Being Green in 2013: Holiday Edition

DIY Recycled Holiday Decorations

Cardboard Tube Snowflake

Materials:

Cardboard tube

Scissors

Tape, Elmer’s glue, or hot glue gun

White acrylic paint

Paintbrush

Glitter

String




Directions:

1) Flatten cardboard tube

2) Cut into pieces about ¼ inch wide

3) Arrange 5 or 6 petal-shaped cardboard pieces with points touching in the center, forming a flower or star shape

4) Add additional cardboard pieces for a more complicated snowflake

5) Tape or glue cardboard pieces together where they touch. Make sure to keep it symmetrical like a snowflake!

6) Paint with white acrylic paint and sprinkle glitter while paint is still wet. Let dry.

7) Tie a string around one of the cardboard loops and hang as decoration around the house!

Alternative snowflake design: 

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Cardboard Tube Wreath

Materials:

Cardboard tube (1 paper towel roll or 3 toilet paper rolls)

Scissors

Elmer’s glue or hot glue gun

Green acrylic paint

Paintbrush

Glitter

Directions:

1)  Flatten cardboard tubes

2) Cut into pieces about ¼ inch wide for a total of 38 pieces

3) Glue the point of one petal-shaped cardboard piece ½ or 1/3 of the way up the side of another. Repeat so that all petals are paired. There should be 19 pairs.

4) Arrange in a circle—you may have to add or subtract pieces to form a full circle, depending on the size of your cardboard tube(s)

5)  Paint each pair of cardboard pieces with green acrylic paint (this will be easier than painting the final product!). Let dry.

6) Arrange back into the circular shape. Glue pieces together wherever they touch

Optional: Reapply clear-drying glue around the edges and generously sprinkle glitter
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Recycled Gift Wrap

Get creative with you gift wrap this year-- it's free, fun, and can still be festive! Check out these examples for inspiration:

 

Newspaper + Magazine bow

Paper grocery bag

Bandana or extra pieces of fabric

Old road maps

Lightly-used foil

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Happy Holidays from the U-M Waste Reduction and Recycling Office!

Tracy, Rufus, Eva and Alison

Being Green in 2013: Thanksgiving Edition

Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

You might still be trying to get all the cooking done for Thursday, but here at U-M Recycling we're already thinking about leftovers! After all, the next best thing to Thanksgiving dinner is the days of Thanksgiving leftovers that follow. The best way to show how thankful you are for all the food on your Thanksgiving table is to make sure none of it goes to waste! So here are some great recipes that will let you savor every last bite of Thanksgiving:

Next-Day Turkey Soup
8 cups chicken broth
1 turkey carcass, all meat removed
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 onions
2 bay leaves
3 cups dark turkey meat
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups leftover cooked Thanksgiving vegetables (brussel spouts, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

For full directions: http://bit.ly/8B2v72

Stuffing-Stuffed Mushrooms
1 cup leftover stuffing
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 minced garlic clove
24 button mushoom caps

Mix leftover stuffing with parmesan, olive oil, parsley, and garlic. Stuff into mushroom caps. Top with parmesan and olive oil. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees.

http://bit.ly/Ifh8wE

Cranberry Tartlets
12 (2 3/4-inch) squares of dough
6 tablespoons cranberry sauce
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Sanding sugar

Arrange squares of dough in a mini-muffin pan. Top each square with 1 1/2 teaspoons cranberry sauce. Fold in edges. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Beat together egg yolk and cream. Brush tartlets with egg wash. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 400 degrees 30-35 minutes (until golden).

http://martha.ms/1cIGCMn

For many more Thanksgiving leftovers recipes, go to:
http://bit.ly/4IiCA
http://bit.ly/u9IQkv
http://bit.ly/hUSiIZ

Happy Turkey Day! We're thankful for our readers of the MRecycle blog!

