
registration required)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 6 - 8 pm Backyard Composting Workshop at
Boulder Main Library
- To pre-register for a workshop, call Melanie at (303)441-4234

BIO-DIESEL TOUR OF SOLAR/GREEN BUILT HOMES OCTOBER 5
The CU Environmental Center and Boulder Biodiesel Cooperative are
teaming up to take CU students to Boulder’s Solar/Green Built Home
Tour, this Saturday, October 5. The Environmental Center is paying
registration fees for two bio-diesel carloads worth of participants.
Here’s your chance to be shuttled via vegetable-oil-fuel burning
vehicle to tour some of Boulder County’s cutting edge
energy-efficient homes. We’ll leave the UMC at 10 am and return
around noon. If you would like to participate, please send an email
to ecenter@colorado.edu or stop by the Environmental Center, UMC 355
to sign up. The free spots are limited to the first eight who sign
up. After that, participants are asked to share the Tour entrance
fee of $10 per carload ($2 - $3 per person).

For more information about the Solar/Green Built Home Tour, visit
the Boulder Energy Conservation Center’s web site at
http://bcn.boulder.co.us/environment/becc/
Info about Boulder Biodiesel Cooperative: http://www.boulderbiodiesel.com

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About University of Colorado at Boulder Recycling

The University of Colorado's recycling program is a non-profit, campus-based organization whose mission is to instill awareness of the benefits of waste reduction and recycling.  CU Recycling is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading campus programs. Awards have been given by such groups as the EPA, National Recycling Coalition, and the Office of Federal Environmental Executive, who in 2000, announced CU Recycling the model campus program in the United States.

The university community is encouraged to get involved in CU Recycling's many activities.  For more information, call (303)492-8307 or visit http://www.colorado.edu/recycle

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