Making money from cardboard

Did you know that George Mason University Recycling and Waste Management recycled 325,120 lbs. of cardboard in 2009, which generated $3,307.91 of revenue?

How can I tell which wines have natural cork?

My colleague asked me that question. While we happen to know a DC artist who wants plastic corks, plastic corks generally can't be recycled. It seems that one could recycle plastic corks in the regular recycling, but DC government does not list plastic corks as recyclable. Natural corks can be REUSED (even better!) and help to support the cork industry in the Mediterranean. I realized while sorting the natural and plastic corks that I could actually make a list of wines that usually have plastic corks and thus could be avoided. Here are wines that have plastic corks (and a photo of some of picturesque corks collected by Hayden's on the Hill):

Barefoot
Bella Sera
Beringer
Dolium
Ecco Domani
Eden Valley
Fat Bastard
Georges Duboeuf
Kendall-Jackson
Penfolds
Roca
Santini
Turning Leaf
Trinity Oaks
Woodbridge
Yellowtail

On the other hand, there are lots and lots of other wines that have natural corks. According to Green Yes, E&J Gallo, which having previously used almost no natural cork, now seal tens of millions of bottles with them. Some 370,000 acres of new forest has been planted over the last 20 years. So, consumers can help expand the sustainable natural cork economy, reuse corks, and decrease plastics that end up in the landfill. If you like a wine on the list, ask the winery to change to screwcaps or natural cork. Maybe they will change their ways. E&J Gallo did!

Post bags III (and corks)

Every time I walk past the bag bin at 7th and A St SE (see photo below), I see new bags in and old bags gone, so people are really using the bags. Try it out. Put a few of your Post bags and see what happens. My neighbor Dan just asked me for more Post bags, so you might ask a neighbor whether they want your bags.

On the cork front, I just got a huge bag of corks from Hayden's. Keep bringing your corks (natural and plastic) to Hayden's because the DC artist and the Missouri cork tile company need them. Also, if you can, try to use natural corks because World Wildlife Fund is asking us to support the natural cork industry in the Mediterranean -- it's good for workers, their economy, and the cork trees (see discussion in previous post). Power to the natural corks and the Mediterranean workers!

Post bags II (and the Scoop)

There is a bin for collecting used bags, including Post bags, at 7th and A St SE! Some people might think about putting up similar bins in the parks where dogs go. I think that bags shouldn't be put in other bags, but rather should be put in the bin individually. In any case, I'm giving my bags to my neighbor Dan. Other neighbors said that they would gladly take the bags too. Ask around and see if someone wants your bags.

One cold night, I went around to the various parks and found that kind souls provided new bags for dog owners.
What about creating a bin for used Post and other small bags? Of course, there is always another alternative, reported by Mr. Green: "If you are connected to a municipal sewage treatment plant, an alternative to sending dung to the dump is to buy a pooper scooper (or fashion your own by cutting out the bottom and part of the sides of a plastic jug to make it into a scooper). Scoop up the dog excrement, take it home, and flush it down the toilet." Well, that's all I'm going to say about bags and dogs! For now, maybe just more bins for used Post and other small bags?

Did you receive an Examiner newspaper on Sunday?

The Hill was strewn with hundreds (thousands?) of Examiner newspapers in plastic bags on Sunday. They do this at least once per year. This is not only an eyesore, but also an environmental waste and a security issue: want to know who isn't home? see who still has an Examiner outside their door. Is it legal for the Examiner to do this mass delivery? If they had to mail the newspaper, then they would at least have to consider the cost of delivery involved. The taxpayers have to think about the costs of disposal involved. Please feel free to email our council member Tommy Wells (twells@dccouncil.us) and let him know your opinion about this. While we're at it, what about the load of garbage (ads) that is delivered each week through my mail slot and goes right into the recycling bin. While I know that ads are funding the USPS, these ads are a sign of complete disregard for the environment and the taxpayer. These ads are the spam of the old mail system. Email spam can be blocked from my inbox. What can we do to stop old school spam?

