February 2012
by Sara Shepherd, The Shawnee Dispatch
In February, RippleGlass replaced the bank's old bin with a bigger one after tallying that the bin collected 214 tons of glass last year, one of the ten highest amounts of any RippleGlass bin in the metropolitan area.
October 2011
by City of Shawnee
Remember even though you cannot recycle glass at the curb, you can take glass food and beverage containers to one of the conveniently located Ripple Glass bins around the City!
Take as much glass and help the City compete against other communities to see how much glass we can recycle in the month of November. The competition will measure the percentage increase over the previous three months. The Glass Recycling Challenge is being held as an event to celebrate America Recycles Day, November 15.
Locations:
• Splash Cove, 5800 King Street
• Metcalf Bank, 15100 W. 67th Street
• Price Chopper, 22210 W. 66th Street
• Johnson County Landfill, 17955 Holliday Drive
by Green Conduct, Richard Matthews
Sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings are the leading edge in building design today. To achieve a high level of building sustainability in an efficient and effective manner requires the integration of the best management system standards available.
Read more...
August 2011
by Small Business Trends
We often talk about all the things businesses are doing right with environmental sustainability. And that’s how it should be: Being an environmentally conscious company is a positive thing and worthy of applause. But there’s also value in evaluating what’s not working so well – what can be done better.
Read more...
June 2011
Six Johnson County businesses and four elementary schools will receive Johnson County’s Green Business Award for success in waste reduction.
To recognize new, as well as ongoing efforts by Johnson County businesses to “go green,” the Johnson County Solid Waste Management Committee has selected ten recipients of its annual Green Business Award. Awardees will be formally recognized at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, June 16, during the Johnson County Board of Commissioners meeting at the county’s Administration Building, 111 S. Cherry, in downtown Olathe.
The ten recipients diverted a combined total of 1,227 tons of waste from landfills to recycling and composting. Awardees include manufacturers and a hospital. Their actions and success stories are summarized on the enclosed Tip Sheet. The 2011 recipients of the top Emerald Award are:
• Farmers Insurance HelpPoint, Olathe
• Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Merriam
• ITW Dymon, Olathe
• ITW Labels, Gardner
• LaserCycle, Inc., Lenexa
• Tomahawk Elementary School, Overland Park
• Brookwood Elementary School, Leawood
• Briarwood Elementary School, Prairie Village
• Bluejacket Flint Elementary School, Shawnee
• WaterOne, Lenexa
All applicants were asked to complete a survey ranking their achievements in categories of waste reduction, reuse and recycling, outreach and education, and policies. Points were assigned for the achievements and applicants had to meet a minimum of ten mandatory actions. Three levels were available for awards, Emerald, Gold, and Honorable Mention. Each applicant also submitted a one page summary of their efforts and a metrics report showing how they tracked waste reduction efforts.
Other interested businesses can self apply with applications due January 31 of each year. Inquiries about the Green Business Awards should go to Craig Wood at (913) 715-6917.
For more information on composting and other ways to recycle, visit the county’s recycling website at www.jocorecycles.org; where residents can find information on composting, residential and commercial recycling, yard waste disposal, and ways to reduce trash and reuse resources.
May 2011
The Johnson County Environmental Department is sponsoring the Third Annual Go Green Johnson County event on Wed., May 25 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the County Courthouse Square, 111 S. Cherry, Olathe. Plan to join us over the lunch hour to learn about how to go green and save green from informational booths hosted by community environmental organizations, and celebrate some environmental successes in the county. There will also be a display of alternatively fueled vehicles that operate on electricity, compressed natural gas, propane, and biodiesel.
The event will kick-off with remarks celebrating Johnson County’s $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce exhaust emissions from diesel vehicles operating in the Johnson County area. Vehicles upgraded by the funds from this grant will be on display, including-a-state-of-the-art fire truck from the City of Shawnee. Participating in the kick-off will be the Administer of Region 7 EPA and Ed Eilert, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners.
The Go Green event features fun for the whole family and is specifically held during the lunch hour for working individuals. The free entertainment will feature exhibits by local environmental group, county departments and county “green” vendors, including:
Deffenbaugh
Extreme Recycling
Grainger
Habitat Restore, Kansas City
Heartland Habitat Restore
JC Board of Commissioners
JC Corrections
JC Environmental
JC Parks and Recreation
JC Stormwater/Public Works
JC Transit
KC Food Circle
KSU Composting Table
Laser Equipment
MARC – Solid Waste
MARC – Transit
Metropolitan Energy Center
Ricoh
Smurfit
Staples Advantage: the Eco Easy Button Team
Stone Lion Puppet Theater
Westar Energy
There will be performances by Eco Elvis from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the Stone Lion Puppet Theater who will entertain the crowd with roaming performances, including a variety of larger than life puppets of native species, and a 17 foot tall Great Blue Heron. Attendees will also be treated to a live wild animal exhibit from the Ernie Miller Nature Center.
