SOLVE, Portland Business Alliance, and Portland Lodging Alliance with the support of Ethos Commercial Advisors held their last Downtown Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day of 2020 on Friday.   More than 226 volunteers attended the event, and many brought warm clothing to donate to Transition Projects’ ‘Keep Portland Warm’ winter clothing drive, adding to the spirit of giving back. In total, more than 3,100 pounds of litter and debris was removed from city sidewalks, parks, and business fronts.   The totals from Friday add to the already impressive results from the last three Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days. With today’s event being the last of the year, SOLVE is happy to report that more than 1,200 volunteers have removed over 13,000 pounds of litter from downtown Portland since these monthly events began in early September.   The popularity of these events shows that Portlanders have a sincere pride in where they call home and are willing to come together as a community take care of it through the simple act of picking up litter. Volunteers who attended today’s event also were given “Here for Portland” stickers, a campaign that supports shopping small and local this holiday season. With so many people working from home, many Portlanders do not visit downtown as frequently as they used to. The Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day helps to bring community together in a place that has been hit hard economically by COVID-19.   During the event, volunteers received heavy duty garbage bags, vinyl gloves, a safety vest, and a litter grabber before spreading out to clean the Rose City. Common items found include cigarette butts, disposable masks, and take-out containers. The cigarette butts collected at this event are recycled by Terracycle, and in-part due to the popularity of these events, SOLVE was able to reach more than half a million cigarette butts recycled with Terracycle.   The next Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day will be held on January 18, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Anyone who is interested in joining SOLVE’s cleanup efforts should visit www.solveoregon.org to learn more and get involved. Disposal for the Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days is donated by Central City Concern.

SOLVE, Portland Business Alliance, and Portland Lodging Alliance with the support of Ethos Commercial Advisors held their last Downtown Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day of 2020 on Friday.   More than 226 volunteers attended the event, and many brought warm clothing to donate to Transition Projects’ ‘Keep Portland Warm’ winter clothing drive, adding to the spirit of giving back. In total, more than 3,100 pounds of litter and debris was removed from city sidewalks, parks, and business fronts.   The totals from Friday add to the already impressive results from the last three Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days. With today’s event being the last of the year, SOLVE is happy to report that more than 1,200 volunteers have removed over 13,000 pounds of litter from downtown Portland since these monthly events began in early September.   The popularity of these events shows that Portlanders have a sincere pride in where they call home and are willing to come together as a community take care of it through the simple act of picking up litter. Volunteers who attended today’s event also were given “Here for Portland” stickers, a campaign that supports shopping small and local this holiday season. With so many people working from home, many Portlanders do not visit downtown as frequently as they used to. The Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day helps to bring community together in a place that has been hit hard economically by COVID-19.   During the event, volunteers received heavy duty garbage bags, vinyl gloves, a safety vest, and a litter grabber before spreading out to clean the Rose City. Common items found include cigarette butts, disposable masks, and take-out containers. The cigarette butts collected at this event are recycled by Terracycle, and in-part due to the popularity of these events, SOLVE was able to reach more than half a million cigarette butts recycled with Terracycle.   The next Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day will be held on January 18, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Anyone who is interested in joining SOLVE’s cleanup efforts should visit www.solveoregon.org to learn more and get involved. Disposal for the Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days is donated by Central City Concern.

