Green Guelph

This is a good resource folks! Check it out!

You can then contact the business or organization or visit its website for hours of operation and information about the accepted materials and drop-off procedures.

Most of the organizations require the material to be dropped off. Some organizations will pick up material, while others allow you to mail material to them.

Check out Anything and Everything for a list of online exchanges. These websites allow you to post items you want to give away or sell as well as search for materials you need or want.

Waste minimization is a key focus of the Solid Waste Management Master Plan. The Take It Back directory is one of the waste minimization initiatives the City is undertaking to help reach the waste diversion targets outlined in the Master Plan. The goal of the Take It Back directory is to provide convenient, alternative disposal options to prevent items from going to landfill.

Looking for more waste reduction ideas? Check out the links below for tips and information on the 3 Rs

Sorry for the late notice…. Green Drinks is tonight at 6:00 pm at the Woolwich Arms.

Some tips from a new business on how to lessen the impact that your home has on this lovely planet of ours:

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve recently started my own business offering eco-renovations. What’s that you ask? Well, an eco-renovation offers you the opportunity to make improvements to your home or business in a manner that protects the health of all the occupants, improves water and energy efficiency, pays attention to the global impacts of material choices, uses resources efficiently, saves you money, and allows you to take pride in your home and the difference you are making. I can tackle almost any kind of renovation, or can come in for a consultation about how you might make your home a greener place.

With the recent announcement in the federal budget of the Home Renovation Tax Credit, now is the time to jump on that renovation project you’ve been thinking about! You could receive a tax credit of up to $1350 for renovation work completed before February 1, 2010. I have some openings in my schedule coming up in February and March, so if there’s a home project you’ve been thinking about, get yourself in there before the spring rush!

Earthbound Eco-Renovations
improve energy efficiency – green building materials – enviro-friendly paints – consulting – renovations
Zack Benson
benson.zack@gmail.com
(519) 830-4412

The Green Home Files – Issue #1 – Saving Energy

Did you know that more than 17 per cent of the energy consumed in Canada is used to light, heat, and power our homes? Over the past 15 years, Canada’s energy use increased by nearly 22%, resulting in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are a whopping 29% above Kyoto targets. The good news is that education, efforts at conservation, and new standards for energy efficiency in home heating and appliances are making big savings in the residential sector.

Here’s a few things you can do that are quick, easy and cost little or nothing to save on your energy bills and reduce that ecological footprint.

Clear the way. – Make sure warm-air registers, baseboard heaters and radiators are clean and aren’t blocked by furniture or drapes. Don’t close registers in rooms that are rarely used. Although it might seem to save a bit, it actually reduces overall system efficiency and may increase duct leakage significantly.

Get those electronics off standby. – Most of our modern TV’s, computers, DVD players, stereo’s, etc. have a standby feature to make it more convenient to turn them on and use them right away without having to wait for warm up. You know that little light that stays on all the time even when you think the power is off? Don’t be lulled into thinking that teensy little light can’t be drawing much power. An average desktop computer in “sleep” or “hibernate” mode continuously draws 17 watts of power. You can adjust standby settings on some devices, but you’re best to just unplug the thing. Put multiple devices on a power bar and simply click the power off when you’re all done with them.

Keep the fridge clean and clear. - It’s not a fun job, but cleaning the coils under your fridge every couple of months can make a big difference in efficiency. All that dust and dog hair prevents heat from dissipating properly. Similarly there should be good airflow around the back and underneath the fridge to allow the same.

Insulate and seal that attic hatch. – This often overlooked opening in your ceiling is often just a single piece of plywood funneling your precious heat up to the sky. Glue some thick rigid foam to the back of it, and make sure it’s sealed well with weather stripping.

Water Heaters . – Many tank water heaters are set higher than they need to be to provide a comfortable level of hot water. Lower the thermostat a bit (don’t go below 120°F) and see if you notice a difference. Also, sediment on the bottom of a gas water heater’s tank reduces efficiency of the heating system. Flush the tank once a year by switching the gas control to “pilot” (know how to relight it if necessary) and filling pails from the drain valve at the bottom. Leave the cold water inlet at the top running to help flush out sediment.

