Ryan Tuss is the Green Team supervisor at The Gorge Amphitheatre near George in Grant County.

How do you set up a program to keep the cans, bottles and cardboard used by 25,000 concert-goers from ending up in the trash? According to Ryan Tuss, as quickly as possible.

Tuss is the Green Team supervisor and recycling coordinator at The Gorge Amphitheatre near George in Grant County. When he was hired to the seasonal position in 2008, he was asked to develop a green program – the sooner the better.

His primary focus then and now is keeping recyclables out of the trash and into 180-plus receptacles placed strategically near garbage cans around the 215-acre complex. Plastic, aluminum and cardboard gathered up this way are then sorted, thrown into larger bins, compacted and carted away to the Waste Management recycling center in Woodinville.

Tuss estimates 45 cubic yards, or 12 football fields covered with recyclables, are produced at each event.

The Gorge recycles over 50 percent of the waste produced by its patrons.

Tuss, 29, is an artist and teacher who took the coordinator’s job to supplement his income. He was singled out from a group of potential employees at a job orientation. “I had done it (recycled) at home and was a green head (translation: sustainable living enthusiast) in college so I did know something about it,” he said.

What he didn’t know he’s learned through research and experience. Concert-goers at Sasquatch, the three-day festival held over Memorial Day weekend, filled all the recycle bins on the second day. “We underestimated the resources needed” for the crowd, he said. Tuss said he’s learned to be better prepared by asking more questions of venue managers and the environmental coordinators who work for the bands that draw the huge crowds.

There’s an obvious perk to Tuss’ position: good music from top-name bands in a breathtaking setting overlooking the Columbia River. The downside: On concert days he works shifts as long as 14 hours.

One part of Tuss’ job is to make sure each band’s green requirements are met. Phish, for example, which appeared at the Gorge Aug. 7 and 8, included a four-page environmental rider in its contract requesting organic foods from local farms, reusable china plates and biodegradable coffee cups. Drinking water had to come from a local spring water vendor. The band asked for room for its buses and trucks to receive biodiesel deliveries. And six large recycling containers for glass, plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard were to be set up backstage.

Other requirements: replace traditional light bulbs with compact fluorescents, institute a no-idling policy for venue vehicles, and use eco-friendly cleaning and restroom products.

Most bands have environmental guidelines and some even bring their own green coordinators, Tuss said. “I actually got to sit through most of the Coldplay concert (July 11),” Tuss said, because the band brought  its own environmental managers.

The Dave Matthews Band, which will be at the Gorge over the Labor Day weekend, has long been a proponent of recycling, Tuss said. Singer/songwriter Jack Johnson kicked the green movement into high gear at the Gorge last year, he said.

Tuss and his motivated crew of six, who are students from Moses Lake and Quincy high schools and Central Washington University, do their best to meet bands’ demands. And they’ve instituted some green initiatives of their own. For example, hybrid vehicles are given a parking preference closer to the entrance gates. Tuss helped create a Green Zone within the complex for experts to set up demonstrations on green topics such as plug-in hybrid electric cars and sustainable foods. One of his crew members has drawn eco-action figures on plywood cutouts that encourage recycling. Visitors put their faces in a round hole where the figure’s face should be, then have their photos taken. The exhibit is used to draw people into the Green Zone.

“There’s so much more that I’d like to do with this program but it’s part-time, there just isn’t enough time,” Tuss said.

What he’s helped achieve is significant, though: The Gorge recycles over 50 percent of the waste produced by its patrons.

Tuss is an active artist and member of the Two Rivers Gallery in Wenatchee, where he lives. With the concert season soon coming to an end, he is looking forward to his new job as the art teacher at Liberty Bell Junior/Senior High School in Winthrop.

Related links:
Official Gorge Web site

Scott Beaton

Scott Beaton has spent most of his adult life sorting, crushing, shoveling, lifting, baling and trucking what used to be called garbage. Now, 21 years after starting a small nonprofit recycling project in Chelan, he’s being inducted May 5 into the Washington State Recycling Association Hall of Fame. 

