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04 Nov 99 - cell phone donations; anti-reuse article; computers; reuse directory ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive ------------------- Excerpted from message from Tom Ott, Motorola Corp. (forwarded by Barbara Nichols, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency): DONATE YOUR USED CELL PHONES TO FIGHT DOMESTIC ABUSE "Call to Protect," a national initiative to fight domestic abuse, was launched in 1996 by Motorola, the Wireless Foundation, participating telecommunications carriers, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in response to the growing need for additional protection for victims of domestic abuse. This program invites consumers to donate used wireless phones for refurbishment and distribution to domestic violence shelters. The mission of the program is to protect tens of thousands of potential victims, by donating pre-programmed wireless emergency phones and airtime to organizations working to combat domestic abuse. These phones allow victims to call for help when in threatening situations, enabling police to respond immediately, and serve as valuable tools for caseworkers and advocates. The statistics on domestic violence in the U.S. are staggering: Each year, over 2 million people are battered and 1,500 are murdered by their partners. For information on this program -- including how to donate phones, and how eligible organizations can apply to receive phones -- see the Call to Protect website at: http://www.calltoprotect.org E-mail: Tom (D O T) Ott (A T) motorola (D O T) com ------------------- >From Mary McReynolds, Saint Louis County (MN) Solid Waste Department, Virginia, MN: I recently received the November issue of Today's Homeowner magazine and was reading an article by Danny Lipford titled "Does It Pay to Save?" He was speaking from a contractor's point of view about reusing appliances, fixtures, carpet and other materials for remodeling projects. His point is that is costs more to reuse than to throw it away and buy new. If I may quote one paragraph, he writes, "When you look in a construction site dumpster, it might seem like lots of perfectly good stuff is being thrown away. But when you calculate the cost of recovering those materials, you end up paying more to reuse them." To their credit, this magazine does often contain articles about fixing and reusing things around the home, as well as advertising for companies that manufacture such items as tile from recycled aluminum. However, I think that a few comments to them about the long-term impacts of throwing away reusable materials might be appropriate. Their editorial offices are located at 2 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016. They also have a web site at: http://www.todayshomeowner.com/ E-mail: mcreynoldsm [ A T ] co [ D O T ] st-louis [ D O T ] mn [ D O T ] us -------------------- >From Glenn Meyer, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, St. Paul, MN, responding to Lisa Sepanski's 10/25/99 posting seeking examples of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing guidelines that have been used to purchase computer equipment: The European Union Eco-label program has tried to establish criteria for many product groups, including personal computers (PCs). A European Union website states, "In all product groups, the relevant ecological issues and the corresponding criteria have been identified on the basis of comprehensive studies of the environmental aspects related to the entire life cycle of these products." This website is at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg11/ecolabel/prodgr.htm >From another web page on that site: "On 26 February 1999 the Commission adopted the criteria for Personal Computers. This means that these criteria are valid as of the 1st of March and producers can apply for the Eco-label." This web page is at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg11/ecolabel/personal_computers.htm I believe this site is a precursor site to the above sites: http://www.ecosite.co.uk/eef/schedule.htm E-mail: glenn [D O T] meyer [A T] moea [D O T] state [D O T] mn [D O T] us --------------------- >From Thor Peterson, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA: As the 11/2/99 posting noted, the Seattle Public Utilities "Use It Again, Seattle!" reuse directory is now on the Internet, at: http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/util/useitagain/ I would like for people on this listserv to contact me with their impressions, comments and suggestions regarding this website. Comments can be about anything: site architecture, content, links, gaping holes in logic, usefulness of the database, etc. Anyone interested in providing input can email me at: thor ( DOT ) peterson ( AT ) ci ( DOT ) seattle ( DOT ) wa ( DOT ) us I'll be creating a write-up of the process of getting Use it Again online, for presentation at a symposium this spring. I'd be happy to e-mail the document to anyone interested in setting up a service similar to Use it Again in their city. - end -