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5 May 99 - Non-toxic definitions; shrinking newspapers; reuse exchanges ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition --------------------- >From Margaret Nover, City of Portland (OR) Bureau of Environmental Services (forwarded by Catherine Dickerson): I am immersed in a project in which I am sure I could benefit from the experiences of others. I am developing a framework that may be used by all City of Portland agencies to reduce toxics use in their own operations. I have the framework developed (thanks to the support I am receiving from Tim Honodel of the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality), and I have researched some other city and county web sites (Santa Clara; Santa Monica; King County, WA) that are dealing with similar issues. So far, so good. Where I could use some assistance from others is in defining "non-toxic" and "less toxic." Are there examples available which are concise, credible, useful? I see the terms frequently used in local government documents. However, I do not see where they are defined. E-mail: MARGARET ( AT ) BES ( DOT ) CI ( DOT ) PORTLAND ( DOT ) OR ( DOT ) US -------------------- >From Jerry Powell, Resource Recycling magazine, Portland, OR: NEWSPAPERS USING LESS NEWSPRINT The Washington Post has done it. The Oregonian (Portland, OR) did it in early May. The Los Angeles Times will soon do it. Newspapers everywhere are downsizing. By going to smaller type and more condensed layout, newspapers are able to reduce the width of the paper and maintain the same amount of editorial copy. Average reduction in the use of newsprint is about seven percent. E-mail: RESRECYCLE (A T) aol (D O T) com -------------------- The next two postings are in response to the 5/3/99 posting from Darin Cosgrove seeking examples of newspapers that are assisting local reuse programs (especially papers that print free classified ads for people who want to give items away): >From Julie Rhodes, Reuse Development Organization (ReDO), Indianapolis, IN: Yes, Santa Fe does have a Trash to Treasures column in the New Mexican (the daily paper) once a week. It is operated by the City of Santa Fe (Nancy Judd) and the space is given for free by the paper. People list all kinds of things, print their first name and their phone number. Nancy reports that it has been quite successful. Here is the write-up that will be included in the Reuse Manual that we are doing for the Reuse Workshop (which will be held in Evansville, Indiana, on May 12): The City of Santa Fe has developed a unique and easy way of making reuse happen. The New Mexican, the local daily newspaper, provides space one day each week, for free, to the city to list various household items available for reuse. The program is easy and low-cost, and requires very little labor. Here is how the City of Santa Fe developed this successful program: 1. Identify who will be responsible for managing the list. Responsibilities include: - Taking calls from the public. - Updating the list (adding and removing listings). - Keeping track of the weight exchanged (material diverted) through the program. - Delivering the updated list to the newspaper. 2. Identify how the listings will be distributed. Some options include: local daily paper; weekly paper; the Internet. 3. Develop a name for your program. 4. Develop the specifics for how the program will work, the format of the listings, etc. 5. Contact the local newspaper, inviting them to participate in the program. 6. Identify at least a dozen initial items to be listed. After the first column, the Santa Fe program grew steadily on it own. Suggestions for the first listings: Wanted Materials: - Polystyrene Peanuts - pack, ship & mail centers. - Appliances - used appliance dealers and large appliance repair businesses (these groups often seek appliances to refurbish and resell). - Art Supplies - bottle caps, wine corks, miscellaneous small plastic parts (schools, other art programs and children's museums often seek a variety of materials for creative programs). Available Materials: - Pallets - any warehouse. - Industry Waste - examine the industries in your community, and seek materials that may be of use to someone else (such as fabric scraps, sawdust, paint). - Ask friends, relatives, colleagues and others. List a variety of items, to help others in the community understand the different types, sizes and quantities of materials that could be listed in the exchange. 7. Facilitate an actual exchange between two parties that can be reported in the paper to introduce the program. 8. Continually advertise and provide feedback on how the program is working. Examples of ways Santa Fe promoted the program included: Newspaper advertisements, signage on trash trucks, recycling hotline, brochures. The city also attributes a great deal of the program's success to "word of mouth" advertising from participating residents. E-mail: info (A T) redo (D O T) org Note: For more information on ReDO's Reuse Workshop (which is being held next week in conjunction with the annual Indiana Recycling Coalition conference), contact Julie, or see the website at: http://indianarecycling.org/conf99test/workshops.html -------------------- >From Brian Foran, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, CA: The California Integrated Waste Management Board publishes a quarterly edition of the CalMax newsletter, which promotes both reuse and recycling of unwanted/surplus items generated by California businesses. The newsletter lists both "Available Materials" and "Wanted Materials" ads for free. For the full scoop on CalMax, see our Web site at http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov./calmax/, or call/e-mail Kevin Taylor, CalMax Coordinator, at 916-255-2487/ ktaylor ( A T ) ciwmb ( D O T ) ca ( D O T ) gov E-mail: bforan [ AT ] CIWMB [ DOT ] ca [ DOT ] gov - end -