Recycling gets easier BGA knows

Summertime is a great time to learn new recycling tips.  Broadway Green Alliance is leading the way to help make our tiny island and outer Boroughs filled with millions of people with tons of trash a more thoughtful and sustainable place to live in. 

As a guitarist I've always been bummed about trashing my old strings. BGA has one of my favorite initiatives the Guitar Strings Project, where recycled guitar strings are turned into cool jewelry. 

Here's BGS's latest newsletter, if you can do one thing imagine the difference it will make:

AT THE OFFICE

Employee Encouragement

• Encourage the use of public transit through TransitChek or other programs.
• Where public transit is unavailable, encourage carpools by sending an email to staff members.
• Investigate a paperless direct deposit system for your employees.
• Give your employees a mug or reusable water bottles with the company logo for their first day, a holiday or any occasion.

Procurement

• Start buying 100% post-consumer recycled paper for your office.
• If you provide lunch at your office, consider purchasing locally grown organic foods.
• When you can’t buy office supplies and equipment locally, buy in bulk to reduce shipping pollution and packaging waste.
• Reuse shipping boxes whenever possible.
• When replacing appliances around the office, look to replacements with Energy Star ratings.
• When purchasing company vehicles or using a car service, consider electrics or hybrids.
• Consider consulting green architects, designers and construction companies for any renovations.
• Evaluate HVAC systems and upgrade for greater efficiency if necessary.
• Inquire with your energy provider about buying into an energy portfolio consisting of energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro.
• Consider investing in high quality alternative energy carbon offsets.

Office Initiatives

• Designate a place where employees can leave their paycheck envelopes for reuse.
• Use washable plates and silverware instead of paper plates and plastic utensils.
• Arrange for a company to pick up your paper, metal and plastic recycling.
• Set thermostats to turn down (or off) when the office is closed.
• Mandate double-sided printing and explore paperless options.
• Utilize video conferencing systems instead of traveling to a meeting.
• Mandate that all computers and printers be turned off at the end of the work day.

General

• Develop an internal Green Team to develop green initiatives and goals.
• Establish a green policy for the office.

IN THE HOME

• Avoid plastic water bottles by keeping a reusable one with you.
• Use your own coffee mug or tumbler and save hundreds of paper cups!
• Carry a reusable bag with you (they’re a perfect fit in a purse or bag) to avoid plastic bags – many stores also offer discounts if you use your own.
• Plug your major electronics into power strips that you can switch off to avoid phantom energy.
• Load up the dishwasher instead of washing by hand to conserve water.
• Choose Energy Star appliances, they use 10 to 50 percent less energy.
• Screen savers use energy, set your computer to sleep after 20 minutes.
• Whenever you’re buying paper products, look for the highest percentage post-consumer recycled paper.
• Shop at your local farmers’ market for locally grown organic foods.
• Ask to receive and pay bills online, it saves time and paper.

ATTENDING THE THEATRE

• Print your tickets at home – and on recycled paper of course!
• To stay informed about your theatre, subscribe to an e-newsletter instead of printed brochures.
• Take public transportation to the theatre, or carpool and make it an evening out with friends!
• Share the show’s program and only take one. And if you’re not going to keep it as a memento of your evening, be sure to recycle it at the theatre in the proper receptacle.
• Looking at souvenirs? See if they have organic cotton shirts, reusable water bottles, reusable bags or other green options.
• Inform an usher if you find a leaky faucet in the restroom; they can arrange to get it fixed.
• If you purchase refreshments in a bottle or can, don’t forget to find a recycling container – there’s probably one right in the lobby!

Resources:

NYC WasteLess | www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/home/home.shtml
Your one-stop recycling, waste prevention, and composting resource for NYC residents, schools, institutions, and businesses.

NRDC Greening Advisor

NRDC Greening Advisor | http://bit.ly/Wfkkwn 
The NRDC Greening Advisor is a guide that can help any commercial business or organization to reduce its environmental impacts.

BGA Pinterest

BGA’s Recycled Crafts Pinterest | http://pinterest.com/laurelann/bga-crafts/
Our Pinterest Board of recycling ideas, crafts, tips, and everything green. Maintained by BGA members.

Other Helpful Resources.

