Green Your Home From the Inside Out!

Thursday, April 8th, 6:30pm – 9pm
Queens Botanical Garden Visitor Center
43-50 Main Street, Flushing, 11315

Solar One, New York City’s green energy, arts & education center, in partnership with the NYC Compost Project and the NYC Department of Sanitation, presents Green From the Inside Out on Thursday, April 8th at the Queens Botanical Garden.

Green From the Inside Out gives homeowners, coop and condo owners, building managers, and tenants the knowledge and resources they need to make their homes more environmentally friendly by saving energy (and money!), reducing waste, and recycling correctly. Come test your recycling knowledge, find out about composting, learn what incentives are available for your energy efficiency improvements, find out if solar power and green roofs are right for you, and talk to vendors of green products and services. Featuring presentations by Solar One, the NYC Compost Project, the NYC Department of Sanitation, and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Energy $mart Communities.

Please RSVP to Celia Salgado at 212-505-6050 or celia@solar1.org.

PRESENTATION DETAILS:

Reducing Energy Costs Through Energy Efficiency
Find out how to save money, help the environment, and make your home even more comfortable. Learn easy tips for energy savings, as well as cost-effective ways to make a big difference in your home energy bills.  Government and utility incentives for homeowners to make energy-efficiency improvements will be discussed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Energy $mart Communities Coordinator.

A Survey of Rooftop Solar Applications in NYC:  Solar Thermal and Photovoltaics
Learn the difference between the two most common kinds of solar power used in New York City homes, and how to determine which application is right for you.   We’ll review the generous government incentives currently available for solar and discuss how homeowners can find a solar installer.  “White roofs” and “green roofs” will also be discussed.

Composting 101
Find out how to create rich compost from household food scraps. Learn about different compost systems and options for your building or household, and how to effectively maintain a compost bin and group composting system.

Recycling and Beyond
Learn the basics and the fine print of New York City’s curbside recycling program. Best practices in setting up apartment building recycling areas and educating residents, as well as legislative updates on materials not collected curbside, will be discussed.

Free event! Refreshments will be provided!

Green Your Home from the Inside Out!

Monday, April 19th, 6 – 8:30 pm
4 Trinity Place (Trinity Church)
Parlor Room, 2nd Floor

Solar One, in partnership with GrowNYC, presents Green from the Inside Out on Monday, April 19^th from 6-8:30pm at 74 Trinity Place (Trinity Church) in the Parlor Room. This event gives coop and condo owners, building managers, landlords, and tenants the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building through presentations on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings in New York City. Exhibitors of green products and services will also be present to answer technical questions.

Please RSVP to Celia Salgado at 212-505-6050 or celia@solar1.org.

PRESENTATION DETAILS:

A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.

Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.

Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. GrowNYC (formerly the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education) is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

Free!  Refreshments will be served.

Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education. This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Green Your Home from the Inside Out!

Wednesday, March 31st, 6pm – 8:30pm
Adam Clayton Powell Jr., State Office Building
163 West 125th St, 2nd Floor Art Gallery

Hosted by Harlem CDC

Solar One, New York City’s green energy, arts & education center, in partnership with GrowNYC, presents Green From the Inside Out on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at Adam Clayton Powell Jr., State Office Building at 163 West 125th Street.

Green From the Inside Out gives Manhattan’s tenants and landlords the knowledge and resources they need to make their homes more environmentally friendly by saving energy (and money!), reducing waste, and recycling correctly. Come test your recycling knowledge, find out about composting, learn what incentives are available for your home improvements, find out if solar power and green roofs are right for you, and talk to vendors of green products and services. Featuring presentations by Solar One, GrowNYC (formerly the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Energy $mart Communities.

Please RSVP to Celia Salgado at 212-505-6050 or celia@solar1.org.

Please note, you must bring Photo ID to enter the building

Presentation Details

Recycling 101

Residential building managers, superintendents, board members and others will benefit from this presentation by Cristina Salvi from GrowNYC.  Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener.

Reducing Energy Costs Through Energy Efficiency

Find out how to save money, help the environment, and make your home even more comfortable. Learn easy tips for energy savings, as well as cost-effective ways to make a big difference in your home energy bills.  Government and utility incentives for homeowners to make energy-efficiency improvements will be discussed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Energy $mart Communities Coordinator for Staten Island.

