The GLRPPR Blog

There’s still time to submit entries for the 2011 International E-Waste Design Competition. The deadline has been extended to 4:59 p.m. CT, May 9, 2011. College students and recent graduates from around the world submit ideas for reusing e-waste to create new and useful products, or for preventing its generation in the first place (e.g. by re-designing an existing electronic device to facilitate reuse or otherwise extend the product life cycle). Entries include, among other elements, a video uploaded to YouTube highlighting the proposed design idea. Six winning teams or individuals (three in each of two categories) will receive monetary prizes. The competition is part of the educational component of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI; www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu). For more information and online registration, see www.ewaste.illinois.edu, or contact Joy Scrogum at jscrogum@istc.illinois.edu or 217-333-8948.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is now accepting nominations for the third annual Michigan Green Chemistry Governor’s Award. The awards, modeled on the Presidential Green Chemistry Awards program, honor industrial, academic, student, and non-profit efforts to green Michigan’s economy.

Past awardees were recognized for work to advance principles of green chemistry into chemical design, manufacture or use, or promotion activities that support or implement those technologies.

The awards are open to individuals, groups and organizations in Michigan, both nonprofit and for-profit, including academia, educators, nonprofit advocacy groups and industry.

To learn more about Michigan’s green chemistry program or obtain a nomination packet for the Governor’s award, go to www.michigan.gov/greenchemistry.

Entries must be sent by Aug. 5. Awards are presented during the 2011 Michigan Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference. This year’s conference: “Advancing Innovation for a Sustainable Future,” is scheduled Oct. 27 at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex in Ann Arbor.

For more information, call the DEQ Environmental Assistance Center at 800‑662-9278.

For those of us in the U.S., the deadline (April 15) approaches to submit taxes for 2010. Whether you’re still scrambling to fill our your forms, or feeling the satisfaction of having turned everything in on time, take a minute to read this informative post on Earth911‘s web site called Green Tax Credits You’re Missing. Author Alexis Petru provides information on incentives for home energy efficiency, renewable energy systems, credits for purchasing greener vehicles, and deductions you can take for donating to your favorite charitable organization or non-profit. Even if these incentives don’t apply to you for this round of taxes, consider what’s available as warmer weather approaches and you begin planning home improvement projects. You might be able to take advantage of incentives next year at tax time and make your choices “greener” in more ways than one.

P2TagTeam is collaborative tagging effort on Delicious, spearheaded by the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx), to encourage P2 professionals to share the resources they find and bookmark. If you locate a resource that you think would be helpful to other P2 professionals, simply add P2TagTeam tag in the Tags field when you add the bookmark to Delicious. For more background on P2Tag Team, Delicious, and social bookmarking, see P2 is Delicious, my earlier post on the topic.

As an example of the kinds of resources being identified, here are the ten most recent bookmarks tagged for P2TagTeam. You can view the entire collection at http://www.delicious.com/tag/p2tagteam.

