http://www.actonpip.org/ The Acton-Boxborough Parent Involvement Project is a volunteer organization of parents, educators, and community partners promoting Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) K-12 education in Acton and Boxborough, Massachusetts. They have been key partners with Green Acton in a number of events and projects.
Green Ribbon Award to ABRSD-APS
The Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (ABRSD) and the Acton Public Schools (APS) were awarded the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools Award (ED-GRS) in 2013. The ED-GRS award honors schools that are exemplary in reducing environmental impact and costs, improving the health and wellness of students and staff, and providing effective environmental and sustainability… Continue reading →
New plan for private hauler information
I met with Doug Halley today to discuss where we go from here with getting information from private haulers in Acton about their tonnages of trash and recycling.
Independent Survey of Pay As You Throw customers
The Public Policy Polling group published a survey of PAYT customers in MSW Management magazine. The results were very positive. Here’s one of the charts:
Home Energy
Residential energy use represents a major portion of Acton’s carbon footprint, and a significant cost in every household budget. Green Acton has worked on a variety of projects to reduce residential energy use, or to switch energy use to cleaner power sources. Acton Power Choice: Acton’s bulk purchasing program for electricity for residents and businesses “greens up”… Continue reading →
EPA Pay As You Throw resources
The EPA archived resource pages on unit-price trash systems lives here: https://archive.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/tools/payt/web/pdf/payasyou.pdf . Though EPA no longer updates this information, it may be a useful resource. The document includes a spreadsheet for evaluating the potential economic and environmental impacts of unit-price systems.
Reducing Carbon Footprint by replacing streetlights.
Earlier in 2014, the Municipal Properties office released this report on streetlight replacements.
Background: How to Measure a Town’s Carbon Footprint (Marlborough model)
In 2007, Jennifer Boudrie released a 65 page report entitled “Energy and Environmental Inventory For Marlborough, Massachusetts“. She shows how to use EPA formulas and data from utilities and the municipality to create a detailed carbon emissions inventory. The carefully documented details in the report give an excellent starting point for creating and updating an inventory… Continue reading →
Carbon Footprint
We can’t measure our progress on carbon emissions in Acton without understanding how we measure our current emissions.
Water
Acton relies entirely on groundwater for its drinking water, with approximately 95% of town-delivered potable water coming from wells throughout town. Our community has a history of both groundwater contamination and strong community advocacy efforts aimed at protecting Acton’s groundwater resources. Green Acton’s mission includes serving the community by reviewing plans to protect and ensure… Continue reading →