Get an energy audit done and get a cash rebate. – Though you can try to do your own energy audit, hiring a qualified energy auditor, licensed by Natural Resources Canada’s EcoENERGY retrofit program will help you make informed decisions, and prioritize what improvements will give you the biggest payback. NRC offers incentives of up to $5000 on completed improvements recommended by the energy audit. There are several other exciting incentive programs offered by various levels of government that are also available.

If you have any questions about these or other great energy saving ideas, please feel free to contact me. Thanks, and have an energy wise day!

Zack

Earthbound Eco-Renovations
improve energy efficiency – green building materials – enviro-friendly paints – consulting – renovations
Zack Benson
benson.zack@gmail.com
(519) 830-4412

On Wednesday evening, Everpure, a local biodiesel co-op is hosting an information session at the guelph civic museum, from 7-9 p.m. we’ll be talking about sustainable vs. unsustainable biofuels, local food systems, and our members’ experiences in our first season of operation.

Biodiesel: A sustainable alternative fuel made from waste vegetable oils.
Do you drive a diesel vehicle? Looking for a high quality alternative fuel that is safe, compatible with conventional diesel, and competitively priced? With enough community demand, the Everpure Biodiesel Co operative will start
distributing this alternative fuel in Guelph in the spring of 2009.

Come and learn more at our information session

7-9pm Wednesday January 28th
@ the Guelph Civic Museum
6 Dublin St S (at Waterloo Av.)

Watch a brief presentation, then take part in a question and answer period, where we can discuss the details of biodiesel and our Co-op, including membership and pricing. Refreshments will be served.

For more information call 519-217-3557
Or visit www.everpurebiod.ca

Here is the latest update on Ben’s new home where he and his wife are renovating it to be the greenest home ever (well maybe not ever, but pretty close.)
He is the owner of a business called HARVEST HOMES. The link to his website for info on what he can do for you with your home is in my link section. Check it out!

So here is the latest article from the Guelph Mercury about the use of “grey water”.

Enjoy:

January 23, 2009
Scott Tracey
Mercury Staff

A simple request of city hall landed home builder Ben Polley in a pilot project that could revolutionize how residents flush their toilets.

Really.

Polley and his wife, Jen Woodside, bought a heritage home on Manitoba Street last fall. The couple wanted to make the house as energy efficient as possible, and while speaking to city officials about whether they could reuse grey water in their new home, Polley learned a pilot project was in the works to do just that.

Polley is the owner of Harvest Homes, which builds houses with straw bales, and asked to be part of the pilot.

“We got involved a little bit by accident and good fortune,” he said yesterday.

As well as Harvest Homes, the city has partnered with Reid’s Heritage Homes, Fusion Homes and Terra View Homes on the grey water reuse project.

Grey water reuse systems will be installed in 30 homes, beginning later this year, and will be monitored to see how effective they are at reducing water consumption.

Wayne Galliher, the city’s water conservation project manager, explained “grey water” is used water leaving sinks, bathtubs and washing machines. Such water will be collected, disinfected and stored in tanks in the homes’ basements, and then used instead of clean water to flush toilets.

“I think most people agree that potable water isn’t required for toilet flushing,” Galliher said.

Polley said reusing grey water makes economic sense.

“Economically it’s not really worth cleaning that water to a higher grade for something like drinking, but it’s ideal to use for something like flushing toilets,” he said.

Galliher said there are other economic benefits to reusing grey water.

It is expected using grey water for toilet flushing should reduce consumption in those homes by about 30 per cent — and reduce the water bill accordingly — “so there are some large-scale benefits to be realized,” Galliher said.

Polley, who has been incorporating energy-efficient measures into every project since starting his company in 2000, praised the city for proactively taking on the pilot project.

While solar panels and wind turbines have been used for some time to reduce reliance on electricity, Polley said increasingly his clients are also “looking for alternatives which will reduce our grid water dependence.”

Polley noted while most of the homes in the pilot project will likely be located in new subdivisions, he will install a grey water reuse system in his new home just outside Guelph’s downtown core.

“It ought not to matter to the city where we decrease demand, as long as we decrease demand,” he said.

