Month: January 2014

We’ve got tips to save cash and the environment this winter!

Today’s blog post comes from our expert hotline team. Questions about what you can recycle, reuse, or repair, and how? Contact them at 1-877-R-1-EARTH to get your answers, or visit WasteFreeSD.org and RepairSD.org anytime!

We hope you have had a chance to use our newest resource, RepairSD.org, which will allow you to search for locations to repair items that you may have originally thought to toss in the trash. Repair of your old items will keep valuable resources out of our landfills, and maybe even help save some of your hard earned money!

Winter has arrived and there may be some things in your household that are now in need of repair and I Love A Clean San Diego is here to help.

With cooler morning and night time temperatures around San Diego County, you may want to turn on that old wall heater in your home to keep it comfortable. If it’s no longer keeping your living space warm and toasty, use our repair database to locate a company that can get your wall heater all fixed up.

Much needed rain is (hopefully!) coming to San Diego early in the year, so make sure your windows and screens are in good shape. Leaking windows can cause water damage to your home, which can cause an even bigger headache to deal with. Use RepairSD.org to locate a company that can fix any windows you have that are in need to repair.

Are you ready for the Super Bowl? Unfortunately our San Diego Chargers won’t be there, but you still have to watch right? If your television is on the fritz, try to repair it before replacing it, use RepairSD.org to find a shop that can help you get your television back in working order.

Ski and snowboard season is upon us, if your skis and snowboards aren’t in the same shape they were when you put them away last year, log on to RepairSD.org to find a location that get them ready to hit the slopes.

Inaugural Zero Waste Symposium: Get your tix today!

Hello fellow San Diegans! Many of you know California is facing a major drought and we’re focusing on conserving, not wasting, water. But there are other important ways to prevent waste. Want to know what you can do to waste less and help the environment? Come join I Love A Clean San Diego at the inaugural Zero Waste Symposium on February 4! So what is zero waste and why should we care about achieving it? “Zero Waste focuses on reducing and redesigning wastes out of the system first, reusing discarded materials and products for their highest and best use in their original form and function for as long as possible, then recycling and composting the rest. It offers economic sustainability, entrepreneurial and employment opportunities, an improved overall quality of life and a healthier, cleaner environment” (zerowastesandiego.org). We all play a part in this vital environmental goal as it greatly impacts us all.

I Love A Clean San Diego will join the symposium with some of the top environmental leaders. Topics include basic Zero Waste principles like increasing what can be recycled and banning plastic bags and local stores and restaurants talking about the opportunities and challenges with composting on a day-to-day basis. The agenda will cover how we define “zero waste,” where zero waste begins, working from the top down, challenges and opportunities, and how we are on the zero waste track for 2020. Our very own Executive Director, Pauline Martinson, will be speaking about our new Repair Database: reducing and repurposing is a key component of zero waste. Haven’t heard about out new database? Check it out at www.repairsd.org. Before you throw out a broken item, check with our repair database to see if you could reuse it in any way!

zero waste system — Here’s a handy guide to how zero waste works

If you’re looking to have a better grasp on Zero Waste or just want to hear about opportunities for you to get involved this event is perfect for you. Can’t make the Symposium? You can network with these top environmental leaders after at the mixer at the Elbow Room starting around 4:45pm. For more information please visit: www.zerowastesandiego.org. We hope to see you there!

The Totals are In! 2013 By The Numbers…

Today’s post comes from I Love A Clean San Diego’s Director of Development & Marketing, Morgan Justice-Black, who thinks that annual program totals are pretty much the cats pajamas!

As someone who spends most of my days fundraising, there is no more exciting time of the year than the end of the year. Seeing those last few donations come in before the new year rolls around and crossing my fingers that we meet our projected revenue goals has become an annual tradition for me. But I also love the end of the year for another reason…the opportunity to compile our program totals for the year!

My coworkers run their programs pretty much up until the last week of the year. This year, we had two cleanups in December, as well as education presentations in schools through December 19th! Shout out to Mission Estancia Elementary in Carlsbad for being our last presentations of 2013! Naturally, the holiday “break” was spent doing some serious math, adding up the total number of volunteers we mobilized, the number of education sessions that we hosted, and much more.

Well, I’m happy to report that the results are in! And once again, I’m in awe of how much an organization of just 12 staff can get done!

COMMUNITY EVENTS:

30,510 volunteers

440,953 pounds of debris collected

79,689 cigarette butts

5,334 straws

and a whole lot more!

