Recycle More Research Update
Steve Brachman      
     
The Wisconsin BeSMART Coalition recently completed research on motivation factors that could lead to increased recycling rates in Wisconsin.  CityResearch Solutions, a market research firm, conducted a comprehensive survey of residents in SE and NE Wisconsin to gain a better understanding of recycling behaviors and underlying factors, as well as to help identify activities or programs that could lead to increased recycling. From this research, Coalition members have gotten a better understanding of the demographics of their recycling communities and sources of media information on recycling.
Highlights of this research include:

Research regarding key recycling motivators was also conducted.  Important reasons for recycling include an understanding of, and support for, the recycled materials industry; concern about the environment, and wanting to make an impact.  Less important motivators are guilt feelings or peer pressure from neighbors. 

Numerous barriers to recycling were also identified; chief among these being lack of room in recycling bins and poor understanding of what can be recycled.  Respondents suggest that to minimize barriers  communities should regularly provide a list of items for recycling including an explanation of plastic numbers, as well as to describe what happens to the recyclables after collection.

Survey respondents provided keys to motivating more recycling.  These include:

Finally, an evaluation of message effectiveness was conducted.  Survey respondents indicate that themes such as “It’s your choice” or “Increase you impact” are most effective   Additionally, CityResearch recommends that new efforts to increase recycling among BeSMART communities should focus on motivating  “sometimes recyclers” to recycle more, providing easily understandable information, and improving the BeSMART logo, name recognition, and  website so that residents know that BeSMART is the one stop shop for recycling more.

Stay tuned for changes in the Wisconsin BeSMART Coalition as phase 2 of the Recycle More campaign unfolds.

Brownfield Redevelopment Featured in Wisconsin Waterfront Initiative Website
David S. Liebl

The Wisconsin Waterfront Initiative Website provides comprehensive information and assistance for communities interested in improving their waterfronts. The website for the Wisconsin Waterfront Initiative is located at http://commerce.wi.gov/wisconsinwaterfront.

Under this initiative, communities can go to one spot to access resources from around the state on waterfront development.  The website includes information on funding, resources, and successful Wisconsin projects. The best practices section offers a step-by-step guide to the development of a waterfront revitalization project and includes advice on building community-wide support.

An example of a successful waterfront revitalization projects is: Sheboygan Harbor Centre Project – This one-time industrial site on Lake Michigan’s shores lay vacant until the community accomplished a $17 million revitalization project.  Commerce assisted this project with a $1.1-million Brownfields Grant.

The Department of Commerce will host the website and include resources from the Departments of Tourism, Natural Resources, Transportation, and Administration, the Wisconsin State Historical Society, and the Commission of Public Lands.

Local Governments - Add Pharmaceuticals to Your Clean Sweep List

Since 1990, Wisconsin residents have had a way to dispose of unwanted pesticides, chemicals, and other household hazardous waste though the Wisconsin Clean Sweep program. Unwanted or expired prescription medications will soon join this list thanks to a new pharmaceutical clean sweep program.

"Public interest in safe, environmentally-responsible disposal of unwanted drugs has mushroomed in recent years," explained Roger Springman, Wisconsin Clean Sweep Program manager. "We now recognize that drugs should not be kept on shelves if it they're not needed, nor flushed down toilets, or tossed in the trash. This new program will give Wisconsin residents a great chance to do the right thing," Springman said.

Fashioned after the current Clean Sweep program, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection will offer grants to local governments to host pharmaceutical collection events. It is anticipated that 12 to 20 collection projects will be funded for the period from July 1 to December 31, 2008.

"These initial events will help us gauge how much interest is out there and what kind of funding the department may need to reserve for future collections," Springman said.

Springman points out that the benefits of these pharmaceutical collections are two-fold.

"Not only will these pharmaceutical collections keep potentially dangerous drugs from entering our waters and the environment, but we'll also keep drugs from being diverted to illegal uses for street sales and protect children from accidental poisoning or abuse of medication," Springman said.

Grant applications will be available in March with awards being made in late April or early May.

For more information on the pharmaceutical clean sweep, contact Roger Springman, (608) 224-4545.

