New Page 2

Text Box: Recycling Right What does that mean? Is there a wrong way to recycle? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. For example, taking all of your plastics to the recycling center without determining which plastics are recyclable could jeopardize the future of plastic recycling in Anchorage. Added chemicals used to mold some plastics make them incompatible in most recycling processes and can turn an entire batch of plastic into trash. Anchorage does not have the capacity for sorting, so we recyclers become the sorters. The only plastics that should be turned in to the Anchorage recycling center include clean (with no caps) “soda and water bottles,” "milk and detergent jugs,” and “plastic bags & films.” Fortunately the Anchorage Recycling Center, ALPAR, and Green Star do their best to make us aware of what we can recycle in Anchorage. Please read the signs on the recycling containers when turning in your recyclable materials. For more information on recycling see the recycling information at the following websites: Anchorage Recycling Center at http://www.anchoragerecycling.com/ Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling at http://www.alparalaska.com/ Alaska Center for the Environment at http://www.akcenter.org/crs/index.html

Text Box: Feel a sense of pride for environmental responsibility: As you participate in Green Star, you can take pride in the contribution you are making to your community as you protect the resources and beauty of Alaska.

Text Box: Household Hazardous Material Disposal Need to get rid of any old paint, unused cleaners, or dead batteries? Up to 5 gallons/40 lbs of hazardous household waste (including paint, turpentine, aerosols, poisons, antifreeze, oil, small batteries and 1 car battery) are accepted free at the Anchorage Landfill or the Central Transfer Station. Both sites also have a Materials Exchange. You can help yourself to free paint, auto products, cleaners, etc that have been brought into the landfill or the transfer stations. Anchorage Regional Landfill Glenn Highway and Hiland Road Interchange Tues – Sat 8am-5pm 428-1742 Central Transfer Station Old Seward and East 54th Avenue Tues, Thurs and Sat 8am-5pm 343-6262

Text Box: Reducing Lunch Waste Last year representatives from Green Star performed an audit at Bear Valley School. One of the highest generations of waste is during lunch…. The Green Paw Parent Volunteers thought it was a good idea to get some real data from Bear Valley to share with students, faculty, and families. They measured and weighed lunch waste for 2 days and found that Bear Valley elementary students generate approximately 14 bags / 180 pounds of trash per day. That’s almost 40,000 pounds for the school year; enough to fill the multipurpose room to a height of 10 feet! View details of this data on our new website, Bear Valley Green Paws, at http://www.asdk12.org/schools/bearvalley/pages/. The website also includes ideas from the 6th grade students to reduce lunch waste, an example of a waste-free lunch and a comparison of the typical American lunch (disposable) to a waste-free lunch (reusable) and associated costs. More information on waste-free lunches can be found at: http://www.wastefreelunches.org/ http://www.resourcefulschools.org/wastefree_lunch.html

Text Box: Get Involved with Green Paws! We can always use more parents to drive mixed paper to the Recycle Center and/or to share ideas. If you are interested or would just like more information, please contact Erin Borowski at 344-4033 or erininak@gci.net