California

  • New Hope For Scrapped Vehicle Shredder Residue

    July 24th, 2008


    When a vehicle is recycled, it is first stripped of all valuable parts and then put through a shredder. Shredding allows the valuable metals to be extracted, and all that’s left in the end is an odd assortment of dirt, plastic, foam and rubber bits.

    Usually shredder residue is shipped off to the landfill, but the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois is completing a continue …


  • L.A. City Council Votes To Ban Plastic Bags

    July 23rd, 2008


    The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday in favor of banning customer plastic bags in supermarkets and retail stores by July 2010, reports the Los Angeles Times.

    But the policy has a catch: it will only apply if the state fails to impose a $.25 fee on shoppers who request the bags. It is hoped that the council’s vote will persuade state lawmakers to put the fee in action.

    Citizens continue …


  • California E-Waste Recycler Adds 100th Location to Network

    July 22nd, 2008


    After launching six months ago, the GREENetwork has grown to feature 100 locations for Californians to drop off obsolete electronics for recycling.

    The parent company behind the GREENetwork, ASL Recycling, reports it has already recycled seven million pounds of e-waste in 2008.

    Most of the current GREENspot locations are in the San Francisco Bay Area. These locations are committed to offering continue …


  • Program Profile: University Toner Recovery

    July 21st, 2008


    More than three quarts of oil are used during the manufacturing of a new laser toner cartridge, while only one quart is required to make a recycled one. In addition, recycling cartridges in not a one-time deal; they can be cleaned and reused up to five or six times. This is good news for people who use printers as well continue …


  • Theft of Curbside Recyclables Increasing

    July 16th, 2008


    A recycling bin awaiting curbside pickup doesn’t seem like an obvious location for a crime, but it often is in Northern California cities and in other locations throughout the country, reports the Associated Press.

    The combination of a slow economy and higher prices for aluminum, cardboard and newsprint is contributing to the rise in curbside theft.  In many instances, the robbers have continue …


  • PVC Packaging Under Fire in California

    July 14th, 2008


    A bill phasing out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging by 2015 is being circulated in the California Legislature, reports the Ventura County Star.

    Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, cites the human health risk and environmental damage of PVC as reasoning behind the bill. It is sponsored by the nonprofit organization Californians Against Waste.

    PVC packaging often contains lead and cadmium, which are known continue …


  • Clorox Asked to Recycle Brita Filters by California Product Stewardship Council

    July 14th, 2008


    The California Product Stewardship Council has become the latest in a number of groups and individuals to ask Clorox to find a way to recycle or take back Brita filters in the U.S. the way it does in Europe.

    The CPSC is an organization of local governments throughout California who aim to shift California’s product waste management system from continue …


  • California Homeowners Recycle 80 Percent of Their Home

    July 9th, 2008


    John and Joy Kelly of Santa Monica, California, wanted to rebuild their 2,200 square foot home. But rather than just demolish it, they deconstructed it and donated 80 percent of the materials to charity, reports the Los Angeles Chronicle.

    The non-profit organization which directed the project is called Deconstruction & Building Materials ReUse Network, Inc. Finished materials like doors, windows, cabinetry, continue …


  • Wineries Are Big on Renewable Energy

    July 9th, 2008


    California wineries have decided that it’s good product stewardship to use solar energy. The first ones to install solar were Grgich Hills and Foster’s Wine Estates, followed by Elbin Blatz, which installed nearly 1,000 photovoltaic panels mounted on 130 pontoons floating in an irrigation pond, and another 306 panels mounted on a nearby acre of land. These panels can produce continue …


  • California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Promote Recycling

    July 4th, 2008


    The California Department of Conservation (DOC) is teaming up with the state’s Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (CHCC) to create The Hispanic Business Recycling Program, which will promote beverage container recycling programs for member businesses.

    The program will begin with a pilot program with the San Francisco, San Joaquin and Orange County Hispanic Chambers. The DOC will participate in fundraisers and mixers continue …