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13 Sep 01 - donations; Oregon news; hand dryers ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- Link to a New York Times web page, which gives contact information for how to make donations of money, equipment or supplies, or offer other assistance, to help with relief efforts following Tuesday's attacks: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/national/WTC-NAVIGATOR.html?pagewanted=all#relief -------------------- From David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Portland, OR: Here are three news items from Oregon: 1. New waste prevention legislation in Oregon This year Oregon's legislature passed, and Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law, several pieces of legislation that include waste prevention elements. These include: - HB 3744 (solid waste reduction): Recognizes that there are limits to Oregon's natural resources and the capacity of the state's environment to absorb the impacts of increasing consumption of resources and increasing waste generation. Establishes waste prevention goals as follows: no annual increase in per capita municipal solid waste (MSW) generation for the year 2005 and subsequent years; no annual increase in total MSW generation for the year 2009 and subsequent years. Expands the list of options for which local communities can receive a "2 percent waste prevention credit" (this credit applies towards the county's recovery rate, since Oregon does not quantify waste prevention per se). Expands the "2 percent residential (home) composting credit" so that communities can claim more than 2 percent if they can demonstrate that more than 2 percent of their waste generated is being diverted through on-site home composting and grasscycling programs. - HB 3007 (mercury): Prohibits the sale of novelty products containing mercury as of 1/1/2002. Prohibits the sale of mercury fever thermometers as of 7/1/2002. Phases out the installation of new mercury thermostats over five years. Prohibits the sale of vehicles with mercury light switches as of 1/1/2006. - SB 764 (tax credits): Shifts pollution control tax credit away from compensation for basic regulatory compliance and towards encouraging voluntary investment in activities that go "beyond compliance." Establishes a policy to promote sustainability and provide incentives for the voluntary prevention of environmental impacts, including solid waste, through the voluntary application of innovative solutions to achieve the environmental goals of the state. - HB 3909 (tires): Establishes a Task Force on Tire Recycling which is chartered to make recommendations on the development of methods to increase the reuse, recovery, and recycling of tires, giving consideration to the solid waste management hierarchy. 2. Oregon Waste Prevention Grants Oregon DEQ's Solid Waste Program is accepting applications for solid waste grants. This year the focus areas for solid waste grants are commercial waste prevention and natural gardening. Applications for projects in these topical areas can receive up to 10 additional points (out of 100 total possible). Only local governments in Oregon are eligible to apply for grants. In addition, a separate pool of money is available for household hazardous waste (HHW) prevention grant projects. Applications are due October 1. For more information: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/grants.html 3. Chipper Tax Credit Oregon is now offering a tax credit for the purchase of wood chippers. The use of chippers by businesses and households will reduce solid waste generation and in some areas of the state reduce nonpoint source air pollution caused by the burning of woody debris. New and used wood chippers purchased for commercial or residential applications are eligible for the credit. The credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of income taxes owed to the State of Oregon. The credit is currently 50 percent of the cost of the wood chipper but it will be reduced to 35 percent when 2001 legislation becomes effective later this year. (A temporary rule to interpret ambiguous language in the law regarding the effective date of the reduction is scheduled to go before the Environmental Quality Commission on September 21, 2001.) The application fee is $50. Interested persons may submit an application to the Department of Environmental Quality after purchasing a wood chipper. The two-page application and instructions for chippers costing less than $50,000 are located at: http://waterquality.deq.state.or.us/wq/taxcredits/TCAppl_WoodChip.pdf (these are in Adobe Portable Document Format). E-mail: ALLAWAY [ DOT ] David [ AT ] deq [ DOT ] state [ DOT ] or [ DOT ] us --------------------- From Wayne Gash, Washington State University, Surplus & Recycling, Material Resource Services, Pullman, WA, responding to the 9/5/01 e-mail seeking information on the pros and cons of replacing paper towels with forced-air dryers at a school: I've just been asked similar questions as we prepare a major remodel of one of our buildings. The wild card in this is the current and likely continued higher electricity rates in the West. The point at which economies of the methods intersect has to be considerably different than just a year ago. A major concern here is that recycled-content paper towels are a big portion of our "buy recycled" campaign, although it becomes a lower percentage every year as we buy more recycled office paper. Very timely subject out here in the West. E-mail: wcgash (AT) mail (DOT) wsu (DOT) edu - end -