This webinar is intended to help publicly owned treatment works (POTW) personnel implement their local pretreatment program.  The National Pretreatment Program regulations identify specific requirements for controlling the wastewater discharges from nondomestic users. When a control mechanism is used to authorize the discharge of wastewater to a POTW, it must contain certain conditions and requirements.  The control mechanism outlines all the duties and obligations of the nondomestic user, including all applicable Pretreatment Standards and Requirements.

This webinar introduces EPA’s revised Industrial User Permitting Guidance Manual and provides an overview of the nondomestic user permitting process, including preparing effective and enforceable control mechanisms and recommendations and requirements for content and structure.  See

http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/courseinfo.cfm?program_id=0&outreach_id=652&schedule_id=1176

The Water Quality Standards Virtual Academy webinar “Water Quality Standards 101” is available as an archived recorded webinar.  Water quality standards are the foundation of the water quality-based pollution control program mandated by the Clean Water Act. Water quality standards define the goals for a waterbody by designating its uses, setting criteria to protect those uses, and establishing provisions such as antidegradation policies to protect water bodies from pollutants.

Learn how you can use water quality standards to protect water resources.  This webinar is aimed at states, territories, tribes, environmental groups, industrial groups, municipalities, the academic community, federal agencies, watershed groups and any other interested parties.  Find the archived webinar and other water quality training at http://water.epa.gov/learn/training/standardsacademy/index.cfm (scroll half way down).

Janet Brown, Contributing Editor, Health Care Design Magazine

If you close your eyes and think of an interior where you felt relaxed and at peace, what comes to mind?

Jean Hansen, FIIDA, CID, AAHID, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C, sustainable interiors manager, senior professional associate, HDR Architecture, Inc.; Michelle Halle Stern, AIA, PE, MSPH, LEED Fellow, director, sustainable design services, HDR; and I pondered “healthy interiors” on a January 2012 conference call.

We talked about view; daylight; open space; quiet, pleasant colors; artwork; a calming culture; and a positive energy. We talked about a lack of the “hospital smell,” which we discussed could include food warming, soiled linen, cleaning chemicals, and exhaust. We discussed the patient experience, perception, and the visceral reaction one may have to noise, bright light, or odor.

We can’t always see, smell, or hear the presence of chemicals in building materials, furniture, and finishes. One may associate chemicals with cleaning solutions, disinfectants, mercury, and laboratory chemicals, but carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and asthmagens are frequently found in furniture, casework, fabrics, beds, and medical equipment.

Hospitals are increasingly looking to architects and designers for their expertise in creating healthier interiors free of known chemical hazards. Tools, resources, and experts like the featured “interior intelligence” can guide healthcare leaders towards safer choices in furniture, casework, fabrics, and finishes, so that material choices are in line with the goal of creating a healthy space for workers, patients, and visitors.

Hansen was inspired by sustainability when she heard a talk about green cleaning more than 15 years ago. As a designer and a healthcare planner, she looks through the lens of health to think about design, materials specification, and product and material evaluation.

“Sustainability and health are interconnected,” she says. Halle Stern worked in sustainability before she got her start in healthcare. But with healthcare, it all tied together. The two now work together at HDR, researching and specifying safer materials, and have seen a dramatic increase in requests.
Continue reading Healthy Interiors: If These Walls Could Talk

Justin Ward, VP, Business Practices – Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, Conservation International and Mari Snyder, VP, Social Responsibility, Marriott International, discuss the importance of sustainability in the hospitality industry.

Watch the video at Environmental Leader

ARAMARK Higher Education Celebrates Earth Day Every Day

One initiative, trayless dining (removing trays from college dining halls), is having a measurable impact on reducing waste and conserving natural resources.  According to a national survey conducted by ARAMARK Higher Education, trayless dining reduces waste by approximately two ounces per person, per meal. As of spring 2012, more than 300 colleges and universities served by ARAMARK throughout North America have removed trays from their dining halls, diverting more than 15 million pounds of food waste from landfills this year, while reducing trash hauling needs, decreasing water and chemical use, and reducing electricity consumption.

‘Trayless dining is just one high impact example of how engaging an entire community can yield significant results for the environment,’ said Christopher Stemen, Associate Vice President of Sustainability, ARAMARK Higher Education.  ‘Our goal is to involve the campus community in sustainable practices that they can incorporate into their daily lives. By making Every Day Earth Day, we can positively impact our campuses, local communities and planet all at the same time.’

