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12 Dec 00 - over-packaging; Christmas presents; business waste prevention; donation website ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- The first three postings are in response to the 12/6/00 posting with examples of over-packaging, submitted by people around the country. -------------------- From Kristin Pierskalla, Hennepin County Environmental Services, Solid Waste Division, Minneapolis, MN: I have a comment in response to this message from Amy Jewel: "I recently ordered two books from Amazon.com. Apparently, if you place an order for more than one book, or other product, the company will ship the products as they are available, instead of holding the products until they can ship them together." I ordered 6 items from Amazon.com just the other day, and there is a "Choose Shipping Preference" checkbox in the Checkout process for Shipping Options: "Wait until the entire order is ready before shipping (minimizes shipping cost)" or, "Ship the items I ordered as they become available (at extra shipping cost)." They do, however, indicate that "We may send your items in separate boxes even if you choose to wait until all items are available. This will not affect your shipping charges," and "Note also that out-of-print books are always shipped separately, so there is no need to select the second option in these cases." Make sure to look at the Availability Status when purchasing to see how long it will take each item to be received at their warehouse. This may be why they sent them separately. Checking my order status over the past couple of days, they have held all of my items from shipping until the order was complete. I had a large order last spring from them of about a dozen books, and they shipped them all at once as well. E-mail: kristin [D O T] pierskalla [A T] co [D O T] hennepin [D O T] mn [D O T] us ------------------ From Polagaya Fine, Snohomish County Solid Waste Division, Everett, WA: A comment on the Costco phone card, which was given as an example of over-packaging. Actually, this is an example of good packaging. The display box is too big to steal. When you get to the counter and pay for the card, the package is exchanged for the card itself. The display box is returned to the display. The credit card-sized card comes encased in a film plastic wrapper just large enough to hold the card and the bit-larger cardboard folder, which has instructions. The cards are re-fillable so you don't have to discard them. E-mail: polagaya ( D O T ) fine ( A T ) co ( D O T ) snohomish ( D O T ) wa ( D O T ) us -------------------- Excerpted from message from Ann Schneider, Ann Schneider & Associates, Mountain View, CA: I wanted to respond to the comment about excess packaging for drugs and vitamins. I was part of a group that worked with local packaging engineers back in 1990/91 and learned a lot about the purposes of packaging and some of the history of it. There are three types of packaging: Primary - contains the product; Secondary - retail shelf display or bundling of packaging; Tertiary - for shipping, and can include cardboard boxes, pallets and dunnage (loose fill, shredded paper, shrink wrap). I could also contact the packaging engineers in my area for more updated information. The Institute of Packaging Professionals (Reston, VA), should have some documentation on what is the bare minimum of packaging needed to protect the product. What I do remember is that one of the most important functions of a package is to ensure that the product gets to the customer without breakage. After all, if it is broken, then it must be replaced, which defeats the purpose of reducing packaging. Regarding drugs and vitamins specifically: Much of the additional packaging in this area was added due to fears of product tampering. I think it came from the Tylenol scare of the 80s or early 90s. After someone put poison into the Tylenol and I believe killed people, packaging engineers added the tamper seal and then put the bottles in boxes. The boxes also serve as shelf display. The inner seal is for freshness. I don't offhand know if the "cotton" is to reduce moisture damage or pill damage from rattling around. My guess is the cotton is not cotton and is probably some form of plastic. E-mail: SchneiderAnn [ A T ] juno [ D O T ] com ------------------- The next two postings are in response to the recent postings about giving Christmas presents, and being considered a "Grinch" if you don't believe in giving and getting a lot of presents. ------------------- From Dave Peters, Kitsap County Public Works, Solid Waste Division, Port Orchard, WA: A comment on Paul Devine's Grinch note: 100 years ago a nice present for a girl was a ribbon for her hair. Today we toss the ribbon in the trash. E-mail: DPeters ( A T ) MAIL1 ( D O T ) CO ( D O T ) KITSAP ( D O T ) WA ( D O T ) US ------------------- From Charlotte Becker, Association of Oregon Recyclers (AOR), Gresham, Oregon: Not to be left out of the so-called Grinch discussion, I spent a portion of 2000 emptying out my mother's house. We held three garage sales, filled a 40-yard drop box, sent an entire garage full of stuff to St. Vincent de Paul, took stuff for ourselves, kept stuff for my mom, sold stuff to antique shops and still had stuff that we didn't know what to do with. All the while, my mother, who now lives with me, is saying, "What did you do with..." And I'm trying to figure out how to tell her that most of her belongings now belong to someone else or ...... (fill in the blank). The lesson in all this for me was a hope for a very simple holiday. I haven't got any heart for presents, unless it's something that I absolutely know is needed. So, here is the complete and unabridged version of my holiday wish from the front page of the AOR Newsletter. Those who get the newsletter will see an edited version. Thanks to everyone who cares enough to give of themselves. The friends that helped me make it through the year were better than gold. Happy holidays. HOLIDAYS: A TIME TO REFLECT As we race toward the end of the first year in the 2000 series, it's a good time to think about where we've been. At this time last year, we watched in terror as the threat of the Y2K bug dangled over our PCs, only to be relieved when most of us were left with the same old data we had when the scare began. However, some folks are now prepared for the apocalypse, whatever form it takes. For the rest of the year, politicos tried to scare the votes out of us with threats of higher taxes, the end of social security and background checks at gun shows (a little something for everyone). Now that we've spent a year being threatened, frightened and bombarded by one thing or another, it's chiller time. Time to chill out, kick back and remember the really important stuff. Got kids? Go to their Christmas pageants or choral programs or holiday parties - if you're invited. Got relatives who don't get around so well anymore? Pay them a visit. Take some cookies. Make 'em smile. Got parents? Remember at least one tough lesson you learned from them, and say "thanks!" Got special friends? Tell them how glad you are that they're around, and offer a hot cup of coffee and some quiet time. Got pets? Snuggle up with them and enjoy their unconditional companionship (if your pet is something exotic, like a boa constrictor or a very large cat, you may want to offer a warm towel or warm food, instead). Got a spouse or significant other? Let them know how much better the world is with them in it. None of these ideas requires oodles of cash or time. In fact, the main ingredient is you. Have yourself a merry little holiday and a bright and simple new year. E-mail: aor ( AT ) mindspring ( DOT ) com ------------------- Link to "Waste at Work," a comprehensive handbook for businesses for preventing waste, published in 1999 by Inform, a non-profit research organization, and by the Council on the Environment of New York City (link first seen on the Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise listserv): http://www.informinc.org/wawgate.htm The handbook is in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). -------------------- Link to FreeToCharity.com, a website that serves as a clearinghouse for people who have things to donate, and non-profits who need things (link forwarded by Marcia Rutan): http://www.freetocharity.com This website, which was started by Leslie Hutchison as a public service, primarily serves the Seattle area (although it does list some non-profits in other areas). It could be a good example for those interested in setting up this kind of service in other cities or regions. - end -