Interior Alaska Green Star Annual Report 2009 PO Box 82391 Fairbanks, Alaska 99708 (907) 452‐4152 www.iagreenstar.org Executive Director Andrea Miller andrea@iagreenstar.org Mission Statement Interior Alaska Green Star is the Fairbanks chapter of Green Star®, a non‐profit organization which encourages households and businesses to practice waste reduction, energy conservation and pollution prevention.
Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
Message from the Executive Director
In October, I took over from Darcie Warden as Executive Director of Interior Alaska Green Star. I was fortunate to have the pleasure of working with her at IAGS for the last year and a half, as first a volunteer and then a board member. Fortunately for us, Darcie is still very active with IAGS as the board Vice President, and we are lucky to have her expertise and energy as part of our organization. One thing that has consistently impressed me about IAGS is the dedication and passion of everyone who is involved with the organization. The board members are truly a working board, who give so much of their time, energy, and expertise to help IAGS realize its mission and goals; they consistently go well above and beyond expectations to ensure our continued development and success. Our IAGS volunteers show their passion and commitment to recycling and living green in the Interior on a regular basis – coming out to help with our outdoor events (often in cold or inclement weather) and cheerfully assisting with every task at hand to ensure that these events are successful. I am not exaggerating when I say that we truly could not hold these events without all the hard work of these amazing volunteers! Finally, IAGS is grateful for the ongoing financial support of our generous donors and supporters, without whom none of this would be possible. These community‐minded businesses and organizations support our mission of helping to keep the Interior green, and we appreciate their contributions to our efforts. Overall, I am just so thankful for all the inspiring people I have met through my association with IAGS, and look forward to many more great experiences ahead!
IAGS is probably best known in the Fairbanks community for our bi‐annual electronics recycling events, and we have continued those events during the past year – collecting and diverting 33 tons of electronics waste from our landfills. In 2009, we expanded our recycling efforts by introducing a new spring event called the Recycling Round‐Up, which was extremely successful in its first year! In addition, we have reinstated the Green Star Award Program this year, in order to return to our roots of helping our business community become more sustainable.
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Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
Electronics Recycling Events In 2009, we doubled the number of Electronics Recycling Collection Events we typically hold in a year. In addition to our standard spring and fall events, we added a TV recycling event to accommodate the large number of analog TVs being retired after the switchover to digital TV transmission, as well as a special recycling event in Healy. Our spring event was also expanded to a multi‐material recycling event. Overall, we diverted a total of 66,079 pounds – or 33 tons – of electronic waste from the landfills of Interior Alaska in 2009. See below for more information about each of these recycling events
April Events We collected a total of 7,089 pounds of electronics at two separate recycling events in April: TV Recycling Event – April 11 In April of 2009, we decided to highlight the upcoming transition to digital television with a special event focused on recycling old TVs. A standard tube television contains mercury and 4‐8 pounds of lead; if improperly disposed, these toxins can damage the environment. The goal of our TV Recycling Event was to encourage any Fairbanks area residents who would be replacing their TVs in preparation for the June 2009 switchover to digital TV to recycle their old devices rather than taking them to the landfill! Although our focus was on TVs, we also accepted all other electronics dropped off by residents.
Healy Electronics Recycling Event – April 17 Continuing our efforts to expand electronics recycling opportunities for Interior Alaska, we worked in partnership with local contacts in the Denali Borough to coordinate a special collection event for the Healy area. It was a cold, drizzly, and snowy Friday in Healy but that didn’t stop us from getting some recycling done. The highlight of the event was the participation of the Tri‐Valley School fifth graders, who were an integral part of our entire operation that day. Not only did they bring us 1,000 pounds of electronics equipment from the school to recycle – they helped us prepare it for shipment. The students helped us unload the trailer full of equipment – mostly old Mac computers and CRT monitors – and organize everything nicely on the ground. Overall, we had a very successful day with four pallets of electronics making their way to Anchorage before being shipped to Total‐Reclaim, Inc in Seattle, Washington for recycling.
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Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
Spring Electronics Collection at the Recycling Round‐Up – May 15‐16 For our usual Spring Electronics Recycling, we incorporated our collection efforts into the new Recycling Round‐Up event, held for the first time this year. As usual, we collected electronics from businesses and households over two days – Friday and Saturday. New this year was the decision to open up the Friday collection to households as well as businesses. We were very busy throughout this event weekend and collected 28,607 pounds of electronics over the course of those two days.
