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Go Green! The Green Business Program in Monterey Bay Area, California
Monterey Bay Area offers a Green Business Program which is a multimedia (soil, air and water) pollution prevention effort that makes a positive relationship between the public, business community and government. It is an incentive based program designed to encourage businesses to match or exceed environmental standards.
The Green Business Program takes pride in recognizing the businesses that lead the way in the environmental field within the Monterey Bay Area. By recognizing their good work in the area it allows for other businesses to follow their example. The Green Business Program wants to show businesses that they can accomplish both being green and profitable-and good members of our communities.
To be a certified “green,” participating businesses need be in accordance with regulatory agencies and meet program criteria for conserving resources, preventing pollution and minimizing waste. Their program is designed to assist, recognize and promote businesses that decide to operate their businesses in a more environmentally responsible way. The Monterey Bay Area Business Program wants to encourage and pave a path for more companies to go green.
The Green Business Program was first started in 2003. The program currently provides aide and certification for vehicle service facilities and restaurants. In the near future, the program will set its sets on assisting and certifying printers, hotels, landscapers, dry cleaners, and wineries in the Santa Cruz area.
In 2004 on Earth Day the Green Business Program Partners awarded the first Certified Green Business Awards to seven local auto shops at the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors program kick-off ceremony.
Some of the local agencies that are a part of the Green Business Program Partners include the Sanitation District, Public Works Department Recycling and Solid Waste, Environmental Health Services, City of Santa Cruz, City of Scotts Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant, City of Watsonville, Soquel Creek Water District and the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency.
If your business or one that you know wants to be a part of this program, you can contact the Green Business Program of Santa Cruz, Monterey or San Benito County and they will gladly assist you in answering all of your questions and help you get started making your company a Green Business.
Old to New, Going Green. How do the Two Relate?
It seems that almost everyone is trying to do their part in helping the environment so what are builders doing? How are they making their contribution?
Around the North America many are watching the hit television show Extreme Home Makeover, which is a show wrapped around helping families live a healthier life. Majority of the time, it takes the builders to demolish their old, falling down homes and rebuilding them with brand new ones, but is that what all builders do?
The answer is NO, there are builders and general contractors all around the United States that search high and low for communities that are falling down and homes that are in need of help. Contractors and builders like this have a skill, they can look at the worst in something and a vision a beautiful work of art or masterpiece in a matter of months.
Most of us want new, it’s practical and most of the times comes with a warranty. It is more convenient, not everyone is like that. Many people want the old, to make it into new. They see it as an investment.
Nearly all around the country people are looking and purchasing homes and buildings that are falling apart so they can bring the original luster or appeal back to them they want to give the structure a new found life.
Homes and businesses that are falling apart and need a lot of work can be found at a much cheaper price than new ones which makes it a key factor for business men and women alike. Purchasing a piece of property for a fraction of the price and putting into it what you what have spent on a new piece turns your property into a profit which is what many want.
Look at it this way, why go out and pay $200,000 on a home? When you can purchase a falling down home for $20,000 and invest just a mere $100,000 in it and resell it for $300,000. If you can do that then you have just made a profit of $80,000. More and more people are beginning to do this as a business or a way of life because they want to see the old being turned into new without damaging history or using all new products that are hurting the environment, it’s their way of giving back or refurbishing. Going Green!
Finding a Green Business Near You!
Many people seem to be falling into the idea of saving the environment and we’re nearly all doing it differently, taking different approaches on how we do it. Some people think by going green, then they need to purchase eco-friendly cars or placing solar panels on their homes, while many others just do small things such as purchasing recyclable grocery bags instead of using plastic or paper. Even if you don’t do your entire work environment green, you can start with little things.
Many people are stuck in the rut of how do I go green, or how do I find a company that is green? Going green is quite simple and there are many different ways on how to find a green company.
First of all you can simply check with your cell phone carrier, bank or any other place that you have an account. It seems like many companies are trying to do their part in helping preserve the environment so they are opting for paperless statements and more ways that you can check your accounts and even pay your accounts and bills online rather than mailing them; which uses paper, checks and stamps.
