April 2015 is Moving Missoula Toward Zero Waste MonthBy Jenny Mish, Executive DirectorSustainable Business Council

The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) has launched a major campaign aiming to “Move Missoula Toward Zero Waste” during April 2015. It includes a commu-nity calendar of events, an event planning webinar, a lecture series, and a Guide to Moving Missoula Toward Zero Waste (TZW). The campaign also builds support for a new community coalition, Zero Waste Missoula.

Calendar of EventsThis campaign has attracted strong participation, in part because many Missoulians are frustrated or confused by the limited recycling options available locally. Community events range from tours of lum-beryards, breweries, MRFs, and wastewater facilities to ditch and river cleanups, a paper shredding event, a used book sale, and the launch of a new regional e-waste facility. Earth Day events were also encour-aged to adopt waste reduction themes, extending the campaign’s reach.

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The Montana Recycler A Publication from Recycle Montana

Winter 2015

The Montana Recycler A Publication from Recycle Montana

Winter 2015

I n T h i s I s s u e . . .

Moving Missoula Toward Zero Waste p.1Letter from the President p.2Legislative Update p.2Earth Week Event Listings p.3Recycle Hi-Line Celebrates Earth Day p.6Compost in Lewis & Clark County p.6SMART Schools Challenge Update p.7High School Welders Compete p.8Commodities Update p.9School Presentations Update p.10Field Notes: Bayern Brewing p.11Pacific Shredder Digests Cars p.13

Building a ReSource p.1�

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not neces-sarily reflect the official policy or position of Recycle Montana.

www.RecycleMontana.org PO Box 1360 Helena, MT 59624 406.461.9106

Spring 2015

Above: The River City Roots Festival provides reusable cups, significantly reducing waste generated at the event. Photo: Athena Photography

Letter from the President This April 22nd is Earth Day, the �5th Earth Day! Communities across Montana are taking this opportunity to celebrate our environment and natural resources with Earth Day events and even series of Earth Week events. Earth Day is a great time to look at what we can do to improve our relationship with the planet. With recycling, this is something we can do all year long!

This Earth Day, Recycle Montana is celebrating a renewed focus on education as a membership organization that includes local governments, recycling advocates, recycling collectors and others in recycling related industries. Together, we are looking forward to our new education resources at RecycleMontana.org, expansion of “Don’t Waste Montana” state-wide, and more engagement with the public.

Recycle Montana is also re-launching RecycleMontana.org, a resource for community guides, recycling events, and tech-nical assistance. Most of all, we are expanding forums and our ability to host community ideas. We invite you to visit us online and take a look at our listing of Earth Day events across Montana.

Happy Earth Day; Lets Recycle All Year!

Candi Zion, President Board of Directors

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Legislative UpdateBy Mark Nelson, PresidentMontana Recycling Association

The Montana Recycling Asso-ciation has been engaging in the 2015 Legislature, repre-senting the interest of recy-clers and recycling in Mon-tana. MRA’s primary focus has been to ensure Montana’s recycling incentives, vital to Montana recyclers, remain intact.

These incentives include a permit credit for the use of post-consumer glass in ce-ment/concrete production, a tax credit for the purchase of equip-ment or property used to collect recyclables and a deduction based on the use of recycled materials in the manufacturing process. The later two, the credit and the deduction, both stand to be eliminated in 2016 by Senate Bill 171.

MRA has worked to successfully amend this bill to restore the recycling credit and deduction. At the time of this update, MRA is working to ensure the amendment remains on the bill. MRA is monitoring another bill, HB 15�, which would put a sunset on the recycling credit of 2021 following an interim review.

MRA is also monitoring several budget items related to recycling. More details are at MontanaRecyclers.org

Montana Recycling Association would like to thank Recycle Montana for partnering on a successful Montana Reycles Day event at the capitol on March 24th. MRA is excited to focus on policy while Recycle Montanaexpands its education program and provides community assistance.

Helena Recycling collects recyclables at the captitol building for Montana Recycles Day

Recycle Montana is the leading source for for recycling education and resourc-

es in the state of Montana. Recycle Montana works to increase recycling through education and building coali-tions between communities, schools,

and recyclers.

