Activities – Page 29 – Northern California Recycling Association

America Recycles Day Letter To Recycling Businesses, 2014

The 18th Annual “America Recycles Day” (ARD) will be on November 15, 2014. ARD is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and buy recycled content products. Since 1997, the ARD campaign has grown to nearly two thousand events, with more Americans pledging to increase their recycling habits at home and work.

There is no better opportunity to draw attention to the nation’s woeful consumption and discards habits that America Recycles Day. According to the US EPA, in 2012, Americans generated 251 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), or 4.38 pounds per person per day. Included however are 65 million tons of recycled and 21 million tons of composted materials, for a total diversion rate of 34.5%.

For 2012, the manufacturing of products to include reclaimed materials had saved our nation 1.1 quadrillion BTUs of energy (enough for 10 million households per year), and avoided 168 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (equivalent to removing 33 million passenger vehicles from our roads per year). The reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) are beneficial towards global warming and climate change. Additional benefits of recycling include the creation of jobs, pollution reduction, conservation of virgin materials and natural resources, and preservation of landfill capacities.

The Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA) is a non-profit organization with about 200 members, mostly throughout the Bay Area, representing a broad spectrum of the recycling community. NCRA promotes waste reduction, reuse, salvaging, recycling, and composting as vital tools for resource and energy conservation, and as cost-effective, environmentally sound methods of disposing of discarded materials. We support America Recycles Day, and have taken the online pledge and encourage others to take pledges likewise in solidarity.

In the short time remaining, consider whether your business and employees would be willing to also take pledges to help expand public awareness, underscore the importance of and the many benefits of recycling, and to recommit the role of your business. You’ll find a link to the pledge and a partial listing of Bay Area ARD events at our web site www.ncrarecycles.org.

Whether or not your organization will support or participate in an ARD event this year, thanks for your ongoing efforts to help transform the public from the garbage as usual paradigm, more towards a zero waste mentality. Thanks for sharing this with others.
Sincerely,
Laura McKaughan, President
NCRA Board of Directors
www.ncrarecycles.org ncrarecycles@gmail.com

Masonic Homes’ Composting Tour

NCRA Tours Masonic Homes’ Innovative Composting and Woodlands

By Nicole Gaetjens, Sustainability Coordinator at Mills College and Ellen Hopkins, Zero Waste and Composting Consultant

NCRA members Ellen Hopkins and Nina Salvador and Tri-CED Recycling employee Raquel Archuleta led eight other NCRA members on a tour of an on-site composting system in July. Located on 250 acres in the hills of Union City, Masonic Homes is one of the largest assisted living facilities in Northern California. Masonic Homes and the neighboring facility – Acacia Creek Retirement Community, have partnered with Tri-CED Community Recycling for over three years to compost all food discards generated by 600 full-time residents and staff in an on-going effort to increase sustainability at the site. The compost produced is being used for an innovative habitat restoration project led by Math Science Nucleus (MSN) to restore native California flora to the hillside of this Mission Hills property.

The Earth Flow is made by Green Mountain Technologies. Ellen Hopkins, composting consultant, and Raquel Archuleta explained the collection flow, in-vessel compost process and operations. Raquel collects prep (pre-consumer) and dining (post-consumer) food waste daily in four to five 64-gallon containers and brings it to the compost station. The compost system has a tote-tipper that tips each container into the loading end of the machine and an electric auger mixes the material into the existing compost in the system. Food scraps (nitrogen source) are mixed with equal parts of bulking agent (carbon source) in the system to produce a C:N ratio that makes the composting process effective. Daily input of food waste is about one ton or two yards, and bulking agent is about ½ ton or 2 yards. The bulking agent(s) used in this case is horse bedding from a neighboring horse stable and chipped wood waste from landscape maintenance on the property. The NCRA group checked out the compost in the vessel and were surprised there was no noticeable odors.

The Earth Flow is a fully automated, fully contained, in-vessel composting system that provides optimum conditions for thermophilic composting. The auger, aeration and moisture addition systems are programmable for process and product objectives. The traveling auger mixes in the new feedstock at the load end. The new material is quickly inoculated with active composting microbes as it is blended in. Process air above the compost in the vessel is pulled through a biofilter next to the Earth Flow. The biofilter is composed of moistened woodchips. Microbes that normally inhabit woodchips (no inoculants needed) scrub odors and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with 95% efficiency. The “plug flow” matrix migrates to the discharge end over the course of 2-3 weeks. In-vessel time depends upon the amount of material loaded and system size. After processing within the vessel, the compost is unloaded and cured to completion outside of the vessel within 6-8 weeks.

