This means you can start throwing plastics labeled #3, #4, #5, #6, and #7 into your blue bin along with the #1 and #2 plastics. They will accept all plastics except plastic wrap, plastic bags, and Styrofoam (all things you can easily avoid using with minimal effort). And don’t forget, they also started accepting cardboard for curbside pickup in April – epic awesomeness!

The Charleston Post & Courier had this quote from Charleston County Council member Colleen Condon:

Expanding Charleston County’s Recycling Program to recycle all plastics #1 through #7 allows us to provide better service to our citizens and move closer to our 40 percent recycling goal with this important step.

Cheers to the Jenny and the CCR team, the Council, and everyone else who made this happen. I know it’s been a long time coming, and something that all of us local greenies have been hoping for. In fact, it’s the most common question we get from Go Green readers, and now I have the answer they want to hear!

On Tuesday, December 15th, the Plan goes in front of the Charleston City Council in hopes that its recommendations are adopted. The Council is already hearing from those that oppose the plan, so it’s crucial for all local greenies to come out in support of the Plan. This is a great opportunity to really make a difference, and let the City Council hear from those of us that believe a sustainable future is one to reach for.

Please consider doing one or all of the following:

• Sign the online petition
• Go old school and start a paper petition
• Write a letter to City Council members (samples)
• Write a letter from your organization (samples)
• Email the City Council members (contact info)
• Come to the 12/15 meeting!

Again, please share this information with each and every greenie in your sphere of influence. Thanks to everyone who has been participating in the Charleston Green Committee’s development of the Plan – you’re all rock stars! Now it’s up the rest of us to do our part to help make the Plan a reality!

SC Biz Magazine says,

The sustainability director will create long- and short-term goals and lead projects that promote environmental sustainability within city government and in the community. The new director also will lead some green initiatives the city has already pursued.

I really like the sound of that – a leader. The City of Charleston has organized a Green Committee, created some bike paths, and recently launched some public recycling options, but I feel that very little real progress has been made since Major Joe Riley signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in 2005 (almost five years ago!) Remember, movement and progress are not the same thing – I’m hoping that Brian’s leadership can help convert some of this local movement into real progress.

Brian, I cannot wait to meet and work with you. The Charleston community is ready and willing for you to lead the charge – just be sure we are running toward something BIG, and not something that’s simply “better.” Charleston is the perfect size to really make a difference, and I hope you brought some of that great Portland ingenuity with you! Good luck!

The SC Says NO movement is bringing environmentally-minded organizations, business, and residents together from around the state to advocate for cleaner energy sources. You can help by signing the online petition urging state regulators, the Governer, and the Santee Cooper Board of Directors to exercise their authority and discontinue plans for this coal plant. 

Sign the petition »

The site is located inside the Public Services Maintenance Facility at 1155 Six Mile Road in Mount Pleasant, and is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Check the Town of Mount Pleasant website for more information.

The site accepts up to five gallons of motor oil per visit for recycling. The oil is collected by Santee Cooper, and used as a fuel source at their power generating facility. That’s double cool!

The Mount Pleasant facility also has an area to drop off used oyster shells for reuse. The shells can be used to restore natural oyster beds, and can also be used for industrial purposes.

Many cities have built high-occupancy vehicle lanes that allow carpoolers to use special lanes on the far left. This is a great incentive that encourages ride-sharing, and one that may work well here in the Lowcountry. Any way we can keep cars off the roads, and get others thinking about their own driving habits, is a positive step towards a more sustainable future.

SCDOT is wondering what you think about HOV lanes, and have opened a public survey to find out. Please take the survey before they close it on October 22nd, or visit their website for more information. Public meetins are also being held on the issue, so it’s not to late to get involved.

Launched in 2008 by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) Regional Land Planning Committee, Our Region, Our Plan is a 24-month planning process designed to create a shared vision of the tri-county region for the year 2040.

