Greenversations

About the author: Andrea Drinkard is Web Content Coordinator in EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation

I’m a runner. I wasn’t always a runner. But, after my first race this spring, I had to admit it. Running may have been an easy sport to pick up when the first marathon was run in Greece, but today there are many more considerations.

First, what shoes do I get? Are they light and supportive? Will they match my clothes? Sorry, I had to throw it in there.

Then you have to decide where to run. I love that I live so close to the city, but that also means I’m surrounded by busy roads and traffic. On my first run at my new house, I decided to just explore the neighborhood. After a mile, I noticed that it wasn’t as easy as it used to be.

Was I out of shape? Maybe it was just a bad day. After a couple more bad runs, it dawned on me. Maybe it was running next to a busy road.

Running near busy roads exposes you to higher levels of air pollutants. And breathing dirty air makes it harder to do just about everything. So, I made a few changes. I looked for routes that were in or near a park or on back roads. I even woke up earlier so I could beat the traffic.

But it’s not just busy roads that can affect air quality. Air pollution comes from many other sources. And it changes every day, so just like I check the weather, I started checking the Air Quality Index. For me, poor air quality days don’t mean skip the run, they just mean take it easy, slow the pace or cut the distance.

EPA uses a color-coded guide: green means the air quality is good, red means it’s unhealthy for everyone to breathe. You can check it on the Internet, sign up for daily emails, or check out your local weather report.

Cities across the country also have Air Quality Action Days. These days tell you when you should reduce your contribution to pollution. One of he easiest ways to do that is to leave the car at home. You can take public transportation or carpool.

Poor air quality can happen year-round, so no matter when you’re outside, check the AQI.

April 27 – May 1 is Air Quality Awareness Week.

About the author: Kelly Chick has worked for EPA for many years. She currently works in the Office of Public Affairs at EPA Headquarters, and manages the EPA blog, Greenversations.

I’ve certainly learned a lot managing the Greenversations blog. I’ve worked here at EPA for longer than I’d care to admit, but it seems I learn something new everyday reading the blog posts and moderating each and every comment submitted. We have had several posts about green building in all of its forms, but not too long ago we posted a blog post from someone who had recently purchased a home, and was in the process of renovating it in the greenest way possible. About this time, I heard about Habitat for Humanity ReStores, and lo and behold there was a sign for one put up in my community in Southern Maryland.

I decided to stop in one Saturday morning and WOW were my eyes opened. It is just getting going and is currently operated out of a barn, but what a treasure trove of goodies. As I walked through, I saw lots of appliances, cabinets, fixtures, windows, shelving, sinks and toilets, tile, carpet remnants, 3,000 gallons of paint and so much more. Most were new, although some were gently used. I decided I needed to know more. I found the store manager and asked him about the ReStore. I found out that all of the items for sale are donated by either local home improvement stores, builders, or regular people like you and me, and are sold at 50-70% off of the retail value (the paint was just $3.00 per gallon). Some of the items (for example, five matching 3’ x 5’ windows) were ordered the wrong size and couldn’t be returned. Donating the items to a charity is a great way to recoup some of the lost expense (as a tax donation), helps others keep their renovating expenses down, and a worthy charity reaps the benefits (in the form of sales). This is a win-win situation if I ever saw one. Not to mention the fact that all of these materials are being spared from going into landfills.

There are many stores that use this model of accepting donations and keeping stuff from being thrown away. Do a search on the web for “recycled building materials” and check out what’s available in your area. By the way, during my conversation I also found out that a store in Virginia helped someone build his house entirely from ReStore purchases. Can you just imagine how much he was able to save. Have you used a source like this for renovations or repairs on your home? Share with us your experience and thoughts about this way of saving “green” while renovating “green”.

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Last night, while shopping with my family, my three year-old son asked an employee for a recycling bin to dispose of a plastic bottle he had been drinking water from. Needless to say, the store clerk was baffled by the request of such a young citizen. Unfortunately, neither the store nor the shopping center had recycling bins, despite the fact that thousands of people visit the mall on a daily basis. I had to take the bottle home with me.

While recycling has increased in various municipalities throughout the island, and outreach efforts by non-profit groups and environmental agencies such as EPA have made an impact on citizens, widespread recycling at public places is still not very common in Puerto Rico. A recent article in The Economist analyzes the fact that while recycling is good for the environment, it is costly due to the meticulous process of manual separation. Some countries and cities, concerned about those costs, are shipping the materials to other parts of the world where manual labor is less expensive.

