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30 Oct 03 - bags; Halloween; Nalgene bottles; food; job; contracting; Eco Encore ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive --------------------- From Terry Foecke, Materials Productivity, Richfield, MN, responding to the 10/23/03 item that listed reuse ideas for the thin plastic bags that newspapers are often delivered in: Back in the 60's, I had paper routes. Most days 150 stops, individual homes all. When I was in college I had "car routes": 300-400 homes each day. I never used plastic bags, or rubber bands for that matter, nor did anyone else. On nice days (which is most of the time), you folded the paper in on itself and tossed it up to the door. On wet or about-to-be-wet days, papers went in protected spots, or between the doors. And many people set out little boxes on their steps, or mounted tubes on their railings. Wet days were slower (maybe 30 minutes on a car route x 10 days/month), but not that bad; you soon learned that even a small ledge or a pot was enough to create a dry patch. And the pay-off was at the holidays, when all those grateful customers who did not have to go out in the rain or deal with a sopping wet plastic bag regularly left little envelopes with $10 and $20 tips. You can do the math. E-mail: tfoecke [A T] matprod [D O T] com ------------------------ Excerpted from an article by Gabrielle Glaser in the 10/15/03 Portland Oregonian: WHEN IT COMES TO HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, REUSE RULES For thrift shops, Halloween is the busiest (and highest-grossing) time of year, and many go to extremes to play it up. According to a 2003 study by the National Retail Federation, a trade group in Washington, D.C., Halloween consumers spend an average of $15 on costumes, and 69 percent of them shop at discount stores. On the theory that it takes a Value Village to costume a child, the thrift store chain is for the third year offering buyers their own brand of personal shoppers: "Costume coordinators" in white lab coats help customers search for items to match their ideas. Red Light, a hipster vintage store in Portland, converts its second floor into a costume paradise. Some years ago, the Portland area Goodwill Industries stores began having such heavy traffic during October that it billed its stores as "Costume Central." The moniker soon stuck as a nationwide slogan, said Dale Emanuel, a Goodwill spokeswoman. Gieselle Gaines-Roa, manager of a Value Village in Portland's Hollywood neighborhood, slips into the persona of the store's "Dr. Frankenfrugal" to help customers find a great costume without spending a lot of money. With her white coat, long black hair tucked beneath a chartreuse troll-like wig, and face slathered with white and green paint, she addressed a group of grade-school girls: "Who will be a victim for my costume laboratory?" At Red Light, October is a busy month. Owner Tacee Webb doubles the number of employees, extends the store's hours and gives her staff Halloween - not Christmas - bonuses. "We buy costumes all year long just to gear up for this," Webb said. It helps, in the thrift-store business, that nobody would dream of wearing the same costume twice. And true to Portland's ethos of reusing, many secondhand stores begin buying costumes back soon after the holiday has passed. "Sometimes we just end up selling the same costume over and over again," Webb said. "It's kind of cool when you think about it." ------------------------ Excerpted from a message from Don Van Dyke, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, CA, responding to the 10/23/03 posting about Nalgene reusable water bottles, which noted that some animal rights activists have criticized the maker of Nalgene bottles, Nalge Nunc International Corp., because they also make products used in animal research: Thanks to the Forum for bringing up, in its usual balanced manner, issues for discussion. I would like to add a couple of points. Nalgene was making plastic products for laboratory research and health care delivery long before it became commonly known as a producer of recreational water bottles. Plastic water bottles is just a spin-off business for Nalgene. In fact, most of the wonder materials used by nature lovers in our outdoor recreation are just spin-offs of other commercial endeavors that ironically have nothing to do with nature or the love of plants and furry creatures. Laminates and lightweight metals come from military endeavors. The material used to make whitewater rafts was originally developed by the chemical industry to contain nasty chemicals. One of the links that was provided in the 10/23/03 posting leads to a photo of a rabbit being restrained by a Nalgene device. I sure wouldn't like it if that poor little rabbit then had his eyes pierced, probed, and intentionally infected. On the other hand, if all a researcher needed was to draw some rabbit blood to conduct an experiment, then I am glad to see that Nalgene has a way to gently secure a rabbit. Ever tried to hold a squirmy rabbit without hurting it? Every been bitten by a rabbit? I personally know researchers whose work does not involve animals, who have made significant medical advances using, among other things, the Nalgene plastic products all over their lab. E-mail: DVanDyke (AT) CIWMB (DOT) ca (DOT) gov ------------------------ The next nine postings are in response to the 10/23/03 query asking about food donation programs and liability issues. ------------------------ Excerpted from a message from Roger Guttentag, environmental consultant and writer, Harleysville, PA: The October, 