PSFC Environmental Committee

The right way to recycle E-Waste.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 14:22:00 +0000

Environmental Committee Report: Right way to recycle E-Waste.
By: Lev Chesnov, lchesnov@gmail.com

Some of the products sold by the PSFC end up as electronic waste, such as thermometers, small lights for bikes, old inefficient incandescent bulbs, and alkaline and rechargeable batteries. Some environmentally-conscious PSFC
members take these items to local e-waste drop-off locations. These locations, found via a quick internet search, allow for the products to be recycled properly.

Many people, however, do not know two very important things -
1. How bad e-waste is for the environment, and 2. Where to find e-waste recycle drop-off
locations. What is interesting is that NYS Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act
requires retailers which sell batteries to accept them back as recycling; this act
seems to not be enforced.
Most e-waste drop off locations are hard to access, causing people to just throw
rechargeable batteries and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in the trash, which is
legal, according to the NYC Sanitation Department rules. Taking this e-waste to
the proper facilities, however, is highly recommended. Improperly disposed of e-
waste will decompose and leak into the soil and ground water, introducing
poisonous heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium into the
environment.
Another good reason to recycle e-waste is to harvest their precious metals, like
gold and platinum. This can reduce the need for mining, often done under poor
work condition and with child labor.
We at the PSFC can work together to limit the damage inflicted on our
environment by e-waste. Check out the Gowanus E-Waste Warehouse located at
469 President Street. This warehouse is the largest e-waste municipal spot in NY
State. It is part of the Lower East Side Ecology Center, a community-based environmental organization operating since 1987.
On my first visit, I recycled my old iPhone. On the second visit, I was given a
warehouse tour by co-founder and Executive Director Christine Datz-Romero.
Christine has a long history of environmental activism, pioneering composting and
e-waste programs. The warehouse has space to resell some old electronics at the
ReUse Store, a favorite of vintage lovers. If you are lucky, maybe you could find a
late 1990s vintage Apple desktop, like the legendary IMAC G3. If what you’re
looking for isn’t being sold, chances are you can rent it. The warehouse has a prop
library where the products are rented for shows and movies, like old record
players and tube TV sets, the likes of which broadcasted the Adam-12 series in
color.
Some of the e-waste is transformed into artworks, and ends up in art galleries.
Every year the Gowanus E-waste Center provides an Artist-in-Residence program
to supporting local artists. They give them studio space in the warehouse and
supply free access to the e-waste materials.
I met the artist Andrew Jan Hauner, the current art resident at the Gowanus E-
waste warehouse. He loves to create art objects camera lenses and TV screens.
It’s the best end-use for this waste, rather than continuing to spoil the soil in
landfills. Andrew is also a child educator for a crafts program in the KoKo NYC
studio in the Open Source Gallery in South Slope.
E-waste is just as bad in the commercial sector. In most cases, superintendents
and facility workers will put CFL tubes into black garbage bags and dump it into
trash - legal or commercial property landlords must pay private contractors to
recycle e-waste. Some landlords are reluctant to pay and it’s easier to tell supers
to sneak the e-waste out into garbage bags.
I walked around Park Slope for a couple of days and took dozens of pictures of the
dumped CFL tubes in garbage cans. These CFL tubes will likely break down and
become hazardous mercury released into our air.
The NYC Department of Sanitation has certain instructions and suggestions about
proper discharging and recycling of e-waste as well as recommended drop-off
spots, but few folks follow that. You can drop off fluorescent tubes & CFL’s,
devices containing mercury at Home Depot, Ikea and Lowe’s. If you live in the
Brooklyn or Staten Island’s buildings of up to 10 units, you can request electronic
Sanitation Department’s curbside pick-up. I want to suggest for PSFC members, if
you don’t want to wait for DSNY e-waste events or make a special trip to drop-off
sites, maybe we can install a few containers, one for the alkaline/rechargeable
batteries and another for the small GFL lamps. When it fills up, our
Environmental Committee members, (me, for example) can bring it down to the
Gowanus E-waste warehouse.
Next time there is good weather and you are going with your kids to buy Brooklyn
made ice cream at the Ample Hills creamery, please, take with you couple of used
batteries, CFL lamp or an old Iphone to drop off at the Gowanus E-waste
warehouse on your way. Make a contribution for clean organic healthy non-
mercury-containing milk made ice-cream!

Links:
Information about a Sanitation Department drop-off spots:
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/site/services/electronics/electronics-
drop-off-locations
Gowanus E-waste warehouse:
https://www.lesecologycenter.org/

Protecting Your Children from Common Environmental Toxins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 20:50:00 +0000

While environmental toxins are a concern for all of us, babies, toddlers and children are especially vulnerable to the damaging effects. As parents, we don’t always know when things in our everyday environment may expose our kids to potential harm.

