Keeping Our Oceans Clean

Last week I got the opportunity to visit one of South Orange County Wastewater Authority treatment plants located in Laguna Niguel, CA.  I must say that I knew nothing about how wastewater was managed or treated, so the whole tour to me was very interesting and informative.  Plus, the tour was guided by a gentleman nameed Mr. Waters; how cool is that?
This one particular plant is a conventional activated sludge treatment facility with the capability of handing 12 MGD of liquid and an equivalent of 24.6 MGD of solid waste.  Mr. Waters walked us through the the basic processes of wastewater treatment.  The first step is the preliminary treatment, which involves removing debris, larger matter, and grit.  Next, the wastewater flows into the primary sedimentation tanks, where heavier matter settles and floatable matter rises to the top.  After the matter is separated, the wastewater is sent to aeration basins where the organic pollutants in the wastewater are broken down by microorganisms into carbon dioxide, water and energy.  The remaining microorganisms are then diverted to secondary sedimentation tanks and after sedimentation  the secondary effluent moves to the ocean outfalls. A portion of this secondary effluent goes through additional filtering (tertiary treatment)  to become "reclaimed" which can be used for irrigation and other industrial processes. All settled solids are pumped to heated digesters where they are
 broken down and converted into gas by-product of carbon dioxide, methane, and a more manageable solid matter.  The remaining solids are held in detention for a certain time, then they are dewatered and known as biosolids.  These biosolids are then shipped to a landfill or used as compost material.
Mr. Waters also, stressed SOCWA's commitment to stay on top of wastewater regulations and technology to ensure that the quality of our wastewater going to the ocean is environmentally sound. 
As I said above, the tour was very informative. You can find a detail chart of the processes on SOCWA's website http://www.socwa.com/Programs/Programs.aspx.

Is Your Bottle Floating

Today I was surfing the net reading articles on pollution when I ran across the

5 Gyres Institute.  Their mission is to “conduct research and communicate about the global impact of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans and employ strategies to eliminate the accumulation of plastic pollution in the 5 subtropical gyres”.

To understand and study the impact of plastic pollution this organization has actually sailed through the 5 subtropical gyres.  They take examples of the ocean’s surface to quantity the mass, size, color and type of plastic floating inside the gyres.  Marine life is also collected for analysis.

Through their expeditions they have determined that: plastic pollution accumulates in oceanic gyres, plastic pollution dominates marine debris; plastic degrades at sea; plastic absorbs and releases chemicals, animals eat or get tangled in plastic pollution.

In May 2012 they will be doing a research voyage through the North Pacific

ocean to an area called the “Western Garbage Patch” and they have open crew

space still available.  The cost is $25,000 per person and all requirements must

be met in order to be accepted.  To learn more about the 5 Gyres Institute and

this expedition visit their website at: http://5gyres.org/get_involved/expeditions.

Below is a picture of  JUNKraft.  This raft traveled over 2,600 miles across the North Pacific

Gyre from California to Hawaii floating on 15,000 plastic bottles.

Touring Tierra Verde Industries

My tour of Tierra Verde Industries last week was awesome! TVI is a family owned green waste composting, c&d, and e-waste recovery/recycling company. Their facility employes over 130 people and houses the largest e-waste center in California. Operations Manager Darren Ross spent a lot of time showing off the amazing things they are doing in the world of "recycling". TVI sits on 90 acers of leased land that snuggles the Great Park in Irvine, CA. (Former location of the El Toro Marine Base). The facility receives 600 to 700 tons of green waste daily. The green waste (organic matter and biodegradable waste) is piled into long windrows where the waste cooks at temputures of 150 to 160 degrees. It takes approximately 100 days to complete a composting cycle. Once completed the material in siftted to recover the prime nuterient rich soil and different qualities/size of mulch. It was an interesting process to see, but it is easily over shadowed by their e-waste facility. TVI intakes approximately 200 tons of e-waste per day. The material is disassembled into 20 differents commodities. They own a machain that recovers copper from what are called "yokes" (a television part), it is 1 of only 7 operating in the US. I had no idea how much recoverable material was in a basic laptop, especally the "raw earth natural magnet mineral" found in some some. Currently, TVI has been unable to recover this magnet and would be glad to hear any suggestions you may have. TVI has a great recovery rate of about 80%, leaving only 20% being sent to landfills.