SOLVE, Portland Business Alliance, and Portland Lodging Alliance with the support of Ethos Commercial Advisors held their last Downtown Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day of 2020 on Friday.   More than 226 volunteers attended the event, and many brought warm clothing to donate to Transition Projects’ ‘Keep Portland Warm’ winter clothing drive, adding to the spirit of giving back. In total, more than 3,100 pounds of litter and debris was removed from city sidewalks, parks, and business fronts.   The totals from Friday add to the already impressive results from the last three Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days. With today’s event being the last of the year, SOLVE is happy to report that more than 1,200 volunteers have removed over 13,000 pounds of litter from downtown Portland since these monthly events began in early September.   The popularity of these events shows that Portlanders have a sincere pride in where they call home and are willing to come together as a community take care of it through the simple act of picking up litter. Volunteers who attended today’s event also were given “Here for Portland” stickers, a campaign that supports shopping small and local this holiday season. With so many people working from home, many Portlanders do not visit downtown as frequently as they used to. The Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day helps to bring community together in a place that has been hit hard economically by COVID-19.   During the event, volunteers received heavy duty garbage bags, vinyl gloves, a safety vest, and a litter grabber before spreading out to clean the Rose City. Common items found include cigarette butts, disposable masks, and take-out containers. The cigarette butts collected at this event are recycled by Terracycle, and in-part due to the popularity of these events, SOLVE was able to reach more than half a million cigarette butts recycled with Terracycle.   The next Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Day will be held on January 18, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Anyone who is interested in joining SOLVE’s cleanup efforts should visit www.solveoregon.org to learn more and get involved. Disposal for the Downtown Portland Volunteer Litter Cleanup Days is donated by Central City Concern.

The city of San Diego has recognized 10 businesses and institutions that have implemented or expanded innovative waste reduction and recycling programs.   The programs honored included everything from establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program, to creating a system to track solid waste tonnage to identify diversion opportunities.   Those honored were: LJ Crafted Wines where they have had wine membership utilizing reusable bottles with swing tops that are returned and exchanged. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority for establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program. The butts are shipped TerraCycle which composts the cigarette paper and tobacco. The plastic filters are recycled and turned into outdoor benches and tables. San Diego Mesa College composted 16.34 tons of pre-consumer food scraps from campus cafeterias and coffee shops for the on-campus garden. UC San Diego had all construction and demolition projects be required to divert 75% of debris from landfills. San Diego State University implemented the SkySpark solid waste tracking system which is an online interactive waste dashboard that tracks tonnages specific to buildings on campus to help analyze and identify diversion opportunities. Johnson R&D made efforts to become a paperless facility, switching to digital signage to reduce the number of posters and flyers. The Hazard Center hosted an annual recycle and spring clean up event for tenants to properly dispose of items that normally are not recycled. The San Diego Zoo was honored for recycling electricity via a one-megawatt energy battery that stores and discharges energy during peak hours to assist with park operations. Sharp Healthcare diverted 4.2 million pounds of material from being dumped in the landfill. This included composting 500,000 pounds of food waste and reprocessing 106,000 pounds of surgical instruments. The San Diego Food Bank used a “Turbo Separator” to take unopened but damaged and inedible cans, boxes, and jars of food and separate the food from the packaging for compost and recycling.   “By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city’s future,” said Gene Matter, the city’s environmental services interim director.

The City of San Diego is recognizing 10 local businesses and organizations that implemented or expanded innovative waste reduction and recycling programs. From establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program, to creating a system to track solid waste tonnage to identify diversion opportunities, the 2020 Business Waste Reduction and Recycling Award winners displayed forward thinking in their programs.   These businesses and organizations are helping the city reach its Climate Action Plan goal of achieving Zero Waste by the year 2040.   The list of winners, recognized for work completed in 2019, includes:  

1. LJ Crafted Wines — Wine membership utilizes reusable bottles with swing tops that are returned and exchanged for a sanitized bottle where customers choose which wines they want, directly from the barrel. This avoids single-use bottles, foils, corks and cartons.

 

2. San Diego County Regional Airport Authority — Established a cigarette butt collection and recycling program. The butts are collected and shipped to TerraCycle which composts the cigarette paper and tobacco. The plastic filters are recycled and turned into outdoor benches and tables. A total of 17 pounds were collected in 2019.

 

3. San Diego Mesa College — Composted 16.34 tons of pre-consumer food scraps from campus cafeterias and coffee shops for use in the on-campus garden.

 

4. University of California San Diego — All construction and demolition projects are required to divert 75 percent of debris from the landfill.

 

5. San Diego State University — Implemented the SkySpark solid waste tracking system: an online, interactive waste dashboard that tracks tonnages specific to buildings on campus to help analyze and identify diversion opportunities.

