Waste Reduction at WasteCap... In an effort to reduce office paper waste at your office and ours, WasteCap utilizes an electronic newsletter. Past e-newsletters can be found on our website under the "E-Newsletters" tab. Check out our website at www.wastecapne.org for the latest events, publications, and new member listings for WasteCap Nebraska.
What's New for March 2007:
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- WasteCap News
- Upcoming Events
- WasteCap Across Nebraska
- Electronics Update
- In the News
- Market Corner
- WasteCap Connections
WasteCap News
Clean Your Files Week 2007
With the success of last year’s Clean Your Files Week, we are getting geared up for 2007. Clean Your Files Week (CYFW) is a time to dig out your old, outdated, and overextended documents and turn them in for recycling. This is also a great opportunity to start fresh in you file cabinets, as well as start your own personal recycling system. This year’s CYFW will coincide with Earth Day, and will be held April 17th through April 21st. There will be more information to come on the CYFW Business Contest. Click here for more ideas on how to clean and recycle.
Shred Day
In addition to Clean Your Files Week, WasteCap, along with The City of Lincoln, Midland Recycling, Shredding Solutions, and Recycling Enterprises, is proud to announce Shred Day 2007. Shred Day will provide document destruction and recycling for businesses and households, at a time when document destruction is highly sought after…tax time. This event, which is happening in conjunction with Clean Your Files Week, will be held on April 28th from 9:00 am-12:00 noon. There are several sites around Lincoln available: Midland Recycling at 440 J St, Shredding Solutions Mobile Shredding at the parking lot East of Famous Dave’s at SouthPointe Pavilions Shopping Center, and Recycling Enterprises at 3900 Industrial Ave. In-kind donations will be accepted, with proceeds supporting local recycling programs. There is no fee for the first 75 lbs., equivalent to a large banker’s box. Those with more than 75 pounds should contact Midland Recycling, Recycling Enterprises, or Shredding Solutions to schedule an appointment.
Upcoming Events
2007 Great Plains Conference
March 21st and 22nd marks the date for this year’s Great Plains Conference. This year’s conference will include solid waste facility tours, and workshops on industrial and hazardous waste, solid waste, and water environments. The deadline is quickly approaching, March 16th, applications may be found on the Great Plains Waste Management Conference website.
Lower Platte South NRD hosting Earth Wellness Festival
2007 is the 13th year for the Earth Wellness Festival, which is held at Southeast Community College in Lincoln. The festival invites area 5th grade students to partake in environmental learning activities presented by various organizations. This year’s festival will be March 21st and 22nd from 9:00 a.m-2:30 p.m.
Retrofit Nebraska pick up dates
Retrofit Recycling’s collection dates in Nebraska include the week of March 26th, the week of April 9th, and the week of April 23rd. For more information, or to make an appointment, please call Marie at (800) 274-1309.WasteCap Across Nebraska
Omaha Computer Collection
WasteCap, The City of Omaha, The Nebraska State Recycling Association, and The Nebraska Environmental Trust will be holding a computer collection at Omaha’s Tranquility Park on April 25th, 2007 from 9 am-2 pm. The recycler for the event is CP Recovery out of Omaha. Participants can recycle one system (one monitor plus 50 pounds of peripherals) at no charge. After that, monitor fees are $10, with $0.35 per pound for other electronic equipment. WasteCap and NSRA members will receive a discount on their recycling. Toner cartridges and cellular phones will be taken free of charge. Please contact Kari at (402) 434-7376 with any questions.
