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09 Jul 99 - direct mail; sawdust; double-sided copying; Earth Day and businesses; cameras ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive ------------------- >From Glenn Meyer, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, St. Paul, MN: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has posted a new website dedicated to assisting organizations interested in using direct mail. Its purpose is to increase the amount of Standard (A) class mail (formerly known as third-class mail), but it also includes some tools and tips to help improve the quality of direct mail, such as a "break even calculator" to help a mailer understand the number of pieces and the needed response rate to make a mailing useful. This site is located at: http://www.uspsdirectmail.com/ In addition, the Final Report from the Greening the Mail Task Force is now posted (in PDF format), as well as the document "Environmental Impacts of Standard (A) Mail (Advertising Mail)" (also in PDF format). They are at: http://www.usps.gov/environ/webpages/grnmail.htm Finally, what I consider to be a fascinating look into the heart of direct mail: The USPS has an archive of its monthly "Memo to Mailers." There's a lot of interesting resources for mailers, as well as those who might see themselves in the role of reducing direct mail. The Memos themselves are in PDF format. The archive is located at: http://www.usps.gov/business/mtm/archive.htm E-mail: glenn [D O T] meyer [A T] moea [D O T] state [D O T] mn [D O T] us -------------------- >From Chris Wiley, Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center, Seattle, WA: I am wondering whether anyone has any solutions for the reuse of sawdust and bark from the manufacture of cedar shakes. The company is in Arlington, Washington, and as of just recently, they are no longer allowed to burn their sawdust. They have said that hauling away for hog fuel burning is not cost effective, and supposedly cedar does not compost very well. Any thoughts on how we can keep this company in business, since they claim they "will be put out of business if they can't burn"? Thanks for any guidance you can provide. E-mail: cwiley [A T] pprc [D O T] org -------------------- >From Bruce Nordman, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA: (Note from Tom: Bruce sent this message to me personally, in response to an e-mail I had forwarded him from someone who works for my county (King County, WA). The writer said it takes copying machines more time to make double-sided copies, and that machines are more likely to jam when making double-sided copies. I asked Bruce about this, since he has done research in this field. Bruce agreed to let me run his reply on the Forum.) I became keenly aware of the speed differential in 1992 at the first large meeting on electricity use in office equipment (at which the Energy Star program was announced). The proceedings from the meeting are still in my office and are a 4"-thick binder of SINGLE-SIDED copies of various papers/discussions. Included were three discussing the embodied energy in paper and how reducing paper use could save significant energy and money (those were by me, naturally). I asked the meeting organizers about this and was told that "we were putting this together at the last minute and the copier was slower making double-sided copies so we did it all single-sided in the interest of time". I've known since then that the speed issue was a problem. Most copiers around today were designed when duplexing rates were low, so that duplexing speed was not a design priority. There was also no one around to ask them to make it one. There are standard measurement methods for copier speeds in different modes. The speeds are the worst when you make a small number of copies, but of course the absolute delay is small then as well. The longer the job, the less difference in speeds. I made a graph of copiers' speeds - simplex (single-sided) vs. duplex. Some machines are just as fast duplexing, but some take as much as 2.5 times as much time to duplex. Most are about 80 percent as fast. This was data from about 1992, and I don't know how it might have changed since. As far as jamming, on our machines most jams are in the document feeder - I know this, as the machine keeps track of jams. If the machine is jamming internally a lot, then either it is a poor quality machine or it needs maintenance - it isn't fair to blame duplexing for that. A final issue is whether the additional time at the copier is truly wasted. I often find that I am preparing another original or stapling something or getting printer output, or talking to a co-worker, so that marginal time used is not wasted. There is a real issue here though. I'm not aware of anyone doing the calculation, though if you do count ALL the extra time, paper probably loses (when comparing the expense of additional labor time versus the paper savings). Pushing harder on this now will also help change habits and manufacturer behavior for the future. E-mail: bnordman [ A T ] dante [ D O T ] lbl [ D O T ] gov ---------------------- Excerpted from a message from the Earth Day Network, Seattle, WA: OBSERVING EARTH DAY AT YOUR BUSINESS OR WORKPLACE For businesses in particular, Earth Day provides an annual opportunity to focus attention on environmental progress. Whether you are part of a large corporation or a small business, Earth Day is a powerful opportunity to involve people and make a difference. After all, improving our environment is not only common sense, it also makes good business sense! Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, Inc., the largest manufacturer of carpeting in the world, spoke at an Earth Day Network press conference at the United Nations on Earth Day '99 and invited businesspeople worldwide to participate in Earth Day 2000. Interface is leading the way with a company-wide commitment to ecologically responsible operation - and has begun to "lease" its carpets to customers, replacing them when worn out and recycling the old materials into new carpeting. "Business is the largest, wealthiest, most pervasive institution on Earth, and responsible for most of the damage," declares Anderson. "It must take the lead in directing the Earth away from collapse, toward sustainability and restoration." There are many creative ways to incorporate Earth Day on the job. For example, Vanguard Communications, with offices in Washington D.C., encourages their employees to make tax deductible, charitable donations to environmental groups through their workplace giving campaign. They also make "Metrocheks" available so employees can take mass transit to work free of charge. For Earth Day '99, Vanguard encouraged employees to bring in all their junk mail and unwanted magazines. Vanguard's receptionist, in her downtime, is sending notices to the magazines and the Direct Marketing Association to cancel those subscriptions. EARTH DAY IN A BOX Get everything your business needs to celebrate Earth Day, all in one box! We'll send you information about money saving programs, business resource lists, suggested Earth Day activities at your workplace, and even eco-friendly Earth Day T-shirts for your employees. The boxes are custom packaged to meet the needs of your business, so whether you have one employee or one thousand we have what you want! For more information, e-mail James Urbati of the Earth Day Network at: urbati ( A T ) earthday ( D O T ) net IDEAS AND SUCCESS STORIES WANTED! Please let us know what you are doing and send in ideas for businesses and Earth Day. We are seeking examples of success stories and materials that are effective for outreach to businesses. We also have some great opportunities for businesses to exhibit and volunteer at major events for Earth Day 2000. For more information, contact Kari Gray at: karigray ( A T ) earthlink ( D O T ) net If you are interested in participating in an interactive listserv dedicated to discussing businesses and Earth Day, please send a message entitled Business Interest to: earthday ( AT ) earthdayweb ( DOT ) org Websites for businesses: - Check out Earth Day Network's Business and Energy page at: http://www.earthday.net/tools/businesses.html - For "Tips for a Greener Office" and other great business resources, go to: http://www.sdearthtimes.com/edn/cando/business.html - For news and networking for businesses on the cutting edge of sustainability, visit: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com ----------------------- >From Tom Watson, Waste Prevention Forum moderator: In the 7/7/99 excerpt from an article on single-use cameras by Scott Medintz in the July, 1999, Money magazine, I inadvertently left out this information: Some of the best alternatives to single-use cameras are reusable cameras in the $45 to $55 range. Unlike single-use models, they have higher-quality lenses, multiple flash settings and automatic winding. - end -