 

6. Jansen R&D (Johnson & Johnson) — Efforts taken to become a paperless facility, such as a switch to digital signage to reduce the number of posters and flyers, and canceled subscriptions to scientific paper publications encouraging use of the centralized library with online journals.

 

7. Hazard Center — Hosted annual Recycle/Spring Clean Up event for tenants to properly dispose of items that do not belong in the recycling container.

 

8. San Diego Zoo — “Recycles” electricity via a one-megawatt energy battery that stores and discharges energy during peak hours to assist with park operations.

 

9. Sharp Healthcare — Diverted 4.2 million pounds of material from the landfill. This included composting 500,000 pounds of food waste and reprocessing 106,000 pounds of surgical instruments. Expired, unusable medical equipment was donated to the nonprofit Ssubi is Hope.

 

10. San Diego Food Bank—  “Turbo Separator” takes unopened but damaged and inedible cans, boxes, and jars of food and separate the food from the packaging for compost and recycling, respectively.

 

"By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future."

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego is recognizing 10 local businesses and organizations that implemented or expanded waste reduction and recycling programs with an award for their efforts, it was announced Wednesday. From establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program, to creating a system to track solid waste tonnage to identifying diversion opportunities, the 2020 Business Waste Reduction and Recycling Award winners displayed "forward thinking" in their programs, city leaders said. "By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future," Environmental Services Interim Director Gene Matter said. "We applaud these businesses and organizations for leading the way to a greener environment and exhibiting a strong determination to make a difference for generations to come." According to Matter, these businesses and organizations are helping the city reach its Climate Action Plan goal of achieving "Zero Waste" by 2040. Zero Waste is a principle that focuses on waste prevention, recycling, composting and other technologies to extend the life of the Miramar Landfill. Award winners have also shown their waste reduction programs lead to greater efficiency and contribute to their bottom line. The list of winners, recognized for work completed in 2019, includes: Subscribe -- LJ Crafted Wines. Wine membership utilizes reusable bottles with swing tops that are returned and exchanged for a sanitized bottle where customers choose which wines they want, directly from the barrel. This avoids single-use bottles, foils, corks and cartons. -- San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Established a cigarette butt collection and recycling program. The butts are collected and shipped to TerraCycle which composts the cigarette paper and tobacco. The plastic filters are recycled and turned into outdoor benches and tables. A total of 17 pounds were collected in 2019. -- San Diego Mesa College. Composted 16.34 tons of pre-consumer food scraps from campus cafeterias and coffee shops for use in the on-campus garden. -- UC San Diego. All construction and demolition projects are required to divert 75% of debris from the landfill. -- San Diego State University. Implemented the SkySpark solid waste tracking system, an online, interactive waste dashboard that tracks tonnages specific to buildings on campus to help analyze and identify diversion opportunities. -- Jansen R&D. Efforts taken to become a paperless facility, such as a switch to digital signage to reduce the number of posters and flyers, and canceled subscriptions to scientific paper publications encouraging use of the centralized library with online journals. -- Hazard Center. Hosted annual Recycle/Spring Clean Up event for tenants to properly dispose of items that do not belong in the recycling container. -- San Diego Zoo. Recycles electricity via a one-megawatt energy battery that stores and discharges energy during peak hours to assist with park operations. -- Sharp Healthcare. Diverted 4.2 million pounds of material from the landfill. This included composting 500,000 pounds of food waste and reprocessing 106,000 pounds of surgical instruments. Expired, unusable medical equipment was donated to the nonprofit Ssubi is Hope. -- San Diego Food Bank. "Turbo Separator" takes unopened but damaged and inedible cans, boxes, and jars of food, and separates the food from the packaging for compost and recycling.

