Community Spotlight
While we still have a long way to go to stop global warming, it's important to recognize that Whatcom County is a pretty Cool place. Here are a just a few of the things happening right here in our community that make our community one of our nation's leaders in combating climate change. Feel free to contact us with more stories about how we are leading the way.
Alcoa Intalco Works is Making an Impact
Zero Waste Means Zero Emissions at Kulshan Cycles
Green Power, CFLs and Hybrids, Oh My!
The RE Store - Used Building Materials and More
Cow Power
Green Earth Technologies
Getting Down to Zero Waste Business
Community Car Share
Sanitary Services Company
Kulshan Community Land Trust's Matthei Place
More People are Taking the Bus - WTA Fixed Route Ridership Increases by 46 Percent!
Alcoa Intalco Works is Making an Impact
Alcoa and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change have formed a unique new partnership with the new Make an Impact program. This project centers on tools that will enable others to act, in their homes and in their communities - to make an impact and help curb the effects of climate change.
As a business, Alcoa has taken a global leadership position on addressing climate change inside their operations, across their industry and within their communities. Now they are providing numerous resources, including a carbon footprint calculator, to their 97,000 employees around the globe to help them take carbon cutting actions at home and on the road.
Alcoa's Ferndale plant kicked-off the Make an Impact program with their employees last month.
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Zero Waste Means Zero Emissions at Kulshan Cycles
At Kulshan Cycles, zero waste means zero emissions. Even as their business has grown, their dumpster has shrunk. Eight years ago, they filled an 8-yard dumpster every week, but now, they generate less than half a yard.
Aluminum, steel, and plastic are all hauled by bicycle to Northwest Recycling. Chemical waste goes to the state's Disposal of Toxics site. Sanitary Service Company handles their cardboard. Worn out chains and gears go to Resource Revival to be re-purposed into a variety of household goods. Even their discarded inner tubes go to Alchemy Goods in Seattle to become messenger bags and wallets.
All of that, combined with their inventory of zero-emissions transportation makes Kulshan Cycles one cool business!
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Green Power, CFLs and Hybrids, Oh My!
In 2007, Bellingham was recognized as the first city in Washington and the most successful community in the country to be designated a Green Power Community. The City of Bellingham, Whatcom County governments and Western Washington University (WWU) have committed to buying 100% of their electricity from Green Power. At the beginning of 2008 Bellingham was the #1 Green Power Community in the country and WWU was tied for the #9 spot among Green Power Universities. Joining them are over 2,000 households and 110 local businesses participating in the Green Power program. All of this means that over 11 percent of the electricity used in the city of Bellingham is being purchased from renewable resources.
Bellingham has also been one of the leading purchasers per capita of energy saving compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and hybrid vehicles in the country.
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The RE Store - Used Building Materials and More
The RE Store has been offsetting community-wide carbon loads since 1993 by saving over 3 million pounds of reusable building materials each year from landfills. RE Store salvage crews and two retail stores in Bellingham and Seattle have worked with homeowners, builders, demolition companies, to reclaim and reuse a wide variety of building supplies in residential and commercial construction. The RE Store deconstruction program disassembles entire buildings, reusing and recycling 98 percent of a structure. RE Store employs over 40 people and has been an industry leader in the Pacific Northwest with awards from local and state agencies for innovation.
RE Store website
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Cow Power
The Vehicle Research Institute (VRI) at Western Washington University is a vehicle design, prototype construction and consultation organization with a focus on alternative fuels technology. In 1998 they won first place at the American Tour del Sol with Viking 23, an electric reformulated gasoline hybrid car. More recently they have been working on a thermo photovoltaic electric hybrid vehicle and generator, a bio-methane natural gas hybrid vehicle and a bio-methane scrubber. The bio-methane scrubber has the potential to cheaply purify methane gas from dairy farms to create a renewable fuel that could be used in cars and homes. They have also created Viking 32, a one-of-a-kind parallel hybrid vehicle that runs on electricity and biomethane captured from Vander Haak dairy in Lynden. They have received millions of dollars in funding from various organizations, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense, for their projects which have won numerous first-place awards across the country. Keep on truckin' VRI!