While this is his first statewide honor, Beaton is well known locally. For seven years he was a weekly guest on KOZI radio, talking trash — or what shouldn’t go in the trash. He’s an original member of the nonprofit Community Services Work Group, which hosts an annual Earth Day Fair and started the North Chelan County Recycling Project.

The recycling center is the oldest and most extensive recycling operation in Chelan County. Located across the highway from the Chelan Wal-Mart, it doesn’t look like much — just a boxy shell of a building holding rows and rows of old wooden apple bins overflowing with old pickle jars and vodka bottles, crushed milk jugs, discarded cereal boxes and school math tests. It doesn’t smell too great either – a mixture of day-old garbage, stale beer and applesauce (possibly owing to the apple bins).

Sorted glass awaits the crusher at the North Chelan County Recycling Project.

“It’s never been an easy job,” Beaton said. “There’s a lot of cleanup. It’s physical work. You get a real workout.”

Beaton runs the center with help from two full-time and two part-time staff. When the recycling project began, Beaton was a volunteer working with others from the Community Services group. A state Department of Ecology grant in 1989 provided the money to build a full-fledged center.  When the grant ran out, the city of Chelan took over.

“The idea behind the program was to get a hunk out of the waste stream,” Beaton said. “And because we got help from the city and county, we’ve been able to do it in a dependable, consistent way.”

The center is open Tuesday through Saturday and accepts newspapers, magazines, glass, aluminum, copper, brass, tin cans, #1 and #2 plastics, milk and juice cartons, some plastic bags and shrink wrap. Drop boxes are available 24 hours a day in Chelan, Manson and Entiat.  Curbside recycling is offered to businesses and schools.

The center accepts wood debris from orchards and construction sites which is chipped, then offered to the public for free. And it’s an E-Cycle Washington site, accepting computers, laptops, monitors and TVs.

The center processed 1,170 tons of recyclables in 2008. Beaton expects volume to dip by about 15 percent this year as consumers buy less—and throw away less.  Industry demand for recyclables – plastics that are made into new carpets, metals that go into new cars and cans – is down. “Prices have dropped 60 to 70 percent,” Beaton said, adding that he’s bracing for a “rough year.”

State and county grants continue to fund the program, and the city remains the sponsoring agency. Revenues from the sale of recyclables pay for about 70 percent of operational costs.

The recycling center and the Community Services Work Group bring information about recycling and conservation to the schools, sponsor an annual litter cleanup and metals drive, and host the Earth Day Fair which this year is on Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Riverwalk Park.

“I always felt like it had my name on it,” Beaton says of his commitment to reduce-reuse-recycle in Chelan. “I wanted to try to do the best job possible.”

Recycling questions? Call Scott Beaton at (509) 682-4663. Want to help at the Earth Day Fair? (509) 682-5756. Lend a hand with litter cleanup? (509) 682-5320

Here are some tips, compiled by PUD staff, to help reduce your impact on the environment while at work:

1. Use both sides of a piece of paper
Print double-sided. Some printers have this feature installed, which you can check by clicking the Properties button next to the printer you select. Click here for instructions from Hewlett Packard on setting up double-sided printing. On simpler printers (such as ones used at home), just turn the paper over and re-insert it in the paper tray.

2. No more staples
Making staples leaves a huge carbon footprint while creating a product that is used once. For small stacks of paper, use a paperclip or staple-free stapler such as these from amazon.com. Binder clips work for longer documents.

3. Unplug electronics not in use
Even when it’s not connected to your cell phone, the charger draws electricity. Conserve energy by unplugging chargers and electronic equipment when they are not in use. Power strips make it easy to control energy flow to multiple items.

4. Minimize waste
Instead of bringing bottled water, drink the filtered water available at office coolers. Or bring a bottle of tap water; our water is clean and tastes good. Avoid using foam cups and plastic flatware; bring your own dishes and silverware from home.

5. Recycle CDs
Plastic just piles up in landfills. For the cost of a stamp, you can send old CDs or DVDs to a recycling center where the plastic can be reclaimed.

