The Green Apple

Full Circle, Part 5: WeRecycle!

This is the fifth entry in "Full Circle," a series that will be profiling companies and organizations that offer biodegradable and recyclable products or services -- both in the New York City area and beyond.

Pieces of gold shine through a sea of motherboards gathered as the result of several computers being run through a "shredder" at a WeRecycle! facility. The gold will later be collected and smelted to be used in other products. Photo courtesy of WeRecycle!.

So you have an old laptop that has essentially become a giant paperweight as you’ve moved onto a sleeker model. Such a device contains a.) many components that are hazardous to the environment (batteries, mercury lamps, etc.) and b.) personal information that could be revealed if in the wrong hands. So what do you do with it?

Well, one option is to visit the website of WeRecycle!, a company based out of Mount Vernon, N.Y., that specializes in e-waste disposal both at the private business and residential levels. The company’s site contains an area where a visitor can type in his or her zip code and find out about nearby collection events and locations. For example, those interested can drop off that old laptop at any New York City Goodwill store as part of an arrangement that WeRecycle! set up -- and take comfort in knowing that their data is being disposed off in a safe and secure manner.

Full Circle, Part 4: NLR

This is the fourth entry in "Full Circle," a series that will be profiling companies and organizations that offer biodegradable and recyclable products or services -- both in the New York City area and beyond.

This machine at the NLR plant in Connecticut, which has been in use for about one-and-a-half years, can recycle about 5,000 lamps an hour. Photo courtesy of NLR.

For whatever reason, the light bulb will not go off in the collective conscience of most American businesses when it comes to complying with the Universal Waste Rule.  

Even though the rule has been a part of a federal regulation of the Environment Protection Agency since 1990, Raymond Graczyk said that only about 30 percent of private businesses properly handle the removal of universal waste such as mercury-containing light bulbs, batteries and ballasts -- even though the numerous toxic effects of mercury poisoning has been well documented for years and years. Those effects include damage to the brain, kidney and lungs.

“What happens with mercury is that it accumulates in the environment, so when you’re getting hundreds and hundreds and millions of lamps being thrown out a year that  mercury is released to the environment and then it finds its way back into the food chain, especially in fish,” said Graczyk, who is the co-founder and president of NLR, a company based north of Hartford, Conn., that specializes in lamp and universal recycling services for mainly commercial businesses. “[Awareness] is increasing some but it’s not as rapidly as it should be. It’s hard to say and necessarily come up with a reason why… Whether people aren’t properly informed. Whether they don’t care. I don’t know. Maybe they don’t realize how really available and easy it is to recycle.”

Full Circle, Part 3: TerraCycle

This is the third entry in "Full Circle," a series that will be profiling companies and organizations that offer biodegradable and recyclable products or services -- both in the New York City area and beyond.

This "upcycled" backpack is made from Capri Sun drink containers. School supplies are the top-selling items for TerraCycle, accounting for close to 30 percent of its annual product sales. Photo courtesty of TerraCycle.

Albe Zakes will admit it. While in school at the University of Colorado, he was a “frustrated environmentalist.”

“I felt like too many environmental non-profits [organizations] refused to work with major companies,” he said. “It was always petition, letter-write, protest, and picket instead of coming to the board room table and trying to work with them.”

Luckily, Zakes found an upstart company that shared his passion of making mainstream big-box stores more eco-friendly: Trenton, N.J.-based TerraCycle. Since its founding in 2002, the company has been able to forge multi-faceted partnerships with major retailers and manufacturers through an innovative business model that interweaves making and selling of upcycled products, recycling and donating to non-profit organizations. At the time of this posting, the company had more than 26 million people collect more than 2.3 billion waste units and raise more than $3.4 million dollars for charities around the world.

Full Circle, Part 2: Materials for the Arts

This is the second entry in "Full Circle," a series that will be profiling companies and organizations that offer biodegradable and recyclable products or services -- both in the New York City area and beyond.

This work "Shrine," by Jesper Aabille and Georgia Muenster from Flux Factory, is one of six that make up, "Creative Reuse in New York City," the latest exhibition at the MFTA gallery in Long Island City. All of the works are made of reused items. Photo courtesy of the MFTA.

As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or drama production. Or art therapy session.

Consider the 25,000-square foot warehouse that houses the Material for the Arts in Long Island City a treasure trove for thousands of those aspirations. On any given day, the venue could contain anything from 6-foot Styrofoam seahorses from a Limited Brands window display to an assortment of tables and chairs from Google’s New York offices.

