Recycling Plastic Bags
Plastic bags are everywhere. Although often quoted as consuming oil resources, most plastic bags are actually made from natural gas. The bad news is most plastic bags are not recycled. Part of the reason is because many local recycling agencies do not accept plastic bags. They are lightweight, fly out of the backs of recycling trucks, and become litter. They also jam up the recycling machines and cause expensive repairs. The good news is that most plastic bags are recyclable. Stores such as Ukrops, Walmart, Food Lion, Kroger and Whole Foods all accept plastic bags for recycling.
Although the United States Environmental Protection Agency stated in 2000 that only 1% of plastic bags were recycled, significant attention resulted in a 700% growth in the recycling industry as new capacity led to a 7% rate.
When most people think of plastic bags, the first thing they think of are plastic grocery bags. But did you know that many other types of plastic bags can be recycled along with your plastic grocery bags as well? All of the following can be recycled right along with your plastic grocery bags.
• newspaper bags
• dry cleaning bags
• bread bags
• produce bags
• toilet paper, napkin, and paper towel wraps
• furniture wrap • electronic wrap
• plastic retail bags (hard plastic and string handles removed)
• grocery bag
• zip lock bags (remove hard components)
• plastic cereal box liners (if it tears like paper do not include)
• Tyvek (no glue, labels, other material)
• diaper wrap (packaging)
• plastic shipping envelopes (no bubble wrap/remove labels)
• case wrap (e.g., snacks, water bottles)
• All clean, dry bags labeled #2 or #4.
There are some types of plastic bags that should NOT be included. The following are considered contaminants and could jeopardize recycling programs:
NO food or cling wrap
NO prepackaged food bags including frozen food bags (e.g., prewashed salad bags)
NO film that has been painted or has excessive glue
NO other bags or films
NO bio-based or compostable plastic bags
So when going to the grocery store, it’s preferred that you use reusable grocery bags. But a certain amount of plastic bags is unavoidable. So let’s make sure to recycle all we can.
Waste Free Lunches
The following article was sent in from Dave Burnett who is a project manager in Moseley Architects’ Charlotte office. The article is about efforts being made to green the cafeteria at New Town Elementary School.
What is a Waste Free Lunch Day? Waste Free Lunch Day is an initiative to teach the students the importance of limiting their contribution to landfill by reducing the amount of trash produced during a lunch sitting. This goal is achieved by the students bringing their lunch to school in only reusable containers eg.
• Lunch box instead of paper bag
• Reusable plastic sandwich box instead of baggie
• Reusable drink container instead of juice box
• Crackers/cookies/chips in a reusable plastic box rather than an individual packet
• Regular silverware instead of disposable plastic
• Cloth napkin rather than paper
There will be bins available for the kids to recycle plastic and paper items and to compost all organic leftovers. At the end of the lunch session, the number of trash bags produced will be compared to an average day and the total reduction extrapolated into the possible savings over a 180 day school year. If this experiment is successful, the goal is to make this a monthly event to reinforce the impact that a change in habits can produce.
Each day, our cafeteria produces an average of 27 large trash bags filled with largely unnecessary waste. Plastic bags, paper bags, drink bottles and containers, wrappers and packages, plastic silverware and juice boxes, unopened food and leftovers. Hundreds of individually packaged items become trash each day. Our cafeteria currently generates 4,860 bags of trash per year, which equates to 5.2 bags per child per year.
This year, we decided to make a difference!
A small change to our lunch packing habits can make a big difference to the annual landfill contribution made our school.
After a preliminary audit, we were amazed to find how much food was being thrown away untouched. Kids were throwing out unopened packs of chips, cookies, yogurts, cheese, milk cartons and even silverware – items which could be either returned home for use another day or some even donated to a local shelter or food bank.
Our cafeteria currently “loses” up to 200 forks a month – silverware just thrown into the trash rather than being returned to the counter for washing. This is a perfectly preventable $50 a month expense and unnecessary contribution to landfill.
We set out with two goals; to reduce the amount of trash that we produce and to teach the kids how and why along the way.
Our first Waste Free Lunch day was on October 21st 2009. We advertised our date using our school website, the kid’s agendas and the ConnectEd system. We set out photos and examples of how to pack a “Waste Free Lunch” around the school. We showed the kids how to use only reusable containers for their drink, sandwiches, snacks etc, how to bring a fabric napkin and to use reusable silverware instead of disposable.
The response from our New Town families and staff was FANTASTIC ! It was very exciting to see how many children had their lunches packed entirely in reusable containers – enabling them to create no waste at all for the day.
We composted leftovers, recycled plastic, donated unused food to a local women’s shelter and showed the kids where to put their forks. Our final trash count? 10 bags. 17 less bags of trash produced than an average day and a 63% saving! Imagine, 3,060 less bags every school year. Now that really would be making a difference!
