WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ARCHIVE   BACK TO ARCHIVE INDEX

08 Apr 03 - teaching resources; bags; Dell; construction; mercury; conference ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- From Julie Pond, City of Seattle, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA, responding to the 3/27/03 posting seeking ideas for good waste reduction service-learning projects for 6th-12th graders: I am working with 9th-12th grade students on a waste reduction service learning website project. In this program, students from Seattle Public Schools are creating a web calculator application which outputs waste reduction activities into economic benefit and environmental benefit. Specifically, it will output greenhouse gas saved, gallons of water saved, watts of electricity saved, number of trees saved, number of salmon saved, and dollars saved. They are also researching and writing web content recommendations for waste reduction activities. For more information, please e-mail me at: julie [D O T] pond [A T] seattle [D O T] gov -------------------- From Susan Salterberg, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA: GAMES/LESSONS HELP STUDENTS LEARN SMALL BUSINESS POLLUTION PREVENTION Three new lessons, developed by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern Iowa, help 9th-12th grade business, math and environmental science students learn about the environment and small business. In The Clean Scene, Fine Print and Rev It Up, students become owners of dry cleaners, printers and automotive service companies, respectively. It is a real-life simulation in which students make business decisions, and then play a board game where they reap benefits and suffer consequences of their decisions. The lesson introduces students to small business decision-making, entrepreneurship, environmental regulations and pollution prevention. The lessons come in teacher sets, complete with six board games, six sets of chance cards and six dice. The game takes approximately three 45-minute class periods to complete (including discussion) and costs $15, including shipping and handling, per teacher set. For information about these games, go to: http://www.iwrc.org/programs/boardgames.cfm E-mail: salterberg [A T] uni [D O T] edu Phone: (319) 498-4516 -------------------- From Susan Salterberg, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA: REQUEST FOR CONTRARY OPINIONS When I introduce resources to teachers, I'm always trying to offer them resources with varying perspectives. Anyone have ideas of books that offer contrary opinions to "Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things," a book about the chain of production? FYI - For those of you who use "Affluenza," the book by John de Graaf, I have learned of a couple of authors who offer contrary opinions, and you may want to know of those books: Jim Twitchell's "Lead Us Into Temptation" (which author and economist Juliet Schor says is probably the best choice for a non-academic audience, very breezy, her students like it a lot), and Stanley Lebergott's "Pursuing Happiness" (which she says is not as pithy and fun as Twitchell, but lots of data in the second half of the book, and very short chapters in the first). E-mail: salterberg ( AT ) uni ( DOT ) edu -------------------- Excerpted from a 4/3/03 article in Business Day, a South Africa business publication based in Johannesburg: NEW SOUTH AFRICA REGULATIONS ON PLASTIC BAGS; SUPERMARKET CHAIN INTRODUCES REUSABLE BAG New legislation on plastic bags that will go into effect in South Africa on May 9, 2003, will force consumers to pay for their bags. An environmental levy that will be included in the price of the plastic bags will go towards government-administered environmental projects and education. The new legislation also requires manufacturers to produce thicker plastic bags that last longer, in order to promote repeat use of the bags and encourage recycling. Pick 'n Pay, a major supermarket chain in South Africa, has opposed the legislation, calling it "an unnecessary cost to the consumer." However, Pick 'n Pay, like other retailers, will sell the new government-regulated plastic bags. Pick 'n Pay has also decided to introduce its own reusable "Green Bag," which customers can purchase at their stores, as an alternative to paying for plastic bags every time they shop. The new reusable Green Bag is ergonomically designed and is made of an "environmentally-friendly" fabric. All Pick 'n Pay checkout stands have been mechanically adjusted to accommodate this new bag. "Customers at Pick 'n Pay will thus have four choices as of May 9," said Pick 'n Pay Chief Executive Officer Sean Summers. "They can bring their own bags; they can pay for government-regulated plastic bags; they can carry their own groceries without bags; or, more cost-effectively, they can buy one of our reusable Green Bags." -------------------- Links to information about Dell Computer Corporation's computer reuse and recycling programs (forwarded by Anne McLaughlin): General information: http://www.dell4me.com/recycling Dell's Spring 2003 recycling/reuse events: http://www.dell.com/recyclingtour -------------------- Excerpted from the 3/31/03 Waste News: WASTE BREAKDOWN FOR HOME CONSTRUCTION According to the National Association of Home Builders, this is the estimated waste generated during the construction of a 2,000-square-foot home: Wood - 3,000 pounds (11 cubic yards) Drywall - 2,000 pounds (6 cubic yards) Masonry - 1,000 pounds (1 cubic yard) Cardboard - 600 pounds (20 cubic yards) Metal - 150 pounds (1 cubic yard) Vinyl - 150 pounds (1 cubic yard) -------------------- Link to a 4/4/03 column by Francesca Lyman on the MSNBC website, about mercury in seafood: http://www.msnbc.com/news/894457.asp -------------------- Link to information about a national conference, "Enough for All: Sustainable Living in a Global World," to be held June 20-23 in Seattle (forwarded by Marcia Rutan): http://www.webofcreation.org/ncc/conference This conference is sponsored by the National Council of Churches. Among the issues that the conference will address are: Globalization, lifestyle/consumption, energy stewardship, environmental justice and economics. - end -