Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

Thriving Community & Equity

Talking About Climate Change

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How often do you talk about climate change or hear someone else talk about it? If you responded, “not much,” you are not alone. Only 24% of Americans have heard Climate Change discussed in their social circle.

To stop the goliath that is climate change, we need to talk about the issue and solutions. We also need to get as many people on board with climate initiatives as possible, including people who are otherwise unmotivated or unconvinced of the need to act. The only way to do that is, you guessed it, to talk about it. So, how should we go about this?

  1. Have non-judgmental discussions. Open-minded discussions about emotional topics lead to lasting opinion changes and increased concern about an issue. They increase the chances that participants want to act.
  2. Focus on values and personal experiences. In climate discussions, this could mean talking about family, religion, community, recreation, patriotism, and how climate change affects them all.
  3. Rather than focusing on doom and gloom facts, be optimistic. Discuss the potential for solutions that benefit not just the planet, but also our economy, health, and equality.

Here is the best part about all of this: those who we talk to about climate change then discuss it with their social circle, creating a positive feedback loop. Only 22% of those who rarely discuss climate change talk about it with their family and friends, while 76% of those who discuss climate change at least once a month talk about it to their family and friends.

So, let’s all challenge ourselves to talk to someone about climate change and see where the action takes us.

Montana Burack, Senior at Park City High School

Sustainable Travel and Lodging

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There is a saying that experience is the best teacher, and the best experience is travel. There are so many reasons we love to travel; to see new sites, experience new cultures, and embed ourselves in new communities. While travel can be one of the most meaningful ways to connect with the greater world around us, it can often come with less than friendly environmental impacts.

At Park City Lodging, we have developed several initiatives to help our guests to travel sustainably. One of the most impactful changes a hotel or vacation rental provider can make is to switch to bulk amenities. Park City Lodging offers 17oz. amenities, replacing 55,000 single use plastic bottles from production each year. Another impactful endeavor that businesses in every industry can explore is the 1% model for donations to local nonprofits. This can mean something different for each business: for PCL, our guests opt-in to donating $1/night to the Summit Land Conservancy, but it can be as simple as $0.10 per sale or even offering a donation bucket at the place of business for travelers to connect with the local community in a meaningful way. We also provide reusable grocery bags to guests upon check in, helping to keep plastic bag usage down within our community and shifting behavior for travelers upon returning to their own communities.

When searching for lodging accommodations during your next vacation, don’t be afraid to ask about sustainability practices, the industry is driven by consumers so the louder we are, the more impact we can have.

Heleena Sideris, Park City Lodging

Hope in the Face of Climate Change

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Climate change is here and it’s terrifying. From natural disasters, sea level rise, air and water quality, food scarcity, to ecosystem collapse, climate anxiety is paralyzing, and the future can seem hopeless. Media outlets prey on this collective fear often focusing on negative stories with clickbait titles. Nevertheless, it is vital for us to be informed of the effects of climate change, to understand the privilege we have as a community currently safe from major impacts of climate change, and to remain hopeful as we face the climate crisis at large.

Hope is often dismissed as an inadequate tool in creating change, but if we don’t have hope and we believe we’ve already failed, then we will. Our opportunity to change before we’ve created irreversible damage is closing, but we still have time. If you’re struggling to find hope, here are some tips:

  1. Involve yourself in your community! Experiencing the world through clickbait media is lonely and daunting, but in reality, a lot of amazing people and organizations are doing the hard work to combat climate change. Volunteer for a local organization focused on sustainability, write to your legislators, vote, and surround yourself with people who are passionate about creating a better future.
  2. Find media outlets that promote the good with the bad, like thecooldown.com that reports on sustainable solutions happening throughout the world.
  3. Close your eyes and visualize! Practice imagining a future you want to live in, and the steps needed to create this future. For inspiration, read Robert Costanza’s “Visions of Alternative (Unpredictable) Futures and Their Use in Policy Analysis.”

By Addison Marr

Congratulations 2022 Green Business Winners

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The 2022 Green Business awardees were selected from thirty-four businesses that have joined the revamped program since July 2022.The five winners were selected because of the number of environmentally minded committed actions, the innovation and impact of these actions, and their enthusiasm and dedication to creating sustainability within their business.

