Live Green April 21, 2010

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - North Shore News - A29

Bean bag blowup

Celebrate Earth Day

The search to find a solution for unrecyclable coffee bags.

It’s been 40 years since the first Earth Day in 1970.

www.nsnews.com/livegreen

K CHECT OU EEN”

GR “LIVE INE ONL

Hydrangea Magic Flowers emerge a dark, hot pink color and mature to a rich clear pink. With continuous bloom, Invincibelle Spirit produces new flowers from early summer right up until frost. It is adaptable to many soil types and can be grown in part sun to fairly heavy shade.

Pruning and care is a breeze.

2 gal pot

$39.99

Our goal is to raise a million dollars for breast cancer research. Proven Winners will donate $1.00 from each purchase of “INVINCIBELLE SPIRIT” Hydrangea to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

The huge white cone shaped flowers change to pink very quickly, turning to an extremely dark, rosy-pink in the fall. Quick and easy to grow.

7 gal pot (reg 59.99)

$49.99

Pure white mophead flowers which gradually take on a subtle blush of pink as it matures, appear all summer above dark green foliage.

Blooms repeatedly on old and new growth, making pruning and maintenance easy! 2 gal pot (reg 39.99)

$29.99

Nurseryland™ Bone Meal 5kg Nurseryland™ Transplanter1kg

Combo Price $25 www.dykhofnurseries.com

460 Mountain Hwy., North Vancouver • 604.985.1914 Prices in effect April 21 - May 2nd, 2010

A30 - North Shore News - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

YOUR GUIDE TO MAKING GREEN CHOICES EVERY DAY

Bean bag blowup Benjamin Alldritt balldritt@nsnews.com

WHEN Lloyd Bernhardt, CEO of Ethical Bean, announced his company’s new coffee bag return program, he figured he was doing the right thing.

“It’s one of the dirty secrets of the coffee industry,” said Bernhardt. “Everyone knows you can’t recycle these things.”

Bernhardt’s plan was to put bins outside of Ethical Bean’s three cafés and encourage his customers to bring back their used coffee bags, even if they once held his competitors’ product. He planned to pack up all the empty bags and take them to a waste-toenergy incinerator that Metro Vancouver has operated in south Burnaby since 1988, thereby diverting the plastic and aluminum bags away from the landfill and generating some power at the same time.

“We strongly believe that manufacturers should be responsible for the packaging that they sell their products in, especially when you call yourself

Ethical Bean,” Bernhardt said.

“We provide fair trade, organic certified and third party verified coffees and we rely on third party verification to prove that what we say we’re doing is what we’re doing. But one of the issues we face as a coffee roaster is what to do with our packaging when the bag is empty.”

Waste-to-energy incineration in widely used in Europe; several Canadian cities have or are looking into similar projects.

What Bernhardt didn’t know was that Metro Vancouver had been considering a controversial plan to build several more waste-to-energy incinerators in the region as part of its long-term waste management strategy. The Vancouver-based Zero Waste Coalition led a public campaign to oppose the new incinerators, and there was concern in the Fraser Valley about additional air pollution sources. The issue had been debated hotly for several years.

Unaware of this, Bernhardt proudly announced the bagburning plan. An online magazine — Scoutmagazine.ca — picked up the story and to his surprise, Bernhardt was quickly

Want to Save Money?

Recycle Your Old T V If you’re like most British Columbians, you’ve got at least two televisions in your home, and maybe even three or four. Unless you’re remembering to unplug the ones you’re not using, that’s a drain on your wallet.

“Most people don’t know that the extra TV they’ve got sitting upstairs in the guest room where it gets used maybe once a year is actually costing them money every day,” says BC Hydro’s Kari Reid, Program Manager for Residential Marketing. “As long as that TV is plugged in – whether it’s turned on or not – it’s using energy. And it’s adding up on their electricity bills.”

The best answer, says Kari, “Get rid of it, but not in a landfill. TVs, like computers and other electronics, have components that can damage the environment. Instead, take your extra, unused TV to a Return-It recycling depot, where it will get broken down safely and properly, and the parts recycled into something else. That way, you can feel good about where your old stuff is going and save yourself some money over the long run.”

Managed on behalf of ESABC by non-profit Encorp Pacific (Canada), the Return-It electronics recycling program accepts old TVs, computers, monitors, printers and fax machines – free-of-charge – at local recycling depots across British Columbia.

“We are supporters of Return-It at BC Hydro,” says Kari. “New and better electronic products keep coming on the market all the time, and people are snapping them up.

Who doesn’t want a sleek new flat-screen TV to replace their big, old-fashioned fat TV? But it also means a lot of unused electronics are simply being left somewhere else in the house, still plugged in, using lots of energy unnecessarily. We want to see that they are unplugged, and disposed of properly.”

accused of misrepresenting the environmental benefits of waste-to-energy incineration.

“I figured they’ve been running this thing forever and no one’s complained,” Bernhardt said. “It’s been vetted by the GVRD or it wouldn’t be running. I had no idea it was so controversial. I was surprised in some ways but I was also really encouraged in other ways to see that wow, these people really care.”

