Ray Barrett’s Unsung Heroes of the Waste Diversion World
Dr. Ray Barrett dedicated himself to educating the public on the importance of finding alternatives to landfilling resources. Serving on Arcata Community Recycling Center’s board of directors for over 20 years, Dr. Barrett was instrumental in developing methods and technologies for re-use and recycling. In memory of his tireless work and good humor, the award of Unsung Heroes of the Waste Diversion World is given in his name. This award honors some of the original waste reducers of our time- the folks who grew up during the depression and saved resources out of necessity. With limited budgets, many seniors use creative strategies of reuse. The McKinleyville Senior Center serves as a social hub for 1,500 seniors a month. Members donate books, magazines, jigsaw puzzles, broken china, yard and fabric scraps for the center’s recreational activities. Used greeting cards are collected and given to St. Jude’s Hospital. Seniors bring in canes, walkers, wheelchairs and medical equipment to share with others in need who cannot afford new items. What they can’t use, they generously donate to local shelters
Wes Green Landscape & GESS EnvironmentalOutstanding “Closing the Loop” Program
A truly integrated waste diversion program not only keeps material out of the trash but successfully finds markets for the recycled products. Cost effectiveness is key to the process. The partnership between these two award winners exemplifies this concept, which is commonly referred to as “closing the loop.” GESS Environmental, the contractor responsible for running HWMA’s Mad River Compost facility on West End Road in Arcata, collected over 6,000 tons of green waste last year from all over Northern Humboldt. Andrew Jolin’s hardworking staff processes this yard waste into compost. 90% of this compost is then sold at Wes Green’s retail facility which is convienently located on the same property. This keeps transportation and handling costs to a minimum. Wes expands the market by selling a specialty mixture of topsoil and finished compost. Congratulations to these two partners who closed the loop by keeping our green waste and compost in local circulation!
United Indian Health ServicesMost Effective Community Outreach Program
In the beginning of 2006, United Indian Health Services conducted a waste audit to see what could be salvaged from their garbage cans. Upon returning to those same cans a year later, it has become clear that their dedicated outreach effort is paying off. Now, a third of the formerly “trashed” items, like paper and plastic, are no longer disposed of and almost 100% of universal waste items, like batteries and electronics are redirected to recycling centers. Success has resulted from a holistic approach. Having tools like recycling bins at ceremonial events along with t-shirts and stickers to distribute at youth camps, spread the word that resource conservation is part of a traditional Indian way of life. By widening the conservation ethic to include discarded resources, United Indian Health Services has taken a big step towards achieving even greater balance between community and the environment.
Margo BarnardMost Effective Use of Recycled and Reused Materials in Manufacturing
Margo Barnard’s landscaping methods have evolved over the past 10 years from her belief in using locally available, free materials to create beautiful home gardens. Margo, a Blue Lake local, resourcefully “remanufactures” concrete slabs from ripped up sidewalks to create terraced walls and collects barley from Mad River brewery to use as mulch. Additionally, sheetrock, cardboard and neighborhood tree trimmings are layered to form pathways while planters are re-purposed from semi-truck brake drums and library catalog boxes. Her designs result in beautiful, low maintenance landscapes. Margo keeps materials out of the landfill and transforms them into products not found in any gardening catalog.
Smither’s ConstructionOutstanding Waste Prevention Effort
This small Rio Dell construction firm makes a big dent in reducing the amount of demolition waste going to the landfill. With over 20% of the total waste stream made up of construction and demolition materials, Dean Smither is leading a new recycling movement. When three apartments were recently demolished, the company salvaged 64 tons of materials! Concrete, wood and metals are all heavy. The cost of dumping garbage is determined by weight, so recycling this has been of great financial benefit to Dean’s company. One successful strategy is assigning a staff member to separate all of the reuseables and recyclables and transfer them to a new home. Finding outlets for demolition waste can be difficult, particularly in the southern part of the county, but Smither’s gets creative. Locals take concrete for erosion control and Dean designs flagstone walkways with used concrete. Wood is sorted and taken to PALCO’s co-generation plant, and windows, doors and just about anything with life left in it, is offered to community members free of charge.
South Fortuna Elementary & Arcata Community Recycling Center’s Educational ProgramMost Effective Collaboration in a Waste Reduction Effort
Four days a week, the 4th graders at South Fortuna Elementary run a “curbside” recycling program for the rest of the school. The kids look forward to this community service and view it as taking on leadership roles. They use their shopping carts to collect recyclable materials and then sort them. Each week, a 32 gallon garbage can’s worth of white paper gets collected. In 2006, the whole school came together to collect over 2000 pounds of outdated telephone books. This is called the Great Phone Book Challenge, a program sponsored by AT &T that rewards students for their recycling efforts. And Arcata Community Recycling Center is there, year after year, as teachers of the trade. Educators, Jennifer and Allison not only teach recycling concepts but also themes about where resources originate from, the impact of garbage and the ecological footprint left by consumption. Beginning four years ago, ACRC gave South Fortuna Elementary some of their first lessons. They keep the kids on their toes, not only with classroom lessons, but also sorting relay races and recycled paper making projects. Once ACRC’s Jennifer Weiss and Allison Poklemba give kids the know-how, students of South Fortuna Elementary take those cans and run with them! Let’s celebrate this fantastic educational collaboration!
