Happy America Recycles Day!

Business Recycling Made Easy(er)

Tonight my husband told me that the person who used to pick-up his company's used cardboard boxes to recycle has stopped doing it because the price he was getting for the material has dropped drastically. Now what can he do?

A quick Google search first turned up a company cleverly named usedcardboardboxes.com. Businesses with a minimum of 1,000 same-size cardboard boxes can contact the business to have their waste picked up.

But my husband's Chatsworth-based business doesn't have that kind of output, so we next found a nifty resource closer to home on the DWP website. The site asks what kind of material you have to recycle, and then pops out a list of every recycler in Los Angeles County that accepts that material along with address and phone number. It's a little tedious to find someone in your specific area but it's doable.

Waxman Wants Key Energy Post

The Sacramento Bee reported yesterday that U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, whose 30th District includes much of the West Valley, is attempting to replace Rep. John Dingell of Michigan as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Click here to read Sacramento Bee article in its totality.

Palmdale Farm Goes Solar

This item was posted as a Daily Update on the San Fernando Valley Business Journal website on October 31, 2008.

Bolthouse Farms Inc. in Palmdale completed a clean energy project that uses a 1.9 megawatt solar power system to provide 80 percent of the farm's electricity.

The more than 10,000 solar panels were designed and installed by Regenesis Power in Simi Valley. The ground-mounted solar arrays use a tilted single-axis tracking system that follows the sun during the day for greater efficiency.

Bolthouse Farms has a long history of responsibly using natural resources to ensure sustainability, said President Jeffrey Dunn. “We’re excited to be able harness the sun to power our farming operations,” Dunn said.

MMA Renewable Ventures owns and operates the solar system and sells the power generated by the solar arrays to Bolthouse through a purchase agreement.

Don't Just Recycle - FREEcycle

So you just opened a brand new shiny 17" computer monitor and can't figure out what to do with your old, but still working, CRT monitor. What are your options?

Well, you could throw it in the trash. BAD IDEA. In addition to the non-biodegradable plastics and glass, there are toxic chemicals in there.

You could wait for an electronic waste recycling event to come around. BETTER IDEA. Usually the electronics at these events are cannibalized for reusable parts and the non-usable stuff is recycled or disposed of properly.

Or you could Freecycle it. Freecycle groups, such as the Northridge Freecycle Group on Yahoo groups, allow people to post items they want to get rid of and others to request the items. All transactions occur with NO FEES. This is not a way to make money or find free stuff you can then re-sell (although some people do that). The idea is to get stuff from the person who doesn't want it or need it to the person who does. Groups tend to operate locally so find one in your area.

Craig's List is another option. Each Craig's List site has a FREE section (under the For Sale label) where people can post something they want, or something they are giving away.

Do you have a freecycling experience? Tell us about it.

How Green is Your Representative?

The California League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club both released scorecards showing the voting records of California senators and assembly members as relates to environmental issues. As might be expected, party played a part in the votes with Republicans generally getting very low scores and Democratics for the most part scoring very high.

Following is a snapshot of the ranking for the representatives of our wonderful network of Valleys. If you're not sure which district you're in, the Your Legislature webpage will tell you just by requesting your zipcode.

Senate

District 17: George Runner (R) 6%
District 19: Tom McClintock (R) 11%
District 20: Alex Padilla (D) 94%
District 21: Jack Scott (D) 100%
District 23: Sheila Kuehl (D) 100%

Assembly

District 36: Sharon Runner (R) 0%
District 37: Audra Strickland (R) 19%
District 38: Cameron Smythe (R) 24%
District 39: Felipe Fuentes (D) 86%
District 40: Lloyd Levine (D) 100%
District 41: Julie Brownley (D) 100%
District 42: Mike Feuer (D) 100%
District 43: Paul Krekorian (D) 95%

*New* CSUN Institute for Sustainability

Provost Harry Hellenbrand announced yesterday the creation of the Institute for Sustainability at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Ashwani Vasishth, assistant professor in the department of urban studies and planning has been named director.

Hellenbrand said that the institute is the result of a group of deans led by Dr. William Jennings, dean of the College of Business and Economics. He sees it as part of the broader Campus Greening Project that is supported by a "greening initiative core team," that has been meeting regularly.

The mission of the institute, wrote Hellenbrand in a campus-wide announcement, "is to promote, facilitate, and develop educational, research, and university and community programs related to sustainability."

Huntington Park Group Receives Environmental Justice Award

The Huntington Park-based Communities for a Better Environment
was one of two southern California environmental organizations honored with the Environmental Protection Agency’s first annual Environmental Justice Achievement Awards.

Communities for a Better Environment focuses on environmental health and justice within working class communities of color through organizing, scientific and policy research, and legal assistance.

One of their key local initiatives it their role in the LA Apollo project, launched in 2006. The project's first goal is to create 2000 good paying, union, "green jobs" by the year 2009 for residents of LA's communities of color, while helping to improve the city's environment.