WasteCap Wisconsin June 2007 Bulletin Available

Ok, so end-of-pipe recycling is not technically considered pollution prevention in the strictest sense of the term; it is often argued that only in-process recycling counts. But folks interested in P2 also tend to be interested in diverting waste from landfills, especially if that waste can be turned into an asset and put to further use, at the source or otherwise. Plus, many P2 professionals are becoming more and more interested in the concepts of product stewardship and extender producer responsibility, which include thinking about how to reuse and recycle materials once they’ve served their original purpose. Information on recycling and recycled-content products is also of interest in matters of environmentally preferable purchasing and green building. So, beneficial reuse is part of my personal sense of the intention of pollution prevention, and yes, I am going to talk about end-of-pipe recycling in this P2 blog. Gasp if you must, and direct all criticisms to me (Joy).

WasteCap Wisconsin LogoIf you’re interested in beneficial reuse in general, and specifically in construction and demolition debris recycling, electronics recycling, and organic material recycling (composting, food donation, scraps for animal feed, etc.), check out WasteCap Wisconsin’s web site. They offer case studies, publications, training opportunities, and other resources on these issues. They also produce a monthly e-mail bulletin chock full of case studies, resources, news, information on recycling technologies, legislation, events, and profiles of member organizations. The June 2007 issue is available online, and archived issues are available all the way back to 2005. Information on signing up for the bulletin is available on the WasteCap Wisconsin home page.

Small Business Resources: MPCA’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program

If you operate a small business in Minnesota, be sure to check out the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program web pages. Included are general information pages on air, water, waste and clean up issues, a link to the Environmental Guide for Small Businesses in Minnesota, information specific for various sectors (including auto body and auto repair, dry cleaning, halogenated solvent cleaning, automotive salvage yards, chromium electroplating and anodizing, fiberglass fabricators, and wood finishers), links to related EPA initiatives, and archived editions of two newsletters–Small Business Enterprise, a quarterly newsletter published by the SBEAP that covers pollution prevention, compliance and training, and The Cross Link, a newsletter geared specifically toward fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) products manufacturers.

New P2 Search Tool Available on GLRPPR Web Site

P2 Search Box

The Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) is pleased to announce the new “P2 Search” function available on the GLRPPR web site. Powered by Google, this search box allows you to search 37 web sites simultaneously for pollution prevention (P2) and related information. These sites include the U.S. EPA web site, each of the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) Center web sites, all of the national compliance assistance centers, the Department of Energy (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as well as the Office of Science and Technical Information), P2 Gems, the Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention (C2P2), Environment Canada’s Canadian Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (CPPIC), UNEP, Europa (European Union portal), and Australia’s environmental portal.

Note that when you type in a search phrase, the results page will feature links at the top allowing you to refine your search by limiting your search to the compliance assistance centers, energy efficiency-related sites, international sites, the P2Rx centers or to U.S. federal government sites.

Also, please be aware of the fact that unlike a standard Google search results page, the results page for this specialized Google search will not tell you the total number of results at the top of the page (e.g. “Results 1-XX of YYYY for your search phrase.”). Ten results are shown per page. Scroll to the bottom of the results page to advance to subsequent results pages and to get a feel for the total amount of information your search retrieved.

Take it for a test drive and let us know what you think. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for sites to add to the search, contact GLRPPR Help Desk Librarian Laura Barnes at lbarnes@wmrc.uiuc.edu.

Applications Being Accepted for Illinois Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards

Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich has announced that applications are now available for the 2007 Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards. The Waste Management and Research Center (WMRC) – a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)- is now accepting applications for the annual awards program that honors companies and organizations for their efforts to prevention pollution.

“Organizations that lead the way in finding and using new methods to reduce waste and protect the environment contribute to a healthier Illinois,” said Gov. Blagojevich. “Anyone who makes an ongoing commitment to prevent pollution that, in the long run, will make their employees and our communities healthier is encouraged to apply.”

“It gives me great pleasure, year after year to see new companies and organizations recognized for their pollution prevention efforts. Our land benefits, our people benefit and these companies benefit for showing their leadership in environmental protection,” said Acting IDNR Director Sam Flood.

Since 1987, the WMRC has presented the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards to companies and organizations in Illinois that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through the practice of pollution prevention. Any Illinois public or private organization is eligible to apply for an award. Continuous Improvement Awards are awarded to companies that have shown an ongoing commitment to pollution prevention.

Information about the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards and an application are available online at: www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/gp2a/. Or contact Bob Iverson, Information Services Manager, to receive an application in the mail. Telephone: 217-333-8946. E-mail: biverson@wmrc.uiuc.edu.

The application due date is May 21, 2007. Technical experts from WMRC will review applications and site visits may be performed. The Governor’s office makes the final award decisions. Winners will be announced at the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Awards banquet on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at the Abbington in Glen Ellyn.

Thanks to Bob Iverson for submitting this information.

IL: Applicants Sought for New Award

The Illinois Waste Management & Research Center (WMRC) is seeking applicants for the new Illinois Sustainable Technology Award. The Sustainable Technology Award recognizes a novel technology that leads to significant waste reduction or elimination. Applicants must illustrate how innovative the new technology is, discuss the long-term beneficial impact of the technology on the environment in Illinois, and show how it has been implemented.

This award comes with a scholarship, provided by external sources, which goes to an Illinois resident attending a college or university. The Sustainable Technology Award is an expansion of the Innovate Illinois Award formerly presented by WMRC.