RM Board of Directors

Board President:Candi Zion, HavreBoard Vice President:Kirk Treece, MissoulaBoard Secretary:Jessie Luther, HelenaBoard Treasurer:John Hilton, HelenaBoard Members:Mark Nelson, RonanElaine Taylor, HelenaScott Berens, BillingsSherrel Rhys, HelenaJanelle Grant, Miles City

Recycle Montana Staff:Executive Director:Matthew Elsaesser

Recycling Educator:Rob Pudner (Energy Corps)

WHEN WHATApril 18th1:30 PM

Butte Arbor Day/Earth Day Tree Plantinghttp://www.eventsinbutte.com/0�/18/2015/help-plant-a-tree-for-earth-day/

April 18th 9AM – 1PM

Bozeman Bike Swaphttp://gallatinvalleybicycleclub.org/bike-swap/

April 20 10:00 AM

[Havre] Recycle Hi-Line Earth Day Celebrationhttp://recyclehiline.org/

April 202:30PM

[Helena] Exploration Works! Earth Week Celebrationhttp://www.helenaevents.net/0�/20/2015/earth-week-celebration-at-explorationworks/

April 216:00 PM

[Butte] Open Community Climate Change DiscussionBSB Public Library

Aprill 225PM – 7PM

[Helena] Green Drinks with Cultivate Helenahttps://www.facebook.com/GreenDrinksHelena

April 2�th 9AM – �PM

Gardiner Earth Day Celebrationhttps://www.facebook.com/GardinerEarthDay/info?tab=page_info

April 25th 9AM – 2PM

[Helena] Peddles & Paddles Bike/Fishing Swaphttp://www.bikewalkhelena.org/

April 25th 8:30AM–1:00PM

Bozeman Clean Up Day & Sustainability Fairhttp://bozemanclimatepartners.net/gec/

April 25th 10AM – 2PM

Whitefish Community Celebrationhttp://www.flatheadcitizens.org/alerts.htm

April 26th 12PM –5PM

Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (MUD)http://mudproject.org/earth-day-celebration-and-5k-race-sponsorship-registration/

May 1 - 10 Miles City Trash Walkhttp://www.keepmcbeautiful.com/events-schedule

May 9th 9AM–3PM

Missoula Bike Swaphttp://www.bikewalkmissoula.org/

May 23All Day

Scouts Trash the Trash Dayhttps://www.facebook.com/events/916�81098392680/

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CO M M U N I T YE V E N TS

Check RecycleMontana.org periodically for new events as they are announced

SBC Continued from Page �

Event Planning Webinar A free webinar was offered in February explaining how to plan a zero waste event, large or small. One attendee who organizes a monthly breakfast immediately put these tips into practice, switching to reusable serveware and encour-aging attendees to bring their own coffee mugs. Power-Points and a video of the webinar are posted on the SBC website.

Circular Economy Lecture SeriesIn March, leading up to TZW Month, the SBC hosted Mark Buckley, VP of Environmental Affairs from Staples, for a public lecture at the UM School of Business Administra-tion. He spoke about the rapid game changes occurring in global supply chains, where waste is on its way to becom-ing obsolete. Mark also met with students and participated in a panel with two local Circular Economy entrepreneurs, the founders of Blue Marble Biomaterials and Montainer.

Guide to Moving Missoula Toward Zero WasteThe centerpiece of the TZW campaign is a publication packed with case studies, maps, infographics, and articles. An abbreviated printed “Mini-Guide” was distributed at events and in the free weekly newspaper. A press and media campaign aim to drive readers to the full 67-page online Guide, available at sustainablebusinesscouncil.org.

Here are some highlights from the online Guide:

Intro: Defines “zero waste” as a goal and guiding principle. Basic stats about Montana’s higher than average waste production per capita and the DEQ’s goal of 25% diversion by 2015. Many examples show that individuals, businesses, events, and cities are committing to and achieving ambi-tious waste reduction targets. A case study shows how Sierra Nevada Brewing achieves 98.8% zero waste.

Reduce: Emphasizes single-use food and beverage contain-ers. Many local food providers believe that regulations requires single-use containers for events. A statement on Health Department letterhead sets things straight, and a “hierarchy of single use” ranks options from best to worst.

Redesign: Introduces biomimicry, waste audits, and the economic benefits of diversion. It tells of a $100 million zero-interest loan fund established by multinational cor-porations who are eager to see US cities increase recycling rates. A case study of St. Patrick’s Hospital shows one ton of waste diverted daily, saving $300,000 per year, achieving a 38% diversion rate over seven years.