Buying used is green

According to the NYT, eBay has started promoting the green benefits of buying used. Ebay calculated that purchasing a used leather handbag, for example, saves energy equivalent to a flight from London to Paris. Whatever you think about these calculations, it is true that reusing keeps items out of landfills and saves on production energy and costs. The Post yesterday reported on Anne Arundel County business owner Chris Chapman, who makes a pretty penny selling used ski equipment -- skis, boots, bindings, socks and other stuff -- mostly on eBay, but also through Amazon.com and his own website. How many of us need new skis, bikes, tennis rackets, etc., when used items would be just as good? Our neighbor Cathy recently picked up a used ipod and cross-country skis, which she used during the snowpocalyse. Some places to start: eBay, Craigslist, and Freecycle. Of course, some items are even better used, like this bike or this El Camino...
Thanks to Andrew for his reusing input.

Recycle old thermostats

Well, I haven't had many thermostats in my time, but now one can easily recycle thermostats at Frager's and other locations around DC. There is a big push to keep mercury out of the environment, which has led to the creation of collection points around the country organized by the Thermostat Recycling Corporation. Check the TRC or Earth911 websites for locations. Thanks to Cathy on her recycling reconnaissance.

Post Subscribers: Reuse your bags

After years of getting the Post and recycling the daily plastic bags, I finally realized that I could "donate" these bags to my neighbors with dogs. Some dog owners prefer to use biodegradable bags, but they might not realize that these biodegradable bags don't actually degrade in landfills and require specific kinds of composting, so it is no worse to reuse plastic bags. The bag tax has decreased the number of plastic bags that dog owners could reuse. In spite of these trends, Post subscribers (and their plastic bags) are plentiful on Capitol Hill! Some alternatives are:

1) Post subscribers can give your bags regularly to a neighbor with a dog.
2) Post subscribers can drop off your bags at a dog park with a bag holder. In general, make certain the bags are clean and don't have any holes.
3) Dog owners can ask their Post-subscribing neighbors for their plastic bags.
4) Dog owners can install bag holders for Post bags at their local dog parks.

Recycling Bin and Garbage Can go Head-to-Head

I'll bet many of you are finding that your recycling bin fills up much faster than your garbage can. Well, I'll probably get called out for my recycling and garbage choices, but here is a photo of tonight's recycling and garbage. The garbage can only goes out once per week. Remember back in the day when the garbage cans in DC were larger than the recycling bins? Maybe DC will keep going and start having twice-per-week recycling and once-per-week garbage collection?

Best Rechargeable Batteries

Really, rechargeable batteries have improved, retain their charge much longer, and, according to Tree Hugger, are much less damaging than disposable batteries to the environment over the entire life of the battery. They are also a good price. It is essential that one gets the right batteries (most recommended: hybrid Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) cells) and a good charger.

According to Metaefficient, here are the best rechargeable batteries:
1) Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries by Sanyo
2) Hybrio Rechargeable Batteries by Uniross

Here are the best chargers:
1) LaCrosse Technology BC-900 Alpha Battery Charger
2) Ansmann Deluxe “Energy 8″ Charger
3) Maha PowerEx “Ultimate Professional” Charger

Remember that rechargeable batteries must be recycled, rather than dumped. Luckily, DC has many options for this: Radio Shack at Eastern Market and other locations found at Call2Recycle.

How to deal with E-Waste

I think we have to get beyond the handwringing about e-recycling (but it all goes to Africa, but it is never recycled, but but but) and think about concrete steps to improve the situation. The Guardian is reporting on a new UN report stating that the amount of electronic waste being created around the world may increase by as much as 500% within 10 years as consumer demand for products outpaces recycling capabilities. This increased e-waste poses a serious threat to health and the environment.

How to deal with this?
1) Urge local governments and consumers to recycle old electronics, rather than dump them. It's best to have these electronics reused in some way, such as through Gazelle, BuyMyTronics, Apple, or Dell. The DC government also collects e-cycling every Saturday.
2) Support local informal recycling, where valuable materials are scavenged for resale and reuse. Use our very own FreeCycle.
3) Make producers take back their electronics for recycling. The European Union is doing this through its WEEE Directive.
4) Make producers responsible for dealing with environmental damage caused by production, which would motivate them to redesign the production of computers. Most of the environmental damage is done in the very production of computers.
5) Create recycling facilities, including in developing countries. Computer Aid and Digital Links deal with end-of-life computer recycling in Africa.
6) Enforce anti-dumping laws.
7) Any other ideas?

