Posts tagged ‘reduce’

Feb 11

Waste Management is Keeping Plastic Recycling Domestic

In 2018, China’s National Sword policy forced the United States to stop sending recyclable materials to China. The limitations have led to changes to the recycling process in the U.S., and changes in the market for recycled materials, which has affected the overall financial cost of recycling.

While some materials had been sent to other countries, plastic pollution, as well as improper recycling practices, have caused some recyclers to rethink their approach.

In October of last year, Waste Management, Salt Lake City’s recycling processor, made the announcement that they will not export residential plastic waste. Rather than rely on sending materials to countries outside of China for processing, Waste Management is keeping plastic recycling domestic. Several other companies have adopted similar policies. That means that the plastics you recycle at home will be processed in North America.

By focusing on building domestic markets, Waste Management’s policy will help ensure plastics are properly recycled and that they don’t end up polluting the environment through inadequate processing, containment, or disposal overseas.

Photograph of Waste Management collection truck in front of MRF. The truck is green with text that reads "Think Green, Think Clean."

Recycling Matters:

Plastics make up 11% of Salt Lake City’s waste stream (by weight). Luckily, Salt Lake City recycles a lot. In June of 2019, we recycled 585 tons of cans, bottles, paper, and cardboard! The city recycles or composts 42% of the waste collected from residents. Recycling is crucial to protecting the environment. Indeed, recycling on this scale helps save trees, water, and energy. Moreover, proper recycling helps prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste Management’s shift to keeping plastic recycling domestic will help make recycling even better. Waste Management acknowledges the specific threat plastic pollution poses to our waterways, explaining that out of all countries, the U.S. is the twentieth highest contributor of marine debris.

Recycling residential plastic domestically helps to reduce the likelihood of this kind of pollution.

Jan 28

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Waste Less, Save More! SLCgreen Encourages You To Downsize Your Garbage

Have you noticed the new truck wraps driving around Salt Lake City?

We’ve outfitted all of our Sanitation vehicles with bright new wrappers promoting downsizing options available to all city residents. So keep your eyes open on garbage day!

Every month, you pay one fee for your garbage can – that’s it. Your recycling and compost can service is included in that fee. There are three garbage can sizes, and if you downsize your can you also downsize your monthly waste fee!

Can Size	Monthly Fee per Can
90-gallon Garbage	$21.00
60-gallon Garbage	$17.75
40-gallon Garbage	$13.75

Call (801) 535-6999 to downsize your garbage can today.

Jan 5

Local Students Encourage Water Conservation

At SLCgreen, we strive to inform residents about the actions they can take every day to reduce their impact on the environment and have a positive impact on our community.

And we absolutely love it when we get a little help!

As a project for their 7th grade ELP Utah Studies class, West High School students McKenzie Shaffer-Kay and Ella Beck have created a website that focuses on the facts of water conservation in Utah. The website also highlights the actions people can take at home to reduce their water use, save money and preserve this value resource.

Nice work, McKenzie and Ella!

Check out UtahWaterConservation.weebly.com.

waterdroplet

Oct 16

Climate Week: Steps to Eliminate Food Waste

Today is World Food Day. World Food Day is a day of action against hunger. On October 16, people around the world come together to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger in our lifetime. Because when it comes to hunger, the only acceptable number in the world is zero.

Reducing food waste is an important component of climate action at home and worldwide.

Worldwide Food Waste Facts

Every year, consumers in industrialized countries waste almost as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (222 million vs. 230 million tons)
The amount of food lost and wasted every year is equal to more than half of the world’s annual cereals crops (2.3 billion tons in 2009/10)
More facts

North American Food Waste Facts

In the USA, organic waste is the second highest component of landfills, which are the largest source of methane emissions
In the USA, 30-40% of the food supply is wasted, equaling more than 20 pounds of food per person per month
More facts

So what can you do? Here are the recommendations from the United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office of North America:

Think. Be a smart shopper and think about what you are buying and when it will be eaten. Wasting food is often a subconscious act – become aware of how much food you throw away. Plan meals and use shopping lists. Bring your leftovers home from restaurants in reusable containers.

Eat. Become a more mindful eater. Eyes bigger than your stomach? Request smaller portions and become a leftovers guru.

Save. Save your food, save your money and save the environment. Donate to food banks and become a conscious consumer.

