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Welcome to The Green Scene where each month we bring you the latest tips,resources and news of all things Green in Kern County. 
In This Issue
Our Sponsors

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PG&E logo   

SILVER


 


BRONZE

Upcoming Events

May 9th, 9:00am-3:00pm
Kern County Museum

Join Kern Green in the Nutty Kids Zone. There will be crafts, games, train rides and a Nutty Adventure. All kids who complete the Nutty Adventure have a chance to win tickets to Rush Air Sports, John's Incredible Pizza, Color Me Mine, Pump It Up and Disneyland! 


Kern Green will also host an Energy Upgrade California booth.  Stop by to learn surprising ways that you can save money on your energy bills.
Zero Waste Partners






Certifications only apply to the addresses listed below and not to the company as a whole.

Aera Energy LLC
10000 Ming Ave
Bakersfield, CA

FedEx Ground
3105 Gateway 
Bakersfield, CA

IKEA Distribution
4101 Industrial Parkway
Lebec, CA


Give us a call to find out how you can become one of our certified zero waste facilities.

No Idling Partners
Our No Idling Partners are only for the addresses listed below and not the company as a whole.
 
Granite Construction
3005 James Road
Bakersfield, CA

Price Disposal 
8665 South Union
Bakersfield, CA 

Stria
4600 Resnick Drive
Bakersfield, CA

Give us a call to find out how you can become one of our No Idling Partners.

 

New to Kern Green

Kelly Damian joined Kern Green in January.  She is the program representative for Energy Upgrade California.  You might see her at local festivals sharing information about energy efficiency.  She also keeps the website up-to-date, helps with Green Certification and writes this very newsletter!  Kelly comes to Kern Green with a background in education and is pleased to put her passion for sustainability into action.   
News from the Valley
Local entrepreneurs determined to thrive during the drought
With water becoming an increasingly valuable resource these three local business owners have invested in the latest water recycling technologies.

 Clean Water Solutions

"Even when you use chemicals, minerals eventually build up to where a pool needs to be drained," explained Doug Kerber of Clean Water Solutions.  "An average backyard pool holds 20,000 gallons of water so when you drain that it's basically wasted."

To provide his customers clean pools without sending tens of thousands of gallons of water into the gutter, Kerber offers his clients 'No-Drain Pool Purification'. The No-Drain method uses reverse osmosis whereby water is sucked through a filtration system, passed through three separate carbon filters and returned to the pool.  To clean a residential pool in this manner takes about ten hours and replaces 85% of the pool's original volume, for a water savings of approximately 17,000 gallons. 

SOS Recycle
For businesses that rely on foot-traffic such as restaurants and retail locations, presenting a clean appearance is the first step in drawing in customers.  The lack of rain often leads to dustier buildings, but pressure-washing in a time of drought can be viewed as a waste of water.  

Day Smith of SOS Recycle makes sure his customer's buildings sparkle with minimum water wastage by using an ECOS Mobile Wash/Reclaim System, a pressure washer that recovers, cleans and recycles the grey water produced from pressure washing.  The outer tanks of the unit hold 200 gallons of freshwater.  As the building gets sprayed, water run-off is funneled toward a hose where it is suctioned off the hardscape and run through a filter.  The captured water is returned to the inner tanks of the machine and can be used to water landscaping.  

His efforts to conserve water have been noticed.  "I think people appreciate the fact that we are recycling water," Smith said." 


Cruz Thru

Washing a car in a standard drive-through car wash uses about 45 gallons of freshwater.  Thanks to a state-of-the-art grey water filtration system, the Cruz Thru car wash at Gosford and Pacheco uses only about 10 gallons of fresh water per vehicle.  "We're trying to do everything we can to save water," said Brian Guinling, Cruz Thru special projects manager, "the drought is on our mind." 

According to Guinling, Cruz Thru has had its eye on water recycling systems for some time, but only recently had the technology developed to the point where the company was certain that they could offer high-quality recycled water to their customers.  The grey water system was installed as a pilot project at the Gosford location in November.  The company is so pleased with the results that they hope to have the system installed at all Cruz Thru locations by the end of summer.
Green Scene Tip of the Month
Your Water-Saving Resources 


Conserving water should be a top priority for all Kern County residents.  Here are a few programs and ideas that make it easy to conserve.

Cal Water Rebate Program.  The following rebates are available to Cal Water residential customers in Kern County:
  • High-Efficiency Toilet(s) (Non-Premium Model): $50 
  • High-Efficiency Toilet(s) (MaP Premium Model): $100 
  • High-Efficiency Clothes Washers: $150 
  • Smart Irrigation Controllers: $125
Cal Water offers the following rebates to commercial customers in Bakersfield:
  •  Smart Irrigation Controllers: $25/station 
  • Rotating Nozzles: $5/nozzle 
  • Spray Bodies with Integrated Pressure Regulation and Check Valve: $10/spray body (plus additional $8/spray body for installation or labor)
Cal Water also offers free conservation kits to its customers.  Each kit contains t wo high-efficiency shower heads , o ne hose nozzle, t wo bathroom faucet aerators, t oilet leak tablets, and o ne kitchen faucet aerator

Wikihow  shows readers how to convert any standard toilet into a low-flush toilet.  Their method takes about five minutes and costs no money. 

Featured Green Business

www.fedex.com
3105 Gateway Ave
Bakersfied, CA
93307

P 661-827-1710


FedEx Ground's Bakersfield terminal delivers packages to all of Kern County and to outlying rural areas outside of Kern.   

Before becoming Green Certified the FedEx Ground facility in Bakersfield had a trash problem.  "We had a trash pick up three times a week.  And the cost was huge, about $5,000 a month," said Danny Murdock, senior manager of the Bakersfield FedEx Ground facility.  FedEx Ground's first step in Green Certification was to reduce waste and increase recycling rates.  After setting up recycling with BARC they reduced trash pick ups to twice a week.  That success inspired FedEx Ground to do more. Thanks to streamlined packaging, recycling, and composting, the facility is now 98% waste-free.

Murdock also took a close look at the facility's water usage and decided that with bills averaging $2500 per month, it made sense to invest in water-saving technologies. The facility installed GPS equipment which evaluates moisture levels before watering landscaping and turf.  The change has reduced their monthly water bill by $1200.  

To evaluate energy usage, Murdock took advantage of the free energy assessment offered by PG&E.  In the evaluation he learned that the conveyor belts that move packages through the facility were the biggest energy users.  It is now a facility policy to turn off conveyors when they are not in use.  Solar panels are being installed wherever possible and FedEx trucks are not allowed to idle on the facility's campus or while making deliveries.  

"I really appreciate the opportunity that Kern Green has given our business," Murdock said.  "That Green Certification means a lot in the world of FedEx." 


Get your business Green Certified today.  Start the process at  kerngreen.org. 
Kern Community 


May is Bike Month!
Bike Bakersfield has a full month of activities and events lined up to keep our community focused on Bicycling for Everyday Transportation. Bookmark this page and keep checking back to keep up to date on what they have planned.