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 just 7%. But now the fourth largest city in America is catching up in its efforts to “go green.” Houston 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.

Thinking globally, acting locally
At Eagle’s Trace, an Erickson Retirement Community in Houston, Tex., residents are jumping on board too.

The community has created a battery recycling program and there are plans 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,” says Adam Weycker, director of general services at Eagle’s Trace. “Erickson is very concerned about its impact, and is open to working with our residents to help create less pollution and keep costs down,” he says. “It’s a win-win situation.”

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

Following in the footsteps of other Erickson communities across the nation, the Energy Conservation Committee has been promoting the use of energy-saving fluorescent lightbulbs, which are being promoted across the country and 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 also started using environmentally friendly cleaning supplies.