Nina Salvador, who is familiar with the reforestation project, described it in more detail: Masonic Homes and partners aim to restore the native oak woodland that once inhabited this region prior to the over grazing of cattle. The woodland will provide ecosystem services and enjoyment to the community. Nearby California State University-East Bay faculty and students are also involved in the restoration effort led by Joyce Blueford of MSN. This closed-loop system demonstrates a win-win-win project and was a great tour for the NCRA group.

WHOIS… MATH SCIENCE NUCLEUS is a 33 year old national and international educational and research non-profit composed of scientists, educators and community members. Locally it is associated the Children’s Natural History Museum in Fremont. It serves as an online science resource center to assist school districts, teachers, and administrators around the world. The major goal is to develop problem solving capacity through science for the world’s children. Read more… MSN: http://msnucleus.org/

ZWAC Minutes, September 2015

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RECYCLING ASSOCIATION ::
ZERO WASTE ADVOCACY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MONTHLY MEETING, September, 2015 DRAFT.

This meeting was held on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at the offices of John Moore, 1970 Broadway, 9^th floor, Oakland. Called for 6 p.m. Call-in number is 510/891-9800.

Present were Chair Boone and committee members Abbe, Brooms, Hoffman, Krueger, McKaughan, Moore, Wright and Yee; no call-ins. The meeting started at 6:07 p.m. Minutes of the August meeting were not discussed. Boone served as secretary.

NCRA POLICY ON ZERO WASTE: Abbe, presenting. There is currently a large conflict within the WR&R industry with many different ideas about what should be acceptable Zero Waste practices. NCRA has never formally adopted the ZW International policy statement and it was moved (Abbe), seconded (McKaughan), and voted (unanimous) that the NCRA board do so. Boone suggested that the NCRA board defer action until October as the NCRA News would not be able to include this matter in its September issue but, after some discussion, that idea was withdrawn.

PROPER MANAGEMNT OF CARTONS AND ASEPTICS: Abbe, presenting. She has been working in several different school districts in Alameda County and each has a different practice because its local public agency’s contract with Davis Street MRF varies so that some USDs teach kids that aseptics are not recyclable and others teach that they are. Tom Wright contributed a lot of detailed information about aseptics, the more advanced sorting machinery available in Southern California MRFs, etc. It was agreed that Wright will write up some background on this issue and suggest what can be done.

LOCAL CO-SPONSORS FOR THE ELLISON ZW BILL IN THE CONGRESS: Boone, presenting. Boone suggested that he write on behalf of NCRA to all Bay Area congresspersons suggesting that they co-sponsor the Ellison bill, agreed. Boone to execute.

TEXTILES AT CAL RECYCLES: Hoffman, presenting. At the CR public event in March, it was revealed that the agency has no detailed knowledge of the disposition of textiles (Hoffman says 85% go to landfill) and seems to have no plans to learn or do anything else. She asked that NCRA directors write CR on this matter; McKaughan reminded the ZWAC members that the 48 hour review period required of board actions would cause any such letter to miss the Friday at 5 p.m. deadline. Boone offered to write his own letter.

FORTUNE MAGAZINE ARTICLE ON CURBSIDE’S DIRE STRAIGHTS: Boone, presenting. It was widely agreed that the article’s heavy reliance on David Steiner’s mission (to shake more cash out of the local governments who pay his firm to run curbside programs) was transparent. Wright likes TOXIC SLUDGE IS GOOD FOR YOU, a book that details how big business twists the public’s perception of environmental issues. Kruger will draft a response of the NCRA board to the Fortune article and have it passed around for improvements and approvals.
FEEDBACK TO THE ASSEMBLY WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING COMMITTEE: McKaughan, presenting. She was present on August 18^th when Assemblyperson Gordon’s committee met in Sacramento to take testimony about how the future could be better than the past. Gary Liss was present and recommended that the state adopt a Zero Waste goal. After some discussion, it was agreed that McKaughan should draft a similar letter for NCRA to sign onto.

VIRTUE IN THE NEW OREGON WR&R LAW: Boone, presenting. He had heard that the new Oregon law relied heavily on life cycle assessments to determine work programs of which he had an instinctive distrust; Wright said he had discussed these issues with David Alloway (Oregon DEQ) on several occasions and found that the results of any such study were too much a function of what assumptions were made. No further action.

OUR OWN WORK ON OUTSTANDING BILLS. Brooms, presenting. NCRA did get its 199, 751, and 1052 letters in; Krueger thanked Brooms for seeing these letters out the door.

CLOSING UP: Boone indicated he is going back east in early October for two months or more; Yee volunteered to be secretary.

