Kevin Anton, Chief Sustainability Officer, Alcoa

You may not think that an accounting degree and accounting background is a typical path to becoming a Chief Sustainability Officer and one of the world’s foremost experts on aluminum, but Alcoa’s Kevin Anton took just that path.

Anton spent three-plus decades in finance in the metals and mining industry, but it wasn’t until the recent financial crisis that he really started to think about his legacy. Instead of leaving his perch at Alcoa to try a new venture, the CSO position was created specifically for him. It allowed Anton just the kind of positive legacy he was looking to create.

Anton stresses that sustainability is not a new trend at Alcoa, but he recognizes that the company only recently linked “the green agenda of sustainability to the green agenda of business.” More than a year after taking the CSO position, Anton has moved the company down a greener path.

It all starts with our daily needs for aluminum products. Soda cans are only the tip of the iceberg. Aluminum, also known as the “wonder metal,” is used in all sorts of infrastructure and buildings, as well as transportation, airplanes and much more.

“It’s the perfect package,” Anton says. “It’s infinitely recyclable. That water can you drink out of can be recycled in 60 days, back on the shelf, back in your hand. So, the soda can you had at your Fourth of July picnic can actually be back [in time] to use for your Labor Day picnic.”

It doesn’t stop there. Aluminum is beneficial in the transportation industry, increasing fuel efficiency and lowering costs wherever it is implemented. And again, it can be recycled over and over. Anton also cites the architecture industry as the fastest growing segment that has been turned on to aluminum, helping to lower energy costs and secure LEED certification points.

One of the biggest changes Anton has helped to implement at Alcoa has been employee engagement. Nearly half of Alcoa employees regularly volunteer in their communities, helping to strengthen the company’s bond with the public. Furthermore, the focus has turned to waste and energy minimization. Anton won’t rest until Alcoa becomes a zero-waste-to-landfill company, and he is constantly stressing ways to cut back energy usage throughout the company.

Anton’s green quest will continue as he hopes to help the American aluminum recycling rates tick upward, as well as increase energy efficiency and reduce the footprints of Alcoa’s facilities worldwide.

Read more about Kevin Anton on his Green Leaders page.

Pioneer Academy (PS 307Q), a Pre-K – 4th grade school in Queens, NY, is the winner of the 2012 Green Cup Recycle Challenge, a national student-driven recycling competition for K-12 schools sponsored by the non-profit Green Schools Alliance (GSA).

Pioneer achieved ”Recycling Champion” status by earning the highest score of any school — 106 points — and correctly sorting 96% of its recycling and trash bins. The school earned 10 “Bonus Points” for additional waste reduction efforts including paperless communications, purchasing recycled paper products and reusable water bottles, and participating in “Trayless Tuesdays.”

During the four-week Challenge, which ended April 30, schools competed for points by “recycling right” — improving recycling compliance rates and decreasing contamination.

Weekly bin checks provided instant feedback on how well schools were recycling.

“We checked 20 bins each week,” says Jasmin Andujar, Pioneer Academy’s science teacher and sustainability coordinator who managed the Challenge with help from her 3rd grade Green Team. Andujar credits the children for their hard work, and a documentary about plastic pollution as the reason for her increased commitment to greening.

After seeing Bag It at a professional development seminar last summer, Andujar became determined to improve less than stellar recycling practices at her school. “That movie made me realize I could do my part to teach children about protecting the Earth,” she says. So, in October 2011, she started Pioneer’s Green Team, instilling practices that prepared everyone for the Recycle Challenge, and which still continue today.

Aside from ensuring that each classroom had both garbage and recycling bins, and informing staff about recycling rules, Andujar trained her small army of enforcement agents.

“Each week, the Green Team swept through the school and posted “Green Inspection Grades” on every classroom and office door,” says Andujar. “G” for green, “M” for making progress, and “P” for polluting. According to Andujar, a lot of teachers received “Ps” and were quite embarrassed. “Within two to three weeks, we saw improvement,” she says. Green Team members handed out recycling tips and signs. Andujar also met with custodial staff to see how she could help them. “The custodians said that students were mixing garbage with recycling; but now that we recycle, they’re recycling too,” she says. More importantly, Andujar says, winning the Recycle Challenge was a source of pride for the children, which showed them that the work they do every week pays off.