A Survey of Rooftop Solar Applications in NYC:  Solar Thermal and Photovoltaics

Learn the difference between the two most common kinds of solar power used in New York City homes, and how to determine which application is right for you.   Solar One’s Chris Neidl will review the generous government incentives currently available for solar and discuss how homeowners can find a solar installer.  “White roofs” and “green roofs” will also be discussed.

Free event! Refreshments will be provided!

Green Your Home from the Inside Out!

Saturday, March 27th, 12pm – 3pm
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, Building P
1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island

Solar One, New York City’s green energy, arts & education center, in partnership with the NYC Compost Project and the NYC Department of Sanitation, presents Green From the Inside Out on Saturday, March 27 at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.

Green From the Inside Out gives Staten Island homeowners the knowledge and resources they need to make their homes more environmentally friendly by saving energy (and money!), reducing waste, and recycling correctly. Come test your recycling knowledge, find out about composting, learn what incentives are available for your home improvements, find out if solar power and green roofs are right for you, and talk to vendors of green products and services. Featuring presentations by Solar One, the NYC Compost Project, the NYC Department of Sanitation, and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Energy $mart Communities.

Please RSVP to Celia Salgado at 212-505-6050 or celia@solar1.org.

Presentation Details:

Composting 101

The NYC Compost Project on Staten Island will discuss the simple steps involved in creating rich compost from household food scraps.  Learn about the different ways to compost at home, how to effectively maintain a compost bin, troubleshoot common issues, and utilize the finished product in your garden.

Recycling and Beyond

Learn the basics and the fine print of New York City’s curbside recycling program.  Best practices in waste prevention and reuse, as well as legislative updates on materials not collected curbside, such as plastic bags and rechargeable batteries, will be discussed.

Reducing Energy Costs Through Energy Efficiency

Find out how to save money, help the environment, and make your home even more comfortable. Learn easy tips for energy savings, as well as cost-effective ways to make a big difference in your home energy bills.  Government and utility incentives for homeowners to make energy-efficiency improvements will be discussed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Energy $mart Communities Coordinator for Staten Island.

A Survey of Rooftop Solar Applications in NYC:  Solar Thermal and Photovoltaics

Learn the difference between the two most common kinds of solar power used in New York City homes, and how to determine which application is right for you.   Solar One’s Chris Neidl will review the generous government incentives currently available for solar and discuss how homeowners can find a solar installer.  “White roofs” and “green roofs” will also be discussed.

Free event! Refreshments will be provided!

Click here for more information, or visit the official website:
www.nyapplianceswapout.com

Receive a cash rebate by purchasing a new ENERGY STAR® qualified refrigerator, freezer or clothes washer! New ENERGY STAR® refrigerator, freezer or clothes washer purchase must replace an existing appliance. Plus recycling your old, existing appliances of the same type, makes you eligible for the maximum rebate.

Click here for more information, or visit the official website:
www.nyapplianceswapout.com

Solar One in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education will be touring Green from the Inside Out, a three-part workshop on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings, throughout New York City.

These workshops are designed to give building owners, shareholders, and managers the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building.  Look below for the workshop descriptions, to see the date and location of the next workshop, and to reserve your spot.

If you would like us to bring these workshops to your neighborhood, contact Celia Salgado at celia@solar1.org, or 212-505-6050.

6:30pm: A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.

7:15 pm: Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.

8pm: Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

WHEN:  Monday, January 25th

6:30pm to 8:30pm

WHERE: Sol Goldman YM-YWHA

344 East 14th Street New York, NY

RSVP’s required.  Send email to celia@solar1.org to RSVP

RSVP’d guests can arrive at 6:15 to speak with Vendors about products. Presentations will start at 6:30pm and run until 8:30pm. There will be breaks in between presentations to talk to Vendors.

Free!  Refreshments will be served.  Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education. This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

On Saturday October 3, 2009,  Solar One and EcoArtspace, one of the country’s foremost art organizations concentrating on ecological/environmental art, are pleased to present a day of workshops, discussions and performances about the artistic process, the environment, public vs. private space, as well as presentations from local artists engaged in environment-focused projects.

