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09 Jan 02 - carpet; AOL; toxics; data; California grants; God of Garbage; phones ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- Link to information (on the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance website) on the Memorandum of Understanding for Carpet Stewardship, which was signed on January 8, 2002, in Atlanta, Georgia: http://www.moea.state.mn.us/carpet/index.cfm This agreement establishes a ten-year schedule to increase the amount of reuse and recycling of post-consumer carpet and reduce the amount of waste carpet going to landfills. The Memorandum of Understanding is the result of a two-year negotiation process between members of the carpet industry, representatives of government agencies at the federal, state and local levels, and non-governmental organizations. The agreement is a voluntary initiative that encourages manufacturers to assume product stewardship - the responsibility for the lifecycle of carpet from point-of-sale to disposal. -------------------- From David Stitzhal, Full Circle Environmental, Seattle, WA: In my mailbox this weekend was the worst America Online (AOL) marketing piece I have ever seen. AOL sent a "1,000 hours free" disk in a self-mailer black plastic case with plastic PVC windows to hold the marketing materials, and a sticky label for the address. Inside is another piece of paper with the huge words, "NO COMMITMENT", in reference to the free trial-period for their software. I think the banner statement is more reflective of AOL's attitude to the world's resources and their sentiment toward those of us who receive their unsolicited junk mail. E-mail: stitzhal [ AT ] fullcircleenvironmental [ DOT ] com -------------------- From Mark Cohen, professor, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (forwarded by Burton Hamner): Have environmental regulations, disclosure requirements, or product bans caused companies to use more dangerous chemicals? Anecdotal evidence, mostly from developing countries, indicates that some companies are using petroleum or alcohol-based solvents in place of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). This produces more hazardous waste, more Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) air pollution and increased fire risk, despite reducing ozone depletion. There is also some anecdotal evidence that Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) / Pollution Transfer and Release disclosure requirements caused firms to substitute away from reportable chemicals to others that might have more of an impact than the TRI chemical. We are collecting any evidence of these changes in risks that might be available. Our objective is to promote better understanding of comparative risk management in Cleaner Production and Pollution Prevention. A professional paper is being developed. If you have any examples you can share with us, we will be grateful and contact you for further details. E-mail: Mark (D O T) Cohen (A T) owen (D O T) vanderbilt (D O T) edu --------------------- From Jay Shepard, Washington state Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, responding to the 1/4/02 request for waste generation data: Take a look at "Natural Capitalism", Hawken, Lovins, Lovins 1999, Pages 51 to 53. Also, take a look at the report "The Weight of Nations" - http://www.igc.org/wri/materials/weightofnations.html - by the World Resources Institute. Very good information therein. Check KEY FINDINGS, Page XI. Personal Document Format (PDF) file attached. Hope you find these sources useful. E-mail: jshe461 [ AT ] ECY [ DOT ] WA [ DOT ] GOV --------------------- From Kristen McDonald, California Integrated Waste Management Board, sustainable building grant program, Sacramento, CA: SUSTAINABLE BUILDING FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR CALIFORNIA AGENCIES The California Integrated Waste Management Board is offering $500,000 to promote sustainable building. All cities, counties, local government and state agencies in California are eligible to apply for funding. Proposals must advance the use of sustainable building design and construction materials and techniques and the use of waste and used tires. For more information, or to download the Request For Proposals (RFP), visit: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Contracts/ Scroll down to "Green Bldg. Contracts w/ Local & State Government" E-mail: kmcdonal ( A T ) CIWMB ( D O T ) ca ( D O T ) gov --------------------- From a 12/21/01 Reuters news service article (forwarded by Wayne Gash): TOKYO - A Japanese sanitation worker known as the "God of Garbage" was arrested by police this week for threatening a bar owner at knifepoint because he refused to separate his trash, the Mainichi Daily news reported. Mizuo Tamura, 55, a manager in the environmental section in the Kajiki municipal government, was arrested for breaking Japan's Firearms and Swords Control Law early on Thursday, the newspaper said in its online edition. "(The bar owner) wasn't separating his rubbish properly," Tamura told police in Kagoshima on the southern island of Kyushu. Japan has rigid rules for separating different types of trash, including food refuse, general waste, business waste and bottles and cans. The newspaper said Tamura oversaw the town's garbage collection and had been arrested several times in the past for trying to enforce the rules in an over-enthusiastic way. "He's so keen on his work, everybody refers to him as the 'God of Garbage'," his boss was quoted by the newspaper as saying. Note from Tom: I know this is more of a recycling story, which we ordinarily don't run, but how could I resist this one? --------------------- Link to information on cellular phone donation programs, on the website of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's (CTIA) Wireless Foundation: http://www.donateaphone.com/index.htm The Wireless Foundation now has two programs to benefit charities by reusing and recycling cell phones: The Call to Protect program (which has been featured on the Forum in the past) and PhoneRaising, a program that allows non-profits to raise money by collecting used cell phones. -------------------- Note from Tom: I will be out of the office Jan. 14-16, so there will be no Forum during that time. (I'll be at the National Recycling Congress here in Seattle - hope to see some of you there!) - end -