November 29, 2007

 

NMRC Board Retreat

All members are welcome to join the NMRC board retreat, scheduled Friday, November 30th starting at 1:00 PM at Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge (north of Socorro) and ending Saturday, December 1 in the afternoon. Please email English Bird at english@recyclenewmexico.com to RSVP for the retreat.

 

Congratulations to New NMRC Board Members

 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the most recent NMRC board election. We would like to welcome aboard the following folks:

 

John Acklen (PNM Resources), Luther Clayton (City of Albuquerque), Mike Jago (Holloman Air Force Base), Linda McCormick (University of New Mexico), Vicki Mora (Associated General Contractors - NM Building Branch), Jay Morrow, Jennifer Scacco (Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful), Justin Stockdale and Chandra Weaver (Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency).

 

Many thanks to E. Gifford Stack, Ubaldo Benavidez and Chuck Jackson who will be stepping off the board.

 

Mark Your Calendars: New Mexico Recycling Conference on June 3-4, 2008, Albuquerque Marriott

 

Congratulations to Greg Baker, Composting Guru

 

Greg Baker, best known as the instructor for the Compost Facility Operator Certification class, will be retiring after 25 years in state government. He is the resident composting guru at the New Mexico Environment Department: Solid Waste Bureau for half of that time. He has been a key supporter of NMRC since its inception, always advocating for organics recycling and serving on the board. Besides teaching the best composting class in the nation, he was also instrumental in guiding NMRC to receive our first major grant to do education and outreach about the value forest residuals for compost and erosion control. Thanks Greg for your dedication and hard work. You've made a difference in the New Mexico recycling world! Happy fishing day!

 

If you want to drop a line to Greg, email him at greg.baker@state.nm.us

 

Series of Articles on Recycling Published in Albuquerque

 

As part of New Mexico Recycling Awareness Month (NMRAM), the NMRC worked to bring a strong media presence in the greater Albuquerque area. As part of the efforts that included billboard and bus-side purchases, radio and TV PSA's, we were able to work with the Albuquerque Journal to bring a 4-part series focused on recycling feature stories, running for the 4 Saturday's in the month of November. The articles have spurred an editorial from the paper, as well as letters to the editor.

 

The stories that ran are as follows:

 

Saturday, November 3: Recycling Efforts in N.M. Lag as Landfills Take Bulk of Trash

 

http://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/607650nm11-03-07.htm

By Eric Billingsley
Journal Staff Writer
    Editor's note: November is Recycling Awareness Month. Every Saturday of the month the Journal will publish stories about recycling in New Mexico. Look for them the next three Saturdays in the Home section.
    Next time recycling seems like a hassle, think about this: Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to power a television for three hours, and five plastic soda bottles can yield enough fiber to make one square foot of carpet or enough fill for a ski jacket.
    Those bits of information from the National Recycling Coalition are just a few of the reasons it's important to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, experts say.
    But most of New Mexico's trash continues to pile up in landfills, and only a small percentage of residents and businesses recycle.
    "Recycling is all about sustainability," says Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez. "For me, as a mayor, that means keeping the environment healthy for future generations. We also know that environmental health is important for economic wealth."

...story continued online.....
 

Saturday, November 10: Ever Wondered What Happens to Your Recyclables? Take the Journey From Curbside Pickup to Reused Material

 

http://www.abqjournal.com/homes/garden/260601gardens11-10-07.htm

By Rick Nathanson
Journal Staff Writer

Click link for story and click following link for online video of Albuquerque's recycling process.

Watch "The Recycling Process" on ABQJournal.com video

   
 

Saturday, November 10: Waste Brings in Money for City

By Rick Nathanson
Journal Staff Writer
    Glass is among the more abundant of recyclable materials. The city of Albuquerque's Solid Waste Management Department picks up glass from 18 collection sites around the city and requests that it not be left with other curbside recyclables.
    The bottles are piled high in an outdoor area at the Intermediate Processing Facility, waiting to be pulverized and ground in a machine that turns them into multicolored gravel and finer sandlike material, which also sits stockpiled in mounds.
    The good news is the bottles are being diverted from the landfill. The bad news is that beyond local landscaping companies, there isn't much of a market for the product, which generates a mere $15 a ton for the city, said IPF supervisor Frank R. Gonzales.
    However, there is money to be made in recycling, even with market prices fluctuating from week to week, said Gonzales. Currently, mixed paper and newspaper sells for $110 to $120 per ton; office paper, shredded or full, goes for about $175 a ton; cardboard ranges from $110 to $130 a ton; No. 1 plastic fetches around $410 a ton; No. 2 mixed plastic brings in $420 a ton; No. 2 natural, the stuff of plain old milk jugs, goes for $620 a ton; tin yields $150 a ton; and aluminum beats them all at a whopping $1,300 a ton.
    Recycling efforts from January through October 2007 have generated about $825,000, with the best month being July, when recycled material brought in more than $112,000, Gonzales said.
    Not bad for something that used to be called garbage.

Saturday, November 17: Computers, TVs and Cell Phones Pose a Danger in the Landfill, but There are Recycling Options

 

http://www.abqjournal.com/homes/262527homes11-17-07.htm

Saturday, November 24: Construction Projects Can Utilize Used and Recycled Materials

 

http://www.abqjournal.com/homes/264261homes11-24-07.htm

By Todd Eric Lovato
Journal Staff Writer
    Recycle, reduce, reuse. To many homeowners, this catchy slogan is more likely to conjure images of aluminum soda tabs, plastic milk bottles and cardboard boxes. But when it comes to building that dream home or planning for a splendid kitchen remodel, directors of recycling programs throughout New Mexico want residents to know there's no place like home.
    Remodeling and building projects leave behind a significant amount of waste. Twenty-eight percent of New Mexico's landfills are made up of construction waste, according to the New Mexico Recycling Coalition.
    All this loose construction material has businesses and organizations around the state seeing green— in regard to eco-conscious building practices and to the prospect that one man's junk is indeed another's treasure.
    This trash and treasure— also known as C&D, short for construction and demolition— is made up primarily of concrete, rubble, wood, drywall, asphalt roofing, scrap metal, bricks and plastic.