2003, topic in my "Recycling in Cyberspace" column in Resource Recycling magazine is food waste recovery. One of the resources I discuss is the Food Recovery Guidelines published by the Conference for Food Protection, which addresses this very issue of how potential food donors can donate food safely. The link to this and other online food recovery resources may be found on the Resource Recycling website at: http://www.resource-recycling.com/links.html Under "Recyclers' Reference Links from Roger M. Guttentag," select the link for October, 2003. E-mail: rgutten [ AT ] concentric [ DOT ] net ------------------------ Excerpted from a message from Jennifer Erickson, Metro, Waste Reduction & Outreach, Portland, OR: I thought I'd provide some information on donation and the "liability excuse." In the Portland metropolitan region we have implemented a comprehensive food recovery program as part of our organics waste reduction plan. We have a wealth of information on our website regarding donation of perishables, including the text of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act (federal) and the Oregon law as well. The "liability excuse" is a common one, and is a myth. We did a survey to find out if there had been any legal actions (local or national) regarding donated food and found none. But fear of liability is indeed one of the largest barriers, despite the fact that good faith donors are protected by law. We also recently completed a study of the barriers and benefits to food donation to better understand what the businesses think and to better target our outreach. We have case studies of businesses who donate, links to articles and an interactive guide that lets donors quickly find the food rescue agency closest to them that will take whatever they wish to donate. We do quite a bit of outreach including teaching classes at the culinary institute, meetings with professional chef's organizations and the grocery industry association. We have provided grants to food rescue agencies for freezers, refrigerators, refrigerated trucks, etc. We also provide free on-site assistance to help businesses start donation programs. The Oregon Food Bank has developed very good partnerships with large grocery chains to implement perishables donation programs (produce, deli and dairy) and the programs are doing quite well. Trust is a big issue and businesses want assurance that the food rescue agency is able to handle food properly and follow the correct protocols. Our perishables recovery programs are very successful and just Metro's grants alone have resulted in more than 5,000 tons of perishables being recovered for the hungry. The total tons of food recovered is quite high here. It helps to have a large statewide food bank with state-of-the-art facilities, but small local gleaners and food pantries can and do provide the same service. For more information, please contact me or look at our website: http://www.metro-region.org/food E-mail: ericksonj (A T) metro (D O T) dst (D O T) or (D O T) us ------------------------ From Steve Long, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, recycling markets program, Boston, MA: The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has a compilation of web-based information on food donation and residuals on its web site at: http://www.state.ma.us/dep/recycle/compost.htm#organics Also check out WasteCap of Massachusetts' website, which offers a manual for grocery stores regarding the nuts and bolts management of food donation and residuals, at: http://www.wastecap.org/wastecap/Programs/sroi/sroimain.htm E-mail: stephen [D O T] long [A T] state [D O T] ma [D O T] us ------------------------ From KaDeena Lenz, Resource Venture, Seattle, WA: According to the 1996 Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, US companies can donate food to non-profit organizations without the fear of liability. In the unlikely event that something happens to a donated product once it leaves their control, donors are protected from civil or criminal liability if the donor believes, in good faith, that the product was fine at the time it was donated. Washington state law takes this a step further and covers donated non-food grocery products and prepared and perishable foods. For the federal law's full text, visit: http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/gleaning/appc.htm. In Seattle, an organization called Food Lifeline accepts food donations from manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers. Additionally, their Seattle's Table program accepts prepared and perishable food from restaurants, hotels, hospitals, delis, caterers and cafeterias. Seattle's Table picks up between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in two refrigerated vans. The Resource Venture encourages food-serving establishments to take advantage of this great program. For more information about food waste management, visit our website at: www.resourceventure.org/foodwaste.htm E-mail: kadeenal (AT) resourceventure (DOT) org ------------------------- Link to information on food donation liability issues, on the website of the Food Lifeline program in Seattle (forwarded by Tom Rhodes): http://www.foodlifeline.org/help/foodindustry/goodsam.html ------------------------- Link to information about food donations, on the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality website (forwarded by David Allaway): http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/foodrescue.html ------------------------- From Larry Warnberg, oyster farmer and member of the Pacific County Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Nahcotta, WA