Reuse: Provides a map of drop-off locations for items reused locally. Articles describe the “sharing economy,” construction and demolition debris, and the story of a contractor’s reluctance to divert reusable materials. A case study tells how Donation Warehouse refurbishes used ap-pliances to fund child abuse prevention.

Recycle: Provides a map of drop-off locations, a directory of pick-up services, and a list of the top six contaminants. An infographic traces seven materials streams. A case study describes Opportunity E-Cycling, a new R2-certified regional facility that takes “anything with a power cord and a green board.”

Waste: Provides a landfill diagram and describes Repub-lic Services’ plans to convert methane to energy. Articles on glass aim to clear up confusion about Missoula’s most talked-about waste stream, hopefully diverting attention to more important topics. Food wastes are discussed, though local options remain limited. The Guide concludes with articles on hazardous wastes and incinerators.

Introducing Zero Waste MissoulaThe Moving Missoula Toward Zero Waste campaign aims to fulfill the SBC’s mission of advancing a vibrant local economy built on sustainable practices. In addition, it helps to launch a new coalition, Zero Waste Missoula, which is part of Climate Smart Missoula. Mayor John Engen has proclaimed April 2015 as Moving Missoula Toward Zero Waste Month, and the coalition hopes to work toward a municipal waste reduction resolution in the future.

� Graph courtesy of Sustainable Business Council

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Show Your Support with a Recycle Montana License

Plate!Support Recycle Montana’s work to increase recy-cling, while proudly displaying your values with the Recycle Montana License Plate! This sponsored plate is available at all Montana county motor ve-hicle offices. The first-time cost of the plate is $50, which includes a manufacturing fee paid to the state, as well as a donation to Recycle Montana. Af-ter that the annual renewal cost is $30, all of which goes directly to Recycle Montana. Because we are not able to track license plate sales, we cannot of-

fer a membership for your purchase of a plate.

The Hi-Line Celebrates Earth DayBy Candi Zion, PresidentRecycle Hi-Line

Recycle Hi-Line, a non-profit volunteer organization based on the Hi-line of Montana, plans to celebrate

Earth Day April 22nd by recognizing the recycling efforts of local citizens. Every year, Recycle Hi-Line selects in-

dividuals and businesses that are dedicated to recycling as Environmental Heroes. The heroes this year are Tina Tweeten, Ken Brubaker, Wayne Koepke, and

Wanda and Roger Meredith, all ma-

jor participants in the monthly Recycle Hi-Line Recycle Drives. Tina manages the Circle Inn Motel of Havre and diligently sorts recyclable items from the guest trash. Ken operates the bowling alley, Hi-Line Lanes, and brings in truck loads of recyclables from the bowling alley to the Recycle Drives. Wayne’s wife, Ranelle Braaten, owns and created Enell Bras made famous on Oprah Winfrey’s show. Wayne recycles all plastic wrap used in that business at the monthly drive. The Merediths recently purchased a glass crusher that they showcased at the March Recycle Hi-Line Annual Meeting. They collect glass at the drives and plan to sell the crushed glass through the business of a past Environmental Awardee, Bob Doney of Bob’s Greenhouse.

Compost in Lewis & Clark CountyBy Sherrel Rhys, Solid Waste ManagerLewis & Clark County

C omposting, often described as nature’s way of recy-cling, is the biological process of breaking up of organic

waste such as manure, leaves, grass trimmings, chipped wood , etc., into an extremely useful humus-like substance by various micro-organisms including bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in the presence of oxygen.

The Lewis and Clark County Landfill started composting to manage municipal wastewater treatment sludges (biosol-ids), yard wastes, and other organic wastes produced by

the City of Helena by manufacturing high quality compost. The Landfill accepts biosolids which are mixed with appro-priate ratios of woody waste, primarily ground brush from the city of Helena. Other organic wastes, such as green vegetable chop, yard waste, spoiled hay or straw, and manure are also incor-porated into the compost feedstock. All of the processes comply with federal and state regulations governing sew-age sludge.

Here’s how it works: The Lewis and Clark County Landfill receives dewatered treated sewage sludge from the City of Helena Waste Water Treatment Facility and mixes it with wood chips and other mulches.

