Category: News

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing updated standards for light fixtures to qualify for the Energy Star label – an efficiency program that has saved consumers money on their energy bills while contributing to cleaner air and protecting people’s health since 1992. Effective October 1, 2011, to qualify for the Energy Star label light fixtures will need to increase efficiency 30 percent above currently qualified fluorescent-based fixtures.  In 2013, performance requirements will increase further, providing 40 percent higher efficiency compared to currently qualified models.

Light fixtures that earn the Energy Star save consumers money on their energy bills and reduce the costs and hassle associated with bulb replacement. The bulbs in Energy Star qualified fixtures last at least 10 times longer than standard light bulbs. The fixtures will continue to meet other strict performance requirements that ensure quick start-up and high quality light output, as well as reduced toxics in the fixture materials. Additionally, the fixtures will come with a 3-year warranty, which is above the industry practice.

Consumers can expect to see a range of technology options qualifying under the new Energy Star requirements — including fluorescent and LED lighting — each held to the same high standard. In order to earn the Energy Star label under the new requirements, product performance must be certified by an EPA-recognized third-party, based on testing in an EPA-recognized laboratory.  In addition, manufacturers of the products must participate in verification testing programs run by recognized certification bodies.

Energy Star was started by EPA in 1992 as a market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well as new homes and commercial and industrial buildings that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by EPA. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved $18 billion on their energy bills while reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 33 million vehicles.

More information on light fixtures: http://www.energystar.gov/luminaires

More information about the Energy Star program: http://www.energystar.gov

380,000,000,000 plastic bags are consumed each year in America, 1% of them get recycled. Princeton SECN students explores the world of plastic, and non-plastic bags. Learn how bringing your own bag, can help the environment.

Watch the story on You Tube

The manufacture of common polystyrene cups, plates and sandwich containers uses significantly less energy and water than comparable paper-based or corn-based alternatives, according to a new study.

The study (pdf) for the Plastic Foodservice Packaging Group, by Franklin Associates, compares average-weight polystyrene foam, paperboard and corn-based (also known as polylactic) cups used in 16-ounce hot and 32-ounce cold drink receptacles, 9-inch dinner plates and “clamshell” sandwich containers.

Researchers modeled energy consumption, water use, solid waste (by weight and volume) and greenhouse gas emissions for each product resulting from production, transportation and disposal.

The study found that the manufacture of polystyrene foam products consumes significantly less energy than the alternatives – half as much as wax-coated paperboard cups and one-third as much as polylactic clamshells.

Polystyrene foam products use significantly less water than the alternatives – up to four times less than polylactic clamshells, according to the study.

Read the complete story at Environmental Leader:

EPA has updated its guidance on how to properly clean up a broken compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and also developed a new consumer brochure with CFL recycling and cleanup tips.  CFLs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing.  When a CFL breaks, some of the mercury is released as vapor and may pose potential health risks.  The guidance and brochure provide simple, user-friendly directions to help prevent and reduce exposure to mercury pollution.

See http://www.epa.gov/cflcleanup.

Find more information on CFLs at http://www.epa.gov/cfl.  Note that regulated entities are required to manage spent florescent lamps as universal or hazardous waste.

EPA Region 2 has developed a guide on managing spent florescent lamps.

See http://www.epa.gov/region02/waste/spent-lamp.pdf.

EPA guidance recommends that schools take steps to reduce potential exposures to PCBs from older fluorescent lighting fixtures.  Pre-1979 ballasts contain PCBs that can leak when the ballasts fail.  Schools with older ballasts should examine them to see if they have failed or have PCB leaks.  If a light ballast is leaking PCBs, federal law requires immediate removal and disposal of the ballast and disposal of any PCB-contaminated materials at an EPA-approved facility.  To prevent exposure, school personnel should wear protective clothing, including chemically resistant gloves, boots, and disposable overalls while surveying the ballasts.  Replacement should be performed in a well-ventilated area, or with supplemental ventilation or respiratory protection.  EPA has also developed information on how to properly handle and dispose of PCB-containing fluorescent light ballasts and properly retrofit lighting fixtures to remove potential PCB hazards.

See the guidance document at

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/pubs/ballasts.htm.

Learn how to handle and dispose of PCB-containing ballasts at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/pubs/waste.htm

More information on PCBs is at http://www.epa.gov/pcb.

EPA strengthened certain provisions of the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in November, 2009.  Drilling, production or workover facilities that are offshore or that have an offshore component, or onshore facilities required to have and submit facility response plans (FRPs), due to the threats these facilities could pose of significant oil spills to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines must have implemented these changes in their SPCC plans by November 10, 2010.

Other facilities have until November 10, 2011 to update or prepare their SPCC Plans.  EPA is also delaying the compliance date to address SPCC milk and milk product containers.  Facilities in operation before August 16, 2002 must maintain and continue implementing an SPCC plan according to the SPCC regulations then in effect.  For details, see http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/compliance_dates.htm.  For more information on the SPCC rule, see http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/index.htm.

Effective January, 2011, new, more rigorous guidelines are in place for new homes that earn the Energy Star label.  The new requirements will make qualified new homes at least 20 percent more efficient than homes built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, slashing utility bills for qualified homes by 15 percent.  Key elements of the new guidelines for Energy Star qualified homes include a complete thermal enclosure system, quality installed complete heating and cooling systems, complete water management system, efficient lighting and appliances, and third-party verification.

See http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.nh_features

WASHINGTON, DC — A federal program that helped companies with environmental goals at facilities and was killed off in 2009 has been recreated as a non-profit with an expanded scope.

The concept behind the program now lives on in the non-profit Stewardship Action Council (SAC).

Members of Performance Track that wanted to see the program survive, along with other interested parties, began meeting after is demise to see what aspects of the program they could recreate and expand on, said Anne Vogel-Marr, executive director of SAC. Vogel-Marr was involved in the early years of Performance Track when she was working for National Energy and Gas Transmission, which had four facilities in the program, and later was involved independently in the creation of SAC.

The main aspect of Performance Track that is being continued, Vogel-Marr said, is the collaboration, information-sharing and learning between companies and other organizations.

“I cannot overemphasize the importance of the learning network, the dialogue that goes on around shared concerns of members,” she said.

One way the SAC is trying to differentiate itself from Performance Track is by not having any award or recognition aspects like Performance Track did. The idea, Vogel-Marr said, is that all organizations are traveling along the same continuum, with every company at different stages. The SAC is trying to drive companies along, she said, and not hold up certain ones as leaders or call out top performers.

“We’re looking to encourage that positive performance and positive direction over time,” Vogel-Marr said.

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