Another “Recycling Champion” was the Hopkins School, for grades 7 – 12, in New Haven, CT. Hopkins received 101 points and had 91% of its bins properly sorted. The school — which had just finished the Green Cup Energy Challenge in March — earned 10 “Bonus Points” for an impressive array of “extras” that included trayless dining (to save water, napkins, and reduce food waste), use of 100% recycled paper, a battery collection drive, and an aggressive recycling program that has reduced the number of trash pickups from five to three per week.

Because Hopkins already had high recycling compliance rates, the school’s Sustainability Committee (SusCom), composed of faculty and two dozen students, had to step it up a notch for the Recycle Challenge. They made announcements at school-wide assemblies, hung posters, sent mass emails and published reminders.

“We had students and three faculty members checking about 30 bins each week, close to 50% of the bins in the school,” says Priscilla Kellert, History Department Chair and SusCom faculty head. Sarah Wagner, a Hopkins Junior, is one of SusCom’s most active student leaders. “The bin checks allowed us to see if students were recycling on their own,” says Wagner. “It was nice to see that they were really participating and taking recycling seriously.”

Last year, Hopkins switched to single-stream recycling. Instead of having one bin for paper, one for glass, metal and plastic, everything is thrown into one bin, which, Wagner says, makes recycling much easier. “SusCom has increased the number of recycling bins on campus,” she says. There are bins in major gathering places, blue bins in every classroom, and six new outdoor recycling bins, purchased with PTA monies, that have been strategically placed around the campus, including on the athletic field. The group’s signage committee places signs above every recycling bin, explaining what can and can’t be recycled. Trash and recycling bins are always placed next to each other.

“The thing about recycling is, you’re trying to address peoples’ behavior, so it has to be easy and convenient until it becomes second nature,” says Kellert. “It takes a lot of gentle reminders; you need to set a good tone and be persistent.”

Wagner says that students have told her how much they appreciate SusCom’s campus greening efforts, and being a top school in the Recycle Challenge was rewarding. “Helping the environment is really important to me. It’s nice to be recognized and it makes you want to continue to do a great job,” she says.

In addition to Pioneer and Hopkins, four other schools achieved the level of “Recycling Champion” by earning 90 points or more: Hewitt School in New York (96 points); Maret School in Washington, DC (94 points); Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT (90 points); and Millbrook School in Millbrook, NY (90 points).

Many people consider plastics a nuisance. They are lightweight and it can be difficult to find a market for them. But, for Amy Shumway, owner of Re-Play, recycled plastic is a dream come true.

Shumway spent much of her career working at major corporations that designed plastic housewares and toys. She liked the work, but was frustrated by the level of toxicity in everyday items designed for children.

“Walmart carries a lot of organic food because customers have demanded it, but people haven’t really demanded a lot of innovation in toys,” Shumway says. “I realized there was a much better way to do things.”

Shumway left the corporate world and started out on her own, determined to make products that were better for kids. She had some luck making products with corn plastic and organic fibers under the name Dandelion for Baby. The company produces toys, clothing, bags and tableware.

The problem? The raw materials are expensive, so the finished products are really only accessible to a certain percentage of the population.

What Shumway really wanted was a product that would be affordable to almost anyone. She started experimenting with plastics and discovered that using recycled materials could make her products less expensive.

Three years later, Re-Play was born.

The line, which includes sippy cups, plates, bowls and cutlery in four colors, is made from high-density polyethylene, also known as HDPE or plastic #2. Recycled milk jugs from community curbside programs are the main source of raw material. Items are dishwasher-safe, and they’re free of BPA, phthalates and PVC, so they’re food safe, too (although Shumway cautions that food should never be microwaved in any plastic container).