• Green Vehicle Guide | US EPA
• Ground-Level Ozone Reduction Links – Programs & Outreach – LouisvilleKy.gov
• B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Bag)
  380,000,000,000 plastic bags are consumed each year in America, 1% of them get recycled. Princeton SECN students explores the world of plastic, and non-plastic bags. Learn how bringing your own bag, can help the environment.
• ScienceCinema, the source for Department of Energy (DOE) multimedia – Home Page
  ScienceCinema utilizes audio indexing and speech recognition technology from Microsoft Research, allowing you to search for specific words and phrases spoken within video files. You can then easily access the exact point in the video where the words were spoken by the presenter. The videos in ScienceCinema highlight DOE’s scientific research.
• Don’t be left in the dark.: Safely clean up and recycle CFLs.
  EPA brochure on cleaning up broken compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• The Green Grid
  The Green Grid is a global consortium of IT companies and professionals seeking to improve energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems around the globe. The organization seeks to unite global industry efforts to standardize on a common set of metrics, processes, methods and new technologies to further its common goals.
• State of Green Business Report 2011
  The fourth annual edition of our State of Green Business report continues our efforts to measure the environmental impacts of the emerging green economy. We document how well — or poorly — companies are improving their environmental performance despite the challenges posed by the Great Recession, and begin to note promising signs for a sea change in corporate sustainability efforts. The free, downloadable report measures the progress of U.S. business and the economy from an environmental perspective, and highlights key trends in corporate culture in regard to the environment.
• Check Your Paper
  The Check Your Paper scheme is WWF’s global benchmarking tool for responsible producers and buyers of paper products. It also provides a virtual meeting place for organisations who want to act sustainably and transparently when producing or buying paper products.
• National Yellow Pages Opt Out Site
  Opt out of yellow pages, white pages & phone books delivery.
• Thermal Paper & BPA — Trash or Recycle?
  Thermal paper receipts contain BPA. Is it a good idea to recycle thermal receipts?

For more information on P2TagTeam, visit the P2Rx web site or contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu).

ISTC Senior Chemist Wei Zheng received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the fate and transport of hormones and antibiotics from cattle farms. He recently submitted the following update to the USDA and agreed to share it with The GLRPPR Blog as well. The questions below were posed by the funder. For more information about this project, please contact Wei Zheng.

What is the water problem being addressed by your project? What are the main goals of your project?

Large volumes of manure-contaminated wastewater, wash water, and storm water runoff can be generated at concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The reuse of CAFO wastewater on agricultural lands can decrease the amount of wastewater discharge into sensitive water bodies and beneficially utilize the nutrients in the discharge as fertilizers for irrigation applications. However, the wastewater from large confined-animal farms usually retains many contaminants, such as salts, pathogens, heavy metals, hormones, antibiotics, and excess amounts of nutrients, which could pose environmental and public health risks if widely applied for agricultural irrigation. This project focuses on how wastewater reuse from dairy and beef farms contributes to the problem of animal hormones and veterinary antibioticsin the environment.  The primary goal of this project is to investigate the environmental fate and transport of several commonly-occurring steroid hormones, veterinary antibiotics, and their metabolites derived from the agricultural use of CAFO manure and wastewater; minimize their contamination in soil and water; and thereby develop effective management strategies to protect valuable water supplies.

Who are your stakeholders and what has been the impact of your work on your stakeholders? Describe any new technologies that were developed from your work. Are your stakeholders implementing this new technology and if so, how many have implemented the technology? What new knowledge was gained?

This project adds to the body of knowledge concerning the environmental fate and transport of steroid hormones and veterinary antibiotics derived from CAFOs. Successful completion of this project will help the federal and state agencies to formulate effective regulatory programs, help animal farm operators to improve their land application design and operation processes, and help extension staff to develop effective management strategies to minimize the negative environmental effects of hormone and antibiotic contaminants on the surrounding water supplies. Our initial research investigated the transformation kinetics and mechanisms of three steroid hormones (17α-estradiol, 17β-estridiol and estrone) and two antibiotics (ceftiofur and florfenicol) in dairy lagoon and beef recycled wastewater. Our initial results suggest that increasing the residence time of wastewater in lagoon or aerobic settling tanks may be an economical, feasible, and efficient practice to degrade hormone and antibiotic contaminants and thus reduce their loads to the environment. These results will be useful for development of integrated management strategies to mitigate potential adverse impacts associated with the reuse of CAFO wastewater.

Over the past eighteen months, GLRPPR staff have been converting the topic hubs they’ve developed into LibGuides. To date, the following Topic Hubs have been converted:

• Auto Salvage-Great Lakes Region
• Energy Efficient Schools and Students
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Schools
• Mercury — Schools
• Technology Diffusion

LibGuides is a web 2.0 platform that libraries use to create topical guides to help their users find information. It combines the best features of social networks, wikis, and blogs into one package. Librarians can incorporate RSS feeds, video, web links, bibliographic citations, search boxes, and other finding aids. LibGuides also allows librarians to create polls and allows users to comment on specific resources and tools within each guide.