WasteCap Nebraska has a New Toll Free Number
As part of our statewide expansion program, WasteCap Nebraska is pleased to announce that we now have a toll free number, 888-EWASTE9, to help businesses throughout Nebraska with their recycling needs. Future plans include marketing this number to businesses and residences statewide as a hotline for information on service providers in their area who recycle electronic waste.Electronics Update
Pacific Northwest Moves in a New Direction for Energy
Portland General Electric and Oregon State University are working together to research the possibilities of wave energy. Wave power uses the energy of ocean surface waves. There are different methods of utilizing wave energy, many by use of generators, converters, or undersea transmission lines. While the percentage of renewable energy produced by wave energy is not great, the benefits are proving to be greater than that of tidal power. Wave power is also accessible to more areas all over the globe. Other utility companies around the Puget Sound, and around the world, are stepping in to the potential of wave energy.
Sources: MSNBC, Wikipedia
NASCAR Exploring Alternative Fuel Options
After seeing the success of Brazil’s switch to ethanol fuel, NASCAR is looking into making the change. Brent Dewar, vice president of General Motors, hopes that the change made by NASCAR will help to push the United States in the same direction. By taking this step in the right direction, NASCAR drivers hope that their position in the public eye may provide a chance to view the benefits of using an alternative fuel in a different light. The change will result in modification to the cars, but may provide a greater benefit in the long run. NASCAR is not the first to look into this idea, the IndyCar Series and American LeMans Series plan on using ethanol fuels this season as well.
Source: MSNBC
In the News
IKEA Makes a Bold Move With Bags
Furniture retailer IKEA is implementing a five-cent charge on all plastic bags at their U.S. stores in an attempt to end their use. Their goal is to reduce plastic bag garbage by 100 billion. This plan has already helped Taiwan reduce their usage by 80 percent, and IKEA U.K. has reduced its usage by 95 percent. In addition to the charge, IKEA has reduced the price of their reusable bags to 59 cents, from their original 99 cents.
Source: MSNBC.com
Large Companies Stepping In to Take Part in Climate Change
Columbia University was the setting for a meeting, which resulted in the decision for climate change. The Global Roundtable on Climate Change, formed in 2004, is working on an agenda to diminish the scar of climate change on the environment. The group plans to start the movement by asking governments to set scientifically realistic goals for reduced emissions, and to act on those goals immediately. They are asking that these goals be not a recommendation, but a mandatory set target. Other actions are being looked at as well. China, who may soon surpass the United States on levels of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide, plans on placing more money in research. If the agenda is accepted and taken into action, the plan can be quite obtainable, with some teamwork from the corporate world and the government.
Source: MSNBC
Market Corner
Many recyclers base revenue payment for recyclables on a national index of pricing. Many of our members are currently interested in how those prices are determined. We have asked Midland Recycling to provide an overview of the pricing listed in our newsletter to provide a better understanding of how recyclers determine revenue. Thank you to Tonya Bernadt, Business Relations Manager for Midland Recycling for providing this month’s overview. We welcome other recycling companies to provide a guest market column as well. We also encourage our members to directly contact their current and/or future recyclers to find out specifics on how their revenue is determined.
The Official Board Market (OBM) also referred to as the Yellow Sheet is a standard indicator utilized by recyclers throughout the country. In this region most recyclers follow the Chicago region market values. The values listed in this newsletter are the low side and high side of the market. In parentheses is the amount that the market value for the specific commodity increased or decreased from the previous month.
The rebate a customer will receive from Midland Recycling is frequently based on the OBM values. Other factors included in determining rebates are the volume of material received, if the material needs to be sorted, whether the material is loose or baled, ease and frequency of pick up, and if it is delivered to our facility or picked up by Midland staff. For more details regarding Midland Recycling pricing structures contact Tonya Bernadt at (402) 476-8502.
| March – Chicago Region | |
|---|---|
Mixed Paper |
$70-75 (+5) |
Boxboard Cuttings |
$70-75 (+20) |
News |
$90-100 (+10) |
OCC |
$110-120 (+30) |
SOP |
$150-160 (+15) |
Sorted White Ledger |
$240-250 (+15) |
| Material Abbreviations OCC: Old Corrugated Cardboard SOP: Sorted Office Paper |
Source: Official Board Markets |