Bay Trash Hot Spots

Plastic bags threaten the bay
Kelly Zito, San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2009

In their fourth annual report on the most garbage-strewn sites in the region, Save the Bay says plastic bags remain a severe threat, clogging wetlands, strangling wildlife and harming water quality. The 50-year-old environment advocacy group zeroed in on 10 hot spots where a total of almost 15,000 plastic bags were retrieved from the Bay Area during 2008's Coastal Cleanup Day.

• 1.37 million plastic bags were picked up by volunteers during the Ocean Conservancy's 2008 International Coastal Cleanup Day, second only in number to cigarette butts.
• Californians use approximately 19 billion plastic bags and 5 billion paper bags annually.
• Bay Area residents use 3.8 billion plastic bags every year. Each year about 1 million end up in the bay.
• 12 million barrels of oil are used to produce 30 billion plastic bags in the US every year.
• The average use time for plastic bags is about 12 minutes.
• In San Francisco, as many as 30 percent of people in grocery stores are bringing in their own bags says Mark Westlund, spokesman for San Francisco's Department of the Environment.

Read the complete article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/15/BAUJ19LT0A.DTL&type=newsbayarea

And please consider donating a few hours of your time for 2009's Coastal Cleanup Day, Saturday, September 19. Volunteers are still needed!

EPA Region 9 Recovery Act News

California's Green Projects During the First 200 Days of the Recovery Act
San Francisco, California, September 3, 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. More than $517 million in Recovery Act funds have already been obligated to California, including:

• The California State Water Resources Control Board will receive $2.8M for water quality management planning. In addition, the Board’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program will receive $280M for water quality protection projects.
• The California Department of Public Health’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program will receive $159M to provide low-interest loans for drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements and ensuring safe drinking water.
• Seven Tribes in California will have improved access to vital water services through $8.5M in Recovery Act funding. Projects to be undertaken include upgrades to wastewater treatment, upgrades to sewer connections, and expansion of sewer lines.
• The California Air Resources Board has been awarded $1.73M in Recovery Act funds for clean diesel projects. Eligible projects include engine idling reduction and retrofit technologies, engine replacement, vehicle replacement, and clean diesel emerging technologies.
• A cooperative agreement with the California State Water Resources Control Board will be used to distribute $15.6M for assessment and cleanup of underground storage tank petroleum leaks.
• Over $25M in Clean Diesel Recovery funds will be used to replace, repower, and retrofit engines in buses, heavy-duty trucks, locomotives, agricultural vehicles, construction vehicles, and cargo handling equipment in metropolitan Los Angeles, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, San Diego, San Joaquin Valley, and the Bay Area.
• To help clean up brownfields sites, EPA has awarded $3.3M from the Recovery Act and $6.8M from the EPA brownfields general program funding to help communities in California revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use.
• EPA has awarded $700K, funded in part through the Recovery Act, to the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. The LA Conservation Corp will provide job training for 160 students to learn the latest environmental technologies and prepare them for "green" jobs.
• Over $10M in new funding through the Recovery Act will be used to accelerate the cleanup at the Iron Mountain Mine Superfund site near Redding, California.
  

For more info, please visit www.epa.gov/recovery.

The EPA's Pacific Southwest region on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EPAregion9
The EPA's LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/1823773/

Superfund Green Remediation Strategy - Request for Comments

Memorandum from James E. Woolford, Director, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation

The Superfund Remedial Program has developed a strategy that sets out its current plans to reduce energy use and enhance the environmental performance of remedial and non-time critical removal actions undertaken to address hazardous waste sites. The development of the Strategy reflects EPA’s recognition that at many sites, more can be done to limit the environmental footprint of Superfund activities, while at the same time protecting human health and the environment. I am writing to ask for your comments on the Strategy.

Developed by a workgroup of Headquarters and regional staff, the Superfund Green Remediation Strategy is an initial effort to outline key actions and related activities that can be undertaken to promote green remediation. These action items fall into three major categories: policy and guidance development, resource development and program implementation, and program evaluation. The Strategy also contains a number of recommendations including calling for EPA to implement a series of near-term program initiatives and establish a baseline of Superfund energy usage.

The Strategy is available at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/greenremediation. EPA will accept comments until November 10, 2009.

Comments should be sent to:
Superfund Green Remediation Strategy, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Mail Code 5204P, Washington, DC 20460 or may be e-mailed to Superfund_Green_Remediation@epa.gov.

ASTM Green Cleanup at Waste Sites

EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) has been working with private and public partners to foster the use of best management practices (BMPs) for green remediation at waste sites throughout the US. The EPA developed a list of green cleanup core elements that may serve as a framework for an ASTM green cleanup standard (posted here). The existing core elements were developed using input from the EPA’s April 2009 public website posting as well as from other public conferences and meetings.

The E50 Green Cleanup Task Group Leader, Helen Waldorf, is in the process of using the core elements to develop an initial draft ASTM Guide. Discussions for initiation of the standard have included members from ASTM staff and Committee E50, EPA, industry and State agencies. This standards development project was also approved by the E50.90 Executive Subcommittee.