Information about the Illinois Sustainability Technology Award is available on the WMRC web site: http://www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/gp2a/. The application due date is May 21, 2007. Technical experts from WMRC will review applications and site visits may be performed. The winner will be announced in October.

WMRC is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Its headquarters is on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Center also has offices in Oak Brook, Peoria and Brighton.

Thanks to Bob Iverson for submitting this information.

RSS Feeds Available for GLRPPR Sector Resources

GLRPPR is pleased to announce that RSS feeds are now available for all of the GLRPPR Sector Resources. This means that you can now subscribe to the sector and subject categories that interest you and receive updates in your news aggregator (e.g. Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.) when something new is added to those categories. Many of you already use the GLRPPR News RSS feed, but if you’re new to the concept and need more explanation, check out P2RIC’s RSS Frequently Asked Questions page. The Sector Resource RSS feeds will allow you to keep up with the latest information added to the GLRPPR web site related to your subjects of interest –without having to visit the GLRPPR site, search through the Sector Resources and try to figure out what has been added since you last checked. The “new additions” you’ll be monitoring will include resources, upcoming events, funding opportunities and archived Help Desk questions and answers related to a sector or subject.

To subscribe to Sector Resource RSS feeds, visit the Sector Resources section of the GLRPPR site. Browse through the list of categories, and click on those of interest to you. Within each Sector Resource, you’ll see a small orange box (like this: ) next to the title of the Sector Resource. If you want to subscribe to the RSS feed for that Sector Resource, just click on that orange icon. If you’re using Internet Explorer as your web browser, you’ll see a page showing the code for the RSS feed. Use the URL for that page to subscribe to the feed with your news aggregator of choice. If you’re using FireFox as your web browser, you’ll go to a page that allows you to select the news aggregator you want to subscribe with. Once that choice is made, click on the “subscribe now” button and then follow the regular procedure for adding a new feed to your aggregator. For an example, see the Mercury Sector Resource and look for the orange icon at the top of the page, next to the title. The updates you’ll get in your news aggregator will include the title of the new item and an indication of what the item is (e.g. “Resource,” “Training,” “Funding Opportunity,” etc.), as well as the description of that item as it appears on the GLRPPR web site. Click on the link to the item to go to that item.

This is a new service, so we anticipate that there may be bugs to work out in the beginning; if you want to report a technical problem related to the new feeds, email Tyler Rubach, GLRPPR Webmaster.

NWF Documents on EPP, Mercury Thermostat Recycling, & Mercury Switches in Vehicles

Thanks to Michael Murray, Ph.D., National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Staff Scientist for the Great Lakes Natural Resource Center, for providing three new NWF documents for access on the GLRPPR web site:

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing in the Great Lakes Region: A Survey of State, Municipal and Institutional Programs assesses EPP programs in the eight Great Lakes states, eight municipalities and three universities, with an emphasis on policies addressing PBT chemicals. Researched and written by Cameron S. Lory and Amy E. Scott-Runnels of INFORM, Inc., and Michael W. Murray, Ph.D. of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Recycling Mercury Thermostats in Ohio outlines the problem of mercury in the environment, and provides information on mercury in thermostats and alternatives and recycling mercury containing thermostats in Ohio. It also includes a comparison of collection of mercury containing thermostats via the Thermostat Recycling Corporation voluntary program for both the U.S. as a whole and Ohio.

Putting the Brakes on Quicksilver: Removing Mercury From Vehicles in Ohio addresses the removal of mercury switches from automobiles in Ohio. This report was written by Michael W. Murray, Ph.D. with research assistance by Knoll Larkin and Liz Szaluta of the University of Michigan.

Apply for a Free Energy Savings Assessment by 3/16/07

There’s still a few days left to apply for a FREE Energy Savings Assessment (ESA) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Applications are being accepted until March 16, 2007 at 5 p.m. Eastern time. According to the online application information: “DOE will make initial selections of applications for ESAs in late November. Additional selections will be announced periodically until the target of 250 assessments is reached for the calendar year 2007.”

Through the Save Energy Now program, DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program is sending energy experts to energy-intensive manufacturing facilities to conduct free Energy Savings Assessments (ESAs). “The purpose of the assessments is to identify immediate opportunities to save energy and money, primarily by focusing on energy intensive systems including process heating, steam, pumps, fans and compressed air.” Check out the Save Energy Now fact sheet for more information.

Visit the Save Energy Now web site to read FAQs about the program, view results summaries from past ESAs, read case studies, find contact information for ESA energy experts, and access tip sheets, technical fact sheets, software and other best practice information.

Grants Available for P2 Projects at Michigan Public Parks

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced the availability of applications for the 2007 Community Pollution Prevention (P2) Grants Program. The goal of this program is to institute P2 practices and waste reductions at public parks, and offer visitors a unique opportunity to learn about P2 and environmentally sustainable practices while observing day-to-day operations at those parks. A total of $250,000 in grant funds are available and applications are due April 30, 2007. Examples of eligible activities include: development of a park-wide P2 program; recycling projects; implementation of education outreach programs to train park staff and visitors about P2; the disposal of solid and hazardous waste, pesticides, and fertilizers located on park property; replacement of hazardous cleaning products through the purchase of environmentally friendly products; the purchase and installation of water saving fixtures and landscaping; the purchase of energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling, and maintenance equipment; and green demolition and construction projects.

Be sure to check the GLRPPR Funding Opportunities page regularly for additional notices of grants available throughout the region. Relevant funding opportunities also appear in corresponding Sector/Subject Resources on the GLRPPR web site.