Documents:

NBCUniversal Sustainable Production Guidelines

NYC Recycle tips + E-Waste events

Throughout the year the Lower Eastside Ecology Center sets up E-Waste drives at multiple NYC locations. The next Electronic Waste Recycling Day is April 06, 2013 10:00am - 4:00pm  

at Tekserve  119 West 23rd Street (between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue), New York, NY 10011  

info@lesecologycenter.org

Here's a link to find out what you can bring to these events. 

Remember the 3 R's Reduce, ReUse and ReCycle

I love the Broadway Green Alliance and what they are doing little by little to make a huge effort in not only how theatrical sets are recycled, but how to change day to day habits, helping to reduce the enormous amount of waste we produce in NYC and beyond. Read more below and consider joining (it's free).  also connect with Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com who can fill you in on all you need to know and how to become an active recycler. It will change your life. I've been saving chip bags wondering where I can recycle them, read on.  Corks? you bet. Batteries?  No one should consider throwing into waste bin.  EVER! So here's the deal, yes it takes a little effort and maybe a visit to one of the drop off locations, but BGA is working hard to make it easy for us all. Boradway Green Alliance office is located at W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.. I love their newsletter so much I want to share it, so read on..... Dear friends of the Broadway Green Alliance, Trying to find a better way to dispose of batteries, corks, toner cartridges, or old makeup containers? The BGA operates more than a dozen collection bins for items like these to make sure they get properly recycled or even up-cycled. We also operate a binder exchange and twice yearly electronic waste and textile collections in Times Square.  See below for a complete list of our collections. Broadway Green Alliance Collections Batteries  Rechargeable: Recycled through the 4th Bin (4thbin.org).  Collected at the Gershwin (242 W. 51 St.) and Minskoff (200 W. 45 St.) Theatre Stage Doors. Regular: Recycled through WeRecycle! (werecycle.com)  Collected at our twice yearly E-waste events in Times Square (January and July) or at the BGA office (165 W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.) year-round. Binders  All kinds and sizes are accepted at this exchange; great for readings and workshops! You can drop off or pick up as many as you need.  Collected at the BGA Office and soon at Actors' Equity too (165 W. 46 St. -- 15th Fl.). Bottle caps, plastic Recycled through Aveda (aveda.com).  Accepted at the BGA office or at any Aveda store. (Please note: metal bottle caps are recyclable through NYC Residential recycling or by all theater waste haulers) Candy wrappers  Upcycled through Terracycle (terracycle.net). Collected at the Majestic Theatre (247 W. 44 St.). Individual candy wrappers, large candy bags and multi-pack candy bags. Chip bags  Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Majestic Theatre. Any size, brand, style of chip bag. Cleaner Packaging Upcycled through TerraCycle (see terracycle.net for complete list of accepted items). Collected at BC/EFA (165 W. 46, Suite #1300, 13 Fl.).  Pumps, triggers, pouches, and flexible cleaner product packaging. Corks Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Gershwin, Majestic, and Minskoff Theatres All natural or synthetic corks as well as cork stops. Electronic waste (e-waste)  Recycled through WeRecycle! Smaller items collected at the BGA office year-round or wait for our twice yearly drives. Inkjets Upcycled through TerraCycle. All Inkjets accepted. Collected at BC/EFA. Makeup containers   Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Imperial (249 W. 45 St.) Theatre. See terracycle.net for a complete list. Includes most tubes, bottles, jars, cases and old makeup. Stuffers --cast change notices for Playbill insertion. Upcycled into scrap pads through Genie Printing by the BGA. Contact the BGA to drop off boxes of stuffers.   Textiles  Recycled by Wearable Collections (wearablecollections.com).  Collected at the BGA office, at Actors' Equity--14th Floor Credit Union, and Local 764 Wardrobe Union year-round. Or bring to our twice yearly Textile Drives in Duffy Square (March and September). Toner Cartridges  Upcycled through TerraCycle.  See terracycle.net for a full list. Collected at BC/EFA.  Some Brother, Canon, Dell, Panasonic, Xerox, Apple and all HP types of toner cartridges accepted.   Writing Instruments  Upcycled through TerraCycle. Collected at the BGA office. Pens, mechanical pencils, markers, highlighters, permanent markers, and all related caps. Thank you for being a member of the Broadway Green Alliance! Please contact us with any issues, questions, or green ideas. Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com