Secondly, you can search the local web directory; the web is a place to look for a green company or business near you. Home improvement stores, bill companies and companies that specialize in green products can be found online. By searching online, you may take the advantage and research products to see how they are made and how they actually help out the environment. You may also want to check out some suitable reviews.
Another way is to talk to neighbours, friends and loved ones. Word of mouth is another way to find green products or companies that offer green products and merchandise.
Your phone book or yellow pages are also an alternative where you can find green businesses. The yellow pages offer a green section now which allows you to find hundreds of companies and businesses right within your location.
How about start finding a green business next to you?
The Green Dilemma
The slogan for today’s consumer is “Go Green.” As it seems that the up and coming technologies are almost all based on ideal touted as being “eco-friendly,” the consumer must make a choice as to whether the benefit is worth the added money.
The cost of a certain popular base model hybrid SUV is around $28,850, minus the $750 federal tax credit the purchase price is still $29,110. While the government tax credit sounds great it still passes on an extra $8,000 in cost to the consumer as opposed to buying the same model SUV with a standard gasoline engine.
The hybrid SUV is rated for an estimated 42 miles per gallon, while the standard version only gets around 24 miles to the gallon. This translates to the hybrid driver getting around 120 extra miles per tank of gasoline, and with the price per gallon of gasoline hovering around $2.75 it translates to around $10.30 saved on every 15 gallon tank of fuel used.
That really sounds like an astounding amount of savings and a great buying incentive, but a bit of simple math shows that the hybrid driver would need to consume about 776 tanks of gas, or around 372,000 miles of driving just to break even on the original extra purchase price of the hybrid.
This kind of cost benefit ratio isn’t limited just to the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles. A close investigation of nearly all the present green technology, from electric cars to solar homes illustrates the same kind of debacle. Many times the original added cost of green technology prohibits its widespread usage.
In today’s economy it simply isn’t practical for the average person to outlay a huge sum of cash in the hopes that the investment will pay for itself many years in the future. Not many people have that kind of disposable income.
Market executives, scientists and developers of green energy sources and technology have recognized this as a legitimate problem in getting the green energy movement off the ground. It has finally been realized that the only way to make green energy popular is to make it cost the same as conventional sources.
Is the answer more government intervention? It would seems that the US government has decided to take a vested interest in the problem since recently President Barack Obama promised $2.3 billion in federal subsidies to green energy developers in an effort to allow the development of better and more cost effective energy sources.
In many other countries these subsidies have helped to jump-start the development and distribution of green energy sources. In Germany, for example, the government has subsidized green energy sources in the form of feed-in tariffs which allow the producers of green energy to sell the energy produced at above market prices. This has led to Germany having more solar panels in use than any other country on earth.
These subsidies may assist in getting movement toward green energy started, but the truth is that the only way to make green energy attractive to the masses of to make it at least as cheap as conventional energy sources. Until that happens, the dream of green energy becoming a cornerstone of energy production might remain just a dream.
Going Green Can Be Very Simple!
Is your New Year’s Resolution to go green? Many of us want to go green, we just don’t know where to start. Did you know that going green can be accomplished just by simply using new trash bags?
The Greencore trash liners are no more expensive than regular trash bags that you purchase on your grocery aisle, yet they have an added bonus of helping out the environment all at the same time. Can your other trash bags do that?
The Greencore trash liners have a guaranteed strength and performance of being better than the regular trash bag. Each bag as a 3-ply construction with a leak-proof flat bottom and is rated Heavy Duty and Extra Heavy Duty for even the strongest bulk of garbage.
The trash liners are 70 percent post-consumer recycled content which gives you superior source for reduction. The trash liners also reduce carbon pollution by as much as 20 percent. Now you can purchase trash liners with green technology without the added cost.
The trash liners are not only good for the environment, but it is also a wise investment. Why buy trash liners that are going to stay in our landfills throughout our lives, and maybe our children’s lives and even our grand-children’s lives? How does that sound? Sometimes when we make purchases that are easy and convenient, we don’t take the time to think about the long term effects that it has for many years to come.
