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15 Oct 02 - garment bags; book; WasteWise; green building; cellphones; NWPC project ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- From David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Solid Waste Policy and Program Development, Portland, OR: A NEW TWIST ON "PAPER VS. PLASTIC BAGS" Does anyone know of a supplier of paper garment bags? I am working with a clothing retailer that wants to explore the use of paper garment bags to replace polyethylene garment bags that are commonly used. The retailer is receiving garments from clothing suppliers in a variety of packaging formats, including a dark polyethylene bag intended to protect very high-end (expensive) clothes from fading. (They are also looking at reusable garment bags, but want to have an option for certain types of sales/shipments where the bag is unlikely to be reused.) I checked the National Waste Prevention Coalition's web page for the Coalition's 1999 "Model Cleaners Project" for dry cleaners (http://dnr.metrokc.gov/swd/nwpc/dryclean.htm) - handy information here, but not about paper garment bags. Does such a package even exist? Thanks. E-mail: Allaway ( DOT ) David ( AT ) deq ( DOT ) state ( DOT ) or ( DOT ) us ------------------- From Michelle Portman, Newton, MA: I am a faithful reader/participant in this listserv. I agree with the recent comment noting that "waste prevention is still fighting for visibility and recognition." Recycling does get most of the attention. I think part of the problem is that source reduction per se goes against the most fundamental tenets of capitalist society (i.e., consume, consume, consume). However, that shouldn't keep us from trying to influence society on a large scale. One of the projects I'm thinking of working on myself is that of trying to inculcate children with the idea of waste prevention and reduction. I see that in the schools children are taught about recycling and in many instances children are much more interested in it than their parents, and in some cases better informed. Why not try to reach school children on the subject of waste reduction as well? That's why when I was working on solid waste management in the Bureau of Waste Prevention at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, I began doing workshops in several classes of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. I showed them my worm bin and talked about solid waste management and the importance of buying longer-lasting products with less packaging and such. At the same time, I was taking a creative writing class. I ended up writing and illustrating a children's picture book on vermicomposting. This book will be published this fall by Flower Press of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is a picture book that teaches how to do vermicomposting through a rhyming poem and full-color illustrations. My idea is to get children interested in composting as a fun activity (even if they don't have a yard) and I hope to help popularize this way of doing waste reduction. I would love to see teachers use this book to help get composting projects started in schools. I'd like to let people know that this book is available. I imagine that many people who read this listserv have small children. I think this is just a fun, bedtime book with a strong waste reduction message. Any suggestions on how to get the word out on this - especially to libraries and schools? E-mail: michelle [ AT ] rozin [ DOT ] com ------------------- Excerpted from information on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website (forwarded by Kristen Pomponio): The U.S. EPA WasteWise program has named its 2002 award winners. For a list of the winners, see: http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/about/winners.htm For details on the accomplishments of the winners, see the EPA WasteWise 2002 Annual Report at: http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/pubs/progrpts/pdfs/report8.pdf In the WasteWise program, businesses, agencies and institutions set goals and evaluate their results in waste prevention, recycling collection and purchasing recycled products. The program currently has about 1,300 members. For more information on WasteWise, see the main program website at: http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/index.htm -------------------- Link to information on the fifth annual National Green Building Conference, to be held March 30 - April 1, 2003, in Baltimore, MD (first seen in the King County LinkUp newsletter): http://www.nahbrc.org/conferencesseminarsgreen.asp?CategoryID=1676 ------------------- Excerpted from an article by Anahad O'Connor in the 10/8/02 New York Times (forwarded by Jeff Gaisford): GROWING PROBLEM OF USED CELLPHONES RAISES PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP ISSUES As the nation's fondness for cellphones grows, the environmental effects do, too. According to industry figures, cellphone use in the United States has surged, to more than 128 million subscribers last year, compared with 340,000 in 1985. Typically, each phone is used for 18 months before being dropped for a newer model. That is starting to add up to a huge amount of waste, says Inform, an environmental organization that issued a report this year on old phones. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) helped finance the study. By 2005, the report estimates, 130 million cellphones will be thrown out each year. Counting the phones, batteries and chargers, that comes to 65,000 tons a year, the report said. Although some phones may just stay unused in desk drawers, the report said, most will end up in landfills or being incinerated. The threat of cellphone waste is not restricted to the United States. More than a billion cellphones are used worldwide, and Japan and several European countries have started pressuring manufacturers to eliminate toxic chemicals in cellphones. Researchers at Inform say companies can act to eliminate waste by creating take-back programs that offer discounts on new phones or phone service in exchange for returned equipment. "If producers have to take back their cellphones, they have an incentive to make products that generate less waste and are easier to recycle," said Bette Fishbein, an economist who was lead author of the study. "Australia has a nationwide take-back program, and Europe is about to mandate that companies take back their electronics. The same should be done in the U.S." Some companies, including Verizon and Sprint, do have take-back programs, but the main industry group, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, opposes mandatory programs. Rather than requiring manufacturers to dispose of old phones, the industry prefers programs in which old phones are turned over to charities or resold in less developed countries, said Travis Larson, a spokesman for the group. Some