“The look of it is always changing,” said MFTA representative Kevin Stirnweis of the sprawling facility that was said to once be a factory for Ford Model T cars back in the day. The organization, which was founded in 1978 and is a unit of the Department of Cultural Affairs, moved to the location in 2001 after first being housed in the Chelsea district of Manhattan.

Although the warehouse provides plenty of space for more than 1,500 donors to donate for 1.3 million pounds of items and materials valued at approximately $5 million (according to 2010’s numbers) for the benefit of non-profit organizations throughout the five boroughs, the organization is currently undergoing an expansion by adding shelving units to house more donations of items ranging from fabrics to furniture to school supplies -- and everything in between.

Full Circle, Part 1: Ciao Water

Let us begin by saying that all of us here at The Green Apple would like to wish you a happy holiday season.... This will be the first of several entries in "Full Circle," a series that will be profiling companies that offer biodegradable and recyclable products or services -- both in the New York City area and beyond. First up is Ciao Water.

Ciao Water bottles are made of a special plastic that is 100 percent biodegradable. 

Although Carolyn Koss lives near the Rocky Mountains, it was in the Hamptons where her company, Ciao Water, first took root. In the summer of 2007, Koss was staying with her niece in East Hampton when she took two mental notes while amongst of group of teenagers: how much bottled water they drank and how many of those bottles were being thrown away given a lack of summer recycling service at the time.

It was a bit of a shock to the system of Koss, who lives in Boulder, Colo., a place where close to 80 percent of the populace recycles. In contrast, only about 20 to 25 percent of Americans recycle -- a statistic that she said has remained fairly steady over the years. A couple of months after that in the fall of 2007, the first company to use specialized biodegradable bottles for its spring water took shape with Koss as the founder and later the CEO.

“I’m not going to be able to change the culture of convenience that has been created, nor it is it my goal to get people to drink water out of a different vessel," Koss said in a recent phone interview. "My goal is to figure out how to fix the vessel…  You just start delving into this and you recognize intuitively that we have a problem.” 

At first, Koss experimented with corn-based polymer plastics before realizing that she needed something more reliable. Before long, she was approached by Wells Plastics, a British company that was able to take a spin on what is known as OXO biodegradable technology by being able to manipulate the timing of when a certain specialized enzyme infused in the plastic would, in essence, begin to eat it.

Ciao Water commercial on Vimeo.

Growing new teaching methods

Maeve Turner from Friends of the High Line instructs a room full of local teachers how to make a worm bin on Nov. 5 at the Sun Works Center greenhouse at the Manhattan School for Children.

Less than four years ago, the only things on top of one the second floor wings of the Manhattan School for Children (P.S. 333) were pigeons and gravel. Now, the space is the site of a spacious 1,400-square foot greenhouse that provides unprecedented educational opportunities in the city related to eco-sciences and life systems to the school’s students.

The facility is the result of a partnership with New York Sun Works, a NYC-based non-profit organization, as part of what is known as the “The Greenhouse Project” initiative. The greenhouse is based on The Science Barge, sustainable urban farm and education center in Yonkers that the group created. Since its doors opened in Dec. 2010, the venue has received rave reviews from students and parents alike, but those at NYSW wanted to do more for the community.

The thought was this: Although few schools have the resources for such a spacious venue, why not pass along smaller-scale projects that are infused with the hands-on nature of the activities generated in the greenhouse through a teacher training program? And so the course, “Water, Energy, and Waste: Integrating Themes of Sustainability into Your Classroom,” was born. After being approved the by the NYC's Department of Education's After School Professional Development Program (ASPDP) for three continuing education credits, the  first wave of sessions began on Sept. 23 and will continue until Nov. 18. The program runs on various Fridays and Saturdays with a different theme each week. The first class consists of 15 teachers representing 14 different schools and organizations.

A recap: Green City Challenge

Benay Wynerib, left, and Kyle Bullen won the second running of the Green City Challenge.

Maybe it was the fact that he was only competitor from last year's inaugural event. Maybe it was the addition of a new teammate. Whatever the reason, Kyle Bullen won the second running of the Green City Challenge in Manhattan last Sunday (Oct. 23) alongside his teammate, Benay Vynerib.

“Benay was my key,” Bullen would say later with a laugh as the sky began to darken above the north plaza of Union Square. “We just had a good day,” Vynerib added.

