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31 Jan 00 - internal reuse; office paper; clean-up reuse; paradox; life cycles; realtors ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive --------------------- >From Barb Nesheim, Minnesota Materials Exchange Alliance, Minneapolis, MN: We are starting a new project to encourage companies to practice reuse internally. That could mean within a shop, or within multiple facilities operated by the same company. Does anyone have any examples of companies/organizations which do a good job of this? I have seen many examples of internal recycling and/or waste reduction programs, but few which concentrate on internal reuse/materials exchange. Any help or leads you could provide would be greatly appreciated! E-mail: neshe005 [ AT ] tc [ DOT ] umn [ DOT ] edu ------------------- >From Matt Fikejs, Business and Industry Recycling Venture, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Seattle, WA: About six months ago, I requested information from Forum readers on office-paper waste prevention programs and campaigns. The responses were helpful, and I want to again thank all of those who contacted me. I'm now writing to let readers know about two new related resources that I developed. As part of its Paper-Smart Office program, the Business and Industry Recycling Venture (BIRV), recently launched a Web site designed to help Seattle companies get the most out of every sheet. Through the site, a business can: - Find out what office paper costs us both financially and environmentally; - Read what other companies are doing to become more paper-smart; - Share their own strategies for getting the most out of office paper; - Keep up-to-date on the latest products and services that save paper; and - Learn about publications, assistance programs, and links to related sites. Another new resource is a booklet called "The Paper-Smart Office: Tips To Work By." The publication is filled with practical ideas to help businesses become more paper-efficient. Practices range from electronic mail, faxing, and filing, to reducing unwanted direct mail. To visit the Web site, go to http://www.seattlechamber.com/birv and click on "Paper-Smart Office." To order the booklet (either in electronic or hard-copy format), go to the Web site or call the BIRV hotline at (206) 389-7304. The electronic (PDF) version is free. There's a small fee for hard copies if you're outside of King County, WA. As you can imagine, I'm always looking for examples of "real-life" office-paper waste prevention practices as well as products or services that reduce office paper use. Additionally, I plan to expand the business-usage and environmental-impacts section. If you have any information or leads in these areas, or want to comment on the site, please e-mail or call me. E-mail: mattf [A T] seattlechamber [D O T] com Phone: (206) 389-7260 ------------------- >From Gary Liss, Gary Liss & Associates, Loomis, CA: I am working on a case study for the California Integrated Waste Management Board on "Reuse and Recycling in Community Cleanups." I would appreciate any information you can provide on efforts you have taken to reuse bulky wastes, brown goods, furniture, used building materials and other discarded products from community cleanup campaigns, bulky waste pickup or drop-off services, "amnesty" campaigns for targeted materials (e.g., tires), multi-family or dormitory move-in/move-out events, or other related special events organized for these materials. I would also appreciate any information you can provide on efforts you have taken to recycle these same materials. Please e-mail, fax or snail mail any information you can easily provide. I'll be writing this up this week, so would appreciate your prompt assistance. Thanks! Gary Liss 4395 Gold Trail Way Loomis, CA 95650 916-652-7850 Fax: 916-652-0485 E-mail: gary ( A T ) garyliss ( D O T ) com --------------------- >From Renee Kimball, Enuf! The PLANET'S Favorite Band, Portland, OR, responding to Heather Sandner's 1/25/00 posting on the huge new homes being built throughout America: Thank you Heather Sandner for an excellent summation of the paradox. The only thing I would add is: "After their kids sing recycling songs at their 'environmental' school, their parents drive 6 blocks to pick them up in the latest S.U.V." E-mail: rrrRenee [ A T ] aracnet [ D O T ] com -------------------- Link to Ecocycle, a newsletter published by Environment Canada (the federal environmental agency) that shares information on policy and technical issues related to product environmental life-cycle management: http://www.ec.gc.ca/ecocycle/english/ Note: This informative newsletter was out of commission for about a year-and-a-half, but recently began publishing again. -------------------- Link to a nice Portland (OR) Metro webpage on waste prevention for the real estate industry: http://www.metro-region.org/rem/rwp/realwast.html - end -