Cover Story

By Ashley Toland Editor

The year ….2048. French hovercrafts made of German steel buzz around the RSA Tower, the city’s fifth largest skyscraper. People leisurely stroll and bike across the Bayway – once a clogged artery connecting the eastern and western shores of coastal Alabama, The Bayway was turned into a pedestrian bridge in the early 21st century after cars became obsolete due to astronomical fuel costs. Mobilians officially tire of New Orleans’ incessant whining that their Mardi Gras celebration was once much bigger than ours. And headlines across everyone’s Electronic Handheld Newspaper Devices read, “Chastang Landfill Full; City considers shooting garbage to the Moon.” With a smaller headline reading, “Citizens angered at proposed garbage fee for shuttle service.”

What may sound like science fiction now may very well become reality sooner than later. Perhaps there will not be hovercrafts or car extinction, but according to Ray Richardson, who is in charge of the city’s solid waste disposal, the city’s main landfill, will reach capacity in 40-65 years. (Some of us will still be wheeling our garbage carts to the curb then, albeit slowly.)

That is, unless changes are made.

As “green” increasingly becomes the new black across the nation, some of our own citizens and businesses are taking the necessary steps to reduce the size of the collective footprint we are leaving across the landscape of Mobile and Baldwin Counties – not only for future generations but maybe some of our own.

Recycling

One of the first questions new residents of Mobile ask after they receive their spacious garbage carts is, “OK, thanks. Now where is my recycling bin?”

Mobile is the only major city in Alabama not offering citywide curbside recycling.

There is a city recycling center on Government Street, just east of Catherine Street where people can bring their own collections of paper, glass, plastic and other materials. And there is now a pilot program, subsidized by a private company, in two districts where people can recycle paper and cardboard curbside. By all accounts this program has been successful, and the city hopes to eventually extend it west of I-65, where people can’t as easily utilize the Government Street center.

But there are currently no plans to offer citywide curbside pick-up of all eligible recyclables.

Why?

Recycling isn’t cheap. In most cities, it is either subsidized by the government and passed along in taxes or a direct fee is charged.

“Of all of the things on the list of priorities for this city, this, unfortunately, isn’t near the top at this time,” says Barbara Drummond, Executive Director of Administrative Services and Community Affairs for Mobile Mayor Sam Jones.

Drummond says while no study has been done, the administration feels the majority of Mobilians would not be willing to pay more for the service.

But there are options for those who are willing.

Earth Resources, the city’s only private recycling company, was founded in the early ‘90s by Mobilian Richard Sharpe, who had operated a similar business in Tuscaloosa. In 1995, his partner Andy Pierce purchased the business from him. In 2001, Frank Modarelli joined Pierce.

Based out of Pierce’s home, they offer weekly curbside pick-up of plastic, aluminum, glass, steel, paper and cardboard for a modest fee. Currently it is $12/month for residential and $20-$35/month for commercial pick-up, depending on the size of the business. After they run their routes, they take their collections to the Government Street facility.

“When I bought it from Richard in 1995, we had about 360 customers. Today we have around 900,” Pierce said – an increase they attribute almost entirely to word of mouth.

“We’ve not really had the time or money to market this like we should have, but once we do, we feel like it’s going to go crazy,” Modarelli offers.

While their numbers have steadily risen over the last 14 years (and especially in the last couple of months, in which they have signed up 50 new customers), nature’s green hasn’t exactly brought them gold just yet.

“We don’t make much money off the materials, which is what a lot of people think. And it’s a small business, so we have the same struggles as all small businesses, but we’re doing fine. And suddenly we are signing up more and more people, and we are hoping to soon offer few corporate sponsorships to businesses who may want to place advertising on our bins or work with us in other creative ways,”Modarelli said.

For more information or to sign up for curbside recycling, visit their Web site at www.earthresourcesrecycling.com.

Green Gas

Big business is also getting in on the green action, not only to “Save the Planet,” but also to save some money.

Mobile Gas has been doing this for over a year now.

“We’re recycling paper, old appliances when a new appliance is installed – installed by Mobile Gas, that is. Motor oil, transmission fluid, and tires are collected for recycling. We’ve upgraded light bulbs to a more energy efficient bulb, and we’re participating in an industry group that is working on benchmarks for utility companies,” explains Communications Manager Wes Phillips,

Society’s seemingly sudden attention to “greenness” has also provided them an opportunity to pitch their products in a new way.

