2012 Carbon Cycle 2.0 Symposium

Video Published on Mar 6, 2012

Feb 10, 2012. Berkeley Lab Associate Laboratory Director for Energy & Environmental Sciences Don DePaolo introduces the Symposium with an overview of the Carbon Cycle 2.0 initiative and highlights of programmatic developments over the past year. 

Print Green, Save Green

Verizon Press Release:

September 4, 2013 - News Article

Print Green, Save Green

By Leon Akhsanov, Ricoh Global Accounts Relationship Manager - In this guest blog, Leon Akhsanov of Ricoh shares the business benefits of going green. For the past three years, Leon has collaborated with Verizon on the company’s paper and ink cartridge reduction goals. Responsibility

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Clear Goals. Real Metrics. Solid Results. Verizon is committed to using its resources to improve the lives of individuals and the communities it serves. Ricoh is proud to be working alongside Verizon, as a valuable resource in its sustainability initiatives.  In the past three years, we have some sustainability results that we would like to share.

Ricoh and Verizon teamed on a sustainable environmental management program, and focused on two cost-saving and sustainability initiatives:

When it comes to paper consumption, we all must consider the environmental impact. There is also another benefit that comes with paper reduction, and that is the cost savings.

 

Two-sided printing In the past three years of using two-sided printing as a default, Verizon has saved a staggering 92,713,000 sheets of paper -- that is the equivalent of 12,000 trees! For a better visual, think of it this way: 92,713,000 stacked sheets of paper would be 30,904 feet tall, or the combined height of 21 Empire State buildings. Being green saves green.  In the past three years, Verizon has saved $600,000 by leveraging Ricoh’s Smart Print Initiatives. Using Verizon accountability metrics and working closely with IT, we have been tracking the meter reads of the entire copier fleet and break down the metrics by regions, departments and what percentage of their output is duplex-printed. This allows us to track year-over-year and determine whether a department increased or decreased their duplexing, how much money was saved and how much more they could save.

Toner cartridge recycling Toner cartridge recycling has also made a significant impact for Verizon. As part of this project, Ricoh deploys free shipping containers to mail rooms in 60 Verizon buildings. The mail room employees collect every single toner cartridge that comes into the building. The used cartridges are then placed into a box and shipped free of charge to a third party company where the entire cartridge is recycled. In the past three years Verizon has recycled 17,298 toner cartridges. Each cartridge represents approximately 3.4 pounds of plastic; which means the efforts of Verizon employees have diverted 58,813 pounds of plastic or metal from entering landfills.

From a global perspective, Ricoh has installed "eco billboards" in Times Square in New York, London, and Sydney, which are 100 percent lit with natural energy. Although the eco billboards have only a small direct effect on reducing our environmental impact, we hope that the messages communicated through the billboards will help make more people aware of environmental issues and lead to a greater movement toward the creation of a sustainable society.

Ricoh is pleased to share a common vision with Verizon and to have the opportunity to work alongside this great company to implement new sustainability initiatives throughout its locations. 

This teamwork is a great example of how companies can work together to do their part for the environment and truly make a difference for their customers.

Learn more about Ricoh’s environmental initiatives at http://ricoh-eco.com.

EPA Recognizes U.S. Coast Guard for Efficient, Green Cleanup of Curtis Bay Yard Superfund Site

EPA Press Release:

EPA Recognizes U.S. Coast Guard for Efficient, Green Cleanup

of Curtis Bay Yard Superfund Site

BALTIMORE (May 30, 2013)  - The U.S. Coast Guard has completed cleanup construction activity at the Curtis Bay Yard Superfund site in Anne Arundel County, Md., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

EPA provided oversight of the massive 11-year cleanup project and the U.S. Coast Guard led the cleanup effort, which included excavating thousands of tons of contaminated soil and sediment while making use of innovative green practices.

“This cleanup will ensure a healthy environment for the Curtis Bay Yard and the surrounding community, and help with Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.  “Not only did the Coast Guard work quickly and efficiently at this site, but its use of green practices proudly reflects the Coast Guard’s commitment to environmental stewardship.”

The contaminants of concern at the site included semi-volatile organic compounds, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxin. 

The Coast Guard’s green remediation included recycling materials, creating green space and minimizing hazardous waste.  Overall during the cleanup, 2,616 tons of concrete were recycled and about 25,000 tons of contaminated soil were treated onsite so it could be shipped to a non-hazardous waste landfill.  This saved more than 500,000 truck miles and approximately

$6 million compared to sending the soil to a hazardous waste landfill.  In addition, approximately 20 tons of steel were recycled.

