Glass is one of the best materials to recycle. Not only does glass recycling help stimulate the local economy, glass can be recycled endlessly. Indeed, 80% of recovered glass is recycled into new glass bottles. The rest is turned into industrial materials. Momentum Recycling, Utah’s glass-only recycling facility, provides a critical service to our communities by taking care of our glass and moving Utah closer to zero waste.
by SLCgreen intern Sarah Hogg
Today the Hogle Zoo launches a new animal exhibit, but these animals are a bit different from the rest.
The exhibit’s animals are made up plastic debris washed up on the shore of the Oregon coast. The colorful sculptures make a bold statement about plastic pollution in our oceans and its impact on marine life.
From May 24 to September 30, visitors to Salt Lake City’s Hogle Zoo will come face to face with fifteen sculptures built entirely out of plastic trash. The sculptures are located throughout the zoo grounds.
Artist and art educator Angela Haseltine Possi created Washed Ashore to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of plastic within the ecosystem. Possi spent many summers on the beaches of Oregon when she was young, which fostered her love of nature. But over time, she noticed the massive amounts of plastic and trash that washed up on the shore. Possi decided to educate herself about plastic pollution and the impact it has on marine life. Her research inspired her to help in the way that she knew how—by creating art.
And so, the Washed Ashore Project was born. Volunteers who work on the Washed Ashore Project join forces to clean up beaches on the Oregon coast, process the debris, and then create the sculptures representing marine life. To this day, over 10,000 volunteers have contributed to this ongoing project.
The exhibit travels across the country to educate viewers about the dangers of plastic waste in our oceans to the marine life, and what they can do to help.
Each of the animals on display represents an animal impacted by marine debris. For example, one of the sculptures is a billowing jellyfish. Hungry sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish– a staple in their diet. The mistake can be deadly for the sea turtles. This piece serves to spark conversation about the negative impacts of plastic bags and the importance of reusable alternatives.
YouthCity is a Salt Lake City Division offering programs for children and young adults ages 8-19. They have many offerings throughout the city, including after-school and full-time during the summer. The programming is designed to foster positive youth development in an inclusive and caring environment.
This year, YouthCity ran a Session of Service program to explore and take action on issues affecting our community, with staff and students collectively brainstorming ways to get involved.
So far, they have completed several impactful projects focusing on air pollution, homelessness, and plastic pollution.
We want to highlight one project in particular . . .
Did you know that Earth Day was celebrated by over a BILLION people last year?
That is an incredible number, right?
It’s been celebrated since 1970 and has since become the world’s largest day for environmental awareness and the world’s largest service project. It is often marked by planting trees, doing litter cleanups, or engaging in other volunteer projects.
In honor of Earth Day 2019, we’ve compiled a list of things you can do personally to reduce your impact on the planet, as well as some fun upcoming events to help you choose how you want to celebrate Earth Day!
Continue readingSalt Lake City is excited to announce that a new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is coming to our city in 2020. It will process Salt Lake City’s residential recycling, along with other customers’ material from around the area.
Waste Management is currently the City’s contracted recycling vendor and processes roughly 750 tons per month of Salt Lake City recyclables at their facility in southern Salt Lake County.
This new, upgraded facility will allow the company to produce a cleaner end-product with higher value, increase diversion from the landfill, and support Salt Lake City’s overall recycling goals.
This is all the more important in an era when recycling markets are tightening; demand for cleaner material is paramount; and facilities, municipalities, and residents must adapt to new standards.
We’re also thrilled that the facility will be located in Salt Lake City limits, with the attendant economic development impacts, as well as the shorter travel times for our trucks.
See the below press release from Waste Management for more information.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — March 6, 2019 — Waste Management of Utah has announced plans to expand and improve its Salt Lake City recycling operations with the construction of a new, larger and technically-advanced Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Building is expected to begin in the spring and the new MRF is slated to be fully operational by early 2020.
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Are you interested in the ever-changing landscape of recycling?
Do you want to learn why composting is an integral part of waste diversion?
Or learn how to effectively promote recycling practices within your community?
Salt Lake City Green is excited to announce the spring 2019 Salt Lake City Master Recycler program! Register now at SLCMasterRecycler.com.
Applications will be accepted through March 18 (unless we fill up sooner).
This FREE program provides in-depth education about recycling, composting, and solid waste management for Salt Lake City community members and professional sustainability practitioners.
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Salt Lake City prides itself in our commitment to sustainability, and recycling is the first and most basic tenet of that commitment.
This commitment to sustainability and recycling is why we have gradually increased the number of services offered to residents over the last several years from curbside recycling to compost to glass recycling. It’s also, in part, why we introduced the Call 2 Haul program last year to achieve greater diversion from the landfill.
Resident waste, however, only accounts for about 40% of the total amount of material being generated. That’s why we also have a construction and demolition recycling ordinance (targeting 9-10% of generated waste) and a business & multi-family recycling ordinance passed in December 2015 to target the rest. The latter went into effect in January 2018.
The business recycling ordinance is not aimed at small properties or businesses, nor those properties which provide lower-income, Section 8 housing. Instead, it is focused on the medium- to-large properties that are creating more waste.
More specifically, a business or property in Salt Lake City that generates more than four cubic yards of waste per week is required to offer recycling. This is approximately equal to eight, 96-gallon curbside containers and is roughly what multi-family properties with 15 or more units, and businesses with 10-15 or more employees, would produce.
Only 10-15% of business waste was recycled before the ordinance went into effect. That number is gradually increasing, but we’d like your help!
Are you aware of a business or multi-family property that is not offering recycling? Let us know!
Simply fill out this form or email slcrecycles@slcgov.com and we’ll contact them to follow-up.
It’s the New Year and you may have made it a goal to waste less and recycle more. That’s great!
A common question we receive here at SLCgreen is about so-called “compostable” or “biodegradable” disposables.
What are they? Are they better than regular disposables? Can they go in the brown curbside compost can?
At first blush, they seem to offer a great solution–the convenience of single-use bags, plates, cups, and utensils — with a supposedly more environmentally-friendly footprint.
However, the truth is more complicated.
That’s because, as it turns out, these single-use ‘bioplastic’ products are just as bad for the environment as the regular single-use plastic products they were meant to replace.
So what is bioplastic? Continue reading
The last few years have been incredible for us here at SLCgreen and this past year was no exception.
We are thrilled to share our progress from 2018 with you. As always, we’d like to give a huge shout out to all of our partners— those in City government, other government agencies, non-profit associations, passionate neighborhood groups, and dedicated community councils with whom we work. Building a more sustainable SLC takes many hands!
Below are some of the highlights from our 2018 annual report. You can download the full 2018 report here.
Don’t miss our reports from 2017 and 2016 too.
December is the month for generosity. It’s the time not only for giving gifts to loved ones, but for giving to the causes you care about. The giving spirit may also encourage you to think of those less fortunate in our community who need a little help.
Indeed sharing compassion and empathy with those struggling is what elevates– and betters– our entire community.
In fact, our state is known for its generosity, securing the second spot in the nation in a recent study.
With that in mind, Salt Lake City, the Lieutenant Governor, and community service providers recently held a press conference to encourage residents to give smarter– and to give generously– this holiday season and year-round.
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