This is the place for those who want to walk the talk on green living. Interested in the latest news on curbside recycling? Have a suggestion or idea about how to make Anchorage a greener community? Look no further than this recycling blog. Anchorage is moving fast to become a leader in protecting our environment, reducing climate change impacts, and hopefully saving money in the process. Join longtime Alaskans Nick Moe and Kevin Harun in sharing your latest thoughts on recycling and sustainability. You can reach them by email at recycleblog@adn.com.
BLOGGER
I am the recycling coordinator at the Municipality of Anchorage's Solid Waste Services. I also am program director at Green Star. My masters degree is in natural resources and behavior from the University of Michigan and I have worked in recycling around the country for 18 years.
BLOGGER
As executive director of ALPAR (Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling, I work on litter and recycle issues statewide. ALPAR is supported primarily through the business community. I have a marketing degree from Missouri State University.
Got used cooking oil? If you are a restaurant or large generator of used cooking oil, Alaska Mill and Feed will pick up your cooking oil and recycle it. For more information call 279-4519, press "option 3".
AHFC Research Information Center
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation provides a public and web accessible library on sustainability, sustainable development, energy efficiency, and green building.
Provides recycling and management services for computers, electronics, refrigeration equipment, lighting and appliances.
Founded in 2005 to give voice to the pervasive consequences of global warming in Alaska while pursuing solutions.
Where in the city to recycle electronics, dispose of waste oil or automobile batteries.
ALPAR is a privately funded, non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating litter and increasing economically-viable recycling in Alaska. ALPAR programs and services are made possible by the generous support of our member companies and other dedicated businesses and organizations throughout Alaska.
This is the largest metal recycling facility in the state, paying for ferrous and non-ferrous metal
Green Star is a non-profit organization that encourages businesses to practice waste reduction, energy conservation and pollution prevention.
GET ANSWERS
Wondering how and where to recycle your refrigerator, cell phone, computer, batteries? Ask here.
Buy Nothing Day - 11/25/2008 1:16 pm
Plastic Bags?? - 11/18/2008 11:52 am
Anchorage Celebrates America Recycles Day Nov. 15th - 11/11/2008 8:45 am
Curbside Recycling -- How is it working for you? - 10/28/2008 12:30 pm
Another chance to recycle trees and branches - 10/10/2008 4:15 pm
Tired of Mail Order Catalogs and other Unwanted Mail? - 9/30/2008 2:12 pm
MOA Solid Waste Services Rolls Out New Services Next Week - 9/25/2008 6:25 pm
Biodiesel Trash Trucks are Coming! - 9/18/2008 3:32 pm
Construction and Demolition Recycling Option - 9/9/2008 3:18 pm
Northway Mall Glass Bin Closed - 9/5/2008 4:46 pm
Calling All Youth! - 9/2/2008 5:01 pm
What's NEW with RECYCLING? - 8/27/2008 6:56 pm
Rainy Day Special! - 8/14/2008 7:47 pm
ACS Yellow Pages Recycling Event - 7/22/2008 1:50 pm
Can-Do Kids Earn Money and Win Prizes, too. - 7/16/2008 3:15 pm
Have You Seen the Downtown Street Vendor Recycling Bins? - 7/10/2008 2:06 pm
Which is Better? (water bottle and cup) - 7/1/2008 10:30 am
Backyard Composting is Easy!! - 6/19/2008 3:13 pm
Junk to Funk Eco-Art Community Workshop Series - 6/12/2008 12:04 pm
Curbside Recycling Expanded! - 6/10/2008 12:36 pm
Recycling is compatible with gardening - 6/6/2008 2:16 pm
Help Celebrate 10 Years of Youth Environmental Leadership - 6/3/2008 10:46 am
NOVEMBER 25, 2008 - 1:16 PM
The day after Thanksgiving is Buy Nothing Day. This unofficial "holiday" began in Vancouver, Canada, in 1992 and has since spread to the U.S., U.K., Germany, Isreal, and other countries around the world. Although it falls on different days in different countries -- England will celebrate on Saturday, November 29 -- the idea is the same. The day is about protesting consumerism by not participating in consumerism.