"Eleven years ago, the Coast Guard Yard was placed on the National Priorities List to address contamination from past practices going all the way back to the Yard's start in 1899,” said Captain Richard K. Murphy, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Yard. “This began a very productive partnership with EPA and the Maryland Department of the Environment culminating in the remediation of all identified sites. Today, the Yard is a leader in the field of environmental management, and we continue to partner with the EPA and MDE to ensure a healthy environment for the Yard, our neighbors, as well as protecting the vital ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay."

The Chesapeake Bay benefits from this cleanup in several ways. Low impact storm water designs were used to help absorb water into the ground during heavy rains instead of uncontrolled run-off with potential pollutants. These designs replace solid concrete with porous pavers and add more green space with grass, trees and shrubs.

In addition to using innovative remediation, the Coast Guard also chose to clean up the Yard to the more stringent residential cleanup standards rather than using the industrial standards.  This creates more options for future use of the property.

The Coast Guard Yard, located six miles southeast of downtown Baltimore, is a 113-acre ship repair facility used to design, build and repair state-of-the-art ships and boats.  The facility incorporates many sustainable manufacturing practices including creating its own electricity from landfill gas at an on-site co-generation plant.   The crane electrification project further reduces the Yard’s carbon footprint. 

100,000th Refrigerator Recycled as Part of GE Agreement with Appliance Recycling Centers of America

Press release:

07 September 2012

100,000th Refrigerator Recycled as Part of GE Agreement with Appliance Recycling Centers of America

 

• 100,000 refrigerators and freezers have now made their way through the revolutionary UNTHA Recycling Technology system
• Innovative recycling system reduces landfill waste and greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance emissions
• Initiative has diverted 5.5 million pounds of material from U.S. landfills[1]

LOUISVILLE, Ky., — September 7, 2012 — (NYSE: GE) — This week, GE, in collaboration with Appliance Recycling Centers of America (ARCA), reached a milestone of 100,000 refrigerators and freezers recycled through North America’s only UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT) System. ARCA’s (Nasdaq: ARCI) URT machine, a unique 40-foot-tall engineering marvel, recovers approximately 95 percent of the insulating foam in refrigerators and freezers,[1] reducing landfill waste and greenhouse gas and ozone depleting substance emissions.

As a result of this milestone, an estimated 5.5 million pounds of refrigerator and freezer material has been diverted from U.S. landfills.[1] Eighty-nine percent of the material has been recovered for reuse for new products, and 11 percent is being used as fuel in cement manufacturing.[1]

“This achievement represents a significant advance in how appliances are recycled in the U.S.,” said Brian Conners, president and COO of ARCA Advanced Processing (AAP). “As a result of our work with GE Appliances, AAP has made great strides toward achieving our goal of zero landfill appliance recycling.”

Roughly 9 million refrigerators are disposed of annually in the U.S., and only a fraction of those have the insulating foam in their walls and doors recycled. While 90 percent of used refrigerators in the U.S. are shredded for their metal, the remaining foam and other materials typically go to a landfill.[2]If the foam from all of those refrigerators was processed through the URT system, the greenhouse gas emissions avoided would be equivalent to the annual CO₂-e emissions of more than 2.4 million cars on U.S. roads.[3]

How the GE Appliance Recycling Initiative WorksAs part of GE’s agreement with ARCA, when qualifying consumers purchase a new appliance from a participating retailer in the 12-state region, their old unit will be taken away when their new one is delivered. The old unit will then be transported to the Philadelphia-based AAP center for recycling. Consumers can find a participating Retailer in their area atwww.geappliances.com/refrigerator-recycling.

Economic Impact
Integral to GE’s agreement with ARCA is a commitment to supply used appliance volumes from a 12-state region into AAP’s recycling center. ARCA, in turn, has invested in proven appliance recycling technology and has created more than 50 green jobs in Pennsylvania proving how market-based solutions such as these can drive economic success. This initiative demonstrates the potential for future growth in foam recycling technology throughout the U.S. industry.

A Cradle-to-Cradle Appliance ApproachGE takes a cradle-to-cradle approach to managing the life cycle of an appliance, from the manufacturing of refrigerators with more environmentally sustainable insulating material to responsible end-of-life disposal. Steel recovered from recycled appliances at AAP’s recycling center is reused as steel deck bottom plates in new GE locomotives. GE Appliances is the only appliance manufacturer to partner collectively in four voluntary Environmental Protection Agency programs: ENERGY STAR®; Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD); WasteWise, an initiative focused on waste reduction and saving environmental resources while reducing emissions; and SmartWay®, a program designed to help lower transportation-related emissions.

