Local businesses offer green alternatives

Photo by Sara Spigener

Helix, a store on College Avenue in downtown Athens offers products made from recyclable materials.


















By Sara Spigener

Green businesses in Athens offer environmentally friendly alternatives, and University of Georgia students and faculty want to see more of them.

Helix, an eclectic gift store downtown on Clayton Street, features a wide array of products from jewelry to baby clothes made out of recycled materials, and the store’s employees make a point to recycle.

“We recycle everything: cans, bottles, aluminum, paper, cardboard.” said Steven Owen, an employee at the store.

An interesting thing about Helix is that a lot of the recyclable materials they accumulate on a day-to-day basis go to artists who turn them into something to sell, like a local potter who picks up their cardboard and packing materials to create his wares.

Their commitment to recycling is evident in their sales as one of their hottest items is the handmade cloth shopping bag that shoppers can reuse at the grocery store.

Going beyond basic recycling, Rialto Property Partners will open Hotel Indigo downtown on College Avenue. Hotel Indigo is considered a “green hotel” because it is certified by the Leadership in Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, said Amy Hibler, the marketing director for Rialto.

The new environmentally friendly hotel will feature a green roof, a rainwater collection system for irrigation, and elevators that regenerate power. They will also offer priority parking for hybrid cars, Hibler said.

When construction started on the hotel, Rialto decided to donate the money that would traditionally be used for a groundbreaking ceremony. The money will serve the Athens community with part of it going to the Athens Land Trust, she said.

University of Georgia student from Jamaica, Trudy Trail, supports environmentally friendly businesses. “It’s a good thing businesses are trying to be green,” she said. “I think more businesses should try to do it.”

Cathy Elrod, an employee at the University of Georgia Center for Teaching and Learning shares a similar opinion.

“I think environmentally friendly businesses are good.” she said. “We have to take care of mother earth, so she will take care of us.”

-Edited by Bailey Keiger







Photo by Sara Spigener

Construction is underway on Hotel Indigo at 500 College Ave. The hotel will offer a green alternative to the typical hotel.

UGA goes green

By Bailey Keiger

Green is the new red and black at the University of Georgia, as more and more people are taking an interest in recycling.

According to the UGA Go Green Alliance’s Web site, $196,645.46 has been saved in landfill tipping fees since 2001 by recycling an average 1,000 tons of material a year.

"Our main goal with recycling is to cut down on waste going to the landfill by recycling anything possible," said Dexter Fisher, service support director for the university's physical plant.

The physical plant offers various receptacles to collect recyclables all over campus, which are usually emptied on a weekly basis.

"We recycle anything," Fisher said. "A lot of office paper, bottles, construction materials, stuff like that."

To further the conservation efforts on campus, the recycling center offers educational programs to teach the benefits of recycling.

"Most people know about recycling before they get to college, so our job is easy,” said Fisher, “but we still have workshops for the housing department since that's our biggest area what with all the students."

The university has entered the 2009 Recyclemania competition for the second time, which tracks campuses' recycling efforts nationwide. In 2008, UGA placed 3rd by recycling 543,260 pounds of waste.

But despite the university's efforts to encourage recycling, some say it is still difficult for people to follow through.

"We ask people to return coffee cup sleeves, but they don't really," said Caleb Nipper, general manager of Jittery Joe's Coffee at the Miller Learning Center. "They see the sign, but don't do anything about it. There's one custodian who always finds the cardboard sleeves in the trash and will collect them for us."

Even conveniently placed receptacles next to the shop's drink stand weren't doing their job, he said.

"We talked to the learning center's manager about moving recycle bins closer to us,” said Nipper, “but a day after they were moved here they were full of trash, not recycling, so it wasn't worth it."

The store has modified the way it receives and serves products to further cut down on waste.

"Our pastries used to come in cardboard, but now they come in plastic containers that we can reuse," Nipper said. "We use paper to serve them too, instead of plastic or more cardboard."

Discounts are offered to customers who bring their own coffee mug to use.

"It helps everyone. The customer gets a discount and we save a cup," Nipper said. "Every little bit counts."

Some others also see the benefits of conservation, and help out by recycling their waste.

"I'm just doing what I'm told," said Leslie Carithers, a custodian at the Tate Student Center. "It does help to keep the landfills clean, and if you can reuse something, that's better for the environment."

Edited by Suha Zakiuddin

Drought out, but conservation still in

This garden is one of many university projects that resulted from the drought in an effort to lessen its dependence on the municipal water supply.

Photo by Hal Tift

By Hal Tift

The northeast Georgia community can breathe a little easier now that rainfall is approaching normal levels for the first time in several years.

Most government water restrictions have been lifted or eased in the area.

As of early March only the Lanier and Hartwell basins are still classified as being in a drought, said David Stooksbury, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering at the University of Georgia.

But those two basins have recently been upgraded from “drought” to “mild drought” classification, and the rest of northeast Georgia is officially drought-free for the first time since March 2006, Stooksbury said.

Now that people have experienced the difficulties of an extended drought, Stooksbury is confident that they have come away with a new perspective.

“It has really made it clear to the general public that water is a valuable resource,” he said. “And it is finite.”

The Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources cleared Athens-Clarke County for more relaxed water restrictions beginning on April 8, according to the official Web site of the Athens-Clarke County Public Utilities Department.

Specific information about the reduced water restrictions is available at www.accpublicutilities.com.

While the restrictions have lessened significantly, Stooksbury is hopeful that people will not abandon all the day-to-day concessions that helped them survive the drought. Such concessions include turning the water off while lathering in the shower, using electric shavers to conserve water and many others.

“I think there has been some change in people’s behavior that will last,” he said.

Heather Kinsaul, a senior history major from Thomaston, Ga., said that she reacted to the drought in several ways.

“At home we never had to worry about it,” she said, “but since the drought started I stopped flushing my toilet every time.” She also said she would occasionally shower out of the sink.

While sink-showering may not be a part of her regular routine anymore, Kinsaul said that flushing the toilet only when necessary may be a permanent habit.

It isn’t just individuals who contributed to the water-conserving effort. The University of Georgia responded to the drought in many ways, some of which resulted in permanent changes that will contribute to water conservation permanently.

“The major thing that happened as part of it was about a year-long project where we upgraded all the toilets on campus to low-flow toilets,” said Ken Crowe the director of energy services. “It took about a year to do that. Buildings like the learning center were built at a time when you had to put low-flow toilets in anyway, but the vast majority of our buildings were built way before that.”

Crowe said that most old toilets used roughly 3.5 gallons per flush while new ones use only 1.6 gallons.

Edited by Suha Zakiuddin

Green toilets help conserve water

Photo by Hal Tift

The Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel has green toilets in the restrooms to help conserve water during the drought.

Edited by Suha Zakiuddin

Jittery Joe's filters trash (brief)

By Bailey Keiger

Jittery Joe's Coffee at the Miller Learning Center is trying to do its part to keep our environment cleaner.

"We recycle all our cardboard and use paper instead of plastic to serve food," said Caleb Nipper, Jittery Joe's general manager.

But despite the store's efforts to encourage recycling, Nipper said it is still difficult for some patrons to follow through.

"We ask people to return coffee cup sleeves, but they don't really," Nipper said. "They see the sign, but don't do anything about it."

Even conveniently placed receptacles next to the shop's drink stand were not doing their job.

"We talked to the learning center's manager about moving recycle bins closer to us,” said Nipper, “but a day after they were moved here they were full of trash, not recycling, so it wasn't worth it.”

Edited by Suha Zakiuddin