Learn more at FoodDayUSA.org.

Oct 13

ABC 4 News Features Salt Lake Climate Week

Yesterday, ABC 4 News stopped by Salt Lake City Green to get the scoop on Climate Week — what the City is doing to reduce its impact and what you can do to get started! It’s a fantastic story. Click on the video above to watch the story on Good4Utah.com.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – Salt Lake City officially kicked off its first ever Climate Week. The initiative is designed to increase awareness about the local realities of climate change, what the city is doing to prepare for the future and what residents can do to reduce their impact at home.

No matter your stance on climate change, it’s undeniable Utah is heating up.

Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Program Manager Tyler Poulson explained, “In Utah in recent decades temperatures have been increasing about twice the global average and its certainly something that’s not gone unnoticed in Salt Lake City.”

That’s why the city’s Sustainability Division created the group Salt Lake Climate Change Leaders.

“We’re having monthly workshops for about 26 employees from all departments so airport, fire, police, water and everything in between, and we’ve been learning about climate change, its impact locally and how to make a difference,” said Poulson.

Leaders in that group came up with Climate Week to share what they’ve learned with the community. They say there is five easy steps residents can take to reduce their carbon footprint by about 5,000 pounds of CO2 emissions a year, and even save some money about $500 a year.

One of the easiest steps you can take to save yourself about $100 a year and about a 1,000 pounds in CO2 emissions is to wash your clothes in cold water. Poulson said, “About 90% of the energy and emissions associated with washing your clothes is associated with heating the water.”

Some other actions Poulson suggests, “Keeping your tires fully inflated, or if you’re a Salt Lake City resident checking out the Hive pass for public transit. Some other actions include changing out your lightbulbs to LEDs, they’re really energy efficient and starting to look great, and then also downsizing your trash can and using renewables.”

Salt Lake City is practicing what it preaches. In 2008 the Mayor and City Council committed to reducing its municipal footprint 20% below the 2005 level by 2020, and 80% below that by 2050.

To read more on the city’s efforts to date log on to: slcgov.com/slcgreen/climateaction.
To learn more about climate week log on to: slcgov.com/slcgreen/climateweek.

Jul 11

Summer Ozone: Get the Facts

During the warmest summer months, Salt Lake City experiences poor air quality due to ozone pollution.

This helpful graphic from the Utah Clean Air Partnership – UCAIR outlines how ozone is formed, and what we can do to reduce our impact.

Learn more at UCAIR.org.

(Don’t forget to drive less this July with the Clear the Air Challenge. Track your impact and win prizes – it’s fun!)

Apr 21

Earth Day Impact: Reduce & Reuse

Junk mail. Photo Credit: Charles Williams

Are you wondering what you can do to reduce your impact this Earth Day — and every day?

More than 1,300 tons of garbage is buried in the Salt Lake Valley Landfill every day. Here are a few simple things you can do to limit your impact.

Reusable Products

Ditch the disposables! Embrace reusable bags when you go to the grocery store.

Say goodbye to expensive and wasteful plastic water bottles. Instead, swap in a reusable glass or stainless steel bottle. You can even purchase an insulated version to keep your drinks cool on hot summer days. Salt Lake City’s TapIt program boasts a network of businesses that will refill your bottle with fresh water, too!

And speaking of drinks, bring a reusable coffee mug to your local coffee shop. You’ll even get a discount on your next latte!

Avoid Overpackaging

Sure, those individually packaged mini carrots may save you a few seconds when you are packing lunches in the morning, but is that worth the extra money and wasted material?

Save some green and reduce your weekly waste by buying a large package instead, and placing them in reusable containers each day. More tips to green your lunch.

Reduce Junk Mail

We all get it, and we all hate it.

GlobalStewards.org has some tips to reduce the amount of unwanted mail you receive. In a few simple steps, you can cut out mass marketing mailers, catalogs and credit card offers!

You can also reduce your impact by going “paperless” for your monthly credit card, bank and utility statements.

Just getting started? Get more tips at SLCgreen.com.

We stopped by KUTV2 News on Earth Day to share these tips. Watch the video of the segment!

Jun 18

Travel Green This Summer

School is out and the weather is heating up — it’s summertime in Salt Lake City!

