Welcome to Clean Calgary's E-Newsletter. You are receiving this because you indicated interest in receiving up to date environmental information and tips concerning Calgary and urban environmental issues.
In this issue:
6th Annual Rain Barrel Sale
Clean Calgary Association is hosting its 6th Annual Rain Barrel Sale on Saturday April 28th from 9:00am to 11:00am. Pick up a 45-gallon (175 litre) food-grade recycled plastic barrel fitted with a tap and hole to collect runoff from a downspout for only $60 (cash, cheque or credit card) at the following three locations:
* Brentwood LRT
* Anderson LRT Station parking lots
* Calgary Co-op Richmond Road parking lot: 4940 Richmond Rd. SW
Proceeds from the sale support Clean Calgary Association's environmental programs and services.
Clean Calgary launches Reuse and Recycling Guide in Calgary
Clean Calgary Association launches Reuse and Recycling Guide on its website. Created and maintained by Calgary Materials Exchange Program Assistant, Ashley Lubyk, The Reuse and Recycling Guide is filled with great tips and ideas for reducing waste and encouraging recycling in the city. The comprehensive guide is intended to become a resource for Calgarians. Visit: http://www.cleancalgary.org/education/information/reuseandrecycle>
Ask Ashley - Dealing With Fluorescent Tubes
Q:
Hello Ashley,
Since we are all being encouraged to use fluorescent bulbs at home, now that I have one that has worn out, what is the best way to dispose of it? Am I correct that there is a small amount of mercury (or something toxic) in the coating inside the glass?
Many thanks,
Julia
A:
Dear Julia,
As we move from bickering over whether or not humans are contributing to climate change to what’s going to be done about it, we often find ourselves in situations where we are choosing among the lesser of two evils. Coal or Nuclear? Paper or plastic? Greater energy use or mercury contamination? That said you can be rest assured that the move toward fluorescent lighting has helped reduce energy use and consequently greenhouse gas emissions, as well as mercury in our environment.
The reduced energy component is easy since fluorescent lighting is roughly 80% more efficient than the incandescent equivalent. Less energy used, especially in Alberta where most of its electricity is produced from coal, means less greenhouse gases. The energy savings is a no-brainer but how can there be less mercury in the environment when fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and incandescent bulbs don’t? The answer lies in the fact that Alberta’s coal plants are responsible for 90 per cent of the province’s mercury emissions. Less electricity used means less coal burning and therefore less mercury in the environment. But should we not be worried about the mercury in the bulbs though? Absolutely!
In fact, the worries that mercury created prompted the government of Alberta to institute a voluntary fluorescent tube recycling program on February 1, 2001. Several years after the program was initiated, Alberta’s Ministry of the Environment found that only 2% of the six million bulbs discarded in the province were being recycled. This is troubling since the 23 milligrams of mercury found in a standard fluorescent tube has the potential to contaminate 30,000 liters of water. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) contain less mercury - roughly 4 milligrams per bulb. This reality impelled a number of American states to institute an outright ban on fluorescent tubes and bulbs. While recycling has become the norm for many U.S. jurisdictions, this is a far cry from what residents in Calgary are being told to do. The response I received from one City of Calgary 3-1-1 operator was to place compact fluorescent bulbs in with regular household waste, while standard four foot fluorescent tubes needed to be wrapped in cardboard, placed in a green plastic garbage bag and marked “glass” to ensure worker safety. Seriously!
So the answer to your question is to put your fluorescent bulbs in the landfill until something gives. And while Albertan’s are waiting for legislation to come down the pipe, and trust me there are rumblings, I guess we wait in the beautiful light of our compact fluorescents knowing that we have made the right choice by swapping out those blasted incandescents. On the upside, CFLs last roughly 5 years, so perhaps when the time comes to replace your burnt out bulbs the Albertan government will have been shaken into action by the countless letters that this column has inspired.
Hesitantly,
Ashley
Ashley Lubyk, BSC in Environmental Science, is a Calgary Materials Exchange Program Assistant at Clean Calgary Association.
Please send your question concerning Water, Waste, or Recycling to Ashley Lubyk
Calgary Bans Plastic Bags!
What was your initial reaction when you read the headline above? Did you jump for joy? Did you suddenly wonder how you were going to pick up your dogs manure or package your garbage, or did it make you angry? Though the number of places seeking to ban plastic bags is growing, Calgary is not one of them, not yet and therefore the above headline is untrue.
South Africa, Bhutan in the Himalayan Kingdom, France, and many places in India have already completely banned the use of plastic bags, and San Francisco may be added to this list very soon. Ireland, Malta, and a large retailer in Scotland charge consumers a levy to use plastic bags. And Hong Kong and Australia have initiated voluntary programs to encourage shoppers not to use plastic bags. Towns, cities and countries around the world are discouraging the use of plastic bags for a number of reasons: to save money, to reduce the amount of disposable items, to reduce solid waste in landfills, to save marine animals, to reduce litter, to save oil, to deter sewage & drainage systems from getting blocked, to decrease cattle deaths, and to reduce soil & air pollution.