Being Green in 2013: Week 16

Reduce, Reuse,... Reprocess
How the health care industry is becoming less disposable and more sustainable

According to environmentalists, our "culture of disposability" will not be environmentally and economically feasible for long, and we will soon transition away from single-use items. If necessity arises, humans could reasonably transition from Kleenex back to handkerchiefs and give up Solo cups and plasticware. But what those products for which the benefits of disposability extend beyond convenience? In the medical arena, disposable items such as syringes, gloves, masks and bandages provide the hygiene, sterility, and safety that define our modern medical system. So what can hospitals do to be less disposable and more sustainable?

Recycling and reprocessing of surgical instruments is a growing area in engineering and product development. Reprocessing generally entails cleaning, disinfecting, and/or sterilizing reusable devices. Medical device recycling has been ranked 6th out of the Top 10 Fastest Growing Industries 2012-2017. According to an article from Clemson University:

[T]here's a new push for controlling the amount and type of waste hospitals generate, as it costs a lot of money to control biohazardous waste. Not only are hospitals interested in controlling this cost, but companies are also interested in a more sustainable model. As a result, some instruments are now being reprocessed so that they can be safely reused for different surgeries. Additionally, insurance companies are no longer funding certain medical devices for individual patients, so work toward making such devices reusable is also being done.

Cost-effectiveness is a key incentive for the recycling of medical devices. Stryker Sustainable Solutions Inc., a leader in medical device reprocessing and remanufacturing, asserts that even if only 1 to 2 percent of all single-use devices were reprocessed, the healthcare industry could save up to $2 billion. Universities have been showing increasing interest in the reprocessing sector and in 2012, Clemson University established the first Medical Device Recycling and Reprocessing Certificate Program for engineers entering the medical device industry. Beyond reprocessing, some companies are creating alternatives to conventional wasteful medical devices. A Netherlands-based technology group has recently come out with the Bioneedle, a waste-free alternative to syringes for vaccine delivery.


The healthcare sector is taking other measures to reduce its environmental impact as well. According to an article on Grist.org, hospitals across the country are finally working to cure their "environmental ills". Spectrum Health's Butterworth Campus in Grand Rapids, MI is working to become mercury-free. The Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY has established a comprehensive waste-reduction program and has built a distillery to reclaim its chemical waste. And the Gunderson Health System in LaCrosse, WI has invested $30 million in becoming energy self-sufficient by 2014. 

A non-profit organization called Health Care Without Harm partners with hospitals to "implement ecologically sound and healthy alternatives to health care practices that pollute the environment and contribute to disease." The organization seeks to transform the health care industry worldwide. Their goals include: to create markets and policies for safer products; eliminate incineration of medical waste; transform the design and construction of health care facilities; encourage sustainably-sourced food production at health care facilities; promote human rights and environmental justice; and address climate change by improving energy practices.

The University of Michigan Health System leads the health care industry in environmental stewardship. In September 2013, U-M Hospitals and Health Centers (UMHHC) was recognized by "Becker's Hospital Review" as one of the 50 greenest hospitals in America. UMHHC has also received Practice Greenhealth's Environmental Leadership Circle Award-- the organization's most prestigious award-- five years in a row (2007-2011). UMHHC has an Environmental Stewardship Committee with subcommittees focusing on building design, energy conservation, waste management and recycling, environmentally preferred purchasing, cleaning and chemicals, and food programs.


U-M Hospitals and Health Centers provides all new buildings, additions and construction projects with a budget of $10 million or more to meet or exceed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification level. Building design focuses on energy saving, water efficiency, reduced CO2 emissions, improved indoor air quality, and stewardship of resources. The new LEED certified C.S. Mott Children's and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital have features including the green roof, which reduces heating and cooling costs and water runoff issues, and occupancy sensors to save energy when rooms are not in use. For more information on sustainable building design at UMHHC visit: http://sustainability.umich.edu/envsteward/design.

Since 2005, UMHHC buildings have increased their energy efficiency by over 24%. Energy-saving projects in 2012 included advanced controls to increase efficiency of heating and cooling and reduce heating and cooling of unoccupied areas, occupancy censors and daylight censors, water-saving fixture retrofits in restrooms, airflow balancing, and GreenIT programs to manage computer energy use during inactive periods. Check out this Youtube video onU-M Health System Energy Conservation to learn more.