Photo Credit: Prospectpark.org

The Coop’s Environmental Committee has compiled the information below to help you protect your family’s health.

Protecting kids from sunburn is really important but choose sunscreens without oxybenzone or retinyl palmitate. The first gets into the bloodstream and acts like estrogen in the body; the latter promotes skin tumors. Sunscreens with zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide are considered safe. >> Sun Screen Guide
The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that children are uniquely susceptibility to pesticides’ toxicity. If you cannot buy all-organic produce, consult the EWG’s “dirty dozen” and “clean 15” lists, which are revised every year, to make smart choices about which kinds of produce are safest for your kids. >> Shopper's Guides
Be aware that there is no such thing as plastic that is “safe” for children to suck on, chew on, or have their food exposed to, including plastic products labeled “BPA Free.” Never heat food in plastic and for storage choose alternatives like glass, stainless steel, aluminum foil, or wax paper.
Babies and children spend lots of time sleeping! When you buy a mattress for a crib or a children’s bed, look for one made without flame retardant chemicals, which expose kids to endocrine disrupting chemicals. >> Avoiding Flame Retardants
Do your kids want to play with makeup? Then you need to know that many makeup products, especially those marketed to kids like inexpensive glitter and eye shadow, contain asbestos fibers that can be inhaled and cause mesothelioma, an incurable cancer. Keep your kids away from these products and ask your members of Congress to pass the Personal Products Safety Act, which would require the FDA to review and restrict dangerous ingredients from cosmetics. >> Safer Cosmetics Guide
NYC schoolchildren have been lobbying the New York City Council to ban the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides like Roundup (glyphosate) in New York City parks and playgrounds – support them by contacting your council member and telling them you want poison free parks for your kids. >> Avoiding Pesticides

These tips are based on reports from The Environmental Working Group, whose mission is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. The group publishes a number of guides for parents including one with grades for common baby products.

Visit their website: www.ewg.org

------

Download this PDF

TIPS OF THE MONTH: Cleaners, drugs and pesticides, how to keep our water and gardens clean?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 23:47:00 +0000

New York City has some of the best water in the country but we can’t afford to take it for granted. Rather than sending toxic chemicals down the drain, use non-hazardous alternatives like lemon juice, vinegar, baking soda and plant oils for household cleaning, or buy nontoxic cleaning products from the coop.

Prescription and non-prescription drugs are released into the environment when flushed down toilets and sinks. Water from the Croton watershed, which supplies New York City with drinking water, contains detectable levels of pharmaceuticals. To find out how to dispose of drugs without polluting our water, visit www.Riverkeeper.org

Nobody wants bugs devouring their butternut squash, beetles killing their roses or poison ivy savaging
their skin. That said, Roundup and similar pesticides poison our soil, water and air – while supporting the
world’s worst agribusinesses.
Plant pest-resistant, native species and hand pull weeds. Think of it as
exercise!

News and Updates: TerraCycle Vote at May 30th GM /Change of Collection dates/ Collection guidelines

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 May 2017 21:23:00 +0000

Hello Coop Members and Friends of The Environmental Committee,

Those in support of TerraCycle please make an effort to go to the GM on MAY 30th and vote in favor on continuing this project.

Here is the wording of the proposal to be voted on.

Given the success, popularity, and continued requests for the plastic film collection we are making the following VOTE PROPOSAL:

—Establish a baseline annual budget of $5000 to continue an ongoing TerraCycle Fee Based Zero Waste Plastic Film collection with a caveat of up to an additional $1500 in bridge money as approved by the General Coordinators dependent on growth of the collection.

—Any permanent increase in the yearly budget will be taken up with the membership as needed given use, demand, and/or expansion of the Plastic Film collection.

*Please Make Note:Schedule Of Collection Change: the Saturday May 27th TerraCycle collection has been moved up to Saturday the 20th due to the Memorial Day weekend.

Plastic Film Collection Guidelines

Thank you for your support and participation in the TerraCycle Plastic Film Collection!

If you are making a deposit to the Plastic Film Collection, please be prepared to show your Coop membership card.

Please do not leave the collection until your entire deposit has been vetted, as we will return items to you that are not appropriate for the collection.

ALL PLASTIC FILM MUST COME FROM PURCHASES AT THE COOP

All items should be clean/rinsed as needed, and free of any food.

Please sort out all the Free Brigade items from the rest of your plastic film deposit.

Please be aware that we DO NOT ACCEPT the following:

*Dry cleaner bags

*Packing material of any kind

*Newspaper and magazine wrapping

*Packaging from products NOT PURCHASED at the Coop

*Branded packaging from any other store (e.g., Trader Joe’s, 360 WholeFoods, etc.)

