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23 Apr 99 - website needs; grass clippings; more on swimpants ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------------------- >From David Jenkins, Cheltenham Webmasters, United Kingdom (forwarded by Bruce Nordman): I have been given the job of developing two new websites for the United Kingdom dealing with tips and hints on waste and recycling. I am looking for original articles that may be reproduced, websites or webpages, or any other relevant resources that can be used. One site will be for the Home and the other for Business. If you are an originator or just know of some interesting items I would like to hear from you. Credit will be given to both the originator and the finder of any pieces we use. We will also be providing web links wherever possible. If you can help, please contact me as soon as possible. If you are able to pass this message on, it would be a great help. E-mail: david ( D O T ) jenkins ( A T ) cableinet ( D O T ) co ( D O T ) uk -------------------- The next two postings are in response to the 4/20/99 posting asking how to calculate the tonnage of grass clippings that are left on the ground from the mowing of parks and golf courses: -------------------- >From Jana Haskins Schimpff, Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, FL: Pinellas County, FL, conducted a study. Call Rebecca Stone at 813-464-7565 for more information. E-mail: janamail ( A T ) swa ( D O T ) org --------------------- >From Ann Schneider, University of California at Santa Cruz -- Business Environmental Assistance Center, Santa Clara, CA: I've pulled this info from a couple of sources for my Master Composter Newsletter: Generation Rates of Grass (lawns) You might get asked by students in your workshops just how much grass does their yard produce. The following figures could help you suggest to your students what size bin they might need or will they have to do active composting rather than passive because they have a lot of grass. The figures below will give a couple of different ways of looking at "generation rates for lawns": 1. Single Family Dwellings generate approximately 704 pounds of grass clippings per year. Based on research conducted by Cynthia Havstad of the Alameda County Home Composting Program. 2. A 1,000-square-feet lawn generates between 300-400 pounds of clippings per year. Based on research by the Univ. of Calif. Cooperative Extension offices. The State of Minnesota's SCORE Report lists a conversion of 350 pounds per cubic yard for uncompacted yard waste. This compares to 700 pounds per cubic yard for compacted yard waste. Source: Brenda Gassman, Anoka County Integrated Waste Management Dept., Anoka, MN. E-mail: aschneid [ AT ] cats [ DOT ] ucsc [ DOT ] edu --------------------- The next four postings are in response to the recent postings about Huggies "Little Swimmers" disposable swimpants, a Kimberly-Clark product: --------------------- >From Jane Dewell, Belt Collins Hawaii, Honolulu, HI: As a parent with kids who have been swimming since infancy (well, splashing anyway), I found that disposable diapers and the ocean or a pool did not mesh. I can see the need for such a product when you're in a pool that you don't want your child adding substances to. A better name would have been "Swimmable Diapers." I don't like what's connoted by "Disposable Swimpants." I suppose that cloth diapers might be superior in this situation (no bloating). --------------------- >From Vickie Bushnell, Kitsap County Dept. of Public Works, Port Orchard, WA: We had an incident at a local lake where 200 people became mysteriously ill after swimming. The lake had to be closed while the Health District swarmed over it looking for parasites, etc. The culprit: diarrhea from someone with the flu, near as they could tell. Also, my pediatrician forgot to tell a mom that her baby was vaccinated for polio with a live virus. She contracted polio from the diaper and sued for malpractice. So, pools maybe, lakes no. When they start wearing certified water-proof didees, I'll feel safe. E-mail: Vbushnel ( A T ) MAIL1 ( D O T ) CO ( D O T ) KITSAP ( D O T ) WA ( D O T ) US -------------------- >From Ann Schneider, University of California at Santa Cruz -- Business Environmental Assistance Center, Santa Clara, CA: Before finding recycling, I taught swimming lessons (15 years or so) to toddlers and all ages and managed both country club swimming pools and public recreation/high school pools. Never, I should say NEVER, did we have poop in the pool. Yes, I know we had number one but no one ever contracted anything. And yes, the chlorine is usually set at levels that will kill any virus or bacteria in most pools. I don't swim as much as I used to, but none of my local community pools or the YMCA/YWCA or the Jewish Community Center have posted those signs telling parents not to bring the un-potty trained. What I see is parents getting out of the pool to take their children to the toilet. Are these new signs being posted at community pools a reaction to manufacturers trying to sell products by scaring the public about germs and infections? Rather than in the pool, the greater chance of catching infections is from touching metal surfaces in the locker rooms or doors leaving the pool. Or from kids touching, breathing on, or coughing on other kids. Is it just me, or does anyone else see a trend of using the fear of disease as an excuse to sell disposable products? What hope will reuse or source reduction have if we: 1) don't question where the information is coming from; 2) question why, when something has worked fine for a millennium, does it need to be fixed now? E-mail: aschneid [AT] cats [DOT] ucsc [DOT] edu ---------------------- >From Renee Kimball, Recycling Advocates, Portland, OR: I'm going to step out on a green limb here and take a bit different stance. But first some "poop" for thought: 1. At the least, fecal mater contains human pathogens which can cause death. At worst, it can contain live polio virus (from immunizations), HIV virus and a host of other diseases. 2. Anyone who has owned a swimming pool knows you can't just dump the chlorine and go. There is a balance which must be maintained and it gets mighty lopsided near the end of the day when so much bacteria etc. from just normal hair and bodies has migrated to the pool. Therefore, your risk of exposure increases. 3. Spend some time cruising the Internet looking at the sites not sponsored by the chlorine bleach and chemical industries regarding the effects of chlorine. If you still think it's safe to expose your baby to the levels found in a commercial swimming pool (or even when bleaching clothes in the laundry) -- my personal opinion -- you are a prime candidate for "boiled frog syndrome" (You place a frog in a pan of cool water on the top of the stove and slowly raise the temperature. Because a frog can only sense rapid changes in temperature, it continues to stay in the water until it boils and then it dies). 4. I asked an elder about this and she said, "Well, that's simple, we just didn't let the kids go in the pool until they were potty-trained." (Duhhhh) I think we're beginning to blur the line between personal responsibility for the choices we make (having children) and the PC-ness of "personal freedom". 5. Plastic does not biodegrade. There are no more dinosaurs. Plastic is made from a non-renewable resource and inappropriate for single-use throw-away situations. If you doubt the seriousness of how much plastic permeates every facet of our lives, save every bit of plastic you would normally throw away in a month and compare it to the "rest" of the garbage you throw out. You will be amazed to find it will be the same or more. I firmly believe that in the next decade we will begin to view some of our uses of plastic as we now view our previous use of DDT. I am not alone in this opinion and yes, I vote. E-mail: rrrRenee [ AT ] aracnet [ DOT ] com - end -