Continued on Page �

The awardees will be formally recognized at the Havre City Council Meeting, 7 pm, April 20th. At that time, the mayor will sign a proclamation honoring Earth Day. The Hill County Commissioners formally recognize Earth Day by signing their proclamation at 10 am that same day.

Participants at Recycle Hi-Line’s last event gather around a mobile glass pulverizer.

A Successful Experiment By Bill Pedersen, SMART Schools CoordinatorMontana Department of Environmental Quality

April 1st marked the conclusion of a successful pilot year for the SMART Schools Challenge. This year, �6 K-

12 schools across Montana answered Lieutenant Governor Angela McLean’s Challenge to save money and resources today by reducing their environment footprints. Schools from Glendive to Big Fork surpassed all expecta-tions with amazing projects ranging from: • acquiring “earth tubs” capable of industrial-scale composting; • installing solar arrays; • building an aquaponics system, which allows plants and fish to grow together in a symbiotic relationship; • supporting alternative transportation initiatives; • and achieving cost avoidances of more than $100,000 through energy conservation. The SMART Schools’ ambitious projects were so successful that Lieutenant Governor McLean received General Electric and the National Lieutenant Governor Association’s Public Leader in Energy and Environmental Stewardship Sward for her efforts to expand sustainability programing in Montana public schools. Recycling has been an essential aspect of the SMART Schools Challenge as 27 schools signed up for the SMART Recycling sub-challenge. Since November, these SMART Schools have diverted more than 60,000 pounds of waste from landfills through recycling and composting. Paper recycling efforts alone have saved enough energy to power six American homes for a year, conserved 8�,000 gallons of water and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by

more than twelve metric tons, ac-cording to the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency’s “benefits of paper recycling” factsheet. Certain schools have saved

thousands of dollars in disposal fees by cutting their waste stream in half through reducing, reusing and recycling. In addi-tion to promoting recycling efforts, SMART Schools are working to change students’ perception of and relationship to waste. In Havre, an innovative sci-ence teacher chal-lenged her students to see the often overlooked potential in waste. This teacher organized a successful Repurpos-ing Challenge (lesson plan below) where her students transformed candy wrappers into bags, license plates into personalized signs, broken guitar strings into necklaces, and more. Other schools conducted “dumpster dives” and created displays constructed of recyclable commodities that had been thrown in the trash. These displays forced students to see a physical representation of the conse-quences of recycling ambivalence and inspired school communities to take more responsibility over the proper disposal of recyclables. SMART Schools would like to thank Recycle Mon-tana for its help throughout the Challenge’s pilot year. Recycle Montana has constantly supported the SMART Schools objective of helping schools save money and resources today by giving educational presentations, conducting outreach and informing the public of SMART Schools. SMART Schools looks forward to continuing its work with Recycle Montana and enrolling even more schools next year. Contact Bill Pedersen at bpedersen@mt.gov for more information on the SMART Schools Chal-lenge.

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A decorative letter made from a reepurposed book.

Personalized signs made from old license plates.

Click HERE to view a repurpos-ing class proj-ect developed by Havre High School teacher Mrs. Reno.

Welding Students Compete with Reclaimed MaterialsHelena High School American Weld-ing Society Club held its 3rd annual “Weld-Off” against Capital High School on January 23rd. Students dug through scrap metal, chose pieces that would work for their project, then design and weld the project in four hours.

The students showed great creativity and sportsman-ship. Congratulations to all the students and the winners from Helena High School and Capital School. Thank you for making the “Weld-Off” such a great success. 1st place from HHS consisted of Josh Egan, Adam Jorgenson, Ryan Paine, Chase Zander. 2nd place team, from CHS consisted of Dallas Lufkin, Nate Lynch, Josh Moore, Kreston Stevens. 3rd Place from HHS consisted of Colter Lawerance, Brandt Netschert, Shayly Peterson, and Caleb Rogers. �th Place from CHS consisted of Barron Culver, Lane Grove, Jory Ol-son, and Cole Willitz. We would like to thank all of the local business that supported the HHS AWS “Weld-Off”.