To keep costs down, Shumway has the products manufactured at the Habilitation Center, a nonprofit organization in Boca Raton, FL, that helps adults with special needs learn job skills. Re-Play products run $3 to $7 per package, making them relatively affordable — especially since they are designed to last. Shumway once ran over some bowls with her car to see what would happen. They got pretty dirty, but they didn’t break.

“We hear from people that they’re throwing away their other stuff and replacing it with this because it’s more durable,” Shumway says.

Both the packaging (which is made from cardboard) and the product are made from recycled and recyclable material. When you’re done with both they can be put in a curbside recycling bin or taken to a local recycling center.

Re-Play products are available at many Walmart stores and on the company’s website. Shumway encourages customers to visit the company’s Facebook page and post comments about the product line.

For many, the annoying side effect of this very green activity is all the plastic pots left over at the end of the process. Nursery pots are typically made with #5, #6 or #7 plastics, which are difficult or sometimes impossible to recycle.

A Seattle-area company is doing what it can to change that. The McConkey Company, which manufactures and distributes products for plant nurseries, recently released the rEarth line of flowerpots, which are made entirely from recycled water bottles.

Most plastic water bottles are made with #1 plastic, known as PET or PETE, which is quite recyclable. But the remanufacturing process required to turn PETE back into new products is typically done overseas.

McConkey's rEarth recycled plastic flower pots

“We have these water bottles that Americans recycle, but then they’re put on an ocean container to China, where they turn it into consumer products,” Stina McConkey, McConkey Company’s COO, said in a press release. “So we asked ourselves, can we keep this valuable material at home — and keep jobs in the US by turning them into flower pots? After working with local recyclers, it turns out we could.”

The company also hopes its product will spur awareness about the wastefulness of single-use plastic bottles and encourage conversations about recycling. Fifty-four percent of Americans drink bottled water regularly, according to McConkey, but only about one-quarter of those bottles are recycled. An estimated 60 million water bottles are thrown away every single day.

rEarth pots are easy to recycle; once you’re through with them you can chuck them in your curbside bin (or, if your municipality does not accept #1 plastic, you can take them to a recycling center with all your other plastics). During the first year of manufacturing, the company diverted 72 million plastic water bottles.

The pots come in eight different sizes, including the six-packs that are popular for vegetables starts and small flowering plants. rEarth has been successful enough that the McConkey Company is planning to add additional sizes to the line later this year.

Consumers will find rEarth pots holding plants from growers such as Colorama, SummerWinds Nursery and Do Right’s Plant Growers in California. They are available for sale (in bulk quantities only) on the company’s website. Want to see them in your area? Encourage your favorite nursery to check them out.

Although they are made from paper, most municipal recycling programs do not accept books because they are difficult to recycle due to the glue used to bind them. It’s the spines of hardcover books that contain a lot of adhesive and cannot be recycled. If your used book is damaged and not reusable, the pages inside most books can be recycled as a mixed waste paper product as long as your local recycling program accepts this kind of paper. If they do, just remove and discard the cover and the spine prior to placing the paper in your mixed waste paper bin.

Here are some things you could do with your usable unwanted books:

• Donate to charities, public libraries or local schools. They can utilize your used books themselves or sell them for fundraising.
• Check out BookMooch, which is an online community for exchanging used books. This site allows you to give away books you no longer need in exchange for books you really want. There is no cost to join or use their site; your only cost is mailing your books to others.
• Paperback Swap is another site that lets you swap not only paperbacks, but also hardcover books, textbooks and more.
• Donate to a local hospital, hospice or assisted living center, where your books can provide some fun and entertainment for others.

The simple act of reusing a book can save energy, water, landfill space and the use of virgin materials. Be aware of your impact on the environment when you put down that novel and reach for the next new thing.

Narwhal Co. recycles vintage neckties and turns them into products that are used every day, such as wallets, passport covers and even bracelets. The goal of the company is to “create an accessory that feels as good to own as it does to make.”

Founder Court Godfrey, an entrepreneur at heart, was burnt out from working in front of a computer every day. After a series of brainstorming sessions, he took the idea to his basement, borrowed a sewing machine and learned to sew. After gaining positive feedback from selling at a local artist market, Godfrey quit his job and started working on his own business full time.