For much of this summer, sample “studios” from artist Simon Draper’s Habitats for Artists project have been displayed on the blacktop near the Solar 1 building on the East River south of 23^rd St. Throughout our events season, the sheds have provided a community space for concessions, a bulletin board, a studio for artist Todd Betterley and a conversation piece for the many bicyclists, joggers, fishermen and kids who regularly visit Stuyvesant Cove Park. On October 3 from 10am-12pm, Simon will demonstrate how to build your very own artist habitat and answer questions about the future of the Habitats project.

From 1-4pm, performance artist Chere Krakovsky will bring the personal into the Habitat for Artists shed in her performance “Mothers and Daughters”,  exploring how one generation offers its lessons to the next, both learned and unspoken.

In the first part of the performance Chere will honor her Eastern European grandmother by washing her laundry by hand in the way her grandmother did a century ago and will then hang it out to dry using the area around the habitat as backyard.  Following this she has invited her 86 yr. old mother, Dorothy Krakovsky to join her teaching Chere to sew by hand, which she in turn was taught to do by Chere’s grandmother.

In this piece as in many of Krakovsky’s performance works, the everyday and the creative co-exist.  The Habitat for Artist shed will serve as the home location for the everyday tasks of doing laundry and sewing.  Others are invited to participate in the sewing lesson or share in conversation about what has been offered/handed down to them from their mothers. Chere, her mother and grandmother are three generations of artists. The artwork of mother, daughter and grandmother will fill the interior of the habitat for the duration of the performance. Krakovsky’s own relationship to the domestic has complex. Much of her performance work revolves around her ever-changing notions of home, its location and meaning. Women, domesticity, creativity and everyday tasks converge. She is also helping to raise awareness that before it is too late there is much to be learned from those who have gone before.

Following the performance, environmental artists will display and discuss the projects they are working on, participants TBD.

Events at Solar One will be followed by the opening of Down To Earth at the EcoArtpace NYC gallery at 53 Mercer st, 3rd Floor. Artists include: Joan Bankemper, Knox Cummin, Stacy Levy, Ann Rosenthal/Steffi Domike, Susan Leibovitz Steinman, Simon Draper and the Habitat for Artists Collective, including Todd Sargood, Cathy Lebowitz, E Odin Cathcart and Jeff Bailey, plus additional Contributing Artists:
Jacinto Astiazarán and Fritz Haeg, Lenore Malen & The New Society for Universal Harmony, Eve Mosher, Andrea Polli and Chuck Varga, Andrea Reynosa/Kevin Vertrees-SkyDog Projects and Christy Rupp

Tonight’s Event is full. Space is still available for the 1/25 Green From the Inside Out.

Solar One in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education will be touring Green from the Inside Out, a three-part workshop on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings, throughout New York City.

These workshops are designed to give building owners, shareholders, and managers the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building.  Look below for the workshop descriptions, to see the date and location of the next workshop, and to reserve your spot.

If you would like us to bring these workshops to your neighborhood, contact Celia Salgado at celia@solar1.org, or 212-505-6050.

A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.

Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.

WHEN:  Wednesday, January 20

6:00pm to 8:30pm, plus post-event mixer!

WHERE: Central Park Arsenal

830 5th Avenue, Suite 318, NY

RSVP’s required.  Send email to celia@solar1.org to RSVP.

And from 8:30-10:00pm we are hosting a special event! Only on this special evening we will be hosting a Winter Networking Mixer overlooking Central Park! Invite your clients and business partners to partake in this unique networking evening. Find out what’s going green, and who’s going green in the Upper East Side! Entrance is free and drinks can be purchased.

RSVP’d guests can arrive at 6:00 to speak with Vendors about products. Presentations will start at 6:30pm and run until 8:30pm. There will be breaks in between presentations to talk to Vendors.

