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25 Nov 02 - computers; rethink; quotes; terms; Ohio; plates; NYC; medical tools ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- From Donald Van Dyke, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, California, responding to the "Contaminated Computers" column by Jim Hightower, posted 11/21/02: Even if we want to assume that the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) Computer Report Card is accurate, we should keep in mind that specific computers made by these companies might vary in terms of environmental compatibility. The following example of a computer from NEC, rated only 6 by SVTC, will illustrate this, not that I am promoting this machine or NEC. NEC's latest attempt at eco-friendly computers is the PowerMate Eco. The PowerMate consumes so little power and emits so little heat that it doesn't need a fan. The system never produces more than 20 decibels. The trade-off for such a quiet machine is a drop in performance caused by use of code-morphing technology, though the PowerMate is still fine for running typical business applications. Its flat-panel screen does not contain boron. Its motherboard is made with lead-free solder. Its chassis is made of NEC's patented NuCycle plastic, which is claimed to be 100 percent recyclable and is touted to use nontoxic flame retardant. More information on this product is at: http://www.neccomp.com/v2/products/PowerMate/eco/ I hope that both Jim Hightower and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition are not so busy criticizing computer companies that they fail to acknowledge when one tries to do things right, or put their money where their mouth is and buy their machines. E-mail: DVanDyke [A T] CIWMB [D O T] ca [D O T] gov -------------------- From Mckenna Hallett, Currents - Low Impact Jewelry, Maui, Hawaii: Aloha from Maui where recycling just got notched down again - now we cannot recycle tin or steel cans, just aluminum! We cannot recycle paper (just newspaper) and only a few types of plastic. It is barely a program at this point. My response to this is my web site: http://www.stoprecycling.com/ I have been monitoring this forum for a long time, but really felt the need to contribute to Peter Szydlowski's plea for green quotes (11/21/02 posting). Albeit this is just a concept I picked up somewhere along the line and I know of no particular author, it is a motto I live by: "Everything you buy is an investment in something." And regarding the terminology discussion regarding the proposed national campaign to bring focus on stopping waste, here are two ideas for the name of the campaign: - Resource Preservation Campaign - Reduce & Reuse Before Recycling Thank you for this forum. I need this regular dose of reality to keep my hopes alive for a sustainable future. E-mail: mckenna [AT] lowerimpact [DOT] com -------------------- From Susanne Brunhart Wiggins, Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services, Rockville, Maryland, responding to Peter Szydlowski's 11/21/02 posting seeking "green" quotes: Mosey on over to http://www.askdep.com, the website of the Montgomery County (MD) Department of Environmental Protection. Their "web guy," a friend and colleague, has been posting environmentally-related quotations at the bottom of his homepage for some time now. Just scroll down and click on "Citings of Nature" to find his archives. Enjoy! E-mail: Susanne (D O T) Wiggins (A T) co (D O T) mo (D O T) md (D O T) us -------------------- From Jetta Antonakos, City of Saco, recycling program, Saco, Maine, responding to the recent postings about proposed National Waste Prevention Coalition projects, including a "War on Obsolescence" or "Campaign on Obsolescence": I, too, want to support Gina Hawkins' 11/13/02 suggestion for use of the term "durability" instead of "obsolescence." Why use a word that some people can't spell? Even "livability" works for me, but I think the concept of durability expresses it best. E-mail: jantonakos ( AT ) sacomaine ( DOT ) org -------------------- Excerpted from an article by Susan Pavilkey in the 11/22/02 Columbus (Ohio) Business First newspaper (forwarded by Katie Jensen): CENTRAL OHIO PROGRAM HELPS BUSINESSES SAVE MONEY, WASTE LESS It pays to have less office trash with a new waste reduction program initiated by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO). One participant in SWACO's new WasteLess Business Waste Reduction Program is Battelle Memorial Institute, with 2,200 employees. Battelle saved nearly $839,000 in 2001 with its recycling and waste-reduction efforts. Jim Walters, manager of hazardous waste management services at Battelle, is working closely with a SWACO consultant to further refine its recycling and waste-reduction program. "We moved to more energy-efficient light fixtures, and the consultant helped us find a company that wanted to purchase our old light bulbs, which were still in good shape but would have ended up in the landfill because we could no longer use them," Walters said. Irm Schubert, WasteLess project manager at SWACO, said the program's purpose is to help reduce the solid-waste stream in Franklin County, with the ultimate goal of keeping the Franklin County Landfill viable as long as possible. The agency targeted commercial and industrial businesses with more than 250 employees when starting the WasteLess program 18 months ago. Since then, 25 firms have signed on. "Commercial entities contribute about 50 percent and industrial entities 25 percent of all the solid waste hauled to the Franklin County Landfill each year," Schubert said. The WasteLess program is made up of a variety of smaller waste-reduction programs SWACO had put in place to meet Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandates, one of which is a free waste audit. The audits are detailed characterization studies that provide extensive weights and volumes for each company, based on its solid-waste stream. Consultants hired by SWACO and Central Ohio-based Waste Alternatives Inc. complete the assessments. SWACO uses assessment information to provide WasteLess participants with a written summary, which includes suggestions about changes to help reduce the company waste stream. Participating companies also receive an employee tool kit, which includes tips on how to promote the program and to train employees to use it, ideas for an in-house recycling newsletter and information about how to track waste reduction. Schubert said SWACO also hosts quarterly roundtable meetings for WasteLess participants, where they can gain new perspectives and trade ideas about waste reduction. The initiative is one of several SWACO programs funded by the $5-per-ton fee charged to haulers who dispose of waste at the Franklin County Landfill. SWACO operates a materials exchange for businesses, called the "Virtual Landfill," which is online at: http://www.virtuallandfill.com "We are also going to become formally associated with OMEx (a statewide materials exchange)," Schubert said. "Things that one company is throwing away may be a valuable resource that another company is willing to purchase." America Online (AOL), which employs 450 in Columbus, got involved with SWACO programs, primarily recycling, about three years ago. "The WasteLess program has been wonderful," said Jeremy Rycus, AOL supervisor of corporate facilities in the Columbus office. SWACO "offers a lot of ideas and options about how to reduce waste. I can call them at any time and they will get me the information I need in a timely manner. They have an answer for everything," he said. -------------------- Link to an 11/25/02 article by Jack Neff in the advertising industry trade journal Advertising Age, about the marketing problem that the S.C. Johnson & Son's company is having with their new product called "Ziploc TableTops," a line of semi-disposable plates: http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=36631 Ziploc TableTops was S.C. Johnson & Son's biggest product launch ever, but it is turning into one of its biggest flops ever. Several retailers are preparing to stop carrying the product. The company has spent $65 million to market the pricey blue plastic plates, and has recently marked down the price, to no avail. Even if the company could get people to try TableTops once, it's not clear the brand can survive, a retail executive said, because the products are less "semi-disposable" than billed. "There are no repeat purchases," he said. "The things last forever." -------------------- Link to an opinion piece by Richard Florida in the 11/20/02 Newsday newspaper, advocating more "green building" in the New York City region: http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpflo203010876nov20.story --------------------- Link to an article by Jean Fisher in the 11/16/02 Raleigh (NC) News & Observer about the reuse of medical tools: http://newsobserver.com/news/story/1913741p-1895499c.html The University of North Carolina Hospitals complex is collecting certain single-use medical tools and sending them to be sterilized and reconditioned for reuse. - end -