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03 Aug 04 - bags; graphics; paper; appliances; bats; homes; dishes; Spider-Man; abstracts ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition ------------------------ Excerpted from a message from Gretchen Brewer, Earth Circle, San Diego, CA, responding to the 7/22/04 posting asking about graphics to promote retail discounts for reusable bags, and about statistics on how many disposable bags, paper towels or paper napkins the average person or household uses in a year: 1. Grocery/retail bags I don't have info on Kraft paper bags. But I recently did an analysis of data in the American Plastics Council's (APC) Resin Review on plastic retail bags produced/sold in the US & Canada in 2002 (the most recent figures I could find). Of course, the proviso on this data is that it's merged for both countries. So, you'd have to do an extrapolation by population to get a rough estimate of plastic bag use in the US. I will not speculate on plastic bag consumption variables between folks in Canada and the States. These figures are strictly for #2 and #4 retail/grocery bags (which includes newspaper & dry cleaning bags but definitely does NOT include trash bags): APC retail bag resin data: Total weight sold: 1,412,000,000 lbs (or 1.4 billion pounds) Breakdown by resin type: 1,024 million lbs HDPE film (#2) 307 million lbs LLDPE film (#4) 81 million lbs LDPE film (#4) Approximate number of bags sold: 106 billion bags My calculation is based on actual weights/percentages of #2 & #4 grocery bags. APC recently set up a new website - _http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org_ - to facilitate plastic bag recycling on the west coast. This site also mentions bags made of #5 PP, and nylon (#7). Having studied plastics discards for many years, I'm certain these references are to packaging bags, which industry classifies completely separately (as packaging) from retail bags (classified in consumer/institutional applications). Finally, there are reusable shopping bags made of PET (#1), as you no doubt know. This website - _http://www.reusablebags.com_ - may give you a look at various options. 2. Graphics The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has a terrific online collection of clip art assembled from several sources, including California, Minnesota and Portland Metro. There are seven files in all and I saw visuals about reusable bags (totes) and tossable paper (napkins, paper towels, etc.) in at least three files. I recommend downloading the whole collection. Go to: _http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/clipart/clipart.html_ 3. Tossable paper products (replaceable by rags, cloth handkerchiefs, etc) I know of a couple waste composition studies that have data on paper towels, napkins, Kleenex, etc. One is a recent study done for the State of Pennsylvania by RW Beck, that can be downloaded in full from: _http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/RECYCLE/Waste_Comp/Study.htm_ The category "non-recyclable paper" includes the paper throwaways you ask about. But, it also includes fax paper, carbon paper, more. Still helpful. A second, older study may also prove useful. It was done in 1989-90 by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp., which is the state's waste management agency. I knew the project leader. She told me they had measured paper towels, etc, and she said, "Americans generate incredible quantities of these throwaways." This study is not available online, but I wrote for it and they're sending it to me. If my impression is correct that they quantified these paper products individually, then the data could be useful, even if dated. If anyone is interested in that study, let me know. E-mail: earthgb (A T) aol (D O T) com ------------------------ From Yen Chin, Seattle City Light, Seattle, WA, responding to the article posted 7/28/04 about appliances: Many members of the energy efficiency community have long favored "early retirement" of appliances and other material goods like windows. The recent improvements in energy efficiency of appliances strongly informs their thinking; they see improvements at the point of use but do not see the footprint of increased consumption. For example, they focus on how much heat a new U-40 window will save over an existing single-paned window, while they ignore the energy needed to produce and install that new window. Embodied energy gets systematically ignored. We see another clear example of this in the Energy Star campaign to encourage folks to buy new Energy Star refrigerators. The gist of the economic argument lies in the claim (technically correct) that a new Energy Star refrigerator will use significantly less electricity than a 10-year-old unit. Forget the fact that the average life span of a refrigerator is 17 years or the fact that any new refrigerator saves a bundle of energy when compared with a 10-year-old one. The principal message is to buy Energy Star. Consume in the name of conservation. Here in Seattle, the secondary market for appliances is very small, so almost all 10-year-old refrigerators that get replaced get decommissioned, or else it gets put in the garage to keep a couple of six-packs cold. In Southern California, where any working refrigerator can get resold, utilities have fielded programs to make sure that old refrigerators get taken out of service, get decommissioned rather than reused. I believe the prominent rationale given for this program design is to eliminate the second refrigerator phenomenon. However, shouldn't we also ask about the effects on the used refrigerator market, especially in areas where renters are required to supply their own refrigerators? Obviously, "green" has many and different definitions. E-mail: Yen ( D O T ) Chin ( A T ) seattle ( D O T ) gov ------------------------ From James Cahillane, Center for Ecological Technology, Pittsfield, MA, responding to the article posted 7/28/04 about large tires from heavy equipment being reused as homes for bats: Regarding bats: I have a "market umbrella" on my deck in western Massachusetts. A bat has begun to make its home there when we close it overnight. Kudos to turning old tires into bat condos. If the food is there, the bats will come. E-mail: jamiec [A T] cetonline [D O T] org ------------------------ From Mike Ruby, Envirometrics, Seattle WA, responding to the 7/28/04 posting seeking statistics about the environmental