America Recycles Day: November 15

America Recycles Day: November 15
a program of Keep America Beautiful, is a nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States.

Burbank Recycle Center

California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
Where to Recycle, Schools & State Agencies, Resources

Federal Agencies: U.S. EPA
iWARM – Online tool calculates energy saved by recycling small quantities of household products
Resources for Teachers
Climate Change & Waste
Office of Solid Waste – What You Can Do In Your Community
Recycling Publications

Industry
The Aluminum Association
Recycling Facts for Kids, Curbside Recycling, Teacher Resources, Statistics
Batteries: Call2Recycle
Recycling at Home, Recycling at Work
Glass Packaging Institute
Recycling & the Environment, Community Recycling, Bar & Restaurant Recycling, Best Practices
Consumer Electronics Association’s Greener Gadgets
Responsible Electronics Recycling, Where to Recycle Electronics, Emerging Trends
American Forest & Paper Association
Workplace Recycling, School Recycling, Community Recycling, Paper and the Environment
Plastic
American Chemistry Council: Plastics Division
Plastics Recycling Rates, Plastic Bag Recycling
National Association for PET Container Resources
PET Recycling, FAQs, Fun Facts, Kids Corner
Steel Recycling Institute
Steel Recycling Rates, Buy Recycled, Steel Recycling Locator, Resources for Kids
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
Facts and Economic Data, Scrap Recycling Specifications, Policy Information

Garbage and Recycling
-Global Viewpoints Series
Garbage issues throughout the world.
Greenhaven Press, 2011

Recycling - SCARCE

Finder's keepers and reuses
Nothing goes to waste at a self-proclaimed Dumpster diver's group. Old keys are melted for their metal, and wine corks go toward classroom art projects.
LA Times: May 10, 2010 by Heidi Steven, Chicago Tribune

Kay McKeen has sent microscopes to Ghana, zippers to Ethiopia, textbooks to India and a baby grand piano to a high school on Chicago's South Side.

She outfits classrooms across Illinois. She turns wax nubs into bright, gorgeous crayons. She collects, sorts and donates hundreds of thousands of books.

She's equal parts environmentalist, Dumpster diver and missionary, and her motivation is simple: "If we don't rescue it, it's in a landfill forever."

McKeen, 59, of Wheaton, Ill., is the founder and executive director of SCARCE (School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education), an organization dedicated to collecting people's unwanted stuff and finding a use for it — from bottle caps and old keys to overhead projectors and, in one case, a 16-foot balance beam.

"It came from a school whose insurance no longer covered gymnastics," McKeen recalled. "We found a magnet school in Chicago that just happened to need a new balance beam."

When you walk though the front door at SCARCE headquarters in Glen Ellyn, Ill., tidy suburbia gives way to delightful chaos. Thousands of books line the walls from floor to ceiling. A shelving unit holds containers of American flags, dried-up ballpoint pens, eyeglasses, old keys, wine corks, cellphones and other items that often get tossed.

"It's not trash," McKeen said. "It's resources."

6 6 6 6 6 6 6

"We're throwing out stuff that can help save lives." READ MORE !

Public Works: Refuse Fleet

City of Burbank Refuse Fleet Goes 100% CNG
Government Fleet: January 2010 by Shelley Mika

The City of Burbank, Calif., recently placed into service a new 2009 solid waste rear-loader collection truck powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). This small addition to the City’s 485-unit fleet is significant as it completes the goal of a 100-percent natural gas-powered solid refuse fleet

David Rodriguez, fleet superintendent, said the switch to CNG has been relatively easy, aside from the up-front costs. Each unit costs roughly $65,000 more than diesel-powered vehicles, and a capital dollar investment is required to build the infrastructure for retrofitting repair shops and building fueling sites.

“The City’s stance has always been that we understand the technology costs money, and it’s our responsibility to use our money wisely,” Rodriguez said. “We feel it’s more prudent to pay extra initial capital outlay and give our citizens and geographical area better air quality.”

Immediate Payback Seen
The City is seeing immediate benefits from the use of CNG. With vehicles running all day, emissions reduction is significant. CNG costs about $1 less per gallon than gasoline and diesel fuels, which means big savings for the City.

“Take a refuse truck that’s driving eight hours a day, five days a week, and gets about 5 miles to the gallon. That means a lot of savings, not only in the carbon footprint, but in dollars to us,” said Ari Omessi, assistant public works director.

With the switch to CNG, Burbank’s fleet has also realized reduced maintenance and repair costs. READ MORE !

Green Day Planner: Burbank Feb 3

Burbank Green
2010 Environmental Film Series
February 3: 7 pm- 9pm

"GARBAGE - THE REVOLUTION STARTS AT HOME"
COST: Suggested Donation of $10
(Donations and reservations are not necessary, but always welcome.)

A feature documentary about how the family household has become one of the most ferocious environmental predators of our time. (Trailer)

Everyday life under a microscope has never been so revealing. By the end of this trashy odyssey, you are truly inspired to revolutionaize your lifestyle for the sake of future generations.

Also featuring: Episodes from EcoDivasTV and a post-film Q/A with the Burbank Recycle Center's Kreigh Hampel and Ferris Kawar about how you can reduce your household or office waste.

Industry Watch: Refuse

Solar Powered Trash Cans
smart2begreen: January 13, 2010

Garbage is all around,
Full trash cans abound.
Want to help your town?
Solar cans will astound!

Sunny Days Keep Trash Trucks Away

Every day, millions of trash cans around the U.S. are filled, collected, and emptied. Garbage trucks running on fossil fuels make countless daily pick-ups of our refuse and transport it to overfilled dumpsites

• The Big Belly Solar Compactor is a revolutionary trash receptacle that uses solar power for 100% of its energy needs. It is safe, easy to use, keeps out pests, and is designed to withstand all weather conditions.
• The capacity of the Big Belly is 5 times greater than standard trash bins. This reduces the number of required collection trips and can cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.
• Depending on collection frequency, a standard trash bin costs between $7,300 and $30,000 over its lifetime. The lifetime operational costs of the Big Belly are between $6,000 and $12,000.

• Over 2,000 Big Belly systems have been sold across the U.S. and in 17 countries around the world. For example, the city of Philadelphia has reduced its trash collection trips by 75% by replaced 700 trashcans downtown with 500 Big Bellies.

Big Belly in California:
La Jolla, CA - KFMB TV News - May 2009
Using The Sun To Get Rid of Trash In La Jolla
Los Angeles, CA - LACCD BuildsGreen - Aug 2009
New Campaign Asks Students to Waste Not
Mission Viejo, CA - EnergyBoom.com - Dec 2009
Shedding New Light on Trash: BigBelly Solar Trash Compactors
Oceanside, CA - North County Times - Dec 2009
Oceanside: Here comes the sun. There goes the trash
Orange County, CA - The Orange County Register - Dec 2009
Solar trash-masher debuts in O.C.
Palm Springs, CA - The Desert Sun - Aug 2008
BigBelly Compactors Approved By Council
Pasadena, CA - Government Technology - Oct 2009
Solar-Powered Self-Compacting Trash Bins Save City Labor, Fuel
San Diego, CA - NBC San Diego - Nov 2007
Cardiff by the Sea brings in the BigBelly...
Santa Cruz, CA - Santa Cruz Sentinel - Jun 2007
Capitola tackles beach trash with solar bins...
Ventura, CA - KNBC (NBC) - Sep 2007
Ventura Brings in the BigBelly
Visalia, CA - The Fresno Bee - Oct 2007
Visalia will muscle up on sunshine