UMHHC recycled over 25% of its waste in 2010 and decreased its total waste by 106.65 tons from the previous year. The UMHHC participates in a Beverage Container Recycling Program, Battery Recycling Program, Cell Phone Recycling Program and the Recycle Write! program. With health care facilities across the country adopting a new focus on environmental sustainability, and trend-setters like the U-M Hospitals and Health Care Centers to lead the way, we can trust that our health care system has begun to tackle the issue of disposability.

NoThrowber Challenge

Want a chance to reduce your environmental impact and win cool prizes? 

Take the NoThrowber Challenge! 

This October 2013, the U-M Waste Reduction & Recycling Office is hosting the NoThrowber Waste Reduction Challenge to encourage U-M students, faculty, and staff to be mindful of what they throw away. Each day we will post a new challenge to our Facebook page. Participants may respond via “Like” or comment on the daily post. Some challenges will include a free giveaway and the participant who completes the most challenges will receive a Grand Prize. The NoThrowber Challenge is open to all U-M students, faculty, and staff.

Grand Prize: U-M Recycling canvas tote bag filled with goodies that will keep you waste-reducing all the time

Giveaway and Grand Prize winners will be contacted via Facebook to arrange pick-ups.

Please only post relevant comments and pictures. The U-M Waste Reduction & Recycling Office reserves the write to delete any off-topic or inappropriate content.

https://www.facebook.com/UMRecycling

Being Green in 2013: Week 15

The Game Plan

Recycling at the Big House and beyond

According to MGOBLUE.com:

"Our goal is for everyone involved in Michigan Athletics to be an active recycler, including our fans, coaches, student-athletes and staff. Through signage, more containers and education, we are confident we can significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills."

Football season is in full swing and U-M Recycling is working hard to make sure everyone recycles at the Big House. At the August 31^st game against Central Michigan University, fans recycled more than 5 tons of material and over 6.5 tons of recyclables were collected at the September 7th game against Notre Dame! A total of 25% of total waste was recycled at our first home game of the season and 21% at the second. Michigan Athletics has set the goal of at least a 50% recycling rate at all its locations, so Michigan football fans better step up their recycling game!

 

This year, Michigan Stadium is kicking off its first composting program. Back-of-house concessions will start composting food waste, and plans are in the works to improve the overall recycling and waste diversion program at Michigan Stadium. 

Last year, students at the Erb Institute published a feasibility study of Zero-Waste at the Big House. Click here to view a copy of the report.

What are other schools doing?

This year, 12 schools including Central Michigan University and Ohio State University are participating in the 2013 Game Day Recycling Challenge. The Game Day Challenge is a competition held by a partnership between the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), RecycleMania, and Keep America Beautiful (KAB). Colleges and universities track and report waste reduction and disposal data from football games and are then ranked based on this data. Last year, Earlham College ranked 1st in the category of Waste Reduction with 0.029 lbs/person of waste at their football stadium. Franklin College ranked 1st in the per capita Recycling category with 1.000 lbs/person of recyclables. Ohio State came in 1st in the Waste Diversion category, with a 98.2% diversion rate...woah. 

The University of Michigan does not participate in the Game Day Challenge due to Michigan's 10-cent deposit on many bottles and cans.  This deposit brings can collectors to Michigan Stadium each game, preventing the University from gathering data that can be accurately compared with other schools.

The Green Sports Alliance is another organization involved in enhancing sustainability and encouraging waste reduction for collegiate and professional sports organizations.The Alliance holds workshops, industry roundtables, keynotes, panels, and tours, and promotes networking and innovative solutions to help green the sports industry. Over 40 teams and nearly 90 venues now participate in the Green Sports Alliance.

What's next for recycling at Michigan Stadium? The Erb Institute study concludes that with careful planning and management, the Big House can be transformed into a zero-waste facility. Are our Leaders & Best up for the challenge?

Being Green in 2013: Week 14

Rufus is watching.

