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| RECYCLING BULLETIN | |
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Bulletin Archive: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 |
| Recycling Bulletin #23 February 17, 2004 In this Bulletin:
1. CU Recycling Report Yesterday's Waste Paper is Today's News at CU Some of the paper that is recycled in CU's recycling bins may be returned to your hands a few months later as the Colorado Daily newspaper. As of February 1, the newspaper distributed at CU and in the Boulder area is being printed on 100 percent post-consumer newsprint. The mill from whom the Colorado Daily is purchasing its new paper stock is the same mill that receives materials from the CU Recycling Center. "It's a little more expensive and we've had to make some changes to our presses, but we feel it's worth it," said Randy Miller, president, publisher and editor of the Daily. Jack DeBell, Director of CU Recycling, is excited about the change. "The Colorado Daily will be closing the loop by using CU's old fiber at the paper, which we will later collect again. We congratulate the Daily for closing the loop. This is a fine example of the best kind of recycling occurring in the nation today," he said. The newspaper's shift to 100 percent post-consumer fibers will save 9,550 trees, 5.5 million gallons of water, 48,000 pounds of air pollutants and 3.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. (Excerpted from 1/19/03 Colorado Daily article by Vivienne Jannatpour.)
Low Waste Gets High Marks CU Recycling assisted with zero-waste efforts at the recent Sustainable Resources Conference at CU. Volunteers and staff sorted, weighed and recorded recyclables, compostables and trash generated by conference attendees. In the best effort ever at the University, 85.3 percent of all materials were diverted from the landfill. Perhaps more importantly, analysis revealed only 0.56 pounds of total materials were generated per person per day. The conference drew over 750 people from more than 50 countries and had almost perfect attendance in the waste minimization effort.
Colorado Campus Recycling Network CU Recycling announced in November a new network for campus recycling, the Colorado Campus Recycling Network, which was formed in response to Colorado's growing student interest in environmentalism. The aim of the network is to improve recycling on campuses and in college towns around the State, by sharing information, best practices and ideas. The Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation was involved in the planning and funding of this campus recycling network. The Colorado Campus Recycling Network is ready to improve recycling around the state. The group's first project was the recent launch of a web site where contacts for seven campus recycling programs are listed, and more are expected to join. The site contains an extensive set of recycling-related resources from around the country, and a "toolbox" where recycling coordinators can share successes, allowing others to benefit and avoid reinventing recycling programs on the each campus. For more information about the Colorado Campus Recycling Network, visit the Web site. 2. Local Recycling Info EcoCycle Styrofoam Event a "Voluminous Success" More than 400 Boulder County residents and small businesses dropped off over a ton of Styrofoam during special Styrofoam collections held by Boulder's EcoCycle in January. The polystyrene collections took place during a one-day McStain neighborhoods sponsored collection in Louisville and a week of collections at Boulder's Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM), and filled two full semi-trailer loads. For more information on diverting hard to recycle materials from the landfill, visit EcoCycle online. 3. Industry News They say they do, but do they? Americans think so favorably of recycling that some may actually lie about their recycling behavior. Recent research sponsored by aluminum producer Alcan Inc. found that 70 percent of Americans say they take part in aluminum can recycling efforts. However, the recycling level for aluminum cans is closer to 50 percent. In fact, almost half of the respondents to the Alcan poll say they recycle more aluminum cans now than five years ago. Only 19 percent say they recycle fewer. For those not taking part in recycling, more than 50 percent said that they lack curbside recycling collection service or a convenient drop-off location. Only six percent surveyed said recycling was not important to them. Source: Resource Recycling Magazine 4. Frightening Fact For every garbage can placed at the curb, the equivalent of 71 garbage cans' worth of waste is created in mining, logging, agriculture, oil and gas exploration, and the industrial processes used to convert raw materials into finished products and packaging. This doesn't even include the extra energy usage and climate change impacts resulting from resource extraction and processing. Source: Grassroots Recycling Network, Zero Waste Campaign 5. Glimmer of Hope As additional evidence that recycling can be successful in any sort of environment, the recycling level in the world's most southern program has reached 50 percent. Researchers, scientists and support staff at Antarctica's McMurdo Station now put materials in recycling and composting bins placed throughout the facility. The cost of the recycling program in the remote station is not excessive because, whether recycled or trashed, discards must be shipped to New Zealand. Source: Resource Recycling Magazine 6. Get Involved/Upcoming Events CU Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Workshop: Computers and
Electronics If you are a campus purchaser of computers or electronics, take this opportunity to learn what to ask for when selecting products. Anne Peters, consultant for Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment CRT Recycling Pilot Project will discuss environmentally conscious contracts, energy saving attributes, take-back programs, and computer recycling and disposal. By making environmental attributes a priority in computer purchasing, CU can minimize environmental impacts and create a safer, healthier environment. Bring a lunch; refreshments will be provided.
Master Composting Training Learn to compost and teach others how! Master Composters learn to turn kitchen and yard waste into a valuable soil amendment, and provide community education by teaching others how compost. Program participants will attend classes every Tuesday evening March 30 - May 4, and Saturday May 8, 9 am - noon. After training, Master Composters complete 15 hours of composting service to the community. Applications for the program are being accepted now through March 10. The cost for the training is $65, the class is limited to 30 participants and spaces fill quickly. For an application, call the Center for ReSource Conservation at 303-441-3278 or the Boulder County Cooperative Extension at 303-776-4865. The program is a partnership of the Center for ReSource Conservation, the CSU Cooperative Extension-Boulder County, and the Boulder County Resource Conservation Division. Subscribe to the CU Recycling Bulletin Receive monthly updates on local recycling developments, new programs, and upcoming events. Learn more about resource conservation through waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. Here's How: Send e-mail message to listproc@lists.colorado.edu. The body text of your message should read: subscribe recycling-infolist <your-full-name>. 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/cure. Please recycle this information: talk about it, pass it on, or post it!
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