Broadway Green Alliance collection bins for recycling ease

I love the Broadway Green Alliance and what they are doing little by little to make a huge effort in not only how theatrical sets are recycled, but how to change day to day habits, helping to reduce the enormous amount of waste we produce in NYC and beyond. Read more below and consider joining (it's free).  also connect with Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com who can fill you in on all you need to know and how to become an active recycler. It will change your life. I've been saving chip bags wondering where I can recycle them, read on.  Corks? you bet. Batteries?  No one should consider throwing into waste bin.  EVER! So here's the deal, yes it takes a little effort and maybe a visit to one of the drop off locations, but BGA is working hard to make it easy for us all. Boradway Green Alliance office is located at W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.. I love their newsletter so much I want to share it, so read on..... Broadway Green Alliance August 2012 Dear friends of the Broadway Green Alliance, Trying to find a better way to dispose of batteries, corks, toner cartridges, or old makeup containers? The BGA operates more than a dozen collection bins for items like these to make sure they get properly recycled or even up-cycled. We also operate a binder exchange and twice yearly electronic waste and textile collections in Times Square.  See below for a complete list of our collections. Broadway Green Alliance Collections Batteries  Rechargeable: Recycled through the 4th Bin (4thbin.org).  Collected at the Gershwin (242 W. 51 St.) and Minskoff (200 W. 45 St.) Theatre Stage Doors. Regular: Recycled through WeRecycle! (werecycle.com)  Collected at our twice yearly E-waste events in Times Square (January and July) or at the BGA office (165 W. 46 St., #1312, 13th Fl.) year-round. Binders  All kinds and sizes are accepted at this exchange; great for readings and workshops! You can drop off or pick up as many as you need.  Collected at the BGA Office and soon at Actors' Equity too (165 W. 46 St. -- 15th Fl.). Bottle caps, plastic Recycled through Aveda (aveda.com).  Accepted at the BGA office or at any Aveda store. (Please note: metal bottle caps are recyclable through NYC Residential recycling or by all theater waste haulers) Candy wrappers  Upcycled through Terracycle (terracycle.net). Collected at the Majestic Theatre (247 W. 44 St.). Individual candy wrappers, large candy bags and multi-pack candy bags. Chip bags  Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Majestic Theatre. Any size, brand, style of chip bag. Cleaner Packaging Upcycled through TerraCycle (see terracycle.net for complete list of accepted items). Collected at BC/EFA (165 W. 46, Suite #1300, 13 Fl.).  Pumps, triggers, pouches, and flexible cleaner product packaging. Corks Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Gershwin, Majestic, and Minskoff Theatres All natural or synthetic corks as well as cork stops. Electronic waste (e-waste)  Recycled through WeRecycle! Smaller items collected at the BGA office year-round or wait for our twice yearly drives. Inkjets Upcycled through TerraCycle. All Inkjets accepted. Collected at BC/EFA. Makeup containers   Upcycled through Terracycle. Collected at the Imperial (249 W. 45 St.) Theatre. See terracycle.net for a complete list. Includes most tubes, bottles, jars, cases and old makeup. Stuffers --cast change notices for Playbill insertion. Upcycled into scrap pads through Genie Printing by the BGA. Contact the BGA to drop off boxes of stuffers.   Textiles  Recycled by Wearable Collections (wearablecollections.com).  Collected at the BGA office, at Actors' Equity--14th Floor Credit Union, and Local 764 Wardrobe Union year-round. Or bring to our twice yearly Textile Drives in Duffy Square (March and September). Toner Cartridges  Upcycled through TerraCycle.  See terracycle.net for a full list. Collected at BC/EFA.  Some Brother, Canon, Dell, Panasonic, Xerox, Apple and all HP types of toner cartridges accepted.   Writing Instruments  Upcycled through TerraCycle. Collected at the BGA office. Pens, mechanical pencils, markers, highlighters, permanent markers, and all related caps. Thank you for being a member of the Broadway Green Alliance! Please contact us with any issues, questions, or green ideas. Rebekah Sale, rsale@broadwaygreen.com Next collection drive: Textiles Coming up in Times Square in September Next collection drive: Textiles Coming up in Times Square in September Our textile recycling partner, Wearable Collections, accepts all clean clothing, paired shoes, hats, belts, bags, sheets, towels, curtains, etc. Including stained, torn, or broken items.  watch our website BROADWAYGREEN.COM for a confirmed date We have a couple of special offers that we would like to tell you about:  Did you know our members can sign up to save money on janitorial and office supplies at Staples through the strategic sourcing company, ServCo?  Some of our members have switched to greener supplies andsaved 10-30% in the process, by signing up for this program.   All members get a program customized to the specific needs of their theater or organization Office products Janitorial products Technology Furniture All members receive the same price - smaller companies buy at the discounts available to the larger organizations Savings are ranging from 15% - 30% for current participants On-line ordering, free next day delivery (anywhere in the US) Over 50,000 products to pick from including approximately 3,000 green products Local Staples service team Cost to participate: BGA membership (free, but you must sign up) 30% of first year's savings (as the fee to ServCo) To find out what your specific savings could be -- on the products you currently order or on even greener ones -- please send an email to us at green@broadway.org and we will send you more information about the BGA green products program. Do you love biking? For the first time the BGA is applying to be a charity partner for Bike New York's 2013 Five Boro Bike Tour.  This amazing, 40-mile ride takes place on Sunday, May 5th, 2013. BGA riders can be part of a team raising money for the BGA and receive a guaranteed entry in the ride. If you are interested in riding, just send an email to green@broadway.org and we will be in touch with the fundraising information and riding details.Take a look athttp://www.bikenewyork.org/ride/five-boro-bike-tour/ to find out more about this fun ride.

