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02 May 02 - produce totes; horses; chemicals; Habitat; art; Starbucks ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- From Brian Foran, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, CA, responding to the 4/24/02 item about how the Corrugated Packaging Alliance, in response to increasing use of reusable plastic produce totes by grocers, plans to launch a campaign promoting the use of corrugated shipping containers over reusable ones: The waste prevention impact of reusable plastic containers that replace corrugated cardboard containers used for packing produce is significantly enhanced by the fact that most corrugated containers used for packing produce are essentially non-recyclable due to their plastic liners. It is disgraceful that the profit motive of the box manufacturers will likely lead to deceptive media about reusable containers. E-mail: bforan (AT) CIWMB (DOT) ca (DOT) gov ------------------- Excerpted from a message from Karen May, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, responding to the 4/24/02 posting quoting an Iowa horse owner who does not think that rubber mats for horse stalls reduce the amount of bedding needed: Horse owners are advised to do what works best for their system, based on their experience or on the advise of their veterinarian. King County's pilot program to provide discounts on rubber mats for horse stalls (described in the 4/8/02 Forum) was designed to promote reduced bedding as a waste reduction strategy, and used stall mats as the mechanism to do that. We have received affirmations from dozens of local experienced horse owners that rubber mats, installed on gravel as a substrate, perform well and significantly reduce bedding, as much as 65 to 75 percent less. Many local horse owners and veterinarians feel strongly that the use of rubber stall mats is an excellent strategy for optimum horse health, chore efficiency and solid waste reduction. One note about the amount of animal waste produced: The amount of animal waste does not decrease with the use of rubber mats, but the stall waste that results from using less bedding yields a compost feedstock that is far more beneficial for on-site use. The use of this waste material on-site improves vegetation health and soil tilth, which in turn hedges against nutrient runoff that negatively impacts stream health. For folks wanting further details about local experience regarding the benefits of bedding reduction and rubber mats, please contact Alayne Blickle at (425) 432-6116 or via e-mail at: alayne [ DOT ] blickle [ AT ] horsesforcleanwater [ DOT ] com Ask for her fact sheets on these topics. E-mail: karen ( D O T ) may ( A T ) metrokc ( D O T ) gov --------------------- Excerpted from a press release for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program, "NOW with Bill Moyers" (forwarded by Gerty Coville): "Kids and Chemicals," a special edition of "NOW with Bill Moyers," will be broadcast on PBS Friday, May 10 at 9 p.m. (check local listings to confirm the time and date). This program features medical investigators and health officials engaged in the latest research on links between childhood illness and everyday environmental toxins - what kids eat, drink, and breathe. "Kids and Chemicals" also looks at families around the country who are coping with the consequences to their children of potentially toxic exposures. One expert Moyers interviews is Dr. Phillip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, who works with scientists around the country to understand how kids are affected by exposure to chemicals. "Of the 3,000 high-production-volume chemicals in use in this country today, only 43 percent have been even minimally tested," he tells Moyers. "Only about 10 percent have been thoroughly tested to examine their potential effects on children's health and development." --------------------- Link to a directory of Habitat for Humanity ReStores in the U.S. and Canada: http://www.habitat.org/env/restore.html More than 50 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the U.S. and Canada operate ReStores, which sell used and surplus building materials. Proceeds from ReStores fund the construction of Habitat houses in the community. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that builds houses around the world. --------------------- Link to information on "Art From Detritus," an art exhibition being held in New York City through May 3rd (first seen in the WasteCap Wisconsin bulletin): http://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/mediaTriangle/detritusPR.html Scroll down for links to photos of the art. In this third annual exhibit, at John Jay College in New York, artists have taken fragments of discarded, found and reused materials and transformed them into painting, collage, sculpture and assemblage. -------------------- Excerpted from a column by Kathy Mulady in the 4/20/02 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: About 500 of the 4,240 Starbucks stores in North America offer their coffee grounds to home gardeners, according to Ben Packard, director of environmental affairs for Starbucks. Gardeners use the coffee grounds in their compost bins, or apply them directly in their gardens, as a side-dressing. Starbucks has also reduced some of its cardboard waste by transporting baked goods to its stores in reusable totes rather than in cardboard boxes. - end -