Materials like aluminum, steel, paper and glass are easy to recycle and cost-effective due to the high cost and damage to the environment caused by mining and refining the raw materials. Recycling aluminum has turned into a profitable business, even for individuals who collect cans. These monetary incentives are having an impact. For example, in recent beach and river cleanups, aluminum cans are not among the commonly found items. Plastic bottles and related items, however, are easily found. While most glass is recyclable and some states provide an incentive for those who return glass items, it is not feasible in every place and I find myself collecting these at every cleanup too.

Even though the plastic industry has developed a series of markers to identify recyclable plastics, not all municipal and state programs recycle them. While researching some information for this blog, I learned that plastic needs to be meticulously separated. Even a small amount of the wrong type of plastic can ruin the melt of recycled plastic.

In our house, we recycle at a rate of 40% (sometimes it can be more) and we try our best to practice the 3 R’s. I think it is time to stress the first R: Reduce more. That way I won’t have to take a plastic bottle home to recycle it anymore.

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini se unió a la EPA en el 2002. Labora como especialista de relaciones públicas en la oficina de EPA en San Juan, Puerto Rico donde también maneja asuntos comunitarios para la División de Protección Ambiental del Caribe.

Anoche, mientras estaba de compras con la familia, mi hijo de tres años le solicitó a la empleada de una tienda de ropa un envase de reciclaje para depositar una botella plástica. La empleada quedó perpleja con semejante solicitud, más aún proviniendo de un niño. Desafortunadamente, ni la tienda ni el centro comercial contaban con envases de reciclaje. Aún cuando el centro comercial es visitado por cientos de cientos de personas diariamente no cuenta con envases que promuevan el reciclaje. Tuve que guardar la botella y llevármela a casa.

Aunque el reciclaje ha incrementado en varios municipios de la isla mediante los esfuerzos de grupos comunitarios y agencias ambientales como la EPA, los envases de reciclaje en lugares públicos no son algo común en Puerto Rico. Un artículo reciente en The Economist analiza el hecho que aunque el reciclaje es bueno para el medioambiente, este resulta costoso por el proceso de separación tan meticuloso que conlleva lo que se traduce en que el costo a los municipios y cidudades es alto y por ende no reciclan. Es por esto que algunos países y ciudades, preocupados por estos costos, envian sus materiales a reciclar a otros lugares donde la mano de obra es más barata.

Algunos materiales como el aluminio, el metal, papel y vidrio son más fáciles de reciclar y resultan costo efectivos por que le daño al medioambiente causado por la extracción en minas y la refinería de materiales vírgenes es mucho mayor. El reciclaje de aluminio es un negocio muy rentable, inclusive para las personas, quienes guardan sus latas de este material y obtienen una ganancia, en vez de reciclarlas. Estos incentivos económicos tienen un impacto en el medioambiente. En limpiezas que he participado recientemente ya no encuentro latas de aluminio. Sin embargo, encuentro muchos artículos de plástico como botellas y cubiertos. Aunque el vidrios es reciclable y algunos estados proveen un incentivo por botella si es devuelto a un centro de acopio, esto no es posible en todos los lugares y me encuentro cada vez más recogiendo vidrio en las limpiezas costeras.

La industria del plástico ha desarrollado una serie de indicadores para identificar los que son reciclables, pero no todos los municipios o estados reciclan todo tipo de plástico. Mientras buscaba información para este blog, aprendí que el proceso de separación del plástico es muy específico. Una pequeña cantidad del plástico erróneo puede dañar la mezcla de plástico a ser reciclado.

En nuestro hogar reciclamos generalmente un 40% (a veces es más) y tratamos de practicar las 3 R. Pero creo que de ahora en adelante tendré que enfatizar más en la R de Reduce y así no tendré que regresar a cas con otra botella plástica para poner en el envase del reciclaje.

About the author: Jeff Maurer manages Web content and does communications work for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

National Cell Phone Recycling Week is here April 6-12! I’m sure you already knew that – you’ve probably already carved a Cell Phone Recycling Week-O-Lantern and have bought a bunch of Cell Phone Recycling Week fireworks. What’s that? You haven’t? In that case, let me suggest a few ways to celebrate National Cell Phone Recycling Week that will make this the best National Cell Phone Recycling Week ever!