Fact: The 66,000 cows in Whatcom County alone could power over 30,000 cars using compressed natural bio-gas.
VRI website
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Green Earth Technologies
Green Earth Technologies (GET) is Northwest Washington's first compost facility created specifically for green waste. Green waste is recyclable waste including yard waste (branches, brush, grass clippings, leaves, Christmas trees, etc... ), food scraps and food soiled paper products. Over 25% of material going to landfills is recyclable green waste! GET is helping to remove this valuable resource from the waste stream and turn it into highly valued Grade A or AA compost. They are one of the first facilities in the nation to do this with GORE technology. GORE technology covers green waste in a specially developed Gore-Tex membrane between two polyester layers, protecting it from the elements and expediting the composting process. Temperature and oxygen are monitored by computer software and the rest is left to nature. This innovative process produces the highest quality compost with virtually no environmental impact. This product is then used by landscapers, gardeners, engineers and contractors in the community to enhance their soil or control erosion.
GET is a great example of how innovation and technology can be used to create a cleaner, healthier more vibrant local community. You can have your yard waste and food scraps picked up and sent to GET's composting facility through SSC's convenient Food Plus! program or Nooksack Valley Disposal's yard waste service.
Green Earth Technologies website
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Getting Down to Zero Waste Business
Three local businesses have stepped it up to keep waste down. The Ryzex Group, Samuel's Furniture and La Fiamma Woodfire Pizza and Fiama Burger are leading the way with virtually zero waste operations.
Ryzex sells and refurbishes new and used bar-code scanners and data collection equipment. They employ about 350 people and have managed to get everyone on board to go essentially waste-free. The company recycles around 30,000 pounds of materials every month and saves $18,000 every year in disposal costs.
La Fiamma Woodfire Pizza and Fiama Burger reuse, recycle or compost 90% of their restaurants' waste. By utilizing corn based utensils and cups and compostable burger wrappers and trash bags they keep almost all their restaurant's "trash" out of the waste stream. An innovative disposal system labels what can be composted and recycled and informs patrons of their waste-free dining experience.
Samuel's Furniture recycles 95% of their business' waste - and is working on the last 5%! The last bit of waste comes in the form of Styrofoam which is used in a lot of their packaging and difficult to recycle. Samuel's is actually looking into an expensive machine that would melt the Styrofoam down to a paste which could be recycled into a hard plastic. They're an excellent example of what a large retailer can accomplish.
When local businesses adopt environmentally-sound practices, it really pays off. Not only are they reducing their impact on our environment but their earth-friendly attitudes rub off on employees, suppliers and customers. Look for more businesses to sign-on starting in the spring of 2008 when Sustainable Connections launches the Toward Zero Waste campaign.
Websites:
Fiamma Burger
La Fiamma Pizza
Ryzex
Samuel's Furniture
Sustainable Connections
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Community Car Share
Community Car Share of Bellingham recently added a second vehicle to their program. The 2000 VW Beetle runs on bio-diesel fuel and joins a Toyota Prius hybrid. The two vehicles are a part of Community Car Share's mission to provide clean reliable and convenient transportation to their members while encouraging the use of alternative and public transportation.
Members pay a small fee and can reserve a car online or over the phone for a set amount of time. The cars are parked in downtown Bellingham and members can walk, bike or bus down and access the vehicle simply by entering a pass code in a keypad on the door and again inside. Members often sell their personal vehicle or avoid purchasing a new one.
Car sharing provides a variety of benefits. Owning a car can be quite costly when you factor in insurance, maintenance, car payments, parking permits... the list goes on. Car share members gain piece of mind from less responsibility related to car ownership and choosing a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
Community Car Share website
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Sanitary Services Company
Sanitary Services Company, Inc. (SSC) has been Bellingham's waste collection service since 1929. Locally owned and operated, SSC not only maintains sustainable business practices but has implemented programs to help the entire community move toward a more sustainable future. SSC provides recycling services to all their customers and accepts nearly all recyclable materials including a recently expanded plastics program.