Leadership Lessons

When I was first offered a Director's position with a company that I had worked at for several years my first thought was "how are my co-workers going to accept my promotion?" Well, I did not have to wonder long, right after the announcement was made my co-worker's who were once my "co-working friends" quickly became defiant and unwilling to work as a team. Each of them feeling like the position should have been "theirs". Not knowing what to do, I immediately reached out to my boss for advice. As I sat concerned and unsure of my own leadership skills my boss looked at me and said "It is lonely at the top Tina and as of today you are their leader and they will either fall in-line or be led out the door". Immediately I knew leading people out the door would not be a productive option, so I started with a meeting where I assured my co-workers (now staff) that each of them were valued key contributors to the company and that my goal was to provide support and guidance to each of them. No one bought in....the whole team just looked at me with blank stares. I knew then that being a leader was not something that someone appoints you to be, being a leader is hard, and it takes constant awareness of the needs of the individuals on the team and how they can support the visions and goals of a department...it is a delicate balance.
Over the next few months I practiced many of Mr. Carnegie's leadership principles. I continued to praise and show appreciation for my staff, I shared my mistakes with them when needed, I encouraged them when things were going wrong...... I worked and stood beside them - not on top of them.  Although, I gradually gained my staffs respect and support as their new leader, it was not an easy task!

Jestons Gas-n-Go

While surfing the net the other day I ran across the most eco-friendly buildings in the US.  The Helios House Gas Station in LA was the "cooooolest".  It looks like a building that George Jetson would jet into 30 years ago on the hit futuristic animated cartoon series "The Jetsons".  This green designed gas station is considered to be the "station of the future".  The station's roof is made of cradle to cradle recyclable stainless steel, which reduces the energy consumption of the station by 16%.  Grass is planted on the roof to reduce the need for mechanical cooling and heating and an attached canopy collects rainwater which is used for on-site irrigation.  The bathroom sinks are made out of recycled aluminum shavings and the floor tiles are made from recycled glass.  The concrete paving has recycled glass imbedded in it, which helps reflect sunlight to keep it cooler.  The station has been called an "edustation" conceived as a "learning lab" to stimulate education on environmental stewardship.  Even the outside signage is made from recyclable material.



The station won LEEDs (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) award for the most bizarre environmentally friendly building.

What's In the Plastic

In Chapter 4 of C2C they discuss our throwaway society claiming that many materials are "Monstrous Hybrids" and define them as being "mixtures of materials both technical and biological, neither of which can be salvage after their current lives".  These "hybrids" such as leather shoes contains lead and plastics such as chromium which makes it difficult to recycled with other products.  The authors expressed the need for manufacturers to design upcycling (converting low-value materials into high-value products) into their process not just waste. They claim that this approach would allow people to enjoy new products as often as they would like.   The chapter also discusses: the framework in which we exists: mass and energy, biological metabolism and technical metabolism.  And, again the authors express the importance of not pointing the finger of blame.  It's time to FIX THE PROBLEM.  I look forward to reading the rest of the chapter.
                                                                                                                            

They Are Walking The Walk

The other day I got the opportunity to visit Republic Services CVT Regional MRF in Anaheim, CA and I must say that I was extremely impressed with their operation.  As an industrial leader in recycling services the company has two primary goals; one is to keep reusable materials out of the landfills, the second is to return them to a useful purpose.
Republic has been recycling for more than 50 years and was the first company to established a residential collection program of solid and co-mingled waste in California.  Their state-of-the-art technology allows them to reduce the amount of waste that is going to landfills by removing recyclables. Their newest investment is a 15m dollar conveyor belt that sorts (source separates) different plastics, paper, and metals. Once sorted these materials are baled, placed on a truck, and shipped mainly to China where they are processed back into a reusable product.
The MRF is massive in size and can process up to 6,000 tons per day.  It is open to the public and offers a variety of services. Two of the services they offer is environmental consulting and turn-key waste equipment. These services provides companies with specialists and equipment that will help them design recycling programs that are profitable and environmentally sound.
One of the things that impressed me was the way they recognized and awarded their committed employees.  Another thing was many of their trucks burn LNG and CNG fuel to help minimize their own environmental footprint.
After the tour, it was clear to see that Republic is facing the "need to go green" head-on and the supportive services they offer can help educated companies on how to do it effectively.

