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 September 2013
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 Waste and Recycling Rate Hikes in San Francisco - What You Can Do
 Waste and recycling costs went up in San Francisco on July 1 due to rate hikes by Recology, the city's hauler. For commercial clients, this includes a 5% increase in the base rate, among other adjustments. Businesses can expect to see significant increases in their bill.
"The rate hike has disheartened many who have been doing all the right things working towards the city's zero-waste goal," says Todd Sutton in Great Forest's San Francisco office. "San Francisco buildings and businesses have some of the best commercial waste and recycling programs I have seen but now they are scrambling to regain ground lost in order to rein in extra costs that are hurting them."
To combat the rate hikes, companies will have to ramp up their performance to maximize their diversion discounts and find even more ways to reduce the amount of waste they generate. This means re-evaluating and fine-tuning their current efforts with an extra sharp eye. "Businesses will have to look for the little things that will help," says Todd. "They need to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb to find gaps they can fill." "For example, do they have costlier weekend pickups? Can they do without that? Can they reduce the number of waste carts? Should they re-examine their purchasing to see if they can reduce waste generated? Can they improve their recycling efforts with more training and education? In short, they will have to be even more diligent and persistent." Have questions about the rate hike? Ask Todd Sutton in Great Forest's San Francisco office.
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New Bronx Facility With Optical Sorter May Change the Way NYC Recycles (Video)
A new state-of-the-art single-stream recycling center in the Bronx, New York, utilizes optic technology to automate the recycling process and extract more recyclable materials from the waste stream.
Action Environmental Group's facility, the only one of its kind in the region, and "arguably the country," allows clients to use one bin for recyclables.
The optical sorter works using infrared technology combined with a high speed camera to identify items (such as magazines, newspapers, colored paper) and separate them from the mix. Watch this video to see the optical sorter at work.
Call your Great Forest representative to see how this affects your waste and recycling program.
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Boston Tops in Energy Efficiency. How Did Your City Score?
 In a ranking of 34 of the country's largest cities, Boston has emerged on top for its efforts to reduce energy use, according to a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. How did your city score? Check this interactive scorecard to see how your city is saving energy.
Other cities moving ahead with energy-saving steps such as bike-sharing, tougher building codes, electric vehicle charging stations and cool roofs include Portland, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Austin.
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Towering Display Reminds Office Workers To Recycle
 Office workers at one NYC skyscraper certainly got the message about recycling this month. They could not miss the 10-foot-high display of used plastic bottles that greeted them in the lobby each day for a week as they arrived for work. The attention-getting display was created over three days and installed by Great Forest.
"The building has a great recycling program but recently they began to notice a lot more recyclables in the trash. So we created this display for them to show the cumulative result of what happens when people forget to recycle," says Great Forest recycling consultant Sandra Robishaw, who is also an artist.
"Each bottle misplaced in the trash adds up to a mountain of recyclable bottles headed to the landfill. The visual impact of this tower of bottles gets the message across even to busy workers rushing through the lobby."
service. Besides bottles, Great Forest has also created displays out of cardboard, cups and other materials to send different messages.
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Nationwide Energy News
Chicago introduces "pubic shaming" energy benchmarking laws
Starting next year, owners of buildings in Chicago larger than 50,000 square feet will be required to disclose energy use through EPA's Energy Star Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool. Opponents have called this a kind of "public shaming" but evidence seems to show that benchmarking is working.
According to the EPA, energy use declined by 7% in the 35,000 buildings that used the Portfolio Manager tool to benchmark energy performance from 2008 to 2011. Currently, large buildings make up less than 1% of Chicago's landscape but account for 22% of total energy consumption.
Chicago follows Boston, NYC, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Austin, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle; and two states (California and Washington) in enacting benchmarking laws. If you have buildings in Chicago, contact your Great Forest representative to see how this new law affects you.
Washington, D.C. enters 2nd year of benchmarking
Take note if you have buildings in D.C. The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) will be publishing the results of public building benchmarking. The first year of commercial disclosure (over 150,000 SF) coincides with the second year of District building reporting. By 2014, all District buildings over 50,000 square feet will fall under this requirement.
