News Bits: Green Cheeseheads

This is a few weeks old, but worth the read!

“As we prepare to enjoy this Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, let us spare a moment to memorialize the dear dispatched Green Bay Packers. But give the Packers’ organization credit: they’re not sitting home pouting. Instead they’re using the early playoff exit as an opportunity to get started on improvements to Lambeau Field, which included recycling the stadium’s aging scoreboard, according to Green Bay, Wis., ABC affiliate WBAY.

The Packers are working with Waste Management (it must be more than sheer coincidence that the two organizations sport identical yellow and green color schemes) to recycle the enormous device. An estimated 90 percent of the scoreboard is recyclable, including steel, aluminum, vinyl, wiring and circuit board materials and LEDs, although it will have to be shipped to Minneapolis for processing since Waste Management’s Milwaukee recycling center is not large enough for the job.

To quote a cheeky commenter on WBAY’s website, ‘This is not the first time the Packers organization has tried throwing something out and where their trash ended up in Minnesota.’

Ouch.”

Source: Waste360.com

News Bits: Greener (Brown) Toilet Paper and the Elusive Green Consumer

The latest from Mark Gunther of GreenBiz.com:

“I’d like to believe that we can shop our way to be a better world. It’s unlikely. If our economy is going to become more just and sustainable, change will have to come from the top down, not from the bottom up.

This roll of toilet paper explains why.

Called Moka, this bathroom tissue comes from a company called Cascades, which is headquartered in Montreal. It’s made from 100 percent recycled paper, and it has a lower carbon footprint than conventional toilet paper. Moka costs less to manufacture than ordinary white toilet paper and uses less bleach. And it works fine. Trust me – the company sent me a sample roll.

‘It’s beneficial for us, for consumers and for the environment,’ says Isabelle Faivre, US Marketing Director for Cascades.

The trouble is, you can’t buy Moka in a store.

That’s because Moka is being, er, rolled out exclusively in the away-from-home market. That is, it’s being sold to distributors who supply office buildings, schools, colleges, hospitals, restaurants and hotels. ‘Companies have that need to look green, to make them feel better about themselves,’ says Faivre. But consumers aren’t ready to accept off-color bathroom tissue.”

Source:  Greenbiz.com

Read more on the issues of changing consumer behavior HERE.

How have your consumer habits changed? What is important to you in making the decision to buy a product?

News Bit: Hershey Achieves Zero Waste to Landfill at 3 Plants

The Hershey Co. said three of its manufacturing facilities achieved zero waste-to-landfill (ZWL) status.

The Hershey, PA based candy retailer said in a news release that two plants in Hershey and another in Hazelton, PA, recycle about 90 percent of operational waste generated. The remainder of the waste goes to nearby Pennsylvania waste-to-energy incinerators in Bainbridge and Harrisburg.

“We achieved ZWL at these facilities through a rigorous process of eliminating waste, recycling and convertings waste to energy,” said Terence O’Day, senior vice president of global operations for Hershey.

The company’s Hazleton plant achieved ZWL status this month. Its West Hershey plant became a ZWL facility in October 2011. In addition, an ongoing $200 million to $225 million expansion of the facility is a ZWL project. The company’s Reese plant, located in Hershey, achieved ZWL status in 2010.

Hershey said it aims to continue improving its recycling and energy efficiency progrmas at all of its U.S. facilities.

Source:  waste360.com

SPECIAL NOTE: Hershey Kiss wrappers are recyclable!

2012 Climate Fellowship Postings Are Now Available from Clean Air – Cool Planet

Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP) Fellowships are 10-week, full-time summer positions that pair excetionally talented students with challenging, real-world projects to advance innovative climate change solutions and leadership. Fellows are provided mentorship, networking opportunities and a stipend.

DEADLINE for accepting applications is February 24th! 

The list of 2012 Fellowships is exciting and diverse, including the following:

  • Haas Climate Fellowship: Climate Preparedness for Coastal New Hampshire Towns (NH)
  • Lamprey Climate Fellowship: Charting Emissions from Food Services (CHEFS): Supporting Sustainable Decisions
  • Impact of Climate Change on Population Dynamics of Emergent Pathogens (NH)
  • Fostering Innovation in Financing State and Local Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiatives (CT)
  • Using the Campus Carbon Calculator to Highlight Coal Dependence Impacts and Alternatives for Colleges and Universities
  • Climate Preparedness for New Jersey – Data Directory (NJ)
  • and more…

If you are or know a college student (upper-class undergrad or graduate) looking for a challenging and rewarding summer experience, for details about the projects and applications process, please visit HERE.

