About BrendaPike

Brenda is a 29-year-old woman living in Cambridge, MA and working in Boston. Living in an urban area, and in a town with forward-thinking environmental laws. While she recognizes that the biggest places we can have an impact are transportation, heating/cooling, and animal product consumption, they may not be the subject of the majority of her posts. (Because, seriously, how many different ways can you say “Walk to work,” “Insulate your home,” and “Go vegan”?) She occasionally focuses on trivial or esoteric topics, like vermicomposting, because that’s what's on her mind—and because it’s fun!

Touring the Casella Recycling Plant

The front of the warehouse, where trucks unload.

On Wednesday I went on a tour of the Casella recycling plant. Cambridge’s recycling director, Randi Mail, is hosting tours before the town switches over to single-stream recycling October 25. Casella is already handling single-stream loads from many towns in Massachusetts, including Boston. It was fascinating to see the elaborate sorting process.

First, giant piles of recyclables are dumped off the trucks and bulldozed onto a conveyer belt, which levels them out into more manageable amounts.

A teeny tiny bulldozer pushes the recyclables onto a conveyer belt.

Then the mass of recyclables are spun around a tunnel with 1-inch holes in the sides. Centrifugal force holds lighter materials to the side while glass falls to the bottom and shatters, over and over again, until it can fall through the holes.

Heavier metals (pots & pans…) and rigid plastic (like laundry baskets) are pulled out by hand and dropped into chutes. More than 20 people are stationed at various spots on the line to hand sort, but 99% of their job is to pull out plastic bags before they can gum up the works.

A magnetic conveyer belt runs over the line to pull out metal. Since aluminum isn’t magnetic, a later spot in the line reverses the polarity of the aluminum to repel it over a barrier and onto another belt.

Paper and cardboard slides up rollers spaced at intervals. The paper glides over the top of the rollers, but heavier materials like plastics fall through. It’s amazing how well sorted everything is by the end of the line.

Eight sets of optical sensors ID different kinds of plastics and trigger jets of air to shoot them over a barrier onto another belt.

The end results are baled for transport. The system works remarkably well: the plant director told us that their buyers only allow 2% contamination of each material with another, so it has to be well sorted. Anything that didn’t get separated is run through the system again to capture as much as possible.

Bales of recycling are stacked way over your head.

I expected the warehouse to stink, but it didn’t. I guess that’s a testament to how well people rinse their recyclables. But it was very noisy and very dusty. And hot! I guess an 80-degree day wasn’t the best for a tour.

Some take-aways for me:

  • Plastic bags are death to the machines. The line is only running about 70% of the time, mostly because of plastic bags. So don’t toss them into recycling bins.
  • Plastic smaller than 3 inches falls through and doesn’t get recycled. So bottle caps should always be put back on their bottles.
  • Paper attached to glass gets thrown away, because tiny glass particles stick to it at the plant. So if you want to recycle it, pull it off at home.

If you’re interested in going on a tour yourself, Cambridge is hosting two more this year, on October 28 and November 18. To sign up, email recycle@cambridgema.gov or call 617-349-4815. If you can’t make the tour, you can also watch a video about single-stream recycling on Casella’s website.

For all the pictures, and larger versions of them, see the original article at the link below.

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Person-to-Person Car Sharing with RelayRides

The RelayRides onboard computer

On Saturday we tried out a Boston-based car-sharing service called RelayRides. It’s much like the other locally-based car-share service Zipcar, except that all the cars are owned by regular people. When they’re not using them, they rent them out.

Jason and I are thinking of enrolling our car, since we rarely use it on weekends, but we wanted to try out the system from the other side first.

Like with Zipcar, a membership card locks and unlocks the door, but only during your scheduled time. An electronic device near the rearview mirror shows how long you have the car for and allows you to extend or shorten your reservation. It also houses the gas card. Gas is the owner’s responsibility (figured into the cost of the rental), but drivers are supposed to make sure they return it at least ¼ full.

When I signed up, I got a $25 credit on my account, to encourage me to use it. It’s such a new service that they’re also waiving any introductory fees, so it’s cost us nothing. If you’ve ever thought of using Zipcar, it’s worth trying out.

