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Recycling Bulletin

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Recycling Bulletin #28
news from a national leader in campus recycling

March 7, 2005

In this Bulletin:

CU Recycling Report:  RecycleMania, Dell Computer Round-Up

Local Recycling Info:  Zero-Waste and Responsible Consumer events

Industry News:  Colorado Recycling Legislation

Frightening Fact: Mountains of Plastic Bottles

Glimmer of Hope:  Deposit Bill Info

Get Involved / Upcoming Events:  Master Composter Training, Recycling X-Games, Computer Round-Up, Student Job at Eco-Cycle Longmont

1. CU Recycling Report

CU JUMPS TO 7TH PLACE IN NATIONWIDE RECYCLING COMPETITION
Buffs Recycle!  Help CU Win RecycleMania!

RecycleMania began on January 30th and runs through April 9th, and is sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.  The winning school will receive a RecycleMania trophy and bragging rights among the growing number of schools with successful recycling programs.

Four weeks into RecycleMania, CU has climbed to 7th place and is gaining on rival CSU. In the fourth week of competition, from February 20 to 26, CU recycled 30.58 percent of its campus waste, leading to an average of 27.95 percent of waste diverted from the landfill over the four weeks and a 7th place spot. In the first week of competition, CU recycled 25.10 percent of its campus waste, or about 22 tons, putting them in 11th place.  In the second week, from Feb. 6 to 12, CU recycled 27.92 percent of its campus waste, averaging out to 26.51 percent and retaining the 11th place spot.  In the third week of the contest, CU's recycling rate again increased to 28.33 percent, bumping CU up to 8th place. Colorado State University dropped to 5th place after the fourth week of competition, reporting a 30.31 percent average recycling rate.  The first place school, California State University at San Marcos, reported a 42.53 percent recycling rate. In the fourth week of competition, CU's recycling rate was less than one percent lower than CSU's. "Each week CU's recycling rate has increased, including the dramatic two percent jump this week, but it's time for the Buffs to step our recycling to remain one of the top campus recyclers in the country and beat CSU," said Jack DeBell, director of CU Recycling.  "This contest is not a spectator sport.  Person by person and pound by pound, universities like CU are making a difference."

In an effort to promote participation in RecycleMania, and of recycling in general, CU Recycling will host the Recycling X-Games on Wednesday, March 9 (See event listing below).  Serving as a tremendous reminder to students to recycle, CU Recycling's SWAT (Save the World Action Team) was on campus on Wednesday, March 2. RecycleManiacs dressed in capes and costumes used a range of tactics to bring recycling to forefront of the CU student's mind.

CU Recycling will post recycling results and links to national rankings during the contest on its web site, www.colorado.edu/recycle.   You can also visit www.recyclemaniacs.org.  For more information or to learn how to volunteer during the contest, contact CU Recycling at (303) 492-8307 or e-mail cure@colorado.edu.


FREE COMPUTER RECYCLING BEING PLANNED FOR PERSONAL COMPUTERS

The CU Environmental Center has teamed with Dell Corporation to hold an old computer round-up in early May and is gauging interest among CU faculty, staff, students, and alumni.    If you're a member of the university and are interested in bringing your working or non-working computers and peripherals from home to this event or would like more information about CU's award-winning recycling program, visit http://recycling.colorado.edu/ and complete a brief survey.

2. Local Recycling Info

The City of Lafayette, in eastern Boulder County, held it annual Oatmeal Festival as a zero waste event in January and recovered 98% of all discards as recyclables or compost!  The community event was attended by thousands who used biodegradable cornstarch cutlery, and compostable paper bowls and plates.  Only one 35 pound bag of trash was produced compared to 1,100 pounds of compostable materials, thanks to efforts by the Lafayette Community Events, the Lafayette Waste Reduction Advisory Committee, Eco-Cycle, and the City of Lafayette Public Works Department.

Boulder County's non-profit recycler and zero-waste leader Eco-Cycle has partnered with electronics store ListenUp to begin a pilot program encouraging consumers to recycle outdated electronics. Through the end of March, customers visiting the Eco-Cycle/City of Boulder Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) will receive a coupon for a discount at ListenUp, and customers who purchase new electronics at ListenUp will receive a coupon for recycling an electronic item at the CHaRM at no charge.

Read more about these local events and other Colorado recycling news in the Colorado Association for Recycling newsletter, downloadable from http://www.cafr.org/

3. Industry News

State of Colorado representatives and senators are currently debating two significant state recycling bills in legislative committees.

The first,  SB141, is a landfill ban which  would make it illegal for used oil, lead-acid batteries or  tires to be sent to landfills starting in 2007.   It passed into the Senate Appropriations Committee this week.

The second, HB1256,  is a comprehensive recycling act that sets a 30 - 50% state-wide recycling goal and increases disposal fees.  It includes requirements for integrated  solid waste planning; data collection; market  development; funding for planning, infrastructure and education; and the potential for additional landfill bans as well as extended  producer responsibility for electronics.

Details about the content of the bills and their progress can be found at  the Colorado Association for Recycling website, http://www.cafr.org.