"By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future." SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego is recognizing 10 local businesses and organizations that implemented or expanded waste reduction and recycling programs with an award for their efforts, it was announced Wednesday. From establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program, to creating a system to track solid waste tonnage to identifying diversion opportunities, the 2020 Business Waste Reduction and Recycling Award winners displayed "forward thinking" in their programs, city leaders said. "By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future," Environmental Services Interim Director Gene Matter said. "We applaud these businesses and organizations for leading the way to a greener environment and exhibiting a strong determination to make a difference for generations to come." According to Matter, these businesses and organizations are helping the city reach its Climate Action Plan goal of achieving "Zero Waste" by 2040. Zero Waste is a principle that focuses on waste prevention, recycling, composting and other technologies to extend the life of the Miramar Landfill. Award winners have also shown their waste reduction programs lead to greater efficiency and contribute to their bottom line. The list of winners, recognized for work completed in 2019, includes: Subscribe -- LJ Crafted Wines. Wine membership utilizes reusable bottles with swing tops that are returned and exchanged for a sanitized bottle where customers choose which wines they want, directly from the barrel. This avoids single-use bottles, foils, corks and cartons. -- San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Established a cigarette butt collection and recycling program. The butts are collected and shipped to TerraCycle which composts the cigarette paper and tobacco. The plastic filters are recycled and turned into outdoor benches and tables. A total of 17 pounds were collected in 2019. -- San Diego Mesa College. Composted 16.34 tons of pre-consumer food scraps from campus cafeterias and coffee shops for use in the on-campus garden. -- UC San Diego. All construction and demolition projects are required to divert 75% of debris from the landfill. -- San Diego State University. Implemented the SkySpark solid waste tracking system, an online, interactive waste dashboard that tracks tonnages specific to buildings on campus to help analyze and identify diversion opportunities. -- Jansen R&D. Efforts taken to become a paperless facility, such as a switch to digital signage to reduce the number of posters and flyers, and canceled subscriptions to scientific paper publications encouraging use of the centralized library with online journals. -- Hazard Center. Hosted annual Recycle/Spring Clean Up event for tenants to properly dispose of items that do not belong in the recycling container. -- San Diego Zoo. Recycles electricity via a one-megawatt energy battery that stores and discharges energy during peak hours to assist with park operations. -- Sharp Healthcare. Diverted 4.2 million pounds of material from the landfill. This included composting 500,000 pounds of food waste and reprocessing 106,000 pounds of surgical instruments. Expired, unusable medical equipment was donated to the nonprofit Ssubi is Hope. -- San Diego Food Bank. "Turbo Separator" takes unopened but damaged and inedible cans, boxes, and jars of food, and separates the food from the packaging for compost and recycling.

"By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future."

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego is recognizing 10 local businesses and organizations that implemented or expanded waste reduction and recycling programs with an award for their efforts, it was announced Wednesday. From establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program, to creating a system to track solid waste tonnage to identifying diversion opportunities, the 2020 Business Waste Reduction and Recycling Award winners displayed "forward thinking" in their programs, city leaders said. "By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future," Environmental Services Interim Director Gene Matter said. "We applaud these businesses and organizations for leading the way to a greener environment and exhibiting a strong determination to make a difference for generations to come." According to Matter, these businesses and organizations are helping the city reach its Climate Action Plan goal of achieving "Zero Waste" by 2040. Zero Waste is a principle that focuses on waste prevention, recycling, composting and other technologies to extend the life of the Miramar Landfill. Award winners have also shown their waste reduction programs lead to greater efficiency and contribute to their bottom line. The list of winners, recognized for work completed in 2019, includes: Subscribe -- LJ Crafted Wines. Wine membership utilizes reusable bottles with swing tops that are returned and exchanged for a sanitized bottle where customers choose which wines they want, directly from the barrel. This avoids single-use bottles, foils, corks and cartons. -- San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Established a cigarette butt collection and recycling program. The butts are collected and shipped to TerraCycle which composts the cigarette paper and tobacco. The plastic filters are recycled and turned into outdoor benches and tables. A total of 17 pounds were collected in 2019. -- San Diego Mesa College. Composted 16.34 tons of pre-consumer food scraps from campus cafeterias and coffee shops for use in the on-campus garden. -- UC San Diego. All construction and demolition projects are required to divert 75% of debris from the landfill. -- San Diego State University. Implemented the SkySpark solid waste tracking system, an online, interactive waste dashboard that tracks tonnages specific to buildings on campus to help analyze and identify diversion opportunities. -- Jansen R&D. Efforts taken to become a paperless facility, such as a switch to digital signage to reduce the number of posters and flyers, and canceled subscriptions to scientific paper publications encouraging use of the centralized library with online journals. -- Hazard Center. Hosted annual Recycle/Spring Clean Up event for tenants to properly dispose of items that do not belong in the recycling container. -- San Diego Zoo. Recycles electricity via a one-megawatt energy battery that stores and discharges energy during peak hours to assist with park operations. -- Sharp Healthcare. Diverted 4.2 million pounds of material from the landfill. This included composting 500,000 pounds of food waste and reprocessing 106,000 pounds of surgical instruments. Expired, unusable medical equipment was donated to the nonprofit Ssubi is Hope. -- San Diego Food Bank. "Turbo Separator" takes unopened but damaged and inedible cans, boxes, and jars of food, and separates the food from the packaging for compost and recycling.

