Archive for George

Breaking: Long Beach Recycling to Change in only 12 Days on 1/1/2021

Why doesn’t anyone know?

 

 

 

In the fall of 2019, we knew that City of Long Beach Recycling would soon change and become more complicated during the City’s 10-year Waste Management Plan hearing process. We thank everyone who got involved, attended, and helped get answers from the city and the contractor. You can see our filed comments on the plan here. 
There, we pushed for maximum communication from the city, and city officials promised they would educate residents many months before the recycling contract ran out on 12/31/2020. We supported their efforts to win public education matching grant funding, which they have been granted.  We know its a tough year, and here is what is happening:

Recycling will change in Long Beach… in just 12 days- during a pandemic, over holiday time with still no notice from the city to residents.

We had been waiting for details but can no longer wait to let you know – it will be very difficult to educate the public, and time is running out!

We spoke to the city 3 weeks ago to offer support and help to assure success of any new program rollout. We asked it be announced at tree and menorah lightings and any other city events to get word out. The City of Long Beach must do better on public communication for this to succeed!  Though the city has not released details as yet, the basic new program we were told will be:
Dual stream(all still to be confirmed):
  1. paper products must be separated for one pickup; and
  2. other items together in another pickup (status of glass not confirmed).
    1. We commend the city who told us they are still PICKING THEM BOTH UP WEEKLY ON THE SAME DAY AS EACH OTHER, WITH TWO SEPARATE TRUCKS. This is huge to keep the items from building up, from getting trashed, and/or from blowing away to become pollution!
    2. This MAY require recycling pickup dates to CHANGE, as they may break up the citywide pickup into smaller areas, each with it’s own pickup day (awaiting details).
  3. there likely will be other new instructions, restrictions, changes, and exclusions that we are not yet aware of, that could complicate public education and a smooth transition
  4. residents could more easily make the change if given the info and time, and we are disappointed that although they said they had a plan, written instructions, and everything ready to go for weeks, and after a two week delay on voting the measure in, that there is still no release of this information to the public.
Lack of … time, public awareness, acceptance, and education will lead to a difficult launch on January 1, and could lead to a potential backlash against the concept of recycling, as well as recyclables mistakenly blown away into the environment, which is why we have ardently advocated to AVOID miscommunication!  In other places, the same process played out over last year’s holiday season, when it is so difficult to get people’s attention. Predictably, it did not go well.   see- Residents criticize rollout of Valley Stream recycling program. Rocky start for dual-stream?
Valley Stream Village officials held a presentation, got a front-page Herald article, used social media, sent robocalls and flyers mailed to homes, plus other communications. It wasn’t enough. Hundreds of complaints came in and confusion went on for weeks. We asked the City of Long Beach to please avoid this mistake with clear communication. With COVID and cancelled City Council meetings, we understand it has been difficult to turn the information around. Still, it is 4 days since the council approved the change and nothing has been done.
We agree with leaders in Valley Stream and Long Beach that solving the materials waste and recycling crisis needs to be a priority on the STATEWIDE LEVEL. The separate small municipalities, who are each responsible for their own waste removal, cannot address the “big picture” issues alone, when they are all governed by statewide law.
Our Zero Single Use campaign rolls out in the coming weeks, which will address the underlying issues causing our materials and recycling problems.
If you would like to be part of that volunteer team or to help get word out about the new recycling changes in Long Beach- please sign up here for more detailed information as it becomes available.
All Our Energy stand ready to help Long Beach maintain a robust recycling program, with maximum participation and awareness, to best protect our environment, and stand ready to help the program succeed.
To do so, the City must communicate now!

Media Reports from 2018

Wow its been a busy year. We’ve done so much with your help, the help of our core team, and over 30 volunteers!

Here’s some of the news we made this year, and a few we were mentioned in, too

Giving ‘BYOB’ a new meaning in Sea Cliff

Campaign to curb plastic bag use under way in Rockville Centre (RVC Herald)

Village passes ‘bring your own bag’ law (Sea Cliff Herald)

Sea Cliff approves ban on carry-out plastic bags in stores (Newsday)

Environmentalists urge Nassau to consider plastic bag fee (News 12)

Earth Day celebration calls for community engagement (Hofstra Chronicle)

All Our Energy Plastic Free July Project: Blog Posts

Rockville Centre discussion highlights local plastic pollution awareness campaign (RVC Herald)

Push to end plastic bag pollution in Rockville Centre continues (RVC Herald)

MLK Center hosts annual Thanksgiving dinner (Long Beach Herald-mention)

Single-use plastics ban passes in Sea Cliff (Sea Cliff Herald-Mention)



Letters to The Editor from our team:

Why is Nassau waiting on bag fee? (By Shelley Goldman)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan Brockmann

 

And one article with no online version-Long Beach Herald.

