| New website to tackle waste
reduction, take Cities into next level of recycling TWIN CITIES – Citizens of the six-county metro area are going to be seeing a lot of the new Green Guardian Mascot -- and learning more about how to pitch in. The new protector of the environment activated GreenGuardian.com on Thursday, June 26, at the Science Museum of Minnesota. County, city and state government officials attended the kick-off event of the new public information and action website, which will encourage metro residents to become more conscious of what they buy and what they throw, and the consequences of these actions on the environment. The new GreenGuardian.com website is the brainchild of the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board (SWMCB) -- a joint effort of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties -- along with the Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The website is the centerpiece of an integrated public awareness campaign, which includes outdoor and newspaper advertising as well as a new educational mascot. The campaign is designed to inform metro area citizens of the environmental, as well as financial, costs of a consumer culture increasingly dependent upon disposable, "throwaway" items that cater to convenience and ease. "Government at every level is being asked to do more with less, especially local government," explained Susan M. Haigh, Ramsey County Commissioner and Chair of the SWMCB. "On the other hand, people are feeling more squeezed for time than ever and are increasingly reliant on convenience products that, more often than not, are disposable." The average person in the six-county metro area generates almost 7 pounds of garbage per day. And over the last five years, the waste stream has grown at twice the rate of the overall population. "Having worked on the issue of waste management over the years," Haigh said, "the SWMCB knows that metro area residents want to do the right thing for the environment if they know what the 'right thing' is. The SWMCB has risen to this challenge with a consumer-friendly website that can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. "Whether someone is trying to figure out what to do with an extra quart of latex paint in their basement or a bag of fertilizer in their garage, or is trying to cut down on prepackaged foods for their kids' lunches, we believe that the Green Guardian campaign will motivate citizens to be better environmental stewards in their daily lives by reducing the waste they purchase in the first place and safely disposing of the waste they may accumulate on the back-end." SWMCB also practices what they preach: The new website collapses much of the organization's printed collateral materials -- including citizen resource guides, brochures and pamphlets -- into a paperless, consumer-friendly information source. And SWMCB expects that GreenGuardian.com will reach more people, more efficiently, than previous communications efforts. Haigh emphasized, "GreenGuardian.com is accessible night or day, whenever the need arises." SWMCB Vice-Chair and Washington County Commissioner Dick Stafford says that while metro citizens are attuned to basic recycling (paper, plastics and aluminum), "there remains a pressing need to expand recycling awareness about proper disposal of such increasingly common things as computers, fluorescent lights, rechargeable batteries, propane tanks and other waste products -- the 'next-level or 'next-generation' recycling agenda. GreenGuardian.com will make public access of that kind of information more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than ever before." The campaign's mascot, "the Green Guardian Knight" will begin making his way into schools, community events and summer fairs to promote awareness and use of the website. According to Stafford, "the Green Guardian wants kids and adults alike to be more conscious of what they buy and what they throw away. We all need to take a couple moments out of our week to make sure we're doing the responsible thing toward recycling and waste and toxicity reduction." GreenGuardian.com provides resources and web links to people seeking information on recycling, reuse, composting and disposing of household items such as pesticides and mercury thermometers. In its launch phase, the website will cater primarily to waste issues that impact people at home, as well as providing an interactive "Kids In Action" section to educate children ages 5 to 14 about environmentally friendly purchasing and disposal behaviors they can carry with them into adulthood. SWMCB plans a future expansion of the site, with additional information targeted at businesses and workplace issues. |
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