Kansas Neurological Institute Green Team

KNI Green-O-Gram
June 13, 2008

Happy Friday the 13th--this is your lucky day! This Green-O-Gram is devoted to answering a number of questions that have come our way, and be sure to check out the attached June Calendar, sent our way by Julie McNickle, which is chock-full of useful eco-tips. Hope everyone is enjoying the ample moisture!

Q: So I know that there if there is a number in a triangle on a plastic item, that means that it is recyclable, but what are the different plastics recycled INTO?
A: For a complete list of the different types of plastics and what the types of products that they can be recycled into, check out the following website:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11653.cfm

Q: I know that we have recycling bins on campus located on the Engineering parking lot, and I know we can bring stuff from home and from the KNI homes to put in them, but is there anything we can do to make it easier to recycle plastic, tin cans, and other recyclables from the kitchens in the homes?
A: Glad you asked! KNI is in the process of purchasing receptacles that are specifically made for collecting recyclables that will be placed in the homes that want to recycle more. Stay tuned for more information about this, but contact your Unit Director (Tim Knowles or Betty Athey) for more information about getting some for your home when they come in.

Q: Are there any businesses in Topeka that accept styrofoam peanuts for reuse?
A: Yes. It's called Balloons Extraordinaire, right here on campus in Wheatland's Hidden Treasures Mall. They will use them and also hope to re-package those peanuts and sell them cheap through their store to anyone who needs them for packing/shipping.

Q: I know that we recycle printer cartridges for the computer printers out here--any idea how many?
A: In 2007, KNI recycled 990 printer cartridges. Clerical supply office has a box where you can put the used ones when you pick up a new one. Cartridge King refurbishes and refills both the black ink and the color ink cartridges, so don't throw them away!

Q: I heard something about there being a Farmer's Market starting here on the KNI campus--what's the scoop?
A: The Green Team, Dietary, Employment Services and Volunteer Services are all developing this idea into becoming a reality starting in August or September. Here's what it looks like so far:

-home support teams and individuals living at KNI can start growing gardens to raise produce for themselves or swap with other folks at the Farmer's Market to help keep down food expenses, have access to fresh produce, learn how to garden, or enjoy gardening hobbies as a pastime.

-the Greenhouse at the Hidden Treasures Mall in Wheatland has a number of transplant vegetable plants to get you going, including peppers, cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin and more.

-The Green Team will have a table at next week's Eat2008 where you can pick up brochures on how to plant, grow, weed and harvest gardens, including fall gardens. There will also be sign-up lists to see if there is interest in having some Fall Garden planting workshops this summer, and to see if there is interest in writing grants for making wheelchair accessible raised garden beds. Be sure to hunt us down!

-The Farmer's Market/swap will be at Wheatland's Hidden Treasures patio near the greenhouse, and on the same day, Brian and gang will be grilling burgers and hotdogs for lunch. Who knows--there might even be some Farmer's Market specials at Hidden Treasures or some of the other stores!

-The garden beds on the east side of Pleasantview are being planted in herbs and vegetables, and there are also plans for a "model garden" in the same area so you can learn a few new tricks.

-The K-State Extension Master Gardeners are lending us their expertise and can answer any gardening questions that you might have.

So stay posted on this exciting project and for updates and great gardening information, be sure to visit the Farmer's Market table at the Eat2008 event on June 19!

The Green Team

Green-o-Gram
Re-use, part 2: The Book Exchange
As discussed in the Oldies but Goodies interview last week with Ann Mason, passing on something you no longer use so someone else can use it instead of having to buy it new is one of the better ways to save energy, materials, and of course money. So continuing the Re-use theme, we are highlighting the KNI Book Exchange in this week's Green-o-Gram.

Starting a few years back, a group of avid readers began The Book Exchange in the Wheatland Clerical Supply Room because they realized that they all had books at home that others might enjoy, and that if each person brought some books to a common location, chances are that something else might show up that they themselves might be interested in reading, too.

The rules are simple:
1) Bring your books you'd think others might like to read and you no longer care to own, put them on the shelf in the clerical supply room in Wheatland.
2) "Check out" a book by taking it, reading it, and returning it. No paperwork, no fuss.
3) No textbooks, magazines; hardbacks or paperbacks are fine.
4) Repeat!

Although this is a one-shelf operation, the current selection is quite broad. Interested in mysteries? Check out the Tony Hillerman, Sara Paretsky, Steven L. Carter, Lawrence Block, Anne Perry books for starters. Spy thrillers? John LeCarre and Robt. Ludlum are here. Non-fiction essays? Check out Annie Dillard, Carl Sagan and more. Harlequin Romances? 2 shelves, with one shelf with a western/cowboy theme. Literature? Camus, Tony Morrison and Alexandr Solzhenitsyn are there. Self help/improvement? Pick up a Zig Ziglar, Fran Tarkenton, a medical encyclopedia, "Getting to Yes," or "Men are from Mars." Throw in some AA and NA books, and you get the picture--there is probably something there for everybody.

So look at that book at home that you loved several years back, and come swap it for a new title at the Book Exchange.
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Green Tips: more energy efficiency ideas
The following site has even more ideas that might tweak your mind about how to get more mileage, more kilowats, and just about more anything you can think of. This site breaks it down into categories that we can all understand: Things that cost nothing to do; things that cost $25 or less, $25 to $500, all with a payback by saving in the long run. Check it out at:
http://www.climateandenergy.org/TakeStep/EnergyTips/Index.htm

Ever think about doing more to recycle, re-use, compost, and otherwise lead a more sustainable life, but didn't quite know how to start? Ever come up with a handy trick that helped you "get over the hump" and made it easier to do these things at home? We all have unique problems--and the answers that we come up with just might best be found among ourselves if we share them. We hope to gather your questions--and solutions into a future Green-o-Gram, so if you have either questions or helpful hints on how you can lead a "greener" life, please send them to us by email: kel@kni.ks.gov, jot them down and send them through inter-office mail to Habilitation (#32), or if you prefer, share them by phone by calling Ken at 296-2047.

