Do you ever wonder what happens to your trash and recycling when you throw it 'away'?

Today, a dozen of us from the Natural History Museum saw up close where the ‘away’ in ‘throwing it away’ really is (at least, the first step). All of the museum’s trash and our recycling is tipped from two separate dumpsters and hauled to a local facility in Oakwood Village operated by Waste Management.

Trash and recycling are trucked into separate areas at the facility. WM operates what it calls a ‘clean’ single stream Material Recovery Facility, which means all recyclables come to them separate from trash (they handle the trash and recycling from 40 residential communities here). We have separate recycling bins here at the Museum: Recycling is collected from departments using green recycling bins and at central locations inside the Museum.

Recycling at the Museum can be mixed or commingled – plastic, glass, paper and cardboard in the same container– as long as food and beverage containers are completely clean.

At least a dozen University Circle institutions who have formed internal ‘green teams’—staffers volunteering to reduce their organization’s ecological footprint—met today at the Natural History Museum. One of the key themes was, how can a group of organizations working toward the same goals collaborate to form a green district? The groups discussed where they stood on the green continuum – some have full recycling programs (University Circle, Inc.), have been composting for years (Magnolia Clubhouse), or are composting and using biodiesel made from their café’s used fryer grease (The Botanical Garden and Bon Appetite, their food service provider), have new procurement policies requiring green products (the Natural History Museum), and are pursuing renewable energy opportunities (Case, which is exploring wind turbines and solar).

Beau Daane at the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, presented on tips to effectively start and generate interest for your business recycling program. Daane said businesses can look to him as a free recycling consultant.

This was the first of hopefully many district-wide green team meetings. We’ll report on milestones and lessons from the collaboration of University Circle green teams –whether it’s green purchasing, district recycling and composting, a bike-sharing program, etc. The goal when groups in a single geographic area or in a common industry work together is to produce significant cost and energy savings, while scaling up each of our efforts to green building, energy, food...

When Cleveland State University built its LEED-certified Student Recreation Center a few years ago, the plans called for a 7,000 sq. ft. 'green' roof. The project ran out of money, though, and the green roof top garden didn't materialize. This past fall, a class in CSU’s Environmental Science program decided to try and complete the green roof project.

"We are very excited to already have designed new blueprints for the roof including wheelchair access, experimental plots for the science department, solar lighting and space for physical education classes to take place or for students to study," writes Erin Huber, one of the students leading the project.

CSU will match $60,000, Huber says, and that leaves $120,000 the students need to raise from local organizations, individuals, foundations and businesses who believe in their project.

Tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m., they’re hosting a gathering at the Rec. Center to raise awareness and funds ($206,000 are still needed).

For more information.

• The Towpath Trail extension to the Flats is the subject of tonight’s public meeting, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Sokolowski’s. See the city’s plans for the leg to be built from Steelyard Commons to Tremont. The 1-mile section will travel through a wooded hillside, past a restored wetland against a backdrop of industry. It will connect to an expanded Clark Field (ballpark) before climbing a ridge with views of the river valley to Literary Road in Tremont. For a map and more information go here.
• By participating in MAGNET’s (Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network) Second Annual Competitiveness Challenge, Shearer Foods took on the challenge of improving their environmental performance. The Brewster, Ohio snack producer tracked and reduced overall use of electricity, water, and natural gas. In the end, they increased efficiencies in sanitation downtime and water treatment processing, leading to a 50% reduction in water usage/discharge and an overall 3% facility reduction in electric usage.
• A federal tax credit of up to $500 that expired in 2007 has been renewed for 2009. It covers up to 10% of the cost of a range of projects that meet certain specifications. Do $5,000 worth of qualifying work, and you not only get a $500 rebate, but also savings on energy bills for years to come. For more information, go here.

As the city of Cleveland moves ahead with plans to introduce green building at a neighborhood scale – the Planning Commission is set to review green design guidelines on December 5—we look back at how other cities are building the case for green building. Pittsburgh, for example, carved out a space for its riverfront trail network with its green design guidelines (the city also grants a density bonus to developments in the Local Neighborhood Commercial zoning overlay district if they get LEED-certification).

Would adding more floors sweeten the pot for developers in Cleveland? Cleveland Planning Director Bob Brown doesn’t think so. "When a developer has wanted to build to a greater density in Cleveland, we’ve been more than willing to grant any necessary variances or rezonings, except where there was neighborhood opposition to the higher density."

