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30 Dec 02 - Taiwan; computers; position sought; REI; diapers; SUVs ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- Excerpted from an article by Chiu Yu-Tzu in the 12/30/02 Taipei (Taiwan) Times, following up on a 12/18/02 posting: NO MORE FREE PLASTIC BAGS AT TAIWAN STORES A policy that limits the use of plastic bags and utensils will be implemented in Taiwan on Wednesday, Jan. 1, regardless of strong opposition from the plastics industry, Taiwan Environmental Protection Administrator Hau Lung-bin said Sunday. "We can make a great contribution to environmental protection as long as we get used to the small inconvenience of carrying reusable bags when shopping," Hau told a crowd in downtown Taipei, where environmental protection campaign activities were being held. Hau said that the public's attitude toward using plastic needed to change. Together with Pai Ping-ping, a TV entertainer who volunteered to promote the policy, Hau tore down several plastic bags and utensils attached to a huge model of the Earth to demonstrate his resolution in carrying out the policy. The first stage of the controversial policy was launched on July 1, when all government-run stores were banned from providing free plastic shopping bags to customers. Three months later, a ban on disposable utensils and food containers was imposed at government-operated grocery stores and restaurants. The second stage of the policy will start on Wednesday, Jan. 1, with the ban on free bags and utensils extending to department stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and almost every type of retailer, except street vendors. To promote the policy, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration distributed 1,000 reusable shopping bags to those participating in yesterday's campaign activities. Representatives from convenience store chains and department stores joined the activities to show their support. Giuseppina Toto, an Italian semiconductor engineer who is in Taiwan on business, said yesterday he thinks that the policy is reasonable, given that in Europe most residents already use reusable bags for shopping. Notices informing customers of the policy have been put up at most stores it affects. According to the Taiwan EPA, 20 percent of household waste in Taiwan is plastic, almost double the percentage in developed countries. Hau said the policy aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste by 30 percent within six months. "The policy will be carefully reviewed in six months to see if the EPA needs to limit the use of other disposable materials," Hau said. As for opposition from the plastics industry, Hau said that the EPA would do its best to solve unemployment caused by the policy. According to Hau, the Cabinet will spend a significant amount of money to create 8,400 jobs for laid-off plastics industry workers next year. -------------------- Links to information on the CompuMentor/TechSoup website, about two new programs to make computer software and hardware available at low costs to non-profits and schools: The Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) Donation Program, an initiative of Microsoft and CompuMentor, was launched on Dec. 13, 2002. Through this program, Microsoft provides donated Windows 98 and Windows 2000 operating systems to nonprofit PC refurbishers. MAR was created to fulfill the needs of refurbishers, nonprofits and schools to equip donated computers with affordable operating systems. (CompuMentor, which also runs the TechSoup website, is a nonprofit organization specializing in technology assistance for community-based organizations and schools.) For information on the MAR program, see this web page: https://www.techsoup.org/mar/default.asp?cg=mar&sg=tsba (Note from Tom - Providing this type of program is apparently one of the things that Microsoft agreed to in a settlement agreement to resolve recent antitrust litigation.) In related news, a similar program was announced by Cisco Systems on Dec. 9, 2002. For information, see this web page: http://www.techsoup.org/news_article.cfm?newsid=1122&cg=searchterms&sg=Cisco -------------------- From Laurie Stoerkel, West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority, recycling program, San Pablo, CA: I am seeking a volunteer or internship position in a Spanish-speaking country starting in February, 2003. My current position with the Waste Management Authority is ending in January. I've been job hunting, but haven't found anything yet. During the interim, I'd like to combine my interests in recycling, composting, waste management and foreign travel while polishing up my Spanish. If anyone has any contacts or information on projects, please contact me. Also, I'd be happy to send a copy of my resume. Thanks. E-mail: lauries [A T] recyclemore [D O T] com Phone: (510) 215-3021 ------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition: Over the holidays I saw a nice example of a company promoting reuse and recycling: REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.), based