I was glad to see the issue of grocery store waste raised. It certainly can be a win-win scenario to divert food products from the solid wastestream by directing useable items to the needy. But health concerns are a reality for retailers, and close management is necessary to avoid problems. Another option is feeding residuals to chickens, harvesting eggs and compostable material. My wife and I have collected food discards from a local grocery store for years, reducing the food bill for our flock of hens, and providing a surplus of eggs for sale. The store manager is happy to reduce waste costs and problems with odors and pests around dumpsters. This approach won't work in every situation, but perhaps store residuals could be managed at a community garden, providing some eggs and garden produce for a food bank. Pacific County is in the process of developing a page for the county website that provides information on food waste reduction. The program is called Adopt-A-Restaurant, and the goal is to link food processors and retailers with local gardeners. Composting and feeding chickens is already in practice for two restaurants and two grocery stores here on the Long Beach Peninsula. E-mail: warnberg [ A T ] pacifier [ D O T ] com ------------------------- Excerpted from a message from Barbara Frierson, City of Fremont Environmental Services, Fremont, CA: The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) has information on its website at: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/foodwaste The website for a non-profit group in Los Angeles called Food Finders is at: http://www.foodfinders.org The CIWMB has a profile of Food Finders at: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/reuse/Profiles/FoodFinders.htm E-mail: bfrierson [A T] ci [D O T] fremont [D O T] ca [D O T] us ------------------------- Links to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documents on food donation from 1996 and 1998 (forwarded by Sondra Flite): - "Donating Surplus Food to the Needy" http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/wstewise/pubs/needy2.pdf - "Don't Throw Away that Food: Strategies for Record-Setting Waste Reduction" http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/food/food.htm Note from Sondra: The existence of established programs in a few communities is the best rebuttal to those who say it can't be done. -------------------------- Link to information on a job opening for a conservation program specialist with the City of Portland (OR) Office of Sustainable Development (forwarded by Karen Hamilton): http://www5.ci.portland.or.us/jobs/03-165/03-165.htm This job includes a significant component of waste prevention-related work. The deadline for applications is Nov. 10, 2003. The approximate monthly salary for the position is $3,817 - $5,089. -------------------------- Link to extensive information on a contracting technique called "Resource Management," from the website of the Tellus Institute, a non-profit research and consulting firm based in Boston (forwarded by Heidi Siegelbaum from the environmentally-preferable products procurement listserv): http://www.tellus.org/b&s/SCM_rm.html Resource Management (RM) is a contracting model for solid waste management in which waste generators and contractors share financial benefits from "resource efficiency" innovations, including source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. RM changes the nature of current disposal services to support waste minimization and recycling. ---------------------------- Link to the website for Eco Encore, a Seattle-based program that raises funds for environmental organizations in the Northwest through the resale of used books, CDs, videos and DVDs (forwarded by Kinley Deller): http://www.ecoencore.org - end - - "Donating Surplus Food to the Needy" http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/wstewise/pubs/needy2.pdf - "Don't Throw Away that Food: Strategies for Record-Setting Waste Reduction" http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/food/food.htm Note from Sondra: The existence of established programs in a few communities is the best rebuttal to those who say it can't be done. -------------------------- Link to information on a job opening for a conservation program specialist with the City of Portland (OR) Office of Sustainable Development (forwarded by Karen Hamilton): http://www5.ci.portland.or.us/jobs/03-165/03-165.htm This job includes a significant component of waste prevention-related work. The deadline for applications is Nov. 10, 2003. The approximate monthly salary for the position is $3,817 - $5,089. -------------------------- Link to extensive information on a contracting technique called "Resource Management," from the website of the Tellus Institute, a non-profit research and consulting firm based in Boston (forwarded by Heidi Siegelbaum from the environmentally-preferable products procurement listserv): http://www.tellus.org/b&s/SCM_rm.html Resource Management (RM) is a contracting model for solid waste management in which waste generators and contractors share financial benefits from "resource efficiency" innovations, including source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. RM changes the nature of current disposal services to support waste minimization and recycling. ---------------------------- Link to the website for Eco Encore, a Seattle-based program that raises funds for environmental organizations in the Northwest through the resale of used books, CDs, videos and DVDs (forwarded by Kinley Deller): http://www.ecoencore.org - end -