We would like to thank our judges for taking the time to judge the projects. Our judges were from Pacific Steel & Recycling: Barb Crabtree, Rick Farrow, Karen Hardy, Landon Kleeman, Rhett Schoppe, and Miranda Speer, from General Distributing: Jeff Shamley, and Dominic Louden,

from American Welding & Gas: Jay Stelter and Elise Stelter, from Farm in the Dell: Mark Bartels, from Student Assistance Founda-tion: Kevin Crabtree, from Helena College: Seth Slocum, and from Helena Sand and Gravel: Jennifer Shamley

We would also like to thank all of the local business that supported the HHS AWS “Weld-Off:”

Pacific Steel & Recycling, American Welding & Gas, Gen-eral Distributing, Northside Welding, Napa, Rock Hand Hardware, McDantim, Home Depot, Eagle Tire, CarQuest, O’Shea’s Aqua Dipp, Costco, Safeway, Power Townsend, AutoTrix, McDonalds, Pepsi, Wendy’s, Stu-dent Assistance Foundation, Farm in the Dell, Helena Sand and Gravel and Helena College.We would also like to thank all of community that attended our “Weld-Off” your support was greatly appreciated by all the students and staff.

Sincerely,Helena High School AWS Club

Clockwise from left: 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, 4th Place

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Follow Recycle Montana on facebookwww.facebook.com/RecycleMontana

Commodities Update 4/15/15By Brian Heuer, SAGE Recycling

I just received the PPI for April. Cardboard (OCC), Mixed Paper (MP), Newspaper (ONP) and Sorted Office Paper

(SOP) prices all held in April with the exception of OCC in the PNW which increased by $5 and OCC Export in LA which also went up $5/ton. While this is not great news it does show promise that the market has perhaps bottomed out and may be headed for a slight rebound. I spoke to a few mill buyers that told me they remain inundated with inventory from the 9 months of labor slow downs in 201� at the ports but that they can finally see some relief in the the not too far distance. One mill told me they still had over 11,000 tons on inventory on hand. I am told that it could take 3-� more months to completely work through it all. Single Stream markets are in the same boat as fiber. Many mills are still full of inventory and prices are low to none. Several MRFs are now charging tipping fees. There are a couple new plants coming on line that may be looking for volume so that could help pricing in the market by sum-mer. Plastics continue to remain fairly strong despite lower petroleum pricing. I have had several mills call me looking for PET, HDPE Natural and Color and LLDPE (shrink wrap). There continues to be markets for 1’s and 2’s baled together as well as 1-7’s however, 1’s and 2’s are priced very low and 1-7’s pricing may only cover freight to market at best right now. I would also caution you that even though mills may be buying 1-7, many may be sorting out the 1’s and 2’s and discarding the rest in landfills. Metal pricing continues to be 30 - �0% below the prices we saw last year. Trucks have become much easier to find lately. Another sign that goods are starting

to move out of the ports more regularly. This combined with lower fuel prices have created some opportunities for us to take advantage of some very cheap back haul rates lately. In some cases I have been able to get trucks in MT and WY for $1.10 a loaded mile which is about 50 cents or more cheaper than last summer/fall. April PPI OCC SW - $70-$75 (0)OCC PNW $55 - $60 (+5) ONP SW $50 - $55 (0)ONP PNW $55-$60 (0) SOP SW $1�0 - $150 (0)SOP PNW $ 150 - $160 (0) Remember, these are only average prices from all the mills in these areas and do not include freight costs. They may not exactly translate to your specific pricing but should give you an idea of what the market is doing and in most cases your pricing will follow the market up or down rela-tive to your price the previous month.

April 18th: Come join us plant trees at the Walkerville Ball field on North St @1:30pm. April 21st: Open community discussion on climate change at Butte Silver-Bow Public Library @6:00pm. April 22nd: Presentations at Hillcrest elementary. Students will be able to plant trees on school grounds.

Volunteers needed on the 18th and community participants needed on the 21st. * Refreshments will be provided for these events

*All this is possible thanks to MSU Extension Butte Silver-Bow, Governor's Office of Community Service, NCAT and Energy

Corps.

Contact Info: Seth Bell 406-533-6641 sethb@ncat.org

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Schools UpdateBy Rob Pudner, Recycling EducatorRecycle Montana

Since December 201�, Recycle Montana has reached 1150 students during 23 presenta-

tions at 11 schools. If you know a school that would like a guest presentation on recycling, please contact me at rob@recyclemontana.org

March Review: I’ve been busy traveling and talk-ing with students in Missoula, Arlee, Deer Lodge, Helena. The Silver State Post sent a reporter to my presentation at Granville Stuart Elementary in Deer Lodge. You can read the article in the April 1 edition of the Silver State Post.