in the Seattle area, is a chain of 60 outdoor equipment stores. Some of the paper shopping bags given out by REI include this message, in very large print (some of the capitalized words are an inch high): "REI cares about the ENVIRONMENT. This bag is made from recycled paper FEATURING 100 PERCENT post-consumer waste.... Please find other uses for it. RE-USE is the sincerest form of RECYCLING." ------------------ Excerpted from a 12/26/02 Associated Press article by Margie Mason, about adult reusable diapers: SANTA CRUZ, CA - Peggy Lu Fay spent years visiting nursing homes, where she met many patients who were forced to leave their homes for only one reason: Their loved ones simply couldn't handle caring for them after they became incontinent. It was a heartbreaking scenario that led Fay to search for a way to help. She started selling adult reusable diapers that were cheap, environmentally friendly and custom made to make it easier for caretakers. Santa Cruz County awarded Fay a $20,000 grant last January to manufacture her own cloth diapers, complete with a laundering service. Inside the nondescript green warehouse that doubles as a showroom, she has an array of fabrics, prints and sizes to fit everyone, including babies. Von Wilmot discovered Fay's company, Life Styles Emporium, in Santa Cruz, and asked her to design something that would comfortably fit her husband's large size and absorb nighttime accidents. The couple came in for a fitting, and after a few alterations ended up with a personally designed cloth diaper complete with thick layers that fold together to form several inches of padding. "They're wonderful. It was just sort of magic," Wilmot said. "It was about keeping him dry at night, not having to throw out stuff and not having to pay out money all of the time." And saving is really the reason Santa Cruz County got involved. A fully incontinent adult contributes about a ton of waste to the landfill each year, said Jeffrey Smedberg, the county's recycling programs coordinator. "We had a lot to learn about adult diapers, and, in a sense, they may be even more of an impact on landfills than baby diapers. (Baby diapers are) smaller and people outgrow them fairy quickly," he said. "Once people need to start using (adult diapers) it could be years and years and they're still using them." While environmental issues are important to Fay and her four co-workers, that's just one of many reasons people come to her. Cloth diapers cost about $30 to $60 apiece, but they're good for about 300 washes. That compares to disposable diapers, which can cost $1.25 apiece for a bag of 40-45. But disposable diapers do have their place, and some say cloth contributes to more skin irritations, especially rashes. "Older people who tend to be on a fixed income are trying to get by on less than more," said Nancy Muller, executive director of the Spartanburg, S.C.-based National Association For Continence. "They don't change the garments often enough or they stuff reusable towels in there and then they end up with skin problems." But Muller said she's happy the subject is at least starting to be discussed more openly. Many adults are so ashamed of their incontinence problems, she said, they end up locking themselves away at home far from society. And it's not just older folks. Many young women experience some type of leakage after giving birth and require some type of absorbency product, along with men and women suffering from spinal injuries or diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Fay said Life Styles Emporium also caters to those younger clients. The company makes everything from bright colors with lace ruffles, such as lime green and lemon yellow, to leopard print bikinis. One young woman in a wheelchair came into the showroom with her mother and just started crying as she looked at the different products available. "She said, 'I had no idea anyone would think to make anything like that for someone like me,'" Fay recalled. "It makes you feel like what you're doing is worthwhile." -------------------- Excerpted from an interview with actress Meryl Streep in the January 2003 Good Housekeeping magazine: Q. Do you have a temper? What really gets you worked up? A. (Meryl Streep) Lately? Everything! Do you want the long or the short list? Here's something: For a couple of years now, I've driven a car made by Toyota called the Prius. It's a hybrid car - a gas-and-electric vehicle that gets approximately 52 miles to the gallon in the city and has the lowest possible emissions on the road. It costs about $20,000, seats five, and it goes faster than I'm ever supposed to by law. And yet, I see these nice women roaring down the road in these big SUVs, and I think, Her husband's ego needs that car - she doesn't. It gets 17 miles per gallon, and all those extra emissions pollute my air and my kids' air. If I could buy an American-made hybrid car, I would, but my country doesn't even offer such a car yet, though they've had the technology to do so for years. So, that's what really makes me mad." - end -