Grant application materials will be available on the department's Web site in March at www.datcp.state.wi.us then search on 'pharmaceutical.'

Doing Municipal Collections and Need Hazardous Waste Training?

The State of Wisconsin Bureau of State Risk Management (BSRM) will once again sponsor Awareness Level training for all employees working at state owned or operated facilities using and disposing of products that contain hazardous chemicals. In addition, the training is open to Wisconsin county and municipal employees who may be involved with the disposal of unwanted chemicals, pesticides, or pharmaceuticals from public facilities or county Clean Sweep collection sites.

Sessions are free of charge to eligible public employees. This training includes information on the management and proper disposal of hazardous products such as; fluorescent lamps, mercury switches, laboratory chemicals, oils, antifreeze, paints, thinners, cleaners, corrosives (acids & bases) & poisons. Attendees are encouraged to bring specific examples and/or questions about hazardous chemical management or disposal from their workplace for general discussion. Sessions will be held at 11 locations throughout the state from March 12 through April 16, 2008.

Click on or go to this publication Municipal Hazardous Waste Training at the SHWEC web site www.shwec.uwm.edu to read about dates, locations, times, training content and other important information as well as registering on line.

UW Milwaukee Hosts Climate Change Conference

A Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Global Climate Change and Sustainable Development Initiative will be held on April 24 and 25 at the Double Tree Hotel – Milwaukee City Center, in Milwaukee.

The conference will explore the global issue of climate change in the regional context of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes. Presentations and discussions across many disciplines will focus on the challenges associated with climate changes for the region and potential practical solutions.  Over 30 speakers will present their perspectives in many different themed sessions.

The conference seeks a broad audience including the academic, business, government and other community members who are involved in activities relevant to climate change.

The registration fee of $95.00 includes cost of conference registration, handouts, refreshments, lunches and conference dinner.  You may find the registration form at http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CBU/seminars/GCCSDI-Conference.pdf.  For information contact Tarun Naik or Rudolph Kraus, 414-229-4105.

Grant Funds up to $50,000 per Project for Green Affordable Housing

Enterprise Foundation is offering a new round of grant funds for green affordable housing. The grant applications are due April 11, 2008. Awards will be made around the end of June. Grant guidelines and application are available at  www.greencommunitiesonline.org

There will be an online meeting to review the application process on Thursday, March 5 at 1:00pm CST. To get information about how to join the meeting, go to http://www.greencommunitiesonline.org/tools/training/online.asp

Enterprise and its Green Communities partners have updated the Green Communities Criteria to better reflect national reference standards, to provide greater clarity on how to meet criterion and to purposefully align with credits from LEED for Homes as appropriate. This updated version of the Green Communities Criteria also includes additional resources that are cited in the LEED for Homes Reference Guide and have relevance to affordable housing. To receive a copy of the 2008 version of Green Communities please go to http://www.greencommunitiesonline.org/tools/criteria/request.asp.
Developments seeking grant funding through Enterprise for a Green Communities development must meet this 2008 version of the Criteria. Please direct all questions to greencommunities@enterprisecommunity.org or by phone 410-715-7433.

Environmental News Briefs of Interest............................................................

EPA Toxic Release Inventory Data Available to the Public

US-EPA released the 2006 public version of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) database on February 21st, 2008 which marks the earliest release of the data in the 20-year history. Nation-wide chemical releases into the environment are reported to be down by two percent from 2005 while total chemical releases from 2001 to 2006 have decreased by 24 percent.  
The TRI is an on-line electronic database, housing information about chemical releases at facilities across the country. TRI tracks and contains detailed information on releases of nearly 650 chemicals and chemical categories from about 23,000 industrial and federal facilities.  The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 established the TRI program. In 1990, The Pollution Prevention Act expanded the program by including data on toxic chemicals released, as well as treated, recycled, and burned for energy recovery.
TRI data is accessible by geographic location, industry sector, and individual chemicals from the following web sites. For the 2006 reporting year; http://epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri06/index.htm and for general information about TRI go to: www.epa.gov/tri  A brochure that provides an overview of the 2006 data is available at: http://epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri06/brochure/brochure.htm

EPA Performance Track Program Passes 500-Member Mark

Facilities from Nestle, Frito-Lay, and Toyota are among the 42 new members committing to go above and beyond environmental requirements as members of EPA's National Environmental Performance Track Program.