First Meeting

The first meeting for the ASTM E50.04 Green Cleanup Task Group will take place in conjunction with the regularly scheduled E50 meetings on Thursday, October 22, 2009 8:00 am-4:00 pm in Atlanta at the Hyatt Regency. The purpose of this meeting will be to review the core elements as well as a draft outline for the ASTM Guide (Guide to be distributed prior to the meeting). A detailed agenda will also be distributed a few weeks prior to the October 22 meeting.

Registration

Members and non-members can register for the E50 meetings by visiting the ASTM Website. Simply click “Meetings” from the left side menu and then select “Committee E50” from the drop down. Then click “Environmental Assessment, Risk Management and corrective Action” in order to register, download the complete E50 schedule and access hotel and other information.

Call for Participation

If you are a non-member and are interested in joining ASTM Committee E50, please visit www.astm.org and click “Membership” from the left side menu. Complete the online application and indicate that you want to join Committee E50 on Environmental Assessment, Risk Management and Corrective Action and the E50.04 Corrective Action Subcommittee. As a member, you are able to vote and provide input on standards ballots. You will also have access to minutes, agendas, meeting information and other E50 documents. Members are entitled to one free Book of Standards. All E50 standards are found in Volume 11.05 (select Volume 11.05 during the application process).

All stakeholders interested in serving on the Green Cleanup task group should contact Dan Smith (dsmith@astm.org). Task Group members will be placed on the email distribution list and will receive Green Cleanup progress reports, revised drafts, notices of upcoming meetings, etc.

If you have any questions about membership or Committee E50, please contact Dan Smith (dsmith@astm.org). If you have any technical questions about the development of the ASTM Green Cleanup standard, please contact Helen Waldorf (hawaldorf@aol.com).

Draft ASTM Green Cleanup Core Elements

Green Cleanup Core Elements

1. Minimizes Total Energy Use and Maximizes Use of Renewable Energy

• Minimize energy consumption (e.g., use energy efficient equipment)
• Power cleanup equipment through onsite renewable energy sources
• Purchase commercial energy from renewable resources

2. Minimizes Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Minimize the generation of greenhouse gases
• Minimize generation and transport of airborne contaminants and dust
• Use heavy equipment efficiently (e.g., use a diesel emission reduction plan)
• Maximize use of machinery equipped with advanced emission controls
• Use cleaner fuels to power machinery and auxiliary equipment
• Sequester carbon dioxide onsite (e.g., use soil amendments, revegetate)
  

3. Minimizes Water Use and Impacts to Water Resources

• Minimize water use and depletion of natural water resources
• Capture, reclaim and store water for reuse (e.g., as aquifer recharge, irrigation)
• Minimize water demand for revegetation (e.g., use native species)
• Employ best management practices for stormwater

4. Reduces, Reuses and Recycles Material and Waste

• Minimize consumption of virgin materials
• Minimize waste generation
• Use recycled products and local materials
• Segregate and reuse or recycle materials, products, and infrastructure (e.g., soil, construction and demolition debris, buildings)

5. Optimizes Future Land Use and Protects Ecosystems

• Integrate anticipated site use or reuse plans into the cleanup strategy.
• Minimize areas requiring activity or use limitations (e.g., destroy or remove contaminant sources)
• Minimize unnecessary soil and habitat disturbance or destruction
• Use native species to support habitat
• Minimize noise and lighting disturbance

6. Optimizes Sustainable Management Practices During Stewardship

• Maximize long term system performance through periodic evaluation, maintenance and optimization
• Minimize energy use, material consumption, and waste generation from sampling and monitoring procedures
• Ensure clear responsibility and implementation processes for monitoring and maintaining all engineered and institutional controls

Corporate Water Footprinting Conference

The 2nd annual Corporate Water Footprinting conference and exhibition will take place December 2-3, 2009 in San Francisco, California.

Corporate Water Footprinting will outline the risks and opportunities water poses to business and offer practical advice on mapping and reducing water consumption in products across the supply chain. As well as discussing new methodologies and standards for water footprinting the event will examine how companies are addressing water issues at a strategic level including: corporate engagement on water policy, collective action on water issues, unravelling the water-energy nexus, the development of water policy and regulation, the growing interest of water to the investment community, and corporate engagement with NGOs and activists on water issues.