*Shopping bags of any kind

*Large quantities of cling wrap or shrink wrap— – quantities must come from purchases at the Coop

*Roll bags from other stores

*Any item that can go in the Brigade collection (e.g., energy bar wrappers, cereal bag liners, etc.)

*Any other plastic not associated with Coop purchases

*Dirty, sticky plastic film or with food still on or in it

Please, if you want this collection to keep going and growing, please make a donation, especially if you are dropping off a large amount of plastic film waste.

Thanks!!!!

Coop Environmental Committee is joining the “Stop Climate Change” rally in New York 4/22

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 23:13:00 +0000

Hello and Welcome to the Environmental Committee Blog.
It's spring time and EARTH DAY is approaching.
Due to the emergency nature of U.S. threats to the world’s efforts to reduce climate change, rather than do educational tabling for Earth Day, this year the Coop Environmental Committee is joining the “Stop Climate Change” rally in New York and asking all interested Coop members to stand with us behind the Environmental Committee banner. If you would like to be part of our presence at the Earth Day Climate Change Rally, please meet us in front of the Coop at 11:15 on Saturday, April 22 so we can travel together to Folly Square.

Re: Tip of The Month (Reusable/Recyclable)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 16:07:00 +0000

Happy New Year! It's 2017 and time to look at how we can make our shopping trips more Eco friendly to the planet.

From the "Form Healthy Habits" website:

Opt for Reusable Products

Reusable products are less likely to end up in landfills, reducing your impact on the environment. Plus, despite their upfront cost being slightly higher, this type of product will save you money in the long-run. Ditch the paper plates, plastic cups, and disposable grocery bags and opt for reusable items instead.

Look for Recyclable Packaging

You can, of course, make your shopping trips greener by looking for products packaged in recyclable or reusable packages. As far as recycling goes, take a look at the packages you are buying and look for the “recyclable” icons on the plastic or can– then make sure you actually remember to recycle when you're finished with the product. In terms of reuse, glass jars and plastic containers can be used to store buttons, craft supplies, and even leftovers. All you have to do is make a conscious effort to buy things you can work with instead of things that will simply be thrown away.

Video: Why Plastic Bags Can’t Go with the Regular Recycling

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 22:33:00 +0000

Environmental Committee's Tip of the Month!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Nov 2016 15:59:00 +0000

Hello Coop Members!
Environmental Committee's Tip of the Month:

Try Non-Toxic Cleaning Products

Combine baking soda and vinegar for kitchen and bathroom cleaning.

Vinegar alone is great for cleaning glass windows and mirrors, as well as for getting cat odors out of fabric, wood floors or anything else.

Go online for tons of tips on cheap, nontoxic cleaning.

TerraCycle Collection at PSFC is expanding and needs your help! Learn more and join the squad.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 23:37:00 +0000

The TerraCycle Collection is expanding and needs YOUR help!

We currently have two work shifts, which fall on the second Wednesday of the month from 3:30 to 6:30p.m., and the fourth Saturday of the month 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

If these shift times do not work for you to become a squad member, we still want to hear from you as we are very interested in adding new collection times. Dedicated
FTOP workers are also welcome. If you can be on a shift more times than not, we
would definitely welcome you on shifts as much as you can schedule with us.

Info about the shift:

*Shifts are very stable, 12 shifts per year, no moving around the calendar
based on work week A, B, C. or D. Shifts are set for a particular day/time of
the month and do not change.

*Enjoy working your shift with like-minded environmentally conscious Coop
members, members you work with and members who drop off their recyclables.

*This shift is a very feel good shift knowing you are making a difference and
helping members to make a difference in improving our environment.

*The shift tends to go quickly as the collection is well received by members
and we tend to be busy throughout the shift.

*For most of the year, the collections are held outside and shift workers enjoy
fresh air.

*You will get your hands dirty—not unlike work on other shifts. We have
gloves available and you can go in periodically to wash your hands in the
bathroom.

*There will be a few shifts where weather may be of concern. We have a
policy to address hot, rainy, or frigid weather with consideration to workers’
comfort. More details are available if interested.

*The work of the shift does require a fair amount of standing and some light
lifting. At the end of each shift we carry or cart the boxes to the UPS store on
Flatbush and Seventh Aves

Interested in working the Wednesday or Saturday shift or starting a third collection time as your workslot? We want to hear from you! Contact Cynthia Pennycooke in the Membership Office: 718-622- 0560 AND Inquiries can be sent to rosenyny@gmail.com.
For more information about Terracycle, visit terracycle.com.

Expanded TerraCycle recycling is here at the Coop!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:53:00 +0000

Where:

Outside of the Coop except during inclement weather when collection will be held inside the Coop

Times:

2nd Wednesday of the month 3:45-6pm

4th Saturday of the month 1:45-4pm

(Please try to come at least 15 minutes before the end of the shift.)