Summer heralds a season travel, whether it is a day trip up into the mountains, a family road trip, a flight across the country or even an international adventure. Whatever your plans, we’ve put together some tips to help you green your travels.

Just say “no” to bottled water. Bring a reusable bottle, we recommend stainless steel. If you are traveling by plane, leave it empty through airport security and fill up once you are through. Lots of airports, including Salt Lake International, now have easy-to-use water filling stations.
Leave no trace. When visiting natural areas, including state and national parks, leave nothing but your footprints. Pack out your trash and resist the urge to take any natural “souvenirs” — accept from the gift shop of course!

Hotels

Stay at a green hotel, if there is one available. Or choose to support a locally-owned business, which generally keeps more money in the community. A simple Google search is a great place to start.
Reuse your towels and linens when staying at a hotel. Just like you would at home – hang up wet towels to air dry and then use them again! Your small action will help add up to some big water and energy savings.
Know your hotel’s recycling policy and be sure to sort your trash accordingly.
When you leave your room for a day full of adventure, turn off the air conditioning, lights and any electronic devices.

Eat Green

Eat at a local restaurant when traveling. The same theory applies here as to staying at a local hotel. Many local restaurants also source local, and more sustainable, ingredients for their meals.

Alternative Transit

Choose a nonstop flight if you can. More airtime equals more fuel consumed and a larger carbon footprint.
Skip the rental car and rent bikes. Check out America’s top 50 most bike-friendly cities.
If you are headed to a larger city, explore available public transportation. You’ll be traveling like a local!
If you do need to rent a car, consider carsharing options (available in most large cities) or rent the smallest, most fuel efficient vehicle possible.

Save Big, Stay Put!

Embrace the simplicity of the staycation. There are some great ideas on Pinterest and family blogs, including spending the day at a city pool or creating a picnic adventure at a favorite park.

Do you have any tips of your own? Share them here!

Apr 16

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Earth Day in SLC

With Earth Day right around the corner (Monday, April 22nd) we wanted to share a few tips and events to help our residents green their lifestyle and commemorate this special day in Salt Lake City!

15 Earth Day Tips that Really Make a Difference

We spotted this excellent article on The Daily Green, and thought we would share their 15 tips to a greener lifestyle. We love how simple their recommendations are, and the fact that each of them can have an impact! Get the full scoop on The Daily Green.

Avoid waste: recycle. Salt Lake City makes it easy to recycle common household waste with curbside mixed recycling and curbside glass.
Give up plastic (and paper) bags. Bring your own reusable grocery bags and save money, energy and natural resources.
Stop buying bottled water. Buy one reusable water bottle and save some serious cash. We recommend aluminum or stainless steel.
Stop receiving unwanted catalogs. We have tips on stopping unwanted junk mail on our website.
Give up conventional detergents. Natural cleaners have less chemicals and work effectively at cooler temperatures.
Give up hot water (at least in the clothes washer). About 90% of the energy used during a wash cycle is to heat the water.
Give up the clothes dryer. Or optimize your dryer loads.
Check for leaks in your toilet. Save water and money with a simple test.
Use recycled toilet paper. It costs about the same as regular toilet paper.
Give up paper towels. Invest in some reusable microfiber towels, which can be easily washed and reused again.
Run a fully loaded dishwasher. Save energy and water when you skip partial loads.
Lower the temp in your fridge. The fridge accounts for 10 to 15 percent of the average home energy bill each month!
Give up 2 degrees. Set your thermostat to 78 degrees or more during the summer months.
Give up dry cleaning. Check the labels when you purchase new clothes.
Stop wasting gas! Be idle free, avoid jack rabbit starts and stops and check your tire pressure.

Earth Week @ The U

The University of Utah is celebrating Earth Week with a variety of events. View the Earth Week schedule.

Get Involved in SLC

Service in the City has created an excellent handout that outlines a variety of events and other opportunities in conjunction with Earth Day 2013. Check it out and get involved! (PDF)

Feb 27

So You Want to Save Water? [Infographic]

We ran across this awesome infographic (thanks to our friends at SustainableUtah) that helps you understand how much water you consume in your everyday life. So, you want to save water? Start by understanding just how much water goes into your cup of coffee or glass of milk. Then check out their creative suggestions to reduce your water usage!

Infographic from LochNess Water Gardens