By Alan Suderman
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

When it comes to recycling, Houston’s record is down in the dumps. In 2003, New York and Los Angeles recycled about 20% of residential garbage.  Houston averaged 7%. But now the fourth largest city in America is catching up in its efforts to “go green.”

Mayor Bill White recently announced a new recycling program that will put recycling depots at 84 grocery stores around the city. And Houston-based Waste Management has budgeted hundreds of millions of dollars to increase recycling over the next few years.

Making an impact
At Eagles Trace, the premier address for retirement living in Houston, residents have started a battery recycling program—and they plan to expand their efforts to include other materials, like paper, plastic, and glass. It’s all part of a campus-wide initiative to support the environment by using less of its resources.

”Erickson is very concerned about its impact, and we are open to working with our residents to help create less pollution and keep costs down,” says Adam  Weycker, director of general services at Eagle’s Trace.

Positive energy
Taking strides toward going green, residents recently formed two new groups: the Energy Conservation Committee and the Green Committee.

The Energy Conservation Committee has been promoting the use of energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs, which are now available in the convenience store on campus.

“We are going to need to be conserving energy more and more,” says Carl Schroeder, who lives at Eagle’s Trace and is on the Energy Conservation Committee. “As energy costs go up and up, we’ve got to learn how to use less.”

Contributing to this initiative, the Eagle’s Trace housekeeping staff has started using environmentally friendly cleaning supplies.