New expanded plastic collection for Coop members only!

Please be ready to show your membership card.

New items collected:

Plastic bags/wrapping/packaging from most Coop items (both food and non food items.)
Plastic roll bags distributed by the Coop.
Thin plastic film wrapping from items such as cheese, meat, toilet paper, tea boxes etc.

NO foil backed packaging is accepted at the moment.

The regular TerraCycle collection is still available to Coop and non-Coop members!

Ongoing community collection items:

Toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, any brand and size.
Baby food pouches and caps, any brand
Energy bar wrappers (any brand but only energy bars)
Brita and other similar water filters
Plastic food storage zip loc bags, cling wrap and small bulk bags such as the bags used for spice, nuts and dried fruit.
Plastic cereal and cracker bags (no foil packaging)

NO shopping bags
Food residue and paper labels OK

It was a scorching June afternoon that heralded the arrival of the expanded TerraCycle collection here at the Park Slope Food Coop.

ONLY SOFT PLASTIC FROM COOP PURCHASES. More than one Fresh Direct labeled ziploc bag was handed back to sheepish members. Why? The Coop has to pay extra for the items in this expanded collection.

Donations of any amount are welcome!

Please wash food residue before handing over. The TerraCycle committee cannot send off plastic with food on it and if your plastic is dirty you will be asked to pop into the Coop to rinse it off.

It is really helpful to try and sort the various types of plastic if possible. The TerraCycle squad will always help but collections can get busy. Any extra organizing beforehand is always welcome.

Remember that everything from toothpaste to baby food pouches are collected.

The youngest member of the TerraCycle squad hits up the plastic sorting. If a five year old can sort plastic there's hope for all of us.

That's a girl's size amount of plastic waste saved

from landfills and out of our environment.

Tom, a Coop member for five years says this about the TerraCycle collection.

"I love it. I wish we could recycle everything. I wish we could do the dry cleaning bags. I wish we could do more. I would be all for that. It sickens me to see the amount of plastic we can't get rid of."

Tom has used roll bags only half a dozen times in five years. We can't all be Tom but we can certainly make sure our roll bags get recycled. Single use plastic is the most commonly used plastic found to affect wildlife.

Plastic People

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:29:00 +0000

Photo credit: Jenna Spevack

With the recent roll bag vote and the expanded TerraCycle collections happening at the Coop, plastic has had increased visibility among Coop members. However, there’s one area where plastic chemicals are ubiquitously present yet mostly unseen within the walls of 782 Union. Where? Actually inside our food and then ultimately in our bodies.

To understand how plastic chemicals end up food and then in people, a basic lesson in polymer chemistry is needed. Simplified, plastics are made up of long chains of plasticizer chemicals (a monomer is a plastic compound, which when strung together make up polymers that form the building blocks of plastic.) Plastics of course have a wide variety of uses. From hard, colored plastic to flexible, transparent cling film and other types of food packaging, plastics have brought a certain ease to many us living a modern life.

Unfortunately popular plastic chemicals share two characteristics that’s a problem for us. They are able to interact with the body’s hormonal systems (it is increasingly observed how detrimental they can be for human health) and secondly they don’t stay put. Plastic chemicals need very little to start migrating out into the wider environments they find themselves in. Promiscuous polymers are not what we tend to think about when we think about plastic, but there’s excellent data to show this migration clearly.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has observed the plasticizer BPA or Bisphenol-A in the urine of 93% of American’s tested and phthalates (the class of plastic chemicals used to make PVC) have been found in the majority of children tested. This is very concerning as phthalates are linked to a host of conditions affecting kids, including birth defects, asthma and allergies.

The public would be surprised to hear that food is major source of plasticizers like phthalates. After all no one intentionally eats plastic but dietary source of plastic chemicals can be oxymoronic to say the least, both in your face and hidden in plain sight. The plastic your food has been produced with and is wrapped and packaged in is the key source of this dietary exposure.

A 2013 New York study showed phthalates showing up in food bought in everyday supermarkets. The plasticizers were found in everything from turkey bacon, fresh salmon steaks, vegetable soup to even cake mix and bread. These food items were bought straight off the shelves in randomly selected supermarkets. You can see the entire list of food products here - and these chemicals will be found in both organic and conventional products.

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/121/4/ehp.1206367.t001.html

So what’s a Park Slope Food Coop member to do?

Well there are things that we can start doing right now:

Reducing the amount of food bought in plastic packaging and tin cans (cans are lined with a plastic film that is for the most part made from BPA and BPA alternatives such as BPS and BPF) is a start. Try bulk buying those garbanzo beans rather than getting tins, or using fresh ingredients to make foods like soups is a great way to avoid the cans.

Buying in season and freezing. Frozen peaches still come in soft plastic bags but peach season means an abundance of fruit at great prices that can easily be frozen in glass containers.

