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15 Jul 99 - junk mail; list sales; auto parts reuse; Israel; thanks ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive ------------------- The first two postings are in response to the 7/13/99 posting from Glenn Meyer about how the Direct Marketing Association objected to the plans of a Minnesota state agency to collect cards from the public for the DMA's Mail Preference Service (to get off direct mail lists) at a state fair booth and send the cards to the DMA in bulk. ------------------- >From Anne Frisch, Saint Paul Neighborhood Energy Consortium, Saint Paul, MN: The Saint Paul Neighborhood Energy Consortium (NEC) produced a "reduce waste/junk mail kit" a few years ago. For $5, residents could buy the kit, which included six pre-addressed postcards to the most common direct mail houses, including Advo and Publishers Clearing House, as well as the Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety (drivers license, transportation info). All the postcards asked the company to remove their names from the mailing lists. We also provided eight postcards which were not pre-addressed so people could send them to other companies, as well as two packets of stickers, one stating, "Do not rent, sell, trade or give away my name" and another one that said, "Please remove my name from your mailing list," so residents could place these on their catalog orders, etc. Glenn, you could produce similar post cards and have residents fill them out at the state fair. However, they often need to write down all the names the catalogs use to address them (John Smith, Jane Smith, Mrs. John Smit, Mr. Smith, Jon Smith....). I still think it is worth a shot. It is my understanding that when someone requests their name be removed from a list, it does get removed. But as soon as they order something else in a catalog, it gets put back on the list (thus the sticker idea). Unfortunately, our junk mail kits are all out of date. The addresses are no longer valid. However, we do have several kits left. If anyone would like to see them as a "sample only," let me know and I can send you one. E-mail: annef (A T) spnec (D O T) org -------------------- >From Jeffrey Smedberg, County of Santa Cruz Public Works, Santa Cruz, CA: I think an agency or group can still do a state fair publicity event in spite of the DMA's requirement that cards be sent personally. At the booth, let people fill out a card and sign it (another DMA requirement), and then the agency or group can pay the 20 cents postage. More expensive than sending a box of cards by parcel post, but also more effective. E-mail: dpw179 [ A T ] scruza [ D O T ] cahwnet [ D O T ] gov -------------------- The next two postings are in response to the 7/13/99 news item about how some states make money from selling the personal information listed on residents' drivers' licenses and registrations. -------------------- >From Blair Pollock, Chapel Hill Solid Waste Management Department, Chapel Hill, NC: In North Carolina this year, "the people" beat back a North Carolina Department of Transportation attempt to continue to sell their name lists. This issue will come up again next year; it generates revenue here too, but then the cost is shifted to trees and local governments for disposal. (Interesting analysis of who benefits and who pays could be done. Very bounded problem, it seems). The State wants to do it as: They give you the opportunity to remove your name from the list. Otherwise, they sell it with all the other names. E-mail: bpollock [AT] town [DOT] ci [DOT] chapel-hill [DOT] nc [DOT] us -------------------- >From Glenn Meyer, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, St. Paul, MN: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has a nice item posted on its website about state motor vehicle data and privacy rights: http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm#Motor E-mail: glenn [ DOT ] meyer [ AT ] moea [ DOT ] state [ DOT ] mn [ DOT ] us --------------------- >From Jerry Powell, Resource Recycling magazine, Portland, OR: A recent study by the Automotive Recyclers Association and the Vehicle Recycling Partnership focused on the sales activities of 48 American auto dismantlers. The typical auto reclaimer had 1,492 cars on site, with the average car being 12 years of age. During a two-year period, more than 18 parts were sold off of each car, with the following, in rank order, being the most common: wheels, transmission, engine, front door, rear bumper. E-mail: RESRECYCLE (A T) aol (D O T) com ---------------------- >From Michelle Portman, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Waste Prevention, Boston, MA: Thanks for the update (7/13/99 posting) on the Bottle Bill being passed in Israel. I now work for the Massachusetts DEP on source reduction/solid waste management, but used to work in Israel for the Israel Union of Environmental Defense. I knew they were working on this but didn't know that it passed. Kudos! E-mail: michelle (DOT) portman (AT) state (DOT) ma (DOT) us ------------------ >From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and coordinator, National Waste Prevention Coalition: I'm very pleased to announce that King County has received the 1999 National Association of Counties' top environmental award ("Best of Category for Environmental Protection and Energy") for our Waste Prevention Coalitions program. In this program, King County organized the National Waste Prevention Coalition, and a sister group, the Northwest Waste Prevention Coalition, about four years ago, and still coordinates both coalitions. The national coalition sponsors this listserv, the Waste Prevention Forum. The national coalition's two other current major projects are the Junk Mail Reduction Campaign and the Dry Cleaning Waste Prevention Project. A number of you on this list are working hard on these projects, and both projects have exciting stuff happening this year. The Northwest coalition's current main effort is the Northwest Lawn Waste Prevention Project, which is a clearinghouse of information on lawn waste prevention programs throughout the region. Although King County got this award, and deserves it for its support (in actual money and staff time) of partnership projects like this, it is really all of you who deserve it too. You're the ones who are exchanging information on this listserv, serving on the steering committees of the projects, and making things happen. I'm really proud of what the coalitions have done. Although in some respects it's still just a drop in the bucket, and there's so much more to be done, I think we've achieved a lot. We've increased the visibility of waste prevention, and we've helped build our own little community of people who believe in this concept. One good thing about getting this award is that it helps show people that there are benefits to agencies working together. King County has made a relatively small investment in money and staff time for this program, but we were able to show, in our application for the NACo award, that these coalitions truly have accomplished a great deal. THANKS to all of you for making the coalitions work! The coalitions will be accomplishing even more and better things in the remainder of 1999, and in the new century! - end -