New York launches $1 billion Green Bank to transform energy system
Looking to encourage the growth of clean energy beyond the current incentive model, New York has launched a $1 billion Green Bank to fund clean energy projects. The bank is expected to open for business in early 2014.
The fund is designed to lift typical barriers to financing onsite renewables and major reconstruction projects that meet certain efficiency requirements. Clean onsite generation options are expected to grow as the market matures and the fund becomes self-sustaining. Watch this space for more case studies in NY and beyond, featuring solar, energy storage and conversion projects in development.
NYC heads into accelerated compliance for Local Law 87
NYC LL87 (2009) compliance and resulting efficiency work is well underway with our covered 2013 client properties. See audit submittal forms here.
While New York will likely have to wait a few more years to see the benefits from large scale efficiency efforts undertaken, hints of what is to come can be seen in a case study of San Francisco, which has had energy audits and benchmarking on the books since 2007.
"Evaluation of the Air Quality Co-benefits of Local Greenhouse Gas Reduction Measures: A Case Study of San Francisco"--may reveal actionable data for NYC and other municipalities. The table on page 62 in particular shows interesting details about air quality benefits in dollars per ton of GHG reduced. The benefit for commercial and residential loan programs, energy efficiency services and renewable goals averages $43/MTC02e (metric tons), second only to electric vehicle infrastructure at $53/metric ton. We can expect to see as great or greater benefit to the NY region as has been tabulated in San Francisco from increased efficiency of the built environment. Contact your Great Forest representative for any questions about LL87 compliance.
Philadelphia's best practices lab
Established in 2011 by the Department of Energy, Philadelphia's Energy Efficient Buildings Hub is a multi-year research, development, and demonstration initiative focused on developing the means and methods to reduce energy use in commercial buildings by 20% by 2020. Currently two demonstration buildings (one retrofit and one new construction) are being created and are expected to be ready by spring 2014. Check the EEB Hub site for various useful resources and reports.
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Vacuum Trash Tubes of the Future?
 Instead of being transported on garbage trucks, your trash could very soon be shot through vacuum tubes. A new report documents the feasibility of installing pneumatic tubes in existing infrastructure in NYC--such as the High Line or the Second Avenue Subway--to transport waste Jetsons style.
The report was produced by the University Transportation Research Center for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), with input and review by Great Forest.
If implemented, it would reduce the number of garbage trucks on NYC's streets and could offer significant environmental, public-health, and quality-of-life benefits. Read the full report.
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Q&A: Should our business switch to LED lighting?
 If your commercial office building or business is planning a lighting upgrade, you can't beat LED lighting. According to the Energy Star website, LED commercial light fixtures offer an unprecedented opportunity to save energy, maintenance and cooling costs and is a natural fit for cutting-edge renovation, new construction projects, or easy retrofits.
- Reduces energy costs - uses at least 75% less energy than incandescent lighting, saving on operating expenses.
- Reduces maintenance costs - lasts 35 to 50 times longer than incandescent lighting and about 2 to 5 times longer than fluorescent lighting. No bulb-replacements, no ladders, no ongoing disposal program.
- Reduces cooling costs - LEDs produce very little heat.
- Is guaranteed - comes with a minimum three-year warranty - far beyond the industry standard.
- Offers convenient features - available with dimming on some indoor models and automatic daylight shut-off and motion sensors on some outdoor models.
- Is durable - won't break like a bulb.
As with any new technology, research a product extensively before purchasing. If you perform a lighting upgrade, remember to recycle any fluorescent bulbs as they contain mercury and must be disposed of properly.
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Great Forest Inc.
212.779.4757
2014 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10035
A pioneer in the industry with over 20 years of experience, Great Forest is one of the leading sustainability consultancies in the country. We improve environmental performance and reduce costs for clients nationwide ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to property management companies, hotels, retailers, financial and educational institutions, and municipalities.
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