Save the Date: OKRA Recycling Seminar, Friday, October 15th, 2010 – Stillwater, OK

Friday, October 15, 2010 – Stillwater, OK

OKRA Recycling Seminar
Oklahoma Connections: Sharing Local Solutions
Conoco-Phillips OSU Alumni Center 9am-4pm

Tentative Topics:
Recycling Markets Update & Economic Outlook
Organics & Composting: Multiple Objectives of Organics Recycling
Regional Recycling Collaborations
Oklahoma Businesses That Add Recycling Value
Product Stewardship
Pharmaceutical Take-back Program
Oklahoma Computer Equipment Recovery Act

Concurrent Break-out “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” Sessions:
Business RRR including Getting Your Business to Zero Waste
Education RRR including K-12 & University Case Studies and Promoting Recycling to your Community

Registration Fees:
OKRA members $25 if registered by 10/8/10 ($35 afterward)
Non-members $40 if registered by 10/8/10 ($50 afterward)
Students $15
Registration includes
all session, continental breakfast, lunch and breaks.

Exhibitors $100 ($50 for non-profits)

Final Program, Individual and Exhibitor Registration Info Coming Soon

Kathy Moore, Owner
Anichini Moore Ranch & Farm www.anichinimoore.com
Phone: (405) 823-8295
OK Composting Council www.okcompostingcouncil.org
PLEASE UPDATE ADDRESS BOOK WITH MY NEW EMAIL ADDRESS: Kathy

Live Earth Oklahoma

Live Earth Oklahoma scheduled for April 17-18, 2010 will include the largest eco-village ever to be held in Oklahoma, a 6K Run for Water (the average distance people in developing countries walk for water everyday), an environmentally friendly festival, a VIP Event, and a corporate forum. The Live Earth Oklahoma event will be free to the public, and will be held in the Oklahoma City Adventure District, utilizing Remington Park, the Oklahoma City Zoo, and The Softball Hall of Fame. Booth or vendor application information will soon be available by clicking on the vendor link at http://www.LiveEarthOklahoma.com. Or contact Katie Wilkes-Ball at 405.979-0385 or wilkesball@cox.net for more information.

The Live Earth Organization that began in 2007 with Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate In Crisis” will hold a ground breaking event, Live Earth Oklahoma on April 17 and 18, 2010. The 2009 focus is solutions-based aimed at solving the global water crisis. In this unprecedented event to support water conservation, as many as 192 countries will participate by hosting a series of 6K runs, educational activities, and concerts over the same 24 hour period. For more information about Live Earth, please go to http://www.LiveEarth.org.

“Rural Recycling—Bridging the Gaps” free EPA webinar, Thursday, April 15, 12:00-1:30 E DT

This Free Online Webinar is for: Federal, state, local and tribal government waste management professionals and any interested parties. To register: Go to www.epa.gov/epawaste/rcc/web-academy/index.htm

Description: As small towns and rural communities work to provide recycling services, they are faced with unique challenges that make effective recycling programs expensive and difficult to implement. From the distances between households to the smaller financial base, communities across America are struggling to provide recycling services. They struggle with the question: How do I provide effective and efficient recycling, composting and waste prevention services at a cost I can afford? There are solutions and many communities have discovered ways of engaging their community to reduce, reuse and recycle the Rural America way. Join us on April 15th to hear two experts talk about resources for implementing recycling in rural communities and to give examples of programs that work. Also, bring your stories to share or get advice during the roundtable portion of the call.

Speaker Bios: English Bird is the Executive Director of the New Mexico Recycling Coalition (NMRC), a nonprofit education and advocacy organization with a mission to lead New Mexico to value waste as a resource. She developed the Rural Recycling Technical Assistance Program, funded by the U.S.D.A. Rural Utilities Program, to provide direct technical assistance, assistance with grant applications, and targeted trainings to 110 communities. NMRC and the New Mexico Environment Department have targeted federal stimulus monies to assist in the creation of regionalized recycling centers.

