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10 Jun 03 - plastic bags; consumption; DVDs; cups; vinyl ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive --------------------- Excerpted from a 6/6/03 article by Anne Beston in the New Zealand Herald, Auckland, and from a 6/4/03 press release from the Green Party of New Zealand: NEW ZEALAND ACTIVISTS PUSH FOR PLASTIC BAG TAX Environmental activists in New Zealand have launched the "Great Plastic Bag Mail-In" campaign. They are asking New Zealanders to send their unwanted, clean, empty plastic bags to national Environment Minister Marian Hobbs over the next three months, to try to convince her to support a levy, or tax, on plastic bags. "We believe the minister needs to take a more active role in reducing plastic bag waste," said campaign spokeswoman Cath Knight. The New Zealand Green Party supports the plastic bag mail-in campaign, and is also urging the passage of a bill that was just introduced in New Zealand's Parliament. This bill would impose a levy on plastic shopping bags at the point of purchase, similar to Ireland's levy. "If shoppers want a plastic bag to carry their new CDs or groceries home, they would have to pay for each one. This is a levy no one has to pay. You can take your own bag shopping," said Mike Ward, a member of Parliament representing the Green Party. "Ireland has a successful plastic bag levy, which has slashed plastic bag use by 90 per cent. That's an outstanding result. It's time for New Zealand to follow suit and introduce a financial incentive for people to stop using plastic bags unnecessarily," Ward said. "The Government's partnership with industry, and piecemeal attempts by some retailers to address the plastic bag problem, have done nothing so far to curb the burgeoning mountain of packaging entering our landfills, and littering our coastlines and roadsides," Ward added. The Green Party estimates that about 3.2 million plastic bags are used in New Zealand every day. Officials with New Zealand's two largest supermarket chains said they oppose a levy on plastic bags. Foodstuffs Auckland managing director Tony Carter said a levy would be passed on to consumers, and that he believes the plastic bag problem is overstated. "They are a really small part of the waste stream," he said. Richard Umbers, chief operating officer of Progressive Enterprises, New Zealand's other big supermarket chain, said, "Perhaps a better way of approaching it is to look at using alternative bags such as reusable bags," or measures such as Progressive's "Pack 7" program. In that program, to reduce the use of bags, Progressive now packs seven grocery items in each bag instead of the previous average of 3.8. ------------------- From Paul Dunn, City of Omaha Public Works Department, Environmental Quality Division, Omaha, NE: This web site - http://www.obsessiveconsumption.com - is put together as a Masters in Fine Arts project for a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student. It doesn't preach one way or other, but just tracks the consumption in her life. She photographs and logs every purchase and updates weekly. E-mail: pdunn (AT) ci (DOT) omaha (DOT) ne (DOT) us ------------------- The next two messages are in response to the recent postings about Disney's new disposable DVDs. ------------------- From Kinley Deller, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA: I share the concerns that Renee Kimball expressed with regard to disposable DVDs vs. rental videos and DVDs, and I would like to add to her list by pointing out that we also need to consider the energy and federally-subsidized petroleum (to make the plastic for the DVDs) costs needed to create all of the additional DVDs that would not have been manufactured if the disks were being rented and used multiple times. I would also like to brag that as a NetFlix subscriber, no one has to make any additional trips anywhere for me to watch reusable/returnable DVDs in my home. I admit that the DVDs I receive do take up space in the mail truck and have to be handled by postal workers a couple of times to get to me, but the resources consumed are considerably less than me stopping by the video store with my car on my way home from the grocery store. E-mail: kinley (DOT) deller (AT) metrokc (DOT) gov ------------------- From John Hanscom, Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority, Walnut Creek, CA, and the Northern California Recycling Association board: Discussion with Buena Vista Home Entertainment Technical Division personnel revealed that the company has not yet made a decision as to whether or not they will provide the consumer with a postage-paid envelope to send used EZ-Ds to GreenDisk for recycling, or whether they will simply print a mailing address on the label. Staff did not know if the manufacturer of the disk could use the post-consumer polycarbonate to make new disks or whether the oxidative process that makes the DVD "self-destruct" upon continued contact with air would change the recyclable properties of the disk. GreenDisk could not be reached for comment. Buena Vista Technical Division staff is very receptive to comments, concerns and technical input. Call (800) 477-2811, extension 7618. Test marketing will begin August 19th in: Austin, TX; Kansas City, KS; Peoria, IL; and Charleston, SC. Postings on the Forum on 6/5/03 reflect my skeptical opinion about Tony Kingsbury's 6/3/03 posting, including his back-of-the-envelope calculations and assumptions about consumer shopping/special trips to the video store. And the fact that Tony works for Dow Chemical destroys his credibility, as his company is likely involved in providing feedstock for this product! Converting the consumer to a disposable mentality is the worst part of the EZ-D. E-mail: john [ A T ] wastediversion [ D O T ] org ------------------- Excerpted from a 6/10/03 article by Kaho Shimizu in the Japan Times, Tokyo: JAPANESE STADIUM SERVES UP REUSABLE CUPS Not everyone gives in to today's throwaway society by discarding the drinking cups, food containers and chopsticks they use, but the proliferation of these products makes their use virtually unavoidable. When it comes to throwaway cups, however, visitors