Posted by Kelly Smith on Mon, May 31, 2010
When most of us think about reducing our carbon footprint these days, we think about things like driving less, using less electricity,purchasing green power, or planting trees. We are aware of recycling as something that is good for the planet, but many do not make the connection between recycling and climate change.
In fact, it takes much less energy to make a product from recycled materials rather than freshly chopped trees or newly mined metal ores. According to the state of Minnesota’s environmental website doitgreen.org, “Production of recycled paper uses 65 percent less energy than paper production using raw materials.”
Less energy usage means less carbon dioxide pollution, and that means less climate change. Energy conservation and energy efficiency, together with renewable energy, are some of the best things we can work on to improve our energy future.
Paper recycling is especially important to reducing climate change, because it reduces the need to cut down carbon dioxide-absorbing trees to make more paper. And doesn’t it just make more sense to recycle resources we already have rather than let them sit for hundreds of years in a landfill?
Fortunately, people are catching on. According to a recent Mother Nature Network article, “The American Forest & Paper Association reports that in 2008, a record high 57.4 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling.” That is a good jump from 53 percent in 2006.
The U.S. paper industry hopes to continue the growth trend in paper recycling to collect and use 60 percent of American waste paper in the next two years. Since 86 percent of Americans have access to paper recycling facilities of some kind, this seems like a very achievable goal. Every home and business should think more seriously about how to make the easy commitment to recycling.
Posted by Kelly Smith on Thu, Apr 15, 2010
Target Stores has joined many other retailers that are rolling out sustainable business initiatives in celebration of April's Earth Month. Every Target store will now feature an innovative recycling station with receptacles for standard items such as aluminum cans and plastic bags but also for less common items such as old cell phones. Target Stores has already had programs in place to reduce and recycle things like packaging waste behind the scenes, but this will be a way for Target to boost its image as a green business to anyone who comes into a Target store.
Target executives predict that this new recycling program is a move which will increase the satisfaction of Target's existing eco-conscious consumers. Target joins a host of other companies, such as
Walmart, which are aiming to increase their sustainable business practices in the face of global climate change and increasing consumer demand for environmentally friendly products and practices.
Target Corporation was also in the
news recently for teaming up with the Environmental Defense Fund's Climate Corps in order to create innovative projects to maximize energy efficiency in their stores. Target is also experimenting with green power. Even though they aren't a member of the
U.S. EPA's Green Power Partnership, Target does have a pilot program in which 18 stores in Hawaii and California produce their own renewable energy through the use of rooftop solar panels.
Posted by Kelly Smith on Tue, Apr 06, 2010
The recent decision of Starbucks' shareholders to reject a new recycling proposal baffles many environmentally conscious consumers who are concerned about Starbucks' waste. Green blog
Treehugger cites the annual volume of U.S. Starbucks cups to end up in the landfill as 3 billion. Currently, only 10% of the fiber in these paper coffee cups comes from recycled material. Although this may not seem like enough, progress on the sustainability front seems to be coming slowly but surely for Starbucks. The company has stated that they plan to make all of their paper cups recyclable in the next five years. Concerned customers can also ask for a reusable mug to use in the store or bring their own travel mug for carryout coffee.
Recycling is certainly not the only issue that has been on the table lately. Starbucks has been on the eco-radar for the changes they are making to their stores to help combat climate change, such as installing LED lights in many stores as part of their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint through a general reduction of energy usage. Additionally, Starbucks is a member of
BICEP, or Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy, a group of businesses commited to encouraging renewable energy use,
along with businesses such as Best Buy. Starbucks is also a member of the EPA's Green Power Partnership (link to Green Power Partnership blog post). Starbucks shows a commitment to reducing climate change to their customers and shareholders by their purchase of 25% of their electricity usage as green power, which they plan to increase.
Posted by Rahul Chitrapu on Sun, Jan 24, 2010
Golden State Warriors have installed solar panels to power the team's practice facility. The solar panels would produce about 26% of the facility's annual electricity requirements. It is said that the facility will save $2 Million over the next 25 years. Perhaps it is assumed that the cost electricity will rise year over year because the annual savings are said to be just $36,000. More info can be found at
Cooler Planet.
I don't think the $36,000 of annual savings take into account the actual cost of the solar system and its installation because the payback on solar systems are at the very least 5-10 years or more.
What else can a business/corporation/building do to reduce the impact of its electricity usage? Watch the video of US Environmental Protection Agency's
Green Power Partnership Video or visit their
website. Greening one's electricity can have far reaching consequences -
more so than recycling.
There are three ways for a facility to run on green power:
a) Install an on-site system like the Golden State Warrirors. This is an excellent option if you can afford it. However, on-site solar and wind installations can be very expensive and can only generate a percentage of the electricity needed for a facility.
b) Sign-up for a green power program being offered by a local utility company. Such programs are cheaper than installing an on-site system.
c) Purchase
Renewable Energy Credits from an independent certified provider. Electricity is like a tub of water with dirty water (dirty electricity) and clean water (clean electricity) flowing in from each end and the mixture of the two flowing out the other. This makes it impossible for the purchaser of clean water (clean electricity or green power) to consume just the clean water (clean or green electrons). Therefore, it is sufficient if the clean water (clean or green electrons) is injected on your behalf. Renewable Energy Credits are proof that 1 Mega-Watt of electricity was injected into the electric grid on behalf of the purchaser. Plus going through an independent provider can be even cheaper than a local electric utility (Shameless promotion alert). Want to find out how much the cost of green power through renewable energy credits?
Contact us today.
Posted by Rahul Chitrapu on Mon, Jan 11, 2010
I have talked with numerous people who are passionate about the environment and who do their best to protect the environment. One of the activities they are most proud of is recycling. When I tell them about how green power is another great way to protect the environment, they simply give me a nod and say that it is true but not so much as recycling. (Disclaimer: EcoElectrons sells green power, but only to corporations and not households). This frustrates me to a great extent. So here is a post that quantifies the environmental impacts that each activity can have. If you feel that I have overlooked anything or if you do not quite agree with the analysis, feel free to leave a comment and we can continue the conversation.
Recycling in a household
There are different types of wastes produced in a household. Metallic (think aluminum cans), glass, plastic (like Coke bottles) and paper are some examples. About 130 billion cans of aluminum are produced in United States each year. This would amount to 1100 cans per household per year. Recycling one can saves about 0.6 lbs of CO2. If a household recycled all the cans it used, about 700 lbs of CO2 would have been avoided from entering the atmosphere.
There is another kind of waste called Municipal Solid Waste or MSW. MSW is composed of all types of solid waste – paper, metal, plastic, glass, foodwaste and so on. Check out the national average composition of MSW on Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) website. Around 4,250 pounds of MSW are produced by each household each year and since recycling 1 pound of MSW saves 2.5 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, 11,000 pounds of CO2 would be saved if all MSW produced in a household is recycled. There you have it. If a household recycled all the waste it produced, 11,000 pounds of CO2 would have been avoided from entering the atmosphere each year. This is of course wishful thinking. Only a third to a half of all MSW can be recycled with today's technology.
Green Power in a household
An average household consumes 10,000 KWh of electricity each year. Greening 1 KWh avoid 1.6 pounds of CO2 as per the EPA. And greening 10,000 KWh would avoid 16,000 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year.
Recycling and Green Power together make the biggest difference
I am not suggesting that you switch to green power and stop recycling since green power is at least twice as effective as recycling in terms of CO2 emissions. Recycling has other great benefits in addition to emissions reduction like reduction of landfills and conservation of natural resources that cannot be easily quantified. But, please recognize that green power also makes a significant difference.