the ReNews Earth Day Edition, Spring 2009
Some interesting stories about Urban Impact's growth and our commitment to the environment.
- URBAN RECYCLING
- Myths and Truths About Plastic Recycling
- Zero Waste Planning
- URBAN SHREDDING
- Shredathon in Port Coquitlam
- Shredathons at Urban Shredding Headquarters
- URBAN SOLUTIONS
- Tonnes of Diversions
- Earth Day Initiative
- I'm Fine, You're Fine: Artists Respond to Climate Change
URBAN RECYCLING
MYTHS AND TRUTHS ABOUT PLASTIC RECYCLING
Plastic is made from petroleum and plastics are recyclable, right? The answer is yes, but it's complicated because there are so many different types of plastics that have different recycling requirements.
In most cases, plastics are packaging for a consumables: some hold drinks, others package cleaners and detergents, and some plastics secure higher value smaller items (like computer parts). In our competitive world, manufacturers of products are looking at differentiating themselves on the shelf and the packaging is a great way to show how different your product is. This desire to stand out creates many different types of blended packaging. Sadly, blended packaging (paper stuck to plastic) makes it even harder to recycle and it often results in packaging that is excess of what is needed to protect or package the product it holds. Standardizing plastics and other packaging materials requires buy in from packaging manufacturers, which is complicated in a global economy where we receive goods from all of the globe.
As you probably already know, most plastics have a recycling loop printed somewhere on the bottle or packaging. There's a number in the middle of the mobius that tells you what type of plastic it is made of. When a manufacturer stamps the container with this number and loop, it is essentially guaranteeing the quality of the container, which for the recycling process is very important. When plastic is sent for reprocessing, the recycler must be able to determine what it is made of.
Back to plastics recycling. In order to ensure that any raw material (plastic, paper or metal) can get recycled, four market conditions must be met: consistent and relatively large supply of the material, materials have to be clean and contaminant free, cost effective transportation solution to getting product to market, viable product created from the raw material.
When economic conditions are buoyant and raw materials are in demand, it is easy to find a reprocessor for the higher grade plastic types (1, 2 and 5) who may likely take the lower grade plastics (3,6 and 7) as well. At Urban Impact, our tactic (which is not unique in the market place) is that the purchaser has to take some of the lower grade product if they want the higher quality (more lucrative) plastic grades. However when market conditions are less buoyant, like now, our ability to find a 'home' for the lower grade plastics, even with the carrot of the higher quality product, proves to be a challenge. In economic tough times, we have to rely on long term relationships with suppliers to keep this material moving and getting recycled.
Higher grade plastics such as milk jugs, clear plastic bottles and yogurt containers are very recyclable and finding a market for these products is easy. As an informed consumer, I do look at the packaging I buy. If an item is packaged using less packaging and recyclable plastic packaging, I will buy that product. I try and make every effort not to purchase items in the lesser quality plastic containers. I hope that my purchasing decisions at some point will send a message to those manufacturer making product and packaging it in a unsustainable way.
What happens to those lower quality plastics? Sadly most of the lower grade plastics will be landfilled or burnt. It seems like such a waste of a valuable resource. I think the answer is to reduce the packaging we need and reduce the types of plastic produced in the market place. In meantime, Urban Impact encourages you to select plastic products that can be easily recycled!
ZERO WASTE PLANNING
Be sure to keep up on the lower mainland’s increasing recycling regulations and zero waste planning! Metro Vancouver is asking for the public’s help in deciding our regions future with regards to planning for Zero Waste solutions and more. Visit
http://www.metrovancouver.org/REGION/PUBLICCONSULTATIONS/Pages/default.aspx
URBAN SHREDDING
SHREDATHON IN PORT COQUITLAM
Urban Shredding invites you to bring your shredables down to our first in a series of 2009 community Shredathon Days. We encourage you to drop off your boxes of files and paperwork for secure, confidential, on-site shredding right before your eyes! RCMP will be on site to answer any questions you have regarding identity theft and fraud prevention.
VanCity
2850 Shaughnessy St, Port Coquitlam
10am-2pm, Saturday, May 30th
Up to four boxes per person
SHREDATHONS AT URBAN SHREDDING HEADQUARTERS
Urban Shredding offers you an opportunity to drop of your shredding materials to our headquarters each month.
2pm-4pm, May 6th, 2009
2pm-4pm, June 3rd, 2009
2pm-4pm, July 8th, 2009
Urban Shredding Headquarters: 15360 Knox Way in North Richmond, just east of 6 Road and River (click here for map)
Quantities: $25.00 minimum charge for up to 100lbs (equates to approximately 10 full file boxes).
$0.25 per each additional lb thereafter
URBAN SOLUTIONS
TONNES OF DIVERSIONS
We mailed out our 2008 Diversion Certificates to all customers at the end of January 2009. Each customer was provided with a Certificate itemizing the amount of waste diverted from landfill in 2008 and the approximate carbon savings related to their recycling efforts. In total, Urban Impact’s 4500 customers locations diverted more than 50,000 Metric Tonnes from landfills in 2008. Congratulations!
In celebration of Earth Day, every year Urban Impact schedules a tree planting day as part of our carbon neutral program. This year our annual tree planting events is scheduled for April 24, 2009 where Urban Impact staff will be planting trees and shrubs along our warehouse fenceline that borders farmers fields in Richmond. The idea is to create a natural habitat for birds and other wildlife. Moreover, a post and barn for our resident owl is going to be put into place along with a tall post for hawks and other birds. Although it is not our largest carbon neutral effort, it is going to be a beautification of our warehouse space and hopefully will enjoyed by the resident wildlife.
I'M FINE, YOU'RE FINE: ARTISTS RESPOND TO CLIMATE CHANGE
April 22nd – 26th, 2009
Opening Reception Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2009 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm
2231 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC
Curators Zoe Pawlak and Merete Kristiansen would like to invite you to I’m Fine, You’re Fine: 14 Artists Respond to Climate Change, a whirlwind weekend exhibition featuring multi-disciplinary art works examining the effects of climate change on our planet. I’m Fine, You’re Fine considers the contradictions in our ambivalence and apathy towards global warming and our encouraging attempts to rectify a growing number of environmental issues.
Reusable bags, bicycles and travel mugs inundate Vancouver’s streets, yet our awareness has yet to demand massive action. Canada falls short in its commitment to environmental change as pesticides poison our food, toxic waste leaches into our land and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. I’m Fine, You’re Fine asks the tough questions about our world of plenty.
Join in for a weekend of discussion, critical thinking and dynamic entertainment, starting with a smashing party on Earth Day as well as artist talks at 2 pm Saturday, April 25. The interplay of these 14 artists’ work poses the clearest question of all: Will we really be fine?
For more information: www.ontheriseac.ca