While many of the comments that followed the online story were informed criticisms of waste-to-energy, some took an angrier tone.

“Some comments I thought were better than others but it was a debate and as a species I think it’s important we deal with these problems. The only negative thing I can say is to the person who called up and screamed at our receptionist, that was just uncool. Swearing at the person who answers our phone is not conducive to solving this problem. Not cool.”

After reading up on the waste debate, Bernhardt decided to hold off on taking the bags to Burnaby.

“We didn’t end up

photo submitted

LLOYD Bernhardt, CEO of Ethical Bean, thought he was doing a good thing when he announced plans to incinerate used coffee bags for energy. incinerating any of them. I like to say no bags were harmed during this project. We are now sequestering the carbon, which is a nice way of saying we are storing the bags,” he said, laughing.

It’s not clear what Plan B will look like for the empty bags, which Ethical Bean is still collecting. Nor are there any easy answers to the larger question — can they use a different, eco-

friendly container?

“We’ve done lots of testing with recyclable bags and compostable bags and the technology just hasn’t come along far enough to use in our business.

We have two criteria: one is quality, the bag has to protect the coffee from oxygen and light. So you can’t have a clear container and you can’t have one that lets in air. The other is

food safety.”

“The farmers have gone to a lot of effort, time and expense to produce the best product they can and it does them a disservice if we don’t take care of their coffee when we take charge of it. And you wouldn’t go buy coffee that tasted like crap, even if you’re doing the right thing. ‘Wow, it’s awesome See Unrecyclable page 31

Advertorial

It’s hard to believe, but the average Canadian home today has more than 25 electronic devices in it, up from 15 devices just 10 years ago, in 2000. And virtually all of these electronic devices – including TVs, computers, printers, modems, DVD players, cell phone chargers, coffee makers and anything else with a clock, timer, adapter, memory or remote control – continue to draw power even when they’re not in use. Having just a few of these devices can really cause your electricity costs to soar.

But, says Kari, there are a number of simple things you can do to reduce your energy use, and bring down your monthly energy bills, in addition to recycling that extra, unused TV. For example: q Plug all your related electronics, like your television and DVD player, or computer, modem, monitor and printer, into a single power bar, then switch them all off at once when you’re not using them. q Unplug your cell phone, camera and any other chargers as soon as the battery is topped up. q If you’re in the market for a new TV, look for one with the ENERGY STAR® label. An ENERGY STAR television will save energy in both the “on” and “standby/off ” modes – as much as 40 per cent less energy than a less-efficient model – while providing the same performance.

These small steps will add up fast. “It can take more electricity per year to keep your old TV in standby mode than the amount used when the TV is watched a few times in a year” says Kari. “Just by unplugging it or turning it off at a power bar, you’ll save energy. And if just one in 10 households in British Columbia removed one unused television from their home, it would save enough energy to provide all of Squamish with electricity for more than a year.”

To find out more about the Return-It electronics recycling program or to find a recycling depot near you, please visit return-it.ca/electronics.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - North Shore News - A31

YOUR GUIDE TO MAKING GREEN CHOICES EVERY DAY

Unrecyclable bags: coffee’s dirty secret From page 30 they’re saving the planet but man I hate this stuff, I wish they’d quit.’ ” joked Bernhardt.

Monica Kosmak is a consultant who specializes in packaging stewardship and was one of the contributors to the online debate.

She also met with Bernhardt in person to discuss the problem.

Kosmak said she opposes waste-to-energy incinerators because they take the pressure off of manufacturers to strive for a lower packaging footprint.

“Incinerators have been around for years and now they are trying to re-brand themselves as a form of recycling, but for years now in B.C. they’ve been classified as being on par with landfills,”

she said. “I think it’s so inspiring to see that Lloyd wants to take ownership of the problem that comes with the form of packaging that he has,” she said.

“He thought he was doing the responsible thing but as he had conversations with people with different information he realized he only been given one side of the story.” Kosmak also applauded Ethical Bean’s efforts to build a better a bag.

While all their attempts so far have come up short, Bernhardt says he is considering staging a design competition to see if someone can come up with a safe, green bag that keeps his beans fresh.

“We can store them for an awfully long time before we run out of space but that’s not really the idea,” he said. “If anyone has a great idea, let us know.”

FREE YOUR BASEMENT OF FREELOADERS. At some point, you need to clear your basement of all those things that are costing you. Like that 3rd or 4th TV set that’s collecting dust and drawing electricity on standby mode. By taking it to the nearest Return-It location, you can keep it off your bill and out of the landfill. So start there, and move on to other basement dwellers if you feel so inclined.

Find your nearest Return-It location at return-it.ca/electronics

A32 - North Shore News - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

YOUR GUIDE TO MAKING GREEN CHOICES EVERY DAY

2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day WHILE tens of millions of people will take part in events to mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day tomorrow, the story behind the first Earth Day begins with

a single individual.