6. Improve air quality
Bring in a small houseplant to brighten your workspace and absorb some indoor pollution.

1. Recycle old electronics
Starting Jan. 1, 2009, manufacturers of computers, monitors and televisions are required by state law to provide free electronic recycling services. Check out the Department of Ecology for an easy way to find recycling centers in your area.

2. Stop junk mail
Eliminating the junk mail you receive will save in both production and resources. Register at the Direct Marketing Association to have your address removed.

3. Keep unwanted items out of the landfill
Instead of throwing away the toys your kids don’t play with anymore, donate them to a second-hand store like Goodwill or Salvation Army. Or check out Freecycle and join the Wenatchee group to give away your items or find a free treasure.

4. Reduce meat-centered meals
While going vegetarian isn’t for everyone, try eating meat-free for one meal a week. Meat production creates more greenhouse gas than transportation, according to the United Nations.

5. Start composting
Create your own fertilizer from banana peels and egg shells in a homemade compost pile. For more information on making compost, check out this guide.

Brenda Harn, Chelan County Solid Waste Coordinator

Public interest in recycling has created an avalanche of business for Chelan County Solid Waste Coordinator Brenda Harn   – more, in fact, than she’s been prepared to deal with.

“We’re looking at a landslide of materials that need to be diverted into proper recycling,” said Harn (pictured at right), who is the only employee in the solid waste department.

The county stages a household hazardous waste collection once a year. Fluorescent tubes are among the wastes that can be brought in for recycling or disposal. This is the only site in the county that accepts fluorescent tubes, which contain a small amount of mercury. (The Home Depot is now recycling the compact fluorescent lights, but not the larger fluorescent tubes. However, larger fluorescent lights can be recycled by mail; one option is EcoLights Northwest.)

This year’s hazardous waste collection is Saturday, Oct. 4, at four locations. The service is free, but a $5 donation per vehicle is encouraged to cover costs. Locations and hours are as follows:

Wenatchee – Chelan County Shop, 210 Easy Street, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Chelan – Chelan County Fire Station, 232 E. Wapato, 8 to 10:30 a.m.
Entiat – Chelan County Fire Station, Entiat River Road, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Peshastin – Peshastin Elementary, 1001 School Road, 2:30 to 5 p.m.

Residents can bring in fluorescent tubes, motor oil, brake fluid, gasoline, auto flushes and additives, solvents, paints, glues, cements, roof coatings, sealants, caulking, epoxy resins, thinners, spot removers, polishes, waxes, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners, drain cleaners, deck and chimney cleaners, pool chemicals, inks, dyes, batteries and charcoal fluid. Wastes should be left in original containers. Not permitted are agricultural or commercial wastes, explosives, biological waste, laboratory chemicals, and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). The county will not accept containers larger than 5 gallons.

The Oct. 4 collection is only for households, but businesses can register for a separate event. To register, call (509) 667-6415 by Sept. 19.

Harn said product manufacturers and distributors are beginning to take responsibility for recycling, relieving some pressure on the county. Automotive shops, for example, have been recycling motor oil for several years. Starting Jan. 1, 2009, manufacturers of computers, monitors and televisions are required by state law to provide free electronic recycling services. Major computer manufacturers such as Dell and Apple already offer disposal, Harn said. There is a movement for pharmacies to take back pharmaceuticals, she noted, and for paint manufacturers to recycle paints.

“I commend Office Depot, Staples and Home Depot (for their recycling efforts),” she said. “It’s good business, and I think we’ll see more of that trend.”

The county contracts with Total Reclaim Environmental Services to recycle the hazardous wastes that are collected.

Harn has applied for a state grant that would help pay for a permanent hazardous waste facility.

About 750 households bring their wastes to the county’s once-a-year-event.

“People want to do the right thing,” she said. “These are just average folks with average homes, going out of their way to be good citizens.”

Related links:
Recycling paint (Earth 911 Web site)
Would you pay to recycle your CFL bulbs? (Wall Street Journal)
Environmental Protection Agency - CFL/Mercury Fact Sheet

Home Depot offers free service to public
National retailer The Home Depot filled a big gap in Chelan County when it announced in June that it would begin recycling compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

CFL recycling is available at all 1,973 The Home Depot locations. According to the company, the free service is the first to be made widely available by a retailer in the United States.

