Of course, the best is to bring your own cup to the coffee shop, but, in fact, scores of people still use paper cups at coffee shops around the country. Now Starbucks has proved that used paper cups can be recycled into new paper cups.

The cup-to-cup pilot was conceived earlier this year at Starbucks’ second cup summit, which was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The two-day symposium convened government officials, raw material suppliers, cup manufacturers, retail and beverage businesses, recyclers, conservation groups, and academic experts to develop a plan for improving local recycling systems.

While some communities already recycle Starbucks paper cups, most do not have the infrastructure in place to handle collection, hauling, and processing due to a lack of demand for cup material by the recycling industry. To date, Mississippi River is the only pulp mill in the U.S. that has successfully recycled used cups into fiber suitable for producing new cups.

“What’s really exciting about the cup-to-cup concept is that it has the potential to benefit not only Starbucks, but the entire foodservice industry,” said Greg Wanta, vice president of International Paper Foodservice, the largest manufacturer of Starbucks paper cups. “If we can continue to prove the value of used cup material generated by Starbucks and other retailers, we can help increase recycling rates in communities across the country.”

“We’re looking forward to working with Starbucks, International Paper, and other stakeholders to take the pilot project to the next level,” said Rob Garland, chief executive officer at Mississippi River. “Based on what we’ve seen so far, we think this is a very promising path.”

Starbucks currently has another recycling pilot project underway in New York. The company is collecting paper cups at 86 of its Manhattan stores to determine whether they can be recycled into bath tissue and paper towels. In early 2011, Starbucks plans to launch a new recycling pilot in Chicago, aiming to transform the company’s discarded paper cups into napkins for use in its stores. Over the past year, Starbucks has introduced front-of-store cup collection in Toronto and Seattle, where its cups can be recycled, and in San Francisco, where its cups can be composted.

To learn more about cup-to-cup recycling, visit ipfoodservice.com. For information about Starbucks recent recycling initiatives, visit starbucks.com/responsibility2009.

Blue is the favorite color for recycle bins, according to this study.

When it comes to choosing the color of new recycling collection containers, sometimes recycling program managers see shades of gray. In a new report ranking 2009’s most popular colors for its Poly-Trux® line of recycling containers, recycling product manufacturer Meese Orbitron Dunne Co., Ashtabula, Ohio, has revealed that Royal Blue tops the list for the second consecutive year, earning approximately 25% of unit sales.

Runners-up light Cadet Blue and Gray each accounted for approximately 15%, while Forest Green accounted for approximately 5% of unit sales. Forest Green’s placement in the top quartile of standard colors for recycling carts outranks its placements for the company’s other product lines, for which the color typically ranks near the bottom.

The popularity of blue may be due to its widespread visual appeal while green’s showing is likely a result of the focus on green issues among recyclers, according to MOD Vice President of Manufacturing and Engineering Mike Dorsey, who analyzes color choice trends. “Psychology studies call blue dependable and superior…but we try not to read too much into this — almost everybody’s favorite color is blue.”

Texas Stadium is ready for its implosion.

Since the Dallas Cowboys ceremoniously turned over the keys to Texas Stadium to the City of Irving in March 2009, preparations for the April 11 implosion have been done in an environmentally “green” fashion.  Reuse and recycling efforts have been the focus of this initiative.  Examples include:

• The Dallas Cowboys moved as much equipment as possible to the new stadium in nearby Arlington – from office furniture to paperwork.
• Some stadium items were auctioned off as memorabilia.  Other items were sold by the city, such as the stadium’s two large video boards and its tens of thousands of seats.
• Remaining items were donated to such organizations as the Salvation Army.

What remains now is steel and concrete, and a full 95 percent of these materials will be recycled.  The steel will be sold as scrap metal. One or two of the trusses on the top of the stadium will be pulled aside for future pieces of art.  The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is crushing the stadium’s cement onsite and using it in the reconstruction of surrounding freeways.

Before the stadium can be imploded on April 11, all of the asbestos must be removed, both on the interior and exterior. Since Texas Stadium was built in 1971, asbestos is present throughout the stadium in the glue used to hold down carpets, mirrors and tile.  It is also present in the sheet rock used to build the stadium and the paint used to texture its block walls.

Currently, and per state and federal laws, crews equipped with goggles, breathing masks and special suits are removing the asbestos in tented areas so that the particles cannot escape.  A filtration system removes the asbestos dust within the tented areas and purifies the air. All materials containing the asbestos are removed and disposed of in plastic bags that are moved to a regulated landfill.  Before the implosion takes place, air samples will be taken to make sure the asbestos has been completely removed.  Recycling efforts will continue following the implosion.

Follow the implosion online.

Public Implosion Viewing
When: 7 a.m. April 11
Where: Red Lot parking area–Approximately 5,000 spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. No RVs or commercial vehicles.
Cost: $25–Proceeds will benefit area charities.
Open flames and pets are prohibited.

In the recycled wood world, there are differences between reclaimed and recovered wood.

This portico kitchen built with reclaimed wood was an FSC winner.