Our next Waste Free Lunch Day is November 18th.
Our new goal: To make every day a Waste Free Day.
Reusable Grocery Bag Tips
Keep your bags in your car. Don’t store them in the trunk because you’ll forget that they’re there. Storing them in the back seat pocket is a better option because you’ll be more likely to see them. Keeping a bag slid in between the passenger seat and the center 
console is another option.
Most of us write a list of what we need before going to the grocery store. Write “REMEMBER BAGS” at the top of your grocery list each week. Use a pad of paper like in the picture and write this down on every page so you won’t forget.
Hang a bag on the door knob to your garage or someplace near by. It will serve as a constant visual reminder to bring your bags with you. If you don’t want to hang a grocery bag, create a door tag (similar to a Do Not Disturb Tag) and hang that on the door knob.
Hang a bag in your pantry. Most people check out their pantry when writing up their grocery list.- Enlist your children’s help in helping you remember to bring your bags.
Many local stores have programs to encourage you to use reusable grocery bags. Stores like Ukrops and Target offer a 5 cent credit for each reusable bag you use in the store.
MilkMuny Fundraiser for Woolridge Elementary School Green Club
My name is Jay Yeman, and I am a mechanical engineer in the Richmond office. I am a parent volunteer for the 
Woolridge Elementary School Green Club. Our club participates in a fundraising program with a company called MilkMuny. MilkMuny is an upstart company similar to TerraCycle in that they take a product (in this case milk and juice cartons) that is normally thrown into the garbage and make them into a useful and unique product
More than 510,000 tons of milk and juice cartons are generated every year in the United States, but sadly, less than .05% ever get recycled according to an EPA report of Municipal Solid Waste. Paper cartons ARE recyclable, however, “because of the wax lining, are not universally recycled. Each locality is different, depending on their recycling process capability”, says the National Recycling Coalition.
MilkMuny will pay 50 cents for every carton sent to them and even pay for the shipping costs! MilkMuny will accept up to 1,000 cartons over the course of the school year. Click HERE to see which brands we are collecting (note: the 25 cents/carton noted in the flyer is incorrect). The Woolridge Elementary School Green Club is collecting all of the brands listed on the flyer. I am asking Richmond office employees who are interested in helping out to please save your milk and juice cartons, thoroughly rinse them out, and drop them off at my desk. If you are really ambitious, you can save me some work and break down the cartons per the following instructions:
- Thoroughly rinse the cartons with water.
- Use a utility knife to cut the top and bottom off of the carton. The sharpness of the knife makes a huge difference in the accuracy and cleanliness of the cut. These cuts need to be as close to the top/bottom as possible with no more than a quarter inch of loss on the walls of the carton. This leaves the four vertical panels of the carton, all connected.
- Clean and wipe the panels clean.
- Bring the broken down cartons to work and drop them off at my desk.
If anyone else out there in Moseley Nation is interested in participating in a similar fundraising program for their school, simply send me an e-mail and I will send you additional information.
Certified Automotive Recycler
While I know most of us are working hard at making our buildings kinder to the environment, my husband works hard to take care of another big piece of the environmental picture.
He works for Brooks Auto Sales which is a small business in Oilville, Va. As you drive by, you may quickly think.. oh boy.. he works at a car junkyard. What most people don’t know is that he is an automotive recycler. All those unwanted, broken, wrecked, no longer nice looking vehicles come to him. When you take a vehicle to be disposed, you need to look for a CAR certified facility. CAR is a Certified Automotive Recycler.
When a vehicle comes in it is carefully cataloged and given a number. It is dismantled with all useable parts reserved for refurbishment and resale. They accept all vehicles regardless of condition as long as you have a clear title to surrender with the vehicle. The unique number is marked on every part for resale and serves as a tracking system. (Helps police distinguish them from stolen parts!) His yard is networked with other recyclers and they trade/sell parts all over the state to places that need them. Many parts are collected for core buyers that will refurbish parts no longer working. Batteries are recharged and resold or sent to a recycler that will refurbish them. All fluids are drained and captured. Anti-freeze and Freon is gathered to be recycled and resold. Oil, transmission fluids, brake fluids are poured into a holding tank on site. They are then reused in a clean burning heating system that heats my husband’s shop during the winter months. All metals are dismantled and sorted to sell to those companies that will melt it down for reuse. Mercury switches are also sent to a company that handles the proper disposal of these items. Tires are sent to a recycler that will chop them up and create new items for our use.
Before rushing to the car parts store… think if you could use something recycled. It is usually cheaper and once again, we are working on helping this environment we live in!!
