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06 Nov 03 - Office Depot; newspapers; cell phones; consumption; global warming; tools ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive --------------------- Excerpted from a message from Connie Cloak, C2: Alternative Services, Santa Rosa, CA: I just got an e-mail ad (aimed at businesses) from Office Depot that included the following: "DID YOU KNOW? The average office worker in the United States uses approximately 500 disposable cups every year. In fact, if you line up all of the paper cups and plastic utensils that we throw away each year, that line would circle the equator 300 times! That's a lot of supplies - so make sure you don't run out by replenishing your products today. We have everything you need to keep your breakroom stocked through the year. Shop now!" This e-mail ad also included links to web pages for their products and three product photos, including a photo of Marcal paper towels (which are made from recycled paper, although that wasn't mentioned). It's nice that they are promoting their line of recycled paper (though the in-house copy center at my local Office Depot store says that they are forbidden by their copier contract to use recycled paper). But there seems to be a major disconnect here! E-mail: connie [ AT ] c2alts [ DOT ] net ---------------------- From Ronald Perkins, SCS Engineers, Lexington, VA, responding to the 10/30/03 posting that noted that plastic newspaper bags are not necessary: Terry Foecke's message (describing his newspaper routes in the '60s, when no paper carriers used plastic bags) brought back fond memories of my paper route days in the late '50s. I too had 150 customers, in Falmouth, Maine, and could not agree more. Seven miles daily on a bicycle, rain, sleet, snow, hail, etc. - the paper HAD to get delivered. Wet newspapers were rarely a problem as most customers in those days were a lot more willing to do their share to make things work. Now everyone wants idiot-proof me-first attention and "solutions"! Thanks to Terry for the memories - and ideas. E-mail: rperkins [ A T ] scsengineers [ D O T ] com ---------------------- From a 10/31/03 Associated Press article by Bruce Meyerson (forwarded by Patrick Domres): NEW SWITCHING RULES MAY TRASH MILLIONS OF CELL PHONES If predictions hold true, millions of cell phones will be put out to pasture starting in late November under a new rule allowing people to keep their phone numbers when switching cellular carriers. Though many of those phones will find a dusty home in a cluttered desk drawer, millions could wind up in landfills, leaking toxic metals and chemicals into the ground. Many old phones get refurbished or recycled under donation programs that help charities, but it's a tiny fraction of the 100 million or so handsets that are already "retired" each year in this country, according to a new estimate from the environmental research group Inform Inc. And now, the number of retired cell phones is expected to grow sharply. The new rule that takes effect November 24 - allowing users to change wireless companies without losing their phone numbers - is expected to motivate as many as 30 million people to switch within the first year. Those who do will need to buy new phones. That's because even carriers that use the same network technologies employ different encryption. So what will become of all those old phones? While the industry has just launched a new initiative to publicize recycling, existing efforts by individual wireless companies with collection boxes in their stores have so far mustered only modest success. And even those phones that are refurbished raise environmental concerns because they still may eventually end up in the garbage, especially if sold in poorer nations with no recycling programs - as the majority of refurbished phones are. A better answer is for cell phone makers to change the way they make their devices, assert environmentalists, including David Wood, executive director of GrassRoots Recycling Network in Madison, Wisconsin. Some such changes may come to this country as a result of a new directive passed this year by the European Union (EU), whose computer recycling requirements helped spur U.S. companies to offer takeback programs. The new EU rules will require makers of phones and other electronics to eliminate lead, mercury and brominated flame retardants from new products by mid-2006. Since most phone makers sell their products globally, it may be more practical financially to use the same manufacturing processes for all markets. While the big players concur with that idea as a general concept, none will comment on their specific plans regarding the EU directive. In the meantime, most efforts are focused on extending the useful lives of old handsets and recovering potentially harmful chemicals from those that no longer work. Several million used handsets are now being refurbished or recycled each year. Proceeds from resold handsets and recovered raw materials go to charities such as Call To Protect, which aids victims of domestic violence. But the overwhelming majority of the 100 million handsets retired each year are seemingly either tossed in a drawer or the garbage. How many go in either direction is anyone's guess. Much like computers, even relatively new cell phones have little resale value. For years, wireless companies have been practically giving away handsets with ever-newer bells and whistles as a lure to potential customers, or an inducement to stay for existing subscribers who may be eyeing a new carrier. As a result, judging from current auction listings on eBay, those determined enough to sell a used phone can expect to bring in as little as $5 per handset. But if the used phones on display at a typical tag sale are any indication, many seem to prefer a drawer as at least a temporary resting place - possibly because they may worry about pollution, or perhaps they simply find it hard to fathom how a cell phone that worked perfectly fine just yesterday is suddenly worthless. "If you were to call and talk to 10 people, you'd probably