Recycle The Essential Guide
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
How often do you go about your day in our great city, only to be frustrated by the ubiquity of single-use containers and products and the lack of public recycling services? Have you ever wondered whether our garbage system is as modern and efficient as it can possibly be? NYC’s garbage issues are the great unseen environmental problem that looms over us from afar, as we ship our solid waste out of state to be landfilled and only recycle a small percentage of our used plastics.
The City Council has been taking steps to correct that situation though, and starting in April 2011, electronics manufacturers will be required to take back their products for recycling, and by 2015, it will no longer be legal to leave consumer electronics for residential trash collection. The city is also trying to find ways to expand the municipal composting program- as Lucy Siegle, environmental journalist for The Observer newspaper, explains in the introduction to Recycle The Essential Guide, organic material in the landfill is actually worse than inorganic material , because it leaches toxins into the ground, and also releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Currently, the nearest commercial composting center to NYC is in Delaware- no wonder it’s so difficult to get rid of our compostable plastic cups every summer!
All of which is to say, if you are interested in sustainability, creative reuse and waste management, you are probably already quite busy recycling everything you possibly can- and you will definitely enjoy this book.
Published in a new edition by Black Dog Publishing, this well-designed and information-packed guide makes a clear argument for increased recycling. Organized into sections by material, the book covers paper, plastic, glass, e-waste, textiles and metals with eye-catching graphics, bold colors and case studies from around the world.
While much of the information and resources focus on the UK, there’s still plenty to interest an American reader, including detailed explanations of the recycling processes and a fair evaluation of the resources expended in the various recycling schemes explored in the book. I also enjoyed the pull quotes that featured prominently throughout- well-known thinkers and activists in the climate crisis field providing clear, inspiring soundbites that articulate the need for more extensive recycling, especially here in the US.
As the stories in Recycle The Essential Guide show, recycling is not only a vital part of a total sustainability plan in any community, taking on waste issues head-on is a great relationship builder in communities around the world. Recycling means cleaner environments, increased job opportunities and fewer landfills. Recycling FTW!
Available from Black Dog Publishing. Click here!
Posted in Recycling, Sustainability, Waste | Permalink
New New York GreenHomeNYC DIY Green Block Party in Brooklyn This Saturday
Monday, September 27th, 2010| October 2, 2010 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 6:00 pm |
The NEW New York: GreenHomeNYC’s DIY Green Block Party, Saturday October 2nd 10am – 6pm, will give New Yorkers tangible experience with ways to live green(er). Catering to citizens anywhere on the green spectrum from curious to committed, this event will bring concepts to life through hands-on activities. For example, a local compost vendor, Vokashi, will sell compost k its as well as have compost on hand to smell and examine up close. Recycle-A-Bicycle will demonstrate how to repair a bike and take donations of old bikes. Bring your old clothes to be recycled through Wearable Collections, and your e-waste through the Lower East Side Ecology Center. In addition to over 45 vendors, there will be special neighborhood tours such as a “ride-along” on a brownstone’s energy audit, a trip to a green roof, and a tour of Third + Bond, which is anticipating LEED-Gold.
In keeping with the theme, the NEW New York itself will be green: using biodiesel and compostable food containers, recycling trash and composting food-waste, minimizing trash by asking vendors to present paperless, and purchasing carbon off-sets.
Visit our website for more information, and to sign up for events,demonstrations, and building tours. Solar One will be running activities for kids!
10:00am- Make insect/butterfly/native creature puppets!
12:00pm- Make seed bombs that will turn into wildflowers in the spring!
2:00pm- Make a solar racecar and see how fast it will go!
www.greenhomenyc.org/thenewnewyork
Third St between Bond & Hoyt Sts in Brooklyn
F/G to Carroll Street
Posted in Art, Design, Education, Green Building, Native Plants, Photovoltaics, Recycling, Renewables, Solar One Events, Solar Power, Sustainability | Permalink
Celebrate Build it Green!NYC’s 5th Birthday at Solar One
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010| June 12, 2010 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
It’s Build it Green’s 5th birthday, and we’re celebrating with a joint fundraiser under the tents! Come and enjoy delicious organic vegetable and lamb bar-b-que, beer, live music with the amazing Amayo’s Fu-Arkestra, the DJ skills of Tony Lowe and entertainment from the always-entertaining BIG!NYC team. Tickets are a wallet-friendly $20 adv/$25 at the door, and all proceeds will be split between Solar One and Build it Green! Show us how much you care about a sustainable NYC, come party at Solar One!
Advance tickets available HERE or at the BIG!NYC warehouse in Astoria.
Under the Solar One Tents Map/Directions
Saturday June 12 from 6pm-10pm
Posted in Art, Green Building, Music, Recycling, Solar One Events, Sustainability | Permalink
Green from the Inside Out City College
Monday, May 3rd, 2010| May 20, 2010 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:30 pm |
Green Your Home From the Inside Out!
Thursday, May 20th, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
City College of New York
North Academic Center (Ballroom)
Convent Avenue and 138th Street New York, NY
Solar One, in partnership with GrowNYC presents Green from the Inside Out on Thursday, May 20th, from 6-8:30pm at the City College of New York in the North Academic Center (Ballroom), located on Convent Avenue and 138h Street. 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 is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.
Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.
Free event! Refreshments will be provided!
GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education, a program of GrowNYC (formerly Council on the Environment of New York City). This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Posted in Education, Energy, Energy $mart Communities, Energy Efficiency, green roofs, New York City, NYSERDA, Photovoltaics, Recycling, Renewables, Solar One, Solar One Events, Solar Power, Sustainability, Waste | Permalink
Off the Grid 2010 Sustainable Music Festival
Monday, April 19th, 2010| April 24, 2010 | ||
| 3:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
NYU Earth Matters is throwing a party for Earth Day’s 40th birthday, and you’re invited! Check out a fabulous exhibit of eco-art from the NYU community and beyond, eat delicious food from the Dosa Man and check out some exciting live entertainment from MC Andrew WK, Cold Cave, Oberhofer and North Highlands, plus a Special Secret Guest so exciting we won’t be able to reveal their name until Saturday morning!
This event is free and open to the public, rain or shine! We hope to see you there!
Posted in Art, Dance, Design, Food, Global Warming, Music, New York City, Organic Farming, Pollution, Recycling, Renewables, Solar One Events, Sustainability, Waste | Permalink
