Recycling

BURBANK — With sustainability as one of the City Council’s top priorities for the year, the airport is doing its part to keep in line. At the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority meeting on Tuesday, staff discussed renovations that have made the airport a more efficient, eco-friendly force in the community. Hands-free faucets and recycled paper in restrooms as well as the replacement of incandescent taxiway lighting with an LED system are some of the green features implemented recently at the airport.

For Burbank resident Sean Barton and his wife, Jamie Barton, lunch is often an energy bar on the run rather than a big sit-down meal. Between the two of them, they consume at least 10 snack bars a week. So when Barton heard about an energy bar recycling initiative that reuses energy bar wrappers while raising money for charity, it was something he figured his household could contribute to. “It fits us both,” he said. Earlier this year, Barton and his wife began collecting energy bar wrappers as part of the Energy Bar Brigade, one of a handful of recycling initiatives organized by TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that makes plant fertilizer and prides itself on the sustainability of its products.

BURBANK — Trash could become a thing of the past in Burbank, as the city is rapidly moving toward becoming a zero-waste community, officials said. “Zero waste is the goal, but whether or not human beings in an independent society can get to throw away zero trash is unknown,” Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford said. In an effort to address the unknown, Teaford and staff members around the city are preparing a report she plans to present to the City Council on April 29 about ways to decrease commercial, residential and citywide waste.

The playground at William McKinley Elementary School was a conservationist’s dream on Friday, as the students celebrated Earth Day with a wide range of eco-conscious games and activities. An obstacle course was made of recycled tires, old hula hoops from physical education classes and scrap wood for a balance beam. A carnival-style bottle-toss game had students throwing empty water bottles into blue recycling bins several feet away. And decorative chains draped on the fence were made all of old homework assignments — with most of the color, PTA president Suzanne Weerts pointed out, coming from younger students’ crayon-created work.

BURBANK — Trash could become a thing of the past in Burbank as the city is rapidly moving toward becoming a zero-waste community, officials said. “Zero waste is the goal, but whether or not human beings in an independent society can get to throw away zero trash is unknown,” Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford said. In an effort to address the unknown, Teaford and staff members around the city are preparing a report she plans to present to the City Council on April 29 about ways to decrease commercial, residential and citywide waste.

BURBANK — Burbank Unified School District administrators are testing a Styrofoam recycling plan in Burbank elementary schools this year in an effort to reduce waste. But Burbank Recycling Center officials say the plan, which consists of recycling Styrofoam eating trays, may not deliver the environmental friendliness they want.. District officials struck a deal in October with PDR Inc., a recycling company that specializes in Styrofoam, for the pick-up of the plates. They hope the program will reduce waste disposal costs while helping the environment.

CITY HALL — The Burbank City Council unanimously supported a $12.5-million expansion to the city’s recycled-water distribution system Tuesday. “The expansion will improve the sustainability of our water supply, conserve the vital resource of potable water and expand the drought-proof portion of our water supply,” said Bill Mace, Burbank Water and Power assistant manager. The existing recycled-water system delivered 2,500 acre feet of water last year over six miles of independent pipes used principally for irrigation, Mace said.

BURBANK — Building on its expanding environmental portfolio, the city plans to use more than 17,000 used tires to repave two local streets, officials said. “This is completely consistent with our green push,” said Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford. “The whole concept is to reduce, reuse, recycle. This fits in with that concept.” The city will use about 17,400 tires, mixing them in with asphalt and keeping them out of the city’s landfill.

The business of recycling the mounds and mounds of trash in Burbank continues to exceed state and national averages as the city forges ahead on its push for zero waste. "Our overall recycle rate in the city is really very good," recycling coordinator Kreigh Hampel said. "We've got a really healthy recycling program here." Zero waste refers to the goal of reusing as much as waste possible. Burbank recycled 52% of its waste in 2006 and has operated at about a 60% overall average over the past several years, he said.

The John Burroughs High School spirit squad needs a little cheer from the community to help pep up the team's fundraising efforts. The squad is asking local residents and businesses to donate their electronic waste on Saturday so 19 cheerleaders can go to Hawaii next year to compete in the Aloha International Spirit Competition, a contest that showcases squads from around the country. The group will be participating in the competition for the first time, said Jennifer Fajardo, spirit squad advisor.