Alchemy ConstructionOutstanding Reuse and Recycling Business Practices
Alchemy Construction, a general contractor based in Arcata, began nine years ago with a commitment to incorporating waste reduction into all projects, big and small. A current project is the conversion of the old Arcata Muffler building into the new Café Brio. Alchemy incorporated 70% of the existing roof structure, footings and exterior walls into the new facility. Concrete, asphalt, untreated wood, soil, green waste, and metal generated during deconstruction was taken to recycling outlets or given away. With less garbage to dispose, more money was saved. Alchemy additionally “closed the loop” by using cellulose insulation made from recycled paper and 80 tons of recycled base from Kernan Construction. This greatly reduced concrete and asphalt costs. Let’s celebrate the work of Alchemy’s Amy and Steve Bohner!
City of Arcata’s Art in the Afternoon ProgramOutstanding Public Education Effort
Over a two year period, art, education and policy joined together to convey a dedicated long term, street level message to Arcata citizens. Thanks to the efforts of City of Arcata’s Recreation Coordinator Maureen McGarry and fifteen year old lead designer Haley Van Gemert, a huge, vivid mural now educates as it decorates. While others were on summer vacation, the junior and high school group in the Arts in the Afternoon Program painstakingly planned, sketched, and painted educational messages about waste reduction and responsible disposal of hazardous waste. The entire project was completed without buying a single can of paint. The Arts in the Afternoon Mural will educate citizens on themes like “Wasteful Ways” and “Sustainable Street” for years to come.
HCAR Community ServicesBest Business Waste Reduction Program
Part of HCAR mission is to foster the personal growth and societal contributions of their clients. One program implemented is the provision of affordable paper shredding services to Humboldt County businesses, from Orick down to Fortuna. After the confidential documents are shredded by HCAR employees, it’s collected by Arcata Community Recycling Center. 100 tons of paper is shredded and recycled a year! HCAR doesn’t stop there. From within these great paper piles, employees extract folders, blank paper, paper clips and rubber bands to reuse in their own work place. Nothing goes to waste when HCAR is around. HCAR provides a great, affordable service to businesses, and diverts one of the single largest materials found in the waste stream.
Humboldt Bay Housing Development’s Bayview Courtyard ApartmentsBest Multi-family Recycling Program
Humboldt Bay Housing Development Corporation is a non-profit agency dedicated to making high quality, safe, affordable housing a reality for low-income residents. In April 2004, HBHDC started a full service recycling program at their 30-unit Bayview Courtyard Apartments in Arcata. This program has been so successful that in just three years their trash bin size has been cut in half. The savings pay for the cost of running the program and more. Thanks to those senior residents who recycle at Bayview, the money saved on monthly garbage bills now goes toward community gardens, solar lights, and a part-time recycling coordinator. The Bayview Courtyard Apartment program serves as a successful model for other multi-family housing units ready to make way for recycling!
Matson & Vallerga ArchitectsOutstanding “Closing the Loop” Effort
The new Eureka Co-op opened its doors in September of 2006. One of the most resource and energy efficient stores in the area was a collaborative effort between many groups. Co-op staff members worked with construction firm, Ron Lunblade, building owners Security National, and architecture firm Matson & Vallerga. Designer Judy Egan and architect Mark Gaxiola from Matson & Vallerga “closed the loop” by researching and purchasing affordable products made from recycled materials. The Eureka Co-op’s cabinets are made from discarded straw fiberboard, recycled plastics are incorporated into the toilet partitions, and the floors are fashioned out of old wooden railroad ties. Floor mats come from automobile tires and 50% of the ceiling tile materials are made from recycled material. Finally, a whopping 50% of the former building is salvaged and incorporated into the existing building. We want to thank Matson and Vallerga for exemplifying the viability of “closing the loop” throughout this very large undertaking.
Maureen HartLifetime "Retrievement" Award for Outstanding Waste Reduction Efforts
We would like to honor Maureen Hart’s lifetime achievements, or lifetime "retrievements," in the waste reduction field. Maureen has been the Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) Administrator for the North Coast for 7 years. She works with local manufacturers to incorporate recycled content into their manufacturing process. During the past 7 years recycling manufactures have grown in number to purchase equipment and buildings using the RMDZ low interest loans, receive market assistance, and include their products in the RecycleStore.com. With Maureen’s leadership, the North Coast Recycling Market Development Zone is one of the most creative and diverse in the state. Hart has worked in the Energy and Recycling field for over 25 years. She started in Michigan at Urban Options, worked as a Corporate Manager of Recycling and as General Manager of West Coast Recycling- a Norcal Waste Systems Company. She worked to start curbside recycling in San Francisco, managing large office paper recycling programs, recycling centers, and the marketing of over 10,000 tons a month of recyclables to U.S. and export markets. Maureen Hart has helped bring millions of dollars in grant and loans to Humboldt County and has worked hard to keep dollars here in Humboldt by replacing virgin materials with locally recycled materials, reducing energy use, and more. Presently she works with both the North Coast Recycling Market Development Zone and the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, continuing her commitment to recycling, remanufacturing, energy efficiency, and clean green energy.
AWARDS ARTISTThis year’s awards were created by local artist Elaine Benjamin from Blue Lake. Her pieces, called Dada Dolls, are made completely from recycled materials.