to the Big Eye stadium in Oita Prefecture in Japan no longer need to fret. On March 15, the 36,000-seat stadium, one of the venues used during the 2002 World Cup soccer finals, started only selling drinks in reusable cups, on which consumers pay a deposit - a first for such a large-scale venue, according to the Environment Ministry. "At first, we were worried that spectators might not bother to take the time to return their cups," admitted Atsushi Sato of Aim Services Co., a Tokyo-based food service company that supplies the Big Eye's returnable cups. But figures show otherwise. The stadium has hosted seven soccer matches since the cups were introduced. According to Aim Services data, of the 21,090 reusable cups that were distributed during the first six matches, nearly 80 percent, or 16,736, were returned for reuse. Visitors pay a 100 yen deposit per cup on top of the price of the drink. They can get a refill for 50 yen less than the price of the first drink if they bring the cup. The deposit is refunded when the cup is returned. Cups are then shipped to a nearby food factory to be washed and sterilized for reuse. The 500-milliliter cups are made in Belgium of a plastic that does not emit toxins when burned, and each can be reused up to 50 times. Aim Services said that after roughly one year, the cups in circulation will be processed for recycling or burned to produce thermal energy. The firm said it began thinking of introducing returnable cups in Japan three years ago, after company officials traveled to Germany and saw a similar system in use. The cups not only help reduce garbage but also improve a venue's image as an environment-friendly facility, Sato explained. The Environment Ministry, which has been urging the use of reusable containers at stadiums and concert halls as a means of better managing resources, views the Big Eye effort as a test case to see whether more venues will follow suit. If things go well, for example, the ministry will propose providing reusable cups during the 2005 Aichi World Exposition. But some observers feel that just one success story will not be enough to bring about widespread use of these reusable products. One hurdle is the need to make the practice profitable. To minimize losses, Aim Services is calling on beverage makers to place ads on the cups. But with the number of cups in circulation still limited, advertising revenue cannot cover the initial cost of supplying the cups, according to the firm. "We have to first expand the market to attract more sponsors" and lower the initial cost for the cups through mass-production, Sato said. Another obstacle is securing the cooperation of all concessions at a venue - otherwise the system will not be effective. Several stadium operators have contacted Aim Services and voiced interest in the reusable cup system, but even if the firm enters into contractual agreements with them, it must still win over owners of individual concessions. The Environment Ministry, for its part, set up a committee in March to study the Big Eye model and see whether it can be expanded to other venues. "In order for the system to take root in society, we have to make sure that it is truly environment-friendly," said Kenji Someno, an official at the ministry's Waste Management and Recycling Department who handles the committee's affairs. The committee will analyze the data to check whether the reusable cups are less of a burden on the environment than disposable cups, and compile a report by March 2005. The analysis will include calculating the total amount of energy used in connection with reusable containers, from the manufacturing to the cleaning process. The ministry will also focus on whether the system can be profitable, Someno said. Committee member Mika Yamamoto, a Kyoto housewife who heads a nongovernmental organization that has been promoting the use of returnable containers at venues for local events since 2000, praised the Big Eye effort as a brave move. There is a growing demand for returnable products, Yamamoto said, noting that she hopes the movement continues in order to prompt other companies to follow suit and create a new market. ------------------- Excerpted from a 6/3/03 Green Business Network article (forwarded by Kinley Deller): VINYL INDUSTRY CONCEDES PVC NOT "GREEN" In a victory for the growing movement of environmentalists, local governments and companies working to avoid the use of hazardous vinyl plastic (also known as polyvinyl chloride or PVC), the vinyl industry has dropped a lawsuit contesting New York State's refusal to recognize vinyl flooring as a "green" building material. The lawsuit had been scheduled to be heard before the state Supreme Court on June 6. "There's nothing green about vinyl. It's a highly toxic product that contaminates our homes, bodies, and the environment," said Paul Bogart of the Healthy Building Network. The Resilient Floor Covering Institute, a flooring trade association, abruptly withdrew its lawsuit just one week before presenting its case asserting vinyl flooring is a "sustainable" product that should be eligible for the state's Green Building Tax Credit program. New York State had rejected vinyl flooring for the program based on the product's substantial environmental problems, including creation of dioxin, a potent carcinogen. Vinyl flooring is not banned under the program; builders and consumers are still free to choose these products. However, it will not be eligible for a tax credit. New York State is at the forefront of a movement to end the use of vinyl, particularly in building construction, which accounts for 75 percent of all vinyl plastic manufactured, including pipes, flooring, windows and roofing. Elsewhere, the City of Seattle has an official policy to reduce the use of vinyl, and the City of San Francisco is considering policies that will favor alternatives to vinyl plastic. Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente is eliminating vinyl from many medical products and its hospital facilities. Dozens of major building projects - including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the Sydney Olympics - have reduced vinyl plastic in favor of greener products. - end -