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08 Mar 01 - ammo; institutional cleaning products; computers; industrial packaging; job ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- From Sandy Rock, Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center, Seattle, WA (forwarded by Crispin Stutzman): A rural law enforcement department in our region finds itself with "thousands" of unused rounds of ammunition. I'm not yet sure of the exact circumstances of the waste item, but it is not possible to completely eliminate this waste stream. So, they require a method or company/industry that can dispose of old, but active, pistol and rifle ammunition. Currently this material is transported to the East Coast, but costs are becoming prohibitive. Besides transportation impacts, there are significant health risks (lead, live ammunition). Does anyone know of a company/industry that can handle this material or have other suggestions? Thanks. E-mail: srock (A T) pprc (D O T) org Note from Tom: If your reply deals with recycling or disposal, respond to Sandy directly. If you have a reuse idea (a slightly scary thought, but possible, I guess), or examples of how law enforcement agencies have reduced their generation of unused ammo, we can run it on the Forum. -------------------- The next six postings are in response to the 3/6/01 posting seeking information on whether safer alternatives to cleaning products have been used successfully on an institutional level (at a school or government facility, for example). -------------------- From David Assmann, San Francisco Department of the Environment, San Francisco, CA: The Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program (EP3) in San Francisco was created by City Ordinance in 1999 and is designed to determine the feasibility of minimizing the purchase of chemically-based products used in the City's custodial services, fleet maintenance, and facility maintenance that are hazardous, in favor of purchasing alternate products (preferable products) that pose fewer risks to City employees and to the environment. For more information on the EP3, please contact the EP3 Manager, Alex Dong, at (415)554-1675 or e-mail him at: Alex_Dong ( AT ) ci ( DOT ) sf ( DOT ) ca ( DOT ) us ( DOT ) E-mail: David_Assmann ( AT ) ci ( DOT ) sf ( DOT ) ca ( DOT ) us -------------------- From Steve Long, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, recycling markets program, Boston, MA: The Massachusetts Operational Services Division (OSD -- state purchasing agency) has a number of environmentally preferable cleaning products available on state contract for purchase by Massachusetts state agencies and municipalities. The OSD Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) website - http://www.state.ma.us/osd/enviro/products/cleaning.htm - includes information regarding contract requirements and preferential criteria (product attributes), a list of products that meet these criteria, product benefits, etc. These products are "in use" and OSD has been monitoring how well they work, etc. OSD's Eric Friedman is listed as the contact person. Eric can be reached at (617) 720-3351 or at: eric (DOT) friedman (AT) state (DOT) ma (DOT) us You might also consider posting this question on EPPNet (the Environmentally Preferable Products Procurement listserve). (You have to join to be able to post questions.) Or you might want to check a long list of Green Procurement websites compiled by Roger Guttentag. Both can be done at: http://www.nerc.org/eppnet.html Hope this helps. E-mail: Stephen (DOT) Long (AT) state (DOT) ma (DOT) us -------------------- Link to the section on office cleaning products, from the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guide published by the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board in metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (first seen in Jim DiPeso's Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center bulletin): http://www.swmcb.org/EPPG/10_2.HTM The introduction to this guide (which Jim calls "one of the best green purchasing guides we've seen)," and the table of contents, are at: http://www.swmcb.org/EPPG/1_1.htm -------------------- From Sharon Aller, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA: Custodians at the University of Arizona used two drops of dishwashing detergent in one bucket of water to clean windows. Just enough to cut the grease and leave no residue. E-mail: Sharon [ DOT ] Aller [ AT ] metrokc [ DOT ] gov --------------------- From Blair Pollock, Chapel Hill Solid Waste Management Department, Chapel Hill, NC: The City of Santa Monica, CA, did extensive in-field testing on this and has published a report that I believe is available through a U.S. EPA website. E-mail: bpollock [ A T ] co [ D O T ] orange [ D O T ] nc [ D O T ] us Note from Tom: Related to Blair's posting, this City of Santa Monica website has information on the city's bid specifications for custodial products: http://www.santa-monica.org/environment/policy/purchasing/bidspecs.htm --------------------- Link to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, web page, with a summary of the "Yellowstone Cleaning Products Project: Pollution Prevention in National Parks": http://www.epa.gov/unix0008/conservation_recycling/p2home/greengov/yellowcln/yellowcln.html This summary includes a link to the full report on this project, published in March, 2000, which is in Adobe Acrobat format. --------------------- Link to an article by Jeremy Pearce in the 3/1/01 Detroit News, about how some Detroit charities are refusing donations of old computers (even working computers), calling them "hazardous waste" (first seen on the Reuse Development Organization listserv): http://detnews.com/2001/metro/0103/02/d01-194044.htm --------------------- From the website of the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA), Landover, MD: For more than half a century, the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (formerly the Association of Container Reconditioners) has been the trade association representing manufacturers, reconditioners, remanufacturers and dealers of reusable industrial packaging throughout North America. These companies produce, collect, clean, refurbish, and resell millions of industrial containers annually for a wide variety of uses, from the storage of orange juice concentrate to the transport of hazardous chemicals. Reusable industrial packaging manufacturers and reconditioners play an important role in assisting companies develop packaging pollution prevention strategies. Reusable containers are environmentally and economically preferable. U.S. steel drum manufacturers produce approximately 27 million 55-gallon drums annually. In addition, approximately 35 million steel drums are reconditioned annually. U.S. plastic drum manufacturers produce approximately 15 million drums annually. Reconditioners process approximately 5 million plastic drums annually. U.S. reconditioners reprocess approximately 275,000 intermediate bulk containers annually. For more information, see the RIPA website at: http://www.reusablepackaging.org -------------------- Excerpted from a message from Joel Makower, Green Business Network, Oakland, CA (first seen in Jim Schrock's Delete This Newsletter): Green Business Network, the nonprofit that produces the GreenBiz.com website (http://www.greenbiz.com) is merging with the Washington, DC-based National Environmental Education & Training Foundation, or NEETF (http://www.neetf.org). NEETF, founded in 1990 by an act of Congress, will re-brand its business and environment program under the Green Business Network moniker. GreenBiz.com will become the centerpiece of NEETF's business programs, including its industrial ecology curriculum development and its business-to-business mentoring program. In collaboration with NEETF, we will continue to produce GreenBiz.com from our Oakland, California, base, and to integrate it with NEETF's existing business programs. NEETF is seeking a highly qualified director for Green Business Network, to be based in NEETF's Washington, DC, offices. The full job description is at: http://www.greenbiz.com/jobs/jobs_detail.cfm?JobID=963 E-mail: makower [ AT ] greenbiz [ DOT ] com - end -