Archive for November, 2010
Annie Leonard’s “The Story of Electronics”
November 30th, 2010 | 
Author: November 11th, 2010
Annie Leonard has a new video released this week called “The Story of Electronics” and I strongly recommend that you spend 7 minutes and 47 seconds of your time watching this video. I promise you it’s worth it.
Yes, it’s the very same Annie Leonard who brought us the viral video “The Story of Stuff” almost 3 years ago and her latest work is another communications masterpiece – powerful in it’s simplicity, disturbing without being preachy, fast-paced and extremely fun to watch. It succeeds, in my opinion, in explaining “why ‘designed for the dump’ is toxic for people and the planet” in the most basic and simple terms that my 7-year-old son can understand and think about.
Watch: The Story of Electronics: Why “Designed for the Dump’ is Toxic for People and the Planet by Annie Leonard
Full Article: http://www.pacebutler.com/blog/annie-leonards-the-story-of-electronics-video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PacebutlerRecycling+%28Pacebutler+Blog%29
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Restaurants Recycling Oyster Shells to Help Restore Chesapeake Bay
23 November 2010
Elizabeth Lee
Michael McWilliams works with with the Oyster Recovery Partnership to help restore the decimated oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay
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More than 50 restaurants, caterers and seafood wholesalers from Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia are participating in an unusual recycling program started earlier in the year by the Oyster Recovery Partnership. In nine months, they donated two million oyster shells to the University of Maryland to help restore the decimated oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay.
For anyone who craves oysters, one of the most famous spots in Washington is the Old Ebbitt Grill.
“We serve between 1500 and 2000 oysters a day, and that obviously creates a lot of waste,” said Christian Guidi who manages the restaurant.
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“We serve between 1500 and 2000 oysters a day, and that obviously creates a lot of waste,” said Christian Guidi who manages the restaurant.
In the past, these oyster shells would end up in the garbage, but that changed this year when the Old Ebbitt Grill found a new purpose for the used shells.
The restaurant is recycling them to help restore the declining oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Oyster Recovery Partnership picks up the used shells and brings them to Michael McWilliams.
“We send them through a washing process where they are sent through a machine hit with water,” said Michael McWilliams with the Oyster Recovery Partnership.
Full Article: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Restaurants-Recycling-Oyster-Shells-to-Help-Restore-Chesapeake-Bay-110202629.html
Just back from Asia, President Obama proclaims a need for more recycling, especially of electronics
November 15, 2010 | 6:52 pm
One of the really important jobs a president has is to issue numerous proclamations that show he (or at least his staff) is aware of countless audience niches that appreciate PR releases about them.
Today, President Obama sent a special Hajj message to the world Muslim community, especially those making the pilgrimmage to Mecca. He’ll soon be making the usual Thanksgiving proclamation.
As released by the White House on Monday, the Democrat also issued another of those profound presidential proclamations that go largely unnoticed by a busy world. This one named Monday, Nov. 15 as America Recycles Day. Try to control your excitement.
And please consider the environment before printing out several dozen copies:
Each small act of conservation, when combined with other innumerable deeds across the country, can have an enormous impact on the health of our environment. On America Recycles Day, we celebrate the individuals, communities, local governments, and businesses that work together to recycle waste and develop innovative ways to manage our resources more sustainably.
Americans already take many steps to protect our planet, participating in….
…curbside recycling and community composting programs, and expanding their use of recyclable and recycled materials. Recycling not only preserves our environment by conserving precious resources and reducing our carbon footprint, but it also contributes to job creation and economic development.
Full Article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/11/obama-recycle-day-i.html
How D.C. Beat the Plastic Bag Lobby
This summer, California looked ready to outlaw the plastic bag. A bill passed the state House, and Gov. Schwarzenegger supported it. Then the lobbyists showed up. The American Chemistry Council, which represents oil companies and plastic manufacturers, spent millions on automated phone calls to voters, contributions to state Senate campaigns, and television ads that mocked lawmakers for caring more about plastic bags than the state’s budget crisis.
On September 1, the California Senate rejected the plastic bag ban. It failed just like similar bag-reduction measures over the past three years in cities including Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Dallas and Baltimore, and statehouses in Connecticut, Oregon, Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts. Environmentalists say the ACC’s money and political muscle keep plastic-curbing measures — even when popular — from becoming law.
Full Article: http://www.onearth.org/article/how-dc-beat-the-plastic-bag-lobby
Recycling industry heading for change
Ben Cubby Environment Editor
November 4, 2010
With the speed of of a melting glacier, Australia’s recycling industry is grinding towards its long-promised national scheme for recycling old computers, televisions and mobile phones, as well as bottles and cans.
There were pledges of future legislation and further studies, but few tangible results to report so far, at a meeting of state and federal environment ministers in Sydney yesterday.
The quick action on a national “cash for cans” recycling scheme, flagged by former Environment Minister Peter Garrett as last year’s meeting, will have to wait until next year while a review into its impact on industry is completed.
Legislation to underpin a scheme for recycling electronic waste will not be in place until July next year. The ongoing delays mean up to 200 million electronic items will now go into landfill over the next seven months instead of being recycled.
A scheme for recycling old tyes will be in place by November next year, while legislation for recycling packaging and limiting plastic bag use is now set down for March 2012.
The NSW Environment Minister, Frank Sartor, called for faster action.
“The TV and e-waste strategy is going far too slowly – there is a timetable that’s been proposed but it’s got to be expedited,” Mr Sartor said. “The wheels of COAG move very slowly and they need some WD40.”
Full Article: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/conservation/recycling-industry-heading-for-change-20101104-17fzx.html
