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11 Aug 04 - books; compost; building; Olympics; sustainability; California; hospitals ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition ------------------------ Excerpted from a message from Lynn Gaubatz, Falls Church, VA: I created and run a website called Adopt A Library. This website keeps books and magazines out of landfills by encouraging people to donate used books and library equipment to schools and libraries around the world. AdoptALibrary.org has had over 200,000 visitors (thanks to a mention last year in the syndicated column "Hints from Heloise"), and many thousands of books have been donated to libraries and schools worldwide. AdoptALibrary.org does not ask for or accept donations - all donations go directly to libraries and schools, or organizations that aid them. The website is at: _http://www.AdoptALibrary.org_ If anyone has any questions about the program after viewing the site, I'd be happy to answer them. E-mail: AdoptALibrary [A T] aol [D O T] com --------------------- From David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Solid Waste Policy & Program Development, Portland, OR, responding to the 7/28/04 posting seeking information on the life cycle and use of home composting bins: I am aware of one study of the long-term use of compost bins. In 1998, the City of Seattle reported the following data from a survey of compost bin recipients: - 90 percent of recipients were using their bin after 1 year of ownership. - 84 percent of recipients were using their bin after 2 years of ownership. - 84 percent after 3 years. - 74 percent after 5 years. - 68 percent after 7 years. In a survey I recently worked on in La Grande, Oregon, we found that 82 percent of bin recipients were using their bin more than a year after receiving it. See _http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/data/LGReport.htm_ for more details. E-mail: Allaway [D O T] David [A T] deq [D O T] state [D O T] or [D O T] us --------------------- Link to the new "Guide to Used Building Materials in Washington State" (forwarded by Lisa Friend): _http://nwubmnet.bizland.com/guide.pdf_ If that link does not work, go to this website: _http://www.nwubm.net_ Click on "Guide," then register and you'll gain access to the electronic version. You can also ask to be sent a free paper copy. This guide was produced by RE Sources, a non-profit organization based in Bellingham, WA, with funding provided by the Washington state Department of Ecology. In addition to listing locations in Washington state where used building materials can be purchased, the guide includes supporting statistics, checklists, and other practical, detailed information about used building materials. --------------------- Excerpted from the report, "Environmental Assessment of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games," published in July 2004 by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Greece (first seen in the Gallon Environmental Letter): In the Waste category, the score that WWF has given the Athens Olympics is, "Very disappointing performance." Commitments were made by the Athens Organizing Committee that a source reduction system would be set up and proper collection areas created in the Olympic Village, among other promises. The reality is far from the promises, and is far from what was achieved at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. According to the alliance Green Games Watch 2000, 90 percent of waste was reused or recycled at the Sydney Olympics. Overall, this year's Olympic Games will not contribute anything positive to the extremely problematic waste management system of Athens. Despite the submission of feasible, concrete proposals by non-governmental organizations, no integrated waste management strategy has been designed and the system will be based on the simple separation of waste materials. Also, for the Athens Olympics, recycling is nothing more that a communications tool, which starts and ends in installing recycling bins in the Olympic buildings. The Olympics did not serve as a catalyst for the improvement of the deficient recycling system of Athens, in contrast to initial promises. In "Use of environmentally friendly construction technologies," a sub-category of the Construction section, WWF has also given the Athens Olympics a score of, "Very disappointing performance." The full report is at: _http://www.panda.org/downloads/general/olympicsscorecardenglish.doc_ A 7/16/04 World Wildlife Fund press release about the report is at: _http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/press_releases/news.cfm?uNewsID=14216_ --------------------- From Marcia Rutan, Snohomish County Solid Waste Management Division, Waste Prevention and Recycling, Everett, WA: The updated website for Redefining Progress, a non-profit organization focusing on sustainability, has some great information and reports on global and regional ecological footprints, sustainability, consumption patterns, etc. Waste Prevention Forum members may appreciate it. It's at: _http://www.redefiningprogress.org_ E-mail: marcia [D O T] rutan [A T] co [D O T] snohomish [D O T] wa [D O T] us --------------------- Excerpted from a message from Sarah Weimer, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, CA: REUSE ASSISTANCE GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR CALIFORNIA LOCAL PUBLIC AGENCIES The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) has been allocated $250,000 for the fiscal year 2004/2005 offering of the Reuse Assistance Grants, to provide incentives for local public agencies to establish new or expanded reuse opportunities in California. All cities, counties, and regional agencies in California that have obligations to develop and implement waste reduction programs under the requirements of the Public Resources Code are eligible to apply individually or regionally, and may partner with any entity (for example, a business or a non-profit organization). Applications are due by 2 p.m. Oct. 29, 2004. For more information or to download the application, visit: _http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/Grants_ E-mail: sweimer [ A T ] ciwmb [ D O T ] ca [ D O T ] gov --------------------- Excerpted from an 8/4/04 Associated Press article by Rick Callahan (first seen in the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center bulletin): HOSPITALS MOVE TOWARD PAPERLESS AGE Hospitals are trading their once-scattered medical charts, file folders, X-rays, and other documents for a unified electronic records system accessible with a few keystrokes. Federal officials who are trying to convince more hospital executives to go "paperless" say electronic records can make hospitals more efficient, reduce medical errors, and lower health-care costs. On July 21, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson outlined a plan that sets technology standards and provides financial incentives for doctors and hospitals to invest in health care information technology. David J. Brailer, the national coordinator for health information technology appointed by President Bush in May, said cost has been one barrier. He said it can cost tens of millions of dollars for a large hospital, or network of hospitals, to make the change. Getting physicians, nurses and medical technicians to abandon years of routine for a new system is another obstacle. Nearly all hospitals do have electronic billing, but adoption of electronic health records has been slow. Just 13 percent of hospitals and 28 percent of physicians' practices had some level of electronic health record systems in 2002, according to HHS. Yet the change appears to carry great benefits. According to a recent analysis by the Institute of Medicine, the routine use of electronic records could help reduce the tens of thousands of deaths and injuries caused by medical mistakes every year. Brailer said paperless systems also cut administrative costs by eliminating the need to produce, maintain and store enormous numbers of paper files. One drawback that electronic records systems pose for hospitals, however, is that they can reduce hospital revenue, Brailer said. That's because more efficient systems eliminate duplicated treatments, shorten hospital stays and get patients out of intensive care units faster. "This is an industry that's not necessary paid on the basis of efficiency. It's paid on the basis of volume," Brailer said. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare spent about $30 million to get its three Chicago-area hospitals switched to a full electronic records system that about 6,200 employees began using last year. Mark R. Neaman, the company's president and chief executive officer, said the goal is about $10 million in savings in the first year, largely by reducing the data-collection process. Eliminating the time-consuming dictation and transcription process of physicians' patient observations has saved $500,000 alone so far, he said. Neaman also said turnaround times for test results have fallen significantly at the three hospitals, which have about 50,000 inpatient admissions and 100,000 emergency room visits annually. Getting mammogram results, for example, now takes about a day, not days or weeks. - end -