Food Watch: Waste

Garbage and Recycling

363.728 2011 GARBA

Kroger Unveils A Clean Energy Production System Powered By Food Waste
PRNewswire: 5.15.2013

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today unveiled a clean energy production system that will convert food that can't be sold or donated into clean energy to help power its Ralphs/Food 4 Less Compton distribution center.

The anaerobic conversion system will process more than 55,000 tons of organic food waste into renewable energy annually and provide power for the over 650,000 square foot distribution center. By diverting that food waste – the equivalent of 150 tons per day – the system will also reduce area truck trips by more than 500,000 miles each year. The Kroger Recovery System uses a sophisticated process to convert the carbon in organic material into a renewable source of methane.

.       .       .       .       .
The Kroger Recovery System utilizes anaerobic digestion, a naturally occurring process, to transform unsold organics and onsite food-processing effluent into renewable biogas. This biogas is then turned into power for onsite operations. The process is carried out in an enclosed, oxygen-free environment, which means the process takes up less space and generates no odors. The system will provide enough renewable biogas to offset more than 20% of the energy demand of the Ralphs/Food 4 Less distribution center. Combining the use of renewable energy power with more than 150 zero emission fuel cell fork lifts, the Ralphs/Food4Less distribution center is now one of the greenest and most efficient, advancing the City of Compton as a leading sustainable community.

About FEED Resource Recovery Inc.

The Kroger Recovery System is designed and operated by FEED Resource Recovery Inc., a clean technology company founded in Boston, Mass in 2007. FEED Resource Recovery (FEED) has designed and implemented a groundbreaking Zero Waste solution (called R2S) for the food industry. FEED's innovative and proprietary approach leverages customers' existing transportation and distribution systems to generate clean, sustainable power for onsite operations, reduce emissions and save millions of dollars on waste removal costs.  READ MORE !

 

Library Burbank Green Blog

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

COB: Starlight Bowl

Recycling Efforts at the Starlight Bowl
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS
Public Works Newsletter: August 2012

Since 2005 the Starlight Bowl has been collecting bottles, cans and cardboard. Beginning with the 2011 season, Recycle Center staff took waste reduction to a new level by adding the option for guests to compost food scraps and paper products at three Zero Waste stations around the venue.

Staff attends all events, which attract between 1,500 and 4,200 guests, and greet visitors to inform them about how to separate their trash to easily recycle bottles and cans as well as compost any organic material. In addition, guest are encouraged to bring reusable utensils, plates and containers to the next event to reduce the waste generated in the first place. Stage announcements reinforce the message and advertisements were placed in the local newspaper and event brochure. The Starlight Bowl website offers information about how to pack a zero waste picnic and stresses that ―a zero waste picnic is simply more elegant.

At the end of each concert waste audits are performed to see how successful the evenings efforts had been. In 2011 the results were promising with over 40% of the waste either recycled or composted. This was up from only 20% in previous years when only recycling existed. This year, the rate has jumped to 60% thanks, in part, to an increased number of zero waste stations, the familiarity of the program by return patrons, and by the efforts of the Starlight Bowl staff and vendors.

COOL — Compostable Organics Out of Landfills — 2012

COOL 2012

Get COOL — Compostable Organics Out of Landfills — by 2012

Every day, communities across the U.S. send tens of thousands of trucks to bury biodegradable materials:
- paper products
- food scraps
- yard trimmings

These materials amount to 1/2 of our discarded resources. When buried in a landfill, those lettuce heads, grass clippings and paper boxes don’t just break down as they would in nature or in a compost pile. They decompose anaerobically, without oxygen, and in the process become the number one source of human-caused methane and a major player in climate change.

The easiest, first step that can produce significant climate results right now is to STOP landfill-produced methane.

Seize the Paper: Commit to recycling a minimum of 75% of all paper and composting the rest by 2012. Paper is the largest share of biodegradable materials in a landfill, so recycling and composting paper products will take the largest bite out of a community’s methane emissions. The infrastructure to recycle and market the paper already exists; the key is to make it happen.

Source Separate: Require source separation of residential and business waste into 3 streams: compostables, recyclables and residuals. Source separation is pivotal to maximizing the environmental and economic potential of these resources.

Feed Local Soils: Support local farmers and sustainable food production with community composting infrastructure. The benefits of amending soils with composted organics are well-proven to increase long-term soil productivity, reduce irrigation needs and use of petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers, and increase water infiltration from today’s frequent and intense storm events.

Stop Creating Methane Now: No matter how the waste industry “greenwashes” its “new and improved landfills,” there is only one proven method to truly prevent methane emissions — keep compostable organics out of landfills. READ MORE !

Green Business Strategies: June 1 - 8 - 15

Green Business Strategies
Lecture Series
June 1, 8, and 15
Community Services Bldg
150 N Third

This Burbank Green Alliance series is designed for ALL businesses seeking economic and environmental sustainability. Learn to design and apply a green business plan, as well as, save resources and money !