Free!  Refreshments will be served.  Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education. This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

On Sunday, August 2, 2009, Asian Americans for Equality will hold its annual Chinatown Summer Street Festival, which attracts approximately 20,000 visitors.  Under the theme of “Building Green and Healthy Communities,” the 18th annual 2009 Chinatown Summer Street Festival will highlight the many initiatives and programs currently available to keep our environment clean, safe, healthy and sustainable.  At this festival, AAFE hosts Solar One’s “Green from the Ground Up” workshop, a three-part presentation for multifamily buildings that focuses on implementing energy efficiency, recycling, and green rooftop applications.

Bayard Street (between Elizabeth and Baxter Streets) and Columbus Park (location of cultural program).

SUNDAY JULY 12 at 11AM : Kids of All Ages Day
11:30 PM — Rachel Trachtenburg’s Homemade World with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
12:30 PM — Just Food- Learn the ancient art of fruit canning!
1:30 PM — Solar One- Check out the Solar One bike blender project, buy a bike-blended smoothie and learn about bike mechanics!
2:30 PM — The Madagascar Institute- Make your own generator; you have the power!
3:30 PM — Band of Bicycles- Bicycle-powered spin art for kids of all ages.

4:30 PM — Wide Open Eco-Pet Fashion Show- Dress up your pet in an eco-extravagant costume to die for! Use found, reclaimed, reused and recycled materials to show off your creativity and your pet’s fabulousness! Win a Big Blue Ribbon! Hosted by performance elf Reverend Jen!

Lots of stuff for kids to do, plus workshops and panel discussions for the grownups. Make crafts, check out the BioBus, a solar-and-wind powered laboratory on wheels, build a hand-crank alternator and learn about how electricity works, and many more! Plus hang out under Eco-Pioneers Solar Tent and chill at the Tiki Bar!

Bring your own cup and get beers for $2 off the regular price! Reuse the cup we give you, and it’s $1 off!

Write a letter for our I Heart PV campaign to increase solar energy generation in New York State and have a beer on us. Check out http://iheartpv.org for more info.

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.  Note Location:  University Settlement, 273 Bowery (at Houston)

6:00 PM -  Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Recycling: it’s good for the city, benefits the planet and is required by law, but many find the reality of recycling challenging.  How does your building’s program measure up and how can you improve your recycling performance? 

Residential building managers, superintendents, board members and others will benefit from this presentation from the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE).  Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

7:00 PM – Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Concerned about the increasing costs of energy in your building?  Green from the Ground Up presents a workshop for Energy Efficiency in Buildings that offers tips on reducing your building’s energy use while making an environmental impact.  Learn how to improve your building’s energy efficiency in lighting, appliances, and heating systems, thereby lowering your fuel and utility bills. 

In this workshop, Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will discuss government incentives available for your building such as the Multifamily Performance Program, and weatherization programs.  Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions, and to sign up your building for an energy audit.

8:00PM – A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

Over one million buildings make up New York City’s one of a kind built environment, and the nearly one billion square feet of largely vacant roofscape that mark its vertical border amount to what is perhaps our most underutilized asset.  Our roofs have an enormous potential to accomodate clean solar energy applications and therefore to address a number of our most pressing local energy challenges, including the urban heat island effect, escalating household energy costs, power failure, growing carbon emissions, and poor air quality.

This past Friday, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced an innovative plan that will help curb NYC’s greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously providing jobs for those most in need of them.  The Go Green! Cooking Oil Recycling Program will employ formerly homeless and incarcerated individuals to pick up used cooking oil from local city restaurants free of charge; the oil will then be sold to companies that conduct biodiesel conversion, cutting down on the use of standard diesel gasoline – among the dirtiest of hydrocarbon-based fuels – in commercial vehicles in and around the city.

The service will be conducted by RWA Resource Recovery, a venture of The Doe Fund and its Ready, Willing and Able Community Improvement Project.  To date, RWA Resource Recovery has collected nearly 725,000 gallons of biodiesel since its inception in early 2007, an amount that should increase at a substantial rate under the new agreement; in March alone, RWA added 50 new client businesses around the city.  Overall, through this community improvement project, The Doe Fund has aided more than 3,000 formerly destitute New Yorkers in their quest for self-sufficiency.  The program will also partner with the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which will conduct education and outreach by training local students to serve as “eco-consultants” to help recruit other businesses into the program.