The U-M Waste Reduction & Recycling Office wants you to know that Rufus is watching… watching to see whether you are recycling, that is! The WRRO’s new “Rufus is Watching” campaign is starting to gain attention on campus, with students asking questions like, “Uhh…who’s Rufus? That’s actually kind of creepy…” on the diag. Rufus, a big blue triangle with sunglasses and a baseball cap, has been U-M recycling’s mascot since 2007, and it’s time every U-M student knows who he is! Known to don a smile and give out high-fives, this year Rufus really means business. Our latest campaign is intended to draw attention and spread the word about recycling on campus. The “Rufus is watching” posters send a message to students to set a good example by choosing to recycling because someone is always watching. Check out our poster and banner on the diag! And don't forget... Rufus is watching.

Being Green in 2013: Week 13

Recycled School Supplies

Start out the semester a green wolverine!

So you stepped on the M and now you're done for... you're going to fail your next Blue Book exam! Well what if we told you you never have to take a Blue Book exam again? Head on over to Ulrich's and buy yourself a Green Book instead! U-M students can also get free Green Books from the Alumni Association. Made with 30 percent post-consumer recycled paper content, Green Books are one example of school supplies made from recycled materials. Maybe, just maybe, the U-M Dept. of Myth Enforcement (or whoever deals with that stuff...) will cut you some slack and pass you for using recycled school supplies!

You can find school supplies made with recycled content at all major school and office supply retailers. Recycled notebooks come in anywhere from 30 to 95 percent post-consumer recycled content, and many are made from 100 percent recycled materials (including both pre- and post-consumer waste). Other products including printer paper, Post-It notes, and even calculators can also be found with recycled content.

There are recycled options for pens and pencils as well. Pilot brand's B2P "Bottle-2-Pen" is the first pen made from recycled plastic bottles and contains 89.9 percent post-consumer plastic. Shepenco is the maker of Newsprencil-- a pencil made from 75 percent recycled newspaper and TreeSmart makes pencils from 100 percent recycled newspaper. Cardboard pens are also a popular options and some brands, including Logomark, are made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material.

Ever wondered what to do with your writing utensils once they run out of ink? Recycle Write!, a program of U-M Recycling and Procurement Services, allows U-M students, faculty, and staff to dispose of pens, pencils, and markers in an environmentally responsible way. Send or bring your recycled instruments to Recycle Write!, Plant Building & Grounds Services, 109 E. Madison, Campus Zip 2993. Click here for more information on the Recycle Write! program.

Responsible waste disposal is extremely important, but is not where recycling ends. Close the loop and keep the cycle going by purchasing recycled content materials! 

Being Green in 2013: Week 12

Power to Recycling!

The importance of battery recycling

Batteries are one of the only everyday consumer products with federal laws controlling their disposal. The EPA designates batteries as a hazardous waste product. Throwing lead batteries in the trash is illegal in 30 U.S. states and many states also have laws surrounding the disposal of cell phone and rechargeable batteries. So what's the big deal about batteries? Why are they any more hazardous than other waste? The answer has to do with heavy metals. 

All batteries contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, zinc, manganese, and lithium which react with electrolytes to generate power. Batteries are not dangerous when we use them because they are well-sealed with plastic, but this plastic degrades after disposal allowing heavy metals to enter the environment. Excessive exposure to heavy metals can damage mental and central nervous function, blood composition, and vital organs such as lungs, kidneys, and liver. When batteries are thrown in the trash and sent to landfills or incinerators, these heavy metals may contaminate the soil or pollute the air and water, posing a threat to human health.

The Corporation for Battery Recycling, funded by Duracell, Energizer, and Panasonic, aims to create a national battery recycling program with an eventual goal of zero waste from batteries. Call2Recycle, a non-profit funded by various battery and electronics manufacturers, was established in 1996 to help consumers recycle rechargeable batteries. The program has since diverted over 70 million pounds of disposable batteries from landfill. The auto industry also promotes battery recycling and according to the EPA, 96 percent of all lead-acid car batteries are recycled. Nearly all car dealerships selling lead-acid batteries also collect used batteries for recycling. The EPA says a typical lead-acid battery contains 60 to 80 percent recycled lead and plastic! 

