EYE ON THE ENVIRONMENT | DO “GREEN” FEATURES HELP SELL HOUSES? Nov 4, 2020| David Goldstein, Eye on the Environment by David Goldstein, VC PWA, IWMD Realtors are known for using certain terms to describe homes, and those terms sometimes can have an unexpected meaning. For example, as readynest.com points out, if a realtor describes a home…
EYE ON THE ENVIRONMENT | TRACKING TOXINS AND TALKING TRANSITIONS Oct 28, 2020 | David Goldstein, Eye on the Environment California is getting serious about tracking toxins in personal care products. by David Goldstein This year, the California legislature passed chemical “right to know” legislation, requiring disclosures of ingredients in cosmetics and menstrual products. Previously, some ingredients could…
EYE ON THE ENVIRONMENT | LOCAL MANUFACTURERS REDUCE WASTE, SAVE ENERGY BY USING RECYCLED WASTE Oct 7, 2020 by David Goldstein National Manufacturing Week was last week, and you probably did not realize the role you played. Of course, the market forces created by your purchases are one way you influenced manufacturing, but you…
Eye on the Environment articles are published Sundays in the Ventura County Star newspaper, monthly in the Ventura County Reporter, and frequently in Vida News and The Acorn. Comments on existing articles or ideasfor future articles should be directed to: David Goldstein 805/658-4312 David.Goldstein@ventura.org
Eco-Tip for 8-4-19 Contrasting European and American Recycling By David Goldstein, PWA, IWMD On vacation in Europe over the past two weeks, I photographed some amazing sights. As my pictures show, even in crowded cities where cars line up for parking spaces, city planners have cordoned off extensive curbside space for the exclusive use of…
Eco-Tip for 6-30-19 Start-up Businesses for the Environment By David Goldstein, VCPWA, IWMD Glenn Hening, founder of the non-profit Surfrider Foundation, has started a for-profit business he expects will also benefit the environment. The company, currently based at his home in Oxnard, is called Granular Resistance Fitness Corporation. Before deciding to go into business, Hening…
The most recycled material By David Goldstein, Ventura County PWA, IWMD The most recycled material in Ventura County cannot be placed in your curbside recycling cart or in any commercial recycling bin. Nevertheless, concrete and asphalt, referred to in the waste management industry as “inerts,” are recycled in amounts larger than any other material and at a higher percentage than nearly any material. (A few items with higher recycling rates, for example, car batteries, also have a separate collection system). Although inerts are recycled every day by nearly a dozen local facilities spread throughout Ventura County, the material does not belong in a curbside recycling cart or a commercial recycling bin for two reasons. First, inerts could injure sorters, damage sorting equipment, and contaminate recyclables if handled through our local processing system. Secondly, weight limits on most containers preclude inerts. For this latter reason, concrete is also not suitable for curbside garbage carts, except in small amounts. Weight limits are often printed on the cart. Anything heavier can make the cart too heavy for the garbage truck’s automated truck arm to lift. Instead, there are three main ways to recycle concrete. First, if you have only a single chunk of concrete under three feet in diameter (resulting, for example, from removing a basketball post from a driveway), some garbage collection companies will allow you to use your free annual bulky item collection allocation and will come to your home and load it into their lift‐gate truck in response to your call. Second, if you have enough concrete to justify the cost, you might order a “low‐boy” (short sided) roll‐off box instead of a bin from your refuse collector. Costing about twice as much as a three‐cubic‐yard bin, not including per‐ton charges, a roll‐off is like the back of a truck. It rolls on and off a trailer attached to the truck’s cab. If you can haul concrete yourself, another option is to bring the material to an inert recycling facility, which will crush it into small pieces for reuse as new road base. Some inert recyclers charge a flat fee (between $80 and $200) to accept loads of concrete or asphalt, and others charge by the size or weight of the load. If you bring concrete to a landfill, keep it separate from other waste so it can be reused for onsite roads. The Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center charges for separated concrete only about half the price they charge for garbage. City and County contracts with haulers and landfills also provide for free collection events or free disposal days. Inerts are often sorted from mixed roll‐off bins of construction debris hauled from these events. Eye on the Environment articles are published Sundays in the Ventura County Star newspaper, monthly…
Eco‐Tip for 9‐2‐18 Fleet environmental improvements and upcoming event By David Goldstein, PWA, IWMD Auto fleet managers crave small improvements in efficiency because, multiplied by the number of cars in a fleet, these changes can make a big difference. Sometimes, these changes can also provide significant benefits for the environment. In recent years, the fleet managed by the County of Ventura’s General Services Agency…
Eco-tip for 8-17-18 FIRE-SAFE LANDSCAPING By Dr. Sabrina Drill, Natural Resources Advisor, Ventura County, University of California Cooperative Extension With wildfires seemingly becoming the new norm within the drought-stricken southwestern states, homeowners may feel helpless in trying to make their homes and properties less vulnerable to unpredictable fires. However, while wildfires may never be eliminated,…
Eco-Tip for 7-22-18 People Aren’t the Only Thing Heading to the Beach By Don Sheppard, Ventura County PWA, IWMD As people head to the beach to beat the heat, excess water from yards and driveways carries oil from leaky vehicles, chemicals, and pet waste to the beach as well. In fact, the California Department of…