The partnership with these programs is consistent with the company’s ecomagination^SM initiative to deploy solutions for today’s energy and environmental challenges.

"One year ago we helped welcome the country's first fully automated URT System facility," said Sarah Dunham, director of EPA's Office of Atmospheric Programs. "GE Appliances' continued success as a partner in EPA's Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) program helps protect the Earth's ozone layer, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and divert materials from landfills."

A long-time ENERGY STAR partner, GE offers approximately 500 ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances, which deliver efficiency and cost savings to customers over product life.[4]

About Appliance Recycling Centers of America
ARCA (www.ARCAInc.com), one of the nation’s largest recyclers of major household appliances for the energy conservation programs of electric utilities, currently provides services for more than 175 utility programs in the U.S. and Canada. Toxic chemicals and environmentally harmful materials such as ozone-depleting refrigerants, PCBs, mercury and oil are carefully recovered in the decommissioning process for destruction or disposal, preventing them from contaminating soil, air and water resources. The company is also the exclusive North American distributor for UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT), a materials recovery system for household refrigeration appliances.

About GE AppliancesGE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people’s lives. GE Appliances’ products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances, visit www.ge.com/appliances.

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[1] Based on ARCA Advanced Processing letter dated December 2010 re: PUR recovery rates

[2] Based on results from a survey undertaken by AHAM as reported in UNEP 2005 and recently reported by ICF International in April 2010 report

[3] Based on Stevenson Company data and calculations using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency global warming potential (GWP) equivalents: http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

[4] Compared to non-ENERGY STAR appliances

Recology Teams with IBM in Quest to Help San Francisco Become First City in North America to Achieve Zero Waste

News release from IBM.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced today a collaboration with Recology, San Francisco’s resource recovery company, to continue reducing landfill disposal by further improving recycling programs designed to help the city achieve zero waste by 2020.

For more, click the link below:

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/37874.wss

GE Supplying Water Recycling Technology to Steel Mill in India

26 April 2012

GE Supplying Water Recycling Technology to Steel Mill in India

 

• Project Marks First Steel Mill in the World to Use ZLD and EDR for Wastewater Recycling
• ZLD Technology Eliminates Wastewater Discharge to Local Rivers
• Supports Local Incentives to Divert Water Pollution

TREVOSE, PA.—April 26, 2012—GE (NYSE: GE) today announced its zero liquid discharge (ZLD) wastewater recycling technology will be installed at the POSCO Cold Rolling Mill Steel Plant in Maharashtra, India in the second quarter of 2013. This marks the first steel mill application of a complete GE ZLD system containing electrodialysis reversal (EDR).

Under the contracts signed between GE and Korean-based POSCO Engineering, a wholly owned subsidiary of POSCO, GE will supply a ZLD wastewater treatment system, which includes two EDR trains for water reclamation, for POSCO’s new plant. GE also will provide technical services, including operator training, during installation and commissioning of the new facility.

“Because of the ongoing water challenges in this region, it is critical to reduce the high levels of water use for industrial applications,” said Kyung Sun Kim, project manager for POSCO. “GE’s innovative, customized wastewater system will help POSCO address that challenge while at the same time meeting local government regulations for wastewater discharge and supporting initiatives to prevent water pollution.”

“POSCO is using the EDR technology to gain a higher recovery of treated wastewater and the ZLD system for reliable wastewater treatment, both of which help to address the challenges of high water consumption in the region, as well as water scarcity on a global level,” said Jeff Connelly, vice president, engineered systems—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water.

The POSCO Cold Rolling Mill Steel Plant is expected to enter commercial service during the second quarter of 2013. The project builds upon an already close relationship between GE and POSCO Engineering. In 2009, GE supplied EDR technology for a thermal power plant to Daewoo Engineering, which later changed its name to POSCO Engineering after a 2011 merger in the POSCO group.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

GE Energy works connecting people and ideas everywhere to create advanced technologies for powering a cleaner, more productive world. With more than 100,000 employees in over 100 countries, our diverse portfolio of product and service solutions and deep industry expertise help our customers solve their challenges locally. We serve the energy sector with technologies in such areas as natural gas, oil, coal and nuclear energy; wind, solar, biogas and water processing; energy management; and grid modernization. We also offer integrated solutions to serve energy- and water-intensive industries such as mining, metals, marine, petrochemical, food & beverage and unconventional fuels.