Broadway, Climate Change and the White House

What do Broadway, Climate Change and the White House have to do with each other? This months Guest Blogger comes from Allen Hershkowitz, NRDC Senior Scientist, NYC and throughout the world.  I thought I'd also share it here on my sustainability blog. Allen writes so clearly, carefully and passionately about how Broadway has corrected inappropriate policies that once affected negatively but now help to reduce the impact of Climate Change. 

Steps forward that's all we can ask for and try to accomplish.  Kudos to BGA for making a difference.  Their work teaches others through observation and then action.

Broadway Goes To The White House   read the blog

Broadway goes to the White House

August 2010:  This month I feature a blog by Allen Hershkowitz, NRDC Senior Scientist, NYC and throughout the world writing about the Broadway Green Alliance, Allen presents some amazing facts worth consideration.

By Allen Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist, NYC and throughout the world

President Obama and the First Lady celebrated Broadway last night in the East Room of the White House and two co-founders of the Broadway Green Alliance, Susan Sampliner, Company Manager of Wicked, and I, were invited. (http://www.broadwaygreen.com/) Our attendance, as environmentalists working with Broadway's theater owners and influential decision makers to help reduce the environmental impacts of The Great White Way, was a gentle but meaningful recognition by the White House that every sector in our society, even entertainment, has to do something about climate change and other ecological crises.

Every day, more than ninety million tons of greenhouses gases are emitted into the atmosphere, and each day more are emitted than the day preceding. At the same time, we are losing an acre of tropical forest every second, and have been for twenty years. We lose an acre of wetlands every minute, and forests are being converted into toilet paper. Our oceans are at risk, saturated with oil, acidification, and plastic debris, and biodiversity loss is occurring at a rate and scale that is unprecedented in human history.

Obviously, these pressures are not the result of only one single bad actor. They are the result of billions of ecologically ignorant production and consumption decisions. All of us, all industries, and all consumers contribute.

Hence, while some members of the Senate are willing to regulate carbon emissions only from power plants, and many other Senators are not even willing to regulate carbon at all, we must find innovative approaches to mobilize our economy and our culture to respond to the planetary emergency we face. Indeed, the fact is that even if a law is enacted that regulates carbon at power plants, we still need to move all other sectors in our society away from fossil fuels and towards other ecologically intelligent practices.

Broadway theaters are small contributors to the climate crisis. But the willingness of theater operators, and touring productions, to collaborate with NRDC and adjust their practices to reduce their carbon footprint and impacts on biodiversity sends an environmentally informative message to some of the more than forty million people who visit Broadway shows in New York City and around the country each year.

Broadway’s visibility is global. People from all over the world come to see Broadway shows, and if they walk away learning that Broadway has gone green due to the outreach efforts of the Broadway Green Alliance, they might be reminded that addressing the global ecological crisis is everyone’s responsibility. And with so many people around the world disappointed by the lack of carbon regulations in the United States, their tourist visit to Broadway, or one of Broadway's 200 touring productions, helps them learn that there are meaningful non-governmental initiatives taking place in the United States to address climate change and other ecological pressures.