Adjourned at 7:43 p.m.

Next meeting should be on October 14th; location TBD.

Respectfully submitted, Arthur R. Boone, Acting Secretary

Member Appreciation Picnic hosted by NCRA and Zero Waste Youth USA

A big thanks to all those who attended NCRA’s Annual Picnic, this year co-hosted by NCRA & Zero Waste Youth USA on Sunday 9/27 at Lake Temescal in Oakland! Over 25 members and non-members alike joined up for a day of BBQing, lawn games, networking, frisbee, and more! Please keep an eye out here for annoucements of future tours, mixers and a holiday gathering…all details coming soon!

ZWAC Minutes, July 2015

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RECYCLING ASSOCIATION
ZERO WASTE ADVOCACY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MONTHLY MEETING, July, 2015

This meeting was held on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at the offices of John Moore, 1970 Broadway, 9^th floor, Oakland. Called for 6 p.m. Call-in number is 510/891-9800.

Present were Chair Boone and committee members Abbe, Connolly, Hoffman, Moore, and Russell; regrets from Brooms (South Lake Tahoe) and Yee (work). The meeting started at 6:12 p.m. Minutes of the June meeting were not discussed. Boone served as secretary.

LEGISLATION: Moore, presenting. Moore as NCRA counsel has drafted position letters on ABs 199, 888, and 1103 for Chair Boone to sign; letters will be held until next board meeting on July 16 to ratify. Each member had a copy of each letter and it was MSV to approve all three as drafted. AB 199 was “support with clarification/amendment;”AB 888 was “support,” and AB1103 was “oppose unless amended.” The most interesting discussion was on AB 1103 where Abbe clarified that the issue of grocery chains backhauling their own organics to central depots for composting could be questioned by this bill and food donations could be left to the mercy of the waste hauler if such language were to be adopted.

SUSTAINABLE RECYCLING CAMPAIGN [SRC], Abbe, presenting. The second prong of this campaign was the third/green cart for all Oakland multi-unit buildings (3500 structures); all buildings now have their carts and collections have begun. Under NCRA’s grant from the EAB, 20% are being served by using McKaughan and JJ Robinson accompanied by sorters from ILWU employed by local sorting firms to interface directly with tenants. Another 20% are being approached by Cascadia hired hands paid by WMX to speak to property managers. The June 20^th kick-off in Oakland CD#5 went well for NCRA and the language tie between the sorters and the residents (mucho Espanol) was very positive. After some discussion, it was MSV that all ZWAC members and all NCRA board members should be asked to give one Saturday by the end of June to volunteer to do outreach in Oakland.

OTHER MULTI-UNITS: Jessica Connolly, presenting. She presented in general terms their work at Marin Sanitary Service in setting up four different groups of multi-unit residents and measuring response based on type and nature of their introduction to the program. Others mentioned Lily Kelly’s work reported at RU-20 and the Stopwaste commercial recycling outreach.

NCRA’S APPLICATION FOR STOPWASTE FUNDING ON FOOD WASTE REDUCTION: Abbe, presenting. The team of Moore, Blachman, and Abbe has asked Stopwaste for about $20,000 to more clearly understand the obstacles of food transfers from those holding unwanted foodstuffs to those wanting such materials; this is an outgrowth of our food waste conference last fall. No funding decision yet. Food Shift has completed a study for Santa Clara County on this issue that is now available in draft. Food Shift also has a contract now with Andronico’s to get their unsalable foodstuffs to not-for-profits.

SF GARBAGE TO SOLANO: Abbe, presenting. The City’s decision to grant a negative declaration on an EIR for the transfer of the city’s wasted resources disposal from Altamont to Hay Road/Solano County has now been appealed by an interested party and the SF Bay Chapter has voted to support that appear but not to join the appeal. The SF Group has taken no position. After some discussion, ZWAC decided not to take a position on this issue at this time.

CLOTHING COLLECTION BOXES IN HAYWARD: Alex Hofmann, presenting. After some delays, the city of Hayward has a newly-revised but not yet published draft ordinance on the rights of and controls over clothing collection box operators. Not all of the contents of the draft ordinance are yet public but some are difficult for her firm to accept. After some discussion, it was MSV that Boone would prepare a letter for board consideration on the 16^th that would object to unnecessary features known of in the draft ordinance and would be received in Hayward before the draft ordinance is released. Abbe said the City Council had proven itself worthy under the SRC issues and should be entrusted with any benefit of the doubt.

Adjourned at 7:34 p.m.

Next meeting should be on August 12^th; location TBD.

Respectfully submitted, Arthur R. Boone, Acting Secretary