Companies Pick Up Used Packaging, and Recycling’s Cost

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Companies Pick Up Used Packaging, and Recycling’s Cost

By STEPHANIE STROM

Brushing your teeth with a yogurt container? Wiping your mouth with a coffee cup?

You might be doing both, as a result of a new trend in recycling, courtesy of the manufacturers who make the original products. A growing number of large food and beverage companies in the United States are assuming the costs of recycling their packaging after consumers are finished with it, a responsibility long imposed on packaged goods companies in Europe and more recently in parts of Asia, Latin America and Canada.

Several factors are converging to make what is known as “extended producer responsibility” more attractive and, perhaps, more commonplace in the United States.

“Local governments are literally going broke and so are looking for ways to shift the costs of recycling off onto someone, and companies that make the packaging are logical candidates,” said Jim Hanna, director of environmental impact at the Starbucks Corporation. “More environmentally conscious consumers are demanding that companies share their values, too.”

Perhaps most important, he said, “companies are becoming more aware that resources are limited and what they’ve traditionally thrown away — wow, it has value.” It is now cheaper to recycle an aluminum can into a new can than it is to make one from virgin material, and the same is becoming true for plastic bottles.

News Release from GE

14 March 2012

GE to Supply Water Recycling Technology for SAGD Project in Alberta Oil Sands

 

GE’s Evaporation System to Help Boost Production, Reduce Liquid Waste Requiring Disposal

TREVOSE, PA.—March 14, 2012—GE’s (NYSE: GE) wastewater evaporation technologies have been selected to improve wastewater recovery at an existing oil sands project near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. The facility utilizes once through steam generators (OTSGs) to produce steam, which drives the steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process for the production of bitumen, which is a heavy crude oil produced from oil sands.

GE’s system will recycle a portion of the OTSG blowdown, thereby decreasing the volume of liquid waste from the facility and increasing the volume of boiler feed water available for generation of steam and production of bitumen. The use of GE’s evaporation technologies for the recovery of OTSG blowdown is gaining traction in the Alberta oil sands, where producers are seeking sustainable production processes that satisfy increasingly stringent environmental regulations. This project is the fifth to utilize GE’s evaporation technologies for OTSG blowdown treatment. To date, 14 SAGD projects have selected GE evaporation technologies, including six over the past 19 months, for their produced water and OTSG blowdown treatment applications.

“We are aligning our businesses to best meet the needs of Canada’s oil sands industry by offering more energy and water efficient products and services,“ said Jeff Connelly, vice president, engineered systems—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water.

For example, in December 2011, GE opened a new oil sands support center in Fort McMurray to provide greater local support to customers as they experience significant growth in this important sector. In 2012, GE also is scheduled to open a new Heavy Oil Centre of Excellence in Calgary, further building on a strong commitment and presence in the province of Alberta.

Los Alamos National Laboratory and Zero Wastewater Discharge

News Release from Los Alamos National Laboratory:

LANL achieves milestone on path to zero wastewater discharge

Improved compliance while recycling millions of gallons of industrial wastewater

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, January 20, 2012—Millions of gallons of industrial wastewater will be recycled at Los Alamos National Laboratory as the result of a long-term strategy to treat wastewater rather than discharging it into the environment.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, which issues permits for industrial and sanitary wastewater discharges, recently approved the removal of four more outfalls from the Laboratory’s permit. (An outfall is where wastewater from Lab operations is discharged down canyons.)  Only 11 outfalls remain, down from 141 in 1993. 

"One of the objectives of our Environmental Management System is to reduce liquid discharges to a single outfall by the end of 2012," said Dennis Hjeresen, Division Leader of the Environmental Protection Division at the Lab. "Removing four more facilities from our permit is an important step toward reaching that goal."

The wastewater comes from many places at the Laboratory and does many things.  It cools the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), one of the Lab’s premier science research facilities, and the Strategic Computing Complex, which creates world-class high-performance computing systems. The water also cools the Lab’s power plant and comes out of the sanitary plant that treats water from toilets and sinks.

The treated sanitary wastewater and water flushed from cooling towers is transported to the Lab’s Sanitary Effluent Reclamation Facility (SERF). It then can be reused in cooling towers around the Lab.
"The SERF should be recycling up to 300,000 gallons per day by the summer of 2012," Hjeresen said.


About Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.

LANL news media contact: Colleen Curran, (505) 664-0344, colleen_curran@lanl.gov