states have taken small steps to promote reusing cellphones. A government-financed program in Maryland collects used cellphones that are recycled or reprogrammed and given to the elderly so they can call 911 in an emergency. "Recovery of cellphones is occurring on a much larger scale in other countries, often with the cooperation of manufacturers and retailers," U.S. EPA said in a statement in August. "EPA is interested in working to encourage similar developments in the United States." The agency is working with Inform on a follow-up study to examine the effectiveness of reusing and recycling cellphones. In the meantime, Fishbein said, American manufacturers should limit waste by standardizing design elements so consumers have fewer reasons to buy new phones. Although manufacturers are working to reduce their use of toxic materials, they oppose a mandated technical standard, Larson said. "If we had had a government standard in the beginning," he said, "we'd still all be speaking on analog phones. And that means no e-mail, no text messaging, no Caller ID. Competition equals innovation in this case." ---------------------- The next three postings are comments on the proposals for a new National Waste Prevention Coalition (NWPC) project, following up on previous postings. The preliminary project ideas were: Junk Phone Book Reduction; Waste Prevention SWAT Team; Double-Sided Printing Breakthrough Project; War on Obsolescence. Additional project ideas have also been proposed by Forum participants. For more information, see the past three installments of the Forum (click on the link to the Forum archive at the top of this message). --------------------- From Julia Wolfe, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, commercial waste reduction program, Boston, MA: For a NWPC project, I really like Jim Hill's suggestion to have a database with information for targeted sectors. One website that I think could be a model is Doug McKenzie-Mohr's Community Based Social Marketing website: http://www.cbsm.com This site includes guides, articles, case studies, graphics, forums, workshops, and services for targeted groups. For example, he has a number of examples of brochures and graphics on the site that can give folks an idea when designing a program. And the case study information is extensive and great. That's my two cents worth. Thanks! E-mail: julia ( D O T ) wolfe ( A T ) state ( D O T ) ma ( D O T ) us --------------------- From Lisa Sepanski, King County Solid Waste Division, Computer Recovery Project, Seattle, WA: I'm all for the War on Obsolescence, especially as it relates to electronics. E-mail: lisa ( DOT ) sepanski ( AT ) metrokc ( DOT ) gov ---------------------- From Roger Guttentag, environmental consultant and writer, Harleysville, PA: Here are my comments regarding the proposals for a new NWPC project: Junk Phone Book Reduction - The real waste reduction action would be to encourage people to forgo their telephone books (even the CD kind) altogether and use online telephone directories. However, most people still prefer to use phone books because they are more comfortable with printed references and have a hard time understanding how to do online searches. Also, I suspect that many people may like multiple phone books if they have different area coverage. This describes the phone book situation I have. I also think this issue can be handled simply by placing a check-off on the phone bill about 3 - 4 months before phonebook distribution to indicate if a phonebook is not wanted. Frankly, I don't think we're going to see real enthusiasm from the phone companies on this issue if, as I suspect, phone books are an important source of ad income. Waste Prevention SWAT Team - I don't particularly care for this one because I find its objective nebulous and reactive. Double-Sided Printing Breakthrough Project - This is a good idea, but I think it would be even better if the focus was to promote all the ideas that are espoused on the Cutting Paper website: http://eetd.LBL.gov/Paper War on Obsolescence - I also find this idea nebulous and extremely broad (perhaps too broad). I would like to suggest the following ideas for consideration: Promote Reusable Shopping Bags by Supermarkets and Other Major Retailers - Here is an excerpt from a 9/24/02 message I posted on the GreenYes listserv about grocery bags: One idea that I have, which I have not seen implemented (though I would be interested in knowing if it has been done) would be for the store to develop a branded shopping bag (one with its name and logo) that it could sell but then give a small rebate to the consumer each time it was used. Perhaps a barcode could be attached to the bag so it was scannable for the purpose of both awarding the rebate and tracking customer bag reuse patterns. Going further, each bag user could then become eligible to win a prize that is awarded monthly by the store. In this way, you have a win / win situation - the store gets to save on single-use bags, builds store loyalty and has an environmentally preferable advertising platform. The customer gets a useful (and hopefully nice-looking) bag, saves money and gets a chance to win cash or merchandise. Prevent Abandoned Purchase Waste - About three years ago, the Food and Brand Lab at the University of Illinois found that about 12 percent of grocery products ended up not being used (http://www.consumerpsychology.com/insights/smartshopping.html). I think a consumer education program that has the goal of eliminating this problem would be a win / win for both waste reduction advocates and the business community. First, it would achieve true waste prevention if consumers can be taught how to plan their purchases to avoid buying products that ultimately are abandoned and disposed. Second, it would be a terrific project for the supermarkets because it can be a way for them to show that they are looking out for their customers' best interests without it being regarded as a threat to their profitability. Reuse / Waste Prevention Tool Web Site - There are many waste prevention actions or products that consumers / businesses may be motivated to use if they understood both their environmental and economic benefits. An example would be an online calculator showing the cost savings from using rechargeable batteries or fluorescent light bulbs. Another example are calculators that show how much product is needed to do a job. Home Depot, for example, has an extensive set of online calculators for determining how much paint, wall paper, carpet, etc. would be needed for a specific home improvement project. What this website could do is function as a waste prevention tool center that would either provide links to existing online calculators that have a waste prevention value, or provide various waste prevention calculators specially developed for it. E-mail: rgutten [A T] concentric [D O T] net - end -