Justin Stockdale offers his in depth knowledge of waste diversion and recycling program design to clients through his consulting firm The Recycled Revival. Recent projects include the development of Solid Waste Plans for the City of Albuquerque, McKinley County, NM, and Taos Pueblo. As Project Manager for the New Mexico Recycling Coalition, Justin wrote and produced the Rural Recycling Resource Kit, designed to provide a comprehensive resource for recycling program managers and other solid waste officials across rural New Mexico. Justin is currently developing a materials marketing coop, R3:Rural Recycling Resources for NMRC. Justin has also led NMRC’s Mapping Project which developed GIS resources to assist in interpreting the status of solid waste management in New Mexico.

For questions about the EPA’s Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) Web Academy Program, please call Janice Johnson in Virginia at (703) 308-7280.

EPA WEBINAR SERIES: Reduction Food Waste Reduction & Management

Food waste is the third largest stream of waste in the U.S. after paper and yard waste. The social, economic, and environmental impacts of food waste are enormous, including increased generation of greenhouse gas, negative impacts on sanitation and health, and the loss of potential improvements in soil health and food production.

To help address these impacts, EPA Region 2 is partnering with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group at Rutgers University to offer a series of webinars designed to provide education on the best avenues and methods of food waste management. Generators of food waste, government representatives, and public stakeholders are encouraged to participate.

February 23: Overview of Food Waste, Climate Change Connection, and Waste Audits

March 10: Separation and Collection of Food Waste

March 17: Waste Reduction through Reuse

March 31: Composting and End-of-Life Management

April 7: Putting the Pieces Together and EPA Tools

For registration and information please visit: www.trainex.org/FoodWaste

Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference

January 20-23, 2010 I hope to see you at the Southern SAWG conference! The conference brings you the best in practical tools and training, along with new ideas for farming enterprises, and for developing healthy sustainable food and farming systems. Join Dr. Timothy LaSalle, CEO of the Rodale Institute, for a special pre-conference presentation where he will share compelling evidence that organic and sustainable farmers are the new heroes in the fight against global warming. Additionally, there are two important pre-conference events focused on community-based and non-governmental organizations where you can meet with managers of USDA grant programs, learn about funding opportunities, and network with sustainable agriculture and community food systems leaders from throughout the South.

 The conference includes classroom sessions, field trips, special events, and intensive courses, and a fabulous Taste of Tennessee dinner, featuring Hollis Watkins as keynote speaker.

Be sure to look me up!  I’m presenting from 4:00 to 5:30 on Saturday, January 23!  Diverting Yard and City Waste from Landfills to Farms — Waste from municipal and institutional sources can enable composting, mulching, and soil building on your farm, but it’s not always as simple as it seems. What are the advantages and the challenges of using local “waste” on your farm? What materials are easiest to compost and where can you get them? How do you avoid both contaminants and expensive equipment costs? Kathy Moore will share the results from years of composting practice on her farm, and the findings of her research using composted yard waste on garden plots. 

Happy New Year, and see you in Chattanooga! Kathy Moore, Anichini-Moore Ranch & Farm (OK).

Oklahoma Seminar to Cover Recycling, Composting & Proposed Bottle Bill

A full day seminar, “Recycling Through a Recession” will be held on Tuesday, December 8 at the OSU Alumni Center in Stillwater for city and county government officials, recycling professionals, community leaders, educators, students and concerned citizens interested in the business of recycling and expanding local programs.  Topics include current recycling markets, economic outlook, how to set up a center and measure recycling efforts, composting operations, plastics recycling, and a discussion about the Oklahoma container deposit bill.  The seminar is hosted by the Oklahoma Recycling Association and Cooperative Extension Service and is sponsored by the Department of Environmental Quality and OGE Energy Corp.  Pre-register by November 23 for discounted rates.  For the program agenda, registration, and exhibitor information, visit www.recycleok.org