Stategically scheduled in the U.S. on the biggest shopping day of the year, it may be a futile effort but part of the goal of Buy Nothing Day is to raise awareness about our wasteful, overconsuming habits. In a year when our economy is suffering, some may claim that buying during this holiday season is our way out of the slump and buying nothing will add to our economic woes. Others believe our tough economy is a sign that we should all tighten our belts and save our money.
What do you think? Is spending wasteful? Or is it just a matter of being more selective about what we are buying? What are your waste prevention plans for the holidays?
NOVEMBER 18, 2008 - 11:52 AM
If you've been to the Anchorage Recycling Center recently, you may have noticed that the bin for plastic bags is no longer there. In its place is a sign indicating that plastic bag recycling has been temporarily suspended. So why is it gone and what are we supposed to do with our bags?
Well, markets for recyclable materials, like amany commodity markets, have suffered a steep downturn both in the U.S. and internationally. When manufacturing slows, the need for raw materials slows as well. For plastic bags and film, the market has all but disappeared, causing the recycling center to stop accepting bags temporarily. Plastic bags and film typically are used by plastic lumber manufacturers. These manufacturers have stopped buying material until they use up the inventory they have and the construction market recovers.
So what do we do until then? Here are a few suggestions until the recycling bin comes back.
1) consider switching to reusable bags for grocery shopping
2) reuse your bags around the house for trash bags, dog poop bags and other second uses
3) drop off grocery bags in the recycling bins in the entryway of Carrs, Fred Meyer, and Wal-Mart stores -- these bins are for grocery bags only
4) for other types of plastic film, either hold onto them until the bin comes back or dispose of them responsibly with your trash
DO NOT leave them at the recycling center if there is no bin! This costs the recycling center a lot of money to dispose of all this material.
NOVEMBER 11, 2008 - 8:45 AM
Anchorage is getting ready to celebrate America Recycles Day on Saturday, November 15th. Come join the festivities!
• Celebration and Recycling Information at Dimond Center: Learn more about Anchorage’s new recycling options and enter to win one of four $100 shopping sprees at Dimond Center. Sponsored by Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling, Dimond Center and Anchorage Media Group. On hand will be Muni Solid Waste Services and Alaska Waste to showcase their new curbside recycling programs.
• Free Residential Electronics Recycling for a donation to Bean’s Café: TOTAL RECLAIM, Alaska’s electronics recycler, is holding a special event on America Recycles Day to benefit Bean’s Cafe at their location at 12101 Industry Way in the Huffman Business Park from 10 am to 4 pm. Bring food items to donate (Nov. 15 only) and get your electronics recycled for free! (Residential only.) Items needed: Big cans of food, toilet paper, paper towels, coffee, feminine products, personal hygiene products.
OCTOBER 28, 2008 - 12:30 PM
SWS roll cartsIf you recently received curbside recycling service along with the new automated trash collection through SWS, tell us how you like it! Leave a comment here at the blog or write a letter to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News. We all know that change is difficult but as you get used to the differences, are you seeing benefits? Is recycling easier? Have you found a place to store your carts? Share your tips with others who may be trying to figure out the details of the new program.
OCTOBER 10, 2008 - 4:15 PM
After an earlier than usual snowfall and high winds throughout the Anchorage bowl, Mayor Mark Begich today announced an emergency temporary opening of wood lots to address the excess of fallen trees and branches in Anchorage and Eagle River neighborhoods.
The Anchorage Wood Lot is located at C Street and 100th Avenue and will open Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with daily operations from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and remain open through Sunday, October 19. The lot will then close for the remainder of the winter. The charge is $8 per pickup load or $6 per yard.
The Eagle River Lot at the Anchorage Regional Landfill will open Saturday morning at 8 a.m. It is closed on Sunday, but will open again on Monday, October 13 at 8 a.m. It will remain open daily from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. until October 18 and is free to the public. Guidelines for disposal are same as those in place for the wood lot this summer.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 - 2:12 PM
The quantity of unwanted mail sent each year in the U.S. is about four million tons – nearly half of this is never even opened or read. Recycling is one way to manage the deluge but try one of these web resources to make the unwanted mail stop coming altogether. According to the Consumer Research Institute, a few minutes now will gain you as many as 70 hours per year that would otherwise be spent sorting and trashing or recycling your unwanted mail. So save time and trees!