find that two-thirds of those people have handsets sitting idle in their garages," said Eric Forster, vice president of marketing and sales for ReCellular Inc., a Dexter, Michigan, company that refurbishes or recycles old handsets collected by cell phone carriers. Of the phones received by ReCellular, which also buys old handsets, about 75 or 80 percent are refurbished at an average cost of $20 per handset and then resold for about $45 or $50. A portion of those proceeds often go to charities. Those phones that can't be salvaged are sold for between 50 cents and $1.25 per pound to recycling companies that extract toxic materials for either reuse or safe disposal. Most of the toxic substances in cell phones are contained in the circuit board, the liquid crystal display of the screen, and the battery. But while efforts to recover those substances are intensifying in the United States and Europe, recycling programs are far less developed in poorer nations - where three-quarters of ReCellular's handsets are expected to be sold next year. "Exporting waste is not the way to resolve waste problems," said Eric Most, director of the solid waste prevention program at Inform. "We need to work with industry to change the design of phones to make them more reusable and recyclable and less toxic." -------------------------- Link to information on Buy Nothing Day, which will be held Nov. 28, from the website of Adbusters Media Foundation, an advocacy group based in Vancouver, British Columbia: http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd --------------------------- Excerpted from a 10/29/03 article by Jeff Barker in the Baltimore Sun: WHAT IS THE CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN DREAM? The Center for a New American Dream is a six-year-old, non-profit social/environmental group based in Takoma Park, Maryland. It doesn't like workaholics, junk mail, gas-guzzling vehicles and nonrecyclable containers. And it can't abide elongated, heavily commercialized holiday seasons running from pre-Halloween through New Year's Day. The group's slogan is "More Fun, Less Stuff." The national organization arose out of a 1995 conference of environmentalists, academics, religious leaders, government officials and others in Virginia. It was sponsored by the Merck Family Fund, a Massachusetts-based foundation that aids environmental causes. Many in attendance wanted to start an organization dedicated to shifting consumption patterns, which they believed were at the root of many environmental and social problems. Based in a high-rise office building, the Center for a New American Dream has 21 employees and an annual budget of $2 million. Rather than simply nagging people about their spending habits, its employees try to practice what they preach about consumerism and waste. They print on both sides of their paper, work with a print shop that uses wind power, place compost bins in their kitchen, subsidize yoga classes for the staff and have a four-day, 32-hour workweek. They are supported by grants, contributions and by 4,500 members, most of whom pay $30 in dues a year. Tens of thousands of others are active in the group's programs. Among other activities, the center conducts research and holds community events in cities around the country. The events include "alternative gift fairs" at 13 sites across the country where people are taught about charitable giving. The center has no paid lobbyist but acts as an advocate to change corporate behavior - for example, writing letters encouraging businesses to use environmentally sound products. ----------------------------- Excerpted from an article produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise program and sent out to selected publications in October, 2003: WASTE PREVENTION REDUCES GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS Every stage of a product's life cycle - extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal - directly or indirectly contributes to the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. For most products, the energy expended during the production and transport processes is the main source of GHG emissions. Waste prevention activities, such as reusing products or using less of a product, lead to a reduction in the amount of energy needed to produce and transport new products. The associated decrease in energy demand results in burning fewer fossil fuels and emitting less carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. - Preventing 500 tons of paper equals a reduction of 402 metric tons carbon equivalents (MTCEs), which is the equivalent of removing 307 cars from the road for one year. - Preventing 500 tons of aluminum equals a reduction of 1,247 MTCEs, which is the equivalent of removing 952 cars from the road for one year. - Preventing 500 tons of glass equals a reduction of 68 MTCEs, which is the equivalent of removing 52 cars from the road for one year. - Preventing 500 tons of high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic equals a reduction of 344 MTCEs, which is the equivalent of removing 186 cars from the road for one year. - Preventing 500 tons of corrugated cardboard equals a reduction of 257 MTCEs, which is the equivalent of removing 196 cars from the road for one year. ----------------------------- Link to the website for the Atlanta Community ToolBank (seen on the Reuse Development Organization listserv): http://www.toolbank.org The Atlanta Community ToolBank - an innovative reuse program with a strong social foundation - lends tools and assistance to Atlanta's non-profits, supporting community efforts in the city's neighborhoods. The ToolBank currently serves more than 330 member agencies, and provided equipment for more than 520 projects in 2002. With its assets of more than $400,000 worth of tools and equipment for community use, the ToolBank outfits every significant community service day in Atlanta, including Hands On Atlanta Day, MLK Day, National Youth Service Day, Georgia Tech's TEAMBuzz, and many others. Nearly 40,000 volunteers were equipped with ToolBank tools in 2002. - end -