Narwhal Co.'s Wheeler Dealer wallet made from recycled neckties

Godfrey says on his website that he wanted to produce something that is unique and green, and Narwhal Co. is certainly that and more. We love how each handmade item is recycled from fabric that is known for its bold patterns while being one of a kind as well. In other words, while you are bound to get tons of compliments, your friends won’t have the opportunity to purchase the exact same one.

The wallets start at about $22 and are available in three sizes: the Tie Fold Wallet, the Wheeler Dealer and the Sattley Slim. Each is made to be compact but still have the ability to hold a few credit cards and some cash as well. Also available are passport covers and super-hip bracelets.

Narwhal Co. products are available at several retail shops across the country and through the company’s retail site. Just a heads up if you order online: Because each product is one of a kind, that means that when you add a product to your cart nobody else can. But, after 15 minutes, it’s back up for grabs if not purchased. We know you’ll love Narwhal Co. as much as we do, so if you like something you better head on over to the company’s website and purchase it ASAP.

The truth is that the downsides of incineration (which also go by the names “waste-to-energy,” “plasma arc incineration,” “pyrolysis” and “gasification”) far outweigh the “benefits.” Whenever possible, recycling and composting are the best ways to handle materials that have outlived their usefulness. Here are four of the major problems with incineration.

1. Waste is not trash.

All recyclable materials, from cardboard, to electronics, to banana peels, are valuable resources that can go back into making new products. When we recycle, it means manufacturers can seek fewer virgin materials for their products. Recycling cardboard results in fewer trees being cut down. Reusing the heavy metals from electronics means less mining, and reusing plastics means less petroleum consumption. Turning banana peels into compost creates a product that helps grow organic food, conserves water and brings a host of other benefits.

When those items go into a burner, there is no way of ever recovering them. Incineration means resources are literally going up in smoke, rather than being turned back into useful products.

2. Incinerator operators need recyclable goods.

It is not a coincidence that many communities with incinerators have low recycling rates. To generate the maximum amount of energy, incinerators need products that burn hot. Among the most desirable products are paper and plastic, both of which are highly recyclable. (Tires are also highly sought after for the BTUs they produce in an incinerator. Although they are more challenging to recycle, they do have a number of end uses, including floor mats, mulch, speed bumps, sound barriers and erosion-control products.) The result is a backwards situation where it is actually in the community’s best interest to destroy these products rather than recycle them.

3. Recycling creates a lot more jobs — and the revenue stays in the community.

According to the report “Stop Trashing the Climate,” incinerating 10,000 pounds of garbage creates just one job. Recycling the same amount of waste creates up to 10 jobs. For communities desperate for good jobs for their citizens, recycling makes good economic sense.

Plenty of companies that reuse and recycle are locally owned, meaning they put their profits back into local businesses. On the other hand, “incinerators take capital out of the community because they’re typically owned by international companies,” says Neil Seldman, Executive Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, whose Waste to Wealth program helps communities find eco-friendly ways of disposing of waste that also boost the local economy.

“As soon as communities pay the tip fee, that money leaves the area,” Seldman says. “It’s an economic mistake to invest in incinerators. Not only do you have to pay a fortune for them, but you cut off the supply of material for recyclers and composting.”

4. Unlike recycling, burning garbage is seriously bad for people and the planet.

There is plenty of trash to go around. Some might even say it is a renewable resource. So, why not burn it to generate energy instead of consuming fossil fuels like coal or gas?

Answer: numerous studies have shown that emissions from incinerators damage the environment and human health. “An Industry Blowing Smoke” states that incinerating trash emits more carbon dioxide per unit of energy generated than burning coal.

Some incinerators have scrubbers, which remove things like mercury, lead, dioxin and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) before they are released into the air. But those elements do not magically disappear. Instead, they are concentrated in the ashes and other byproducts of the incinerator. If the ashes are not properly disposed of, those toxins can leach into water or be picked up by animals.

The results can be devastating. Mercury and lead have well-documented effects on human health, particularly in children. Dioxin is a carcinogen that can also cause birth defects and damage the immune system. VOCs can damage the kidneys, lungs and central nervous system.