Since 1970, Petoskey Plastics have been the innovator in making plastic bags and films that are made for performance. The Greencore can liners contain 70 percent post consumer recycled plastic. They started in 1978 and haven’t stopped thinking green yet! They want to please the customers by giving those products that are good for them and better for the environment. Using their innovative multi-layer manufacturing process, the can liners meet and exceed the strength of virgin plastic liners of equal thickness.
So next time you want to go green, think of the simplicity of just buying new can liners!
Green Business in the US
What is a Green Business? It seems as if almost everyone is talking “Green.” Green is everywhere around us. Bill companies are going green, grocery stores are going green, everyone is cashing in on green, but do we fully understand what it is.
A green company or business is marked for its ability to decrease the impact made on the environment by waste, harmful chemicals and materials used to process or make products and services. The direct impact made from all of these products produce a gas which is referred to as carbon dioxide and is referred to as the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint therefore branches off from ecological footprint analysis, which then examines the ecological capacity required to support the consumption of products.
One of the most popular examples that we see today of going green is going paperless which is what the majority of bill companies and banks try to get us to do. Instead of sending out paper and paying for stamps they want you to sign up for emails or create accounts online in which you can see your account activity and take care of your business without using or wasting paper.
Green Businesses look for alternative ways to create or use products repetitively so we don’t have to produce new ones such as paper, lead pencils, emails and more products which are not harmful to the environment and still function the same or at a better level and preferably with a lower cost.
A company’s green initiative can include conserving materials through remanufacturing, converting harmful gases into clean energy, generating green power and improving fuel economy. Designing this for the environment is a process for a green business as well as making for a sustainable business. This process aids the users into considering the potential for environmental impacts of a product and the process that is takes to make that product.
In turn, weighing all of these options take time and effort which makes a business a good business because they want to get their products right in order to help the environment and therefore cut down or eliminate harmful wastes.
Recycle Plastic Bags
There continues to be a lot of attention around the plastic bag and what it’s doing to our environment. This is a good thing, when there is noise being made on the issues of waste and preserving resources and protecting animals, good things happen.
So what’s the deal with plastic bags then? There are those that voice the banning of plastic shopping bags from food and other retail stores. But does that mean that produce bags and other plastic bags in retail stores should also be banned? If the problem is bags and resources, then where do we stop? If the problem is litter, then again, where is the line drawn as to what plastics are ok and which are banned? No easy answer.
From what I have seen, plastic shopping bags have become a focal point of debate due to their inherent nature of being a real burden on our environment. Plastic bags take flight and litter our land and water ways, they strangle wildlife, and never seem to disappear. Essentially, we are reminded every day of their presence due to our recklessness disposal of these bags. We see them everywhere.
At a recent waste conference, it was mentioned that for a local government body to ban the use of shopping bags is a difficult task. So, while this proposed ban continues to be tossed around, it is time for each household to take charge of the issues surrounding plastic bags and make a difference.
Cloth bags do work. They are re-usable, stack well and are readily available. Plastic bags are reusable and recyclable. It was stated that 44% of all plastic shopping bags are re-used in the home. If this is true, then the remaining 56% can easily be recycled.
If recycling is not available to you, then make some noise to those in charge of recycling programs in your area. Nanaimo provides bag recycling in their curbside program and the NRE accepts plastic bags for recycling. If recycling is not an option, then dispose of those bags in a responsible manner and ensure that they do not fly-free in the wind to pollute.
Recycle Paint - Quick and Easy
There is a way to recycle leftover paint, empty paint cans, spray paint and flammable aerosol spry cans. The NRE is a registered Multi-Drop Depot for the Product Care Stewardship Program and will accept all the above items at no cost.
When you go to the store to buy the above items, there is an “eco-fee” or “green tax” or “recycling charge” attached to your bill. This money is collected by the store and sent to Product Care, a not-for-profit society that administers the funds and coordinates the depots, trucking and processing of the paint and aerosols. This is why there is no cost at the NRE to drop-off these items as you have already paid up front.
