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17 Oct 03 - packaging; cell phones; sustainability; job; batteries; WasteWise ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive --------------------- From Jeffrey Smedberg, County of Santa Cruz Public Works Department, recycling programs, Santa Cruz, CA: How smart is "smart" packaging? A friend asks me what's the impact of Intellipac plastic wrap now being used to package fresh fruits and vegetables. This new wrap modifies the atmosphere inside the package to create the optimum conditions for ripening and shelf life. The wrap can be engineered for a specific degree of breathability or permeability to oxygen and carbon dioxide as needed by each fruit or vegetable. Intellipac(tm) polymeric package materials, manufactured by Landec Corp., Menlo Park, Calif., are side-chain-crystallizable (SCC) acrylic polymers with the ability to effectively and reversibly melt as the temperature increases and thus foster increased gas transmission through them. This type of "smart" packaging is hailed as a waste reduction boon because it reduces the amount of unmarketable product which must be discarded. Does anyone know of reuse or recycling opportunities for this plastic wrap? E-mail: dpw179 (AT) co (DOT) santa-cruz (DOT) ca (DOT) us ------------------------ Excerpted from a 10/13/03 Environment News Service article (forwarded by Jim Neely): "CRADLE TO CRADLE" PACKAGING DESIGN CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the two winners of its "Cradle to Cradle Design Challenge for E-Commerce Shipping Packaging and Logistics." The contest centered on ecofriendly packaging and design solutions for shipping books purchased online. Entrants were asked to develop packaging that can be reused, recycled or composted. The winning professional entry was a collaborative effort between Microsoft, Allen Schluger Company and Shorewood Packaging. The designers created a "Bevelope" with 100 percent post-consumer content paperboard. The design of the product allows it to expand or contract. The packaging can accommodate the slimmest paperback book or the thickest manual, and collapses quickly after use. It can be stored for reuse or recycled with mixed paper, and labels can be printed directly onto the Bevelope. A team from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, produced the winning entry in the student category. It is called "KNF" - Keep it Nature Friendly. The students combined a material made from the kenaf plant with the traditional concept of Japanese Furoshiki, a traditional method of wrapping that dates back to the 8th century. The design places adjustable, protective corners around any size book, and then the entire product is wrapped. The paper and corners are made from kenaf, which has several environmental advantages over trees as a source of paper. Consumers can compost the kenaf corners and wrapping paper. A bookmark is included in the package that contains kenaf seeds with instructions on how to assemble the corner protectors into a pot for sprouting the seeds. The E-Commerce Design Challenge is one of the EPA's Innovation Pilots. The goal of the Innovation Pilots is to test creative ideas and approaches including recycling, waste minimization and energy recovery. To date, EPA has selected 31 innovation pilots totaling $1.3 million in awards. -------------------------- From Suellen Mele, Washington Citizens for Resource Conservation, Seattle, WA, responding to the recent postings about cell phone reuse: As with computers, it's important to ask what recycling/reuse programs for cell phones actually do with the products. The Basel Action Network has developed the "Electronic Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship." Businesses that sign the Pledge have agreed to a number of tenets, including not to export hazardous e-waste from developed to developing countries. To see who has signed, you can go to http://www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html ReCellular (a leading cell phone reuser and recycler) has signed the pledge. E-mail: suellen (A T) wastenotwashington (D O T) org -------------------------- From Katie Jensen, Austin Energy Green Building Program, Austin, TX, responding to the 10/9/03 posting of the website for the sustainability program at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, BC, which includes a "real time" running meter showing consumption of paper, electricity and water on the campus: Thanks for posting the website for the University of British Columbia Sustainability Office! What an impact we could make if able to convey how much we actually use (paper, electricity, and water are so appropriate) and use that to make decisions about products to purchase and how we use these products most efficiently. E-mail: katie [D O T] jensen [A T] austinenergy [D O T] com Note: The UBC sustainability website is at http://www.sustain.ubc.ca --------------------------- Link to a job posting for a deconstruction department manager at The ReBuilding Center of Our United Villages, a non-profit located in Portland, OR (forwarded by Bryce Jacobson): http://www.rebuildingcenter.org/employment/index.htm A minimum of 5 years experience in the construction industry is required. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, October 29, 2003. ---------------------------- Excerpted from an article in the November 2003 Consumer Reports: RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES CLEARLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR DIGITAL CAMERAS Even though rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries (and the battery charger for them) may seem expensive, they are the clear, cost-effective choice for digital cameras. One rechargeable NiMH battery will last at least as long as about 140 disposable lithium batteries or 500 disposable alkaline batteries. Rechargeable batteries should be recycled when they are used up. Rechargeable NiMH batteries have one major drawback: They lose one percent of their charge each day they are idle. That's a good reason to keep a second set in a "trickle charger." This type of charger allows you to store batteries in the charger without damaging them. A trickle charger sold by Rayovac, with four rechargeable batteries, costs about $42. ---------------------------- Link to a list of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2003 WasteWise program award winners: http://www.epa.gov/wastewise/about/winners.htm The 2003 awards were presented on Oct. 16. WasteWise partners set goals in waste prevention, recycling collection, and buying or manufacturing recycled-content products. More than 1,300 business and government agencies are WasteWise partners. - end -