Recycling and even reuse programs have their own problems, but they are definitely better than the alternative. If communities are serious about making an investment in recycling and composting programs they can divert a huge quantity of waste back into useful products. They get the added benefits of creating good jobs, getting raw materials back to businesses that need them, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding a process that can damage human health. What’s not to like about that?

For more on Earth Day and ways to conserve, see 1-800-RECYCLING’s Earth Day Guide.

This year, 92 million pounds of recyclables and organic materials were recovered, which prevented the release of nearly 150,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E). This reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 25,840 passenger cars; electricity use of more than nearly 16,406 homes; or the burning of nearly 705 railcars’ worth of coal. Equally impressive, the average recycling rate for participating schools increased from 27.61 percent to 28.49 percent over the course of the tournament.

The competition, which extended from Feb. 5 through March 31, included eight categories. The colleges and universities that took home top prizes in the three primary categories are:

“Grand Champion” (determined by the percentage of overall waste recycled): American University- (85.16 percent) – Washington, D.C.

“Per Capita Classic” (determined by total pounds of recyclables collected per person): Union College- (61.79 lbs.) – Schenectady, N.Y.

“Waste Minimization” (determined by the lowest overall amount of recyclables and trash per person): Valencia College – (2.79 lbs.) – Orlando, Fla.

To increase student enthusiasm RecycleMania held its second annual video contest with the theme “The Spirit of Recycling.” With the public invited to vote for their favorite from among the 28 videos posted to YouTube, the student submission from Florida State University garnered the most “likes” to win first prize followed by East Tennessee State University. Clemson University’s video received the Judges’ Award.

“One unique aspect of RecycleMania is that everyone is a competitor,” noted Bill Rudy, recycling coordinator at Brigham Young University and chair of RecycleMania, Inc. “No one sits on the sidelines. When students recycle, they add to their score, and if they throw something away, it hurts their school’s ranking. With the whole campus in the game, the competitive spirit spreads and recycling increases.”

The RecycleMania Tournament is an independent program of RecycleMania, Inc., a nonprofit organization led by recycling managers from participating schools. The competition is made possible with the sponsorship support of the Alcoa Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, SCA AfH Professional Hygiene, Waste Management, the American Forest & Paper Association and HP. Program management is provided by Keep America Beautiful with additional program support from the US EPA’s WasteWise program and the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC).

“Colleges and their students are leading the way towards a more sustainable future, and RecycleMania is a perfect demonstration of their energy and commitment,” said Matt McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “KAB is pleased to support the RecycleMania program. We celebrate this year’s results and congratulate every school and individual that participated.”

“We’re proud to support RecycleMania and congratulate all the students for taking small, but meaningful actions to preserve the planet,” said Paula Davis, president, Alcoa Foundation. “In the U.S., we have an enormous opportunity to improve our environmental footprint by recycling more of what we consume. When recycled, a can of soda is back on the shelf in just 60 days.”

“Everyone wins when we all recycle,” said Alain Robichaud, president of Coca-Cola Recycling. “Congratulations to all the students who helped protect the environment and conserve natural resources by recycling during RecycleMania. Coca-Cola is proud to help bring this exciting program to college campuses around the country and remind students about the good things that happen when they recycle.”

Joseph Russo, vice president sales & marketing for SCA’s North American away from home professional hygiene business, said, “We are proud to sponsor RecycleMania, and we share students’ commitment to protecting the environment. We urge all universities to evaluate how they can increase sustainability while keeping students and faculty happy, healthy and thriving in the classroom.”

“RecycleMania is an incredible opportunity for Waste Management to energize and educate this broad audience of college students, faculty and staff about our efforts to triple the amount of recyclable materials nationwide by the year 2020,” said Waste Management Vice President Paul Pistono. “As a company committed to extracting the most value possible from all of the materials we manage, we continue to look for ways to help our customers with cost-efficient, environmental solutions and improving recycling rates at higher education institutions.”