Here is a letter, submitted to the Guelph Mercury about the extensive testing that goes on in the Nestle Bottled Water plants.

John B. Challinor

Dear Editor – Re: “City applauded for efforts to cut back bottled water” (Guelph Mercury, Jan. 15).

In this well-written and balanced article, reporter Thana Dharmarajah quotes Council of Canadians national chair Maude Barlow as saying that “65 million empty plastic water bottles are thrown into landfills every year.” In Windsor earlier last week, Barlow claimed the figure was 650 million.

Both figures are incorrect.

About 93 per cent of Canadians have access to plastic beverage container recycling. Plastic bottle recycling rates nationally vary from 55 per cent to 93 per cent, with a national average of about 60 per cent, according to government and industry organizations responsible for collecting this information.

For example, according to Stewardship Ontario, a 2005 single family housing waste audit conducted over four seasons in Toronto found an 87.8 per cent recycling rate for plastic beverage containers. Stewardship Ontario also estimates that plastic water bottles account for less than one-fifth of one per cent of the municipal solid waste stream in Canada. If the bottled water industry was to disappear tomorrow, there would be no appreciable difference in the volume of refuse going to landfill.

Barlow is also quoted as stating that our industry is likely “inspected once a year, if not once every three years, whereas municipal tap water is tested continuously during and after treatment.”

This is also incorrect. Bottled water is held to the same scrutiny as tap water. Bottled water is regulated as a packaged food product by Health Canada through the Food and Drug Act.

With respect to testing, for example, the City of Guelph reportedly performed 18,800 tests on its water in 2007. Nestlé Waters Canada, which has a 40 per cent share of the Ontario market, performs more than 1,700 tests on its water supply daily or more in two weeks than the City of Guelph does in 12 months. A copy of our testing activities is available upon request. Testing is also conducted via regular, surprise inspections by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada, the Canadian Bottled Water Association and NSF International.

Nestlé Waters Canada subjects its finished products and source water to microbiological analysis every day that exceeds the microbiological requirements outlined in the Safe Water Drinking Act, which governs both municipal tap water and bottled water.

– John B. Challinor, director of corporate affairs, Nestlé Waters Canada, Guelph

Happy New Year Green Drinkers!
Guelph Green Drinks is today, Tuesday January 20, 2009 from 6-8pm at the Woolwich Arms Pub.

I hope to be there. I’ve missed the last 3 or 4. Bad Cam!

Below is a message from Green Drinks International Coordinator.
Green Drinks News Year End 2008
Hello Green Drinks everywhere!

Happy Year-End Celebrations to you all, here’s hoping your had a great year in 2008 and best wishes for Green Drinking in 2009.

I have a few news items for you:

The Green Drinks Code
This important text encapsulates everything Green Drinks is about in terms of code of conduct (how people should behave) and genetic code (the DNA of how Green Drinks operates and spreads):

See http://greendrinks.org/index.php?city=Start

Please have a good look at it — there should be no surprises in there. I would like all cities to comply with this code and I’m sure everyone does already — it’s simply formalising the spirit of Green Drinks so it’s clear to newcomers as we continue to expand.

I just got back from the Unbottle It event at Norfolk United Church. I didn’t protest Syd. I didn’t appreciate or support his over the top comments about Israel over the last two weeks but his comments about bottled water struck a chord with me. He was about a 3rd of the presentation.

Here’s my notes from tonight for those that couldn’t attend.

Opening music by James Gordon (of course)

Then “The Warmers” theatre group came down the church isle with bottles on their fingers pretending they were trees and clapping their bottles together. When they got to the front of the church they dropped their bottles and then made their way back up the church in harmony and naturally blowing in the wind without the bottles. (Kinda weird to be honest, but did make a good point. James Gordon played a loop with about 10 different layers and it was amazing!)

Maude (the main speaker) came on up and started her talk.

She wants to defend Public water. The global water crisis is ecological due to pollution, displacement and demand & supply. The World Health Organization says that 80% of all deaths can be attributed to water issues. (I’m assuming that’s 3rd world stats but I may be wrong). Native reserves need attention. She wants to protect our public water sources especially with a Province wide ban on bottled water in public places ( government owned).