Reclaimed wood was cut 100 to 300 years ago or more from trees bigger and older than anything being harvested today. It comes from old barns, gristmills, or factories and has been salvaged for new construction. The surface can have a dark patina over an eighth of an inch thick with nail holes, cracks and checks. But these are character marks, and the tighter grain of this old-growth wood makes it ideal for flooring, trim, countertops or cabinets. Often, reclaimed flooring is made from structural beams that have been salvaged and milled.

In the U.S., most reclaimed lumber comes from old buildings, barns, factories and warehouses.  To find wood on your own, search online or in the newspaper for buildings that are going to be or have been dismantled. Old barns, houses, or commercial structures are all candidates for finding wood that can be reclaimed.

If you’re buying reclaimed wood, research the company to make sure their environmental philosophy is sound. Be sure they use an ecologically safe binder and finish.

Recovered wood comes from trees that were cut for construction or that came down during a weather event. Usually it’s found in construction sites, yards, or along roads where dying trees have been cut.

Managed forests and farm lots are also a source of sustainable wood. If you purchase wood from a managed or certified forest, look for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. FSC is an international organization that guarantees wood has been harvested using environmentally and economically sustainable methods.

Eric Lombardi, Executive Director, Eco-Cycle, Inc.

Conference explains zero waste concept, offers tips for successful programs

The average American generates almost 4.5 pounds of trash a day, and almost all of the goods purchased in the United States end up in a landfill in six months. Landfills leak toxins, and taxpayers pay to clean them up and monitor them. So, keeping waste out of landfills makes economic and environmental sense, but how can we eliminate that trash?

That’s the question that is drawing so many people to the zero waste movement, according to Eric Lombardi, the Executive Director of Eco-Cycle, Inc. (www.ecocycle.org) and Board President of the GrassRoots Recycling Network (www.grrn.org). Lombardi spoke about zero waste to representatives from the country’s college campuses at the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit in Boulder, Colorado, on Feb. 23. [Read more about the RM Sustainability Summit on the Green Magazine blog]

Jack DeBell, director of the University of Colorado recycling program since 1985, shared tips on creating a successful zero waste program.

Zero waste is not about getting to zero

It’s about being on the path to zero, much like industry campaigns for zero accidents or zero defects, explains Lombardi.

The zero waste movement sprang from the success of recycling and the need to do more. Modern recycling hasn’t been around very long—most people credit the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, with the birth of recycling. Today’s zero waste movement re-defines the goals of recycling. It aims to not just recycle or manage waste, but to eliminate it.

College campuses are jumping on the zero waste bandwagon, not only with recycling and educational programs, but also with their purchasing policies. Businesses as diverse as Xerox, Fetzer Wine and BMW have found that zero waste makes business sense.

Lombardi says zero waste includes re-designing products and packaging, ending taxpayer subsidies for a ‘wasting economy,’ and shifting those subsidies from the extraction industry to zero waste. The key, he says, is shifting the waste problem to a resource opportunity. The zero waste movement looks at a pile of ‘trash’ and sees jobs, financial opportunity, and raw material for new products.

Lombardi advocates four actions to get on the road to zero waste: investing in resource recovery infrastructure; making it possible for ‘the clean’ to make the profits; requiring local producer responsibility for creating more efficient, less toxic products; and using the power of zero waste purchasing.

A small company dedicates itself to zero waste

Even small companies can find profits in zero waste. Boulder Ice Cream says it is dedicated to the concept. The company is part of Boulder-based Eco-Cycle’s Zero Waste program, where the goal is that 90% of all solid waste is diverted from landfills. Boulder Ice Cream currently diverts 70% through recycling, reuse and composting.

It separates all plant and office waste into various categories for recycling–paper, co-mingled glass, metal and plastic–and for composting. When sampling product at festivals, BIC uses fully compostable, corn-based serving cups and spoons.

BIC works with its local distributors, delivery drivers and retailers to re-use and recycle its packaging, including the return and re-use of cardboard boxes that hold the cartons and reusable plastic tubs used for scoop shops and in food service.

Infrastructure necessities

• Consumer containers
• Transportation (try using the same trucks for trash as for recycling)
• Drop-offs
• Reusable Office Supply Exchange (ROSES)
• IPFs/MRFs to centralize materials*
• Composting
• Surplus/Reuse/Upcycling facilities (e.g., make minor repairs to furniture, melt vinyl records into bowls, fix-up and re-use old bicycles)
• Construction and Destruction yards
• Environmental Health & Safety

DeBell’s three essentials for successful recycling containers

1. Put them next to trash containers
2. Use vertical facing signage so people know what to do before they get to the containers
3. Use restricted-opening lids

*INTERMEDIATE PROCESSING FACILITY (IPF) separates, cleans and bails or packages materials for sale to manufacturers or brokers.

*MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY (MRF ) sorts and processes collected mixed recyclables into individual streams for market. Also known as an intermediate processing facility.

To see a list of zero waste communities around the globe visit www.zwia.org/zwc.html

Read more about zero waste at:

www.ecocycle.org/zero/index.cfm

www.nrc-recycle.org

www.epa.gov/wastewise

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education at www.aashe.org

www.uoregon.edu/~recycle/main.htm

www.recyclemaniacs.org