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20 Nov 01 - packaging; worms; product stewardship; toxics; landfills; purchasing ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- Link to information on the Australian government's National Packaging Covenant (referred by Libby Chaplin): http://www.ea.gov.au/industry/waste/covenant/index.html The National Packaging Covenant is the leading instrument for managing packaging waste in Australia. It was signed in August, 1999, by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council Ministers, local governments and a broad range of companies and industry groups. It is a self-regulatory agreement between industries in the packaging chain and all spheres of government, based on the principles of shared responsibility through product stewardship, and applied throughout the packaging chain, from raw material suppliers to retailers, and the ultimate disposal of waste packaging. To see some of the action plans submitted by companies and government agencies under the Covenant, go to: http://www.packcoun.com.au/ On the left, click on "The Covenant and NEPM", then scroll down and click on the names of companies, organizations or agencies. Many of these action plans include extensive reduction and reuse measures. -------------------- From Kinley Deller, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA: SEEKING EXAMPLES OF ON-SITE WORM COMPOSTING AT OFFICE BUILDINGS A couple of my co-workers and I have taken on the task of trying to get our building's property management company to allow a demonstration worm bin in the courtyard of our two-year-old, eight-story-high office building here in Seattle. We would like this worm bin to handle a significant amount of food waste from several of the building's "break rooms," or kitchens. Our property manager wants to see examples of some other buildings ("Class A" buildings, if possible) that have worm bins (small or large), and would like contacts at relevant buildings to call and ask about the issues. Do any of you have a successful worm bin in your office or in your office's courtyard, or do you know of any good examples? Is there someone who my property manager could contact for reassurances that a worm bin can indeed be a happy part of a business office? Suggestions regarding worm bin models and types would be welcome, too. Thanks. E-mail: kinley [ D O T ] deller [ A T ] metrokc [ D O T ] gov --------------------- Link to the website for the Product Stewardship Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell: http://www.productstewardshipinstitute.org --------------------- Link to the website for the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell: http://www.turi.org --------------------- Excerpted from a special section, "Largest Landfills," in the 11/12/01 Waste News: The largest landfill in the United States, in terms of tonnage received in 2000, is the Puente Hills landfill in Whittier, California, owned and operated by Los Angeles County. It received a whopping 4,118,400 tons of waste in 2000. Second place went to the Apex landfill at Las Vegas, Nevada, owned and operated by Republic Services, which took in 2,838,682 tons. (Most landfills receive well under a million tons a year.) Of the top 10 largest landfills in the U.S., three are in southern California. --------------------- Link to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmentally Preferable Purchasing "Promising Practices Guide" (first seen on the EPA's WasteWise program listserv): http://www.epa.gov/oppt/epp/ppg This website features case studies of model federal Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) programs, including contact information and lessons learned from these projects. Although the guide is geared toward government agencies, the information may be beneficial to other types of organizations interested in EPP. - end -