In addition to speaking with students, we are increasing our education efforts at public events. On March 2� we organized Montana Recycles Day at the capitol and displayed materials on recycling in Montana. Later that week I spoke at Wild Joes Coffee Spot in Bozeman as part of the Sustainability Series organized by the Yellow-stone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition. On April 25 Recycle Montana will return to Bozeman for the Sustainability Fair after the annual Clean Up Day activities.

If your community is interested in bringing re-cycling education to an event (community fairs, festivals, farmers markets, etc) please contact me at Rob@RecycleMontana.org

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COMPOST Continued from Page 6

The carbon in the mulch speeds up the decompo-sition process, and generates heat. The material reaches 160 plus degrees for 21 days, says Landfill Manager Sherrel Rhys. That’s enough to kill all harmful bacteria, she says. But the facility also tests the material regularly to be sure the pathogens and dangerous heavy metals are below detectable levels.

Ms. Rhys explained that composting reduces the amount of material being landfilled and produces a high qual-ity product that can be utilized. Some of the material is used at the landfill, some by the Lewis and Clark County Road Department. Ueland Western Reclamation of Butte recently purchased compost made at the Lewis and Clark

County Landfill to supplement the compost they produce in a similar operation in Butte. This compost is being used at large superfund reclamation projects near Deer Lodge Montana.

Don Ueland explained that compost improves soil porosity, drainage and aeration and moisture holding capacity and reduces compaction. Compost can retain up to ten times it’s weight in water. In addition, compost helps buffer soils against extreme chemical imbalances; aids in unlocking soil minerals; releases nutrients over a wide time window; acts as a buffer against the absorption of chemicals and heavy metals; promotes the development of healthy root zones; suppresses diseases associated with certain fungi; and helps plants tolerate drought conditions.

By Rob Pudner, Recycling EducatorRecycle Montana

When people first meet me, they tend to ask what they can do with their glass waste. In fact, it’s often

the first question they ask. It’s a difficult question to an-swer because many different options have been explored, either successfully or unsuccessfully, but it always differs between communities. Thorsten Guerer, brewmaster at Bayern Brewing in Missoula, is bringing communities together with a unified solution to some of our glass woes: reusing beer bottles.

“We have a responsibility as a company,” said Geuer during my recent visit on Saint Patrick’s Day.

Bayern Brewing recognizes that their product leaves con-sumers with a container that is currently not recyclable in Montana. Instead of choosing to use aluminum cans, which are recyclable, they decided to implement the sec-ond of the 3 R’s - Reuse. The Bayern team invested almost a half million dollars in a bottle-washing machine custom designed and built in Germany, specifically for their opera-tion.

In their third year of using the washer, Bayern boasts that 60% of their bottles, or � bottles in every 6-pack, are reused. This number is growing as more breweries and curbside recyclers join the “Eco League” as bottle collec-tion sites. Most bottles from Montana breweries can be washed and reused as long as they follow certain crite-ria. A few breweries, such as Madison River Brewing and Yellowstone Valley Brewing, use too much glue or plastic labels that prevent reuse of their bottles. We encourage all Montana breweries to consider packaging options that allow for reuse and/or recycling.

HOW IT WORKSA $3 deposit (you get it back) gets you started with a wax-coated carboard box called an Ecopack. The ecopack can hold a full case of bottles (2�) from Bayern or other brew

eries with the same style bottle. Bottles must be placed in 6-pack carriers within the ecopack. When you bring a full ecopack to Bayern Brewing or another designated Eco League pickup site, you will receive either an empty eco-pack or your original deposit.

BOTTLE SPECIFICATIONSBottles do not have to originate from Bayern Brewing, but they must be the same style. Before placing bottles in an ecopack, be sure that they are 9 inches in height, hold 12 ounces, and have no embossing at all. Bottles must also be free of chips or cracks, be completely empty (no trash or cigarette butts), and must use pry-off tops (no twist-offs). This includes many standard bottles found at the store, but it is important to check.

ABOUT THE BOX Inspired by boxes used by the fish markets on the coast, Bayern found that the wax-coated cardboard is durable and water repellent enough to stand up to frequent

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Field Notes: Bayern Brewing

Bottles move down a conveyor belt as they are inspected for chips, cracks, and other impurities.

An employee removes bottles from an ecopack and prepares them to be washed.

