Contents of RauwLetter March 2010
- Social Entrepreneurship – Changing the Way We Do Business
- Shirley’s Sheep
- Recycling – Good for You and the Earth
- What Do All Those Stickers on our Fruit Actually Mean?
- Learn to Love Your Building's Boiler – Romance in the Boiler Room
- Fuel Prices
- Events
Recycling – Good for You and the Earth
The nyc.gov web site states, “Every building in New York City is required by law to recycle - including every residence, city agency, school, institution, and business. Recycling refers to the collection and reprocessing of waste materials into new products.” Recycling has become a way of life and keeps “between 366,000 and 423,000 tons of mixed paper recyclables and between 250,000 and 331,000 tons of metal, glass and plastic recyclables” out of already taxed landfills.
Not only does recycling positively impact landfills, the energy needed to process a recycled item into a new item versus extracting virgin resources is significantly less. For instance, recycled aluminum saves 95 percent of energy versus virgin aluminum, recycled glass saves 50 percent of the energy needed versus virgin glass, and recycled paper saves 60 percent of energy versus virgin paper.
There are other approaches to recycling that are innovative and cost effective. Salvage companies such as Architectural Salvage Warehouse in Essex Junction, Vermont purchases the salvage rights to buildings undergoing renovation or replacement and retrieves whatever is deemed useful. Architectural Salvage Warehouse then sells these items for a reduced price of what the items would cost if bought new, that is assuming you could find these unique items anywhere else.
Build It Green NYC in Queens, NY is a non-profit, retail outlet for salvaged and surplus building materials. Their mission is to “keep these materials out of the landfill while offering deep discounts on their resale.” They accept all kinds of donated building materials and discarded items including doors, tub surrounds, sinks and theater sets. Best is to check their website for additional information. All proceeds help support the Community Environmental Center education programs at Solar 1.
Recycling can be fun and it can make you feel good in that you're doing your part in keeping thousands of tons of garbage out of already stressed landfills. Thank you.