Green-o-Gram: Keep these guidelines for recycling your stuff in the new recycling bins!

With the arrival of the 5 recycling bins on campus (located on the west side of the Engineering parking lot, a number of folks have asked questions about the best way to recycle stuff. Since they were such good questions, they have been reproduced here for you to read and save for future reference:
Q: What's the best way to get glass bottles ready for recycling?
A: Please remove the lid and rinse out to keep from attracting bugs. You don't have to remove labels, though. Remember that sheet glass should not be placed into the recycling container.
Q: Can any plastic be recycled in the bin marked for plastic?
A: Shawnee County now accepts ANY kind of plastic bottle or container that has the little recycling triangle on the bottom of the container, regardless of the number. Just as with glass bottles, please remove the lid and rinse out to keep from attracting bugs and animals. As far as plastic grocery bags go, Dillon's stores now have their own recycling bins for you to place them in, and also sell (cheap!) canvas bags for you to re-use.
Q: What about steel/tin cans--how to prepare them?
A: Don't bother removing the labels; just rinse out the can so bugs/animals aren't attracted. It's also OK to put the removed lid into the bottom of the can so it can also be recycled.
Q: Can we bring recycling from home or are the recycling bins just for KNI homes to use?
A: By all means, bring your recycling from home if you want, and teams are encouraged to recycle their tin cans, plastic bottles, clear or colored glass right here on campus. The cardboard recycling bin is located either in Pleasantview for convenience or in the bin at Engineering, and of course newspaper recycling bins are located in each building, too. The KNI Recycling Program will continue to pick up the office paper recycling boxes in offices across campus, too, and aluminum recycling bins located will remain, as will the shredding boxes.
Q: Do we place our recyclables in the bins or just in front of them?
A: Please place ALL of the recyclables INSIDE the bins, not in front of them where animals, wind, rain, etc. can make a mess of things. KNI is responsible for keeping the area around the bins clean, so do your part by putting recyclables where they belong, and picking up anything that was misplaced. For the first few weeks we will call Shawnee County Recycle to alert them that we need a pick up. This will happen until we are placed on a route schedule. Normally, plastic is picked up on Saturday, card board on Tuesday and other containers (glass and tin) on Monday or Friday. Any questions, give Fernando a call at 8-6660 or 633-5998.

KNI Green-O-Gram
Questions and Answers issue
A number of questions have come into the Green Team in the past several weeks, and we thought it might be a good idea to share them with everyone as they are great questions. If you have questions, hints, ideas or reviews on how well a green tip works for you at home or at work, please send them in to the Green Team at kel@kni.ks.gov. Our next meeting is May 6, so let us know of any ideas you want us to check out, too.

Q: A friend says that where her sister recycles, they don't accept the caps that go on the water bottles. I'd never heard of that and thought I would go to the source(you). Have you heard that? Thanks!
A: A Green Team member asked the Shawnee County Recycling dept. about it, and they said that they like folks to take the lids off because they compact the bottles, and they pop or don't compact if the lids are still on them. When asked if it's OK to throw the lids in after you have taken them off, she said, sure, just throw them in separately. We might remind you that if it's anything other than water that was in the bottle, please rinse them out so it doesn't attract the rodents and bugs.

Q: I have noticed some deli containers only have the recycle symbol on the container, not the lid. Can the lids be recycled?
A: Any separate container lid should have a little recycling triangle with a number inside the triangle on it. If it doesn't, ask the deli department if they can find out for you. If the plastic is identical to the base, it is probably safe to recycle it. Sometimes those little triangles are sometimes easy to overlook.

Q: Is it true that the outdoor picnic tables around campus are made out of recycled milk jugs?
A: Yes; it takes around 4850 milk jugs to make just one--that's right, you read 4,850 milk jugs! They are heavy (500 lbs) so they will not walk off, and they never need painting! Thanks to Tim Knowles for this answer, which, by the way was also in the Green Tips section of Week at A Glance.

Q: I've heard a lot about calculating your "carbon footprint," which is a way to figure out ways to reduce your contribution to increasing carbon emissions in the atmosphere, which 95% of climate scientists agree is contributing to global warming. How do I calculate my carbon footprint?
A: There are a lot of articles floating around about how to calculate your carbon footprint, and ideas on how to reduce it. There are many online resources that help you 1) figure out your carbon footprint, i.e. how much carbon your lifestyle is putting into the atmosphere; 2) look at ways to reduce the size of that footprint by changing the way you do things around the home, at work, and leisure activities; and 3) offer ideas on contributing to projects that "offset" your reduced carbon emissions because that project takes carbon out of the atmosphere through "sequestration" or conservation measures that lead to reduced emissions.

Here is a very partial listing of these online sites to get you started that include carbon calculators, reduction ideas, and projects to offset your carbon emissions:
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
http://oneminute.zerofootprint.net/
http://www.terrapass.com/carbon-footprint-calculator/

Have fun, and feel free to pass on your experiences, both good and bad about your efforts at calculating, reducing and offsetting your carbon footprint.

Keep using those recycling bins on the west side of Engineering, keep the area clean, and thanks for all you are doing!

The KNI Green Team