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Anchorage Recycles
Stay current on what's happening in recycling around Anchorage. Several recycling organizations post regularly.
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| Thank You to our Sponsors | Thank you to all of our sponsors and donors for supporting Green Star.
ConocoPhillips Alaska
Thank you for your continued support of Green Star and for the recent $2500 donation.
Taproot Public House
Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse
Thank you for hosting recent fundraising events for Green Star.
Visit our Sponsor List
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| This Month's Hot Link |
Earth 911 at Work!Earth 911's "more ideas, less waste" concept goes to work with lots of great tips for the office. |
| Green Star Staff |
Kim Kovol Executive Director Josh Sherwood |
What's New
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Green Star's address is
333 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 310, Anchorage, AK 99501. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE! Several web listings that are beyond our control list out-of-date contact information for Green Star in Anchorage. |
Member Benefits
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Green Star offers benefits to its members beyond just energy savings and waste reduction. Many local businesses offer product and service discounts to Green Star members. Visit our Member Benefits page to learn more. |
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SHINING STARS Welcome to our newest enrollees.
- Seward Brewing Company
- vRide, Inc.
Interior Alaska Green Star has a new executive director! Learn more about Kalee Mockridge and the board of directors.
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EVENTS & REMINDERS
Find events on Green Star's web calendar.
Reminder to Green Star Members:
Green Star facilitates a network of member benefits offered by members to members. Consider offering fellow Green Star members discounts on your goods and services. Visit Member Discounts for more information about what's currently available. Contact Green Star if you'd like to be included on this list.
Business of Clean Energy in Alaska -- May 2-3
Register now for the 5th annual Business of Clean Energy in Alaska conference at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center. Join leaders and clean energy experts from across the globe for two interactive days of workshops, discussions, and exhibits on the growing economic opportunities related to renewable energy and energy efficiency in Alaska. Visit www.BCEAconference.com for more information.
Great Alaska Aviation Gathering -- May 4-5
 Presented by the Alaska Airmen's Association, this event is held at the FedEx Maintenance Hangar at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Come see m ore than 275 aviation exhibitors featuring the latest technology, state-of-the-art products, new innovations, and comprehensive safety initiatives. The event includes indoor and outdoor static displays featuring every type of aircraft -- sport, general aviation, vintage, experimental, commercial, corporate, and military. Green Star will be there to provide information to the aircraft repair sector about pollution prevention and hazardous materials management and recycling. And the gathering will be a Green Event with recycling available! Learn more at http://greatalaskaaviationgathering.org. Bike to School Day -- May 8  Events are taking place at almost 40 different Anchorage schools! Visit Who's Biking for contact information for each event. The Future of Sustainable Transportation -- May 8
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Personal Rapid Transit in Morgantown, WV.
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Are cars obsolete? A national expert on advanced transit will discuss Automated Transit Networks (ATN, also called Personal Rapid Transit or PRT), an emerging transportation technology.  | |
Personal Rapid Transit
operating in snow.
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The network transports passengers completely non-stop along a dedicated right-of-way using very little land and energy. A version has been successfully operating in Morgantown, West Virginia, for more than 35 years, and new systems are up and running in Masdar City, UAE, and at Heathrow Airport in London. The presentation is 7 - 8:30pm in the Wilda Marston Theatre at the Loussac Library. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.  Spenard Farmers Market Concert Kickoff & Fundraiser -- May 10 This fundraiser will be held from 6 to 8pm at Taproot Public House at 3300 Spenard Road. The farmers market is 100% run by volunteers and the money raised at this event covers the operating costs throughout the summer. The C Note String Band, High Lonesome Sound, and Michael Howard will perform. Bike to Work Day 2013 -- May 17 Team captains -- the ice and snow are melting, paths and roads are being swept, the sun is shining, and Bike to Work registration is open! R ally a team from your workplace, neighborhood, club, etc. Learn more or register your team at Bike to Work. Spenard Farmers Market Opening Day -- May 18
 The Spenard Farmers Market is every Saturday from May 18 through September 28 from 9am to 2pm at 26th and Spenard (in the Chilkoot's parking lot). Green Star helps make the market a Green Event with recycling bins and information. Anchorage to Zero Waste Guide - Spring/Summer 2013
Produced twice a year by the Municipality of Anchorage's Solid Waste Services, the A to Z Guide is your definitive source for recycling and zero waste information in Anchorage.
The spring/summer issue is now available and includes information about glass recycling, animals and zero waste, new lighting technologies projects in Anchorage, the landfill gas recovery project, organics management, and updated recycling options. Find the Spring/Summer A to Z Guide and other archived issues at Solid Waste Services' Recycling page.
 Alaska Materials Exchange AME is a free resource for Alaskan busine sses and organizations to find or post unwanted materials for reuse. |
CHUGACH ELECTRIC HIGHLIGHTS ARCTIC WIRE ROPE & SUPPLY
In the late 1990's, Eric McCallum, owner of Arctic Wire Rope & Supply, read "The Ecology of Commerce," by Paul Hawken, which essentially asked the question:  Can the business community do right by the environment and still do right by the bottom line, or are they mutually exclusive? In 2006, McCallum decided to conduct an experiment to find the answer. Read more...Click on April 2013
"Do the math - a story of success in energy efficiency"
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CHUGACH ELECTRIC LAUNCHES PILOT PROGRAM TO HELP RESIDENTS TRACK ENERGY USE
Chugach recently launched an innovative pilot program to help members save money and reduce energy use.
