Getting Started
December
Sub-archives
Montgomery County, MD, powers 2,700 homes with landfill gas
by Rena Ragimova Dec 31, 2008
Montgomery County, Maryland installed a gas collection system for the
Gude Southlawn Sanitary Landfill in Rockville, MD. The landfill was
open for almost 20 years and collected an estimated 4.8 million tons of
waste under 91 acres. Forty-four wells were established to feed an
on-site generation facility with two generators to recover the landfill
gas and turn it into electricity. The 1,500 kilowatt electrical
generators are connected to the local power grid and revenues are
generated from selling this electricity to Potomac Electric Power
Company under a 20-year agreement.The Achievement
San Francisco, Calif.’s energy efficiency measures save businesses and residents $21 million annually
by Rena Ragimova Dec 13, 2008
The City of San Francisco has implemented sweeping and innovative
energy efficiency measures for both government operations and the San
Francisco community. To reduce community-wide energy use, the City implemented the
following successful commercial and multi-family residential energy
efficiency programs: Power Savers, SF Peak Energy Program, and SF Energy
Watch.The Achievement
Chicago, IL, Waste to Profit Network Diverts 22,000 Tons of Waste from Landfills
by Rena Ragimova Dec 11, 2008
Under the leadership of Mayor Richard M. Daley, the Chicago Waste to
Profit Network was launched in late 2006 to benefit Chicago-area
businesses through a multi-industry collaborative approach to identify
and realize opportunities for cost savings and innovation. The goal of
the Chicago Waste to Profit Network is to promote business collaboration
to find new ways of transforming business waste into more profitable
and innovative uses. The Achievement
Seattle, WA, Recycling Ordinance a Huge Success
by Rena Ragimova Dec 10, 2008
Since January 2005, the City of Seattle, Wash., has prohibited the
disposal of certain recyclables from residential, commercial, and
self-haul garbage by law. The new recycling ordinance is aimed at
preventing recyclable or compostable paper, cardboard, aluminum cans,
plastic bottles, and yard debris from entering landfills.The Achievement
The Benefits
The City hopes the new ordinance will save residents and businesses
as much as $2 million per year and keep future garbage costs low, as
well as help to reverse the decline in Seattle’s recycling rates. The
measure is projected to achieve an annual reduction of 260,000 tons of
eCO2.
Read more »
Irvine, Calif., Wins Flex Your Power Award for Education and Media
by Rena Ragimova Dec 09, 2008
In December 2008, the City of Irvine was honored with a 6th Annual
Flex Your Power Award by the State of California. Irvine won in the
Education and Media category for its Community Energy Partnership (CEP)
program. The CEP delivered outreach and education on a large scale to multiple
sectors of the community. The program included the following elements: The Achievements
San Francisco, CA, Achieves 70 Percent Landfill Diversion Rate
by Rena Ragimova Dec 09, 2008
Through wide-reaching and progressive measures – from expanded
plastics recycling to curbside composting to requirements for reusing or
recycling construction and demolition materials – the City of San
Francisco, Calif., is nearing an aggressive goal: a 75 percent landfill
diversion rate by 2010 and zero waste in 2020. Among many benefits of this high diversion rate, San Francisco has
drastically lowered emissions of landfill methane, a potent greenhouse
gas. The Achievements
The Benefits
Chicago, Ill., Leads U.S. in Creating ‘Green Alleys’
by Rena Ragimova Dec 01, 2008
Chicago is the alley capital of America with its 2,000 miles of small
service streets cutting across the city. By the end of 2008 the city
hopes to complete 46 “green alleys” under Chicago’s new Green Alley
initiative. The green alleys will be retrofitted with environmentally
sustainable road-building materials such as more permeable concrete
where water can penetrate the soil through the pavement itself.The Achievement
Albuquerque, NM, uses wind energy for 20% of its government operations
by Rena Ragimova Nov 30, 2008
The Achievement
In Albuquerque, NM, 20% of the electricity used by the city
government comes from wind farms located in New Mexico through the Sky
Blue Program. This totals 18 million kilowatt hours each year.
Read more »