The whole thing’s remarkably easy, but there were a few hangups. The door unlocking mechanism was a little touchy; I had to hold the card against it longer than I thought necessary before it registered. And we did have a little bit of trouble finding the car. Unlike Zipcar, the only RelayRides sign around the car is in the bottom corner of the windshield, and the website showed a silver Honda Accord, when the car was blue. That wouldn’t have been so confusing, except a silver Honda Accord was actually parked nearby. Luckily, the owner of the car came out while I was calling the company and pointed out the correct car.

Despite that, though, the whole thing was so positive that it even convinced Jason that we should sign up, and he’s not always up for my cockamamie schemes. Once our car’s enrolled, I’ll let you know how it works from that side, too.

Report from a weatherization barnraising

My team leader, Torrey Wolff, was very patient with us.

On Saturday we went to our second weatherization barnraising, organized by HEET and the Cambridge Energy Alliance. Last time I learned to install programmable thermostats and Jason caulked windows at two apartment buildings. This time I installed Q-lon weatherstripping around doors and Jason insulated skylights at a daycare center. The end result? The blower door test showed a 50% reduction in leaks—the most HEET has ever measured.
Q-lon is foam weatherstripping in the shape of a V attached to a wooden or metal slat. The V expands to fill any open space between the doorjamb and the door—a lot like the V-channel weatherstripping that we use for our windows. When I found out about the Q-lon last time, I still didn’t know quite how to install it, so I was glad to get the chance. HEET actually has a really good tutorial that walks you through the basics. The most important part is making sure the foam isn’t too compressed or too slack. You do this by sliding a piece of paper between the weatherstripping and the (locked) door. If the paper doesn’t fall out when you let go, it’s tight enough. If it comes out when you pull on it, it’s loose enough.

I’m especially interested in this because the self-adhesive foam weatherstripping that we used last year compressed a lot. I don’t know how effective it is anymore. Since the Q-lon is installed on a different part of the doorjamb, we can keep the foam and just add this to it. It’s a much more permanent solution.

It does require some hacksawing, though, to cut the slats down to the size of your door. This may have been the first time I’ve ever used a hacksaw in my life, and I’m proud to say that I got the hang of it after just a couple of ragged edges.

Jason puts Tyvek over a skylight.

Jason got to use spray foam on the cracks around the skylights. This is only the second time he’s used it, and he picked up some tips. First, wear goggles and gloves, and hold something under the can so it won’t drip anywhere. That stuff never comes out. Second, shake it for a long time, then spray it into a trash can until you get a sense of how fast it comes out. It can expand like crazy. You can cut it down with a razor blade once it’s dry, but it’s easier to not have to. Make sure you have a lot of cracks to fill, though—once you start the can you can’t store it to use again later.

I’ve really enjoyed these weatherizations, and I’d definitely do another. I like the idea that the energy savings that the homeowners see will be multiplied by the skills the volunteers learn to use in our own homes. And it’s nice to meet like-minded neighbors (even the crazy ones).

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Interview with Cambridge Recycling Director Randi Mail, Part 2

On Tuesday, I shared my conversation with Randi Mail, recycling director for the City of Cambridge, about Cambridge’s new single-stream recycling program. In the process we touched on some general waste and recycling questions that I thought I’d share here. If you have any other questions or want to attend the recycling facility tour, let me know in the comments and I’ll pass it on to Randi.

Are there any plans for collecting compost in the future?

The limiting factor on that right now is that there is no facility within reasonable driving distance of the city that can handle the kind of volume of food scraps that we’d get if we had a curbside collection program for residents. There are a few private companies that are moving forward with plans to build new facilities for the Boston area, so that needs to come first. We need a facility that can process yard waste and food waste together, similar to the way that the San Francisco and the Seattle programs work. The programs in place for businesses and for the drop-off program, that food waste is being taken to farms that are basically at capacity. They can’t handle the kind of volume that we’d get with the curbside program.

What farms are they being taken to right now?

There’s Rocky Hill Farm in Saugus and Brick-Ends Farm in Hamilton. They’re large-scale facilities, but they’re small when we’re talking about providing collection to everybody in Cambridge. I’ve estimated that we’d see at least 3,000 tons a year; it could be three times that. The food waste drop-off program is basically 50 tons a year—we’d be doing about 50 tons a week.