....story continued online....
   

Horse Manure Is Key at Compost Company

By Emily Van Cleve
For the Journal, November 6
    Horse manure is put to good use at Santa Fe Premium Compost, which transforms the waste material into rich compost that feeds fruit trees, vegetable gardens and landscaping plants throughout Santa Fe County.
    Tall piles of mature and maturing compost are found on the 3-acre spread leased by the business on grounds at 1825 San Isidro Crossing Road owned by the Community Farm. Although owner Sam McCarthy can deliver to homeowners and businesses, some folks stop by and load up their pickups.
    "Southwestern soil has a lack of organic material," said McCarthy, who has a background in organic gardening and agriculture and is in his seventh year of business. "Compost fills that need. We're lucky in the Santa Fe area because we can make compost year-round. It's not too cold for backyard composting."
    Now is a good time to think about making your own compost, McCarthy said. He suggests building an insulated compost bin out of hay bales. In addition to horse manure, add food scraps and garden debris if they're available.
    "The key is keeping the pile wet," McCarthy said. "That's what will help the materials break down. We can't depend on snow. You've got to add water."
    Knowing when the compost is ready is pretty easy.
    "When it has a pleasant, earthy odor and looks like soil, it is," he said.
    The art of making compost begins with finding free materials. McCarthy said the area has an abundant supply of horse manure, but many homeowners take their manure to the landfill. Some truck it to his business so it can be reused. If McCarthy picks it up at the homeowner's residence, he has to charge for his time and the expense of hauling a small bobcat behind his dump truck.
    Santa Fe Premium Compost piles generally take 12 months to mature. McCarthy turns the piles every three to four months.
    "It's a myth that you have to turn piles at all," he said. "I do it because of space requirements. Homeowners can add red worms to their compost piles and never have to turn them. Worms aerate the soil."
    McCarthy's understanding of compost and gardening has been honed through years of study and practical experience in the field. He obtained an adult education degree in ecological horticulture from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in agriculture from the University of California at Davis. For four years, he worked on a farm in Michigan, where he made compost.
    "When you do it commercially, you learn a lot of things," he said.
    During the four years that McCarthy worked as the market manager for the Santa Fe Farmers Market, he befriended local farmers and discovered that many of them found it difficult to make large quantities of compost.
    "Unfortunately, a number of these farmers don't have the money to buy compost, so most of my customers are gardeners and landscapers," he said. "But seeing the need for compost among farmers is one of the things that motivated me to start the business."
    Reese Baker, owner of the RainCatcher Inc., a local design/build company that specializes in using dryland permaculture techniques, puts McCarthy's compost in the soil on his clients' properties before planting seeds, young plants and new trees.
    "The soils here are so barren of organic material," Baker said. "I usually amend the soil before planting. Compost is a natural way of helping plants stay healthy. It has an earthy smell to it, but not a bad odor."
    Santa Fe Premium Compost, which is open six days a week by appointment, sells compost, red worms, worm castings, bark mulch, pecan shells, compost tea and top soil. McCarthy can be reached by phone at 310-3971 or 920-6970.
 

Recycling Tidbits

 

TV Takeback Campaign

 

The Electronics TakeBack Coalition (San Jose, California) announced a new campaign called "Take Back My TV" to ask television makers for manufacturer supported recycling programs. The Web site calls on consumers to e-mail the heads of the largest television manufacturers requesting that they offer free recycling programs for their products. The issue is pressing, organizers say, because of the looming February 17, 2009 deadline for broadcasters to switch from analog to digital broadcasting, requiring current TVs to have a special converter to watch over-the-air broadcasts. Many say the move will lead to increased disposal of televisions. Only Sony (Tokyo) currently offers free take back of its own equipment through its recently announced partnership with Waste Management (Houston).

 

National Bottle Bill Proposed

With an average of over 350 million beverage containers landfilled, incinerated or littered every day nationwide, U.S. lawmakers have introduced a resolution to diminish that astounding figure, plus provide resources to establish state pollution prevention and recycling programs.
       Known as the Bottle Recycling Climate Protection Act of 2007, House Resolution 4238 amends the nation's Solid Waste Disposal Act by implementing bottle recovery systems in states that currently lack such a system. The resolution establishes a five-cent refund value on metal, glass and plastic containers up to one gallon in size, which house beverages, such as sports drinks, juice, iced tea, wine cooler, beer or other malt beverage, all forms of water or a carbonated nonalcoholic beverage. The resolution also requires distributors to pay a handling fee of three cents.
       Unclaimed refunds, under the measure, would fund state programs designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would take effect two years after passage.

Calendar

 

**Nov 30-Dec 1, NMRC Board Retreat, Sevilleta

**Dec 4-6, Recycling Class, Albuquerque

**June 3-4, 2008 New Mexico Recycling Conference, Albuquerque

 

 

If you have questions about any of the above information or have articles for future Recycling Scraps, please e-mail or call me. 

 

English Bird

Executive Director

New Mexico Recycling Coalition

PO Box 24364, Santa Fe, NM 87502

english@recyclenewmexico.com

(505) 983-4470

Fax (505) 466-6266