Consume Responsibly
by Jennifer Kaatz
Have you ever gone to a store and selected a product only to discover that the product was not what you thought it would be? Throughout the environmental community there is a growing concern about the authenticity of products labeled as “organic” and “all natural.” Within the architecture profession it is our responsibility to challenge manufacturers’ products because a manufacturer is only as good as the products it stands behind. In a sense this is a contract of trust and faith between the company and its consumers (the public). This is a sacred bond which should not be muddled or broken.
The industrial age altered every aspect of our daily living creating mass production, new technologies, and a need for more resource consumption. Unfortunately, this revolution brought with it the burden of increased pollution which has been passed on to future generations. Due to these challenges, which we must face today we are encouraged to take an environmentally conscious role in the world in which we produce, consume, and live. A facet which had garnered more attention is to examine the manufacturing process of recycled products. In some cases more toxins, dyes, and chemicals are being used for “recycled” products thus having an adverse effect on the environment.
There are many resources available which can help our community embrace the role of a well-versed member of a “green” world. Daniel Goleman’s recently released book, Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything is one such resource. Goleman takes his readers on a journey into the world of consumerism and the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of products. Goleman’s book offers a detailed look at industrial ecology; which examines the impact of our every decision on the world and encompasses both businesses and “green” activists. A good product awareness resource can be found on Goodguide.com which is a growing website that provides information on consumer products, up to date news articles, and the latest recall items. The website Buildinggreen.com and Moseley’s Green Team and Craig Crawford are also reputable sources with up-to-date information on manufacturers.
There are many questions which will continue to be raised, such as, how “green” is “green”? So how can we challenge companies to stand by their “organic” or “all natural” or recycled product and encourage the branching out of all parties involved in producing a product? It is the consumers’ responsibility to learn from the past, question and challenge, and to share this knowledge with others.
Home Composting
Home Composting
by Eliot Garber
Did you know the average waste generated per household in North America is approximately 2,000 lbs per year and it is estimated that about 50 percent of the total waste stream could be composted?
Our family has been doing home composting for the last 7 or 8 years. Our goals for composting were to minimize putting kitchen waste in the trash (we’ve noticed the Super Can is lighter on trash day) and to make compost for our garden.
We got started by purchasing an Earth Machine (http://www.earthmachine.com/index_r.html) composter through a promotion by the City of Richmond. I don’t remember the cost, but the unit was sold at a steep discount. Various manufactured composters are available online at a cost of $35 and up. Some people build their own, which may be less expensive depending on whether you’re using purchased materials or re-using some you already have.
Keeping the pile going is fairly simple:
- What to put in… approximately equal amounts of Green (nitrogen) such as vegetable & fruit scraps, grass clippings, and other plant material, including weeds that haven’t gone to seed; and Brown (carbon) such as dead leaves and straw. (Some people recommend adding bread, pasta, rice, cardboard and other paper products, but we haven’t gone that far yet). Things to avoid: meat, bones, dairy, grease, and fish (these create odors and attract all kinds of varmints).
- You don’t need to be very precise about the percentages of what goes in… if it starts to smell “pungent,” and to attract more flying critters, just add more brown; likewise, if the pile seems dry, and doesn’t seem to be breaking down very quickly, add more scraps or grass clippings.
- The other two essential ingredients for compost are water (add water occasionally) and oxygen. The best way to incorporate oxygen is to use a pitchfork on the pile every two or three weeks to mix everything up.
We located the composter behind a bush so it isn’t visible from the house. It’s also under a large willow oak which sheds a huge amount of leaves in the fall, which conveniently helps provide the “brown” part of the compost.
Recycled Rain Barrels for Sale
Thanks to Josh Bennett for the great info!
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Warrenton Office
by Brian Gorham
On the anniversary of Earth Day we continue to remember the commitment our company shows towards Green technologies and energy conscious design. Stemming from that mission we have entered into a new phase of being good stewards of our finite resources.
Recently, the second largest school district in Virginia, Prince William County Schools, committed to retrofitting existing properties through a combined process of energy education and Performance Contracting with Moseley Architects leading the charge. Through the auditing of energy usage in existing schools we will be identifying energy conservation measures associated with system improvement and equipment replacement. Engineering data will help us quantify lower levels of fuel(electric, natural gas etc) consumption through equipment replacement or operational streamlining. In turn this will reduce annual utility costs. Those savings provide a source of available funds for the improvement costs themselves.
In addition to Performance Contracting, a curriculum will be introduced throughout the county to begin enabling the end users; teachers, students and school personnel to contribute additional reductions in consumption through conservation.
Many clients are looking for unique ways to address ongoing maintainability and sustainability issues. Please contact Brian Gorham if you feel you may have a customer interested in Performance Contracting, maintainability and energy conscious facility operation.
Go Green!!
