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29 Aug 02 - product stewardship; NYC; food diversion; garages ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- Excerpted from an article by Anthony Lewis in the August 2002 issue of Automotive Industries, an auto industry trade journal: EUROPE WORKING TOWARD AUTO INDUSTRY PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP Confusion bordering on chaos just about sums up the current state of the auto industry over the European Commission's end-of-life vehicles (ELV) directive. It is not the global automakers or suppliers who are to blame but the member nations, each of whom is putting a different interpretation and timescale on what the European Commission (EC) has proposed. The first key date was supposed to be July, 2002. From then, manufacturers would become responsible for all new cars that are scrapped, regardless of their age or the location of their manufacturing headquarters. All original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who sell in Europe, even those with headquarters in North America or Asia, must recycle their own vehicles. If your new Ford you bought this month is wrecked in a crash next month, Ford would be responsible for its disposal. There's just one problem - very few of the governments in the EC have yet drawn up the legislation. From January 1, 2007, all carmakers will become responsible for the disposal of all vehicles, regardless of their age. The directive says, in essence, that original equipment manufacturers are required to reclaim and recycle old cars and trucks. The directive is aimed at encouraging reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of end-of-life vehicles and their components, to protect the environment. To put the size of the task in perspective, ACEA, the European association of car makers, estimates that about 11 million vehicles are de-registered, or taken out of service, each year in Europe. The auto industry says they are ready to recover and recycle and have been for some time. What they are worried about is not what should be done, nor even the timescale, but who should pay for it. The European directive also would require that vehicles released on the market after July 1, 2003, do not contain mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium or lead, except in certain exempted cases. The full article is at: http://ai-online.com/articles/0802/coverstory.asp --------------------- Link to an opinion piece by Steve Hammer in the 8/29/02 New York Daily News, advocating a "pay-as-you-throw" volume-based garbage fee system for New York City, which would encourage waste reduction (forwarded by Steve Hammer): http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/14508p-13783c.html -------------------- Link to information on the Food Diversion Summit, to be held Oct. 22-23, 2002, in Sacramento, CA (first seen on the National Recycling Coalition Newswire): http://www.rce.csus.edu/cts/food/index.htm This event is hosted by the California Integrated Waste Management Board. It will cover composting, food banks, animal feed and other aspects of food diversion and recovery. For more information on this summit, contact Terry Brennan at (916) 341-6578 or by e-mail at: tbrennan [ A T ] ciwmb [ D O T ] ca [ D O T ] gov -------------------- Excerpted from an article by Joseph Hallinan in the 8/12/02 Wall Street Journal: U.S. GARAGES ARE GETTING BIGGER There are 65 million garages in the U.S., and demand for bigger ones is growing. In 1992, only 11 percent of American homes had garages that would hold three or more cars. By 2001, 18 percent had such jumbo garages. Big garages are especially popular in the Western two-thirds of the U.S. The National Association of Home Builders says only 9 percent of new single-family homes in the Northeast had garages that would hold three or more cars. But in the Midwest, 27 percent did, and in the West, 32 percent did. "You have a McMansion with a Garage-mahal attached to it," says Kira Obolensky, author of the book, "Garage: Reinventing the Place We Park." As garages grow bigger, many Americans use a significant amount of their garage space to store things other than cars. According to a 1994 study by the U.S. Department of Energy, 25 percent of people with two-car garages didn't park any cars in the garage and 32 percent parked only one car. ------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition: I just wanted to let people know that I will be out of the office for a few days, Sept. 30 - Sept. 4, so there will be no installments of the Forum during that time. Hope everyone has been having a great summer! - end -