In June 2005 they started their award winning Food Plus! program. This program allows customers to put yard waste, food scraps, food soiled paper and biodegradable containers in a bin that is picked up curbside and taken to Green Earth Technologies for composting. They expanded this program to school cafeterias in 2006 with the Food to Flowers! program. This food composting program at elementary schools in the Bellingham School District has cut lunchroom waste by about 50%.
SSC has also started a curbside pick-up electronics recycling program. E-waste is becoming a huge problem as our technology becomes obsolete. SSC will pick-up electronics for an additional fee and make sure they are properly recycled or disposed of within the United States.
In addition to their community wide efforts to promote sustainability SSC has implemented a number of green business practices within their organization. All their trucks run on an 80/20 bio-diesel blend. They have retrofitted their tool supply with environmentally friendly alternatives and taken care to ensure pollution and contamination don't leave their site. SSC has been a leader in the movement toward waste reduction and resource recovery.
Sanitary Services Company, Inc. website
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Kulshan Community Land Trust's Matthei Place demonstrates that homes can be environmentally, sustainably and affordably built!
Matthei Place is KulshanCLT's exciting new home project. Located at 15th Street and Harris Avenue, it is compromised of 14 single-family, energy efficient, affordable homes on less than one acre. It is an excellent example of both a community and environmentally friendly urban village.
Situated in the Happy Valley neighborhood, with access to existing streets, utilities and infrastructure, Matthei Place is within one mile of several public schools, a historic district with retail shops and services, a public library, a fire station, city parks, a performing arts center, places of worship and licensed child care providers. Three city bus lines offer a combined five buses each hour. National bus, train and ferry service are within one mile. And to help promote the most efficient form of transportation out there - the development has a timber-framed bike barn which offers secure storage for up to 28 bicycles.
Matthei Place homes are 'built tight' and are 15 to 20 percent more energy efficient than a standard, code-built home. Energy Star-rated appliances and fixtures are used throughout. Outdoor lighting is equipped with daylight sensors and indoor lighting uses 100 percent compact fluorescent bulbs. Electric radiant heat utilizes programmable thermostats for maximum efficiency, and double-paned windows are effectively insulated.
Matthei Place demonstrates that compact, quality homes on small lots can be a welcome addition to any neighborhood. Pay a visit next time you're in the neighborhood!
Kulshan Community Land Trust website
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More People are Taking the Bus - WTA Fixed Route Ridership Increases by 46 Percent!
Whatcom Transportation Authority's February 2008 Fixed Route ridership (measured as one-way passenger trips) was up 46 percent compared with ridership for February 2007. This represents 130,772 additional passenger trips over the course of the month, and the largest ridership increase in WTA history.
Western Washington University (WWU) students account for 73 percent of the increase. While increases on routes serving WWU saw the largest ridership gains, students boosted ridership throughout WTA's system, not just on routes serving WWU. 18 of WTA's 25 non-WWU routes experienced ridership gains of 20 percent or higher.
Non-WWU students account for 27 percent of the ridership increase. Many of these increases are being realized on the "Go Lines," or corridors along which the bus is coming every 15 minutes. February 2008 ridership on the Green Line is up 35 percent (compared to February 2007), on the Red Line up 59 percent, and on the Gold Line up 88 percent. Ridership on the Plum Line is up 24 percent since it became a Go Line in January 2008.
Three of WTA's longest routes, serving Kendall (32 one-way miles), Mt. Vernon (28 one-way miles), and Everson/Nooksack/Sumas (25 one-way miles), have seen increases of 32, 35, and 40 percent respectively. Ridership gains on these long routes are especially important for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, highway congestion and travel costs for individual travelers.
For route and schedule information, call 360-676-RIDE (7433) or visit www.ridewta.com.
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