Users can also sign up to receive e-mail alerts when new content is published, either for particular topics/keywords or for a specific librarian (in this case, GLRPPR). In addition, the converted topic hubs live in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s LibGuides space, which means that they’re more visible to the UIUC community, particularly students.

For a list of GLRPPR guides, visit the GLRPPR profile page on the UIUC Library’s LibGuides web site. You can also see the list of guides I’ve created on my profile page. Please take a look at the converted topic hubs and give us your feedback about the new format.

The pollution prevention world has undergone dramatic changes in staff, funding, technology, and program objectives since the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) was established in the 1990s. GLRPPR needs to change to keep pace with the rest of the P2 community. As the GLRPPR Steering Committee, EPA’s Regional Pollution Prevention coordinator, and GLRPPR staff continue this process, we need your help.

Please take a moment to complete the questionnaire at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QLZPFN5. GLRPPR is your organization and we need your feedback to plan for the future.

The DoD Environmental Data Quality Workgroup is pleased to announce the 8th annual DoD Environmental Monitoring & Data Quality Workshop, which includes technical training sessions, technical presentations, a plenary session featuring distinguished speakers, a Q&A forum, component meetings, a poster session, an update on the DoD ELAP, and networking opportunities with members of the environmental community. This workshop is open to all interested environmental professionals involved with DoD sites or projects including representatives from the DoD services, other federal agencies, state, local, and tribal governments, academia, and the private sector. Possible training categories for this workshop include: DoD QSM 4.2 and Proposed v5 Update, Vapor Intrusion, Corrective Action Processes and Root Cause Analyses, MMRP, Emerging Contaminants and Disposal of Nanomaterials, and Environmental Forensics.

The workshop will take place March 28-April 1, 2011 at the Westin Arlington Gateway in Arlington, VA. Visit www.regonline.com/2011emdqworkshop to register online.

Abstracts for technical presentations and posters are being solicited in the following areas: DoD Emerging Contaminants; Indoor Air Vapor Intrusion; Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP); Laboratory Analysis and Performance; Data Management and Sharing; Project Planning / Implementing UFP-QAPP; Data Quality and Usability; Field Sampling and Analysis; Quality Systems Implementation; and Environmental Monitoring for Remedial Technologies. All abstracts must be 1 page in length, in Microsoft Word format, and submitted via email no later than January 14, 2011. To submit an abstract, or for more information, contact: EMDQworkshop@geologics.com.

Remember to check the GLRPPR calendar for more events related to environmental protection, pollution prevention and sustainability.

This is an announcement of the extension of the deadline for submitting P2 results data for calendar years 2007, 2008, and 2009. The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) / Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) P2 Results Task Force requests that your program submits P2 results data to your regional P2Rx Center for input into the P2 Results Data System.  If your program has already submitted 2007 through 2009 data, then we thank you and ignore this request.

For 2007 and 2008 data, the deadline has been extended to November 12, 2010. For 2009 data, the deadline has been extended to December 31, 2010.

The P2 Results Task Force has recently worked on upgrading and improving the P2 Results Data System in response to comments and requests from users.  In particular, the System now includes greenhouse gas metrics, updated and improved cost calculators, and the capability to identify results associated with EPA grant funding.  A webinar was conducted in October to explain these upgrades.  A copy of the presentation can be found on the P2Rx website at http://www.p2rx.org/services/measurement.cfm.