Special thanks to Deer Valley for hosting this event on January 10, 2023.

Alpine Distilling

Green Business of the Year

A local distiller for whiskey and gin since 2016, Alpine Distilling has committed to eco-friendly practices from the beginning with transparency and openness. They support multiple non-profits in Park City via time and money, hire locally and purchase local products as much as possible. They’re always seeking new innovations in production and manufacturing, sustainable purchasing, and water conservation. Alpine Distilling consistently strives to reduce its carbon footprint, and they encourage suppliers, affiliates, and partners to do the same. They were the recipients of the Green Business Leadership Award from Utah Business, Blue Sky Renewable, and Rocky Mountain Power in 2021. Congratulations!

Accomplishments:

  • Switched gas furnaces to heat pumps and invested in chillers to cut water demand in half.
  • Rerouted water through a steam boiler to limit electrical demand for heating units.
  • Sent all spent grains for distilling to Wasatch Recovery, which turns compost into methane for a renewable energy source.
  • Retrofitted buildings to include low flush toilets, faucet aerators and a state-of-the-art water reuse system.
  • Reduced turf by 25% to replace with native, drought tolerant and firewise landscaping where possible.
  • Diverted 80% of their waste from the landfill.
  • Sourced all products from local vendors and prioritized vendors with sustainable packing and reuse principles.
  • Implemented a trip chaining policy and incentives for carpooling, bus passes, and e-bikes.
  • Paid all employees and contractors a living wage with health insurance to employees.

Chesley Electric

Zest for Zero                                 

This twenty-five-year-old locally owned Park City business has shifted its mission from just illuminating homes to becoming an environmentally oriented company at its core. Chesley Electric empowers clients to make decisions with the planet in mind. From energy-efficient lighting and appliances to solar energy, battery backups, heat pumps, and EV chargers. Their intent is to provide systems that make off-grid living more attainable. Chesley Electric has cultivated a family-like workplace with many of its employees still working there after 20 years. Everyone is on board to enhance sustainability within the company and within our community.

Accomplishments:

  • Installed dimmers, occupancy sensors, and timed lights in the office.
  • Recycled everything possible and purchased materials that are shipped with minimal packaging.
  • Prioritized transactions with environmentally minded businesses and local businesses when possible.
  • Reduced their truck mileage by 25% by improving the efficiency of routing and encouraging carpooling.
  • Convinced their office’s HOA to turn off sprinklers save water.
  • Support many local non-profits.
  • Offered paid sick time and time off to all staff.
  • Working to transition entire fleet to all electric (they own one electric truck currently).
  • Changing flush valves, add aerators to all faucets, and lower water settings.
  • Always working to reduce office paper usage and enhance onsite recycling.
  • Would like to Achieve Black Diamond Level in the Green Business Program.

Ski Butlers 

Global Impact

Ski Butlers started out of a garage in Park City in 2004. Now, they operate at fifty resorts in twenty-nine locations and four countries. Ski Butlers provides rental ski gear for visitors, removing the need to transport equipment or purchase new ones. In addition to a business model that inherently promotes reuse and a sharing economy, Ski Butlers has made it a priority to shift climate to the forefront of business decisions. Their multipronged approach has evolved over time, but the priority has been to focus on climate solutions in the communities they impact.

Accomplishments:

  • Collaborated with Protect Our Winters (POW) and switched banks to stop financing fossil fuels.
  • CEO Bryn Carey read Deep by Porter Fox, attended Climate Reality Training, and presented to Park City Municipal to lay the groundwork for the town to commit to 100% clean energy.
  • Installed solar panels om Ski Butlers headquarters.
  • Worked with Park City to establish North America’s most ambitious climate goals.
  • lobbied with U.S. senators in D.C. for better climate policy.
  • Committed to 100% clean energy by 2030
  • Invested in reducing its business carbon footprint by purchasing electric delivery vans.
  • Founded Mountain Towns to engage other mountain communities in climate action.
  • Announced that all company assets are moved from JPMorgan Chase to KeyBank. Their decision to support banks that finance clean energy was an easy choice, but tough to implement.