Using more cloth reusable bags for bulk and less plastic roll bags. These bags easily find their way into waterways, soil and other areas of our environment. Chemicals can leach from these bags as the plastic starts disintegrating and into it’s surroundings.

If you have to use roll bags, returning them in our extended TerraCycle collections will keep them out of general environmental circulation and recycling provides the building blocks for other plastic materials. Soft plastics are NOT covered by NYC recycling initiatives, so TerraCycle is one of the few ways to keep these plastics out of landfills etc.

One initiative worth exploring could be to allow members to buy more bulk with less plastic usage. This could work for things like cheese for example. It is currently possible to purchase some items in bulk, using your own non plastic packaging but it’s not widely advertised or done (it seems to be dependent on the shift and squad leader.) With more members interest, this could be something offered on an official ongoing basis.

REMEMBER THE NEXT TERRACYCLE IS TOMORROW SATURDAY 23rd JULY!

1 National Toxicology Program, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction Monographs on the Potential Human Reproductive and Developmental Effects: phthalates reviews available at: http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/evaluations/index.html

2 https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/assets/docs_a_e/bisphenol_a_bpa_508.pdf

3 http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/phthalates_factsheet.html

4 http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1206367/

Re: Starting June 8th-Expanded Plastic Collection at Park Slope Food Coop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 May 2016 22:15:00 +0000

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND SEE DETAILS!

Plastic as Food Poisoning

noreply@blogger.com (Regina Weiss) — Sun, 08 May 2016 13:39:00 +0000

It’s very difficult to eat or drink these days without ingesting plastic, which comes into contact with nearly all commercially sold foods. Cardboard milk containers and cans of peas are coated with plastic; it is sprayed on produce to preserve freshness and used to irrigate, mulch, wrap and transport fruits and vegetables.

Since the 1950s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has known that plastic “migrates” into the food and drinks it comes in contact with. In fact, until 2002 “food grade” plastic was classified by the FDA as an “indirect food additive.” And since the 1990s, when scientists worldwide began monitoring urinary concentrations of environmental chemicals, it’s been known that virtually all of us have chemicals in our blood and tissue that migrated from plastic food wrap, bags, packaging and bottles.

As was covered in a Gazette Coop Environmental Committee Report last year, these chemicals are known endocrine disrupters that are linked to health risks ranging from diabetes to high blood pressure to infertility and more.

As attorney Lisa Kaas Boyle put it:

Plastic is food poisoning. The chemicals you are eating and drinking [from plastic] are changing you on a cellular level, altering your chromosomes in ways that can lead to infertility, obesity, and cancer. For women, estrogenic mimicking chemicals can cause breast cancer; for men, these chemicals cause prostrate cancer, reduced penis and testicle size and low testosterone. These threats are not hypothetical. They have been proven in the lab and demonstrated in real world studies.

Many items sold in the Coop – as elsewhere – come packaged in plastic. But, as the Natural Resources Defense Council notes, “[W]e really can’t shop our way out of the problem. It’s unfair to put all that responsibility on consumers. Change needs to happen at the policy level. We shouldn’t have to worry about whether what we buy is safe or not.”

The European Food Safety Authority has been reevaluating the safety of all chemical additives permitted in food sold in the European Union. If enough consumers demand it, the United States will have to follow suit.

Meanwhile, for Coop members who want to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals they consume from plastic, and who want to protect their children from the harmful effects, here are some steps you can take:

• Whenever possible, buy food stored in glass containers rather than plastic or metal. If you must buy a food item that comes in plastic, repackage it at home.

• Some items – like ketchup for example – are available in both plastic and glass containers; ask the buyers at the Coop and anywhere else you shop to order food in glass containers wherever possible.

• Throw out plastic bowls, storage containers, and utensils you have at home and replace them with glass, wood or metal items.

• Whenever possible, wrap food in foil or wax paper, rather than plastic

• Use paper or cloth bags for buying and storing produce, grains, flour, nuts and other items, rather than plastic.

• Instead of disposal or reusable plastic water bottles, use unlined stainless steel or glass bottles.

• Say “no thanks” to paper receipts. Thermal paper receipts, which are now common, contain a toxic plastic in a form that is easily absorbed.

• Wash your hands frequently and always before you eat and make sure your kids do the same, (using soap without harmful anti-bacterial ingredients).

The Coop Environmental Committee has worked for almost two decades to reduce the presence of plastic in the coop. Committee educational campaigns convinced coop members to vote to end the use of plastic shopping bags and the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles. The committee is currently working toward ridding the coop of the hundreds of thousands of disposable plastic roll bags we use each year, and continues to educate our fellow members about shopping with less plastic.