June 1st: 3-5pm
Greening Your Restaurant/Food Service Business
Speaker: Leslie VanKeuren Campbell, LEED GA
Founder and Zero Waste/Sustainability Consultant, Sustain LA

June 8th: 6:30-9pm
Energy and Water Savings for Businesses
Speaker: Natalie Freidberg, Sustainable Building Advisor
and Certified Green Building Professional

June 15th: 6:30-9pm
Sustainable Business Strategies
Speaker: Brad Cracchiola, Senior Sustainability Engineer
BMW Group Designworks USA

Must Register for each course separately @ or 818.238.5198
$10 Residents
$15 Non-Residents
FREE Chamber Members

Recycling

8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle
Care2.com: 5.19.11
posted by Mel, selected from Divine Caroline via EcoSalon

1. Wine Corks
Send them to Yemm & Hart Green Materials started an experimental wine cork-recycling program that processes the old bottle stoppers into environmentally friendly cork floor and wall tiles.

2. Books, DVDs, and CDs
Swaptree.com is a cool Web site that allows you to essentially keep a constantly fresh, rotating selection of reading material, movies, and music for zero dollars.

3. Shoes
Nike is happy to take your rubber-soled shoes—no matter who made them—and recycle them into new athletic surfaces like basketball courts and running tracks. Find your nearest dropoff location at the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe website.

4. Foam Packing Peanuts
EPS recyclers. Polystyrene packing peanuts and molded foam cushioning can either be dropped off at a local location if you have one or sent in the mail.

5. Carpet
Check out the map at CarpetRecovery—you could be able to give that shaggy rug new life as composite lumber, roofing shingles, railroad ties, or automotive parts.

6. Holiday Lights
Send them off to HolidayLEDs to be recycled and you’ll get more than just do-gooder satisfaction. They’ll gift you with a 15-percent-off coupon for anything on their site, so you can get the twinkly LED lights of your dreams.

7. Bras
Bosom Buddy Recycling will take your old bras and give them to deserving women around the country including women’s shelters, transitional housing, and breast cancer-survivor support groups.

8. Prescription Medication
L A County Sheriff's Dept. Drug Drop Off Program
Our water has a drug problem, and as a result, we’re all taking in way more medication than we bargained for. Drinking water in many major metropolitan areas is contaminated with all kinds of pharmaceuticals—from antibiotics to antidepressants—and it’s not just the result of them passing through our bodies. Instead of flushing your prescription meds down the toilet, donate drugs that are still usable. Not every state has a recycling/redistribution program or allows patients to donate directly.

The Majestic Plastic Bag

Video from the EcoBurbank blog

The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary
Heal The Bay

Help stop our 19 billion bag-a--year habit in California and put an end to plastic pollution.

Filmed in the style of a nature documentary and narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons, this "mockumentary", though lighthearted in tone, hammers home the stark reality of California’s plastic bag pollution situation.

Blue World Map By: OCAL

Burbank Green Business Series: Summer 2010

GREEN BUSINESS LECTURE SERIES: Summer 2010
Burbank Green Alliance

Link to PowerPoint Presentations & Handouts from the Summer Lecture Series:


May 26: Zero Waste: Improve Your Bottom Line by Reducing Waste
PowerPoints from Susy Borlido and Spencer T Brown

June 2: Start It Out Right! Energy & Water Efficiency, Reduce Toxins, and Save Money!
Toxins Handout from Mario Quezada
PowerPoint from Jose Flores

June 9: Maximize Being Green
PowerPoints from Brad Cracchiola, Randy Lewis and Leslie VanKeuren
PowerPoint from Matthew Fladell coming soon

PowerPoint 2007 graphics & animation made easy
S E Slack – McGraw Hill, 2009
1 copy available at Central Library in Nonfiction
005.58 2009 SLACK 2009

Green Business Training Series

Green Business Training Series
Burbank Green Alliance
May 26, June 2 and June 9
Wednesdays: 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Burbank Green Alliance and Community Development have partnered to present a 3-part introduction to the basic principles of running a lean, green business.

Learn how to build your world-class green business
Attend this 3-part Workshop
Register ONLINE or Call: 818 . 238 . 5198

May 26: Zero Waste
Improve bottom line by reducing waste
Community Services Bldg – 150 N Third

June 2: Start It Out Right
Energy and water efficiency, reduce toxics, save money

June 9: Maximize Being Green
Build culture - engage customers - green contracts

Cost:
FREE: Burbank Chamber of Commerce Members
$10: Burbank Residents
$15: Non-Burbank Residents

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 !

