BWP - EcoCampus Dedication: January 28

Burbank Water & Power
EcoCampus Dedication
January 28
164 W Magnolia
10:00 am – 1:00 pm

EcoCampus: Powered by Innovation

A Community Fair and Dedication Ceremony to Celebrate California’s First Sustainable Utility Campus

Special Guests Senator Carol Liu, Burbank Mayor Jess Talamantes and representatives of the US Department of Energy. The day’s program will be hosted by Discovery Planet Green’s Planet 100 Host, and green media maven, Sarah Backhouse.

Join us for exhibits, tours, music, food trucks, children’s activities and much more! Burbank residents attending the event will receive a highest-efficiency LED bulb, so bring your Drivers License showing your Burbank address.

Free Parking at Metro Parking Lot on Olive Street. Shuttles will be provided. For more info, please call BWP at 818-238-3730.

E-Waste Collection: Jan 21

Boys & Girls Club - Burbank
E-Waste Collection
January 21st
8:00 am - 2:00pm

NEW LOCATION
141 N. Glenoaks Blvd. Burbank, CA (map)
Glenoaks Blvd. and Olive Ave.

Bring your old electronics to recycle with GreenMouse!

Some acceptable items include:monitors, TVs, computers, laptops, cell phones, scrap metal, DVD/CD/MP3 players, VCRs, and more!

View a list of acceptable items

Recycled items will also benefit our Boys & Girls Club!

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 Day Planner: January 2012

Burbank Library Green Pages
January 2012 Calendar

Calendar of Green Events in Burbank and Greater LA.
Check out State and National events on the Green Day Planner.

Burbank and Local
Jan 3: SFV – Critical Mass Bike Ride (Victory & Woodley) 7pm - 10pm
Jan 16: BUR – Sustainable Task Force 4:30pm
Jan 21: BUR – eWaste Collection Boys & Girls Club Fundraiser 8am - 2pm

Southern California and California
Jan 18: S Monica – Green Living Workshops 7pm – 8:30pm
Jan 25: Venice – Green Living Workshops 7pm – 8:30pm
Jan 27: LA – Future of Water in So. California 8am – 7pm

National and International
2012: COOL: Commit to recycling a minimum of 75% of all paper and composting the rest by 2012
Jan 31+: Las Vegas – Solar Power Generation USA

Burbank: Christmas Tree Recycling

Christmas Tree Recycling
Burbank Recycle Center

Remove all tinsel, ornaments, metal stands, and plastic buckets
Flocked Trees are NOT RECYCLED

Recycle Trees 3 Ways !

1: Dec 26, 2011 – Jan 20, 2012
Drop off @ 2 parks
Brace Canyon Park, 2901 Haven Way [in parking lot off Haven Way]
Verdugo Park, 3201 W Verdugo Ave [near corner of California St & Verdugo Ave]

2: Jan 2 – Jan 20, 2012
At the curb or alley
~ place with waste containers on scheduled waste collection day

3: Cut up your tree
~ place it in the green waste containers with other yard trimmings

For more information: 818 . 238 . 3800

Burbank Recycle Center Reduces Bottle & Can Payments

Burbank Recycle Center Reduces Bottle and Can Payments

Burbank Recycle Center Press Release: 12.22.2011

Kreigh Hample, Recycling Coordinator (818) 238-3900

Beginning December 27, 2011 the Burbank Recycle Center will no longer pay the California Redemption Value (CRV) for bottles and Cans. Instead, the Center will pay scrap value only for beverage containers.

Visitors will receive substantially smaller payments. It is unknown when the California Redemption Value (CRV) will be reinstated at the Recycle Center.

Bottles and cans may be redeemed for full CRV value at the following centers:

~ rePlanet, 1100 North San Fernando Blvd., Burbank 91504 (951) 520-1700

~ West Side Metal Recycling, 6449 San Fernando Road, Glendale 91201 (818) 243-6955
~ South Coast Fibers, 5487 San Fernando Road, Los Angeles 90039 (818) 552-4068

Additional redemption centers for bottles and cans are listed at bottlesandcans or earth911.

The Recycle Center will continue to accept all other drop off materials as before. A detailed list of accepted materials may be found at Burbank Recycle.

The Burbank Recycle Center is located at 500 South Flower Street Burbank, CA 91502 and can be reached at (818) 238-3900.

. . . . . more information at

Residents to get less back from Burbank Recycle Center
Burbank Leader: 12.22.2011 by Mark Kellam

Christmas Trees: Real or Artificial

Buying Real vs. Artificial Christmas Trees
earth911.com: 12.01.2011 by Lori Brown

The real versus artificial Christmas tree debate replays itself year after year. But the truth is, each option has its own place on the naughty-and-nice list.

Just a few short decades ago, displaying a Christmas tree in your living room really only yielded one option: a real pine or fir tree. That all changed when a U.S.-based toilet bowl brush manufacturer, the Addis Brush Company, created an artificial tree from brush bristles in the 1930s, acting as the prototype for modern artificial trees.

The Pros and Cons of Artificial Trees
Guilt. Many have made it the sole reason to invest in an artificial tree. The thought of cutting down a new tree each year can put a damper on the holidays for some.

Also, cost, convenience and environmental impact are other reasons consumers opt for an artificial tree.

Given the current economic climate, artificial trees may be especially appealing for their investment value when compared with the recurrent, annual expense of a real Christmas tree. Their convenience is also appealing to consumers as they don’t need watering, don’t leave pine needles all over the floor and transportation from tree farm to home isn’t an issue.

But many experts believe artificial trees actually have a greater negative environmental impact when all aspects of an their life cycle are considered.

Today’s artificial trees are typically manufactured with metal and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a non-biodegradable, petroleum-derived plastic. In addition, many older varieties may contain lead, used as a stabilizer in the manufacturing process.

Despite their PVC contents, artificial trees are non-recyclable and non-biodegradable, meaning they will sit in a landfill for centuries after disposal.

Furthermore, approximately 85 percent of artificial trees sold in the U.S. are imported from China, according to the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), adding to their overall environmental footprint.

The Pros and Cons of Real Trees
Approximately 33 million real Christmas trees are sold in North America each year, according to the U.S. EPA. Luckily, about 93 percent of those trees are recycled through more than 4,000 available recycling programs.

Also known as “treecycling,” the act of *recycling a Christmas tree is a leading reason many experts agree they are more environmentally friendly than their plastic counterparts. READ MORE !

*Burbank Recycle Center – Christmas Tree Recycling
~ All tinsel, ornaments, metal stands, and plastic buckets must be removed
~ Flocked trees are NOT recycled

Recycle Trees 3 Ways !

1: Jan 2 – Jan 20, 2012 – At the curb or alley
~ place with waste containers on scheduled waste collection day

2: Dec 26, 2011 – Jan 20, 2012 – Drop off @ 2 parks
Brace Canyon Park, 2901 Haven Way [in parking lot off Haven Way]
Verdugo Park, 3201 W Verdugo Ave [near corner of California St & Verdugo Ave]

3: Cut up your tree
~ place it in the green waste containers with other yard trimmings

For more information: 818 . 238 . 3800