Plastic has been an ongoing concern for the environmental committee because plastic products generally don’t biodegrade. They end up in landfills and oceans, where they pollute soil and water, harming wildlife and humans alike. Additional environmental downsides of plastic include its production, which pollutes the air, wastes huge quantities of water and relies on carbon-producing fossil fuels and many toxic chemicals. But even if none of these other problems with plastic existed, the threat to human health would be enough of a concern to rid our food stream of plastic.

In the past year or so the failure of agencies like the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency to test most of the chemicals humans are exposed to has been in the news. As public awareness of this huge problem grows, there will be openings to demand greater action on food safety, including the ubiquitous presence of plastic in our food. The Environmental Committee will follow related developments and keep Coop members informed when opportunities for advocacy arise. The Coop also has other committees that look at issues related to food safety, like the GMO Labeling Committee and the International Trade Education Squad. All benefits of being a Coop member and reading The Gazette.

APRIL 26th- Upcoming Vote for Zero Waste Fee-Based Plastic Packaging Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 23:11:00 +0000

Upcoming Vote for Zero Waste Fee-Based Plastic Packaging Collection
When: April 26th, Tuesday night, 7pm General Meeting

Where: St. Francis Xavier School, 763 President Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues

What: Phase II of the TerraCycle collection will allow for collection of a very broad array of plastic packaging waste from products sold at the coop. This waste will be upcycled and repurposed to create long lasting useful items (e.g., decking and fencing, planting barrels, garbage cans, etc.)

This vote is for a year long trial which will allow for a full assessment of use and participation. It should be noted, the Coop is under no contractual obligation with this program. We can discontinue the trial at anytime, if needed.

How: In addition to our current participation in 6 free brigades (small bulk bags, food storage bags, cling wrap; Brita filters; baby food pouches; toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes; cereal bag liners; and energy bar wrappers), if approved, we will participate in TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Fee-based Plastic Packaging Waste Collection.

When are collections: Collections for the free brigade items (see above) are currently the Second Wednesday of the month (4 to 6pm) and the Fourth Saturday of the month (2 to 4pm). If approved, the plastic packaging waste will be added to these collection times. We expect to add additional collection times in the future.

Cost: Participation fee for the Zero Waste Plastic Packaging Collection is $208 per bin (15 x 15 x 42 inches and includes shipping costs). Based on preliminary compressing trials, these bins will hold a very high volume of compressed plastic packaging waste. The proposal is capped at a budget of $5000 for the year, which allows for 2 bins per month. Members can choose to make a donation when making deposits to help with the cost.

Participation: Participation for deposits to the 6 free brigades is open to members and non-members. Deposits to the fee based plastic packaging collection will be limited to coop members only—a coop membership card will need to be shown prior to a deposit. All free brigade waste will be sorted first into appropriate collection bins and remaining plastic packaging waste will go into the fee-based bin.

Members will be asked to limit their deposits to plastic packaging waste generated from produce/products bought at the coop.

Let’s be responsible with the waste we produce and see to it that our plastic packaging waste is upcycled and repurposed and not sent to landfills.

Spring Coop News: EarthDay Event, TerraCycle Collection and upcoming VOTE at GM.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 15:12:00 +0000

The Environmental Committee is promoting a new partnership between the PSFC and TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company that transforms hard to recycle waste into new products- keeping more waste out of landfills.
WHEN:
Wednesday April 13th from 4-6pm.
Saturday April 23rd from 2-4pm.
WHERE:
In front of the Coop or inside if the weather is frigid.
WHAT
*Please presort and separate items by category
*No need to clean or remove labels
*Please do not bring any other items than those listed:
Toothpaste tubes, any brand and size (toothbrushes okay too)
Baby food pouches and caps (any brand)
Energy bar wrappers (any brand but only energy bars—no other wrappers please)
Brita filters (other filter brands okay) plus other Brita filter related items
Plastic food storage zip lock bags (any size), plastic cling wrap, and small bulk bags (Please no plastic roll bags or shopping bags)
Cereal bag and cracker bag liners or bulk cereal bags (any brand)
UPCOMING VOTE: Tuesday, April 26, 7:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: St. Francis Xavier School, 763 President Street.
VOTING ON: TerraCycle Fee-based, Zero Waste Plastic Packaging Collection Bin
Proposal: Vote for a year long trial of the TerraCycle Zero Waste Plastic Packaging bin collection. Cost not to exceed $5000. Budget allows for 24 bins, 2 per month. If approved, start date is Summer 2016.—submitted by Rosemary Calderon

EARTH DAY AT COOP:
To honor Earth Day, on Sunday April 17th from 12pm to 4pm, members of the Environmental Committee will be setup at Coop outside! They are there to offer some tips, offer information and listen to your concerns. Come stop and say hi.

