Clean Air Days & Bike Fest 2009

Celebrate the many ways you can “go green” and join the alternate modes revolution during Clean Air Days & Bike Fest 2009. Local agencies and businesses concerned about air quality and traffic congestion are joining forces to promote the use of alternative modes of transportation during this year’s event. In 2008, participation topped 4,000 in the Clean Air Days & Bike Fest activities. This year, everyone is encouraged to drive less and carpool, walk, bicycle, take the bus, or drive a clean-fueled vehicle to save money, improve air quality, and possibly win a prize. Over 25 Clean Air Days and Bike Fest activities are scheduled from April 1 – 30, 2009 at various locations around the metropolitan Tucson area. A special Clean Air Contest kicks off on April 1 and runs through the entire month. If you take action to reduce air pollution, and a contest entry form is submitted, you will be entered into a prize drawing for gifts donated by local businesses and will receive a $10 certificate from Bookman’s.

“We are excited this year to expand this great community event to include activities in Sahuarita, as well as the northwest Tucson area,” said Beth Gorman, Program Manager at Pima County Department of Environmental Quality. “We have support from a wonderful variety of non-profits, businesses, and agencies to help encourage actions to go green, save money, reduce air pollution and traffic congestion, and improve our quality of life,” Gorman continued.

Activities include:

• Green Ways to Work Day
• Bike 2 Work Day Celebrations
• Bike to the Zoo Day
• Bike-In Movie at BICAS
• El Tour Campus Kids Bike Fair
• Tucson Earth Day Festival
• Birding and Biking
• Asthma Walk
• Bike to Books
• Pima Community College Earth Day
• Green Living Fair at the HabiStore
• Bike Scavenger Hunt
• Sahuarita Bike Fair
• and more...

Secured bicycle parking will be offered at many of the venues. The schedule of events and the contest entry forms are available at www.cleanair.pima.gov.

Clean Air Days & Bike Fest event partners and sponsors include:

• The City of Tucson and Pima County Departments of Transportation
• Pima Association of Governments
• Pima County Department of Environmental Quality
• Sun Tran
• Pima Community College
• The Governor's Office of Highway Safety
• Town of Sahuarita
• Town of Oro Valley
• Town of Marana
• American Lung Association
• Southwest Gas
• KOLD-TV
• 92.9 The Mountain radio
• AdVision
• Clif Bar
• Habitat for Humanity’s HabiStore
• Bookman’s

Clean Air Days & Bike Fest Brochure (PDF format).

For more information call Pima County Department of Environmental Quality at 740-3947 or click on www.cleanair.pima.gov.

Recycling, just one small piece of a sustainability plan
by Dennis Gauthier
from "The Minute Entry," newsletter of the Pima County Superior Court

Pima County has officially begun its recycling program, and within a few weeks it will cover all county facilities within the city limits. This program is almost identical to the recycling program implemented at the superior court over a year ago. Recycling is critical to preserving resources and reducing landfill use, but it is just one component of the overall sustainability plan. Since the benefits of recycling were covered in a previous article, this article will focus on other elements of a good sustainability plan.

Think sustainability

Sustainability means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Not only is sustainability necessary to keep earth habitable, but there are a lot of other positive things that arise out of a good sustainability plan.

It begins when you buy it

Purchase wisely. A little thought when you buy things can be beneficial. Buying in bulk reduces packaging and usually saves money. Buying locally reduces transportation costs and contributes to the local economy. Buying right the first time also helps. Look for quality, not what is trendy today (does anybody want that olive green stove?). If it is something that you need only intermittently, rent or borrow rather than buy. Let's not forget buying used items, reuse is a great way to keep things out of the waste stream and it can save you money. And most importantly, if you don't need it, don't buy it. Impulse items are rarely worthwhile, and “As seen on TV” doesn't mean it is valuable or necessary.