Share Your Ideas for Recycling, Reusing, and Reducing!

Do you have any suggestions, practical ideas, creative usage or other ideas on how to reduce your consumption of ‘stuff’, reuse/recycling the ‘stuff’ you do have in new ways rather than throwing it into the trash to go live in a landfill?

Here’s a few things to get you started:

  • Buy a reusable water bottle and refill from the Union’s ‘hydration station’ or any water fountain. Saves money, reduces plastic waste, reduces oil usage  (come to see “Tapped: The Movie” at the EMBI Green Innovations Conference on April 19th – it’s free! – and informative).
  • Make sure you use the duplex setting when you print – save some paper – and be sure to recycle the paper in the proper bin when it’s ready to go.
  • Earn some cash for your old electronics – visit Gazelle.com to see if you can sell them your old iPhone, x-box, or other electronic items.

What are your ideas – do you have one simple idea you can share?

 

Become a RecycleManiac!

Recyclemania is here!! Get ready for some friendly competition with other colleges and universities in North America and Canada (513 to be exact), as we all work to see who can do the best job reducing, reusing and recycling. During the eight weeks of February 5 – March 31, we’ll be having our waste hauler record the amount of waste and recycling removed from our campus. That volume is converted to weights and entered in the RecycleMania database for all to see … and compare our progress against other schools!

In Wisconsin, the following schools are competing in RecycleMania: College of the Menominee Nation, Madison Area Technical College, Saint Norbert College, UW – Eau Claire, UW – LaCrosse, UW – Milwuakee, UW – Oshkosh, UW – Plattville, UW – River Falls, UW – Stevens Point, UW – Stout, UW – Whitewater, and Western Technical College. How will UWGB fare against this competition?

The goal, of course, is to both reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ we throw out in the trash by thinking before we buy AND if we do need to discard something AND it is recyclable, to put it in the appropriate recycling bin.

Stay tuned for events happening the week of February 27th and check back here for updates on our progress and status.

News Bits: Cow Burps and Other Emissions

White Wave Looks to the Farm to Improve Environmental Footprint
“Of all the various sources of greenhouse gas emissions, one of the most little-known to the average consumer may be those from the wide-eyed cow and its environs.

“Some estimate that dairy industry emissions, including those from cow burps and manure, are responsible for about 2 percent of total emissions in the U.S. For some firms like White Wave Food Company, those dairy emissions account for a significant slice of their carbon footprints.

“White Wave, the Broomfiled, Colo.-based maker of Silk, Horizon Organic, International Delight and Land O Lakes, has been targeting its dairy carbon footprint for years. Between 2006 and 2010, the company cut its emissions 16 percent per gallon of product, exceeding its 10 percent goal for the time period.”

What to learn how … read more HERE.
Source:  GreenBiz.com

News Bits: Don’t Forget to Read the Label

Chevrolet Introduces Environmental Labeling on All Vehicles
“This March, Chevrolet will start providing customers with information on a number of the environmental features of their vehicles, via “Ecologic” environmental window labels that will initially appear on the 2012 Sonic, the company’s new sub-compact car.

“Later on, labeling will be rolled out across the entire 2013 vehicle line in North America, and in doing so, Chevrolet will be the first automotive brand to provide a label of this kind on its vehicles.”

Read more HERE
Source:  TriplePundit.com.

Friday Factoids

  • In WISCONSIN, we generate 4.6 million tons of trash and recyclables each year. That’s enough to fill a typical city street over 4 feet deep with trash (curb to curb) for 575 miles! If you remove the recyclables, only 357 miles would be filled with trash.
  • In the UNITED STATES, we generate enough trash and recyclables each DAY to fill 72,450 garbage trucks that hold 9 tons of trash each (which means 26,444,250 garbage trucks in a YEAR). Recyclables would fill 27,531 garbage truck each DAY.
  • The average person in WISCONSIN generates 4.7 pounds of trash (residential and their share of commercial trash) each day and recycles 1.9 pound of that trach per day.
  • The average person in the UNITED STATES generates 4.7 pounds of trash each day and recycles 1.4 pounds of that trash per day.