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Earth Day 2008: The Real Waste |
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Written by By Whitney Parks
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Tuesday, 22 April 2008 |
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 This is the story of three cups and what happens when these cups are no longer half full or half empty, but tossed into the trash.
This is the Real Waste.
Cup #1 is a red plastic cup. This type of cup is often found at keg parties, birthday parties, picnics and anywhere else where there are a lot of people looking for a quick clean-up. The red plastic cup or any varietal of plastic cup can be recycled. Rinse the cup and place it into a blue bag. The cup will eventually be transformed into recycled plastic. In North Tahoe and Truckee, plastics 1-7 can be recycled. Check the bottom of your plastic cup or container to find the number.
Cup #2 is made from Polylactic acid (PLA), a substance derived from the fermentation of corn sugars. These cups can be found at restaurants and coffee shops that are moving in the eco-conscious, Earth-friendly direction. PLA cups take less energy to create and are biodegradable. These cups are often compostable. Ask your vendor to find out if the PLA you are using requires an industrial composting, of if it can break down in your own backyard composting system.
Cup #3 is a Styrofoam cup. Beware the Styrofoam. In North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, these cups are non-recyclable and will inevitably end up in the landfill. Styrofoam takes around 500 years to dissolve. It is estimated that Styrofoam waste take up to 25 to 30 percent of all landfill space.
This year at the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day Festival, the event will strive to be Zero Waste. What does Zero Waste mean? Zero waste suggests the entire concept of “waste” be eliminated. Instead of looking at used materials as garbage in need of disposal, discarded wastes are viewed as valuable resources. A pile of “trash” can mean more jobs, financial opportunities and raw materials for new products. At the festival, restaurants and vendors will be encouraged to use PLA cups, containers and utensils for all to-go foods. Zero Waste stations will be available throughout the Village at Squaw Valley. Trained volunteers will educate festival attendees about where their trash goes.
All of the plastic and paper cups will be placed into blue bags and sent to Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal where they will be recycled. The event strives to produce as little non-recyclable/non-compostable waste as possible. Styrofoam is outlawed at this event.
At the end of the event, the compostables, including leftover foods and PLA containers will be taken to Full Circle Compost in Minden, Nevada. In a few months when the compostables are composted, Earth Day volunteers will return the composted product to Sierra Nevada College’s demonstration garden in Incline Village.
A Guess the Waste’s Weight contest will take place at the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day 2008 Festival. Attendees are encouraged to guess the weight of recyclables, compostables and non-recyclable/compostable wastes. The closest to the total waste weight will win a fabulous prize: a case of blue bags for use in our community recycling programs!
Disclaimer: It is always best to use re-usable containers when possible. Bring your own mug or bottle to the coffee shop. Use reusable dishware and utensils when possible and remember to bring a canvas bag to the grocery store.
The theme for this year’s Earth Day event is Giant Steps Towards Smaller Footprints, reducing out impact on the environment. For the first time, Tahoe Truckee Earth Day expects to be a carbon neutral event. Truckee Climate Action Network will calculate all carbon emissions involved in the production of the event, from the organizers first planning meeting to attendees combined travel to and from the event. Whatever is not reduced (through carpooling, taking public transportation, biking, etc.) will be balanced through purchases of carbon offsets online at www.carbonfund.org.
This carbon reducing Web site supports three types of carbon offsetting projects: renewable energy (creating clean energy - wind, solar and geothermal energy projects), energy efficiency (reducing existing energy use) and reforestation (planting trees to help absorb carbon dioxide already in the Earth’s atmosphere).
This eco-conscious festival will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Village at Squaw Valley. For more information on the Lake Tahoe Truckee Earth Day 2008 Festival and to view a schedule of events, go to www.TahoeTruckeeEarthDay.org.
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