Fall Electronics Recycling Event – September 25‐26 We scheduled our fall event in September (rather than later in October), hoping to catch the end of the warmer weather in the interest of our dedicated volunteers and recyclers. Unfortunately, the unpredictable Fairbanks weather did not cooperate, and we had cold, snowy weather as usual. However, we still had a great time collecting, sorting, and stacking electronics for recycling. We collected 30,383 pounds of electronics at this event.
Electronics Recycling Partners IAGS selected Total Reclaim Inc. as our electronics recycling partner based on their high recovery rate of e‐waste materials and their responsible handling of toxic materials. They have taken the “Pledge of True Stewardship with the Basal Action Network (BAN)”, which holds strict standards and practices for recycling and exportation of materials. This is important because used electronics contain lead, cadmium, barium, chromium, and mercury – materials which are toxic to the environment, as well as to the people who work in the e‐waste dismantling industry. Strict standards identified by BAN prevent these materials from being burned or water soaked, in order to prevent toxic persistent organic pollution (POPs) from entering our water systems or air. The Fairbanks North Star Borough Solid Waste Division continues to be a key partner in our recycling events, as they have been for the past four years. We depend on their contributions of skilled forklift operators to load the pallets stacked with collected electronics material onto semi‐trucks. The continued commitment from the FNSB Solid Waste Division ensures safety and on‐going success for IAGS’s electronics recycling collection events. Wal‐Mart provided the venue for our April TV Recycling Collection Event. This was a good fit, since many people buying those new TVs at Wal‐Mart had the opportunity to recycle their old TVs at the same time! Tanana Valley State Fairground Association provided the venues for the Spring Recycling Round‐ Up and the Fall Electronics Recycling events in 2009. This proved to be such an excellent venue for our recycling collections that we will be returning to this site again in 2010. The large open spaces of the parking lot and easy access from College Road combine to make this a very visible and efficient space for businesses and households to drop off their electronics for recycling.
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Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
First Annual Recycling Round‐Up Event In 2009, IAGS launched a new annual spring event called the Recycling Round‐Up. For this event, we invited a number of local businesses and organizations to join us in a one‐day collection event for reusable and recyclable goods. We encouraged residents to use this opportunity to Spring Clean their homes and yards and turn all that “waste” into something useful, and we were gratified to receive a great response! The following list details the approximately 25 tons of material that was collected for reuse or recycling during this event. Material Collected
Amount Collected
Organization
Food Cans
400 pounds
C & R Pipe and Steel
Printer Cartridges
100 cartridges
Cartridge World
Food
145 pounds
Fairbanks Community Food Bank
Aluminum Cans
400 pounds
Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption ‐ Street Outreach Team
Clothing
3291 pounds
FRA Closet Collections
Household Hazardous Waste
5 totes
FNSB Waste Management
Building Materials
1 pickup load
Habitat for Humanity
Electronics
28,607 pounds
Interior Alaska Green Star
Glass
6,600 pounds
The Monolith Project
Compost Materials
30 bags
Rosie Creek Farm
Newspaper
3,000 pounds
Thermo‐Kool
Plastic & Paper
40‐foot Trailer full
Wal‐Mart
Tanana Valley State Fair IAGS once again partnered with the Tanana Valley State Fair Association, Wal‐Mart, K&K Recycling, and ALPAR to coordinate the recycling efforts at the 2009 Fair. Thanks to the many dedicated hours spent by IAGS volunteers gather and sorting recyclables, we were able to meet our goals of recycling as many plastic and aluminum beverage containers as possible and helping to make this a greener event!
Infrastructure Improvements at IAGS IAGS continued working towards our goals of organizational development by engaging the Foraker Group to lead us in a Strategic Planning session in July of 2009.
In addition, IAGS expanded our Board of Directors by adding a new member. David Weissman joined the IAGS board in May of 2009. David first worked with IAGS as a volunteer for our Recycling Round‐Up, and was enthusiastic about the mission and goals of IAGS. He is a newcomer to Alaska, but comes to us with 10 years of experience working for a conservation non‐profit organization in Pennsylvania. David’s special expertise is in fundraising, and IAGS has been lucky to gain this excellent addition to our board! 4
Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
Public Outreach and Education Tanana Valley State Fair – August 7 through August 15 The Tanana Valley State Fair represents the perfect opportunity for IAGS to reach out and connect with our community, so this is always an important event for our outreach efforts. Thanks to many hours put in by IAGS volunteers and board members, we are able to educate Fairbanks area residents on our mission, programs, and events.