It's Easy To Miss The Message

It is amazing how old Dale Carnegie reaches out and grabs us, spins us around, and the next thing we know we are changing the way we act, listen, and think on our feet. His "principles" can be applied to almost every encounter we have with others.  Some are easily practiced, while other's are more challenging.  The most thought-provoking principles for me are the ones that stress the importance of being able to "listen".  Just when I think I'm making progress in this area, I find myself missing out on the importance of "another message". 
While working as a property manager I dealt with homeowners day in and day out, mostly the same owners time and time again.  One homeowner we will call her "Lucy", would call me every other day...like clock work.  It seemed as though I would get one issue resolved then there was another.  Each being equally important to her.  Sometimes it would be because her neighbors cat walked on her car or a simple drip at the pool faucet.  Often I would think, that she would go out of her way to find something to complain about.  After about a three months of this I started taking things personally.  Could I not please this person? Was she ever going to be happy with "anything". She was literally wearing me out.  So, one afternoon I approached my boss and expressed to her my frustration with these never ending calls.  Without hesitation she suggested that when Lucy calls just let her talk. Listen to her with open ears, try to hear her out, wait for her to finish, say nothing!  Don't defend yourself, don't discuss the actions taken, don't interrupt her.  I discovered that when I did this it gave me time to hear something more than her daily complaint, it gave me time to listen to her tone of voice, it gave me time to see things from her perspective, it gave me the ability to get to know her better. Once I started listening, I heard a strong-minded lonely person.  You see, Lucy didn't really let the paw prints on her car upset her, nor did she really care about the leak at the pool, she just wanted someone to talk to.  After that day, I made an attempt to have a cup of her "unpredictable" coffee with her every week.  Lucy became one of my biggest supporters in the community, so don't miss the message, let others talk, listen with open ears, and remember it's not all about you.

Making Good Without Pointing

I like the fresh up-beat ideas of the author's or Cradle to Cradle.  I think their approach of not pointing fingers will help generate a positive movement towards designing "good" reusable products. Products that can be recycled for reuse without releasing damaging materials into the air or affecting the quality of the new product.  I like the idea of a "cherry tree type building" because it not only would help the building to be energy efficient, but it would also induce a less stressful work environment, and could possibly increase productivity to meets the needs of commerce.

This book doesn't say we have to change the way we buy products, it says we have to change the way we make products. The examples of the books they discuss in chapter 3 confirmed that recycling is not an easy thing.  I would have never thought that a regular paperback book would be so difficult to recycle.  I have always looked at a book as paper with a little ink on the pages, I had no idea that the paper had to be strongly beached in the recycling process.

It's all like a trigger effect to me right now.  My ideas and thoughts are all over the place. I'm looking forward to learning more about what I can do to help make an impact on this serious problem that we continue to create for ourselves.

No Motive

I don't always embrace Dale Carnegie's writings (I find some of his examples dated and lacking a sense of aggression one may need to use in today's world), but his advice on "How to Make People Like You Instantly" should be a principle that you embed under you skin.  It should be a way of life for you, not a tactic to get someone to like you, to sell something to someone, none of those....just a simple way of life.  It's not hard....just be nice and appreciate the people who are around you, make them feel important and show your appreciation for them.  I don't have a scenario to write about that tells you who and how and what I tried on this subject.  But, what I do have is information about people who I don't even know outside of a casual conversations.  Lets take the young man that rolls around in his wheelchair around campus everyday.  How many of you have actually stopped to talk  with him?  Did you smile at him?  Anything?  My guess is 9 out of 10 people walk pass this young man everyday and never say one thing, just as they did with the little nerdy guy that sat all alone in the reading lab this past summer.  How do I know these guys you may ask, because I spoke to them, I smiled at them, I made them feel good about themselves, I talked to them about what they liked, asked what they were studying, I gave them compliments about their clothing, I made them feel important.  Steve is very bright, has great goals, and is hoping to roll himself into CSU next year, while my buddy Gordon is shy and withdrawn from others, he plans to be artist.  You see, it's not always about you...it's always about the other person.  So, before you take out to accomplish your tasks today remember to say "Thank you", remember to "Smile", and remember if you want to earn other people's respect and friendship you have to show a sincere interest in them.

Not A Beachside Resort

My field trip to Prima Deshecha a (Class III) landfill left me with one question, "What will it take to make everyday people understand that we have to change the way we live?".  The site I visited sits quietly upon some of the most beautiful land money can buy.  All you could see was green-flowing canyons snuggled by the by the rolling Pacific ocean, a breath taking view, but wait....don't take a deep breath, because on the other side of the hill is your overly excessive amount of waste layered in with mine. It was a sobering sight that should be instilled in our minds, a sight that should motivate each of us to embrace a keener awareness of "Zero Waste" and take action.
One of the most interesting aspects of the  landfill was its construction and how daily cells are made next to each, increasing the elevation. Our tour guide Randy explained that they were filling air space  and once the planned elevation is reached that they would move to another area within the landfill.  Another thing that I found interesting was their ability to convert the Methane to LNG through their own facility and actually run the landfill from that energy.  Also, they have a HHW collection center that is free, open only to the public and is "full-service" by regulation.  Plus, they have a free material exchange program where you can shop for partially used materials.  It's a great place to dispose of your household hazardous waste and you cannot beat the free shopping.

