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05 May 03 - coffee cups; medical devices; reuse profiles; bags; cell phones ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- The first four postings are in response to the 4/30/03 posting asking if there was an alternative to the more than 100,000 disposable polystyrene coffee cups used every year at AA meetings in the Seattle area. The writer asked if there was an alternative disposable cup (he had already determined that reusable cups would not be feasible on a large scale), and also asked whether this issue was serious enough to put his energy and time into. -------------------- From Polagaya Fine, Snohomish County Solid Waste Division, Everett, WA: The Institute for Lifecycle Energy Analysis newsletter has a very excellent article in its Winter 2002 edition comparing lifecycle costs of polystyrene vs. paper vs. reusable cups. The bottom line: Since it takes vastly more energy to produce reusable cups and it takes energy to wash them, ceramic cups need to be reused 1,000 times before they are more efficient than polystyrene cups and plastic cups need to be reused 450 times. Paper disposables are the worst choice: A ceramic cup is a better choice after 39 uses and a plastic cup after only 17. My advice to AA: It does matter how much trash AA produces and how much they have to spend on disposable cups. Work on convincing "the regulars" to bring their own cups to meetings and take them home afterwards. This isn't as hard as it sounds. A reminder in meeting notices and at the start of the meeting to "bring your own coffee cup" will get cooperation from more people than you might think. Charging for a disposable cup makes people pay attention, too. You won't eliminate all of the disposable cups this way. There will always be people who forget or are new or who just don't care enough. But you can reduce the use of disposables substantially by being serious about wanting people to bring a cup with them. It costs nothing but a bit of energy to try. E-mail: polagaya ( D O T ) fine ( A T ) co ( D O T ) snohomish ( D O T ) wa ( D O T ) us -------------------- From Karen Price, Business and Industry Resource Venture, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Seattle, WA: Require AA participants to bring their own reusable mugs to the meeting and bring them home with them. If they forget their mug once, they probably won't forget it again. E-mail: karenp [ A T ] resourceventure [ D O T ] org -------------------- Excerpted from a message from David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Solid Waste Policy and Program Development, Portland, OR: In response to the question about alternatives to polystyrene cups: A simplified life cycle analysis was performed by Dr. Richard Denison of the Alliance for Environmental Innovation and published in 1998. (I'd be happy to share the electronic version of this with people who send me an e-mail.) Although his study was written to compare disposable paper and polystyrene cups against reusables, you can also use the data tables to compare disposable paper against disposable polystyrene cups. The study shows that reusable ceramic cups, if reused a significant number of times, have lower environmental burdens over their life cycle than either type of disposable. Comparing the disposable cups, the polystyrene cup has lower burdens than the paper cup in all categories evaluated. E-mail: Allaway [D O T] David [A T] deq [D O T] state [D O T] or [D O T] us -------------------- From Marcia Rutan, Snohomish County Solid Waste Division, Everett, WA: Regarding the AA meetings, what about durable cups that people take home and bring back for the meetings? That way no one is expected to wash them up each time. Could say something like "One day at a time" or "Let go, let God." A beautiful deep blue with gold lettering, for a calm and spiritual presence. Even if not everyone participated, it would make a difference and begin setting a different tone. Or, travel mugs, to prevent breakage. I suspect there would be more receptivity than the inquirer expects. E-mail: marcia [ D O T ] rutan [ A T ] co [ D O T ] snohomish [ D O T ] wa [ D O T ] us -------------------- Excerpted from a business column by John Cook in the 5/2/03 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: MEDICAL DEVICE REUSE COMPANY EXPANDS ClearMed Inc., based in Bellevue, Washington, has developed a pasteurization process that cleans and disinfects breathing tubes, oxygen masks and other medical equipment by using hot water at temperatures up to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The company recently obtained $7.2 million in venture financing and plans to use that money to open three new pasteurization facilities, including a 60-person operation in Dayton, Ohio, in June. ClearMed's revenues are expected to top $5 million this year. With hospitals and surgery centers looking for creative ways to cut costs and reduce waste, many are reusing used medical equipment. About 25 percent of all U.S. hospitals reprocess devices, according to a study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Forty-five percent of the largest hospitals in the country employ the practice. More than 60 hospitals are currently working with ClearMed, including three medical centers in the Seattle area - Swedish, Virginia Mason and Overlake. By reusing equipment, hospitals can save up to 70 percent of the cost of a new medical device. Although reusing used medical equipment may sound like an unsanitary practice, it has been occurring at hospitals for years. In the past decade, more than a dozen third-party medical device reprocessing companies have popped up. A 32-page report on the industry by the General Accounting Office in June 2000 found that careful reprocessing of medical devices "is not a demonstrated public health risk." But the report also indicated that little is known about the industry and some devices simply cannot be reused. ClearMed, which is registered with the FDA, assures customers that its pasteurization process effectively removes pathogens that could lead to infections. "The device has to be of the same quality as when it was originally sold new," ClearMed Chief Financial Officer Kevin Kelley said. "So there are very stringent requirements." The company has never been sued over a failed device being introduced into a hospital. About 10 percent of the devices cleaned by ClearMed are discarded because they do not meet FDA standards, Kelley said. Unlike larger competitors such as Alliance Medical, SterilMed and Vanguard Medical that use a sterilization technique involving ethylene oxide, ClearMed relies solely on pasteurization. Because of that process, it cleans only those non-invasive devices that come in contact with the skin. Overlake Hospital just east of Seattle has been using ClearMed for the past two years to clean a sequential compression device that controls blood flow. Before contracting with ClearMed, the hospital would dispose of the device after each