Top schools in each category earn “bragging rights,” while the winners of each are recognized with an award made from recycled materials. For the full results of the competition, go to recyclemaniacs.org/scoreboard.

About RecycleMania

RecycleMania was launched in 2001 as a friendly challenge between Ohio University and Miami University to increase recycling on their campuses. The contest has expanded from two schools in 2001 to 605 colleges and universities in 2012 spanning all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and the U.K. Over an eight-week period, campuses compete to see which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. For complete competition background and details, visit the RecycleMania website at recyclemaniacs.org.

Sources: PR Newswire and RecycleMania

In this modern era of biodegradable packaging, reusable grocery bags and widespread recycling, why should we care about waste? Well, despite the growing power of the environmental movement, Americans are still generating 250 million tons of trash each year.

An Earthship fence in Taos, NM, created by Michael Reynolds.

In order to truly change this, we have to go deeper than external behaviors and look at the roots of our consumer culture: our beliefs. Purchasing a new item, using it for its designated purpose, then disposing of it is a pattern that most of us see as harmless and normal. So, what can we do about this? How can we change the way we look at waste and stop the cycle of consumption?

A few years ago, filmmakers Shantel Hansen and Dave Rizzotto set out to address this issue by documenting the work of those who create or survive using waste. They traveled the country for five months, gathering the stories of innovative companies and individuals and editing the interviews into webisodes. The final product was “Redefining Waste,” a documentary series designed to motivate viewers to reflect on their recycling habits, consumption patterns and relationships with waste.

Each two- to three-minute episode provides a quick portrait of one program or person. Locations range from Vermont to California, and feature stories of individual entrepreneurs, grassroots programs and major companies.

Dave Rizzotto filming Donald Knaack, a conservatory-trained percussionist known as “The Junkman.”

“When we started this project, we knew it would be interesting — but that’s an understatement,” says Rizzotto. “We met people who convert waste water into fuel, people who make musical instruments from scrap metal and people who build homes out of used tires. There’s a virtual underground of those who are changing the way we use and repurpose our resources.”

“Earthships,” one of the most popular episodes to date, tells the story of Michael Reynolds, a spirited architect who constructs sustainable homes from recycled materials. In the short, Michael explains his vision, displays his work and shares his thoughts about waste.

“We invented garbage,” Reynolds says. “There is no such thing as waste or garbage in nature with plants and animals. It’s only in our scheme of things that this is an issue.”

As of April 2012, the series’ YouTube channel has approximately 8,500 views and website traffic is consistently increasing. But, beyond promoting the popularity of the series and hoping to expand its reach, the filmmakers see the documentary as a platform for discussion about the definition of “waste” itself.

Andrea Rooney, New Media Specialist, "Redefining Waste"

“When we become this throwaway society, what does this mean? How is our identity impacted? What do we really value and why?” Hansen, the producer of the series, asks. “I believe that we are ready for a change, but we need some encouragement and inspiration to shift our behaviors. That’s why I created this documentary.”

Perhaps if we can redefine waste, we can redefine consumption, and ultimately reduce our impact on the ecosystems of the earth.

Andrea Rooney is a writer, activist and performing arts enthusiast based in Fort Collins, CO. She is the New Media Specialist for “Redefining Waste,” a green documentary Web series. She is also is serving as a congressional intern for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and is working on her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, which she will receive in May 2012 from Colorado State University. In her free time, she dances, practices yoga, sings and enjoys the outdoors. She can be reached at andreahrooney@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy of guylaramee.com

Some say the printed word is on its way out of our society. Edged out by news websites and e-readers, few people can justify the need for bulky, resource-intensive newspapers and books.

Even if the print publishing industry is doomed to succumb to digital media, that doesn’t eliminate all the books that will still be hanging around our libraries and bookshelves. What will become of these precious tomes when their information is outdated and their pages faded?

If French-Canadian artist Guy Laramee has anything to do with it, castaway books will continue to stand as a commentary of our quest for analytical knowledge over intuitive comprehension.

