Waste, Week 19 2009

Green Living Workshops

There are 5 workshops currently running. This post is specific to the following workshop:

Wednesday 7-8:30pm at Santa Monica Public Library

To see all posts click on the 'Sustainable Works' header above.

WASTE

In the News

>>Recession squeezes recycling programs - Rising recycling costs and dropping values for recyclables are hurting city budgets.

>>Leatherback Turtle Threatened by Plastic Garbage in Ocean- Plastic bag ingestion found to be a great threat to this ancient species.

>>As the Economy Slumps, So Does Trash - Los Angeles Times January 25, 2009 article. Landfills receive less because people are buying less.

>>You Can Recycle That? - a great article on some of the newest processes to recycle materials.

>>Recycling #5 Plastics - Keep shampoo, lotion and soda bottle lids attached when recycling? That's not what we were told..! Read on to learn what's new in the world of plastic #5 recycling. Via Earth911.com

>>US’s First Plasma Gasification Waste-to-Energy Plant Online by 2011 - learn about plasma gasification on Treehugger.

>>USA's Trashed TVs, Computer Monitors Can Make Toxic Mess - USA Today December 30, 2008 article

>>Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste - 60 Minutes November 9, 2008 segment that follows America's toxic electronic waste as it is illegally shipped to become China's dirty secret


Landfills






























>>How a Landfill Works. Description from the website How Stuff Works

>>See Where Your Recyclables Go - Visit this interactive website from Waste Management to see what happens with your recycled products.

Beyond a Linear Waste System
>>Learn more about Cradle to Cradle design by clicking the diagram.

Creative Reuse, Purchasing Recycled Content, and other Resources

>>Zero Waste Moving - www.rentagreenbox.com founder Spencer T. Brown has imaginatively found a way to reclaim trash from landfills and reformat them into ecofriendly moving supplies, including boxes, peanuts, packing paper and dollies.

>>Hair for Oil Spills Program - donate your hair clippings to make hairmats that can help with oil spill clean up.

>>Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide by Greenpeace - Recycled tissue products help protect ancient forest, clean water, and wildlife habitat. Via Greenpeace.

>>Free Cycle Los Angeles

>>Craig's List Free Stuff

>>StuffYaDontWant

>>Neighborrow

>>CA Integrated Waste Management Board Recycled-Contenct Products Directory

>>Sign up for Los Angeles Apartments & Condos Recycling

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
>>Santa Monica Neighborhood HHW Collection Sites - a complete list of locations in Santa Monica where you can drop-off your electronics, lightbulbs, thermometers, batteries, paints and solvents, and oil and oil filters.

>>Los Angeles HHW and Electronic Waste Program - See a schedule of Collection Events or see a list of Permanent HHW Collection Centers.

>>e-Stewards - a group of recyclers leading North American electronics recyclers and asset managers who have been qualified as upholding the highest standard of environmental and social responsibility.

>>eWaste Center, Inc. - free pick up of e-waste in the Greater Los Angeles area if you have at least one computer monitor or one television to dispose.

>>Electronics Recycling at Best Buy - If you've purchases appliances or televisions from Best Buy they may come out and recycle them for you at no charge.

Composting
>>Composters.com - Great web resource for picking out what kind of Composter works for you.

>>SmartGardening.com - Countywide Smart Gardening program has FREE composting and gardening workshops. They are an excellent resource and their workshops are lead by very knowledgeable instructors. Check their website for a list of upcoming scheduled workshops. Highly recommended! DIY Worm Bin Instructions

>>Groundworks' Free Java Mulch - "Stop by five of our six Los Angeles locations, and take home a free bag of Java Mulch, spent coffee grinds-- packed in previously used coffee bags. Using Java Mulch in your garden saves landfill space while perking up your petunias!"

>>Tutorial on homemade vermicompost - Follow Jay on this video blog of his journey in creating the perfect vermicompost for an apartment setting. Via PodTech.Net

>>Compost Pooch Poop - Step-by-Step blog outlining a simple and effective method for composting your pooch's poop. Blog hosted by Boing-Boing


Junk Mail Prevention sites
>>Movement against unsolicited phone book delivery - Sign up to remove your home or office from receiving telephone directories. Signing the petition authorizes www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org to contact the Telephone Directory organizations to cease and desist from distributing any and all future directories published to your listed premise.

>>Climate Change Enclosed: Junk Mail's Impact on Global Warming - Greenhouse gases created each year by junk mail are the annual equivalent of more than nine million cars. The average car travels 12,000 miles per year -- as opposed to junk mail, which gets us nowhere. Read about how junk mail contributes to global warming in the report, Climate Change Enclosed via Forest Ethics.

>>Catalog Choice - it'll get you on no-send lists and stops catalog spam.

>>DMA Choice - lets you choose which Credit Offers, Catalogs, Magazine Offers and Other Mail Offers to receive.

>>DirectMail.com - free, quick way to get your name off commercial mailing lists.

>>OptOutPrescreen.com - opt out of pre-approved credit card and insurance offers online or by phone: 1-888-5-OPTOUT.

>>EcoLogical Mail Coalition - helps businesses stop mail addressed to former employees.

>>Native Forest Network's Guide - five easy steps to stop junk mail.

>>Green Dimes is now Tonic Mail Stopper - online service ending junk mail

>>41 Pounds online service ending junk mail

Documentaries on WASTE
>>The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard - From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. (from www.storyofstuff.com)

>>Manufactured Landscapes - a documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris.

Literature addressing WASTE issues
>>Chapter 3 Waste Not, - from the book Natural Capitalism.
Excerpt outlining all the resources that go into manufacturing a can of soda. p. 49-50

>>Cradle to Cradle - William McDonough's book, written with his colleague, the German chemist Michael Braungart, is a manifesto calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.

>>Paper or Plastic - by Daniel Imhoff. "About one-third of America's municipal solid waste is packaging - at least 300 pounds per person each year - and the "upstream" costs in energy and resources used to make packaging are even more alarming." This book also has some amazing photography.

>>Worms Eat My Garbage - by Mary Appelhof. How to set up and maintain a worm composting system.

>>Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web - by Jeff Lowenfels and W. Lewis. A popular book among gardeners and composters, this book provides an interesting and in-depth look at how to create healthy soil without the use of fertilizers and other chemicals.