EATS Park City: Eat Awesome Things

People’s Choice

EATS Park City originated in 2014 and has evolved into an essential non-profit advocate and resource for improving the health and well-being of children and families in our community. They are dedicated to teaching our next generation of land stewards how to be mindful of climate impact by learning how to grow vegetables, eat locally grown produce, increase plant-based consumption, and compost. EATS has been instrumental in contributing to lunchroom compost programs, school pumpkin compost programs, and community-wide Christmas tree collection. They communicate their sustainability efforts through camps, cooking classes, after-school programs, local Tower Gardens, and more.

Accomplishments:

  • Advocated for use of compostable lunchroom trays vs. Styrofoam and plastic.
  • Managed a school greenhouse with drip irrigation connected to rainwater bins.
  • Eliminated office space with most employees working from home or using shared Kiln space.
  • Donated/repurposed numerous supplies and furniture to transition to Kiln.
  • Utilized DocuSign and Adobe products to sign documents and reduce printing.
  • Paid staff a living wage with equity across race and gender.
  • Addressed food security by partnering with PC Christian Center for food storage and distribution of afterschool ‘backpack’ snacks.
  • Aiming to further enhance partnerships and opportunities to educate and advocate.

Continue exploring costs and benefits of returning to reusable lunch trays in our schools and how to best form lifelong habits for sustainable food waste disposal for our community.

Green Banking

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As the saying goes, “Money makes the world go ‘round.” And if you’re looking for a simple New Year’s resolution with outsized impact – take a look at your money. 
 
Even if you can’t afford an EV or don’t want to put solar panels on your roof, switching your
bank is something anyone can do. Where we bank and invest our money matters – and there
are a growing number of options that offer “climate positive” banking.
 
For example, Atmos Bank offers checking and savings accounts (and now, solar loans) with
100% of your money funding clean energy, electrification, and other climate-positive products.


In addition to mobile banking, free ATM withdrawals, a good savings rate, and up to 5% cash
back when you buy from climate-friendly companies, you get an impact report – $5,000 will save 5.85 tons of CO2 a year, the equivalent of not driving 13,169 miles.
 
Local credit unions are also a great option, in addition to more than 30 banks featured by “Bank For Good,” and Carbon Collective for your 401K. But if you bank with one of the big banks, your money is funding the fossil fuel industry. The biggest 60 banks in the world have invested $4.6 trillion in the fossil fuel industry since 2015. As climate activist Bill McKibben says, for any American with more than $125,000 in the mainstream banking system, it’s likely producing more carbon in a year than all the actions of their daily life. 

Join the Cool Down’s weekly newsletter for the latest stories, coolest hacks and best products
that help you save money, time, and the planet.

By Anna Robertson, The Cool Down 
 

Sustainable Holiday Planning

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The holidays are upon us and being green can require foresight. Americans throw away 25% more trash and 33% more food between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Read on for tips to keep your sustainability in check this holiday season:

  1. Gifts: Support our local economy, less packaging and a lower carbon footprint by buying local verses online. Buy local gift cards and experiences at favorite restaurants, movies or spas. Bake, knit, frame photos, make jewelry or fun playlists. Shop at thrift stores.
  2. Gift Wrap: Use old comics, maps or reusable fabrics for a fun twist. Save bows, ribbons and gift boxes for next year.
  3. Energy: Use only LED holiday lights inside and out for energy efficiency, financial savings and also to generate less heat on trees and garland. And, recycle old electronics.
  4. Transportation: Errands galore! Try to hit as many stops as possible in one trip rather than a few every day. Try the bus – make a NO CAR pledge day. Be smart and organized, and don’t forget the cloth reusable bags!
  5. Tree: Buy sensibly. Many lot-filled trees have been sprayed so ask questions. Obtain a permit to cut a tree or buy a new houseplant to decorate. Fake trees are okay if you can commit to storing and using it for 20+ years. Lastly, always compost your tree through the local program at a community drop-off. 

This holiday – and beyond – have a closer look at what you buy for yourself and others. Like dominoes, our day-to-day efforts will start to spiral towards a positive result if we all partake.

By Mary Closser