The latest members bring the total number of environmental leaders in Performance Track to 538 with members in 49 states and Puerto Rico. Performance Track recognizes facilities that have a strong record of environmental compliance, set three-year goals for continuous improvements in environmental performance beyond their legal requirements, have internal systems in place to manage their environmental impacts, engage in community outreach and consistently report results.

Since the 2000 launch of this facility-based program, Performance Track members have reported greenhouse gas reductions of 310,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, reductions in nitrogen oxides of 13,000 tons, and reductions of hazardous waste of 52,000 tons. For more about the new Performance Track members go to: http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/round15PTFacilities.htm and for more about the program go to: http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/

How does EPA Come Up with Those Greenhouse Gas Savings Numbers

News stories are packed with measurements of greenhouse gas reductions, but it can be difficult to understand them. EPA's new Greenhouse Gas Calculator helps you turn greenhouse gas savings into more easily understood everyday terms. The calculator converts greenhouse gas-related savings estimates, typically presented in "million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents," into familiar terms such as the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from:       

• Driving a particular number of cars for a year,
• Using a particular amount of gasoline or barrels of oil,
• Using a particular number of tanker trucks' worth of gasoline,
• Providing energy to a particular number of homes for a year,
• Growing trees across a particular number of acres for a year,
• Recycling a particular quantity of waste instead of sending it to the landfill, or
•  Generating electricity from a particular number of coal fired power plants for a year.

Users can enter savings in emissions, electricity consumption, gallons of gasoline, or number of vehicles into the calculator and determine up to 13 different ways to express the magnitude of the savings. The calculator uses the latest emission factors, approaches and statistics available through 2007.   As an example, if a typical household switched all its incandescent light bulbs to Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs, it would save about 75 percent of the lighting electricity use, or about 1,463 kWh a year. After five years, these energy savings are equivalent to:

For more information on the calculator and how it is used go to: http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

"Green Infrastructure" Plan for Stormwater

EPA, with state and national partners, released a comprehensive plan to reduce runoff and increase environmental and economic benefits for communities. The strategy will help reduce stormwater runoff and sewer overflows by promoting “green infrastructure” approaches, such as green roofs, trees and tree boxes, rain gardens, and porous pavements. Green infrastructure techniques, technologies, and practices reduce the amount of water and pollutants that run off a site. These tools have many other benefits, including cost savings, improved air quality, urban heat island reductions, energy savings, water conservation, and urban habitat creation.
The plan explains how states, municipalities, permitting authorities, and non-governmental organizations can use green infrastructure practices to meet water quality goals while sustaining their water infrastructure. The document, “Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure Action Strategy 2008,” outlines ways to bring green infrastructure technologies and approaches into mainstream use for runoff and sewer overflow management. It can be accessed at  http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/gi_action_strategy.pdf                              

This plan follows an April 19, 2007, agreement to promote green infrastructure as an environmentally preferable approach to wet weather management. It also represents a key set of actions that EPA and its partners are taking to reduce projected impacts of climate change. The plan includes 7 major implementation areas: Research, Outreach and Communication, Tools, Clean Water Act Regulatory Support, Economic Viability and Funding, Demonstrations and Recognition, and Partnerships and Promotion

For more information on green infrastructure planning and implementation, and partnerships, visit EPAs green infrastructure website at: www.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure

More Renewable Fuel Headed for Your Tank

EPA recently announced that it is raising the 2008 renewable fuels standard (RFS), which determines how much non-petroleum fuel will power your vehicle, to 7.76 percent in response to the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA).  The increase to 7.76 percent is to comply with the new minimum of 9.0 billion gallons of renewable fuel that EISA requires. EISA will require 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel blends in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA annually calculates the percentage-based standard, which applies to refiners, importers and non-oxygenate blenders of gasoline. Based on the standard, each of these parties determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must use.  For more information go to: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/


Televisions Must Meet New Requirements to Earn Energy Star

EPA announced a revised Energy Star specification for televisions in February that becomes effective Nov. 1, 2008. TVs that carry the Energy Star label will be up to 30 percent more efficient than conventional models and will save energy while they are on and when they are off.  EPA estimates that after the new specification goes into effect, if all TVs sold in the United States meet the Energy Star requirements, the savings in energy costs will grow to about $1 billion annually and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by the equivalent of about 1 million cars.