4. Frightening Fact

"Only about 12 percent of 'custom' plastic bottles, a category dominated by water, were recycled in 2003, according to industry consultant R.W. Beck, Inc. That's 40 million bottles a day that went into the trash or became litter. In contrast, the recycling rate for plastic soft drink bottles is around 30 percent.

The low water bottle recycling rate also impacts the overall recycling rate of all recyclable plastic containers. That's fallen from 53 percent in 1994 to 19 percent in 2003."

- From MSNBC article, "Plastic Bottles Pile Up as Mountains of Waste" by Miguel Llanos,  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5279230/

5. Glimmer of Hope

"Bottle bill" advocates point to the proven effectiveness of deposit-return laws as collection infrastructures in the U.S. states that supply the lion's share of plastic containers to processors: possibly as much as 75% of the PET bottles recycled in the U.S., according to the Container Recycling Institute

Diminishing bottle and can collection in the U.S. has led to a demand that exceeds supply for plastic bottles.  Bottle bill supporters hope to increase supply through deposit laws.

Find more info on deposit laws and increased recycling rates that result at http://www.container-recycling.org or http://www.bottlebill.org.

6. Get Involved / Upcoming Events

CU Recycling X-Games, Wednesday March 9,  11am - 3pm, UMC Fountain Area

Individual and team participants will compete in recycling games including the Can Guess, Phonebook Shot-Put, Pizza Box Toss, Dumpster Dive, Recycle Ball, Recycle Relay and Art Recycling Competition. Individuals can walk up to participate.  Teams must register prior to the event by visiting http://www.colorado.edu/recycle, and clicking on "RecycleMania," then "X-Games."  Teams and individuals can win prizes ranging from Eldora lift tickets to gift certificates from your favorite local businesses.  Participants will be entered into a raffle to win one of several Dell Digital Jukebox MP3 players.

A similar event geared toward a younger audience will be held on Tuesday, March 8 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Newton Court Family Housing.  For more information on this event, contact Rachel Cragg at craggr@colorado.edu


Boulder County Training Master Composters!

The Boulder County Master Composter Program is now accepting applications for the 2005 class where participants are trained to be experts in composting.  After training, Master Composters then provide education to the community about how to compost.   This year's course will be held Thursdays, March 31st through May 5th 6:00-8:30pm, with a final class on Saturday, May 7th, 9am-12noon. Participants are asked to attend all classes, which will be held at the Boulder County Recycling Center, 1901 63rd Street in Boulder. The cost for the training is $70 in addition to 20 hours of required community service to be completed before December 31st, 2005.   The application deadline is March 10.  For an application, call the Center for ReSource Conservation, 303-441-3278, or the Boulder County Cooperative Extension, 303-678-6238. You can also find one at www.conservationcenter.org. This program is a proud partnership of the Center for ReSource Conservation, the CSU Cooperative Extension-Boulder County, and the Boulder County Resource Conservation Division.


Environmental Center 35th Anniversary Celebration and Alumni Reunion
April 22-23

Founded on Earth Day in 1970, the Environmental Center is going strong!  We look forward to Environmental Center folks from past and present to celebrate our accomplishments and set the stage for what's next.

Friday, April 22nd (Earth Day!) will feature a campus environmental awards ceremony luncheon, a commemorative tree planting, an afternoon of tours and current state of the EC presentations, and networking dinners.  Capping it off, the over-21 crowd can head to the Boulder Theater for the 13th annual Microbreweries for the Environment benefit with music by The Motet.   Saturday, April 23rd will involve a strategic roundtable luncheon to establish an effective alumni network followed by some quality outdoor time and an evening bbq.

For more info and to RSVP, email ecenter@colorado.edu.


Save the Date:  May 6 - 8 CU Computer Round-Up

CU Recycling has teamed with Dell Computer to hold a computer round-up for personal (non-CU) computers on May 6-8.  CU Students, faculty, and staff: If you're interested in participating in this local, no-cost event, please visit http://recycling.colorado.edu to receive a brief survey which will enable CU Recycling to plan the best event possible.


Perfect Student Job Available at Eco-Cycle Longmont

Dedicated recycler needed to provide customer service at the Tree Limb Diversion Center at Eco-Cycle's Longmont recycling center. Direct customers that pull up to the window. Accept payment from customers. Cash handling includes register operation and bank deposits. Bilingual Spanish helpful. Help answer phones.  Some down-time allows for studying and homework.  Full-time and part-time considered. $6/hr plus benefits (for half-time or more). Send cover letter and resume to recycle@ecocycle.org.

Subscribe to the CU Recycling Bulletin

The Recycling Bulletin is circulated via a closed list;  only CU Recycling has access to the rest of the subscriber list.  Subscribers' names and e-mail addresses are not available to any other group or used for any other purpose.

About University of Colorado at Boulder Recycling

The University of Colorado's recycling program is a non-profit, campus-based organization whose mission is to instill awareness of the benefits of waste reduction and recycling.  CU Recycling is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading campus programs. Awards have been given by such groups as the EPA, National Recycling Coalition, and the Office of Federal Environmental Executive, who in 2000, announced CU Recycling the model campus program in the United States.

The university community is encouraged to get involved in CU Recycling's many activities.  For more information, call (303)492-8307 or visit http://www.colorado.edu/recycle

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