March 30th, 2009 by Tiffany

I’m really tired of nothing every coming of a recycling program here in Pueblo although it has been talked about for years. So I wrote an email to several City Council members and the Health Department for some answers, let’s see if they have any good explanations.  Below is the email that I sent,  I will also post any responses.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing in regards to our serious problem of trash and recycling here in Pueblo. I am tired of hearing from everyone that “Pueblo people will not change” and simply using that as an excuse to keep us from changing.  It seems as though the people have tried to make change and we are getting stopped.  When I heard about the We Recycle program, I was very excited to hear that something was actually changing rather than just being talked about.  What could be better than ten dollars a month for curbside, singlestream recycling by an actual reputable, earth conscious organization?  The We Recycle program would be an amazing addition to the Pueblo community yet I have heard that the City Council and Health Department is trying to stop it.  WHY??  Am I misinformed, is this simply a rumor?  It seems to be politics that are getting in our way of recycling, not the people.  Yet it is the people that are getting blamed.   What can we do to help?  What is the reasoning for hindering programs such as We Recycle, or PDQs attempt last year to open their own recycling program?

Give the people of Pueblo some credit.  We WILL change but we must have the chance.  Several people here in Pueblo want to help make this a cleaner, more progressive town.   Recycling does not need to be made mandatory nor do we need “kick backs” or money to be encouraged.  We need convenience and education.  Many people are desperately trying to recycle and becoming very discouraged with having to stack up recyclables in their garage for months until they can transport them to springs or find individual places around town.

Why can’t small things be implemented immediately?  Bins and educational posters could be placed at the Riverwalk and downtown area, coffee shops, bars, reservoir, kayak park, etc.  They could be started in phases even; schools first so that they could be more easily regulated, (people couldn’t just throw their trash in the dumpsters because they would be located inside or locked after business hours).  These things can all be started with minimal money so I am struggling to see a reason why this hasn’t already happened, especially for things that are “easy” to recycle such as paper products, metals and glass.  Is it because of the labor needed to pick up the products?  I know a lot of people that would be willing to help and volunteer if labor is the set back.

It is nearly the season of chili cook offs, Festival Fridays, B street bash, Blues, boats and bbq; these would be excellent venues to show that Pueblo’s City/County Council and health department actually cares and wants to clean up Pueblo!  Try to imagine how much waste is produced at these events….shouldn’t the city be conscious of trying to offset some of that waste by providing places for people to recycle.  These events would also be an excellent, cheap way to educate the public about trash and how we have to live with it forever, because nothing ever really gets “thrown away”.

Has recycling programs in other towns been researched?  I agree that we will never be like Boulder or Fort Collins. (and actually we have much more to offer then either of those towns!)  However, we could gain valuable information from their programs and then decide what would or wouldn’t work for us.  Have Pueblo council members met with council members from these towns to discuss our dilemmas and ideas?  Seems like it would be a good place to start.

I am in no way trying to say that City/County Council or the Health Department has not been working very hard to come up with a solution and I have a lot of respect for what you do for the Pueblo Community.  I simply want to help and want to understand our obstacles and reasons that recycling is not going forward.

Sincerely,

One Frustrated Recycler

City Council, Health Department, PDQ, Pueblo, recycle, Recycling, trash, We Recyle

March 27th, 2009 by Jess

Wait a second… didn’t I just write this post?  Oh no wait, that was a different kind of safety and a different acronym.  Yet, strangely, the same issue.

Once again, Congress has failed to differentiate between local and industrial.  I’m talking about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), designed in the wake of the product safety scares to protect our children from lead, phthalates, and other harmful things that “oops,” accidentally end up in products when we’re not paying attention.

I know that I’m a little late on this one.  After all, this legislation was passed in 2008.  I heard about it then as the bill that was going to kill second-hand and consignment stores.  I am ashamed to say that I grieved briefly, and then resigned myself to eventually scouring Freecycle for second-hand products for my as yet unborn children.  What I didn’t realize was that it was also going to be devastating to thousands of other small businesses around the country.  I didn’t connect the dots.  And, apparently, neither did Congress.  Or they did and decided they just didn’t care.  Or it was going to be too much trouble to fix it.

