Recycled Products

When Elkridge residents stroll through Rockburn Branch Park, they may not notice what's under their feet.The wood chips that pave pathways in the park are made of chipped wood pallets Howard County receives free from J. L. Brandt & Son Inc. of Elkridge. The raw wood chips are so greedy for nitrogen that they starve weeds in addition to providing a natural pathway surface, said Linda Fields, who heads the county's recycling program.The company is one of a growing number of firms in or near the county that are providing the recycled products county officials were promoting yesterday.

Should government spend extra money to buy recycled, or low-pollution products? At least three Howard County councilmen appear to think so. They are supporting a bill due for introduction Monday night that would allow the county to buy supplies that cost up to 5 percent more than low bid if the material has high recycled content or lower pollution potential. The idea's roots come from a 10-year-old federal purchasing directive that was revised in 1998. West Columbia Democrat Ken Ulman is sponsoring the county bill, supported by the council's two other Democrats.

Should government spend extra money to buy recycled, or low-pollution products? At least three Howard County councilmen appear to think so. They are supporting a bill due for introduction Monday night that would allow the county to buy supplies that cost up to 5 percent more than low bid if the material has high recycled content or lower pollution potential. The idea's roots come from a 10-year-old federal purchasing directive that was revised in 1998. West Columbia Democrat Ken Ulman is sponsoring the county bill, supported by the council's two other Democrats.

Should government spend extra money to buy recycled, or low-pollution products? At least three Howard County councilmen appear to think so. They are supporting a bill due for introduction Monday night that would allow the county to buy supplies that cost up to 5 percent more than low bid if the material has high recycled content or lower pollution potential. The idea's roots come from a 10-year old federal purchasing directive that was revised in 1998. West Columbia Democrat Ken Ulman is sponsoring the county bill, supported by the council's two other Democrats.

Should government spend extra money to buy recycled, or low-pollution products? At least three Howard County councilmen appear to think so. They are supporting a bill due for introduction Monday night that would allow the county to buy supplies that cost up to 5 percent more than low bid if the material has high recycled content or lower pollution potential. The idea's roots come from a 10-year old federal purchasing directive that was revised in 1998. West Columbia Democrat Ken Ulman is sponsoring the county bill, supported by the council's two other Democrats.

More than 50 percent of the paper goods purchased by the county government are recycled products, including the toilet paper and tissues used in public restrooms.But for County Executive Robert R. Neall, it's not enough that the county uses recycled products.Mr. Neall wants county workers to triple the amount of office paper recycled during the next three years.Anne Arundel is one of 32 counties nationwide, including Prince George's and Montgomery, to have joined the Washington-based National Office Paper Recycling Challenge.

Did you know you can get garbage bags, ball point pens and even park benches made from recycled plastic? That building insulation can be made from recycled newspaper? That door mats are being made from recycled tires? Hundreds of American companies manufacture products from recycled materials. At their own expense, they've developed the technology and equipment to produce the items. Now we have to make sure somebody buys them.Our current project is convincing state and local governments to buy recycled products.

One of the most important recycling challenges Americans face is convincing local governments to buy recycled goods.It's worth the effort: With government's multibillion-dollar purchasing power on our side, the price of recycled goods will fall . . . and the supply will grow.Last week I suggested that you call City Hall and encourage officials to adopt purchasing policies that favor recycled products. In the next few EarthWorks columns, I'll supply information you can pass on to government officials to help them get this process started.

If we want to be recycling activists, the most effective "simple thing" we can do is push our local governments to buy supplies made from recycled materials.Think about it: You can collect all the bottles and newspapers you want, but if no manufacturers use them in their products, your efforts are wasted.So we have to create a market for recycled products. Each of us can and should buy them whenever possible. But each of us only has limited purchasing power.Government, on the other hand, has real economic clout.

Edward J. Gossett Jr. is on a mission to make us all more environmentally correct. He's selling T-shirts made partly from recycled plastic, unbleached paper towels and cleaning liquids that won't pollute.Operation Green Co. in Westminster is stocked and ready to supply the region's demand for products made from recycled materials."I'm now being referred to as 'Hey, you're the recycling guy,' " said Mr. Gossett, 24, who opened the business a month ago in a former plumbing company office on Pennsylvania Avenue near Vince's Seafood.