In addition to each P2Rx Center using the results data to generate regional reports, NPPR will help prepare a three-year national report on P2 results that covers data for 2007 – 2009.  NPPR will begin drafting the report in the near future and will utilize the 2007 and 2008 data to begin the analysis portion of the report.  2009 data that is submitted by the deadline will be included in this report.  Data submitted after the December 31, 2010 deadline will be included in the System but may not be utilized in the NPPR national report.  Since 1990, NPPR has documented over 200 billion pounds of waste reduced, 145 billion gallons of water conserved, and 125 billion dollars saved.  These results demonstrate the value of P2 in not only environmental terms and natural resource conservation, but also in economic benefits such as job creation and retention.

There is a fact sheet available on the P2Rx web site that describes the P2 Results Task Force and the benefits of joining. The Task Force is interested in involving new members. Please contact the co-chairs, Terri Goldberg (NEWMOA) or Ken Grimm (PPRC) if you have any questions or are interested in joining the group.

Data should be submitted to one of the following regional P2Rx Centers; contact your Center if you have any questions about how to participate in the System:

Regions 1 & 2
Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA)
CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT
Andy Bray
129 Portland St., Suite 602
Boston, MA 02114-2014
617-367-8558 #306
617-367-0449 (FAX)
abray@newmoa.org

Regions 3 & 4
Waste Reduction Resource Center (WRRC)
AL, DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, MD, MS, NC, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV
Jamie Ragan
1639 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1639
(919) 715-6519
(FAX) 919-715-1612
wrrc@p2pays.org/measurement

Region 5
Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR)
IL, IN, MI, MN, NY, OH, PA, WI, Ontario, Canada
Tyler Rubach
One E. Hazelwood Dr.
Champaign, IL 61820
217-244-65538946
trubach@wmrc.uiuc.edu

Region 6
Southwest Network for Zero Waste
AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
Thomas Vinson-Peng
10100 Burnet Rd. CEER-R 7100
Austin, TX 78758
512/232-7149
tvinson@uta.edu

Region 7
Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center (P2RIC)
IA, KS, MO, NE
Zac Fowler
University of Nebraska at Omaha
6001 Dodge St., RH 308
Omaha, NE 68182
402-554-6257
402-554-6260 (FAX)
zfowler@unomaha.edu

Region 8
Peaks to Prairies Pollution Prevention Information Center

Myla Kelly
Montana State University Extension Service
PO Box 173580
Bozeman, MT 59717
406-994-3451
(FAX) 406-994-5417

information@peakstoprairies.org

Region 9
Western Regional Pollution Prevention Network (WRPPN)
AZ, CA, HI, NV
Donna Walden
6100 Neil Road, Suite 400
Reno, NV 89511
(775) 689-6678
775-689-6689 (FAX)
wrppn@westp2net.org

Region 10
Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC)
WA, ID, OR, AK
Ken Grimm
513 First Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119
206-352-2050
(FAX) 206-352-2049
kgrimm@pprc.org

On October 9, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance. The purpose of the order was “to establish an integrated strategy towards sustainability in the Federal Government and to make reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a priority for Federal agencies.” The order also required:

• Identification of an Agency Senior Sustainability Officer
• Establishment of the interagency Steering Committee on Federal Sustainability which consists of the Federal Environmental Executive and the Agency Senior Suitability Officers

The Executive Order also set a number of energy, water, and waste reduction targets for agencies to meet, including:

• 30% reduction in vehicle fleet petroleum use by 2020;
• 26% improvement in water efficiency by 2020;
• 50% recycling and waste diversion by 2015;
• 95% of all applicable contracts will meet sustainability requirements;
• Implementation of the 2030 net-zero-energy building requirement.

So, how much progress have federal government agencies made in on these goals since the order was signed? Quite a bit, actually.

Federal agency strategic sustainability performance plans are available for perusal on the White House Council for Environmental Quality web site. The White House also launched the GreenGov Challenge, which generated more than 5,000 ideas and 165,000 votes from 14,000 federal employees. The GreenGov Environmental Challenge Final Report is available here.

For more information on federal government environmental efforts, check out FedCenter.org, particularly the Sustainability section.