Happy Earth Day

. . . from Care 2 Make A Difference

Eco - ABC's

A is for Adjust Your Thermostat

B is for Both Sides of the Paper are Usable

C is for Cruise Control: To Save You Gas

D is for Diaper With a Conscience

E is for Eat Organic

F is for Fly With an E-Ticket

G is for Go Vegetarian Once a Week

H is for Hang Dry

I is for Invest in Your Own Coffee Cup

J is for Junk Mail - Cut it Out of Your Life

K is for Keep Your Fireplace Damper Closed

L is for Local: The Way To Go

M is for Make a Bag And Use It

N is for Newspapers - Recycle and Consider Alternatives

O is for Old Cell Phones Need a New Life

P is for Plastic BottlesQ is for Q-Tips

R is for Recycle Glass

S is for Shower Instead of Baths

T is for Turn Off Computers at Night

U is for Use Fewer Paper Napkins

V is for VacationsW is for Wash in Cold Water

X is for X Out Your Phone Book

Y is for Your Enemy is Greenwashing

. . . and Z is for Zero Waste from the City of Burbank

Burbank Recycle Center: Composting Workshops

Free Composting Workshops

Burbank Recycle Center announces 11 new free composting workshops to celebrate the City’s 20th anniversary of backyard composting. It's fun for the whole family and compost bins are free for residents.

Over the years more than 10,000 residents have taken this workshop to learn how to turn their leaves, grass and food scraps into rich chocolaty soil for their yards. Help Burbank become a truly sustainable city and achieve Zero Waste.

Choose from following dates - Call to RSVP: 818 . 238 . 3900

January 16, 10am Luther Middle School, 3700 W Jeffries
January 23, 10am Jefferson Elementary, 1900 N Sixth
January 30, 10am Stevenson Elementary, 3333 Oak
February 6, 10am T Roosevelt Elementary School, 850 N Cordova
February 20, 10am Muir Middle School, 1111 N Kenneth Road
February 27, 10am Brace Canyon Park, Picnic Area 2
~ 2901 Haven Way (above basketball court/parking lot)
March 13, 10am Burbank Adult School, 3811 W Allan
March 20, 10am McCambridge Park, Picnic Area 3
~ 1515 N Glenoaks (west of tennis courts)
April 17, 10am Community Services Building, 1st Floor, 150 N Third
April 17, 1pm Burbank Adult School, 3811 W Allan
May 1, 10am Location TBA

Workshops are 1 hour and 15 minutes
Dress warmly workshops are outside unless it rains - then moves indoors
Free delivery of bins offered for those who walk or bike (hint hint).
Please bring your own lawn chair if you can.
Zero Waste in effect: Please bring own mugs, warm refreshments will be served.

Spread the word to your Burbank neighbors, friends, family, places of worship, clubs, etc . . .

Finally, a recycled rubber tire rake will be given to one participant at each workshop so wear your warm lucky socks if you want to be the only one on your block to own such a unique, locally made tool.

Burbank deserves more. Compost !

Donate Dishes for Zero Waste

Donate Dishes for Zero Waste !

Unwanted, mismatched coffee mugs, plates, bowls, cups or utensils ?

Put them back to work. The Burbank Recycle Center and the Burbank Green Alliance wants them. The Recycle Center will take all those unwanted dishes and utensils for a new life in upcoming Zero Waste workshops or events.

Drop off donations at the Recycle Center during the month of June.
For more information, call or email:
818 . 238 . 3900
Zero Waste

Zero Waste Food Service - Burbank

Restaurant Waste Reduction Workshop
March 25, 2009: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Hands-on, interactive workshop.
How to indentify, reduce and eliminate food service wastes.
Find out how others have reduced wastes.
Valuable information, resources and an action plan.

Seating Is Limited - Please RSVP by March 20th !

Community Services Building
1st Floor Community room
150 N Third
Burbank CA 91502

For more info, call: Burbank Recycle Center - 818 . 238 . 3900

Zero Waste Food Service - Burbank

Businesses look into going greener
Burbank Leader: 2.04.09 by Tom Risen

BURBANK — The Burbank Green Alliance gathered 130 area businesses and organizations Wednesday at the Buena Vista Library to share eco-friendly solutions and start an industry-wide discussion on how to keep their food service lean and green.

“This is the latest part of the city’s 2008 Sustainability Action Plan. We’re trying to start a discussion with local businesses so we can reach near-zero waste in a few years,” said Kreigh Hempel, recycling coordinator for the city of Burbank and member of the Green Alliance.

The Sustainability Action Plan focuses on seven different urban themes to accomplish 21 specific actions to make Burbank a model of eco-friendly efficiency. The city is currently accepting volunteers to head the Sustainability Task Force, which will be chosen at the end of February to administer direction of the urban environmental effort.

At Wednesday’s gathering, Hempel described the economic merits of reducing waste at a business, such as saving on shipping and handling costs for garbage.

READ MORE