Here at U of M, batteries are collected through the Hazardous Materials Management Program (HMM) at OSEH and sent off campus to be recycled. All types of batteries are accepted by HMM. The program manages all aspects of battery use at U of M to ensure that the University is in compliance with State and Federal regulations. To request a battery collection bucket, call OSEH at 763-4568. Students in Residence Halls can ask the front desk for the location of their building's collection container. This information and more can also be found on our website: http://www.recycle.umich.edu/grounds/recycle/materials/batteries.php

Being Green in 2013: Week 11

What's in the Water?

Plastic pollution: problem, solution, U-M's response

In honor of Shark Week, let's talk about ocean pollution and the presence of plastics in our waters. You may have heard the claim that there is an island of plastic twice the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean. An enormous gyre of marine debris, also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, indeed exists, but if you're picturing a monumental pile of plastic bottles and beach toys, you're a little off. This area of the Pacific is characterized by having an exceptionally high concentration of suspended plastic particles, or tiny pieces of plastic, in the upper water column. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a source of alarm and has gained a great deal of media attention, but is only one part of a much greater problem. A similar, lesser known area of marine pollution exists in the Atlantic, known as the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch. Plastic particles are also found in lower concentrations throughout all our bodies of water, freshwater and saltwater, from the Pacific to the Great Lakes.


How does it get there?

Dumping of plastic into the sea was banned in 1988, but since the start of plastic production, hundreds of millions of tons of plastic have been poured in the oceans. The majority of plastic in our waters starts out on land and is transported to water by wind, rain, or currents. Some of the plastic comes from larger debris broken down by wind, waves, and UV radiation in a process called photodegradation. The rest starts out small and comes from things like the small plastic pellets used in plastic manufacturing, discharged with stormwater or spilled directly by cargo ships. Plastic microbeads used in abrasive hygiene products such as face wash, body wash, and toothpaste have also become a recent source of plastic pollution, as their small size allows them to go undetected in wastewater treatment plants. According to ABC News, personal care brands including Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and L'Oreal have announced plans to stop manufacturing products containing microbeads as a response to studies indicating pollution and environmental damage.

Why is it bad?

The key issues regarding to aquatic plastic pollution have to do with environmental and human health. Plastic in the ocean threatens marine life through entanglement, ingestion, and ecosystem alteration. Scientists have long been aware that fish, seabirds, and marine mammals have been ingesting large amounts of plastic. Recent research now shows that plastic is ingested at lower levels of the food chain as well, meaning it bioaccumulates in higher trophic levels causing increasing rates of ingestion along the way. Plastic consumption is the proven cause of many marine animal deaths, and affects humans as well. Humans are part of the plastic-polluted food chain. As fish digest plastic, chemicals are released into their bodies that are then ingested by humans. A key human health concern comes from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which have been found in high concentrations in marine plastics. Studies have associated POPs with numerous detrimental health conditions including cancer, diabetes, endocrine disruption, and more. For more information and specific studies on the effects of plastic ingestion on human health, go to: http://www.plasticoceans.net/the-facts/health/. 

How do we fix it?

Since most of the plastic in our oceans and lakes has already broken down into tiny fragments, we have yet to find a practical way to clean it up. The use of filtration nets could remove the plastic but would also remove microscopic plankton vital to aquatic ecosystems. So what can we do? The best we can do is to intercept plastic debris before it breaks down. Coastal cleanup efforts are going on all over the world, including the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) held by the non-profit group Ocean Conservancy. During the 2012 ICC, 10 million lbs of trash were removed by over 500,000 volunteers worldwide! Cleanup efforts help raise awareness and avert some plastic waste from the water, but to truly tackle the issue of plastic pollution we must reconsider our disposable lifestyles. As long as plastic remains such an integral part of our everyday lives, some will make its way to our waters. Reducing our use of plastic is the best way to prevent plastic pollution, and ensuring proper disposal and recycling is the next. Click here to view the EPA's comprehensive guide on What You Can Do to help reduce and prevent marine debris and plastic pollution.