There will be free door prizes and a delicious organic lunch from which proceeds will benefit Feed the Need to support Johnson County food pantries.
May 2011
The Johnson County Go Green is holding an electronic waste collection event Wed. May 18th, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Take advantage of the two dropoff locations - Sunset Office Building: loading
dock area or the
Administration Building: Corner of
Loula and Kansas Avenue - to recycle your electronic waste.
Look for the Extreme Recycling
truck.
September 2010
Johnson County Solid Waste Management Committee accepting applications, Green Business Award Program 2011
The Johnson County Solid Waste Management Committee will be recognizing businesses that are leading the way to reduce waste and conserve resources. Green business practices save your business money and are valued by your customers and employees. Businesses with innovative recycling programs, green purchasing policies, waste reduction measures and employee education programs are encouraged to apply for the Green Business Recognition Award. This is a self-nominating and non-competitive award. All businesses are encouraged to apply. Courtesy of www.JoCoRecycles.org.
May 2010
To recognize new, as well as ongoing, efforts by Johnson County businesses to “go green,” the Johnson County Solid Waste Management Committee has selected 14 businesses as recipients of its inaugural Green Business Awards. Awardees, winners at either an emerald or gold level, were formally recognized May 6 during the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners meeting. The 14 companies diverted a combined total of 1,227 tons of landfill waste. Award recipients range from elementary schools, manufacturers and government agencies to a church with 16,000 members.
Congratulations to Chamber members Shawnee Mission Medical Center and WaterOne on their emerald-level award! Shawnee Mission Medical Center's cooling tower uses electronic pulses to treat bacteria. SMMC has also been donating surplus product inventory to Harvesters, and a local farmer receives vegetable scrap/trimmings for composting. WaterOne reduced paper usage 38 percent by encouraging two-sided printing and recycled 36,000 pounds of paper and cardboard over the past year.
Congratulations to Chamber member Perceptive Software Inc. for its gold-level award! Perceptive Software Inc. has accomplished reducing and nearly eliminating the use of paper collateral at more than 200 annual trade shows and events.
All applicants were asked to complete a survey, ranking their achievements in categories of waste reduction; reuse and recycling; outreach and education; and policies. Points were assigned for the achievements, and applicants had to meet a minimum of 10 mandatory actions. Three levels were available for awards; Green, Gold and Emerald. Each applicant also submitted a one-page summary of their efforts and a metrics report showing how they tracked waste-reduction efforts.
This annual award is self-nominating and non competitive. Applications are due January 31 of each year. Inquiries about the Green Business Awards should be directed to Craig Wood, 913.715.6917, of Johnson County.
For more information on composting and other ways to recycle, click here to visit the county’s Website dedicated to recycling, where residents can find information on composting; residential and commercial recycling; yard-waste disposal; and ways to reduce trash and reuse resources.
April 2010
Metcalf Bank, 15100 W. 67th St., has been host to a Ripple Glass bin since December 2009, having collected and saved more than 24 tons of glass from the community's landfill. This location has been more than beneficial to the community, and the public has been consistent with recycling its glass. In March, 9.72 tons of glass were collected at the Metcalf Bank host site alone! Thank you to Metcalf Bank and the community for taking the time to keep Shawnee clean. Please click here to discover local, Ripple Glass bin locations.
Stop by the Metcalf Bank, 15100 W. 67th St., parking lot Thursday, April 22, from 2 to 5 p.m. to celebrate Earth Day to learn about green efforts of the community as well as how to minimize your carbon footprint.
This celebration is free to the community! Green leaders of the community - Deffenbaugh Industries, KCP&L, Owens Coming, Ripple Glass, Shawnee Mission Ford - will be present to educate guests and to answer questions in regards to going green. Stop by to talk green, to enjoy refreshments and to win prizes!
Guests are encouraged to bring their glass recyclables, as Metcalf Bank is host to a Ripple Glass bin. In addition, guests are also encouraged to bring their paper and plastic recyclables to dump in the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce's recycle bin provided through its Sustain Shawnee program. In the event of rain, this celebration will be canceled. Contact Robin Frazee, Metcalf Bank, for more details and information, 913.791.9185.
March 2010
Learn why Johnson County, Kan. is committed to sustainability and keeping the county clean.
December 2009
Shawnee Chamber of Commerce member, Metcalf Bank, is host to a Ripple Glass, LLC, recycling bin in addition to being an active participant in Sustain Shawnee, the Chamber's member-value, environmental program.