The farms are doing outdoor composting in windrows, long piles they turn every day. It would be impossible, I think, to site an outdoor composting facility in the Boston area. You’ve got neighbors and odor concerns. So the companies are looking at this technology called anaerobic digestion, where you can do composting indoors in an environment where there’s no oxygen, and they can capture the methane that is emitted during that composting for electricity or fuel. The city of Toronto has a few of these, and it’s very popular in Europe in urban areas.

The city is watching what the private sector is exploring. Casella Recycling, is looking at anaerobic digestion, as well as Save That Stuff, a local hauler. There are a few other projects that are being considered.

I think within the next two to three years we’ll be in a better position to consider curbside organics collection. We’ve had the drop-off program for residents for two years, and businesses have had the curbside organics for four years. We get a lot of questions about this, and I hope we will be in a position to offer it.

The best option, of course, is to try to compost at home. If you have backyard space, DPW sells compost bins for $50. Apartment dwellers can compost indoors with a worm bin.

If you’re not sure whether something is recyclable in your town, is it better to toss it in the bin for them to sort at the center or should you just not include it?

Well, the top items that are not accepted are food, plastic bags, Styrofoam, VCR tapes, liquids, and light bulbs. We don’t take glass dishes or cups, and no plate glass, like picture frames or windows, which can be leaded glass. Currently no pizza boxes, but the new program is going to accept empty pizza boxes. Other than those items, we do accept a lot of materials: all paper, all plastics, glass bottles, metal can, and cardboard. With the new program, any stiff plastic will be accepted, even if it doesn’t have a number on it.

Ultimately, if you’re not sure, I’d say, “When in doubt, throw it out.” But call or visit the website and check. The big no-nos are plastic bags and food waste.

Anything else about the program that you want to share?

I’d love to get the word out about the recycling tours. We’ve got one a month: September 29, October 28, and November 18. They’re open to the public, and it’s a really great way for people to see the recycling process in action and feel confident that what they’re putting in their bin is really getting sorted and sent to companies to be made into new products. Recycling is real, and it’s an important industry in our economy. We have a six-minute video on our website of the recycling processes in Charlestown, so if you can’t make the tour, you can also watch that. To sign up, e-mail recycle@cambridgema.gov or call 617-349-4815.

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Cambridge Switches to Single-Stream Recycling

On October 25, Cambridge is switching to single-stream recycling. Also called zero-sort recycling, this method allows residents to throw all recyclables into one bin, rather than separating paper and cardboard from plastic, glass, and metal. It’s a method that’s already been adopted by many urban areas worldwide, with great results. To find out more about it, I talked to Randi Mail, recycling director for the City of Cambridge.

What are the benefits of single-stream recycling?

Single-stream means that residents can mix clean bottles and cans, paper, and cardboard together in the same bin, so people don’t have to sort recycling anymore. Across the country, communities have seen that when you don’t require sorting, you get a lot more participation. It makes it easier for people. We’re also switching to a different type of truck that can take any size cardboard, so people won’t have to cut their cardboard or flatten it down to three feet by three feet, which is a huge reason why a lot of cardboard in Cambridge doesn’t make it into the recycling truck.

There are also going to be new materials that are going to be accepted as part of the single-stream program: empty pizza boxes; big plastic items like laundry baskets, buckets, plastic toys; spiral cans like those that potato chips, coffee, or nuts come in; and empty paper coffee cups.

The city is going to be providing large recycling toters on wheels to all residences. Providing a bigger container also increases the amount recycled. Sometimes when people’s bins fill up, the rest goes in the trash. So the bigger the bin, the more recycling we’ll get. The toters are easier to move to the curbs; they don’t require lifting. I think the sidewalks are going to be clearer, and the trucks themselves will be safer because they’re going to empty those toters into the back of the truck, rather than over the top. There are a lot of different benefits, from minimizing the trash to cleaning up the streets and just making it easier for people to participate.

How much do you expect recycling to increase?

Cambridge has a pretty high recycling rate already, at about 35%. That includes yard waste, electronics, and food waste that we collect through our composting program. We are expecting between a 10% and 25% increase in recycling tons. We’ve worked with the state to project what the increase will be, and they believe that we’re going to see a 25% increase. We hope to see at least 10%. If we achieve more than that, it will be fantastic.

