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11 Feb 03 - paper; toxics; Cutting Sheets; bathrooms; NWPC project ideas ** 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, Waste Prevention & Market Development Division, Sacramento, CA: LOOKING FOR U.S. COMPANIES WITH EXCEPTIONAL PAPER WASTE PREVENTION PROGRAMS I am seeking the names of U.S. companies that have done an exemplary job of reducing the amount of paper used in their operations. This is not for any award or recognition, simply to refer to an individual at Toyota Motor Corporation who I believe is seeking model companies to emulate. Thanks. E-mail: bforan [ AT ] ciwmb [ DOT ] ca [ DOT ] gov -------------------- Link to a 2/5/03 column by Francesca Lyman on the MSNBC website, about two recent studies that show the extent to which Americans are absorbing toxic chemicals in their bodies as part of everyday life: http://www.msnbc.com/news/868798.asp More than 70,000 chemicals are in use in the United States, and 2,000 new compounds are introduced every year, according to government figures. In one of the recent studies, volunteers were tested for the presence of 210 chemicals commonly found in consumer products and industrial pollutants. One study participant - who eats organic produce, doesn't use pesticides, and feels that she has a generally healthy lifestyle - was shocked to find that she still had some 85 toxic chemicals in her blood and urine. The other new study, done by the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC), found that children have twice the levels of certain pesticides in their blood as adults, and that children have higher levels of certain chemicals used in soft plastic toys. On the positive side, the study noted some public health successes, such as a decline in lead levels and in cotinine, the byproduct of tobacco smoke. The CDC study can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport "Just because chemicals are found present in the body doesn't mean there's cause for concern, but only that an internal metabolic process has occurred," said Jennifer Biancaniello, a spokesperson for the American Chemical Council, a trade association of chemical manufacturers. "CDC hasn't come out and said there's cause for health concern." -------------------- Excerpted from an item in the March 2003 Consumer Reports: DISPOSABLE CUTTING SHEETS DON'T CUT IT Consumer Reports recently tested the new Saran Disposable Cutting Sheets, which claim to "absorb the germy mess left behind when cutting raw meat, poultry, fish, and much more," thereby reducing the amount of cleanup you have to do in the kitchen. Each sheet consists of a "cut-resistant" top layer, an absorbent middle layer, and a liquid-proof bottom layer. After quartering a chicken or cubing beef, you simply toss the sheet into the trash. The sheets also promise to protect countertops and cutting boards. They cost $3.99 for a box of 20. But in the Consumer Reports tests, this product did not work well at all. In the tests, which ranged from dicing onions to quartering chickens, the testers invariably cut through the sheet's top layer. In fact, in almost every test they cut through all three layers. Juices from foods often leaked through the cuts. The sheets measure about 9 1/2 by 12 inches and were too small to contain a 4-pound chicken that was quartered for broiling. Juices oozed over the edges onto the countertop. The bottom line: The Cutting Sheets don't cut it. A good, reusable cutting board, plus careful clean-up of counters and knives, will work better. -------------------- Excerpted from a 1/21/03 column by Jeff Bailey in the Wall Street Journal: REUSE/REDUCTION APPROACH TO BATHROOM RENOVATION GAINING POPULARITY A little-known product - bathtub liners - allows people to refurbish a bathroom with no demolition, and without buying a new tub. Although this product has been around for 20 years, its market share in the bathroom refurbishing business is probably only between one and two percent. But its popularity seems to be increasing. Liners Direct, an Itasca, Illinois, company that manufactures tub liners, has annual sales of about $5 million and growing. The biggest tub liner manufacturer, AmBath, in Mesa, Arizona, does about $20 million in annual sales. Tub liner manufacturers have hundreds of molds for actual bathtubs sold in the U.S. in recent decades, and they use those to make the quarter-inch-thick acrylic liners. According to manufacturers, this is the benefit of the product: Rather than spending $6,000 to $8,000 to refurbish a typical 5-by-8 foot bathroom (with much of that amount going to labor cost for demolition, tile layers and plumbers), you can cover it all in new acrylic for between $2,000 and $3,000. Also, liner jobs are finished in a day or two, while gutting a bathroom takes considerably longer. ------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition (NWPC): NWPC PROJECT PROPOSAL FOLLOW-UP In recent messages, we've talked about the new NWPC project to reduce unwanted phone books. We're moving ahead with that. But I want to follow up on some of the other project proposals that were considered: Campaign for Durability - Although a lot of people liked the idea of a project to support durability and oppose obsolescence, that support was all over the map in terms of how the project would work, and what it would try to achieve. The NWPC strongly supports the concept of greater product durability, and will continue to speak out in favor of this (in presentations, when interviewed by the media, etc.). But because many of those involved with the NWPC, including myself, work for government agencies, any efforts to "take on" major industries and corporations need to be handled carefully. This may be the type of project that needs activist groups to make the first inroads. One example is what the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is doing on the electronics issue. Double-sided Printing Project - This proposal also had some support. However, some preliminary research has shown that there are still uncertainties about the overall benefits of double-sided printing (not to be confused with double-sided copying, which has more clear-cut benefits). The perceived negatives to double-sided printing include possible printer jamming and an increased need for cleaning. It is hoped that new generations of printers will make double-sided printing in offices much easier (without the negatives), but until that happens, an NWPC project on this issue does not seem practical. Waste Prevention SWAT Team - This proposal (that a group be set up to respond quickly to new waste prevention issues) had the least support. Although it won't be an official NWPC project, we heartily endorse a "quick response" approach to breaking news and emerging issues. This listserv, the Waste Prevention Forum, is designed to get out information on waste prevention issues as quickly as possible to all of you, the leaders in this field. It can really have a positive effect if we respond to issues - individually, or representing our organizations, or in groups - whenever we can, with letters to the editor, petitions, interviews, articles, online postings, forwarding of e-mails, etc. If you would like more information on any of the above topics, or on the phone book project that we're currently pursuing, please drop me a line or give me a call. Thanks! E-mail: tom (D O T) watson (A T) metrokc (D O T) gov Phone: (206) 296-4481 - end -