This trip has inspired me to become more active and aware of the things that I can change in my everyday life to help reduce the amount of waste that is being generated.  I truly believe that we as individuals have to change the way we live and buy "stuff".  We all have to join forces and work together to change this "throw away culture" we made for ourselves.










The landfill consists of 1530 acres, and is currently permitted for 699 acres of that to be used for refuse disposal.  It was opened in 1976 and it is estimated to close in 2067.  This date may be extended to 2095 because other landfills have been built, reducing Prima's collection rates from 2800 tons a day to 1400 tons.  The landfill can accept at a maximum of 4000 tons per day by law, and is required to operate under numerous other regulations to protect pubic health, safety. and the enviorment. http://wikimapia.org/#lat=33.4881889&lon=-117.6220322&z=13&l=0&m=b&v=8

You Can't Buy GREEN

As you can see my post title includes the word GREEN.  I wonder what the word GREEN means to young school age children.  Does it mean a color of a crayon, the color of their favorite shirt, or the color of money?  From what I have read the color GREEN needs to be changed from a color to a lifestyle.  I feel that it is imperative that we set solid programs in place throughout our school systems to educate children about the need to recycle, and encourage them to challenge their friends to increase the awareness of the need to live "GREEN".

Where's the Recycling Container

After performing my field observations at IVC the experience raised my awareness of the volume of waste that could be recycled and or reused.  The experience has elevated my interest to learn about "Zero Waste" and ways that we can educate and promote sustainability.  I felt that the college should take a more active role by providing accessibility to recycling waste containers to encourage student use.

Sticky Pad

The other day while reading "How to Win Friends and Influence People" I thought I would try spreading a little Honey on a Sprint Representative.  My goal was to reduce my rate without losing any of my current services. Now, I must tell you up front, I have a low tolerance for people who tell me "WHY" they cannot do something.... to help me.
So ring a ding ring....I was now connected with Shirley.  I explained to Shirley in a "friendly way" that I had been a loyal customer for the past 12 years and that I was seeking to lower my rates.  I discussed possible options with other carriers.  Shirley jump in by telling me "that she could not do it" without hesitation.  To move Shirley to my way of thinking I asked what she would do, in an attempt to motivate her to believe that she held the solution to my problem.
This approach resulted in a 50% reduction in my phone bill, with no contract extension, or loss of services.

My Footprint Is Clean

The following week during class break, I approached the young woman and ask her if she was able to obtain the needed material.  She kindly said "No, that she wanted to purchase the book from the book store and that the book should be in the store next week".  I said "That's good" and again offered to help in anyway I could,  then our conversation moved smoothly onto another subject. 

I guess one could say that I recovered with ease and my footprint is clean, but it was not without lesson.  I found myself passing judgement upon someone that I did not even know; instead I should have been more understanding of her flight of emotions, fears, and interests.

Is There a Hole in My Toe?

Last week classes started and emotions were running high among the freshly enrolled students of all ages. I myself was apprehensive about the classes I enrolled in; was I going to like the classes, the instructors, my classmates?  A rush of questions that could make a person doubt their abilities and tamper with their confidence level. 
As I entered class, I noticed a woman that was in another one of my other classes.  You could tell by her communication with others that she was struggling with obtaining the correct material for the class. So, I reached out to her by offering to help.  While making several suggestions, I noticed she was anxious and just needed confirmation from someone that everything would fall in place.  As I tried to assure her that the information was on the web, it seemed as though she repeatedly came up with reasons why she could not access the information.
With every reason given the less I wanted to assist her.  I abruptly shut down my efforts by saying "I'm trying to help you". 
It was not until I got home did I realize that I had become judging of her and that I should have made another attempt after class to clam the tentions.  That night I thought of her several times.  I was not impressed on how I handled the situation and was determined to test the waters the next day.

Did I just shoot myself in the foot by dismissing her interest?  After all, she is a classmate and she could be a very resourceful person.  The answer is in the next post!

Your The One That Shoots

For all of those who have read and dabbled in the book, "How to Win Friends & Influence People", here is a reminder on "Becoming a Friendlier Person".  One must become genuinely interested in other people in order to build outstanding, productive, relationships.  The following post is an example of shooting at your own foot!