Like NAIS, CPSIA places the financial burden for complying with federal standards on the producers, defined as manufacturers for CPSIA purposes.  Here is why this regulation is such a problem.  I’ll extract the really bad part:

“Anyone who makes, produces or assembles a product is considered to be a manufacturer.  If what you make is sold or donated, something as simple as adding ribbons to hair clips, knitting hats, or stringing beads into necklaces makes you a manufacturer.”

I spoke with a small business owner this afternoon regarding the impact CPSIA may have on his company in the next year.  He and his wife have developed educational adventure programs for children — the kind of business that truly benefits a community on so many levels.  They use a collection of toys and props that are assembled by their company and sold for additional revenue.  Like many small businesses, they are operating with a very small margin of profit.  Right now, the products they sell account for one third of their total business revenue.  In order to continue selling them, they will have to pay thousands of dollars per item to have their products tested and certified, in spite of the fact that they are not creating original materials, even if the materials they are using have been tested and certified.

Many small farmers across the country meet and exceed the standards for organic farming.  However, most small farmers who meet these standards are not USDA certified as organic.  Why?  Because the certification process is too expensive.  But small farmers who are unable to afford organic certification can operate without this certification.

Unlike these farmers, small business owners and craftspeople classified as manufactures of toys, clothing, and other products for children who cannot afford the testing and certification process under CPSIA will not legally be allowed to sell their products.  CPSIA has the potential to put thousands of small business owners and employees out of work at the end of the year.

Everyone loves safe food.  And I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who thinks lead in toys is a good idea.  But Congress needs to figure out how to distinguish local from industrial, and develop legislation or provide guidance to regulatory bodies accordingly.  I hope to see some movement in that direction on April 1st.

consumer product safety improvment act, CPSIA, product safety, small business

March 25th, 2009 by Jess

I’m sure everyone remembers the series of food and product safety scares that became big news last year.  The mainstream media has continued to cover food safety loudly, in part because Americans care and, in part, causing Americans to care more than we ever would have otherwise.  (Want to see something scary?  Good thing the media isn’t covering those with the same level of attention.  It might be the final nail in the coffin of American consumerism.)

There are currently five food safety bills making their way through Congress.  Unfortunately, if passed in their current forms, these bills will have a tremendous negative impact on local farmers and the sustainable food movement.  The standards and regulations will raise costs substantially for all farmers, but prohibitively for small farmers who are not operating with an economy of scale.

Each of these bills addresses several elements of the food production system:

• Tracking the origins of food
• Creating standards for production methods

At the core of the concern about these bills is the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).  This is a policy requiring the identification of all livestock which, if implemented, would be prohibitively expensive for many small farmers and ranchers.  While none of the legislation currently in Congress specifically calls for NAIS, if the Department of Agriculture implements the program, much of this legislation will affect the scope and range of the system.  Specifically, none of this legislation distinguishes between factory-scale farming and local sustainable agriculture.  Unfortunately, the 2009 omnibus Appropriations bill, passed in February, included funding for NAIS.

As with so many pet issues of the mainstream media and of Congress, food safety has become a victim of a fundamental issue in framing.  The argument can be made that tracking is necessary in industrial agriculture and food processing.  If something goes wrong, officials need to know the source so that they can more quickly identify and remove products from the market — on a national scale.  In industrial agriculture, food is grown on one one side of the country, processed on the other side of the country, and distributed everywhere.  Knowing where food comes from is a key element in keeping people safe.

Tracking systems such as NAIS and the other mechanisms outlined in these bills protect us from something that is not an issue in local agriculture.  With locally sourced food, I know where my food is coming from.  And the people who grow and raise my food know where their products are going.