The conference will include:

• Case studies from corporate leaders in water management and efficiency
• The latest methodologies and standards for water footprinting
• New water policy and regulation development, and how companies are getting involved
• Water stakeholder engagement strategies
• The potential impact of the "human right to water"
• Individual sessions on water market development, frameworks for strategic water management and the water-energy nexus

Expert speakers include:

• Robert Barbieri, Global Environmental Project Manager, Diageo
• Dan Bena, Director of Sustainability, Health, Safety and Environment, PepsiCo International
• Elissa Loughman, Environmental Analyst, Patagonia
• Matti Rihko, Chief Executive Officer, Raisio
• Kirstin Thorne, Corporate Advisor, Global Issues and Policy, Chevron
• Alex McIntosh, Director of Corporate Citizenship, Nestle Waters North America
• Tom Cooper, Corporate Water Programs Manager, Intel Corporation
• Debra Vernon, Manager, Corporate Responsibility, California American Water
• Jonah Schein, Marketing Specialist, WaterSense Program, EPA
• Kasey D. Schimke, Assistant Director, Legislative Affairs Office, California Department of Water Resources
• Adam Krantz, Managing Director, Government and Public Affairs, National Association of Clean Water Agencies

To download the full event brochure click here. To register click here.

Green Engineering Principles

The 12 Principles of Green Engineering, courtesy of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute®:

1. Inherent Rather Than Circumstantial: Designers need to strive to ensure that all materials and energy inputs and outputs are as inherently nonhazardous as possible.
2. Prevention Instead of Treatment: It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it is formed.
3. Design for Separation: Separation and purification operations should be designed to minimize energy consumption and materials use.
4. Maximize Efficiency: Products, processes, and systems should be designed to maximize mass, energy, space, and time efficiency.
5. Output-Pulled Versus Input-Pushed: Products, processes, and systems should be "output pulled" rather than "input pushed" through the use of energy and materials.
6. Conserve Complexity: Embedded entropy and complexity must be viewed as an investment when making design choices on recycle, reuse, or beneficial disposition.
7. Durability Rather Than Immortality: Targeted durability, not immortality, should be a design goal.
8. Meet Need, Minimize Excess: Design for unnecessary capacity or capability (e.g., "one size fits all") solutions should be considered a design flaw.
9. Minimize Material Diversity: Material diversity in multicomponent products should be minimized to promote disassembly and value retention.
10. Integrate Material and Energy Flows: Design of products, processes, and systems must include integration and interconnectivity with available energy and materials flows.
11. Design for Commercial "Afterlife": Products, processes, and systems should be designed for performance in a commercial "afterlife."
12. Renewable Rather Than Depleting: Material and energy inputs should be renewable rather than depleting.

Reference: Anastas, P.T., and Zimmerman, J.B., Design through the Twelve Principles of Green Engineering, Env. Sci. and Tech., 37, 5, 94A-101A, 2003.

Eat Real in Oakland - August 28-30, 2009

Street food, fresh summer fruits and veggies, live music, handcrafted local beers, ice cream sold from the back of a bicycle. Find it all and more at Eat Real, a free festival, taking place August 28-30 at Jack London Square. In between the good eats, enjoy the non-stop entertainment and activities that include chef demonstrations, dance performances, bands, films, food competitions, and lots more, for free.

Proceeds from the event benefit People’s Grocery, La Cocina, and Community Alliance with Family Farmers, organizations promoting access to healthy and affordable food, entrepreneurship, and economic development.

About Eat Real Festival:
Founded in 2008, Eat Real Festival is a social venture created to inspire eaters to choose tasty, healthy, good food. Through a vibrant, local festival in Oakland, and a focus on delicious and sustainable street food, Eat Real puts eaters in contact with the real people -- the farmers, chefs, and producers -- who make our food.

Green Zebra Opens Environmental Action Center

Green Zebra recently opened their Environmental Action Center (EAC) in Crocker Galleria (50 Post Street between Montgomery and Kearny) in downtown San Francisco.

What you'll find at the EAC:

• Determine the solar capacity of your roof and how to have a solar system installed for no money down
• Discover how much water (and money) you can save by collecting rainwater
• Learn about less-toxic products and techniques to keep pests under control in your garden
  
• Try out a few solar and carbon footprint calculators
• Take home informational brochures and wallet guides with information you need to make choices that are healthier for you and the planet
• Demystify what types of waste belong in each of your colored garbage bins
• Learn how to compost
• Drop off your old cell phones, used printer cartridges, and household batteries
• Climb aboard the electricity making machine to pedal off a few calories and get a feel for how much human power it takes to light a bulb, play a radio, or run a fan

You'll also find 2009 Green Zebra guides for San Francisco and the Peninsula/Silicon Valley priced at $15 (40% off retail). Each edition acts as a green business directory that describes and presents thousands of dollars in savings from more than 150 local green companies.

The official launch party is Thursday, August 27, from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. There will be music, eco-friendly cocktails, and local, organic snacks. There is no cost to attend, but an RSVP is requested to events[at]remakelounge[dot]com.

ASTM Sustainability Committee Meeting

The ASTM Sustainability Committee (E60) will have their semi-annual meeting October 18-22, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia.

ASTM staff will provide several training sessions on various subjects (including "Developing and Revising an ASTM Standard" and a workshop on Life Cycle Assessment) to educate and assist officers, members, and non-members of ASTM committees.

One must be registered to attend ASTM Meetings. The cut-off for ASTM preregistration is Wednesday, October 14, 2009. Onsite registration may be available after this date.