Throughout Earth Week, ARAMARK is hosting several campus events that highlight the importance of environmental stewardship, including:

Read the complete article at Environmental Expert

Repost from http://sustainableindustries.com/articles/2011/11/trash-raw-materials

Technology is not a destiny. We are the smartest beings on the planet and if we do not like what we can see of the future, there is still time to change it. Hazardous waste is the inevitable byproduct of industrial development. These wastes can be unhealthy both for people and the environmental. The future of all living things depends on how we relate to the Earth and how we use materials. What we do know of material flows in our global and national economy shows both crisis and promise. On the crisis side, our exponentially increasing use of materials is challenging the capacity of the Earth. On the promise side, we are beginning to practice lifecycle management and learning how to reduce the materials that run through our economy.

It has been said that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  It is possible for companies to turn their trash into their own treasure. Disruptive technologies are often born through repurposing. Whether it is reuse of existing buildings or waste re-envisioning, innovating on top of excess makes sense. Every manufacturing process creates something that by default creates waste. Using waste instead of trashing it can cut costs by reducing disposal fees, at the very least. The greatest returns are realized when companies broaden their scope to include a joint production process and start thinking about how to use resources to produce value.
Continue reading From trash to raw materials

Join us for a Webinar on April 26, 2012

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/310083866

California passed AB 913 taking effect January 2012 to facilitate growth and development of the local government Green Business programs across the state.  The Green Business program delivers a package of proven multimedia technical assistance to small business to help them improve operations to meet sustainability goals.  Learn from California expert, Matt McCarron, how to start a Green Business Program, how they work, and positive effects on a community.  Matt will demonstrate the value of Green Business Programs (GBP) using quantitative and qualitative results, including waste and emissions reductions, energy and water conservation, cost savings and customer satisfaction.

At the end of the presentation, Jen Huntley, PhD, Environmental Historian, Former UNR Professor and Chair for greenUP! will discuss how Reno-based environmental group, greenUP! is launching a green business program in Reno, Nevada.

Bio of Lead Presenter:
Matt McCarron is is the project lead for the California Green Business program in the Pollution Prevention program at California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Recently, Matt was loaned to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, now GO-Biz to assist businesses with permit information. Previously Matt has worked with CalRecycle (CIWMB) Electronics Waste and HHW/Used Oil section, Cal/EPA Permit Assistance Centers and earlier with DTSC’s regulatory assistance and HHW program.  Matt has a degree in Biology and master’s in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco.

This Webinar is cosponsored by the Western Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Network (WSPPN) and Reno-based environmental group, greenUP!
Webinar: How to Launch Green Business Programs in Communities Across the Nation
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM PDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 9, 2012) — A joint research project between the University of Southampton and lithium battery technology company REAPsystems has found that a new type of battery has the potential to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar power.

The research project, sponsored by REAPsystems, was led by MSc Sustainable Energy Technologies student, Yue Wu and his supervisors Dr Carlos Ponce de Leon, Professor Tom Markvart and Dr John Low (currently working at the University’s Research Institute for Industry, RIfI). The study looked specifically into the use of lithium batteries as an energy storage device in photovoltaic systems.

Student Yue Wu says, “Lead acid batteries are traditionally the energy storage device used for most photovoltaic systems. However, as an energy storage device, lithium batteries, especially the LiFePO₄batteries we used, have more favourable characteristics.”

Data was collected by connecting a lithium iron phosphate battery to a photovoltaic system attached to one of the University’s buildings, using a specifically designed battery management system supplied by REAPsystems.

Yue adds, “the research showed that the lithium battery has an energy efficiency of 95 per cent whereas the lead-acid batteries commonly used today only have around 80 per cent. The weight of the lithium batteries is lower and they have a longer life span than the lead-acid batteries reaching up to 1,600 charge/discharge cycles, meaning they would need to be replaced less frequently.”

Although the battery will require further testing before being put into commercial photovoltaic systems the research has shown that the LiFePO₄ battery has the potential to improve the efficiency of solar power systems and help to reduce the costs of both their installation and upkeep. Dr Carlos Ponce de Leon and Dr. John Low now plan to take this project further with a new cohort of Masters students.

Dr Dennis Doerffel, founder of REAPsystems and former researcher at the University of Southampton, says: “For all kinds of energy source (renewable or non-renewable), the energy storage device — such as a battery — plays an important role in determining the energy utilisation. Compared with traditional lead acid batteries, LiFePO₄ batteries are more efficient, have a longer lifetime, are lighter and cost less per unit. We can see the potential of this battery being used widely in photovoltaic application, and other renewable energy systems.”