Know any environmentally-minded kids or teens? They might be eligible for recognition. Action For Nature, a San-Francisco-based non-profit, is currently soliciting nominations for its 2010 International Young Eco-Hero Awards, which it says “honor youth ages 8 to 16 for their outstanding accomplishments in environmental advocacy, environmental health, research and protection of the natural world.”
Honorees receive up to $500 cash, an award certificate and tantalizing “other forms of recognition,” which I’m hoping equates to a personalized bobble-head doll.
This week, recycling consultant Earth911.com released its 2009 Annual Recycling Report, which shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that electronics generated the most recycling queries on the site.
“Electronics have always been popular searches on Earth911.com, but with the increased attention these devices have received, this past year was our highest yet,” said Corey Lambrecht, president of Earth911, in a press release. “Also, overall recycling searches increased 12 percent over 2008, as consumers want to know more about how to dispose of these items.”
The top 10 products consumers looked to recycle in 2009 using Earth911’s database were:
1. Computers
2. Batteries
3. Televisions
4. Paint
5. Aluminum cans
6. Used motor oil
7. CFLs
8. Glass
9. Fluorescent lamps
10. Christmas Trees
A .PDF of the full report can be obtained at here.
NPR’s All Things Considered had a great interview today with Calvin Jones, French Quarter Supervisor for SDT Waste and Debris, on cleaning up the leavings from last night’s (this morning’s?) raucous Super Bowl victory celebrations in the heart of New Orleans.
In Mr. Jones’ estimation, the mess approximated a “mini-Mardi Gras” (he’ll be able to make a proper comparison in exactly one week). But he was rooting for the Saints all the way: “You had to hope for them to win. But I said, ‘If they win, we’re gonna have record trash.’”
We’ve mentioned it before, but don’t forget to stay tuned to CBS after the Super Bowl for the premiere of “Undercover Boss” featuring Waste Management COO Larry O’Donnell donning a reflective vest and getting his hands dirty for the sake of reality television.
And be sure to check out the February issue of Waste Age, in which we interview O’Donnell about his experience.
Valuable art mistaken for trash is a common trope on Antiques Roadshow. But rarely is that value so immediately apparent. Stuart, Fla., resident Warren Bendix was dumpster diving at his apartment complex when he discovered a fetching framed photo of the Apollo 8 rocket launch. Since the frame was not as fetching as the photo, Bendix removed it, and discovered $3,100 in concealed cash.
Being a good Samaritan, Bendix turned the money over to the police, who will give it back to him if they cannot find its rightful owner. Given the subject of the photo, one suspects NASA will file a claim, $3,100 being just enough gas money to get the space shuttle to the local 7-Eleven.
While some couples planning their wedding seem determined to put themselves in debt, a couple in Spokane, Wash. is attempting to pay for their ceremony by recycling aluminum cans. Andrea Parrish and Peter Geyer have set a goal of collecting 400,000 cans, or 5 tons of aluminum, worth roughly $3,800. At one point, the couple had 18,000 cans filling their living room.
Parrish and Geyer set up a Web site, weddingcans.com, to solicit cans and to track their progress. As of the time of this writing, the site shows the couple at 82 percent of their goal (helped, no doubt, by a flurry of press coverage last month), making it highly likely they will reach 400,000 in time for their July wedding date. At the end of January, they announced that they would continue to collect cans beyond their initial goal, donating the resulting proceeds to charity.
They’ll probably also want to set a few aside for the best man to tie to their car’s bumper.
According to cbs4Denver.com, a chapter of the National Socialist Movement calling itself the American Nazi Party requested a 1-mile stretch of highway in a suburb north of Denver as part of Colorado’s Adopt-A-Highway program. The Colorado Department of Transportation said it felt it had no choice but to grant the request out of fear it would face a free-speech lawsuit if it didn’t. A 2001 Supreme Court decision allowed the Ku Klux Klan to adopt a highway in Missouri.
Congratulations to the Fort Bliss (Texas) Recycling Program, which recently received a first place award for Waste Reduction (Government Category) from Keep America Beautiful. Fort Bliss, the first U.S. Army installation to offer single-stream recycling, was profiled in the June issue of Waste Age. You can read the article here.
Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum has found a great way to encourage e-waste recycling. According to TreeHugger, from Jan. 15-24, the museum is offering free tickets for the IMAX documentary “Wild Ocean” to people who turn in an old cell phone for recycling. Given the film’s eco-friendly message, the offer is probably preaching to the choir, but it’s a good idea nonetheless.
What are some similar, simple ways we can get people to recycle key items they might otherwise toss in the trash?
No one who witnessed Archie Lee Wells’ casket rolling slowly toward the graveyard on the forklift of a garbage truck would question the man’s devotion to his profession. A garbage truck driver for 20 years, Wells succumbed to a malignant brain tumor in December at age 43. Before the end, he made it clear that he should be conveyed to his final rest by the Mack truck he drove for Western Waste Services (WWS) in Twin Falls, Idaho.
“That was his final wish,” Wells’ 21-year-old daughter, Melvina Patterson told the Magic Valley Times-News. “My dad told me from the time I was a little girl that he was not a rich man. He didn’t want to be carried in a hearse.
“‘I’m a garbage man and I want to be carried on the forklift of my garbage truck,’” she said he had told her. A procession of WWS vehicles proudly carried out that last request.
Wells leaves behind seven children, 12 grandchildren and a host of garbage men striving to live up to his legacy.
Know any environmentally-minded kids or teens? They might be eligible for recognition. Action For Nature, a San-Francisco-based non-profit, is currently soliciting nominations for its 2010 International Young Eco-Hero Awards, which it says “honor youth ages 8 to 16 for their outstanding accomplishments in environmental advocacy, environmental health, research and protection of the natural world.”