A Bag Law We Just Can’t Support

You may have heard the Village of Atlantic Beach, NY passed an anti-plastic-bag law last week.

You might be surprised to hear we are not cheering. It calls for a ban on all except “biodegradable” checkout bags.

We’re sure the Village are well intended. It sounds great… except there is actually no such thing as biodegradable plastic, at least not as you might reasonably expect the word “biodegradable” to mean

This will cause more problems than it solves.

We honor the heartfelt campaign from locals Kevin Kelley and others for a fee or ban on all checkout bags. This “bio” option sounds good on the surface, until you think it through. You then realize it creates unintended consequences and eliminates little single use waste from going into our environment.

Why isn’t it good policy?

Merchants complying with it who care about the viability of, or prefer to avoid confrontation over “biodegradable” plastic bags will likely go to paper, which is worse for the environment overall, except that it biodegrades. It leaves them few good options and puts the problem on them.

Paper will bring merchants’ cost for a bag from 2-3 cents to 12-25 cents. These costs will be passed on to everyone, drastically increasing the current >hidden< bag tax. All shoppers pay, so some can take bags they’re going to throw away.

Increasing merchant costs like this creates financial incentive to not comply with the law. Instead, had they instituted a fee it would reimburse them ONLY for bags used, which people pay for as they take them. Capitalists used to call this “purchasing them” which is what happens under a mandatory fee for all bags. No one loses their freedom of choice. Some devout capitalists insist they’re entitled to a “free” bag everyone else pays for- go figure! The fee simply covers the merchant’s costs of storing and supplying the bag and administering the process as a partner in making a cleaner environment. To make it their problem is bad policy.

From our laypersons “legal” view, based on policy and what hasn’t worked elsewhere, this law provides no definition of “biodegradeable” which the Federal Trade Commission says cannot be used to market plastic materials. At best, it invites debate at the point of sale, skirting the law on the grounds of free speech as to what one might assert “biodegradable” means, or at worst, lawsuits from vested industry interests a small village may not withstand that would vacate the law and cost them to fight.

Bio-debateable.

I’m sure when you hear “biodegradable” any rational person would think that means it just “poof” melts(?) away and harmlessly disappears? Reality is, it just doesn’t. It’s greenwashing to present it as harmless or as a solution to plastic pollution.

From plasticbaglaws.org this week:

According to the FTC, the term #biodegradable can’t be used to market #plastic. It’s inherently misleading to customers because it has no commonly accepted test or definition. #Amazon⁠⁠ just settled a lawsuit & will stop selling those bags. #greenwashing☹️

https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2018/08/15/amazon-settles-biodegradable-claims-case/

Key things to think about “biodegradable”:

  • How long does that breakdown take?
  • Where does that bag go during that time?
  • If it’s fast, or when it gets wet, what happens to a bag full of groceries in the rain?
  • What does it require the user to do (ie: bring to a special biodegrading facility)?
  • Must bag users separately sort it for a special “bio /composting” pickup (which our municipalities do not have)?
  • Will they just be thrown out if included in recycling? (yes)
  • Does it break down in landfill or must it be exposed to air, sun, and/or water (and blow around in the meantime? -most need that). What are you supposed to do, put them on a clothes line to turn into goo?
  • “..’bio-plastics’ fail to fully biodegrade in the natural environment, as they require processing by an industrial composting facility. A study by the 5 Gyres Institute that tested biodegradability in aquatic conditions shows that bio-plastic straws made from PLA (a plant-based plastic) did not substantially degrade in a 24-month time period at sea” (5Gyres, 2017). https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5522e85be4b0b65a7c78ac96/t/5acbd346562fa79982b268fc/1523307375028/5Gyres_BANlist2.pdf

The Solution

Once you realize there is no “away”, you cannot really solve any of those problems with a “throwaway” bag of another material. So the best policy also reduces non-plastic alternatives as well, and the solution pushes towards that goal. A fee or ban or both on ALL bags is key to promote the goal: to remove the opportunity for needless items to become pollution and for everyone to bring your own bag, instead.

The Village seem to have their heart in the right place. They also seem to have simultaneously ignored what nearly every environmental organization or good public policy group proposes based on what works elsewhere, sound policy, and scientific data. It concerns us why they came up with this novel idea instead. Is there a new “biodegradable bag lobby” or companies pitching this “solution” to municipalities without discussing all the issues involved? We hope not.

Of course, you can avoid all this yourself. Just bring your own bag Atlantic Beach – we know you got this!!

And the rest of you, too!

We made the news, and the editorial board agrees

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Our team member and Lynbrook team leader, Susan is helping residents realize just how much plastic bag pollution each person creates in a year. There’s a Nassau proposal to deal with that waste but it’s not even being allowed to be discussed. Does your County Legislator know how YOU feel about it? If not, you need to tell them it’s time to eliminate needless single use checkout bag pollution. It’s easy- just Bring Your Own Bag Nassau.