CatalogChoice.org – Sign yourself up for free to get off catalog mailing lists. On this site, you choose which catalogs you stop getting.
41Pounds.org – Americans, on average, receive 41 pounds of trash-worthy mail every year. This organization will remove your name from mailing lists and donate a thired of the $41 fee to a charity of your choice.
GreenDimes.com – For $20, these folks will keep your name off mailing lists for at least five years. Plus, GreenDimes will plan up to ten trees on your behalf.
Direct Marking Association – Remove your name from many mailing lists for free. Visit the homepage and click on “Remove My Name Form Those Lists.”
Green Star has additional tips about how to steer clear of unwanted mail.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2008 - 6:25 PM
Trash roll cartMayor Begich will be on hand to help SWS "roll out" its new automated services with a ribbon-cutting event on Monday, September 29, 2008, from 12:30 to 1:00 pm. SWS will demonstrate its new automated trucks, Pay-As-You-Throw trash roll carts, and curbside recycling roll carts in the Sullivan Arena parking lot on Monday.
For more information about the new program, visit SWS' Recycling Page.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2008 - 3:32 PM
Have you heard the latest? Alaska Waste is building a 5,000-square-foot biodiesel processing plant in Midtown. It'll get the grease from local restaurants and open by spring. The fuel will be blended with traditional diesel to operate the company's fleet of roughly 50 trucks in Anchorage.
Read more about it.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2008 - 3:18 PM
Looking for a way to recycle construction and demolition debris? Central Environmental, Inc., operates a recycling facility at 311 N. Sitka St. They recycle concrete, asphalt, ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
By recycling construction and demolition debris (C & D waste) that would have in the past been sent to the landfill, CEI transforms and re-uses the material for new construction projects, thus creating a positive impact in our environment. They produce recycled asphalt product (RAP), recycle concrete aggregate (RCA) and type II aggregate. They also recycle ferrous and non-ferrous metal products and select building materials.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 - 4:46 PM
Glass is recycled into sandblast grit in Anchorage.
ALPAR, who manages the glass drop off sites for Anchorage, closed the Northway Mall site on September 3rd. Recyclers can continue to recycle glass at the Anchorage Smurfit-Stone Recycling Center off Dowling, at the Anchorage Landfill on Hiland Road and at the Brown Jug Warehouse on Old Seward.
The site was closed as part of a larger effort to control contamination of the glass caused by illegally dumped materials that have been going into the glass. The glass plant can no longer cover the cost incurred from too much contamination.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 - 5:01 PM
Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) will be hosting a kick-off event for the 2008-2009 school year. Please join the Anchorage Chapter on Thursday, September 4th, from 5:30 to 6:30pm at the National Wildlife Federation offices (750 W. 2nd Ave, Suite 200). Help shape this year’s campaign – what inspires you? Election issue activism, climate change, recycling, renewable energy, pesticides, art in action… Get involved -- join AYEA!!
For more information, visit AYEA
AUGUST 27, 2008 - 6:56 PM
Come hear about curbside recycling, school recycling,
expanded drop-off sites, and other developments.
Quarterly Recycling Meeting
Tuesday, September 2
Noon-2pm
BP Energy Center
Bring your own lunch. Dessert provided.
AUGUST 14, 2008 - 7:47 PM
$20 to recycle a computer system
With all of this rainy weather and the increasing fuel prices, Total Reclaim has some good news! Total Reclaim is offering to recycle residential computer systems (a complete system is a monitor, CPU, keyboard and printer) for just $20. This offer is good through September 1, 2008. Call Total Reclaim at 561-0544 for details.
JULY 22, 2008 - 1:50 PM
Don’t forget about tomorrow’s ACS Yellow Pages Recycling Event ... Drop off your old phone books and possibly win cash ....
Who says money doesn’t grow on trees?
Come to the Sears Mall, I decree!
It won’t take much to bag $5K in cash,
Just bring a phone book to the ACS Yellow Pages bash!
Take any old or unused phone book to the Sears Mall parking lot this Wednesday, July 23, for the ACS Yellow Pages Green is Good recycling event and ACS Yellow Pages will exchange each book for an entry to win $5,000!
Go to ASC Yellow Pages Recycling to find out more.