“We’re promoting tankless water heating – very efficient and environmentally friendly: only runs when it’s needed. We’re also advocating natural gas as an environmentally friendly energy that can improve air quality,” Phillips said.

This trend is not limited to big business, smaller outfits are getting in on the green scene as well.

No Wire Hangers!

Joey and Rhonda Searcy, owner of Paragon Cleaners on Old Shell and Upham, are well aware dry cleaners aren’t often considered the most earth-friendly of businesses.

“Dry cleaners get such a bad rap and for good reason; the past was a nightmare for the environment, but it has come a long way,” Rhonda explains.

The harmful chemicals once used in the cleaning process and usually “just poured out the back door” have long since been outlawed and safer products are now employed. But the wire hangers the more environmentally friendly pressed clothing is hanging on can’t make the same claim.

According to ecohangers.com, 3.5 billion hangers go to U.S. landfills every year, which is about 195 million pounds of steel every year, the equivalent to 60,000 cars or 2.2 million miles – enough wire to travel from the Earth to the moon nine times. And it takes 100 years for them to decompose.

Concerned with these astonishing figures, the Searcys, longtime members of Mobile Bay Keeper and Bay Watch, decided to make a move certain to make Joan Crawford proud by vowing to use “no wire hangers,” or at least as few as possible. So now, they are using “ecohangers,” which are made of recycled paper, so no new tress are used. They are biodegradable and recycable.

The company based out of New York provides the hangers for free because they sell advertising space on them. The hangers Searcy has now have a coupon for free chocolates at Target, further suggesting sometimes it pays to be green.

Searcy says she had enormous positive response to the new hangers. She could name off the top of her head (and by name) the handful of people who requested to go back to wire hangers.

They do still have to use wire for pants, as the “ecohangers” are only designed for shirts or dresses, but they encourage their customers to bring those back in, as many other cleaners are doing in town.

“We feel it is a part of our responsibility to our children and our community to give something back,” Rhonda says. “But this is also economical for us, especially while these hangers are given free to cleaners to promote advertising. In the past three years, the price of hangers has increased 30 percent. Using the ‘ecohangers’ helps us pass the savings on to our customers.”

Once again proving being green can sometimes help save some green.

Everybody move to the back (or the front) of the bus

Recycling isn’t the only area where Mobilains are getting earth-friendlier. Those conscious of carbon emissions are giving up their cars in favor of public transportation, as evidenced by the enormous success of Baylinc, the swanky bus that provides transportation between Mobile and Baldwin counties.

This service started off as a dream of Envision Alabama, a community-driven strategic planning effort involving citizens and leaders in both counties. Their dream was realized in November 2007 as a cooperative between Baldwin Rural Area Transportation System (BRATS) and Mobile’s Wave Transit System. At its inception, the service boasted 394 passenger trips. Last month, those numbers reached 873.

While certainly the rising cost of gas has motivated many to use this service, the environment is enjoying the benefits.

According to the American Public Transportation Association, public transit users prevent 37 million tons of carbon emissions every year.

Mary Mullins, the new communications director for ThyssenKrupp USA Stainless Steel, along with her husband, attorney Mark Redditt, ride Baylinc from Daphne to downtown Mobile quite often and “love it.”

“This has been a passion of mine since I was working for Envision Alabama, and we were facing ozone restrictions,” she said.

Through her work with Envision, Mullins became well acquainted with car emissions’ assault on air quality.

“Outside of industrial emissions, the second greatest pollutant in the United States is car emissions. Every little tail pipe is like an industrial pipe,” she said.

The bonus for Mullins, she says, is not only is this service helping the environment but also her “quality of life.”

“It’s so nice to be able to not have to drive and you can just sit and mentally prepare for your day and use your Blackberry or read the paper and such. It’s just is so much less stressful. And safer.”

Baylinc runs two morning and evening routes, ranging from $1.50 to $3, depending on rider distance, and connects with the Wave transit system in downtown Mobile at Bienville Square. A full schedule can be accessed at www.co.baldwin.al.us.

Ashley Toland is Lagniappe editor. Contact her at ashleytoland@lagniappemobile.com.

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