In the early 1960s, when Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin, first hatched the idea that began the modern environmental movement, there was little public awareness of the fragile state

Living Green can be good for your wallet!

Find out how you can reduce your carbon footprint, and save money at: www.livesmartbc.ca Did you know, due to popular demand, the LiveSmart BC: Efficiency Incentive Program has been continued.

More info at: www.livesmartbc.ca

Naomi Yamamoto, M.L.A. (North Vancouver - Lonsdale) 303-126 East 15th Street North Van, BC V7L 2P9 Email: naomi.yamamoto.mla@leg.bc.ca

of the planet. The nation’s roads were filled with cars sporting massive, leaded-gasguzzling V-8 engines and its factories were spewing smoke and sludge into the air with little regard for environmental consequences.

Nelson had been working to bring national attention to a wide range of environmental issues for several years before launching the first-ever Earth Day in 1970. His early efforts included persuading President John F. Kennedy to

embark on a five-day, 11-state “conservation tour” in 1963.

While the president’s trip failed to generate interest on Capitol Hill, Nelson continued to press the issue during his own speaking tours.

It was during one such tour in 1969 that Nelson formed the idea that would become Earth Day. Inspired by the anti-Vietnam War protests that were taking place across the nation, he began to organize a day of protest to express concern about the state of the

environment. The idea took off, and on April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans representing groups and communities from every corner of the country joined in what Nelson called “a nationwide environmental ‘teach-in.’ ” Twenty years later, a real effort was made to engage the rest of the world and initially, Earth Day Canada’s sole purpose was to organize the 20th anniversary celebrations of that initial event. But when two million Canadians took

part, organizers deemed it such a success that they decide to keep it going.

Earth Day Canada’s website tells the story of how the event has grown into Earth Week and even Earth Month to accommodate the profusion of events and projects. They range from large public events to thousands of small, private events staged by schools, employee groups and community groups.

For more information, visit www.earthday.ca.

Plan your September shoreline cleanup now MAKE plans now to hit the beach.

Registration is now open for the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup taking place September 18-26 across the country.

All Canadians are invited to become conservation champions by taking an active role in cleaning up a shoreline in your community. Participation helps ensure safer environments for aquatic life and contributes to preserving natural aquatic habitats.

From Resolute to Richmond, Tofino to Truro, shorelines are found in every Canadian community. A shoreline can be a riverbank, beach, lakefront or wetland.

Canada has the longest shoreline of any country on Earth. Every year during the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, hundreds of thousands of litter items are found. In 2009, the three most common objects continued to be cigarette butts, food wrappers and plastic bags. Among the more unusual items found last year were a mannequin wearing a bathing suit, a hot air balloon basket and a bathroom sink.

“These unusual items, and the 161,000 kg of litter that we removed in 2009, show that our shorelines are still being used as dumping grounds,” says Jill Dwyer, manager, Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. “The Great Canadian Shoreline

Cleanup seeks to change that behaviour by giving Canadians an opportunity to be stewards of positive change in their own communities to keep our shorelines free of litter.”

Evidence shows most shoreline litter originates from land and land-based activities. Help make a difference by registering today to participate in a cleanup in your community.

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is one of the largest cleanups in the world contributing to the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. It is a Vancouver Aquarium direct action conservation program. Learn more at www.shorelinecleanup.ca

Electric Coast Urban Vehicles Co. Is your source for brand name ELECTRIC motorcycles, scooters, bicycles & folding cycles

§ Zero emissions § $0.20 / 100 km § No insurance / license required

No GST Beat the HST

www.thewellnessshow.com

APRIL 30, MAY 1 & 2 Vancouver Convention Centre, Canada Place

The Healthy Baking

Competition

Calling All ional Non-Profess Bakers

presented by

CATEGORIES: • Yeast Bread • Quick Bread • Muffin • NEW this year - Breakfast Cookie

PRIZES AWARDED TO THE TOP 3 WINNERS IN EACH CATEGORY FREE GIFT for entering, compliments of Rogers Foods Ltd.

HEALTHY BAKING CONTEST ENTRY FORM Name of Category:____________________________ Name of Recipe:__________________________ Name:______________________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________ City:___________________________ Postal Code:_________________ Phone: __________________________________________________ email:________________________________Signature: x_____________________________________

Folding Bicycles

Electric Bicycles & Conversion Kits

238 East Esplanade, North Vancouver electriccoast.com • 604.985.1615

For registration, please bring 1: loaf of bread or 3 muffins or breakfast cookies 2: completed entry form 3: proof of purchase of Rogers Flour and Cereal products 4: a copy of the recipe and 5: proof of a 18th annual Wellness Show ticket purchase to the show office at the Vancouver Convention Centre, 999 Canada Place, on Saturday, May 1, 2010 between noon and 4 p.m.

FOR RULES AND REGULATIONS, FURTHER INFORMATION OR GENERAL INQUIRIES, PLEASE CALL: 604-983-2794 OR VISIT www.thewellnessshow.com