According to recent market research, U.S. shipments of TVs will top 36 million units in 2008. These TVs will typically be larger, in use more hours a day, and offer more vibrant pictures and other great features than their predecessors. However, these enhancements can come with a hefty energy price tag.

TVs first earned the Energy Star label in 1998 and ever since, TV manufacturers and EPA have worked together on efficiency improvements. The United States now has more than 275 million TVs in use; they consume over 50 billion kWh per year.
For more information, visit: http://www.energystar.gov/pdtv

Green Choices Grow with Energy Star Qualified Buildings

The number of commercial buildings and manufacturing plants to earn the Energy Star for superior energy efficiency is up by more than 25 percent in the past year, and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions reduced has reached an all-time high of more than 25 billion pounds according to an EPA announcement in February. Nearly 4,100 buildings and manufacturing plants have earned the EPA's Energy Star through the end of 2007.

 According to EPA, Energy use in commercial buildings and manufacturing plants accounts for nearly half of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 50 percent of energy consumption nationwide. Today, there are Energy Star qualified facilities in every state across the country. To qualify for the Energy Star, a building or manufacturing plant must score in the top 25 percent using EPA's National Energy Performance Rating System. To learn more about Energy Star buildings and facilities: http://www.energystar.gov/buildings and to find Energy Star buildings and industrial facilities in your area: http://www.energystar.gov/LabeledList

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Possible Drinking Water Contaminants

EPA is asking for public comment on a list of 104 possible drinking water contaminants that may need to be regulated in the future to ensure the continued protection of drinking water. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA includes on the draft Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) currently unregulated contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and which may require regulation.

The CCL process was established by the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act as a mechanism to determine if new regulations are needed to protect drinking water. Under this process EPA conducts extensive research into the occurrence and health effects of the listed contaminants before issuing new regulations or standards.

The draft list includes chemicals used in commerce, pesticides, biological toxins, disinfection byproducts, and waterborne pathogens. The agency evaluated approximately 7,500 chemicals and microbes and selected 104 candidates for the final draft list based on their potential to pose health risks through drinking water exposure.

The comment period is open for 90 days beginning the day of publication in the Federal Register. For more information on the CCL 3 and how to comment go to: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/ccl3.html
 

Events, Training, Workshop and Tour Opportunities..........................................

March 10-12 2008, FET Environment 08 Conference and Exhibition.  Wisconsin’s largest conference for environmental professionals ongoing for 25 years, sponsored by FET in Milwaukee got to http://www.fetinc.org/ for details and registration

March 12-14, 2008, Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit, Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee. The summit, “Green Jobs Growing Wisconsin's Economy”, will focus on the role that renewable energy, such as wind power, solar energy, geothermal, green buildings and bio-energy technologies will play in supporting Wisconsin's economic well being. Growth of renewable energy businesses will create new green collar jobs in Wisconsin. Those jobs include manufacturers, installers, consultants, engineers, and associated professions. Renewable energy in Wisconsin has the potential to produce 35,000 jobs in the next 10 years. For more information go to www.renewableenergysummit.org

March 27, 2008, LEED-EB Technical Review Workshop, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Oak Creek, WI.  The workshop is for industry professionals seeking to increase their understanding of the LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System and green building strategies, benefits and resources: building owners, facility managers, service providers, property managers, engineers and consultants.  Hosted by the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance.  Early registration is before 3/19/08.  To register visit http://www.wgba.org/

April 24-25, 2008, Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Double Tree Hotel, Milwaukee City Center, Milwaukee. The conference will discuss the global issue of climate change in the regional context of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes. For registration information go to:
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CBU/seminars/GCCSDI-Conference.pdf

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