Four the Future - September 4

Today: the regional incinerator, recycling, root cellars, and a regional sustainability partnership.

• City incinerator a hot topic
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 4, 2010
  Summary: The contract for the region’s waste incinerator will be over soon, so a decision will have to be made for its future. Operating costs are competitive with other cities and counties at $98 per ton. The bond that paid for its construction will be paid off in 2011, so its cost should go down. Regional leaders are discussing changes to its governance structure. The regional solid waste plan calls for its continued use, and the plan has been approved by Spokane, Spokane County, Spokane Valley, Millwood, and the palouse towns. There has been concern in the environmental community about the greenhouse gases being released by the incinerator. However, a recent study shows that landfills produce more GHGs than incinerators.
  Opinion: Only Liberty Lake and the west plains cities (Medical Lake, Airway Heights and Cheney) have yet to approve of the plan. There was a serious battle over the construction of the incinerator and current County Commissioner Bonnie Mager was opposed to it. The plant is currently past capacity. Recycling could have a major impact on the ongoing cost and volume of waste disposal. Fortunately....
• Food scraps: They're not garbage anymore!
  Source: Spokane County Solid Waste
  Summary: Spokane County residents can now place food scraps into their “clean green” bins to be composted, rather than incinerated. Significantly, you may now recycle: Fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, fish, poultry, and bones, and bread, pasta and grains. The full list is available at the link above.
  Opinion: The more we reuse, the less we need to ship in from other places. It makes our region most resilient to economic changes in other regions, and expands a resource (compost) for use in our area. As we move closer and closer to a single stream recycling system, recycling rates should increase because it will become more convenient to do so.
• Living Green newsletters
  Source: SNAP; September/October 2010
  Summary: SNAP produces a bimonthly newsletter to help people live more sustainable lives. You can sign up for it by visiting the link above. In the latest edition, it talks about food preservation and storage, canning, institutional composting, and more.
  Opinion: Monitoring newsletters like these can give you ideas about how other people live their lives. You might even pick up a tip or two! In this case, the newsletter sings the praises of root cellars. Since they are part of a structure, building codes must be aware of their existence and accommodate them. Planners must be aware of what kinds of activities people engage in to make sure that they do not interfere with the proactive steps that everyday people take. As societies change, planners must attempt anticipate the neighborhood’s future so neighborhood plans are more than documents on a shelf, but, instead, living documents which support the communities they intend to serve.
• A Future Built on Different Standards
  Source: New York Times; September 2, 2010
  Summary: The province of Styria, Austria, is experiencing an economic boom as a result of a sustainable business strategy. They are promoting their region through green products. It’s a coalition of 79 municipalities for branding the region, and an incentives system for achieving ecological excellence. Foods are produced locally, and buildings use solar power and recycle waste heat. The entire region intends to be fossil fuel free by 2025.
  Opinion: These people have discovered that if they live sustainably, they don’t need to depend on people from the outside for their survival. At the same time, they’re making a branding program which allows them to create a regional identity, which attracts more people who hold the same values. And what better way to make a sustainable community than through the positive feedback of living with people with your same values?