Have other towns seen increased recycling rates?

Yes. The City of Boston has switched neighborhood by neighborhood—they’ve just finished up—and they are looking at almost doubling their recycling rate across town. Communities in Massachusetts and across the country, like Newton and Worcester, Everett and Chelsea, Quincy and Framingham, every one is seeing a huge increase. You definitely see more when you give out the large toters; some communities have not given those out and they don’t see as big of a jump.

Do you think contamination is going to rise with single-stream recycling?

As always, bottles and cans must be emptied and rinsed out. No food waste is accepted. As long as people are recycling correctly, there shouldn’t be any increase in contamination. It’s not acceptable now, and it’s not going to be acceptable in the single-stream program. If recycling bins have trash, food waste, or other unacceptable items, drivers have the ability to reject them by leaving an orange sitcker. We try to be proactive about educating residents when they’re not recycling properly, to make sure they know what to do right the next week.

Cambridge recycling is pretty clean overall. Our processor is Casella Recycling, they’re based in Charlestown, and they consistently report to us that we have no more than 3% contamination, which is very low, and they’re able to handle that. They’ve told us that we’re probably the cleanest load in the Boston area, and they take from about 50 communities.

Clean recycling is important because the material is marketed to companies that use new products. Good education and immediate feedback to the residents is key. Casella won’t accept loads with more than 7% contamination, that’s part of our contract, and our drivers don’t want to get their trucks rejected, because that causes problems and delays.

The first quality check is the education of residents, because if people know what to recycle, they’re not going to put the wrong stuff in the bins. The second check is when the drivers can reject the bins. And then the third check is at the recycling facility, where there’s sorting going on with different technologies and people. They’re sorting that material and selling it back to markets, so contamination isn’t acceptable. They’ll remove that stuff, whether it’s trash or dirty recycling.

How much is this whole process costing the city?

We’re looking at about $700,000 to purchase toters for 1-5 unit buildings, and the recycling collection contract is increasing a little bit, but really it’s going to present a savings to the city overall, because the more that we recycle, the more the city saves. There’s about a $60 difference between the cost to throw a ton of waste out versus the cost to recycle a ton, so with an increase in recycling we’re going to see disposal savings.

How long will it be until the savings makes up for the outlay?

A few years, definitely, but long term, the city is committed to recycling. And overall, especially with the new vehicles, I think it’s going to make things a lot easier for residents. There are different ways to try to increase recycling, and we’ve decided that single-stream is going to be the one way that we definitely can do. Other communities have implemented pay-as-you-throw systems, where residents pay for each bag of trash that they throw out. That really hasn’t been a program that the city has been able to consider seriously. It’s difficult to implement with so many multi-family units, and I don’t think there’s the political will for that kind of program. By making recycling easier and providing bigger containers, I think we’re going to see the kind of jump in participation that we’re looking for.

What’s happening to the old bins?

People can continue to use the bins inside their houses if they want to fill them up and then empty them in the toters, which would be kept outside. If not, we’re going to be collecting bins at the curb the day after collection through November. There may be broken bins that we recycle, but the other ones we’ll clean, and those will be available to people who are going to continue to use bins.

There are basically three options for recycling come October 25. We’re going to be providing toters to residents. If they feel that they don’t need them or can’t fit them on their property, they have other options. People can convert a trash can for recycling, and we have stickers that people can put on their cans similar to the yard waste program. And the third option, which is really the last resort, is continuing using the small bins.

There are two sizes of toters. Single-family homes are going to get one small, 65-gallon toter. That’s the equivalent of 3 ½ bins. Two-family homes are going to get two small toters, and three- to five-unit buildings are going to get two large toters. Those are 95 gallons, and they can fit the equivalent of over 5 bins. The amount of recycling that we see out of households is definitely going to increase because cardboard’s going to be much easier, and we’re taking those large plastics, so they’re going to take up more space.

If people want to change the size of their toter, they need to contact us by September 1 at recycle@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-4815, when we’re going to be putting the order in. We’ve heard from almost 400 households who want to go bigger, go smaller, or share a bin with a neighbor.