EDUCATION:

28,220 youth educated

600 environmental education presentations

RECYCLING:

15,555 requests for recycling information

1 brand new repair database, www.RepairSD.org

All in all, 2013 was a great year for I Love A Clean San Diego. But I’m confident that 2014 will be even better. Why? Because we are turning 60! Not me personally of course, but I Love A Clean San Diego! Since 1954, we’ve been working to prevent pollution in San Diego County, giving us a BIG reason to celebrate! So stay tuned for how we are going to make 2014 a year to remember. Oh, and if you didn’t get your donation in before the end of the year, our mailbox is always open 😉

Kids Ask the Darndest Environmental Questions: Why not burn it?

Today’s blog is part one in a series “Kids Ask the Darndest Environmental Questions!” from our environmental educator extraordinaire, Erika Bjorkquist.

During ILACSD’s “Put Waste in its Place” presentation, students learn about waste in San Diego. They are shocked to discover that Southern California leads the country in volume of trash disposed, and are excited to become part of the solution. Many students share ideas of reducing, recycling, and reusing, as solutions, to our trash problem, however, many don’t understand why people should practice these Rs. We challenge students to find ways to deal with our trash problem. One suggestion I frequently receive is, “Why don’t we just burn it?”

San Diegans dispose of 5lbs of waste per person per day!

So why don’t we burn it? In the past few years, the debate of incineration v. burial has reached a high, sparked by the success of cities like Oslo, which actually imports trash to convert into fuel for things like heating. In San Diego, and most of the west, one of the main reasons why we don’t burn is economics – it is cheaper to bury than burn. This also why we are trailing other California cities in waste diversion programs like curbside compost; the cost of burying is much lower than building new infrastructure. There are, however, arguments against the economic viability, pointing to transportation costs of waste haulers. In addition, incineration provides less energy than what can be saved through recycling. Incineration plants also have a negative reputation when it comes to air quality. While regulations are in place to prevent pollution, people still do not want it in their backyard.

All in all, while there are plenty of ideas on how to dispose of our waste, the key is prevention. It is important to minimize the amount of trash individuals produce. By rethinking purchases, like choosing products with limited packaging, refusing unnecessary items like plastic bags for a candy bar, and being ready by having carrying reusable mugs and water bottles, you will make an impact in your neighborhood, city, and state.

waste incineration2 — Waste incineration emissions

Learn more about how to reduce waste through recycling, reuse, and repair at www.WasteFreeSD.org!

bury incineration three Rs trash waste disposal

Make a resolution to recycle more in 2014!

It’s that time of year again, what will be your resolution for this New Year? Might we make a suggestion? Resolve to recycle more! Your friends at I Love A Clean San Diego are here to help you keep your resolution with a refresher on what can be recycled in your blue recycling bin here in San Diego.

Can recycle: milk cartons, juice boxes, and broth boxes

Cartons are now recyclable through every waste hauler in San Diego County. That means you can put milk cartons, juice boxes, broth boxes, and any other aseptic type of container in your blue bin.

Any type of hard plastic container, regardless of the number on the bottom, can be put in your recycling bin. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if it’s a plastic that you cannot easily crush with your hand and it fits in your bin, throw it in for recycling. Containers should be empty of most food scraps, but don’t need to be perfectly clean.

Another item that might you might not be dropping into your blue bin is empty aerosol cans. Empty hair spray, empty aerosol cleaning supplies and empty spray paint containers can all be recycled. (If you have aerosol containers that aren’t completely empty, those should be treated as household hazardous waste. Log on to our recycling database, www.WasteFreeSD.org to find a location for disposal).

Pizza boxes are one of the greatest mysteries in recycling and we have the answer for you! To recycle pizza boxes, all you need to do is rip off any part of the box that is greasy or covered with food and throw it in the trash. The rest of the clean cardboard can go in the recycling. (If we were to recycle the pizza box in the image to the left, we would rip off the bottom section and throw it in the trash. Then put the top part in the recycling).

Not be to forgotten are the old standbys for recycling. Paper, metal cans, clean aluminum foil, glass jars, soda bottles, and aluminum cans are some of the common items you have around the house that can go in the recycling. If you have paper, especially shredded paper, to recycle, throw it in a paper grocery bag and roll the top down on the bag to ensure it’s not contaminated by other items in the recycling bin. (If it’s contaminated, it won’t be recycled and it will have to be thrown away as regular trash).

Check out www.WasteFreeSD.org to learn where to recycle ewaste!

Did you get a snazzy new TV for the holidays? Don’t forget that your old TV should be recycled: electronic waste is known to contain heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which if placed in the landfill can harm people and the environment. Keep an eye out in your neighborhood for signs advertising e-waste collection events. You can also log on to www.WasteFreeSD.org to search for an event or recycling center for electronics near you.

aersol cartons ewaste new years pizza plastic recycle