My predictions turned out to be wrong. There’s more red tape than expected, and frankly I’m confused by some of it. I’m also disappointed by my inability to bring some change to this situation, but at the same time, I think this is bigger than one person.

Just to recap, our building – a commercial building – is not legally required to recycle glass and metal items, including bottles and cans. However, we are legally required to recycle the following items:

• Corrugated Cardboard (flattened boxes)
• Office Paper
• Magazines, Catalogs, Phone Books
• Newspapers

Further information about the recycling laws in regard to commercial buildings can found here:

NYCWasteLe$$: Business Recycling

Recycling: It’s Not A Choice, It’s The Law. A Handbook for NYC Businesses (PDF)

Rules Governing the Recycling of Private Carter-Collected Waste (PDF)

So first thing is first – we should comply with the law and recycle paper. However, paper recycling is not happening at this school, and we are therefore effectively violating New York City law.

In conversations with Judith Watson, she noted my concerns, but also said that in order to move forward, the Graduate Council must pass a resolution stating the following:

1. Students are concerned about the environment and the need for recycling.

2. The J-school community notices recycling is not taking place at the J-School, and;

3. We urge the J-School and its landlord to adopt a recycling program.

The resolution would then be given to the landlord of our building. This all sounds great, but honestly, I’m not sure why we need a resolution in order to start complying with the law. I think the law takes precedence over a student council resolution.

Is it because the landlord is not complying? When I talked to the landlord of the building, he claimed that the building does paper recycling and he is aware that they are legally required to do so. (Also, if you believe that your building is not complying with paper recycling, the Department of Sanitation has a violation form on their website).

I don’t think it’s the landlord who is the cause of this situation though. Instead I think we are just collectively confused. Nobody knows where to put what, and frankly, that needs to change. We need to start recycling even if we’re not sure that the building does it. Yes, a resolution sounds fine and dandy, but we can start separating our trash without one.

• So here’s what I propose. Let’s start recyling paper, and let’s start in January. Confused about where to put paper? Let’s designate bins in the school that are for paper only. Print the sign below, and start hanging it up around the school above recycling bins. Let’s pick the big recycling bins, and perhaps keep it to one bin per room. Download the poster here: RECYCLE PAPER SIGN
• The Governance Council must pass the resolution. We can also voice our concerns to the landlord before the resolution is passed.
• I suggest that an environmental committee be formed within the school. Basically our goal should be to make sure we have a comprehensive recycling program in place before we graduate. This includes bottle and can recycling, as well as paper recycling. I’ll be happy to start it, and I welcome other concerned students to join. Please email me if you’re interested.

Anyway, with that, I wish all a happy holiday! See you in January…

Armed with gardening tools and gloves, residents of all ages braved the cold to plant the seeds of Spring. Bruce Brodoff, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Alliance said that the event was, an opportunity to offer an environmentally friendly, fun and recreational activity for residents.
“Lower Manhattan’s residential community has tripled since September 11,” he said. “It used to be an all business community, but now with so many more people living here, we have a real opportunity to introduce residents to Lower Manhattan.”

According to the Department of Parks and Recreation website, “Bowling Green is New York City’s oldest park. According to tradition, this spot served as the council ground for Native American tribes and was the site of the legendary sale of Manhattan to Peter Minuit in 1626. The Dutch called the area “the Plain” and used it for several purposes. It was the beginning of Heere Staat (High Street, now Broadway)—a trade route which extended north through Manhattan and the Bronx. It was also the site of a parade ground, meeting place, and cattle market. In 1686 the site became public property, when the City Charter put all “waste, vacant, unpatented and unappropriated lands” under municipal domain.”

Bowling Green was first designated as a park in 1733. That was more than 200 years ago. Today, it’s still a communal space in the heart of the financial district which suffered tremendous losses after 911, but local area residents continue to see value in maintaining their community and in preserving the park.

When I came back to the United States, I was amazed by the amount of fresh water that flowed freely from our taps and garden hoses. Seeing how much fresh water was available here, compared to a developing nation like Vietnam, made me realize that something was amiss.

After this experience, I was very interested to hear about a documentary now touring the United States. It’s called FLOW. The documentary explores the issue of the world water crisis and the privatization of the world’s diminishing fresh water supply. Here is the trailer:

Below are two more clips from Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! In these clips, she interviews Maude Barlow, a Canadian author and environmental activist, about the world’s water crisis.

As we see more and more plastic bottles of water filling our deli coolers and vending machines, a modern day question begins to emerge. Is water a human right or a commodity to be bought and sold in the global marketplace?

* “The inconvenient truth of water” is a term coined by Maude Barlow in the above video clip.

Five weeks into the semester, and there are still no recycling containers to be found. Sure, one can find some blue bins with the recycling logo in our classrooms. However, instead of being devoted to one particular recyclable item, these bins often contain a messy mixture of food, wrappers, cans, and paper.