New Year News: Coop members can help protect Adirondack Park

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 22:15:00 +0000

Have you heard of the Adirondack park? Spent time there to appreciate it's majestic beauty? It's a six-million-acre National treasure.
The Adirondack Park includes New York's Forest Preserve in Upstate New York. Unlike most preserves, about 52 per cent of the land is privately-owned. The Nature Conservancy bought a piece of this land (called Boreas Ponds) from a timber company, and now NY STATE is going to buy the land for the public – you and me! Right now the park's coalition is working with the governor on the protection details for this piece of land. (Bottom line – motors or no motors.)
Governor Cuomo has an historic opportunity to create a world-renowned, spectacular motor-free area covering more than 280,000-contiguous acres in the heart of the Adirondack Park. The Governor needs to hear from thousands of people like you who want to protect our Adirondack legacy and support Wilderness. CLICK HERE AND Please sign the petition today!
And Click here to listen to an interview with Diane White Fish, Deputy Director of Adirondack Council, about why they need Coop members to become Advocates for this land!
*On SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6th from 12pm to 2pm, members of the Environmental Committee will be at Coop to collect signatures and can share information about this issue. If you are shopping then come by see us across from egg area.

Holiday Dates for TerraCycle Collection at PSFC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 19:19:00 +0000

Hello!

Attention Park Slope Food Coop Members: As many of you know Terra Cycle Collection has begun at Coop! It is usually set up outside coop unless inclement weather moves it inside to conference room. Here are some schedule changes for the collections due to upcoming Holiday:
the Saturday TerraCycle collection dates for December will change to the THIRD Saturday, 12/19. We will resume our regular second Wednesday and fourth Saturday schedule in January.

WHAT'S BEING COLLECTED:
*Toothpaste tubes, any brand and size
(toothbrushes OK too)
*Baby food pouches and caps (any brand)
*Energy bar wrappers (any brand but only energy bars—no other wrappers please)
*Brita filters (other filter brands okay) plus other
Brita filter–related items
*Plastic food storage zip lock bags (any size), plastic cling
wrap, and small bulk bags (NO PLASTIC ROLL BAGS OR SHOPPING BAGS)
*Cereal bag and cracker bag liners or bulk cereal bags

See you this Saturday December 19th 2pm to 4pm!

PLEASE NOTE ADJUSTED DATES FOR TERRACYCLE COLLECTION AT PSFC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 17:36:00 +0000

Park Slope Food Coop Members, PLEASE NOTE: A change in the Saturday TerraCycle collection dates for November and December to the THIRD Saturday for those two months, 11/21 and 12/19. We will resume our regular fourth Saturday schedule in January. Second Wednesdays remain unchanged, 11/11 and 12/9.

TerraCycle Events coming up -Tomorrow- Sept. 26th from 2pm to 4pm outside the Coop.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 20:56:00 +0000

WHAT'S BEING COLLECTED:

*Toothpaste tubes, any brand and size

(toothbrushes OK too)

*Baby food pouches and caps (any brand)

*Energy bar wrappers (any brand but only energy

bars—no other wrappers please)

*Brita filters (other filter brands okay) plus other

Brita filter–related items

*Plastic food storage zip lock bags (any size), plastic cling

wrap, and small bulk bags (NO PLASTIC ROLL BAGS OR

SHOPPING BAGS)

*Cereal bag and cracker bag liners or bulk cereal bags

WHEN:

4th Saturday of the month, 2pm - 4pm

2nd Wednesday of the month, 4pm - 6pm

WHERE: OUTSIDE THE COOP or inside during inclement weather.

Save up your eligible waste for upcoming collection dates!

QUESTIONS:

ecokvetch@yahoo.com

Adirondack Council- Take Action

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 22:56:00 +0000

Terracycle starts Wednesday July 8th!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 15:24:00 +0000

More Recycling Opportunities Starting Wednesday July 8th!

The vote is in and members at the May GM unanimously voted to create workshifts to collect a variety of hard to recycle packaging in partnership with TerraCycle.

We will start collections in July. The 2nd Wednesday of the month (JULY 8th) and 4th Saturday of the month (JULY 25th). Collections will be open to members and non-members.

These will be our regular collection days to start:

Wednesdays 4 to 6pm
Saturdays 2 to 4 pm.

Please see below for details of what we are collecting. Looking forward to your participation.

Questions or interested in changing your current workshift to a Terracycle workshift on Wednesday? Please contact ecokvetch@yahoo.com.