Continued on Page 12

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Montana RecyclerRecycle Montana wants to help you spread the word about all recycling matters in your area.

• News• Announcements & Events• Advertisements• Job Postings• Equipment for sale

For options and pricing,contact info@recyclemontana.org

BAYERN Continued from Page ��

assembly, packing, stacking, and disasembly. The washing and bottling process exposes boxes to a fair bit of water as well as beer, making the wax coating critical to the boxes’ durability. Steps to assemble an ecopack are clearly print-ed on the underside using a numerical order marked on each flap. (Side note: Regular 24-bottle cases from Bayern are 100% recyclable cardboard with no tape or plastic/wax coating)

PLANNING FOR THE FUTUREA washer like Bayern’s is not only an investment in mak-ing beer, but an investment in the future of Montana. The plan is to recirculate glass bottles from all across the state, keeping glass out of local landfills and turning Montana into its own supplier of bottles. Each bottle returned has a value of 5¢ and each carrier returned in good condition has a value of 10¢, providing customers with an incentive to collect clean bottles while saving the brewery on their bottling costs.

Bayern is hoping to increase their reuse rate from 60% to well above 100%. Once their bottling operation reaches that point, they plan to sell surplus washed bottles to other Montana breweries, keeping money and resources within the state.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDEDBeer brewing has potential to become one of the most sustainable, zero waste industries in the state, but it can only get there with the support of its customers. Send your bottles to Bayern! Not sure where to drop them off? Con-tact Bayern to find out or load up your truck the next time you pass t hrough. You can:

•Collect bottles and fill ecopacks OR•Become a collection site for ecopacks

Wash & Reuse - it’s an investment in Montana’s environment AND economy

For more information on the Eco League visit BayernBrewery.com/ecopack.html

PHOTOGRAPHY

call 406.531.8833

athena@athenaphotography.com

Making Montana memorable.

By Tyler Colling, Billings Branch ManagerPacific Steel & Recycling

Montana’s first and only car shredder is humming-along as it approaches its second year in operation.

In the fall of 2012, Pacific Steel and Recycling, a Montana based employee owned company, broke ground on a multi-million dollar state of the art recycling facility in Lockwood, MT. This facility has the capability to process materials like cardboard, non-ferrous metals, pop cans, end-of-life vehicles, large industrial mining equipment, and everything in-between.

The staple of this new facility is Pacific Recycling’s car shredder. It’s a 3,000 horsepower Beast that tears through co-mingled metallic material such as: autos, appliances, metal roofing/siding, lawn mowers, etc. The awesome power of this machine has drawn a lot of interest. Pacific Steel and Recycling has had the pleasure of giving tours of their new facility to the Yellowstone County Com-missioners, Senator Jon Tester, Governor Steve Bullock, and many others from in and around Montana. Many visitors are sim-ply astonished that the shredder can turn whole vehicles into material about the size of a person’s fist in just a matter of seconds. The shredder then takes this material and separates it into five different commodities that are sold to make new products.

In the month of March alone Pacific’s Montana car shred-

der recycled over 6,000 tons of material. That’s over one million pounds of recycled material that will be used to make new products that each and every one of us will use every day. With numbers like that it’s easy to see that this “Beast” has quite the appetite. To feed this monster machine Pacific hauls in material from its yards all over Montana and the surrounding states.

In observance of the upcoming Earth Day on April 22, Pacific Recycling’s Lockwood/Billings facility will be offer-ing a week long special from April 20-25. There will be a $20 per ton bonus on iron, cars, and appliances, as well as a .10 cent per pound bonus on pop cans. All Pacific Recycling branches have a special for Earth Day, customers can call their local branch for details. Pacific also offers out job clean up, and bin service, for details on these services or other ways Pacific can help with your recycling needs please contact Tom Miller, Regional Scrap Procurement Specialist at (�06) 670-8229.

Governor Bullock taking a tour of the shredder

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Pacific Steel & Recycling’s car shredder

Crushed cars are fed into the shredder

Pacific Shredder Digests Cars in Seconds

Home ReSource is a building materials reuse center in Missoula, MT that is committed to reducing waste and

building a vibrant and sustainable local economy by inspir-ing a culture of reuse. We collect and sell reusable building materials, channel materials to those in need, and educate the community about reuse. As a triple-bottom-line nonprofit busi-ness, we bring environmental, social, and economic benefits to the com-munity we serve through our retail store and Deconstruction Services as well as our Materials Giving, Work, Volunteer, and Education Programs. Every day, we keep tons of good ma-terials out of the landfill and provide affordable building materials to the Western Montana community. Since opening in 2003, we’ve helped put approximately 9,000 tons of building materials back to work in Montana homes, offices, playgrounds, gar-dens, dog houses and bird houses.