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Calvin Wheeler, manager of the Wenatchee store at 1405 Maiden Lane, said residents can bring their used CFLs to a receptacle at the store’s returns desk. The lamps are collected and sent to Environmental Services in Seattle for recycling. The company follows all environmental and government guidelines for the disposal and recycling, Wheeler said. The bulbs are broken down into their respective parts of glass, phosphor powder and mercury. He said the glass and mercury are then sold by a third-party company as commodities.

The Home Depot will not accept broken bulbs, Wheeler said. (See EPA guidelines for handling broken CFLs). The company also is not recycling the larger fluorescent tubes used primarily in business and industrial settings.

In addition to the CFL recycling program, The Home Depot also has launched an in-store
energy conservation program to switch light fixture showrooms in stores from incandescent bulbs to CFLs, saving $16 million a year in energy costs.

CFL recycling is part of The Home Depot’s Eco Options program, designed to identify products that have a smaller impact on the environment.

According to the company, 75 percent of households in the U.S. are located within 10 miles of a Home Depot store. In a news release, the company states it is the largest retailer of light bulbs in the country, selling more than 75 million in 2007, which saved Americans approximately $4.8 billion in energy costs and 51.8 billon pounds in CO2 greenhouse gases over the life of the bulbs.

Other environmental measures initiated by The Home Depot include:

• A store recycling program in the U.S. of shrink wrap and mixed plastics, projected to divert 50 million pounds of waste from landfills each year.
• An internal recycling initiative at corporate headquarters designed to increase the amount of recycled materials from 30 percent to at least 65 percent.
• A commitment to use transportation partners registered in the SmartWay program, reducing carbon emissions linked to The Home Depot distribution centers and stores.

More information is available on the The Home Depot Web site.

Related links
ThinkGreenFromHome.com: Waste Management offers recycling by mail

Joanne Knouf directs Community Technology, which refurbishes donated computers for low-income families

Computers once destined for the local landfill instead are being diverted to needy families in Chelan and Douglas counties.

Community Technology refurbishes old computers, then makes them available to low-income residents. The agency is located in the Community Action Center, 620 Lewis St., Wenatchee. Computers can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. There is no charge for dropping off an old computer, although Community Technology accepts donations.

Joanne Knouf, program director, said her staff tries to revitalize every donated computer, but those that can’t be salvaged are stripped of reusable parts. Any leftover scrap metal is recycled. Hard drives of 10 gigabytes or larger are reused, Knouf said, after they are wiped clean to federal Department of Defense standards. Smaller hard drives are destroyed.

It’s a small operation — the staff consists of Knouf, one volunteer, and three Skilsource students (including Matt Covert, at refurbished computer with new dual-language software, above right). The agency refurbished 187 computers in 2006 and 247 in 2007.

They can’t re-do Macs because they don’t have a license to reinstall Apple operating systems. The agency does, however, have a license from Microsoft that allows it to guarantee the operating systems in refurbished PCs as new.

Residents who want a re-tooled computer can call to apply: (509) 662-6156.  Applicants must meet low-income guidelines.

Community Technology also provides computer support and Web site maintenance to nonprofit agencies. Revenues from those projects help support the computer recycling effort.

Staples also accepts computers, monitors, printers and fax machines for recycling. There is a $10 charge for each unit. Staples also offers programs for recycling of ink and toner cartridges, cell phones, digital cameras and batteries. The Wenatchee store is located at 200 Ferry St. More information is available on the Staples Web site.

Office Depot recycles computers and related accessories, and electronics including digital cameras, telephones, cell phones and small televisions. The store sells boxes in which customers place their “tech trash.” A spokesman at the Wenatchee store, located at 915 N. Wenatchee Ave., said the cost of the box covers the cost of recycling. The fees are $5, $10 and $15. Cell phones, PDAs, rechargeable batteries and ink and toner cartridges can be recycled for free. Complete details are available on their web site.

Related links

Community Technology

Engineering a Tough Switch: Getting New Yorkers to Recycle Electronics (NY Times)