Bottled water is pollution. Oil is used (energy) to make the bottles, Co2 is put into the air for making them. The disposal of them is horrible. Only 35% is actually recycled. In Ontario alone 650 Million bottles end up not recycled.

Water shouldn’t be a private commodity. Water is on the stock exchange now. We must watch out for the marketing hype. Especially for our children. We need better infrastructure for our water system in Ontario. (I agree by the way). Water should be a right. No children should die in our world from lack of water. (I totally agree with that).

There is alos a myth that we have an abundance of water. That is just not true apparently. She challenged us to be leaders and taking a stand against the bottled water industry. She also said that not only do we (humans) have a right to water but that we need to be giving nature the water it deserves as well.

Then Syd got up.

He thanked all his brothers and sisters from CUPE.  He fights against privitazation. He’s a progressive activist (whatever that means). CUPE has 225,000 members across Ontario.

1 8th of a cent is what it costs to make a litre of water from your public source.

Karen Farbridge (Our current mayor) is apparently working closely with someone from the local union (couldn’t remember the name), to try and install water filling stations for the public offices and centres around Guelph so that people can fill up their own containers as they may be pushing towards banning water bottles in Guelph.

That was about it folks. Those are my notes.

I thought it was a good event actually. There were a lot of people there. Guelph is good place for these types of issues though. I learned a lot and look, 2 years or so I wasn’t interested in this stuff at all. I’m not all up in arms about this issue but I truly believe we don’t need bottled water.

I’m thirsty now. I think I’ll get a drink of water from my tap now.

Have a great night folks,

Cam Guthrie

I’ve been wanting to attend the “UnBottle It” speaking tour for the last little while now. I knew that the 15 city speaking tour was coming through Guelph and I support that. I’ve blogged about it many times here.

They are arriving in Guelph tonight, January 14th 7pm, Norfolk United Church.

I recently don’t support Syd Ryan though, and I just found out that he’s part of this speaking tour.

If you don’t know about this guy yet, here’s why I’m upset:

Ryan has created a controversy for his call to ban Israeli academics from Canadian universities unless they denounce Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

As stated in the Guelph Mercury today:

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a UN-accredited NGO that works to improve Canadian society by countering hate and antisemitism, asked CUPE National President Paul Moist and CUPE Ontario’s membership to call for Ryan’s resignation today.

Today, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center is issuing letters to Moist, select members of government, CUPE Ontario leadership and the center’s more than 25,000 donors and supporters in an effort to encourage:

1. CUPE members to reflect on Mr. Ryan’s recent behaviour, proposed academic censorship, blatant anti-Israel campaign and selective understanding of Middle East affairs and reconsider his ability to lead the union.

Also posted on Jan 5th from the National Post:

Jonathan Kay on the disgusting anti-Israeli bigtory of Sid Ryan and CUPE Ontario
Posted: January 05, 2009, 5:31 PM by Jonathan Kay

As usual when Israel fights back at terrorists, Canadian leftists are lining up behind the men in the masks and suicide vests. But no one has disgraced himself — and his organization — quite so much as Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

Mr. Ryan’s Gaza plan: Boycott the victim. In a Jan. 5 press release, he declared: “We are ready to say Israeli academics should not be on our campuses unless they explicitly condemn the [Dec. 29 bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza] and the assault on Gaza in general. It’s a logical next step.”

Never mind that Israel’s campaign in Gaza has been humane by military standards — surgically killing hundreds of Hamas gunmen yet only a few dozen of their human shields. And never mind that the Islamic University is a suspected arms depot for Hamas. Where, we ask, were the CUPE boycotts against academics from Russia, China, Sri Lanka, or any of the many other nations whose battles against terrorists have resulted in a far greater civilian toll?

Nowhere. On this file, Mr. Ryan and his fellow CUPE leaders care about demonizing only one country: the Jewish state.

There’s a name for that kind of bigotry, isn’t there? Remember to speak its name plainly next time you meet a CUPE Ontario employee.

So there you have it. The Environmentalist in me wants to go to the event – The other part of me wants to let Syd Ryan know exactly how I feel about his comments.

Decisions, decisions.

I have used your flyers as my wrapping paper this year.

Cam