HOW DO WE DO IT?

We do it with the support of our community. More than 80 percent of our inventory is supplied through donations from community members. It makes sense to our custom-ers to donate the products and materials they no longer need rather than to pay to dump them at the landfill. By giving these materials a second chance, we reduce the cost and the environmental impact of building and remodel projects while keeping materials circulating in our local economy. We estimate that by buying reused instead of new, last year the community prevented the release of CO2 emissions equivalent to taking �00 cars off the road.

We do it with skill and knowledge. Home ReSource is a fully-bonded, full-service demolition contractor, with signif-icant expertise in deconstruction. Our Decon crew skillfully disassembles buildings to salvage the materials for reuse and has deconstructed over 250 residential and commer-cial structures throughout Montana since Deconstruction Services began in 2007. We deconstruct because an esti-mated �0 percent of our nation’s total waste stream comes from putting up, fixing up, and tearing down buildings. Of that, a whopping 90 percent comes from renovation and demolition projects.

We do it by giving back and paying it forward. Many people have helped us realize our mission over the years, so part of what we do is to help others. Our Materials Giving Pro-gram donates building materials to more than 100 schools, churches, and nonprofit organizations each year. Our Work Program helps those with barriers to employment by pro-viding them the space and the training to build job skills. Our Volunteer Program supports our community’s strong culture of service and works with individuals to find the ac-tivities that inspire them. And our Education Program helps

people understand the importance of reuse and build the skills to “do” reuse.

Montanans generate 60 percent more garbage than the average American. We believe that’s not because Montan-ans like garbage, but because our state is yet to have the systems and services in place to make reducing waste easy. Home ReSource knows that when giv-en the option, people choose to reuse. We’ve seen a culture of reuse emerge around Home ReSource and similar building materials reuse centers across the nation. We’re excited to see it grow as more organizations, businesses, and communities tap into the environmen-tal, social, and economic benefits that can come from reducing waste.

Contact us for more information:1515 Wyoming Street, Missoula, MT 598015�1-8300 | www.homeresource.orghome@homeresource.orgdeconstruction@homeresource.orgvolunteer@homeresource.org

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BUILDING A ReSOURCEBy Jeremy Drake, Education Program ManagerHome ReSource

Home ReSource educator Steve Nelson and a happy crew of reclaimed woodworkers at the conclusion of a Home ReSource MAKE SOMETHING: Bird House class

Creative reuser Heather Labbe upcycled old windows from Home ReSource into a colorful exterior fence

JOIN Recycle Montana TODAY Your membership is a tax-deductible donation to a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.

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EDUCATION & OUTREACHRecycle Montana promotes the activities and accomplishments of the organization and its members and offers information and educational opportunities to benefit your local schools.

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Recycle Montana provides a connection to your peers, local and statewide recycling trends, trucking opportunities, and state policy to keep you up-to-date and in the recycling loop.

ANNUAL MEETINGMembers enjoy networking opportunities, annual updates of programs and services, and voting privileges on matters brought to the meeting by the Recycle Montana Board including voting on Directors.

PUBLICATIONSRecycle Montana shares local and state news in recycling, noteworthy items, and association and member accomplishments by radio, blog posts, email and Facebook updates, and in the quarterly newsletter, “The Montana Recycler”.

Industrial shears take a break from cutting scrap metal at Steel Etc. in Great Falls, MT.

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We Value Our Top Tier Members!

Green Butte: Help Plant a Tree! Contribute to a Greener Butte! MSU Extension Butte-Silver Bow and Energy Corps are hosting a sapling tree planting

An Arbor Day and celebration Volunteers Needed!!! When: Saturday, April 18th Time: 1:30pm Place: Walkerville Ball Field on North Street between 2nd St and Clark St * Refreshments will be served to volunteers.

For more information or sign up to be a volunteer call: MSU Extension (406) 723-0217 silverbow@montana.edu or Seth @ sethb@ncat.org