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By DAVE GALLAGHER, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD, Dec. 1, 2009
Western Washington University has won the 2009 Green Cleaning Grand Award for Schools and Universities from American School and University magazine, the top award given in the category nationally.
"We're honored to receive this prestigious award and to be recognized as the national leader in green cleaning. We work hard every year to make our cleaning practices more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and are always seeking ways to improve - and I think that shows in awards such as these," said Tim Wynn, WWU's director of Facilities Management in a press release. "The hard work of our cleaning staff has really paid off."
The award is sponsored by American School and University magazine, The Green Cleaning Network, and Healthy Schools Campaign.
WWU's Academic Custodial Services has been a "green" department for the last six years and has been on the nationally recognized leading edge in the green-cleaning movement for the past nine years. The department has divested itself of petrochemical cleaning products and has begun using compostable trash liners with a goal of reducing the university's waste stream to zero in a few years.
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Western Washington wins green cleaning award
Monday, November 30, 2009
Bio-breakthrough in Missoula
Company says it has found way to mass produce environment-friendly, wide-purpose chemical
AP, Spokesman.com, Nov. 30, 2009
MISSOULA – A former University of Montana chemistry professor said he and other scientists have discovered a way to cheaply produce large volumes of an environment-friendly chemical that has wide applications.
Don Kiely said the new technique means biodegradable glucaric acid can be produced in large enough quantities to make it feasible.
He said glucaric acid can be converted into high-value, bio-based chemicals to be used for such things as road salt and detergents. That means glucaric acid products could replace petrochemicals and phosphates that can last for centuries and harm the environment.
“We all have a chance to save the world bit by bit,” said Kiely, 71. “Our contribution to that would be improving water quality. So many harmful chemical products end up in our groundwater and are our major pollutants. But we think we are onto something that could change that.”
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
More West Coast communities banning PS products
By Mike Verespej, Plastic News, Nov. 24, 2009
WASHINGTON - The bans and initiatives to ban polystyrene takeout food packaging on the West Coast continue to grow.
The town of Issaquah, Wash., with a population of 11,000 some 17 miles east of Seattle, has approved a ban on PS takeout packaging, effective Oct. 1, and said that food service providers should immediately begin to make “reasonable efforts” to purchase recyclable or compostable packaging instead of PS packaging.
Pre-packaged soups and pre-packaged foods that grocery stores, restaurants and food vendors purchase and resell to customers are exempt from the ban, which was enacted Nov. 16.
In California, the town of Del Ray Oaks, with an estimated population of 1,650 three miles east of Monterey, is expected to approve a PS ban when the ordinance is read and heard for the second time Dec. 15. The ban will go into effect 30 days after that.
On a larger scale, Monterey County, which issued a study and a draft proposal for a PS ban earlier this month, will hold three public hearings in December on its proposal and plans to approve the ban early next year with an effective date one year after it is passed.
The Monterey County ban would apply to the approximately 170 restaurants, grocery stores and food vendors that operate within the unincorporated areas of the county. There are estimated 2,200 restaurants, grocers and food vendors in all of Monterey County, with PS bans already in effect in Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel, and with Del Ray Oaks expected to soon join them.
Altogether, 26 California towns and two counties have banned PS takeout packaging, most of them in northern California from the Monterey area to just north of San Francisco. Five California cities and one county have banned the use of PS takeout packaging at city facilities or events.
Further up the coast, Seattle, Portland and Issaquah have PS bans.
On the East Coast, Boston is considering a proposal introduced last month to ban PS takeout packaging at food-service establishments that have more than 5,000 square feet or more than five different locations in the city.
Three of the underlying reasons the bans continue to grow is that legislators view PS takeout packaging as a litter and landfill problem and because PS takeout packaging manufacturers, the industry and restaurants have developed very few programs to recycle PS — which has led to a conviction on the part of legislators that PS food service packaging is not recyclable.
“There are currently no meaningful ways of recycling polystyrene-based food packaging,” said the Issaquah city council in its summary statement that recommended the adoption of the ban.
The Del Ray Oaks council made a similar assertion. “Food service ware made from polystyrene foam is not biodegradable, returnable or practically recyclable,” the Del Ray Oaks council said in its findings. “It is not economically feasible at this time to recycle polystyrene foam in or near the city” — a thought that was echoed by Monterey County in the draft of its proposed ban.
In addition, legislators, in general, have a negative view of PS food service products, even after they receive feedback from packaging manufacturers, grocers, restaurants and industry associations.
For example, the Council Sustainability Committee in Issaquah held six meetings to get feedback from the companies and businesses the ordinance would impact.
But the final summary statement from Issaquah city council still made the assertion that “polystyrene packaging … has many detrimental effects, including the chemicals released during the manufacturing process, the lack of ability to recycle the material in Washington, [and] the volume of landfill space” it occupies. Its “non-biodegradable nature … makes it a major contributor to the litter found along our roadways and in our waterways.”
Its ordinance was equally as blunt in its disrespect for PS food service packaging. “The use of polystyrene-based … food packaging and service ware serves a limited purpose that is disproportionately detrimental to the welfare of the environment [as it is] often used, and disposed of, in minutes or days,” read the bill. “There is no meaningful method of recycling polystyrene-based food packaging and service ware.”
Del Ray Oaks made a similar assertion.
“Take-out food packaging that is biodegradable, compostable or recyclable is the most responsible and sustainable choice for the tourist economy, the citizenry and the environment,” said the Del Ray Oaks council in its findings “Biodegradable takeout packaging [products] do not harm the environment and are not a permanent blight on the landscape.”
The Issaquah ban applies to PS containers, clamshells, bowls, plates, trays, cartons, cups, lids, straws, utensils and any other items used in the food service business, including containers for leftovers. But it won’t apply to lids, containers, knives, forks and spoons used for hot foods and beverages until May 1, 2011.
The Issaquah law also requires all food service business utilize either a commercial food waste recycling service for compostable products and recyclable materials or provide containers onsite for recycling and composting.
Food service operators are also required to use compostable products made solely of organic substances or recyclable products, defined as products made from materials that can be separated from a waste stream and collected and delivered to a processor for reuse or remanufacture.
The Del Ray Oaks ban, expected to be approved Dec. 15, would not apply to single-use plastic straws, cup lids and utensils. It does not have an exemption for hot foods and hot beverage containers, lids and utensils, but, like the city of Issaquah, it will permit food service operators to sell pre-packaged food that food service operators buy and resell to customers.
The Del Ray Oaks ordinance would also require food service operators to use biodegradable, compostable or recyclable products. It defines recyclable plastics as plastics coded with resin identification codes of 1-5 and recyclable as any material that is accepted by the city of special district recycling program, including, but not limited to, paper, glass, aluminum, cardboard and plastic bottles, jars and tubs.
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