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Pittsburgh's Fifth Avenue Place Opens Recycling Store For Week of Earth Day
Fifth Avenue Place in downtown Pittsburgh will again open reSOLUTION, a temporary environmental store, for the week of Earth Day starting April 20.
 
To encourage customers to rethink their practices, refocus on the environment and resolve to lessen their impact on the world, reSOLUTION will accept recyclable or reusable materials that will then be donated or made into other items.
 
Consumers can drop off the following items at the reSOLUTION shop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 20 through 24: denim jeans and other denim apparel, which will be recycled into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation through the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN. denim drive; athletic shoes, which will be made into eco-friendly sport surfaces; cell phones, which will be collected by HopeLine from Verizon Wireless to assist victims of domestic violence; old art supplies and used CDs and DVDs, which will be reused in arts activities through Creative Reuse Pittsburgh; eyeglasses, which will be donated to the Lions Club for use in underdeveloped countries; and rechargeable batteries, ink and toner cartridges, which will be recycled by Office Depot. Those who donate items will receive $1 off in the Fifth Avenue Place food court.
 
"Fifth Avenue Place is committed to this environmental store because we recognize how important the environment is to the wellness of our community," said Kerry Donahue, Retail Marketing Specialist for Fifth Avenue Place. "Last year, the reSOLUTION store collected more than 900 items over four days. In 2009, we are aiming to increase the drive total by 20 percent and collect 1,200 items."
 
All denim collected at reSOLUTION through the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN. denim drive will be sent to National Geographic Kids magazine, who, in partnership with Cotton Incorporated, will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest amount of clothing ever collected to be recycled.
 
Fifth Avenue Place will also welcome leading environmental groups to the center on Earth Day on April 22.  Pennsylvania Resources Council, Construction Junction, Creative Reuse Pittsburgh and Bike Pittsburgh will be on site offering interactive programs and distributing information on reusing resources and reducing carbon footprints from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
 
In addition, visitors throughout the week will be invited to participate in the reSOLUTION Wall. Located in the Center Court of Fifth Avenue Place, the reSOLUTION Wall will feature Earth Day resolutions by Pittsburghers, such as "I will remember to bring the reusable bags into the store" or "I will plant a vegetable garden this summer" or "I will bike commute twice a week." The goal is to actively engage customers in creative thought about how they can individually make a difference and collect 1,000 resolutions during the week.
 
The City of Pittsburgh, in partnership with Sustainable Pittsburgh and sustainability coordinators of several local businesses, will be hosting its own activities in Market Square on April 22. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will head up the festivities from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. where visitors can enjoy music from a solar-powered deejay, try an Earth Day cookie, and pick up information about volunteering with local environmental organizations.
 
"My vision of a truly sustainable city requires collaboration between the government, businesses, universities and colleges and community members," said Mayor Ravenstahl. "The city has been proactive on this front initiating several sustainability programs, including expanding single-stream recycling to all neighborhoods, planting more than 700 trees last year, retrofitting all traffic signals to LED models, and most recently, announcing the Energy-Efficient Streetlight Conversion pilot program.
To be successful in reducing Pittsburgh's carbon footprint over the long-term, however, residents must also be actively engaged. The opening of the reSOLUTION store provides an ideal opportunity for individuals to get personally involved and learn more about sustainability."
 
The re-opening of reSOLUTION is a continuation of Fifth Avenue Place's ongoing commitment to sustainability. Initiated in 2008, the center's sustainability focus has resulted in the transitioning of building operations to more environmentally-friendly practices.
 
Throughout the common areas, Fifth Avenue Place has begun installing cold cathode bulbs which burn cooler, are 85 percent more efficient than incandescent lights and last for 25,000 hours. The improved efficiency ratio will ultimately reduce electrical consumption and the center's carbon footprint.
 
Fifth Avenue Place is also partnering with its tenants and providing assistance to convert individual retail stores to the new technology and is working with the stores to transition to other more sustainable practices. Avenue, a national women's fashion retailer for sizes 14-32, recently reduced its everyday prices, by as much as 40 percent on certain items, and simultaneously decreased its production of coupons and mailings.
 
The reduction in mailings not only saved paper and ink but also notably lessened the retailer's carbon footprint by decreasing equipment usage for producing and mailing the pieces. In turn, customers now enjoy the added convenience of everyday low prices.
 
Several food court tenants, Au Bon Pain, Fresh Corner and Sbarro, currently ask customers if they would prefer a bag rather than immediately packaging their purchases in one. The approach has resulted in a significant number of customers skipping the bag altogether, resulting in reduced excess waste and more controlled operating costs.
 
Tenants have also paired up to share and reuse resources. Laurie's Hallmark passes along its used packing materials from vendor shipments to Crystal Rivers Gems which reuses them when packaging shipments for the shop's growing online business.
 
"By collectively partnering together and making small changes in our outlooks and approach, we have been able to make big changes in lessening our environmental impact," said Donahue. "As we have learned along the way, doing more by using less is not only environmentally friendly, but also economically friendly."

4/10/2009

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