US Supermarket chain's trucking fleet shifts to biodiesel

Safeway grocery trucks no longer just deliver vegetables. In a sense, they now run on vegetables, too. Safeway, the nation's third-largest grocery chain, said Friday that its entire nationwide trucking fleet now uses biodiesel, a renewable fuel that can be made from plant oils, used cooking grease or animal fat.

In Safeway's case, the biodiesel comes from soy oil or canola oil. It is blended with regular petroleum diesel before being pumped into the company's more than 1,000 trucks. The move is part of Safeway's broader effort to green its operations.

The Pleasanton company buys much of its electricity from wind farms, has switched to energy-efficient refrigeration and lighting, and is installing solar panels on 24 of its California stores.

Biodiesel generally produces less air pollution than diesel made from petroleum. And it helps rein in greenhouse gas emissions because the plants used to make it absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Safeway won't reveal how much fuel it's buying or the price it's paying. Biodiesel typically costs more than regular diesel.

The price increased last year as some farmers switched from growing soybeans to growing corn, hoping to tap into the growing market for another alternative fuel - corn-based ethanol. Safeway estimates that using the biodiesel blend will cut the company's carbon dioxide emissions by 75 million pounds each year, the equivalent of taking 7,500 cars off the road.

SSA clean up of Drax Hall concludes – 50 tonnes removed!

The Sanitation Service Authority successfully removed 14 truckloads of bulky waste from Bydes Mill, Drax Hall Woods, Drax Hall Jump and Drax Hall.

Sanitation sent 50 tonnes of bulky waste for processing; both ten-wheeler trucks and small open-backed lorries were used to complete the work.

SSA Superintendent of the South Terence Mitchell, SSA Plant Superintendent Derek Brereton coordinated with Basil Pilgrim, Senior Environmental Health Officer to direct teams removing bundles of wood, sheets of galvanise, old refrigerators in addition to stoves as well as other bulky items.

The bulky waste removal is part of the SSA’s ongoing programme to encourage everyone to keep Barbados clean all the time.

Sanitation conducts seminar with Eden Lodge Day Nursery students

The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) was recently invited to the Eden Lodge Day Nursery to teach their infants how to be cleaner at all times.

Lorryloader Hyacinth Rodgers told the class you have to be very careful with broken glass and told the little ones that glass must be wrapped in newspaper before bagging it for collection.

The pupils also learned that all refuse must go in a bin and placed in that bin on the night before collection, they also discovered how containers should be rinsed before placing in a bag and any cartons should be flattened when disposed.

Driver Darnley Callender showed the children a hands-on experience of sitting at the steering wheel and letting them pull the loud air-horn.

The youngsters especially loved the chance to sit inside the vehicle in addition to actually seeing how a compactor works.

The SSA is also inviting all primary schools and nurseries to call us for similar talks each Wednesday on what is best for the environment, and the SSA will organise accordingly.

New Hours for Collection Route - Southern Depot

The SSA is alerting all residents in certain southern districts to new measures Sanitation is employing to not just help keep Barbados clean but avoid traffic congestion – as the Authority reminds everyone to be environmentally responsible and to keep all of their surroundings clean.

Should there be any questions; call the Southern Depot at 430-5018 or 430-5024. Please note the following details.

SSA trucks will be collecting refuse from the following households from 2:30 am; Mondays & Thursdays will cover – Lynches, Bottom Bay, Bottom Bay Development, Bayleys Primary School, Bayleys Development, Apple Hall Terrace, Peat Bay, Marley Vale, on to Merricks Road then Merricks Main Rd, Coles Rd, Coles Close, Coles Crescent, Coles Terrace, over to Marshall Trading, Marley Vale Development, then over to Content Cot, Sealy Hill, Lyders Hill, Industry Hall, St Catherine’s Primary School, St Catherine’s New Rd, and over to Ragged Point Lighthouse.

On Tuesdays and Fridays the following areas will be covered – Youth With A Mission, Thickett’s Tenantry, Thickett’s Garden, Three Houses Yard, Bayfield Main Rd, Bayfield Tenantry, Fortescue Development, Wiltshire Rd, Hillview Rd, East Point Rd, Skeete’s Bay Fish Mkt, Culpepper Development, Three Houses Hill, College Savannah 1 & 2, Baptist Cottage, over to St Mark’s Primary, Fortescue Hill, St Marks, St Marks Development and Blades Hill 1, 2 & 3.

On Wednesdays, the route runs from Pot House, Martin’s Bay, Foster Hall, Church View, Coach Hill, Bath Beach, Sergeant Street, then over to Palmer’s Main, Brawley’s Main, St Margaret’s School, Newcastle Park, Clifton Hall Terrace, Welch Village, College Land, Sealy Hall, over by Zones Tenantry, Newcastle, Haynes Hill, Bath Land, Codrington College and Palmer’s Land.

Therefore we’re asking people to put out their refuse from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on the night before their collection

Please park appropriately to allow SSA trucks to easily collect waste – especially along narrow pathways, try meeting with fellow residents and agree to park on one side of the road, and tell both the SSA and Police!

If there are any queries, please call the Southern Depot at 430-5018 or 430-5024. The SSA is doing its part to ease traffic concerns and ensuring Barbados is kept clean and urge Barbadians to be environmentally responsible at all times.

Removal of Bulky Waste Items in Drax Hall & Bydes Mill

The St George South division of the District Emergency Organisation with the Ministries of Environment and Health will be removing bulky waste items from Drax Hall and Bydes Mill areas from 4^th to 8^th February 2008.

Bulky waste items consist of old appliances like fridges and ovens as well as similar metallic items like galvanise as well as old furniture or other wooden or plastic items, etc.

These items are to be set near your regular refuse by no later than 2:00 pm of Sunday 3^rd February 2008, please separate your bulky waste items into wood and other items in one pile and another for only metal objects.

These districts only will undergo the bulky waste clean up – Drax Hall, Drax Hall Jump, Drax Hall Woods and Bydes Mill; other districts will follow in the near future.

Again, all bulky waste items such as old appliances or wooden and metallic objects must be separated and done by no later than 2:00 pm on Sunday 3^rd February 2008. Actual removal of these items from Drax Hall and Bydes Mill runs from 4^th to 8^th February 2008.

URGENT/CORRECTION: No Collection This Friday, but Errol Barrow Day will be regular refuse removal

The Sanitation Service Authority is informing the public this Friday 18^th January 2008 there will be no waste collection for the extra public holiday, and all disposal sites plus the five national cemeteries will be closed that same day.

There will be a regular collection of refuse from all scheduled routes on the Errol Barrow public holiday Monday 21^st January 2008, but all five national cemeteries remain closed.

Mangrove Pond Sanitary Landfill will open from 6:00 am until 2:00 pm and Bagatelle from 6:00 am to 12:noon on Errol Barrow Day.

The SSA is reminding everyone to freeze all offal until their next due day of collection; also – do not put out any refuse until 6:00 pm the night before the next collection day.

Sanitation thanks Barbadians for their co-operation and wishes everybody safe and clean public holidays.

Reminder about Campaign Posters for General Elections 2008

The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) is reminding everyone that all campaign notices placed all over the country for the current elections must be removed in an environmentally responsible manner.

These notices must be neatly removed and properly disposed of, and the SSA appreciates all cooperation for keeping Barbados clean.