Bullen and Vynerib -- who both work at Candle 79, an organic vegan restaurant and eco-cocktail lounge near 79th and Lexington Avenue -- finished the race at approximately 2:45 p.m. after zigzagging throughout Manhattan on a pair of bikes to seven different challenges as one of 10 duos participating in the event’s second edition.

 

#OWS Solution: Protect water quality and create green jobs

Photo courtesy of Matt and Kim Rudge on Flickr's Creative Commons.

I love water. I like to talk about it. I even made storm water my thesis in graduate school. And I recently read a new proposal about water and the creation of jobs. This new report suggests that finding new ways to preserve water quality might solve more than just clean water concerns. This proposal that suggests upgrading water infrastructure would keep be a green practice that protects water quality and creates jobs! 

Want to create 1.9 million American jobs and add $265 billion to the economy? Upgrade our water infrastructure. That's the message of Water Works: Rebuilding Infrastructure, Creating Jobs, Greening the Environment, a report by Green For All, in partnership with American Rivers, Pacific Institute, and the Economic Policy Institute. The report looks at an investment of $188.4 billion in water infrastructure -- the amount the EPA indicates would be required to manage stormwater and preserve water quality. That investment would inject a quarter of a trillion dollars into the economy, create nearly 1.3 million direct and indirect jobs and result in 568,000 additional jobs from increased spending.

Photo courtesy of bgottsab on Flickr's Creative Commons.

Basically we could resolve the complaints in Occupy Wall Street that there are no jobs available and at the same time, protect water quality. Who isn't pro-environment? These would be green jobs. We all want clean water. This would help water quality. Everyone agrees we need more jobs in American cities. But, even if it is green, environmentally friendly work, what kind of jobs are we willing to do?

It's an interesting proposal and I agree with the need for infrastructure. I really think it make sense. But I'm not convinced the people looking for jobs in Occupy Wall Street are interested in improving water infrastructure. What do you think?

To get information on my storm water alert research, emailme at amy.e.freeze at abc.com.

 

Cruising with the right pressure keeps you green

I'm walking a lot more than I'm driving in NYC but I still have a car (a debate for another blog!) and so when the season changes the car needs a little more attention.  After one of NYC's hottest (and wettest) summers ever, it's about to get cool!  Some people will drive more than they walk in the winter months so make sure your car is ready to cruise.  Instead of feeling guilty for using your car when the weather turns cold -- make it as efficient as you can...  Start by checking your tire pressure!

Photo courtesy of Robert Couse-Baker on Flickr's Creative Commons.

You might be surprised at the difference the temperature makes in whether the air in your tires has expanded which keeps the pressure high, or contracted, which can leave the tires under-inflated.  The bottom line is a drop in gas mileage!  If you are aware of the fuel efficiency of your car and you carefully try to lower your carbon footprint, or if you are just someone who wants to pay less at the pump, get out that tire gauge!

First thing in the morning, stop by the gas station –- this time to save money, not spend it –- and give your tires a puff or two of fresh air.  

And for more tips, here's a link to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's green vehicle guide.

Be Green!

Stay COOL! 

Meteorologist Amy Freeze

amy.e.freeze at abc.com

Breaking it down: The art of composting

Even though they have no eyes, red wiggler worms are extremely sensitive to light. Two pounds of the worms can process a pound of food scraps a day.

During a presentation on the night of Sept. 21 at the Trespa Design Center in Manhattan, Jenny Blackwell brought in some assistants -- who were a little shy to show their red serpentine bodies to the outside world.

“When I do this for kids they’re super interested in it. When I do this for adults, they’re like ‘What?’” Blackwell told those gathered before passing around a plate of what are known commonly as “red wigglers.”

What Blackwell was doing was talking about starting a worm-bin composting system as one four speakers during GreenHomeNYC’s “Green Building September Forum: Composting and Waste Management.” The event was one of many going on last week in partnership with Climate Week NYC (see previous entry), which concluded this past Monday (Sept. 26).

Through the insight of the three other presenters, the forum was able to discuss bins that can fit on a counter top to expansive municipal compost facilities -- and everything in between. That trio included Christine Ditz-Romero, co-founder and executive director of the Lower East Side Ecology Center; Charlie Bayrer, co-chair of the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust Health Soils Initiative and volunteer with Earth Matter NY; and Stephan’s Koullias, the co-founder and project coordinator of the Western Queens Composting Initiative.

Blackwell, who is the project manager of the NYC Compost Project hosted at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, stood with a plastic storage container by her side. The container was full of a substance known as “vermicompost,” a concoction that makes for a rich, natural fertilizer out of material that once was food scraps and decaying plant remains.