When pressed to think about what would tempt a developer to build green in Cleveland, Brown answered:

“The City already does have a financial incentive for green building with respect to housing, and Mayor Jackson in the past proposed tying a certain percentage of tax abatements to green building.

"Probably an incentive that would work best would be some up-front subsidy to defray the additional costs for green building.”

Where applied, Cleveland's green design guidelines will:

We mourn the passing of Ed Hauser, a generational citizen activist who near single handedly saved Whiskey Island as a green space where the river meets the lake. Ed was an immovable force and an inspiration to watch at public meetings—he followed his calls for accountability with action, requesting county government open its books and share with the public how it was spending tax payer money on the Lakefront, the Innerbelt, the preservation of our history (he fought tirelessly to save giant Hulett ore unloaders). He will be greatly missed.

A bunch of moving accounts and memories of Ed have been posted on RealNeo. I think Norm puts it nicely here:

I certainly learned activism from Ed, and so am a better citizen as a result, and I am not alone in that... but there are no other people capable of doing what Ed was doing - he was the region's environmental engineer. It was the mind of Ed that mattered, and that is gone. What we may take forward in all our work, as activists for all our causes, are the many lessons we learned from observing Ed in action, knowing him as a friend, for those so fortunate, and working with him to make this a better world.

For a refresher and as a guide for future generations, there should be annual screenings of Citizen Hauser in his honor.

“Hopefully, this is one in a long line of laws to promote sustainability in the city,” Cleveland Planning Commission chair Tony Coyne remarked as the seven member advisory body to city council unanimously agreed today that rules for tending chickens, goats, bees and livestock in the city should move forward. The ordinance now goes to city council who will decide if farm animals can be kept in backyards, businesses and vacant properties.

The meeting turned out dozens of residents and urban farmers who had constructive ideas to improve the ordinance, but also praise for its progressive thinking around promoting a local food economy. Read more.

Joe Kovach set out to gross $90,000 per acre on his small farm plots of mixed fruits and vegetables. So far, the ‘polyculture’ micro-farm of this Ohio State University scientist has achieved exactly that.

Lately, urban agriculture has captured the imagination of those seeking the next cottage industry for cities like Cleveland. Polyculture farming is cost effective and more productive when animals live right where the food is grown (they produce free, carbon-less fertilizer not to mention eggs), food author Michael Pollan told a crowd at Oberlin recently.

Tomorrow, the Cleveland Planning Commission will consider the future of farming and a way to break our dependence on foreign oil. At a special meeting starting at 9 a.m., an ordinance relating to small livestock, primarily bees and chickens, will be discussed (it needs Planning and Council approval). Show your support for urban agriculture by attending the meeting.

Update: The Planning Commission unanimously passed the chickens and bees ordinance this morning (next step: City Council). Check back later this afternoon for a review of the meeting. 

At the 2008 Northeast Ohio Food Congress at Hiram last weekend the focus was on how to create a regional food economy. A number of exciting initiatives were discussed, from Youngstown’s Lien to Grow to Cleveland’s vacant properties land lab.

See a (partial) summary here.

Stay tuned for the full summary of the Congress, and an opportunity to draft Regional Food Agenda.

• So much hype surrounds so-called ‘green collar’ jobs, but the Ohio advanced & green energy markets summit this Tuesday in Columbus is an opportunity to hear directly from companies and individuals in Ohio that are working to drive green jobs creation. Gov. Ted Strickland is scheduled to deliver the keynote address
• Get the latest on renewable energy opportunities at this Wednesday’s OSU Renewable Energy Workshop in Wooster. Wind and solar power, pellet stoves, biodiesel, anaerobic digestion, geothermal heat pumps, energy conservation, and corn and cellulosic ethanol will be among the topics.
• A few years ago, Cleveland poured a lot of energy into plans that would reconnect the region to its lakefront, producing a Lakefront Plan. This Wednesday evening, hear Cleveland Planning Director (and one of the Lakefront Plan authors) Bob Brown return to the vision of lakefront access.
• Diesel engines are one of the heaviest emitters of carbon and smog. If you manage a fleet of diesel trucks or buses, hear about how to improve their environmental performance at the Ohio Green Fleets meeting this Thursday.
• Supporters of urban agriculture have a key date this Friday as Cleveland City Council meets to discuss a law that would allow for backyard chicken coops and bee keeping.