In addition to this venture, which will expand to neighborhoods in upper Manhattan over the next few weeks, the state will provide further incentives for biodiesel through tax credits for users and producers of the alternative fuel.  Given current economic and employment trends, the Go Green! Cooking Oil Recycling Program will provide much-needed hope and opportunities while at the same time making progress towards a cleaner city.

Sources: “Speaker Sheldon Silver and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer Announce Free Cooking Oil Recycling Program for Local Restaurants”, press release – 4/24/09, Manhattan Borough President’s Office official website (www.mbpo.org); RWA Resource Recovery website (www.rwarr.org); The Doe Fund website (www.doe.org); Lower East Side Ecology Center website (www.lesecologycenter.org).

GO GREEN LES Allen Mall 6 Green Celebration
Saturday, April 25th, 2 p.m.
Allen Mall 6 (Enter at Allen and Rivington)

Come celebrate with Time’s Up! and GO GREEN LOWER EAST SIDE as we bring one of the malls on Allen Street to life the Saturday after Earth Day!

The DOT has a bike lane redesign in the works for Allen St and we’re excited by the potential for revitalization on the mall in the middle of Allen St. 

Times Up! will be offering FREE Bike Repair Education, Helmet and Safety Checks, and FREE Seed Planting Workshops

Other activities and events include:
FREE Green Maps for all
FREE Energy Efficiency Assessments & Evaluations
FREE Green Jobs summer training for students
FREE CFL Bulb Giveaway

Also check out the Youth Photo Exhibit and Vision for the Mall and Avenue of the Immigrants Exhibit

Other Group Involved:
Solar One, NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities, Green Maps,  Win Win Campaign, Hester Street Collaborative, Green Market, LES Boys and Girls Club, LES BID, EcoBizNYC, NYRP, AAFE, Manhattan CB3, NYC Parks and Recreation

Also With:
Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, NYS Senator Tom Duane, NYS Senator Daniel Squadron, Councilmember Alan Gerson, Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Asseblymember Brian Kavanagh

This is what the flowers look like:

On Thursday March 19 at 6pm, bring yourself, your crochet hooks and knitting needles, your old plastic bags and your ingenuity. The flowers in the pic were made with a D crochet hook and the pattern will be available next Thurs, but if you’d rather knit, or have another idea for a flower pattern, well, bring it on! The more variety, the better. We’ll be meeting at Sustainable NYC at 139 Ave A between St. Mark’s &  9th St. There will be free snacks and tons of fun!

For those who are interested in the design/construction aspect of the display, please email Events & Marketing Coordinator Dina Elkan at dina@solar1.org for more info on where and when we’ll be putting it all together. We’d like to have the display in the window by April 1.

To recap:

What: Create flowers out of plastic bags by crocheting or knitting

Where: Sustainable NYC, 139 Ave A between St. Mark’s & 9th Street

When: Thursday, March 19 at 6pm

Bring: Old shopping bags (transluscent plastic only, please! The opaque, shiny bags get too sticky to work with easily), crochet hooks and/or knitting needles, your friends, your brilliant ideas and lots of enthusiasm!

We hope to see you there!

Recycling: it’s good for the city, benefits the planet and is required by law, but many find the reality of recycling challenging.  How does your building’s program measure up and how can you improve your recycling performance?

Residential building managers, superintendents, board members and others will benefit from this presentation by Christina Salvi, Outreach Coordinator for the city’s Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE). Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle. Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener.

(OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.)

Public education and economic viability are two important features of making recycling work in NYC.  But the often unseen labor of custodians, collectors and sorters is no less important; as is the physical set-up of buildings, streets, and public spaces  This talk discusses how labor and structure enable successful recycling, encouraging New Yorkers to consider how important these seemingly “background” issues are to the viability of sustainable waste management.

Imagine a technology that not only generates energy with minimal greenhouse gas emissions, but that can even remove existing emissions sources while also solving the problem of garbage disposal. If St. Lucie County in Florida proves correct, plasma incinerators may be one more option in our growing sustainability portfolio. Instead of dumping its trash in landfills, St. Lucie County hopes to blast it with streams of superheated gas (known as plasma) at temperatures of 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, organic matter vaporizes into a form of gas that can be used to power turbines, generating waste steam that could be then be used to create more energy. Inorganic matter such as aluminum cans could be used as recycled material for construction and infrastructure, including filler for roadbeds.