FNSB Teachers In‐Service Presentation – October 19 In October, IAGS was invited to participate in the Teacher’s In‐Service Day for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Two Board Members – Pam Seiser and Eva Rothman – gave two separate “Let’s Talk Trash” presentations during the day, to packed classrooms! In total, 59 teachers – mostly in the science, social studies, and math fields – attended these presentations to learn more about solid waste, recycling, and the four ‘Rs’ – rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle.
Informational Booths IAGS is often invited to participate in events coordinated by other local organizations. We are always thrilled for these opportunities to meet and network with other local organizations – as well as the chance to share information with community members about our own organization’s mission and activities. In 2009, IAGS participated by hosting informational booths at the following events: Alaska Interfaith Power and Light event o Branches of Abraham: An Interfaith Forum on Environmental Stewardship – February 26th Fairbanks Community Cooperative Market event o Harvest Fair and Annual Meeting – August 29th
Golden Days Parade – July 25 IAGS had a great time at the Golden Days Parade held in downtown Fairbanks. This year, we once again used the opportunity to raise awareness about the use of disposable plastic grocery bags. Board members and volunteers dressed up as “Bag Ladies and Gents” with costumes made of hundreds of plastic bags. The intent was to represent the 400 grocery bags a typical household uses in a single year.
In contrast, one lucky person in the sharp‐looking reusable bag costume represented the alternative to single‐use, disposable bags.
These visual aids caught the attention of adults and children alike, giving us the opportunity to promote local recycling efforts in the community and distribute over 150 reusable shopping bags donated by Fred Meyer’s, Safeway, and Wal‐Mart! 5
Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
Board of Directors
Pam Seiser, President Alaska Biological Research, Inc.
Darcie Warden, Vice President Alaska Legal Services Corporation
Ty Keltner, Treasurer Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Eva Rothman, Secretary Fairbanks Resource Agency
Kristen Thomas Cold Climate Housing Research Center
Carol Ann Varner Tanana Valley League of Women Voters
David Weissman Design Alaska, Inc. FNSB Recycling Commission
Bill Smyth Department of Environmental Conservation
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Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
Volunteers Thank you to all of our dedicated volunteers! Charley Basham Ruby Baxter Alexander Bergman Carey Brink John Bunten Tara Callear Beth Cender Catherine Chandler Heather Currey Mary Dokken Deb Fitzgerald Ana Fochesatto Gretchen Garcia Carrie Harris Justin Heinz Laura Jacobs Edna Johanson
Patty Kastelic Ty Keltner Steve Kendall Doug Kenney Don Leistikow Will Lentz Margo Matthews Darcee Messano Brian McInnis Scott McInnis Susan McInnis Andrea Miller Joy Morrison Mary Ann Nickles Sheri Olesen John Pender
Eva Rothman Michele Scouten Pam Seiser Phil Shad Bill Smyth Eli Sonafrank Sue Sprinkle Dan Stahlke Kristen Thomas Carol Ann Varner Wendy Warnick Walter Weese David Weissman Lori Winton Jeff Yarman Amy Zacheis
Sponsors ABR, Inc. Air Land Transport FNSB Solid Waste Division Golden Valley Electric Association North Haven Communities Princess Lodges Rasmuson Foundation Spirit of Alaska Federal Credit Union Tanana Valley State Fair Association Tanana Valley Television Total Reclaim, Inc. Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. Wal‐Mart Yukon River Inter‐Tribal Watershed Council Supporters Fred Meyer Safeway
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Interior Alaska Green Star – 2009 Annual Report
2009 Financial Statements
Balance Sheet 2008 Cash, Savings, and investments
2009 $8,944
$3,483
$0
$0
$8,944
$3,483
$114
$0
$8,830
$3,483
Land and buildings Total assets Total Liabilities
Net assets or fund balances Statement of Activities Revenues
$29,833
Contributions, gifts, and similar amounts received
$3,517
Program service revenue Membership dues and assessments
$0
Investment income
$9
Total Revenue
$33,359
Expenses Salaries, other compensation and employee benefits
$10,496
Professional fees and other payments to independent contractors
$3,327
Occupancy, rent, utilities, and maintenance
$0
Printing, publications, postage and shipping
$0
Conferences/meetings
$86
Web hosting/Internet fees
$425
Promotion and public awareness
$4,091
Recycling expenses
$17,733
Bank service charge
$10
Dues and subscriptions
$449
Insurance
$826
Supplies
$323
Licenses and Permits
$155
Other Expenses
$785
Total Expenses
$38,706
Assets Excess or (deficit) for the year
($5,347)
Net assets or fund balances at beginning of year
$8,8330
Net assets or fund balances at end of year
$3,483 8