Local farmers do not have the economy of scale to necessitate this level of governmental regulation.  And they cannot afford to shoulder the expense of regulation mechanisms designed for industrial agriculture.   It is time to pay attention to what Congress is doing with our food.

food safety, local agriculture, NAIS, sustainable agriculture

March 23rd, 2009 by Tisha

In Pueblo, Colorado there are several facets of folks from all different corners of our community, from all different backgrounds of educated and directed thought, that have come together in the past four weeks to discuss and determine what to do with the recycling dilemma in our County and City.

On Thursday (March 26th), at 7:00 PM, the self-titled Pueblo Recycling Coalition, will host a meeting with guest speaker, Susan Finzel-Aldred from the Pueblo City-County Health Department.

We are sending our very own investigative reporters – Clifton Casida and Tiffany Barr to scope out the scene and see if we can learn about all of the wonderful things going on, as well as if we can answer any of the questions we have posed in the previous blog posts.

Stay tuned!!

meeting, meetings, Pueblo, recycle, Recycling

March 21st, 2009 by Jess

I have said before, and I am sure I will say again, that I think the time to discuss whether climate change is an issue has passed.  For those who think that climate change is not occurring, that may be hard statement to stomach.  After all, it is your economy too!  And we’re talking about policies that could make all our lives much harder.

This guy does a phenomenal job of explaining why we are debating the wrong issue, and why you don’t need to know where you stand on climate change to move on to the conversation about what should be done.

And to be honest, for those of you who make the argument that climate change is happenening, but that we’re not what’s causing it, can you explain your point?  Because I would support trying to stop a giant asteroid from hitting the earth, even if I didn’t create the asteroid.  Last time I checked, we all lived here.

climate change, climate change policy, global warming

March 20th, 2009 by Jess

This is embarrassing to write after I was such a government fangirl the other day.  But, sadly, it’s true.

Last Friday, I checked back on the Ways & Means Committee website where, as promised, the subcommittee audio hearing was available to listen to.  Ten hours of constant interruption later, I shut down my computer, hearing untouched.  In accordance with my resolution to procrastinate anything longer than an episode of Babylon 5, I did not listen to the hearing over the weekend.  On Monday afternoon when I arrived at the office, the audio file was gone.

The staff at the subcommittee office were still very polite and prompt at responding to my inquiries.  Nonetheless, the “powers that be” have decided that, according to some rule, the audio is no longer available.

I want to know what the rule is!  I might have been able to get the audio-file with some additional pressure and name-dropping.  But I shouldn’t have to do that – this is our government and our Congress.  This hearing was publicly available (although not when scheduled and then only for one business day).  In several weeks, a full transcript will be made available.  So why exactly are they not allowed to grant access now?

I apologize for my moment of enthusiasm about government accessibility.  Relative to many other governments, ours is open and accessible.  But there is still an awful lot of red tape.

And I learned my lesson.  This week’s hearing is already recorded and awaiting my procrastinatory pleasure.

March 14th, 2009 by Jess

I apologize for the brief delay in covering the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support’s Hearing on Protecting Lower-Income Families While Fighting Global Warming.

When I tuned in to listen to the hearing live on Thursday morning, the website gave me a message that the meeting was not in session.  I called the main Ways & Means Committee number (yes, anyone can do that) and was transferred around until I reached the relevant Subcommittee, where I was told that there was no such hearing today.  Discouraged by the misinformation on the website, I decided to see if I could figure out when the hearing was to be rescheduled.  After a few minutes of fruitless searching on the internet, I decided to call back and see if they knew what had happened, if and when the hearing was rescheduled, or if it was moved to another committee.  I called the office I had just spoken with directly and now, five minutes later, the same person answered and confirmed that the hearing was currently in session and that the audio would be posted the site later that day.  Yay!

We are fortunate to live in a country with a government that works this way.  Absolutely anyone can call up a congressional committee office or the local and/or federal office of a member of Congress.  In the several years I have worked in Washington DC, I have had to deal with many unhelpful, unpleasant people.  The fact is that most of them worked in the private sector.  I cannot remember a single interaction with an employee at any of the congressional offices that was not completely professional, polite, and helpful.  Even in this case, my initial call served to alert them to an issue (missing hearing footage!) that was then identified and corrected within minutes.