In response, all editions of the LI Herald ran an editorial this week in favor of action on checkout bag pollution!  Click that link to read it.

 

 

Help Rockville Centre transition to a reusable bag culture!

All Our Energy’s Bring Your Own Bag Rockville Centre team have been very active to transition Rockville Centre to a reusable bag culture.

Now, you can sign the petition and share it here: allourenergy.com/rvcbags

RVCvols
Our volunteers Shelley and Randy and the whole team have been visiting merchants in Rockville Centre and getting much agreement that a transition to reusable bags would benefit the Village of RVC!

Now it’s time for you to sign the petition and take the pledge, too! Help make it a no-brainer for officials to make the change!

Next, we we show “Bag It” at the Rockville Centre Public Library. heres the facebook event:https://www.facebook.com/events/1658656800859309/

Come check it out!

Use your words: help stop off shore oil and gas drilling!!!

Help stop off shore oil and gas drilling!!!

drillhearing

Great turnout and rally last week! Now its time for you to take the next step!

Thank you to our volunteers, friends and the numerous organizations who attended last week’s hearing in Smithtown and spoke out! Special thanks to Assembly Members Engelbright, Pellegrino, and D’Urso who brought it all together to give Long Island a voice. Without them, the only hearing on offshore drilling in New York would have been 186 miles from the coast, in Albany.

YOU MUST MAKE YOUR COMMENTS HEARD NOW!

The Trump administration wants to open all offshore ocean areas, as close as 3 miles, to off shore oil and gas drilling leases. The comment period is open now for oil and gas exploration environmental considerations.

Leave your direct comments by the March 9, 2018 deadline:
https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=BOEM-2017-0074-0001

And find instructions here:
https://www.boem.gov/National-Program-Comment/#submitcomments
Click here for our testimony from the hearing:

Make your voice heard!

 

How to help us get 1 million bags off the street

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check out our video that explains it all…

 

 

Every bag you help us give out eliminates 1000 needless checkout bags from ending up in our environment!
If we can give away 1000, it will eliminate 1 million throwaway bags
You can make this real, tangible impact a reality!   Check it out at bit.ly/millionbags

A Big THANK YOU to those who have already donated!

With your help we will fill that need and give away appropriate bags, so everyone can participate and bring their own bag, be a steward of our environment, and proud member who protects our community. 

Donate today


Bag Law Merchant Outreach Continues

 

doortodoor

 

The Long Beach checkout bag law takes effect in just 3 weeks!! We are preparing for the festivities around it. If you would like to join our team for the parade and the art build with our allies, please RSVP Here.

Our volunteer team has been going door to door to merchants to help them with the transition to reusable bags, partner with them for any questions and concerns they still have, and find solutions for bag giveaways. Susan and Joanne are pictured with Natalie Dangerfield (center), owner of Random LB. Also helping have been Jo, Karin, Karen, and Stacy. Thanks for your work to get this done!

Though we’re making progress, there just aren’t enough machine washable, grocery size, reusable bags coming available right now to make sure Long Beach smoothly transitions, and we need to make sure there are.

Join our crowdfund in partnership with Georgia Meckes and LI Greenmarket and help us get 1 million bags off the streets.

Donate here, and get word out. 

All Our Energy Director named “Environmentalist of the Year”

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George Povall, Director of All Our Energy, was honored by Sierra Club Long Island Group as environmentalist of the year for 2016, citing worknon offshore wind and reducing plastic bag pollution.

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“I thank Sierra Club Long Island Group for all you do and for all the support you’ve given myself and our organization, All Our Energy. I’m very honored to receive 2016 Environmentalist of the Year award, and very humbled to be recognized with the amazing Beth Fiteni of Green Inside And Out Consulting.”

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“This is thanks to the work and dedication of so many people on our team who keep our work going with friendship and dedication,” he said, “and who make positive change a reality!  Thank you also to Sally Keller for the spectacular watercolor. A very special day.”

 

 

Photos Courtesy Beth Fiteni and Tara Bono.

Help us get 1 million bags off the street

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Join our crowdfund in partnership with LI Greenmarket. Donate, and get word out. Every bag you help us give out eliminates 1000 needless checkout bags from ending up in our environment! You can make this real, tangible impact a reality! Check it out at bit.ly/millionbags

A Big THANK YOU to those who have already donated!

With the bag ordinance coming into effect in Long Beach on earth day (4/22/17), there is a huge need for reusable bags that are

1. good quality

2. washable

3. shopping bag size

4. most eco-friendly material we can afford

5. easy to transport and remember to bring.
We are going to fill that need with your help, and with Earth day events coming up, we need bags to give away so everyone can bring their own bag and be a steward of our environment and proud member of our community.

If we can give out 1000 reusable bags it eliminates 1 million checkout bags.

Together, we do great things. I thank you for your support!