Airline and Airport Recycling

As many of you probably already saw in the Post, Green America came out with a report on the sorry state of recycling in the airline industry. Out of all the airlines, Delta and Virgin America earned the highest rating in the group, a B-, while United and US Air failed. No airline recycles all of the major recyclables: aluminum cans, glass, plastic, paper. The basic take away message is that 1) we should pressure the airlines to recycle and 2) in the meantime, if the flight attendant says they don't recycle, take your items for recycling off the plane and recycle them in the airport or at home.

Part of the problem is that most airports don't have recycling facilities. Earlier, I reported that in the DC area, the far-and-away leader in recycling is BWI Airport. BWI recycling went from less than 5% of waste in 2004 to 28% in 2006, which is extraordinary since only one or two US airports have over 25% and the percentage of total waste that is recycled in the United States is 32.5%. The BWI recycling program saves approximately $15,000 per year. Local recycling rules should apply to airports and airlines, which would legally force them to recycle.

Update on Hill Battery Recycling

I dropped by the Radio Shack at Eastern Market Metro to pick up used batteries they are collecting for us. They gave me a huge bag of batteries, which I delivered to our battery recycler and neighbor Cathy. It was so great to get this huge bag! Keep dropping off your batteries at Radio Shack, Brita water filters at Hill's Kitchen, and wine corks at Hayden's. See the addresses of these locations in the General DC Recycling Info column over to the right.

Compost Kitchen Scraps

One way to keep a huge amount of material from landfills is to compost. DC Urban Gardeners has a great website about composting: Composting 101 for DC Residents. However, many in urban areas may not have the space to compost. Common Good City Farm on 3rd and V Streets NW will be collecting kitchen scraps and other compostable materials after February when they reopen the farm. Common Good City Farm is an amazing place. Since January 2007, they have provided over 400 bags of fresh produce to low-income DC families, taught over 600 DC residents in workshops, engaged over 500 DC school children, and hosted over 1000 volunteers. I'll bet that some DC residents compost, even though they don't have enough space to use their compost. Is there some place where people could donate their compost? To the DC city government? To local neighborhood associations?

Recycling an Ipod

Since we could no longer return this broken Ipod, we decided to recycle it (and its many cables). I first went to Gazelle to recycle it for cash, but I waited too long and now the Ipod isn't worth anything! But Gazelle and BuyMyTronics will reuse (and pay you money for) cell phones, laptops, desktops, LCD monitors, mp3 players, GPS, movies, gaming consoles, camcorders, calculators, and so on. After Gazelle rejected me, I went to Apple, which very helpfully emailed me a postage-paid mailing label (see photo), so I just place my envelope in the nearest USPS mailbox or USPS Post Office, or leave it for my daily mail pickup. So easy!

Battery, Cork, Brita Water Filter Recycling on the Hill

On my recycling travels around the Hill, I stopped by Hill's Kitchen to collect a couple of Brita water filters. Leah at Hill's Kitchen says that people are now hearing about the filter recycling there, which is great. Then I saw the manager of Radio Shack, and he said that he had batteries to collect. Finally, Hayden's Liquor gave me a HUGE bag of corks. So, keep dropping off things to recycle!

Buy Recycled Envelopes

The Stuart-Hobson Middle School on the Hill makes envelopes around of old wall calendars (Recyclelopes), which they sell for $5 per set at Riverby Books (419 East Capitol St SE). 100% of the funds goes to support the school. I'm going to have to go and take a look at these recyclelopes to actually report on them!

Holiday Recycling

What to do with your holiday cards? Recycle them! St. Jude's Ranch for Children in Nevada takes all used greeting cards and turns them into "new" cards. Their Recycled Card Program has received over one million cards, and you can buy cards through their website. They are Christian and thus deal with such holidays, but they also collect and sell birthday and thank you cards.

The DC government is collecting trees, wreaths, and other greenery to compost. Residents should place the greenery in curbside tree boxes from Friday to Jan. 10th. Residents can also drop off trees at the Ford Totten Transfer Station from Saturday to January 9th.

Yoga mat update

The Washington Humane Society also takes used yoga mats (see #14 in the General DC Recycling Info column to the right)!

Airport Recycling Competition

Let's just put it simply. In the DC area, the far-and-away leader in recycling is BWI Airport. BWI recycling went from less than 5% of waste in 2004 to 28% in 2006, which is extraordinary since only one or two US airports have over 25% and the percentage of total waste that is recycled in the United States is 32.5%. The BWI recycling program saves approximately $15,000 per year. According to GreenMiles in fall 2007, "Until recently, National didn't have any recycling at all." More info soon.