Not only does St. Lucie County hope to provide power for 50,000 homes in the process, but, by keeping trash out of landfills, it would significantly curb methane emissions that would result from decomposition. In addition, the plasma process itself (also known as plasma arc gasification) apparently generates far fewer emissions than standard incineration, and the county administration expects that the resulting energy will be no more expensive than natural gas.

Though plasma plants have been around since the 1980s, St. Lucie’s will be the first intended specifically for waste disposal. Expected to go on-line in 2011, city planners anticipate that it will process 1,500 tons of garbage daily and will supply the local energy grid with 60 MW of electricity (though some sources claim that public outcry (see below) and other logistical difficulties have caused GeoPlasma – the plant’s owner and developer – to propose a scaled-back verison that will process only 200 tons per day).

The plan is not without controversy, however. Skeptics claim that the technology is unproven and may release unsafe amounts of dioxin and other cancer-causing particulates into the community. Others claim that the proposed benefits may be overblown; a study of a similar plasma arc waste disposal facility in Honolulu concluded that the technology actually increased waste disposal costs while providing little if any environmental benefit. Until such concerns are abated, our trash isn’t likely to go anywhere but into the ground.

Sources: “Plasma Turns Garbage Into Gas”, Scientific American; “Doctors Say: Be Careful, St. Lucie County; make Geoplasma prove its claims about proposed arc incinerator”, www.tcpalm.com; “City to Brief Council on Plasma Arc Recommendations For Landfill Reduction”, City of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services (press release); “Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy? The Pros and Cons of Plasma Incineration”, www.slate.com; “Plasma arc waste disposal”, “Plasma (physics)”, www.wikipedia.com; “How Plasma Converters Work”, www.howstuffworks.com; “The Prophet of Garbage”; Popular Science; “Generating Power From Waste”, www.recyclingexpert.co.uk; www.geoplasma.com (Geoplasma homepage).

In the not-too-distant future, it looks like you’ll be able to handle your CFLs without worrying about the hazards of mercury.

While Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) have long been seen as a technology with significant potential to conserve electricity and reduce consumer energy costs, one of their main drawbacks has been public trepidation about exposure to this toxic element if a bulb happens to break. Now nanotechnology researchers may have developed a way to reduce this concern. According to an article in this week’s Science Times, experiments with microparticles of various elements including sulfur, copper, nickel and most notably selenium have demonstrated promising results when binding with mercury. Potential applications could weave “nanoselenium” into CFL packaging and special cloth with which to mop up breakage, even plastic bags for recycling spent or shattered bulbs.

This means one less reason not to make the switch to these spiral-shaped icons of energy efficiency. Anyway, you won’t have a choice beginning in 2012. As a consequence of last December’s energy bill, traditional incandescent bulbs will be phased out of use, beginning with the 100-watt bulb and ending with the 40-watt in 2014. This ensures that, while we may not necessarily know how bright the future will be, getting there will be a whole lot more efficient.

Our friends over at INFORM have started a new series called The Secret Life. First on the agenda: cellphones. These devices that have totally transformed communication over the past 20 years have also become too-synonymous with “disposable” leading to their being sent by the millions to landfills and incinerators. And yet, many, if not all, of the materials used to make them are reclaimable and/or recyclable.

INFORM has put together a great 5 minute video about the need for more cellphone recycling, while also showing in some detail what happens to these phones during the recycling process. We encourage you to check out their website, watch the video, and then take those old phones out of your junk drawer and find a way to recycle them (they provide the info on how to do just that, of course).

In addition, this seems like a great time to remind everyone about the Greener Gadgets Conference coming up this Friday, February 1st. Our recent Green Renter with conference co-chairs Marc Alt and Jill Fehrenbacher was a great overview of the need to re-think the design process for digital technology, complete with some great examples like the BOGOlight that the audience got to pass around and test out. We’ll have a video version of their presentation on our site soon, but you can register for the conference right now.

Cellphone image by Chris Jordan, taken from inhabitat.com