PSFC—TerraCycle Recycling Collections
When: 2nd Wednesday of the month 4 to 6pm, 4th Saturday of the month 2 to 4pm

Where: Outside in front of the Coop (weather permitting - otherwise, inside during inclement weather)

What to bring:

Toothpaste tubes, any brand and size (toothbrushes okay too)
Baby food pouches and caps (any brand)
Energy bar wrappers (any brand but only energy bars—no other wrappers please)
Brita filters (other filter brands okay) plus other Brita filter related
Plastic food storage zip lock bags (any size), plastic cling wrap, and small bulk bags (PLEASE NO PLASTIC ROLL BAGS OR SHOPPING
Cereal bag and cracker bag liners or bulk cereal bags (any brand)

**PLEASE PRESORT AND SEPARATE ITEMS BY CATEGORY

**NO NEED TO CLEAN OR REMOVE LABELS
**PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY OTHER ITEMS THAN THOSE

MAY 26th The TerraCycle Vote happens at General Meeting. Come and Vote!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 May 2015 18:56:00 +0000

What is Terracycle?

TerraCycle is a highly-awarded, international upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products, that would otherwise be destined for landfills, and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products. More than just a recycling company, TerraCycle strives to be a driving force behind increasing environmental awareness and action. Their goal is to be a trusted resource for families, schools, communities, and corporations to find tips, stats, facts. TerraCycle is widely considered the world’s leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable, post-consumer waste. You can go to their website at www.terracycle.com to learn more about them.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TERRACYCLE by clicking HERE

On May 26th at The Park Slope Food Coop's General Meeting the vote to bring TerraCycle to the Coop will happen. Show up and make your voice heard.

Here is the report and proposal that will be voted on.

Environmental Committee Report

By Rosemary Calderon

The Environmental Committee brings you more opportunities for recycling: PSFC partnering with TerraCycle.

In January, February and March the Environmental Committee held three recycling waste collections to introduce coop members to the TerraCycle program for free collection of waste currently not accepted by New York City recycling. Over the 3 months, awareness of the collection spread and participation grew larger each time. Members asked for more ongoing collections. The message is clear: Coop members are committed to recycling!

The next step is to weave these collections into the fabric of our coop lifestyle by creating ongoing monthly collections by way of instituting a minimum of two work shifts per month; three work shifts if there is enough demand. Each work shift will have a minimum of 3 work slots. Advancing these collections to regular monthly work shifts can only happen if coop members vote in favor of creating these monthly work shifts at the upcoming General Meeting.

How does it work?

The PSFC signs up for what are called TerraCycle “brigades.” These brigades are non-contractual and free to join. TerraCycle provides free shipping labels for the collected packaging materials to be sent to them. The coop incurs no fees to participate in any of the brigades.

Exactly what sorts of waste are we collecting?

Currently the EC is focusing on the following Brigades:

1) Cling plastic wrap, plastic sandwich bags and all sizes of zip lock plastic storage bags--This will allow us to recycle not only the regular plastic sandwich and larger storage bags, but more importantly, the small plastic bulk bags (though NOT the larger roll bags or shopping bags) and cling wrap, for example, used on bulk cheese. The bags and cling wrap do not have to be cleaned and the pricing sticker can remain on the small bulk bags and cling wrap.

2) Baby food pouches and caps—any brand

3) Cereal bag liners—these are the liners that come in cereal boxes, cracker boxes, the larger bulk cereal bags not in boxes, and similar such liners

4) Energy bar wrappers—any brand

5) Toothpaste tubes---any brand

6) Brita water filters and any part having to do with a Brita Water Filter system—other water filter brands are also accepted

How does this benefit coop members?

The benefit to coop members is intrinsic in that it provides us the well-being of keeping more waste out of the landfill. Additionally, once our waste is received and checked in to the TerraCycle facility, the PSFC will be credited with any TerraCycle points we may have earned for our waste. TerraCycle points can be redeemed for a variety of charitable gifts, or a payment of $0.01 per point is made to non-profit organization or school of our choice. We would direct any funds raised to non-profit projects/organizations currently supported by the Coop—the soup kitchen, environmental efforts, and supporting the establishment of more food coops.

We look for your support to establish ongoing work shifts for monthly collections with a vote at the upcoming General Meeting.

HAPPY EARTH DAY! Join us Sunday April 26th from 10am to 4pm

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 17:26:00 +0000

Happy Earth Day! Please join the Park Slope Food Coop's Environmental Committee at our Earth Day table on SUNDAY APRIL 26th from 10AM- 4PM in front of Coop. Join us and learn about ways to reduce waste while shopping for your healthy food! See you there!

Sierra Club's Beyond Coal NY campaign kick-off!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:56:00 +0000

Tuesday, March 24th
Community Church of NY
40 East 35th St.
6:30pm

Join the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal NY State effort to put pressure on Cuomo this year to close the remaining coal plants in NY State while making sure the people who live in those towns are taken care of, and putting in place the first offshore wind turbines off Long Island.

New Video! Feb 28th Next TerraCycle Collection at Park Slope Food Coop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:19:00 +0000

TerraCycle Collection is happening! FEBRUARY 28th 2pm-4pm at Park Slope Food Coop.