So, it makes sense to use the system since you have already laid out the cash. The NRE makes it easy with operating hours of 7 to 7, 7 days a week. The NRE is even open on statutory holidays to make recycling easier.
There are a couple of rules to follow when dropping off paint, spray cans and flammable aerosols.
Sealed & labelled container – use the original container. If the label falls off, we can give you one to fill out.
Flammable aerosols must have “flammable symbol” or warnings such as “Keep away from open flame or spark”.
Non-acceptable items include – tars or roof patch, glues and adhesives, industrial or automotive paints.
For a full description on how the program works and what all we take go to www.productcare.org. The list is substantial and if you feel some more clarity is needed on the materials in your home, call the NRE direct at 250-758-7777.
Recycle Renovations Wood Waste
The new deck is up, the fence panel is replaced, but what to do with all the rotten wood that is laden with nails? Then there are all those end cuts from plywood and 2×4’s that over the years has accumulated and is taking up more space in your home than you can stand anymore. So what to do with all this “construction” wood waste?
Recycle it! Or, if it’s still has some potential to be used again, re-use it.
Any wood item that has been painted, screwed, nailed and/or glued can be recycled. In reference to recycling construction wood waste, the material is collected, shredded and used as a fuel source to produce energy.
If you have taken the time to remove nails and glued on paper and essentially cleaned the wood, then there is a possibility that it could be re-used. Habitat for Humanity operates the Re-Store located on the corner of Mostar and Boban. The Re-Store accommodates second hand building materials and supplies for those that are looking for a good deal on their next project. It may be a good idea to contact the Re-store to confirm that they will take your used materials, 250-758-8743.
When the wood is beyond practical use, the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange (NRE) is able to accommodate your recycling needs. There is a cost associated for disposal and staff will assist you in offloading your material. The NRE is located at 2477 Kenworth Road and may be contacted at 250-758-7777.
A big convenience factor with the NRE is the extended hours of operation. The NRE is able to assist the community in its recycling endeavours by being open 7 days a week from 7 am to 7 pm. Easy way to remember the hours of operation is “7 to 7, 7 days a week”.
Recycle Tires
When it comes to tires, there really is a “closed loop”-recycling recycling program. This means that 100% of an old tire is dealt with and not land filled. In 2007, the new Tire Stewardship program in BC recorded 80% of all tires collected where turned into crumb rubber. The remainder was used as a fuel source in the new generation waste-to-energy plants.
To put this into perspectives that we can appreciate, approximately 40,000 metric tonnes of tires where recycled in 2007, that is about one tire per person in BC.
How the stewardship program works is like this; we buy a tire, and the retailer collects an Advanced Disposal Fee or Eco-Fee. This money goes to the not-for-profit Tire Stewardship BC Association. The moneys are then dispersed among collectors, haulers and processors that work in synergy to recycle that old tire into a new reusable product.
Last year, 3,100,000 passenger and light truck tires where purchased in BC. Of that, 2,600,000 entered the program and became crumb rubber. The remaining 500,000 tires usually end up going home with the consumer to be used at some later date.
If you are purchasing new tires, ask the retailer about taking the old ones for you. If you have some old tires at your home, take them to a depot or a retailer that will accept the tires. Make sure you call in advance to ensure that the used tires are accepted even though you are not buying a new set. The Nanaimo Recycling Exchange (NRE) located on Kenworth Road will take tires, with or without a rim. Staff will ask for a $1 donation per tire if the tire has a rim attached still.
Crumb rubber? It’s cool product that is becoming increasingly popular in its applications. Running tracks, new paver bricks, playgrounds and even the new Nanaimo artificial turf uses crumb rubber as its lubricant (so you don’t get a rug burn). To promote tire recycling advancements, extra monies collected by the Stewardship Program go towards the development of new technologies for reusing old tires. So keep your eyes open to new products that come from that old tire.