Now that you have it, what are you going to do with it

Once you have something, it is important to maintain it and keep it in good working order. Proper maintenance keeps an item useful longer, and will increase resale or the likelihood it will be accepted for donation later when you decide you no longer need it. Maintenance also helps identify wear and tear or defects, which can compromise the safety of a product. Keep the operation and maintenance manuals to your products in a central location and refer to them when you have questions.

What to do if you no longer need it

Make things available for reuse. Reuse is different than recycling. While recycling is preferable to throwing things away, it still requires energy and other resources to make a new product out of an old one. It is better to reuse than to recycle because reuse requires little or no resources to make a useful product (except if you need to transport something to where it can be used more.) If you no longer need it, try to give it away to someone who does. Swap meets and garage sales are another way to extend the life of useful items. Sell it on eBay, or use the local Craig's list to sell or give it away. Go online to Freecycle.org–Tucson to give useful items away, or sell them, as well as look for an item you need. If the item is still usable, you can always donate it. Even old magazines are welcome at nursing homes, senior centers and clinic waiting rooms.

A look at the portion of the waste stream that could be recycled.

Be creative

Just because something can be recycled doesn't mean it has to be. There is no reason not to reuse when possible. Plastic water bottles are being produced in phenomenal numbers. Instead of plastic water bottles, use a water filtration system or pitcher and just fill up a stainless steel water container. Not only will the water meet or exceed the quality of the bottled water you buy, but it will only cost you a few pennies for each bottle full. Glass jars, which are not currently recyclable in the Pima County program, can be washed out and used to store a number of items, from paper clips to buttons to screws. Even water bottles with caps can be used to store your touch up paint, and you can actually see what color it is. Plastic milk bottles can be filled with water and frozen. This makes great ice for your ice chest, keeps the other contents dry, and, once melted, it gives you fresh water for coffee, cooking, or brushing your teeth. Your imagination is the only thing that limits your ability to reuse.

Bring your own bags

We all grocery shop on a regular basis. Just think of the volume of plastic bags taken out of stores every day. Using a reusable bag can be a tremendous help. Not only do reusable bags keep down the number of plastic bags in the dump or floating around as litter, but one cloth bag can hold a lot more than one plastic bag, further reducing their numbers. When you go to the hardware store or the music store, refuse a bag for one or two small items. What you don't take you needn't throw away. Also, bringing your own containers for bulk food purchases can be helpful and gives you an opportunity to reuse something that may have been recycled.

Go paperless

Instead of filling file cabinets with paper, organize your files in your computer and save paper and space. Send electronic copies rather than interoffice mail a paper copy. This is faster and much more efficient. Pay your bills on-line eliminating checks and postage, or set up an automatic withdrawal plan with your bank. And what about those unwanted catalogs and unsolicited advertising mailings. There are ways to get off of those mailing lists. Try www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs4-junk.htm.

Clean green

There's no need to use harsh chemicals to clean your house anymore. Get back to basics by buying eco-friendly cleaners, or better yet, make safe and effective household cleansers yourself. Baking soda, lemons, and plain white vinegar are everyday household items that you can clean with! Check out National Geographic's Green Guide for household cleaner recipes.

Conserve energy and water

Simple things like turning off the lights when you leave a room, or shutting off an unused power strip, can make a big difference on your electric bill, and save a lot of energy. Weatherizing windows and doors, insulating pipes, and lowering the thermostat, can cut down on heating costs too. When replacing appliances, buy new appliances with the Energy Star label, that way you can be assured of their efficiency. To save water, try low-flow showerheads and toilets, collect rain-water and use native plants and drip irrigation in your yard. Reducing your shower time by even a minute can save water and the electricity needed to heat the water too!

And last but not least, recycle

If you have it now but no longer need it, can't donate it, sell it, or reuse it and it is recyclable, please recycle it. The county is counting on reduced trash volume to offset the costs of the recycling program. Recycling is good for the court, the county, the environment and the economy. It is no longer something we should do it is something we must do. Do your part to be a responsible citizen of our earth. Think sustainability.

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