This is a great opportunity for greenies like us to get out there and have our voices heard. It appears that there is still time to sign up. The event is this Saturday, July 26, from 8:30am – 3:30 pm at the Charleston Area Convention Center.

We would like to integrate cycling into our plan, but find it difficult due to inadequate infrastructure (unless you like riding down LongPoint Road inches away from cars going 50 mph). Charleston Moves was a big proponent of the pedestrian lane on the Ravenel Bridge, and is working hard to get a bike lane down Coleman Blvd. in Mount Pleasant. Major Joe dedicated the East Bay Bike and Pedestrian Path last month. These are all good things, but more work needs to be done.

Enter Brian Graham, a Clemson University graduate student who is creating a “Bicycle & Pedestrian Action Plan” for Charleston. As part of his work, he is documenting all the bicycle rack locations within the city – and needs your help. If you know of a bike rack, please add a marker to the interactive Google map. You can also add a marker to request a rack be placed at a certain location. At the close of the project, a more formal map will be created and submitted to the City of Charleston.

But your involvement doesn’t need to stop there. Brian is looking for your help in identifying places that need bike lane striping, sharrows, or bike paths. He has 5 questions for Charleston residents to answer regarding local bicycle and pedestrian issues. Check them out after the jump, and either leave your feedback in the comments section, or email them directly to Brian.

1. What roads seem ideal for re-striping to create bike lanes or should have sharrows? (These roads should be wider than others and have well maintained pavement).
2. Are there specific roads, that do not have sidewalks that, in your opinion, need them??  (Especially outside of downtown.)
3. Where would you suggest that bicycle and pedestrian activity be counted to document a demand for facilities (streets and intersections)?
4. What type of bicycle/pedestrian/motorist education programs would you like to see the City of Charleston support?
5. How should the city encourage and market bicycle and pedestrian activities be encouraged?

Earlier this year, the Charleston County Council voted to turn off the Montenay/Veolia incinerator in 2009, but are reconsidering. If you feel passionate about this issue, please attend the Charleston County Council Public Hearing at 6:30 p.m tomorrow night (June 24th) at the Gethsemane Community Center.

If you want to know why we should avoid burning our trash (Dioxins…oh my!), read this great paper from the SC Sierra Club, Lunz Group.

Most of the recommendations are great – some are big, and some are small. I really like that all buildings designed after 2008 will require LEED certification. I am a little surprised that the first two recommendations involve “requiring” city staff to recycle various items – are there actually people that still don’t recycle? Read all 12 recommendations after the jump…

1. Require that all City staff recycle paper, plastic (plastics #1 and #2), aluminum and tin
   via Charleston County Curb Side Pick-up or the City Parks Department;
2. Require that all City staff recycle printer cartridges;
3. Require that all City staff use recycled copier paper for routine use;
4. Request that the Department of Public Service study the ability to pick up recyclable
   materials such as aluminum, tin, plastics, cardboard, and newspaper from the downtown business
   merchants as a pilot program that may be used to design an effective City-wide program
   including mandatory recycling where the program is offered;
5. Create a partnership with local stores to develop a plan to responsibly decrease the
   amount of plastic bag waste;
6. Identify and clearly advertise the CARTA route on which all City events are located;
7. Promote the City’s policy of providing CARTA passes to employees who choose a
   CARTA pass in lieu of a parking garage pass to new and current employees;
8. In partnership with individual businesses and institutions and groups such as the
   Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce initiate a “lights out in buildings at night” campaign;
9. Ensure that all City owned construction, beginning with those buildings whose planning
   begins in 2009, meets LEED certification;
10. Work with City Council to develop and pass a resolution supporting the Federal Energy
    Block Grant Program;
11. Enforce the City’s current idling ordinance, which prohibits idling for more than 5
    minutes;
12. Create an eco hospitality program that welcomes visitors to help Charleston be a
    sustainable city by helping with some small acts such as indicating when new towels are needed or turning lights out when leaving a hotel room.