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Replacing our Desktop Computer with a NAS

Home NAS device replaces a desktop computer for storage When we tested all our electronics with the Kill-a-Watt, we found out that the ten-year-old desktop was using a lot of energy, even when it wasn’t powered on. Since we were mostly just using the desktop for storing our music and pictures—we’re primarily laptop users now—we thought it would be a good idea to replace the poor old thing with network-attached storage (NAS for short).

A NAS is a mini-server built specifically for storage. If you work in a corporate environment, there are probably more than a few hanging around on your network. Only in the past five years or so have they started to be sold into the home market. It’s basically a tiny computer built around a bay for hard drives. When I started looking, my basic criteria was: 1) something that chews up less electricity than the old Windows Vista desktop (not hard to do) and 2) something that we can access from the laptops and backup our data to.

After some comparison, I chose the Netgear ReadyNAS NV+. It’s a very sexy little silver box that slides right into my entertainment center. The old PC ran at 110W–121W (plus 18W for the monitor) and used 6W when it was off (plus 2W for the monitor). The NAS uses 29W–45W, and just 1W when it’s off. In comparison with other NASes on the market, it’s in the middle of the pack somewhere: not the lightest sipper of electricity but not a workhorse server either. One of the many reasons I chose it is that it has an array of possible energy-saving features, such as:

  • A variable-speed fan—it senses the temperature and adjusts how fast the fan spins automatically.
  • Automatic disk spin-down—most new computers spin down when they’re not in use, but NASes generally don’t.
  • Scheduled startup and shutdown—in case we forget to turn it off at night, although I try to turn it off when I’m not using it.

The electricity draw varies based on what sort of hard disks one puts into the box, so it’s important to look for low-power drives to go with your NAS. I picked the WD Caviar Green drives, but there’s a variety of equally good “green” hard drives on the market now. “Green” in this case indicates only that they spin at a slower speed and thus suck down less energy. This means that they’re a little slower, but you’ll probably never notice on a network-connected server.

Other reasons I chose the ReadyNAS:

  • It has a reputation as a reliable device.
  • It supports RAID (redundant array of independent disks), which allows me to stuff a bunch of hard disks into the box and, if one of them fails, still keep all of my data. Additionally, if I need more storage in the future, I can just stick another hard drive into the box or replace my old ones to expand my storage space.
  • The most silly: I can connect it to my Tivo right out of the box. Tivo’s a funny beast that doesn’t support DLNA like almost every other streaming device on the network (PS3, Xbox, etc). Most other NASes support DLNA, but not Tivo.

All in all, I really love it. I’ve moved my entire iTunes and picture libraries onto it, and they’ve barely dented the total storage capacity (1.8 terrabytes!). It’s hard to describe how freeing it is to finally be able to access all of our files without having to exile myself to the office.

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Farmers Markets in the Boston Area

By now most farmers markets should be up and running. Once my CSA starts, I usually don’t buy much at farmers markets, but there’s one nearby any day of the week for impulse purchases. Here’s a quick list of the ones near me:

[Ed. For an easy way to keep track of what markets are open, as well as other local events, try our calendar.]

Mondays

Tuesdays

Thursdays

Fridays

Saturdays

  • Cambridgeport – Corner of Magazine Street and Memorial Drive, 11:00–2:00, 6/12–10/30

Sundays

There are many more than I can list here, but Northeast Harvest has a really complete and up-to-date list. Check it out.

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Urban Foraging with David Craft

David Craft shows off a wild grape plant. Last week we went on an edible plant walk through our neighborhood. It was hosted by David Craft, whose book, Urban Foraging, details the produce he collects around Boston. He started out the evening by feeding us all black locust blossoms. It was bizarre pulling them off the branch and popping them right in my mouth, but they tasted sweet, like pea shoots.

Foraging obviously isn’t an efficient way of getting food, but it would be nice to be able to recognize plants as you walk past and just gather a handful for dinner. Also, it seems like most should be collected when they’re young, in the early spring. At that point most farmer’s markets haven’t started yet, so it’s a nice way to get super local food when it’s not otherwise easily available. And I have to admit to the urge to grab handfuls of berries from my neighbors’ yards.