JULY 16, 2008 - 3:15 PM
Molly Johnson won the June Can-Do Kid prize of a Desani mountain bike provided by Coca Cola of Anchorage. Can-Do Kids is sponsored by Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR) and Smurfit-Stone Recycling. Started in 1984, the program is still going strong today. Can-Do Kids learn how recycling is a business as well as a positive environmental activity. Participants collect aluminum cans from their friends and neighbors and take them to the recycling center for payment. Each time they bring in cans they are entered into a monthly drawing for prizes. Lots of kids participate in Anchorage and many adults fondly remember their own Can-Do Kids business. The July prizes are a skateboard, razor scooter and IPOD Shuffle donated by ALPAR member company, Totem Ocean Trailer Express.
JULY 10, 2008 - 2:06 PM
Downtown Street Vendor Recycling Bin The Municipality of Anchorage, Bean's Café, Green Star, and downtown food vendors have teamed up to promote recycling downtown this summer. Between June 9 and October 9, the Bean's Café "green team" will pick up plastic bottles and aluminum cans twice a week from seven bins located at various street vendor locations. The seven bins are provided by Green Star.
As a unique service offered within the Municipality, the Beans Café’s "Recycling for the Homeless" project aims to offer recycling service to the downtown core while providing stable employment to the clients of Beans Café. All proceeds earned through the recycling of the plastic and aluminum will go to the "Recycling for the Homeless" project.
This is just the beginning of the Municipality’s plan to increase public space recycling. Let us know where you think public space recycling is needed in Anchorage.
JULY 1, 2008 - 10:30 AM
So here’s the scenario… You’re running in a race through downtown Anchorage. As you stop at the final water station, you see there are two choices – a plastic water bottle or a plastic-looking cup of water. It turns out that the plastic-looking cup is actually a corn-based cup made to degrade in a landfill over time. So which do you choose? And on what criteria do you base your decision? Is the non-petroleum-based cup better even though it’s headed for the landfill? Is the plastic bottle better because it will be recycled into other products? Are there recycling bins? Will the cup really break down? Can we compost the cup? Let us know what you think is best and why!
JUNE 19, 2008 - 3:13 PM
With all the changes going on with composting in Anchorage, why not just keep it all in your back yard? If you have the space to compost in your back yard, there are retail outlets that can help you by providing some of the tools you’ll need. Alaska Mill & Feed is just one place where you’ll find tools. Alaska Mill & Feed offers at least three different styles of composters including tumblers, free standing models, and worm bins. It also carries compost buckets for collecting food scraps in the house (only compost food waste if bears are not a problem in your area and if you have enough other material to mix with it), compost starter to activate your pile, compost forks for turning your compost, biodegradable leaf bags for collecting your raw materials, and other products to make composting easy.
JUNE 12, 2008 - 12:04 PM
A "plarn" bag is made of plastic shopping bag yarn.A summer series of three workshops will feature three “reuse and reduce” projects to spark your creativity.
Wednesdays, 6-8pm
June 11, 18, 25 – learn to make note cards by collaging with old magazines and junk mail
July 9, 16, 23 – learn to make Plarn (plastic bag yarn) shopping bags and purses
August 6, 13, 20 – learn to make waste paper bookbindings
Each workshop is $30 and is limited to just eight people so call or email now to register. The workshops are held at Unique Ways Studio, 207 E. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 112. Contact Linda Warford, 441-4601 or Linda@warford.com or Jerelyn Miyashiro, 338-7676 or jtmiyash@ak.net for register or for directions.
JUNE 10, 2008 - 12:36 PM
Recycling gets easier with curbside collection.Alaska Waste announced yesterday that it is expanding curbside recycling service to an additional 17,000 households in Anchorage. The new areas include subdivisions on the lower hillside waste of Abbott Loop including Kempton Hills and Oceanview; the Muldoon area south of Debarr, north of Tudor and east of Boniface to the hillside; and in Eagle River south of Eagle River Road.
The service costs $6/month for a 96-gallon roll cart that is collected every other week. Residents can put cardboard, mixed paper, #1 and #2 plastic bottles and jugs, steel cans and aluminum cans in the cart. Residents will still need to deliver recyclable glass and plastic bags to a recycling drop-off location.
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