A Westminster charity is turning castoffs into cash to finance programs for the needy. Shepherd's Staff, an ecumenical outreach ministry that has for a decade provided help to Carroll families, counts its annual clothing donations in tons, said director Kathryn C. Brown. Some donations are suitable for the charity's career and school clothing cupboards, but others are not much more than rags - stained, frayed or well-worn. The discard pile has decreased significantly since Ruth Hernandez offered her sewing skills to the charity that once helped her. "Kathy and I got to talking about sewing and what she needed," said Hernandez, 48. "I wanted something to do and I had ideas that could help."

A Westminster charity is turning castoffs into cash to finance programs for the needy. Shepherd's Staff, an ecumenical outreach ministry that has for a decade provided help to Carroll families, counts its annual clothing donations in tons, said director Kathryn C. Brown. Some donations are suitable for the charity's career and school clothing cupboards, but others are not much more than rags - stained, frayed or well-worn. The discard pile has decreased significantly since Ruth Hernandez offered her sewing skills to the charity that once helped her. "Kathy and I got to talking about sewing and what she needed," said Hernandez, 48. "I wanted something to do and I had ideas that could help."

Anne Arundel County homeowners could be recycling half of what they throw out, according to the results of a trash study. County officials released late last month the results of a federally sponsored research project aimed at learning what residents in the county's voluntary residential recycling program are doing right and what they could be doing better. While the study that started a year ago showed people throughout the county are recycling glass bottles, aluminum cans and yard waste in amounts exceeding expectations, residents are failing to set aside paper products.

Giant Food takeover can't ring up the end of Apples in 0) schoolsNow that the Netherlands-based company, Royal Ahold NV, is in the process of buying the Giant Food Inc. chain with its promise of increasing profits, I think a word needs to be said about Apples for the Students Plus.This long-established program has been a blessing to our schools -- public, parochial and private. Many people make a point of shopping at Giant for at least a portion of their food, household supplies and medications so that they can help the school programs of their choice.

Edward J. Gossett Jr. is on a mission to make us all more environmentally correct. He's selling T-shirts made partly from recycled plastic, unbleached paper towels and cleaning liquids that won't pollute.Operation Green Co. in Westminster is stocked and ready to supply the region's demand for products made from recycled materials."I'm now being referred to as 'Hey, you're the recycling guy,' " said Mr. Gossett, 24, who opened the business a month ago in a former plumbing company office on Pennsylvania Avenue near Vince's Seafood.

When Elkridge residents stroll through Rockburn Branch Park, they may not notice what's under their feet.The wood chips that pave pathways in the park are made of chipped wood pallets Howard County receives free from J. L. Brandt & Son Inc. of Elkridge. The raw wood chips are so greedy for nitrogen that they starve weeds in addition to providing a natural pathway surface, said Linda Fields, who heads the county's recycling program.The company is one of a growing number of firms in or near the county that are providing the recycled products county officials were promoting yesterday.

Well, are you ready to get started on a yearlong environmental project?You sent thousands of cards and letters, and you picked one subject for us to work on -- although it certainly wasn't unanimous. You voted for alternative energy, for convincing Congress to take ozone depletion more seriously, for regulating junk mail. One person even voted for saving resources by forcing cereal companies to make their boxes smaller.A lot of you expressed a sense that there's so much to tackle, it's hard to know where to start.

Anne Arundel County homeowners could be recycling half of what they throw out, according to the results of a trash study. County officials released late last month the results of a federally sponsored research project aimed at learning what residents in the county's voluntary residential recycling program are doing right and what they could be doing better. While the study that started a year ago showed people throughout the county are recycling glass bottles, aluminum cans and yard waste in amounts exceeding expectations, residents are failing to set aside paper products.

New Windsor Middle School student May Novalis observed something that often causes wage-earners to grumble after looking at their paycheck."They take out all these taxes," said 11-year-old May as she checked time cards and wrote checks."

The Governor's Advisory Council on Recycling says Maryland should develop new markets for bottles, plastic and aluminum cans, and educate young people -- kindergarten through college -- about recycling and solid waste management to improve and sustain recycling efforts in the state.Those are among 72 recommendations in a 126-page report by the Governor's Advisory Council on Recycling. Others include increasing the purchases of recycled products and encouraging businesses to recycle more."Did we write a complete treatise?