time it was used. Now, the hospital can get five to 10 uses out of one device. The hospital is now exploring the possibility of reusing additional equipment through ClearMed, including breathing circuits and a mechanism used by cardiologists. ClearMed guarantees a 10-day turnaround on devices and in most cases can clean and return them in five days. A typical hospital sends anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 devices to the company's Bellevue facility each week for reprocessing. -------------------- Link to descriptions of about 50 reuse centers and organizations around the country, on the website of the California Integrated Waste Management Board: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/reuse/Profiles These profiles include contact information and website links. -------------------- Excerpted from an article by Joel Gay in the 5/2/03 Anchorage Daily News: ALASKA COMMUNITIES BAN PLASTIC BAGS Outside the Western Alaska village of Emmonak, white plastic shopping bags used to start appearing 15 miles from town. They blew out of the dump and rolled across the tundra like tumbleweeds. In Galena, they snagged in the trees and drifted into the Yukon River. Outside Kotlik, on the Yukon Delta, bags were found tangled around salmon and seals. But no more. All three villages banned the bags. "It's working out good here," said Peter Captain Sr., chief of the tribal council in Galena, where the city banned stores from using plastic bags in 1998. "You used to find plastic bags all over the place, up in the trees. But you don't see that now." At least 30 communities in Alaska have banned plastic bags. They are part of a growing list of places around the world that decided the bags' nuisance outweighs their convenience. Ireland and Taiwan started taxing bags to curtail their use. South Africa banned them completely, as did Bangladesh after devastating floods were attributed to stray plastic bags blocking drains. In Alaska, the expansion of bag bans shows no signs of slowing down. Other communities are now considering prohibitions, including the biggest city off the road system, Bethel. A proposal would ban Bethel stores but not restaurants from using plastic bags, essentially requiring them to use paper. Elsewhere, shoppers have been encouraged to provide their own canvas or nylon bags, though in some paper-only villages, shoppers hoard plastic bags and reuse them, village officials have said. Violating the Bethel ban could cost up to $500. The Bethel council largely supports the proposed ban, members said this week. Public hearings later this month will gauge local opinion, but the council may put the decision before Bethel voters in October. The council approved a ban two years ago only to see a voter initiative repeal the measure months later. Restaurant owner Yolanda Jorgensen sponsored the repeal initiative two years ago and said she'll work to defeat the ban again this fall. Paper bags cost more to buy and ship to Western Alaska and take up more storage space, a precious commodity for many businesses, Jorgensen said. They're weak when wet and are hard to carry, she added. Jorgensen doesn't dispute they're ugly but said, "There are a lot more things littering our tundra than plastic bags." Banning plastic wasn't easy in Emmonak or Galena, officials said, and attempts in other villages have failed because plastic bags have loyal fans. Last year in Alakanuk, the City Council decided against a ban because of the bags' utility, said village planner Stephanie Ayunerak. Not only are they more convenient for carrying groceries, "they make good freezer bags," she recalled council members saying. Ban supporters, however, can point to places like Galena. The Yukon River village also feared losing its plastic bags, but according to Huhndorf's Store owner Max Huhndorf, "It's worked out OK. It took a little bit of adjustment, but we did it." The additional cost hasn't been an issue, because people started using canvas bags and the store's empty cardboard boxes, he said. "It still costs us more (for paper bags), but in the long run it's for the best," Huhndorf said. In Emmonak, the village corporation store pays a nickel for each paper bag returned, said Albert Westlock of the tribal council. "You see a whole bunch of little kids making money after (retrieving) those paper bags." If the bag bans spread, there may soon be a bounty for plastic bags too. Bill Stokes, the rural environmental specialist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, notes that some people make plastic bags into valuable crafts, using nothing more than a size 6 crochet hook. He first saw the method practiced in Mekoryuk in 1993, but it has spread statewide. People cut plastic bags into strips, then crochet them into backpacks, handbags, sweat bath mats and baskets, some with ornate Yup'ik or Tlingit designs. Shoulder bags have sold for as much as $300 and often fetch $50, he said. Nevertheless, Stokes still encourages bag bans, and the philosophy seems to be spreading, he said. "Village by village by village, they're just really tired of them." ------------------- Excerpted from a 4/25/03 article by Alfred Hermida on the British Broadcasting Corporation website (first seen on the Reuse Development Organization listserv): COMPANY THRIVES BY REFURBISHING, RESELLING CELL PHONES The U.S. firm Recellular has built a thriving business out of buying old mobile phones from charities, refurbishing them, and reselling them at a low cost to developing countries. "Why throw anything in the garbage when it has some reuse value," said Gary Straus, Chief Financial Officer with Recellular. "There are some bad things in cellular phones. There's cadmium in the battery and there is some bromide and flame retardants that you don't want in the waste stream." Americans typically use their phones for about 18 months before replacing them, generating about 65,000 tons of old mobile phones annually. Environmentalists estimate the U.S. could be left with a stockpile of 500 million used handsets by 2005. Since 1991, Recellular has taken old phones and given them new life and it now processes more than 200,000 a month. Initially most of them came from manufacturers and mobile operators. But two years ago it started working with charities to encourage people to donate their used phones. Today, half of Recellular's phones come from donations to charities. The company expects to pay charitable organizations more than $10 million this year for used phones. About 75 percent of the mobiles are reconditioned and two-thirds are sold at low prices to developing countries. Many end up in Latin America, but the company has also sent phones to China, India and Russia. The company has found that mobiles spurned by people in the U.K. or U.S. are snapped up elsewhere. "We are still selling five-year old phones somewhere in the world," said Straus. ------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition: I'll be out May 7-11, and will be back in the office on Monday, May 12th. - end -