I think sometimes we have internal barriers with contacting the offices of our elected representatives.  The first several times I did it, I was nervous and went in with the assumption that I would have to struggle to get what I needed.  The fact is that most of employees answering the phones in our congressional members are young, enthusiastic, extremely dedicated people.  They are passionate about politics and about doing their jobs well.  Entry level congressional office jobs are hard work and don’t pay particularly well (or at all, if they are interns).

The government can seem frustrating, intimidating, and a whole host of other adjectives.  But sometimes it’s good to remember that behind “the government,” there are a bunch of people like you and I.

And the audio from the hearing is now posted on the committee website, available for any of us to listen in on some members of the government doing their jobs.

March 9th, 2009 by Tom

Tesla has made a even cooler version of their roadster.  If you are not familiar with the Tesla Roadster it is an available to the public, all electric car  capable of going 0-60 in just under 4 seconds.

The new version called the Roadster Sport is faster due to its upgraded hand wound electric motor and has a sports tuned suspension for better handling.  The Roadster sport will accelerate from 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.  That makes it faster than the $440,000 Porsche Carrera GT and just behind the $670,000 Farrari Enzo which will go from zero to sixty in 3.4 seconds.  No bad when you consider that the Roadster sport will cost just $128,500.

Tesla plans to begin production on less expensive vehicles that will use some of the same technology as the Roadster.  Currently they are selling the base model Roadster for just under $100,000.  The next Tesla vehicle will be a sedan that will be closer to $50,000.  Eventually, when the technology has been proven and manufacturing costs go down, they plan to produce cars everyone can afford.

Check the Roadster Sport out here.

March 8th, 2009 by Tisha

Is there any way in the entire world to recycle Styrofoam?  If any entity in the world holds the answer to this question, it will be Google.
I will spare you the Google search by listing my current resources that I found.

This site, wikiHow, http://www.wikihow.com/Reuse-Styrofoam, gave some excellent suggestions, including: don’t by the [BLANK] stuff in the first place.  Good point.  The box currently on my kitchen counter is from a restaurant, they should think about using paper instead (I know I know – the added cost – GET OVER IT!].

And here’s an idea…of course I am not 100% sure how safe it is….so Recycler Beware: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2070987/how_to_recycle_plastic_at_home/.

And there looks like there may be some potential here, but I am betting that shipping/transportation/fuel costs may in some ways outweigh the benefits. http://www.epspackaging.org/info.html

Okay Avid Consumers, do you have any leads?  Any ideas on this one?  We would love to hear them?

Is it possible to recycle Styrofoam?  If so where?  What are the constraints?  What are the potential incentives?  These seem to be the questions we always ask…

recycle, styrofoam

March 8th, 2009 by Tisha

I will spare the reader the deep philosophical questioning of myself and my actions that I have just went through as it has surely crossed your mind at some point in time.
I sit here at least over a week later, with no answers to all of these questions.

“Why?” you may ask. That is a good question. Namely, because I work full-time, maybe even a little more than full-time. And I haven’t really delved into these questions, to do the research, as I am trying to make money (with that precious resource of time). To pay for food. Which I will rant about later.

It is hard to be environmentally-responsible. And it costs money. Even if I could recycle everything that is piling up in our house, it would cost money to dispose of that (well, just like trash service). We have to pay for our products and services on the way in and on the way out (in the form of waste). This is economics. Whether we pay for a service, or we use our gas and time to dispose of our own waste/recycling, we have a cost associated with this.

So if I can get over the idea of how much time and money I have to shovel out (was that angry?), which I will because that is what is the right thing to do, then all I have to do is figure out how to most efficiently and economically dispose of and recycle my waste.

Onto the answers to the questions asked over the last several blog posts. Thank you for your hope and patience.

economics, money, recycle, Recycling, time