What's U-M doing?
The University of Michigan Water Center is helping to fund the 2013 Great Lakes Restoration Conference, where the issue of plastic pollution has been addressed before. U-M has also begun to aid efforts to reduce plastic use by installing over 100 drinking fountains with water refill stations to encourage the use of reusable water bottles. What's the next step? So far, 16 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada have issued campus-wide bans on the sale of bottled water, helping to reduce the production of plastic waste on campus. Could U-M be the first in the Big Ten to ban bottled water? The Plastic Pollution Coalition also has a Plastic Free Campus campaign, encouraging schools to educate, collaborate, and take action against plastic pollution. The Plastic Pollution Coalition has teamed up with schools including Penn State and UC Santa Barbara, and with plastic pollution in the Great Lakes presenting a growing issue, perhaps it's time for the U-M community to join the team.

Being Green in 2013: Week 10

Music Meets Recycling

What to do with your old instruments and how to make new ones out of trash

We all made our own instruments in preschool, putting beans in tin cans and rubber bands around shoe boxes, but recycled instruments are for big kids too! Making instruments out of recycled parts can be a fun DIY project and a great way to salvage perfectly good, quality materials or old, broken instruments.

Tons of musical instruments end up in landfills each year. Last year, Hunter College High School of New York's upper east side sparked controversy when around 20 cellos and violins were left on the curbside to be picked up with the school's trash. According to DNAinfo New York, passers-by were disgusted by the sight of the discarded instruments, calling the careless act a "disgrace of our public funding" and walking home with cellos stashed in strollers. A representative from the school claimed that instruments with broken soundboards were thrown out because they were beyond repair, but one woman who took three violins from the pile with the intention to have them refurbished and donated pointed out that hundreds of children at schools nearby without music programs and instruments would appreciate those ones.

In another case of careless instrument disposal, last January a man in Texas found a violin in a neighbor's curbside garbage bin and had it appraised on the PBS television show "Antiques Roadshow." Turns out this man found an instrument that, with a simple cleaning procedure, would be worth as much as $50,000!

Fixing, donating, or selling old instruments is always a better option than throwing them in the trash. Here in Ann Arbor, old instruments can be donated to Kiwanis Thrift Shop, Salvation Army, and many of the other second-hand stores listed in the Mrecycle Blog's "Being Green in 2013: Week 8" post. Music Go Round, a used musical instrument dealer in Ann Arbor, also buys, sells, and trades used instruments.

Homemade musical instruments from recycled parts are another way to combine your passions for music and recycling. Cigar box guitars, for example, have become a phenomenon in recent years, with online forums, plans, and how-to guides for making the instruments. Innovative guitar makers also make guitars from old and broken skateboards. Buzzfeed and Earth911 have both published articles featuring various DIY musical instrument projects. 

A documentary titled Landfill Harmonic, scheduled for release in January 2014, tells the story of a Paraguayan slum built on top of a landfill where local musician Favio Chavez started a music school in which students play instruments made entirely out of recycled materials found in their trash dump. The youth orchestra calls themselves the "Recycled Orchestra." The movie's webpage says, "Landfill Harmonic is a beautiful story about the transformative power of music, which also highlights two vital issues of our times: poverty and waste pollution." Click here to view the documentary trailer.

Do recycled instruments have a place at U-M? With over 1200 student groups at U-M, it might surprise you that we don't already have our own "recycled orchestra." U-M School of Music student Annick Odom gave her input on the topic of instruments from recycled materials. Spoken like a true musician, Annick says:

I think learning to be more open about what makes a violin a violin or a clarinet a clarinet would lead to so many more opportunities for the love of music to be more accessible to the masses. It would be really interesting to have a course at U-M that lets you create an instrument. We do have a wonderful creative arts orchestra and an improvisational forms course which have opened my eyes to the possibilities of music as well as the current boundaries of the classical music world.

A U-M course on creating your own instrument would be a fantastic way to incorporate the musical and visual arts into the triple R (Reduce Reuse Recycle) cycle. Do I sense a collaboration between the U-M School of Music and the U-M School of Art and Design coming on???