So, where exactly are we supposed to put our bottles, cans and other recyclable goods?

It turns out that measures are being taken to install a recycling program at CUNY J-School.

When I asked why we do not have a recycling program at this school, the collective answer by students and faculty was that our building does not support recycling.

However, according to New York City law, commercial buildings must recycle the following items:

• Corrugated Cardboard (flattened boxes)
• Office Paper
• Magazines, Catalogs, Phone Books
• Newspapers

Our building – a commercial building – is not legally required to recycle glass and metal items, including bottles and cans. However, we have a duty to separate the above listed paper items from our trash, so that they can be collected by the building’s private carter, a company called IESI.

Further information about the recycling laws in regard to commercial buildings can found here:

NYCWasteLe$$: Business Recycling

Recycling: It’s Not A Choice, It’s The Law. A Handbook for NYC Businesses (PDF)

Rules Governing the Recycling of Private Carter-Collected Waste (PDF)

Judith Watson, the Associate Dean for the CUNY School of Journalism, stated in telephone conversation today that the school wishes to have glass and metal recycling in place this academic year. In fact, the Student Council already proposed a resolution to address this particular issue. According to Watson, the resolution is a statement of commitment to implement a comprehensive recycling program that includes metal and glass. It has not yet been voted on.

However, Gerard Studdert, the Director of Building Operations and Maintenance, stated in a telephone conversation yesterday that the building already supports metal and glass recycling if the items are separated from the trash. He said that recyclable items are handled and separated by IESA, our private trash carrier, on their site.

In response, Watson stated that this was not  the building’s policy in previous discussions. Watson also said that trash and recycling baskets would often go into the same bin for removal by our trash hauler.

Studdert could not be reached for a response.

The issue remains unresolved, and there appears to be miscommunication between parties. I am curious as to how trash and recycling is disposed of. If trash and recycling bags are put into the same bin, are they at least closed bags? Or are they opened and then put into one bin?

Recyclable items must be put in clear or blue colored bags. Unfortunately, these type of bags are not being used in our recycling bins. We often use regular trash bags, as shown in the photographs above, thereby making it impossible for a trash carrier to differentiate between recyclable items and trash.

On a positive note, it appears motions are being taken to ensure that bottle and can recycling in our school is a reality. I’ll add updates as the situation progresses.

In the meantime, our community should work to make certain that the blue recycling bins in our classrooms are devoted to paper products only, and that the bags used are not regular trash bags. Let’s hope that we can add metal and glass bins in the near future.

]]> http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactivefundamentals/2008/10/02/hopes-for-a-recycling-program-at-cuny-j-school/feed/ 8 http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactivefundamentals/2008/09/18/the-building-may-be-yellow-but-brooklyn-childrens-museum-is-really-green/ http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactivefundamentals/2008/09/18/the-building-may-be-yellow-but-brooklyn-childrens-museum-is-really-green/#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:47:08 +0000 amy.wysowski http://blogs.journalism.cuny.edu/interactivefundamentals/?p=483 The Brooklyn Children Museum held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to unveil the newly renovated building, which doubled in size and features all new exhibits.  

While the museum boasts about it’s new exhibits, they are not what impressed me most.  After all, I am not in the 6 month-12 year age range that they are aimed it.  What did impress me, however, was the fact that the museum is New York City’s first “green” museum, certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of the U.S. Green Building Council.

In a huge city like New York, I was surprised that this is only the first museum to have gone “green.”  But kudos to Brooklyn Children’s Museum for being the first, and for being an example to the children that walk through it’s doors on a daily basis.  The museum is planning special programs to educate visitors about its sustainable features so visitors can see first-hand just how it is environmentally-friendly.

The museum uses geothermal heating and cooling systems.  It uses carbon dioxide sensors which regulate the amount of carbon dioxide, a gas that increases in the air when more people are present in a room and exhaling.  When more carbon dioxide is present, the sensors signal the ventilation system to kick on.  When less people are in the room, the ventilation system will turn off, thus saving the museum in energy costs.  Who knew such technology existed?

The museum will also save energy with occupancy sensors that detect the presence of body heat or motion in a room.  These sensors will control the lights throughout the museum.  There is also a system used to convert solar energy into electrical power through photovoltaic panels. Since I’m not sure what exactly those are, you can read more about them here.  

The museum’s flooring is made from bamboo, chosen because it is a renewable resource and is the world’s fastest growing plant.  Other renewable resources used throughout the museum include cork, rubber, and linoleum flooring.  The museum made sure to consider sustainability when using finish materials, and chose materials that were either renewable or made from recycled content.

The museum will continue to take further steps to convert its cleaning and trash handling operations to “green.”  But it is good to see that they have taken the steps in the right direction to help the environment and set an example.  The Hearst Corporation in midtown was the first building in NYC to go green back in 2006, and since then many others have followed suit. Hopefully more will continue to learn by the examples that have been set and take the necessary measures to go “green.”