Recycle or donate your old cell phone and accessories at one of the events planned by our Plug in to eCycling partners. Some of the biggest names in telecommunications - including AT&T, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless - are introducing a series of in-store promotions, contests, and giveaways as part of Cell Phone Recycling Week. The partners will provide in-store and online recycling opportunities for consumers, so recycling your cell phone is easier than ever!

Of course, you don’t need to recycle your old cell phone at one of these special events – just be sure to recycle it! Cell phones contain precious metals, copper, and plastics, all of which require energy to mine and manufacture. Recycling these materials not only conserves resources; it also prevents greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and water pollution. If all of the 100 million cell phones ready for end of life management in the U.S. were recycled, we would save enough energy to power more than 18,500 U.S. households for a year!

Use your current phone to call your parents and have them recycle or donate their old cell phones. I know for a fact that my mom has a couple old cell phones – many the size of a brick – collecting dust in a kitchen drawer. I think I’ll give her a call and let her know how easy it is to recycle her old cell phones.

In order to calm any fears Mom has about data theft, I’ll send her our cell phone recycling flyer (PDF) (1 pg, 433K, about PDF), which includes information about how to clear data from your phone before you donate. I’ll also let her know about free data-erasing tools that are available online.

That’s how I plan to celebrate, anyway – if you feel like singing Cell Phone Recycling Week carols or marching in a Cell Phone Recycling Week parade, don’t let me stop you.

Each week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.

Electronics such as cell phones can be recycled to reuse valuable materials and keep harmful substances out of the environment.  April 6-12 is Cell Phone Recycling Week.

What did you do with your old cell phone?

En español: Cada semana hacemos una pregunta relacionada al medio ambiente. Por favor comparta con nosotros sus pensamientos y comentarios. Siéntase en libertad de responder a comentarios anteriores o plantear nuevas ideas. Preguntas previas.

Efectos electrónicos como teléfonos celulares pueden ser reciclados para reutilizar materiales valiosos y mantener sustancias peligrosas fuera del medio ambiente. Del 6 al 12 de abril se celebra la Semana de Reciclaje de Teléfonos Celulares.

¿Qué hace con su viejo teléfono celular?

About the author: Brenda Reyes Tomassini joined EPA in 2002. She is a public affairs specialist in the San Juan, Puerto Rico office and also handles community relations for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division.

Rubber protects my bones and ligaments while I jog in my neighborhood park. Yet if not properly recycled, it can be more harm than good. In Puerto Rico 4.7 million scrap tires are disposed of every year and nearly 300 million in the United States. While there is a market for their proper recycling and productive use, such as the ground rubber surface I love to run on, almost one quarter of scrap tires end up in landfills and illegal dumps every year.

While tire regulations vary from state to state, and they are not treated generally a hazardous waste, they are threats to human health and the environment when not properly disposed of. Rodents and mosquitoes, such as aedes aegypti, may live and breed in them if they collect water. Fires, which are hard to extinguish, can release hazardous gases, heavy metals and oils that can contaminate not only the air but also the soil.

Tires can be used in environmentally safe applications such as ground rubber, like the one used in rubber-modified asphalt and playground applications, and rubber mulch. Some 56 million tires are recycled in the US for civil engineering projects and some 16.5 million are re-treaded.

In spite of all these good uses and outreach efforts being performed by local and federal environmental agencies and municipal anti-tire dumping laws, many scrap tires end up in our rivers and beaches harming habitats and ecosystems. Furthermore, during the last OSV Bold trip to Puerto Rico we found some tires floating in the ocean, miles away from the Atlantic coast.

In order to help state and local governments reduce the economic burdens and environmental risks associated with scrap tire piles, EPA Region 5 created the Scrap Tire Cleanup Guidebook. This guidebook provides the experience of dozens of professionals to assist government officials in reducing scrap tire dumping and creating prevention programs.

As an individual citizen there are many things that can be done to prevent tires from ending up in the wrong place and becoming a nuisance. If you have unused tires at home, you may be able to return surplus tires to either a tire retailer or a local recycling facility that accepts them. Also buy durable tires and take proper care of them by checking air inflation, driving in a manner that does not put unnecessary demand on tires, rotating them, balancing the wheels, and maintaining proper wheel alignment. And last but not least, support the recycled product market.

Sobre la autor: Brenda Reyes Tomassini se unió a la EPA en el 2002. Labora como especialista de relaciones públicas en la oficina de EPA en San Juan, Puerto Rico donde también maneja asuntos comunitarios para la División de Protección Ambiental del Caribe.