"By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future."

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego is recognizing 10 local businesses and organizations that implemented or expanded waste reduction and recycling programs with an award for their efforts, it was announced Wednesday. From establishing a cigarette butt collection and recycling program, to creating a system to track solid waste tonnage to identifying diversion opportunities, the 2020 Business Waste Reduction and Recycling Award winners displayed "forward thinking" in their programs, city leaders said. "By reducing their carbon footprint in our communities, these workplaces are showing the community they care about the city's future," Environmental Services Interim Director Gene Matter said. "We applaud these businesses and organizations for leading the way to a greener environment and exhibiting a strong determination to make a difference for generations to come." According to Matter, these businesses and organizations are helping the city reach its Climate Action Plan goal of achieving "Zero Waste" by 2040. Zero Waste is a principle that focuses on waste prevention, recycling, composting and other technologies to extend the life of the Miramar Landfill. Award winners have also shown their waste reduction programs lead to greater efficiency and contribute to their bottom line. The list of winners, recognized for work completed in 2019, includes: Subscribe -- LJ Crafted Wines. Wine membership utilizes reusable bottles with swing tops that are returned and exchanged for a sanitized bottle where customers choose which wines they want, directly from the barrel. This avoids single-use bottles, foils, corks and cartons. -- San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Established a cigarette butt collection and recycling program. The butts are collected and shipped to TerraCycle which composts the cigarette paper and tobacco. The plastic filters are recycled and turned into outdoor benches and tables. A total of 17 pounds were collected in 2019. -- San Diego Mesa College. Composted 16.34 tons of pre-consumer food scraps from campus cafeterias and coffee shops for use in the on-campus garden. -- UC San Diego. All construction and demolition projects are required to divert 75% of debris from the landfill. -- San Diego State University. Implemented the SkySpark solid waste tracking system, an online, interactive waste dashboard that tracks tonnages specific to buildings on campus to help analyze and identify diversion opportunities. -- Jansen R&D. Efforts taken to become a paperless facility, such as a switch to digital signage to reduce the number of posters and flyers, and canceled subscriptions to scientific paper publications encouraging use of the centralized library with online journals. -- Hazard Center. Hosted annual Recycle/Spring Clean Up event for tenants to properly dispose of items that do not belong in the recycling container. -- San Diego Zoo. Recycles electricity via a one-megawatt energy battery that stores and discharges energy during peak hours to assist with park operations. -- Sharp Healthcare. Diverted 4.2 million pounds of material from the landfill. This included composting 500,000 pounds of food waste and reprocessing 106,000 pounds of surgical instruments. Expired, unusable medical equipment was donated to the nonprofit Ssubi is Hope. -- San Diego Food Bank. "Turbo Separator" takes unopened but damaged and inedible cans, boxes, and jars of food, and separates the food from the packaging for compost and recycling.