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07 Jun 00 - towel query; hyperconvenience foods; scooters ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- >From Brian Foran, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, California: I am seeking studies or articles documenting the pros and cons (both environmental and otherwise) of electric hand dryers and cloth towel rolls versus paper towels. Please contact Brian Foran at bforan [ AT ] ciwmb [ DOT ] ca [ DOT ] gov or 916-255-2467 with any relevant information. Note from Tom: There were several postings on the Forum on this subject in March, 1999. To check out those postings, click on the link to the Forum archive, above, and search for "towels." Hopefully, some of you also have some new information to share with Brian. -------------------- Excerpted from articles by Constance Hays and Eric Asimov in the May 28, 2000, New York Times: The latest trend in food is what marketers call "hyperconvenience foods." In their continuing quest to trim the amount of time spent on cooking and eating, packaged-food producers are streamlining every aspect of dining - shopping, preparation, the act itself and cleanup. Short-cuts like pre-washed, peeled vegetables are everywhere. Products like yogurt that can be squeezed from a tube, snack bars that theoretically nourish as completely as regular meals and scrambled eggs in push-up containers are proliferating. And any food that can be shaped to fit into automobile cup holders is considered to have a great advantage. Three new examples: - Chili & Scoops, make by Frito-Lay. One package contains a small bag of Fritos corn chips shaped like little scoops and a small container of chili, which can be microwaved. - IncrEdibles, made by Breakaway Foods. Macaroni and cheese, scrambled eggs and other choices are packed in tubes with a stick on the end. Microwave and eat. - McSalad Shaker, from McDonald's. This salad is served in a tall soft-drink cup with a plastic domed top. Pour dressing into the cup, cover with lid and shake. ------------------- Excerpted from an article by Shaila Dewan in the May 19, 2000, New York Times (forwarded by Marcia Rutan): A new form of non-motorized, eco-friendly, urban transportation is being seen around the country - the scooter. It's a lighter, sleeker version of the traditional child's scooter. Newly endowed with Rollerblade-style wheels, snowboard decks and aircraft-quality steel frames, these human-powered scooters, propelled by scuffing foot against pavement, have shot to the top of the Sharper Image sales chart. Small sports boutiques can hardly keep them in stock. At about $119, the tiny, zeppelin-silver Razor Rollerboard is the cheapest and most popular of a fleet of new scooter designs. The Xootr is a classic-looking plaything that comes in birch and aluminum. And the Kickboard has a flexible deck made like a snowboard that was designed for those who want to try skateboard-style stunts. The new scooters fold up when not in use. The trend first erupted in Japan, despite the fact that city sidewalks there are so crowded with women teetering on eight-inch platform shoes that it is impossible to walk, much less roll. Then Australia went mad for scooters. New York is in third place, at best, on this one, though there are unconfirmed reports that scooter stowaways made their first United States appearance in California, where it was feared that they would drive out native species like in-line skates. - end -