Among other things, Laramee carves breathtaking landscapes out of the pages of old books. This 3-D work has both a whimsical and eerie quality, often representing landmarks of cultures and races that have long been forgotten — except between the pages of old history books.

Photo courtesy of guylaramee.com

“My work, in 3-D as well as in painting, originates from the very idea that ultimate knowledge could very well be an erosion instead of an accumulation,” says Laramee. “The title of one of my pieces is ‘All Ideas Look Alike.’ Contemporary art seems to have forgotten that there is an exterior to the intellect. I want to examine thinking, not only ‘What’ we think, but ‘That’ we think.

“So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes,” Laramee continues. “Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. They erode a bit more and they become hills. Then they flatten and become fields where apparently nothing is happening. Piles of obsolete encyclopedias return to that which does not need to say anything, that which simply is. Fogs and clouds erase everything we know, everything we think we are.”

Like what you see? Find out where Laramee’s work will be showing next to get a glimpse of this unique medium in person.

ERI Regional Sales Director and recycling expert, Matt McLaughlin, was joined in the panel discussion by Arman Sadeghi of All Green Electronics Recycling and John Patterson of Metal Conversion Technologies, LLC. The panel, part of the Conference’s E-Scrap Recycling session, was moderated by Ray Moreau of the Southern Waste Information eXchange.

During the discussion, McLaughlin shared ERI’s experience as a sustainable business with the panel and audience of about 700 industry representatives, and focused on how the recycling of electronic waste fits ideally into the sustainable business model on a large scale.

The Southeast Recycling Conference & Trade Show focuses on linking industry leaders and recycling officials, offering focused educational sessions, the latest recycling products, equipment and services and networking opportunities.

“We’re honored to have Matt represent us at this excellent event, alongside other esteemed electronic recyclers,” said ERI Chairman and CEO John Shegerian. “I applaud the Southeast Recycling and Trade Show organizers and their efforts to bring together experienced trailblazers in the recycling industries to share ideas and success stories that will help stimulate our economy and job creation via growing sustainable industry concepts. The ‘Green Revolution’ and sustainability as a business model are definitely here to stay — permanently. We are proud to be a part of this vital and game changing movement and to be able to share our own experiences with likeminded businesses and professionals.”

For more information on recycling needs, visit electronicrecyclers.com or urbanmining.org.

Does your community recycle frozen food packaging?

Over the past few years, we have noticed a rise in both recycled and compostable food packaging. Back in 2008, Associated Packaging Technologies partnered with food giant ConAgra to develop a North America’s first recycled PET frozen food trays. Amy’s Kitchen, known for its organic and all-natural foods, also has gone to great lengths to use recycled packaging for its frozen food products. But does it really matter? We are sorry to report that in most cases, no, it does not.

First, let us explain why frozen food boxes are difficult to recycle. The cardboard is sprayed with wax-like chemical coating that is designed to withstand moisture in order to protect the food that is inside. (Sidenote: this goes for beer and soda packaging as well.) Cardboard and paper are recycled by using water to create a pulp. This means that when it is mixed with the paper that has been sprayed with wax it won’t break down and is thus contaminated.

So, why doesn’t it matter if companies use recycled packaging? Mostly because when it comes to sorting, the employees who work the sorting line don’t differentiate because it is time consuming and they are trained to pull all of it. Many recyclers ask us to keep all frozen food packaging out of our recycling bins for of this reason.

“There is no way we would know, which is why we ask that it all be kept out,” explains Sarah Kite, Director of Recycling Services at the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation. “It is the same situation with the ‘biodegradable’ plastics. We can’t tell a regular PET bottle from one that has had an additive mixed in, but the additive-containing bottle is considered a contaminant. I think in time the optical sorters will be able to distinguish between the two, but for now they shouldn’t be mixed together.”

If you and your family purchase a lot of frozen foods, you might be wondering how to recycle them rather than sending them to the landfill. eHow has some creative ideas on how to recycle and reuse your empty boxes.

Municipalities are all different and there is a chance that yours will accept frozen food packaging, but unfortunately, that is still not the majority. Tell us, does your local facility recycle frozen food and beer/soda packaging?