Broadway’s cultural influence is also social and political, which is why Broadway’s embrace of environmentalism is important. As the President said last night, Broadway shows are more than entertainment, they have been “shaping our opinions about race and religion, death and disease, power and politics.” And now Broadway, through its work with the Broadway Green Alliance and NRDC, is helping to shape opinions about environmentalism too.

Besides public education and the education of the many supply chain vendors servicing Broadway’s theaters, some of the accomplishments that the Broadway Green Alliance has instigated in the past two years are tangibly meaningful, and include the following:

• All 40 Broadway theaters have converted marquee and roof signs to LEDs, CFLs, or cold cathodes (as of April 2010). These bulbs typically use 20% the energy of traditional marquee bulbs. Upper theater signs have also been replaced, using bulbs that consume only 25% of energy used previously. Incandescent lights are also being replaced with CFLs in dressing rooms.
• Energy efficient lighting upgrades have been installed at 90% of touring venues.
• 31 of 39 theatres have instituted comprehensive recycling programs both front of house and backstage, and many productions are incorporating significant paper use reductions backstage.
•  84% of all scenery from shows that have closed since January 2009 was recycled or reused.
• Through a sponsorship with LG, all forty Broadway theaters are replacing older washer/dryers with energy and water efficient (Energy Star rated) machines. The energy savings achieved by making this switch is enough to power all Broadway theatre marquees for more than 3 months.
• Productions are switching to rechargeable batteries and greener cleaning products.
• Many productions are replacing the use of bottled water with water filtration systems and reusable bottles.
• Roundabout Theatre Company’s Henry Miller’s Theatre and Disney’s New Amsterdam Theatre both have installed waterless urinals, and signs above their waterless and low-flow devices educate patrons about this water conserving technology that they may want to use in their own homes or businesses.
• As part of the BGA’s “Touring Green” program, touring shows have offset over 4,000 tons of carbon emissions associated with the transport of their equipment by investing in wind power and other renewable energy projects offered through program partner Native Energy.
• Almost all productions now running on Broadway have selected a “Green Captain”, on site to educate performers, crew, and management alike about the constant need to reduce ecological impacts and help implement more sustainable practices during productions.

Besides the political, economic and technical barriers to sustainability, there are also cultural barriers to sustainability. By engaging our nation’s cultural elite in behalf of ecological progress, meaningful steps are advanced which make addressing our climate crisis and other ecological problems more culturally accepted. We must end the cultural assumption that it is OK to destabilize the chemical stability of our atmosphere, or blow up forested mountains in Appalachia to acquire coal for energy. Collaborating with cultural elites helps us get that message out.

Last night, the movers and shakers of Broadway were in attendance, and they noticed the White House’s embrace of the Broadway Green Alliance. Robert Wankel of the Shubert Organization was in attendance, as were Nick Scandalios of the Nederlander Organization and Paul Libin of Jujamcyn. Collectively, these people manage about eighty percent of all Broadway theaters. Millions of people see their shows each year, and all of their organizations work with the Broadway Green Alliance, as does Broadway League Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin, who was also in attendance last night. Nor did it hurt to have Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, learn of Broadway’s interest in greening, and last night provided that opportunity as well.

Hopefully, our government will soon adopt a comprehensive law limiting climate changing pollutants. Science certainly dictates that that should be done. But the slow pace of legislative reform and the urgent ecological needs of the planet don’t work in tandem. Consequently, market based initiatives are called for, whether or not government properly accepts its responsibilities. By using the visibility of Broadway and other culture influencing sectors to leverage our message to the industrial supply chain, NRDC is working hard to move our economy and public sentiment towards ecological sanity, whether government acts or not.

posted July 20, 2010

Allen Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist, NYC and throughout the world

I am a Senior Scientist at NRDC, specializing in issues related to sustainable development, supply chain management, industrial ecology, the paper industry, health risks, solid waste management, recycling, medical wastes, and sludge. I coordinate some of the world’s most prominent institutional greening initiatives, including the Academy Awards telecast, the GRAMMY Awards, the “Broadway Goes Green” initiative, and the greening of Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the USTA. I’ve served on the DuPont Corporation’s Bio-Based Fuels Life Cycle Assessment Advisory Board, the National Research Council Committee on the Health Effects of Waste Incineration and the EPA's Science Advisory Board Subcommittee on Sludge Incineration, as well as the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Peer Review Panel for it's Report to Congress on the Health Implications of Medical Waste. There’s more, but too much to list here.

Allen Hershkowitz’s Blog