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29 Jul 99 - costs and benefits query; more on poop; green mortgages ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive ------------------- >From Michelle Portman, Bureau of Waste Prevention, Planning and Evaluation Unit, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Boston, MA: For the purposes of revising our Solid Waste Master Plan for the year 2000 and beyond, I am researching information on the potential costs and benefits of various source reduction/recycling program options. "Benefits" in this case refer to how much potential source reduction can be expected in either tonnage or percentage reduction of waste generated over time if the program is implemented. The cost would be to the state for program implementation or to "others" such as municipalities or consumers. This could be in per-year figures, per-ton or per-percentage-point figures. I'd be interested if anyone could offer some suggestions on where I could get some ideas of these amounts. The best would be if a state has implemented such a program and has compiled information on it. Otherwise, references to sources of information would be helpful. The specific activities we are looking at are: -- promote source reduction at businesses through technical assistance, grants, financial incentives, etc., focusing on food wastes, paper-use, reducing virgin material use, etc. -- promote waste exchanges for construction and demolition waste through education and financial incentives -- include requirement to address source reduction in state contracts for infrastructure building and demolition -- enact packaging reduction/labeling legislation (could be product-to-package ratio maximum, tax on quantities of packaging or similar approach) -- require future buildings to include space for recycling -- require haulers to provide recycling services -- require state and municipal agencies to purchase recycled-content products Thanks very much. E-mail: michelle [ DOT ] portman [ AT ] state [ DOT ] ma [ DOT ] us Phone: (617) 292-5884 ---------------------- >From Carl Woestwin, Seattle Public Utilities: The 7/28/99 Waste Prevention Forum is a window on how we can avoid an issue and find a solution with more inherent problems. Bigger pumps and more chlorine so we can make it safe to swim in baby poop, and engineered pig genes so we can eat more pork and still not kill the river. The news gets just as surreal as cinema! E-mail: Carl [ D O T ] Woestwin [ A T ] ci [ D O T ] seattle [ D O T ] wa [ D O T ] us ---------------------- >From Bruce Nordman, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA: Re: The item in the 7/28/99 Forum on genetically engineered pigs that produce less environmentally harmful feces. Somewhere in the bowels of my source reduction files is an advertisement for dog food that source-reduces the dog's feces - presumably by having a higher percentage of digestible matter. I don't recall if there is any impact on the dog. Hey, it's summer. E-mail: bnordman [ AT ] dante [ DOT ] lbl [ DOT ] gov ---------------------- Correction from Tom: In the 7/28/99 Forum, I incorrectly identified Brian McVay. Brian is an independent waste reduction consultant. ---------------------- Excerpted from a 6/10/99 press release from Fannie Mae on the Internet PRNewswire (forwarded by Ken Sandler and Athena Sarafides): WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages, and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today announced an environmental partnership that will recognize the growing interest in environmentally-responsible construction methods and help further these efforts nationwide. As part of this new initiative, Fannie Mae and NAHB will begin working with home builders, lenders, and other community partners to test and develop a menu of mortgage financing products based on environmentally-efficient "green building" criteria. As part of the partnership, six pilot cities have been identified where local home builder associations and Fannie Mae Partnership Offices can work together to develop green building initiatives that emphasize the efficient use of resources, such as energy and water, in the design, construction and operation of homes. These six cities are: Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Albuquerque, NM; Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; and Seattle, WA. Fannie Mae is also providing an additional $100 million for investment in environmental product initiatives that test new housing finance products, support local green builder efforts, and develop creative solutions to environmental issues with community partners in these cities. One of the goals of the Fannie Mae/NAHB Partnership is the development of a comprehensive menu of environmental mortgage options that would allow the consumer to capture the benefits of environmentally-responsible construction - including lower operating costs, reduced maintenance and increased durability. The environmental partnership will help local home builder associations and other community partners promote environmentally-responsible construction methods and materials, or "green building" as it has come to be known. NAHB is already at work defining and promoting green building practices. Recently, 400 industry leaders attended the first National Conference on Green Building in Denver, which focused on integrating environmentally-responsible building practices into day-to-day builder operations. NAHB is now planning the second conference for Spring 2000. In addition, a number of local home builder associations have implemented, or are in the process of developing, green building programs that ask builders to meet various environmental standards for land development, building materials, waste management, energy and water efficiency and more. The NAHB Research Center, which is also working with Fannie Mae on the development of the environmental mortgage product, recently finished work on "A Guide to Developing Green Building Programs," to assist local home builder associations, local governments and others develop effective, successful green builder programs. The full press release, which includes contact information for Fannie Mae and NAHB, can be seen at: http://www.fanniemae.com/news/pressreleases/0342.html - end -