On the other hand, in the city I would be worried about contamination. I’ve read that plants don’t absorb heavy metals in high concentrations, so it’s ingesting the dirt on the outside that’s the main problem. A thorough washing takes care of that. But who knows what pesticides have been sprayed on them and how much they retain? Probably less than conventional produce, but what’s a good rule of thumb? None of the urban foragers I’ve read deal with that, except to tell you to avoid highways. I’m going to keep researching, but if anyone has some insight to share, please do!

In the meantime, I’m going to get a good field guide so that I can identify edible plants, even if I’m not up to eating them yet. David’s book is more of a primer on the subject.

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Why the Run on Bottled Water in Boston?

Update: The boil water order has been lifted as of Tuesday, May 4th but the question of peoples’ attitude toward tap water remains

For those of you who haven’t heard, people in the Boston area have been told to boil their tap water for a minute before drinking or cooking with it, because of a burst pipe leading from the reservoir. It’s certainly a bizarre situation for an urban area like this to be without potable water for days, but what’s even more bizarre is people’s reaction to it.

From the Boston Globe:

“The state ordered 2.5 million gallons of drinkable water and asked the federal government for help in securing additional supplies if necessary.”

“People flocked to convenience stores and groceries in search of bottled water, amid scattered reports of shortages.”

“Coakley set up a hotline for people to call in tips about alleged price gouging.”

Seriously? It’s not like there’s no water coming through. All people have to do is boil it. As long as they have a pot and a stove, they should be all set. So why the fuss over cases and cases of bottled water?

I don’t think it’s laziness, because it’s got to be more of a pain to make a special trip to the store and fight through crowds to pay more money for what comes directly your house for free (after taxes).

I think it’s a serious worry that the water coming out of the tap will make them sick. They’re thinking of their water as something akin to sewage, and if I imagine it like that, I can understand. But it’s mostly the same water they’re used to, with something like 3-5% pond water added. Pond water treated with chlorine. If you’ve ever gone swimming, you’ve probably ingested water worse than this. The precautions are there for the off chance that people might get sick from it, and they’re a good idea, but there’s no need to go overboard.

I’m worried that this will not only create a huge temporary demand for unnecessary bottled water, but make it a habit. I already know people who will never drink tap water, even if it’s filtered, because they’re convinced it’s unclean. That’s crazy. Our water system is generally good. It’s regularly tested, and reports are sent out to residents yearly. And if that’s not enough, you can just test it yourself, like I did. The test costs less than a three-pack of Brita replacement filters.

Now, all this is just me preaching at people, because I’m lucky—Cambridge’s water comes from a different reservoir than the rest of the Boston area. The only way I’ve been affected is that I had to fill up some bottles at home to bring into work. But it’s just been weird to see people’s reactions. Some people weren’t even using the water to wash their hands. After going to the bathroom. News flash: not washing your hands is going to make you sicker than drinking this water.

Okay, I’m off my soap box now. Good night.

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com

Converting to a Dual-Flush Toilet

No, we didn’t get a new toilet. We converted our old one with a One2flush kit. Turning the handle one way makes a half flush and turning it the other makes a full flush. And it’s easy to increase or decrease the water levels of both of them if necessary by adjusting the settings on the flapper.

Our toilet was already a modern, low-flow toilet, using just 1.6 gallons of water per flush. But you really don’t need 1.6 gallons for every flush. That’s now the default setting for the full flush, and 0.8 gallons is the default setting for the half flush, but we’ll have to continue playing around with the water levels to figure out what’s the least amount that we can use.

The kit was relatively simple to install—you can tell by the fact that two very non-handy people did it without flooding the bathroom. Taking the toilet tank off was obviously terrifying, and a little difficult, too, because the bolts were corroded. But this video walked us through the whole thing step by step.

We did run into one problem when we were done. The fill valve continued to allow a steady trickle of water through, even when the tank was already full. We were afraid we’d have to replace the whole fill valve (or shamefacedly ask our landlord to do it), but cleaning the valve did the trick.

The problem? The previous tenants had put bricks in the toilet tank to save water. The bricks had started to degrade in the water, and brick dust had gotten into the valve. This is why people now emphasize that if you want to displace water in your toilet, use a bottle of water—don’t use [unprotected] bricks!

Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com