benefits of "downsizing" a residential home footprint: There is a report put out several years ago by the Union of Concerned Scientists that includes, as one of the subjects of its analysis, housing as one of the main consumers of resources and how we are moving toward increasing that impact. E-mail: mruby [ AT ] envirometrics [ DOT ] com Note: This report, published in 1999, is called "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists." Ordering information and the first chapter of this book are at: _http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/report.cfm?publicationID=130_ (Marcia Rutan also suggested that this report would be useful.) ------------------------ Excerpted from a 7/27/04 item from the English-language edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Tokyo, Japan: JAPANESE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICE PROVIDES REUSABLE DISHES FOR COMMUNITY EVENTS To help cut down on all the plates and cups that get used once and tossed out after summer festivals and other events, the Chiyoda Ward Office, a local government office in Tokyo, has started lending reusable plastic dishes to community organizations and schools. The first beneficiary of the free service was Shohei kindergarten, which borrowed 100 cups and 200 plates for an event on July 17. Once an event is over, organizers are required to wash the cups and plates before returning them to the ward office. Sponges are supplied. The ward spent about 880,000 yen ($7,950 U.S. dollars) on 1,000 cups and 1,000 plates. Officials expect the new service - the first of its kind in the nation, they say - to reduce the ward's trash burden by more than 300 kilograms (660 pounds) a year. ------------------------ Excerpted from a 6/1/04 article on the Japan For Sustainability website (forwarded by Jerry Powell): RENT-A-DISH DEPOSIT-REFUND SYSTEM ON TRIAL IN TOYAMA, JAPAN At the Ote Mall in the center of Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, the Echu-Ote Market with stalls and booths is held twice monthly, except in January and February. To reduce waste produced by the market event, its executive committee decided to introduce a dish deposit system in which food and drink are served in reusable trays and containers instead of disposable plastic ones. This returnable dish system is gaining popularity at environmental festivals and university festivals in Japan. The Ote market introduced the system when "Earth Day Toyama 2004," an environmental festival, was held jointly with the market on April 25, 2004. One set of reusable tableware was leased to consumers with a deposit of 100 yen (90 cents U.S.), which was fully refunded when it was returned. The tableware was leased again after being washed. One hundred sets, including a returnable tray, a cup, a dish, a fork and a pair of chopsticks, were used for the Earth Day event, and about 20 volunteers washed the returned dishes with hand-made soap and disinfected them in boiling water. The food stall owners at the Earth Day festival site welcomed the dish return project, as many customers chose the reusable dishes and as a result, very little waste was produced. However, in the case of the non-Earth Day Ote market, the results were not as good due to the lack of active publicity and suitable bowls for noodles. While recognizing that there remain problems with the new system, the executive committee of the Echu Ote Market plans to recruit volunteers for dish washing, while raising the environmental awareness and seeking the understanding of food stall owners to ensure better operation of the reusable dish system. ------------------------ Excerpted from a 7/15/04 Associated Press article by Jim Fitzgerald: KELLOGG'S TO DROP MERCURY-BATTERY TOYS AFTER SPIDER-MAN PROMOTION Caught in a web of criticism over a Spider-Man toy found in cereal boxes, Kellogg Co. announced July 15 that it will never again use mercury batteries in its promotions. It also will offer postage-paid envelopes to consumers who want to send back any of the 17 million "Spidey Signals" involved in the current promotion, which was tied to the release of the "Spider-Man 2" movie. The company's actions were part of an agreement with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who said it applied nationwide and expressed the hope that other companies would follow suit. Battle Creek, Michigan-based Kellogg's put the wristwatch-shaped toys into boxes of many of its sugared cereals, separated from the cereal in a plastic pouch. The toys have button cell batteries containing mercury. On July 2, prompted by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Kellogg's agreed to stop shipments to Connecticut and New Hampshire and ask retailers there to return the boxes. Those states had laws banning mercury-powered toys because of mercury's toxicity and the environmental problems it creates when it is not properly disposed of. Officials in New York demanded that the Spidey Signals be removed from New York as well, but Kellogg's pointed out that the state had no law banning the toy. New York did, however, have a bill awaiting Gov. George Pataki's signature, and the governor came to Spano's office to sign it on July 12. Though the New York law does not go into effect until next year, Pataki urged Kellogg's to comply immediately. Two environmental groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Mercury Policy Project, have issued a statement praising Connecticut, New Hampshire and New York and calling for a federal law banning mercury batteries in all toys and novelty items marketed to children. ------------------------ Link to a call for abstracts for the Air & Waste Management Association's 2005 Conference (forwarded by Maggie Clarke): _http://www.awma.org/events/broadcasts/Call%20for%20Abstracts%20Journal.pdf_ The conference will be held in Minneapolis, MN, June 21-24, 2005. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Sept. 17, 2004. Proposed waste prevention-related sessions and contact people include: - CRT (cathode ray tube) Recycling / Reuse in Partnership with the Lead Recycling Industry. Contact: Dan Mueller. E-mail: dmueller [A T] muellerllc [D O T] com - Minnesota Solid Waste: Resources and Opportunities. Contact: Ted Troolin. E-mail: troolint ( AT ) co ( DOT ) st-louis ( DOT ) mn ( DOT ) us - Wastes as a Resource - Optimizing Economic Factors and Systems. Contact: Dave Marrack. E-mail: dmarrack ( AT ) marrack ( DOT ) net - end -