News

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Virtual Sustainability Lab

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Published on Monday March 15th, 2021

The Lab will be held virtually this month!

Virtual Sustainability Lab via Zoom - 

Transit, Equity, and Sustainability

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 Virtual Sustainability Lab

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Published on Wednesday February 10th, 2021

The Lab will be held virtually this month!

Virtual Sustainability Lab via Zoom - 

Water and Waste

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 Virtual Sustainability Lab

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Published on Monday January 11th, 2021

The Lab will be held virtually this month!

Virtual Sustainability Lab via Zoom - 

2021 Sustainability Lab Discussion Sessions

3:35 - 3:45: Check-in join the Zoom and play trivia

3:45 - 4:45: Break into discussion session groups

If you cannot attend the event and would like to provide feedback please fill out the survey below. Thank you!

2 minute Sustainability Lab Survey

December 2020 We Are OneSTL - Emily Andrews

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Published on Wednesday December 30th, 2020

To wrap up 2020, we were happy to feature Emily Andrews as our We Are OneSTL December spotlight!

Emily is the Executive Director of the U.S. Green Building Council Missouri Gateway Chapter,  co-chair of  the OneSTL Energy and Emissions Working Group, and a native St. Louisan. In December, we shared how she got involved in sustainability, the importance of collaboration, her vision for the St. Louis region, and more.

Many thanks to Emily! 

Here is your sneak peek of her story… all her posts can be seen on our Instagram.

“In the next year, the U.S. Green Building Council - Missouri Gateway Chapter and the City of St. Louis will launch an Energy Resource Hub for the region, which will help building owners and operators make energy improvements. I hope there will be opportunities to expand the work beyond the city limits. The City of St. Louis has led the way, but now it is time for the rest of the region to step up and follow their lead…”

#energyefficiency #GreenBuildings #ClimateChange #ReduceEmissions #collaboration #climateleader #OneSTL #STL #StLouis #sustainability

Holiday Recycling with Elysia Musumeci

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Published on Wednesday December 23rd, 2020

Thanks to KTRS for the feature on OneSTL’s new campaign - Return Plastic Bags and Wraps. Elysia Musumeci from Brightside St. Louis (an OneSTL partner) shared some timely recycling tips for the holidays and beyond. Give the segment a listen today!

Return Plastic Bags and Wraps

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Published on Tuesday December 15th, 2020

Return Plastic Bags and Wraps

Did you know that plastic bags and wraps are the #1 contaminant in the single-stream recycling process? In 2020, the OneSTL Materials and Recycling Working Group launched an awareness and education campaign centered on encouraging St. Louis area residents to return their plastic bags and wraps to local retailers.

Why It's Important

While the transition to single-stream recycling has resulted in many great benefits, contaminants - particularly plastic bags and wraps - can be a real challenge.

Plastic bags and wraps are recyclable, they're just NOT recyclable through single-stream process. When plastic bags and wraps get mixed with the six acceptable items, they create a few challenges when they get mixed with the six acceptable items - specifically:

1. They Create More Waste

When plastic bags and wraps are mixed among approved items, sorting facilities end up with a tangled mess of what once were good recyclable items. Plastic bags and wraps end up diverting good recyclables away from processing centers - and these good recyclable items end up in the landfill. This wastes all the effort of recycling and results in creating MORE WASTE.

2. They Create Downtime in Processing Facilities

When plastic bags and wraps end up at recycling centers, equipment becomes jammed and sorting processes have to be stopped. Some days, 5 hours of production time is lost. This increases processing costs by millions and causes some processing facilities to run at 67% of full capacity. This WASTES time and energy.

3. They Create Dangerous Conditions for Workers

Plastic bags get snagged in sorting machines and workers have to untangle these obstructions by hand. The process of clearing jammed equipment is incredibly dangerous for recycling center workers. They actually have to climb into machinery and cut the tangled bags and wraps out by hand. This DANGER can be avoided. It is about keeping plastic bags and wraps out of home recycling bins (single-stream).

How You Can Help

There is a special place for plastic bags and wraps. Just drop them in local recycling bins at retailers you are likely already walking by at least once a week. It's simple, any plastic bags and wraps you get from the store... go to your home... then back to the store. NOT in the trash.

Where to Bring Them

The OneSTL Working Group has worked with Schnucks to update the signage on all their collection bins, so look for signage at all metro STL area Schnucks stores. In addition to Schnucks, many other retailers have recycling centers. All of these centers are typically located right by the main entrance to a store. Look for recycling centers at Dierberg, Target, Lowe's, Save-a-lot and other similar retailers.

What You Can Do At Home

The ask is pretty simple: recycle plastic bags and wraps in the correct, designated place - NEVER put them in your household reycling bin. 

Some Tips

Simplify your recycling efforts by collecting plastic bags and wraps in one place in your home:

• Hang a collection bag on a hook in a closet.
• Place a bin specifically for plastic bags and wraps recycling in your pantry.
• Repurpose a reusable shopping bag as a home collection center.

You'll be ready to bring them back to the store on your next shopping trip! 

Learn More

www.recycleresponsibly.org

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, search for OneSTL - Regional Plan for Sustainability for further updates.

Make a change that makes a difference - return plastic bags and wraps to the right place!