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25 Mar 02 - reuse; fishing tackle; firewood; electronics; deconstruction; NYC; restrooms ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- From Sarah Weimer, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, CA: We are looking to improve our collection of reuse resources contained at http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/reuse/Links/Default.htm and want to get a feel from other information purveyors as to who the audience of reuse resources is. Is the audience mainly people who are looking for materials, or people who are looking for an alternative to disposal for materials? We recognize that it takes both aspects for reuse to occur, but we are hoping to gain a better understanding of the needs of our audience. Any input would be appreciated. E-mail: sweimer (AT) ciwmb (DOT) ca (DOT) gov -------------------- Link to a Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance website on the environmental dangers from lead fishing tackle, and alternatives (forwarded by Kevin McDonald): http://www.moea.state.mn.us/reduce/sinkers.cfm -------------------- From Stephen Long, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, recycling markets program, Boston, MA, responding to the poem posted by Renee Kimball on 3/20/02, describing how she had scavenged wood from a construction site to burn in a wood stove: Now we fired up the stove And burned our treasure trove. As we warmed while we were seated, We questioned if the wood was treated With arsenic, chromium, and copper. We thought then, "Is this proper?" And even if there's lead, will this stuff go to my head? Our lungs began to cough and hack As the smoke went up the chimney stack. Next time we'll have to check, if the wood meets the air quality spec. Because while reuse praises we have sung It is darn hard to reuse a lung. And anyway, if burning is reuse, then the definition seems quite loose - Unless with these questions, I'm being rash, or just being a plain old pain in the ash. E-mail: stephen [ DOT ] long [ AT ] state [ DOT ] ma [ DOT ] us -------------------- Excerpted from a message from Dwight Mercer, waste diversion program, City of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, in response to recent postings about management of electronics waste: I just came back from a national workshop in Winnipeg, Canada, on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). In Canada, there may be a major move to set-up a non-profit, industry-based corporation to start to address electronic waste via EPR. E-mail: DMERCER (A T) cityregina (D O T) com -------------------- Link to information on a regional conference, "Bridging the Borders to Electronics Reuse and Recycling," to be held in Louisville, KY, August 28-29, 2002 (first seen on the Reuse Development Organization listserv): http://www.kppc.org/peer2/conference.cfm This conference is sponsored by the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center and other organizations. -------------------- The next two messages are in response to the 3/20/02 item about deconstruction research (including lumber grading) by the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory. -------------------- From Brian McVay, The ReBuilding Center, deconstruction services, Portland, OR: This spring The ReBuilding Center of Portland, Oregon, will be grading deconstructed lumber. One of our crew has already been trained to evaluate and grade used lumber and has assisted on the grading of a package of used material that went into the structure of a new but highly reused content multi-family dwelling here in Portland. The general contractor that worked with the material was very satisfied with the quality of the material. I will keep you all posted on the progress. E-mail: bmcvay ( A T ) worldnet ( D O T ) att ( D O T ) net -------------------- From Anastasia Nicole, Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority, waste prevention and recycling program, Walnut Creek, CA: When the navy pulled out of Alameda, California, huge World War II warehouses were left for demolition. Instead of being destroyed, the buildings were carefully dismantled, and tons of wood - much of it clear-heart old-growth redwood of a quality rarely seen in the current marketplace - was salvaged for reuse. E-mail: anastasia [ AT ] wastediversion [ DOT ] org -------------------- Excerpted from an article by Kirk Johnson in the 3/23/02 New York Times: Although the idea seemed dead in recent years, New York City officials, including new mayor Michael Bloomberg, are once again considering incineration to dispose of the city's garbage. In response, David Higby, the solid waste project director at Environmental Advocates, a conservation and lobbying group in Albany, NY, said that mercury emissions, in particular, were still a problem from trash combustion, and that the trend among many municipalities was toward a zero-emissions standard for mercury, which could make finding a place for new plants almost impossible. A study released recently by Columbia University, on the other hand, paints an opposite picture - that the current technology for converting waste to energy, as an environmental solution, is vastly preferable to landfills. -------------------- Link to a web page on restroom cleaning, for the custodial industry, sponsored by the Kimberly Clark corporation (forwarded by Heidi Siegelbaum): http://www.cmmonline.com/ENewsArticle.asp?ArticleID=27 Several suggestions on this page relate to waste prevention, both positively (coreless bathroom tissue) and negatively (disposable, single-use soap dispensers). - end -