La goma protege mis huesos y ligamentos mientras corro en el parque de mi urbanización. Sin embargo, si la goma no es apropiadamente reciclada puede ser más dañina que beneficiosa. En Puerto Rico 4.7 millones de llantas son dispuestas cada año y en Estados Unidos 300 millones. Aun cuando hay un mercado para el reciclaje y uso productivo de los neumáticos, como la superficie en la que me ejercito, anualmente una cuarta parte de las llantas terminan en un relleno sanitario o vertedero ilegal.

Aún cuando las reglamentaciones varían de estado a estado las llantas no son consideradas desperdicios peligrosas. Estas representan un peligro a la salud humana y el medioambiente, y pueden ser criadero de ratas y mosquitos como el Aedes aegypti. Los fuegos por acumulación de llantas son difíciles de extinguir y liberan gases peligrosos, metales pesados y aceites que contaminan el aire y el suelo.

Las llantas pueden utilizarse en aplicaciones seguras para el medioambiente como goma para superficie, asfalto modificado con goma, en aplicaciones para áreas de juegos infantiles y cobertura de césped. En Estados Unidos hay 56 millones de llantas son recicladas para usos de ingeniería civil y cerca 16.5 son recauchadas.

A pesar de todos estos usos beneficiosos y esfuerzos de educación que llevan a cabo agencias federales, estatales y leyes municipales contra su disposición inadecuada muchas llantas terminan en nuestras playas y cuerpos de agua impactando adversamente habitats y ecosistemas. Durante el último viaje de la embarcación OSV Bold al Caribe encontré neumáticos flotando en aguas de las costas Atlántico.

Para ayudar a los gobiernos locales y estatales a reducir el impacto económico y los riesgos ambientales asociados con las montañas de gomas usadas, la Región 5 de la EPA ha creado La Guía de Limpieza de Neumáticos. Esta guía provee el insumo y experiencia de docenas de profesionales para asistir a los oficiales del gobierno a reducir el problema de la disposición inadecuada de llantas y crear programas de prevención.

Como ciudadano hay muchas cosas que usted puede hacer para prevenir que las llantas terminen en un lugar inadecuado y sean visualmente desagradable. Si tiene llantas sin usar en su casa, puede llevarlas a un detallista de llantas o a una facilidad de reciclaje. Compre neumáticos duraderos y verifique que se encuentren inflados en la presión correcta. Conduzca cuidadosamente y lleve sus gomas a rotar y balancear para mantener la alineación adecuada. Por último,y no menos importante, apoye el mercado de productos reciclados.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

In our everyday day lives, we pride ourselves in doing everything faster, better, and more efficiently. However what has become convenient has also resulted in some unforeseen costs. In this case, I’m thinking about fast food and, especially, fast food packaging.

Whether at work or play, we encourage everyone to eat their food in reusable utensils and if possible aim for a waste free lunch. However, the truth is having a sit down meal at home is not always possible. When it comes to eating, frequently we just look for the nearest fast food restaurant, carryout or drive thru. And then we dispose of the waste in the nearest trash can. While I can see using our reusable mugs at the local coffee shop, taking reusable plates to a drive thru may not be practical for most people.

Some might have noticed that not so long ago, most of the common fast food chains used polystyrene foam (AKA Styrofoam) and non-environmentally friendly packaging to serve and wrap food and beverages. In recent years, responding to popular pressure, some companies are adopting waste reduction measures and using biodegradable packaging. More and more companies are actively engaged in the redesign of sustainable packaging. In fact, EPA is a founding member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a group of industry professionals formed in 2004. This broad coalition goes beyond the food packing industry. It provides a framework for collaborating on various sustainable packaging issues in order to reduce the environmental footprint of packaging. Bear in mind that the environmental impacts of packaging go beyond what enters the waste stream. There are energy impacts and associated greenhouse gas emissions at each stage of the life cycle of each product from extraction and acquisition of raw materials, manufacturing of raw materials into products, the actual product used by consumers and ultimately, product disposal.

EPA’s WasteWise partnership program also highlights success stories in the areas of food processing and packaging as well as the beverage industry.

So, if you’re seeking more information on the environmental sustainability techniques used by your favorite restaurant or nearest fast food establishment, you can visit Earth911.com for a Restaurant Report Card. Above all—get involved. You can make a difference in encouraging many industries and the general public to become more environmentally sustainable.