Although in Calgary plastic bags make up only 1% of the garbage in our landfills, this measurement is in weight and not volume, and we all know a garbage bag filled with plastic bags is going to weigh much less than a garbage bag filled with grass clippings, but putting a tax on plastic bags or making them illegal is not only about reducing the solid waste from going to landfills Did you know that whales die from eating plastic bags floating in the ocean thinking they are squid, and stomach clogging by thin plastic bags cause 90% of cattle deaths in India? Floods killing thousands of people have been blamed on sewage & drainage systems being choked by plastic bags during heavy rain storms.
If you have ever participated in the River Clean-Up here in Calgary you know how many plastic bags are littering our city. And with the increase in the price of oil, and decrease in supply, using bags made with petroleum just doesn’t make sense anymore. Not using plastic bags to carry your purchases is probably one of the simplest things anyone can do to make a difference. All you have to do is carry a reusable bag with you when shopping and say no to the plastic bags cashiers so readily wants to give you.
If you don’t already have your own reusable bag you can buy one to your liking just about anywhere. And if you don’t want to buy one, make your own out of an old pair of jeans or other clothing. I personally like a thin nylon bag because it fits easily in my purse or pocket so I am more likely to have it on me for the unplanned purchase than a thick canvas bag. If this idea appeals to you then you will want to check out the 2 styles of the made in Canada multi-sac we carry in the EcoStore. And if you are still wondering how you are going to pick up your dog manure or pack your garbage there are still the bags that your potatoes, carrots, bread, toilet paper and other groceries came packaged in or you can compost your dog manure using a Digester. So starting today if you are a cashier ask every customer if they have their own bags even if you know they don’t, and if you are a consumer act as if you will be charged one dollar for every plastic bag you accept. Together we can make a difference.
Tip of the Month
Compost Tea Workshop
Aerated Compost Tea - The Cheapest, Most Effective Way to Revitalize Your Yard
Come find out about a new way to add health to the soil and plants in your yard. You will learn:
- How to make your own compost tea brewer for your yard
- The history and benefits of aerated compost tea
- How you can use these liquid organics to build healthy plants and soil
Aerated Compost Tea is made by putting good compost in a bucket or barrel of water and bubbling lots of air through it. The wonderful soil micro-organisms in the compost multiply and you have a rich 'soup' that you can spray on your soil and plants.
Soil micro-organisms are important to the health of your soil and plants because they break down organic matter and make nutrients available to plants.
Clean Calgary Association
Compost Tea Workshop
Dalhousie Community Hall
Saturday May 12
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Cost: $ 10.00
Calgary Dollars Accepted
Instructor: Laureen Rama
Laureen Rama has had a passion for organic landscaping for 20 years. Her specialty is designing landscapes that are beautiful and good for the environment (low water use, habitat for beneficial insects, etc.).
Limited seating so pay in advance to reserve your seat.
Call Clean Calgary Ecostore 230 - 1443 ext. 222
or email karen@cleancalgary.org
Everyday is Earth Day!
Earth Day, Sunday, April 22nd, is just around the corner and every year Clean Calgary is inundated with phone calls and e-mails asking us “What are you doing for Earth Day?” While we would love to host a big celebration, and/or fulfill every request we get for Earth Day and Earth Month presentations and booths, we are simply unable to respond to all of the requests we get. Moreover, our annual Rain Barrel Sale fundraiser is held the following Saturday on April 28th. We also want to encourage Calgarians to honor everyday as Earth Day. But if you are still looking for ways to celebrate, here are a few suggestions:
1) Get out of the city and in touch with nature by joining one of the many clubs in Calgary that carpool to the mountains. The Calgary Outdoor Club at www.calgaryoutdoorclub.com has no membership fee!
2) Host an Earth Day lunch or dinner party and serve local and/or organic wine, beer, and juice, and only locally grown organic food. And if you are able to, cook your meal in a solar oven.
3) Reuse an egg carton and plant some seeds to start your own vegetable or herb garden.
4) Visit Clean Calgary’s website www.cleancalgary.org and sign up to become a member and support an organization that believes ‘Everyday Is Earth Day!’
Clean Calgary Association Welcomes New Directors!
Congratulations and a warm welcome to Clean Calgary Association’s Newest Directors:
Elizaveta Smolyaninova
Kimberly King
Sarah McCaffrey
We look forward to spending a productive year together.
Thanks to everyone who expressed interest in participating on the board.
We would like to thank all staff, directors, volunteers and members for an outstanding year of hard work and support!
VermiComposting (Indoor Composting with Red Worms) Presentation for Beginners
by a Master Composter/Waste Advisor
Where: Clean Calgary Association & EcoStore
809-4th Avenue SW
When: Saturday, May 26th
1:00pm – 2:30pm
$15 per person
To register & pre-pay call 230-1443, extension 222 by May 19th
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