Energy Conservation and Environmentally Friendly Ideas:
Recycling & Reduce waste "Cash for trash"
Recycling
Ensure recycling bins are placed and taking place in all major business junctions.
including all condos / apartment buildings.
Set up recycling as a town wide, money making position. (Position paper furnished upon request).
Provide recycle bins on all public parks.
http://bigbellysolar.com/products/
Cost efficiencies from labor savings, fuel cost and have recycling add on, (recycling revenue)
http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/archive/x1817154608
Ensure major recycling of all items is occurring in all the schools. cell phone recycling
other ideas to reduce waste
Compost Bins
Offering compost bins to its residents
http://westboylstonma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/WBoylstonMA_DPW/compostbins
green restaurants
]http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2007/03/14/restaurants_take_steps_in_green_direction/ restaurants take steps in green direction]
http://www.dinegreen.com/restaurant_guide.asp?type=category&display=1 green restaurant guide]
Offers rain barrel water
http://www.wickedlocal.com/saugus/archive/x125177634
Residents rain barrels as a way to conserve water and help the environment
Solar, Wind power & green
Solar Panels on public buildings.
Porter Square Shopping Plaza Goes Solar
Windmills in various areas of town. (By Crystal Lake or Behind Landrigan Field (2 of them).
state to launch 68m solar panel program
Babson Wind Turbine Groundbreaking
Encourage major “green” companies to move to Wakefield.
Form “green” advisory group. Wakefield Climate Action Project
Make all public vehicles hybrid/electric cars.
Town Lighting
Turn off holiday lights earlier in the year.
Turn off holiday lights earlier in the day, and turn off every other street lighting
Shut off every other municipal light early in the day.
Shut off field lights when not in use. Ensure they are shut off at all times appropriate.
Other items
Have town employees pay for a portion of gas used in public vehicles.
Have more police officers and like town employees on bikes rather than cars.
Should improve the path around the lake and create bike lanes
Create a hybrid-electric trolley to run through the town.
RecycleBank is a recycling company based in Philadelphia which offers financial incentives/rewards (in the form of retail and restaurant coupons) to participants, based on the weight of their recycling bins. Info is tracked electronically using computer chips in recycling bins and a computer on the recycling truck. (If I understood it all correctly) Philadelphia test neighborhoods achieved 90% participation rate.
http://www.recyclebank.com/
The city of Everett just started a pilot program with them maybe 2 months ago or so…. the deal is that residents do get coupons for the more they recycle .. but recycle bank takes $65 of every $100 that is recycled . So yes they give residents a coupon for dunkin donuts or bobs store but they are taking a big chunk of the $$$$$.
If you think the above info is worth posting on the website, please do. I'm not quite sure how to do it!
1) Time magazine article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1813956,00.html
2) My Canada story that I've already told some people: A couple of years ago I met a lady from Canada and she told me they have nearly 100% recycling participation. Not only that, they have a separate bin for compostable items (i.e. foodstuff) right in their house, then they bring it out to a larger bin outside which is emptied bi-weekly. She said the amount of waste in the actual trash barrel is very small. I asked why Canada was so progressive. She said because they ran out of room for landfills! She also mentioned people get fined if they do things like try to sneak stuff in the trash, like at Christmas when a lot of people try to stick the wrapping paper in the regular trash. She was vacationing here in the U.S. and couldn't believe how we all throw everything into one big trash barrel. She's used to separating everything. It's all about what people get in the habit of doing.
3) Here's a similar program I found online for Iowa:
Dubuque, Iowa
CURBSIDE FOOD SCRAPS COLLECTION PROGRAM
The city of Dubuque, Iowa is continuing its curbside food scraps recycling program, which works in conjunction with its existing yard waste and recycling programs. The program began as a two-year pilot in 2006, with 30 tons collected the first year, and 35 tons the second year. Besides generating compost, the goal of the program is to increase diversion to a recycling rate above 25 percent; according to the 2005 Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Waste analysis, 20 percent of the refuse materials set out from the average Dubuque household could be processed into compost.
The city provides 12-gallon wheeled Norseman containers with snap-locking lids, plus a 2-gallon kitchen collector. The few commercial participants (including a coffee shop, restaurant and two schools) are provided with either 48- or 64-gallon carts. No plastics, even biodegradable bags, are currently permitted.
Organic material is collected weekly and commingled with yard waste in a solid waste packer truck, and delivered to the licensed Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency (DMASWA) facility. An estimated two tons/week are processed into compost, which is the current maximum of food scraps allowed under IDNR rules. There is discussion on expanding the amount of food waste permitted, which would allow larger processors and private companies to be included. The compost is sold for landscaping, gardening and highway applications. “The food scrap recycling program will help us extend our landfill life and reduce pollution,” notes the county website.
The city of 57,000 people is measuring its carbon footprint, attempting to reduce its environmental impact and become the greenest city in Iowa, says Paul Schultz, Solid Waste Management Supervisor for the city of Dubuque.
I notice I put a great deal of food scraps in my trash, and it can get rather heavy, especially if I have something like a watermelon. I do have a compost pile, but it is currently in an inconvenient location (way in the back of my yard). At the very least the town should look into providing small compost containers to residents.
Also, I mentioned to Leslie that there is a new recycling club leader at the High School, and wondered if it would be good to see if she could attend the upcoming meeting.
And— one more thing. At the last Wakefield Climate Action Project brainstorming meeting, someone mentioned the great idea to encourage recycling: if the person doesn't recycle, their trash is not taken that week. We all thought that was a fantastic and cost-free way to get people to recycle!
Best,
Sherri Carlson
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