The program is designed to inform residential members about their energy use and assist them in taking steps toward reducing their energy consumption. The pilot program is funded by the Alaska Energy Authority's "Biggest State to Biggest Saver" grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The pilot is composed of two residential member service online tools, which have been developed by Opower, a leader in the field of utility consumer engagement. MyPower, the first tool, gives residential members information about their energy consumption through a user-friendly website. The second tool gives residential members the ability to share and compare their energy use with friends on Facebook with a Social Energy Application. Both features provide members with their own energy usage information, a large library of efficiency tips, comparable energy usage with similar homes, and much more!
Want to win an iPad mini?
Chugach residential members who start using MyPower and the Social Energy Application during April or May 2013 will be entered in a drawing to win an iPad mini! Visit www.chugachelectric.com to learn more.
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CONOCOPHILLIPS ALPINE WASTE REDUCTION UPDATES
 ConocoPhillips' Alpine Alaska facility has initiated a waste reduction project that, in addition to reducing the amount of waste created at the facility, has also resulted in considerable cost savings.
The project, initiated in 2012, continues to focus on installing new energy-efficient emergency lighting throughout the processing facility. The new lights use LED technology and eliminate the need to replace batteries every two years. They will be powered by the already existing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) panel.
The facility replaced nearly 190 lights, which were powered by lead-acid batteries. The batteries needed to be replaced every two years at a cost of $100,000 per year for the batteries alone. Additionally, there were costs associated with staff time to change the batteries and have them shipped off-site to a battery recycler. Over the past ten years, 1,845 lead-acid batteries from the emergency lighting system at the Alpine facility have been changed out and shipped off-site. This adds up to more than $1,000,000 in cost to our operations.
ConocoPhillips expects that the new bulbs in the LED system will only need to be replaced approximately every six years.
Additional benefits of the new lighting are listed below:
- The cost saving from eliminating battery replacement is $1,100 per light every two years. The cost of the LED conversion light is $1,200 per light, and it's just a one-time cost. Additionally, there is a reduction in labor cost due to eliminating the need to change batteries every two years.
- There is environmental benefit from eliminating the shipping and disposal of the lead-acid batteries. The disposal and shipping costs per year, including labor, have been about $10,000.
- The safety benefits include a brighter work environment, reduced manual handling of 30 lb. lead-acid batteries, and reduced risk by eliminating the need to access the lights every two years.
This is just one example of how the ConocoPhillips Alaska Alpine facility has shown its commitment to reducing waste and being good stewards of the environment while reaping the benefits of cost savings.
In 2012, CPAI Alpine and Kuparuk received the 2011 Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR) award for the Alaska Outstanding Business Recycler. This award acknowledged both Kuparuk and Alpine fields' initiatives in recycling and waste reduction. Both fields are award-certified members of Green Star, which requires continuous improvements in waste reduction and management.
Other initiatives the Alpine Facility has undertaken are replacing its camp cleaning products with more environmentally friendly products. Alpine, along with Kuparuk and Cook Inlet, has undertaken a chromium-free leather glove initiative in which it is looking at ways to reduce the amount of leather work gloves used in the oil field that have been tanned with chromium.
And in 2012 CPAI Alpine and Kuparuk fields initiated the first-ever Alaskan North Slope Spill Prevention Forum, which was held jointly with BP, and which allowed North Slope Oilfield Operators to share their spill prevention tools and programs.
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 ALASKA HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION STUDIES ALASKA PUBLIC FACILITIES A Summary of A White Paper on Energy Use in Alaska's Public Facilities
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) recently administered a project to study energy use in public facilities across Alaska. Through several contractors, 327 Investment Grade Audits (IGAs) were conducted. A large group of buildings were first benchmarked, wherein two years of utility and energy bills were examined to establish comparative performance metrics. The resulting white paper highlights energy consumption calculations in 14 different building types located in 12 distinct areas of the State.
Here are just a few key findings:
- Lighting controls and upgrades were commonly found to have fast paybacks.
- Numerous buildings appeared to have significant energy savings potential for relatively low cost measures.
- Having an energy policy and an energy conservation manager appears to pay dividends in the reduction of energy consumption.
- Operator training was found to be lacking in many areas.
- Schools in Anchorage appeared to use twice as much energy per square foot as Fairbanks schools.
- The highest energy use was typically found on the North Slope where it is colder and darker than the rest of the state and where electric engine heaters are consuming vast amounts of power to keep vehicles and equipment operational during outdoor storage.
- Building systems are not getting routine tune-ups and many are operating at less than peak efficiency.
- Energy costs per Alaska student varied greatly, from as low as $190/student in one Anchorage school to as high as $15,961/student in one rural school.
Numerous recommendations are presented in the report, based on the findings of the studies. Here are a few of the recommendations:
- Create and offer building operator training.
- Install metering and accurate data collection systems in all public facilities.
- Simplify equipment and controls for operators to ensure they are effectively maintained and operated.
- Develop an energy policy for every public building and hire an energy conservation manager.
- Require that all new state-funded buildings comply with energy codes.
- Consolidate school buildings and use modular designs to reduce per student costs.
- Shut down equipment and appliances in buildings that are vacant for part of the year.
- Retro-commission building every three to five years to ensure they are properly tuned.
View the entire report.
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NEW ENERGY EFFICIENCY WEB SITE
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Access past issues of E-News, sorted by topic or date. Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for future E-News topics to us at jeanne@greenstarinc.org. Forward this newsletter freely. Send us any email addresses you wish us to add to our mailing list. Thank you!
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The Alaska Energy Efficiency Partnership has just launched its new and improved web site. The site --