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30 Sep 04 - towels; Nigeria; compost; California; bottles; job; conference; cleaning
** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM **
-- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition
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Forum archive: http://www.nwpcarchive.org
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From Susan Kinsella, Conservatree, San Francisco, CA:
Over the past few years, people have asked for the information that Nancy
VandenBerg prepared for our Resourceful Purchasing manual regarding
specification information for source reducing commercial paper towels.
We have just published information about environmental tissue products, and
I included that section on our website. The tissue overview is at
http://www.conservatree.org/paper/PaperTypes/tissueoverview.shtml
and you
can link to the source reduction section from there.
E-mail: paper [ AT ] conservatree [ DOT ] org
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(Note from Tom - I received the message below and am forwarding it to the
Forum to see if anyone has any ideas. Unfortunately, the National Waste
Prevention Coalition, which is primarily an informal network, does not have
any resources for international outreach.)
From Sara Litke, Economic Officer, U.S. Consulate General (U.S. State
Department), Lagos, Nigeria:
Greetings from Nigeria. I am an economic officer at the US Consulate General
in Lagos. I don't know if you've ever been to Lagos, but one of the first
things most people notice when they visit here is the tremendous amount of
trash that lines the streets, fills the waterways, and smolders on piles
around the city.
The Lagos Ministry of the Environment and Physical Planning has begun a new
waste management initiative to try to get the problem under control. They
approached us to ask for assistance, but we have neither significant funding
nor the technical expertise to be of much help. So, I am turning to you and
other organizations and agencies. Does the National Waste Prevention
Coalition have any sort of international outreach program that might be able
to help Lagos by providing advice or technical expertise? Or do you have any
suggestions of other entities I should contact? Thanks for your time and
consideration.
E-mail: litkesl (A T) state (D O T) gov
Phone: 234-1-261-5912 or 234-1-261-5698
Fax: 234-1-261-1863
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From Bruce Nordman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA,
responding to the 9/21/04 item about the Sharp Corporation's new appliance
product, the Household Kitchen Waste Composter:
The energy use figures in the press release from Sharp suggest that this
appliance uses from 1.5 to 5 times as much as a new refrigerator in
electricity. Actual consumption may well be less, but this appears to be a
phenomenal energy waste, particularly when the alternatives (a compost pile
or worm box) use no electricity at all.
E-mail: BNordman (AT) LBL (DOT) gov
(The press release is at http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/040825.html
Note that the Sharp
website has been having problems lately, however.)
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Excerpted from a 9/30/04 article by Kate Folmar and Ann Marimow in the San
Jose Mercury News, following up on a 6/2/04 posting:
SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNS BILL TO REQUIRE RECOVERY OF CELL PHONES
On Sept. 29, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the nation's
first law requiring cell phone retailers to establish free programs for
recycling and reuse of cell phones by July 1, 2006. The measure, AB 2901,
sponsored by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills, is an expansion of
California's effort to recycle electronic waste.
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Excerpted from a 9/24/04 press release from Health Care Without Harm
(related item forwarded by Lisa Friend):
SCHWARZENEGGER TERMINATES MERCURY THERMOSTATS
On Sept. 23, California Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 1369 to
prohibit the sale and distribution of mercury thermostats beginning January
1, 2006. Exceptions are thermostats used: 1) for manufacturing or industrial
purposes and 2) for blind or visually impaired people. Previous California
law bans the landfilling of mercury thermostats as of the same date.
"More than 900 hospitals across the US have pledged to eliminate mercury
medical devices, and more than 90 percent of pharmacy chains have stopped
selling mercury fever thermometers. This ban is the next step in getting rid
of the mercury pollution that's harming our children and our environment,"
said Jamie Harvie, purchasing coordinator for Health Care Without Harm, a
non-profit environmental advocacy group.
Mercury is a persistent toxic chemical that builds up in the environment,
food chain, and our bodies. It is passed from mother to child across the
placenta and via breast milk, posing particularly high risks for the fetus
and young child. Exposure can affect the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and
liver. Currently 48 states have fishing advisories due to dangerous levels
of mercury pollution.
A recent study estimated that in 2000, 4 million-plus mercury thermostats
were sold in the US, containing approximately 15 metric tons of mercury. In
that same year, an estimated 9.1 million mercury thermostats were removed
from buildings, containing over 33 metric tons of mercury.
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From Beth Graves, North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and
Environmental Assistance, Raleigh, NC, responding to the recent postings
about the new "aluminum bottle" for beer, which weighs more than a regular
aluminum can of the same size:
I had a thought on the aluminum bottle. Like Karen Hales (9/21/04 posting),
I would think it is better than plastic. Glass bottles are not allowed in
many arenas, parks, etc. This is one more option and aluminum is one of the
most readily recyclable items out there. I am interested in reading more on
this.
E-mail: beth [ D O T ] graves [ A T ] ncmail [ D O T ] net
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Link to a job posting for a national campaign coordinator for the Computer
Take Back Campaign (forwarded by Ted Smith):
http://www.computertakeback.com/about/jobs.cfm
This position is open to
people located throughout the U.S. (no specific location). The pay is a
"competitive non-profit rate, including a benefits package." Deadline for
applications is Oct. 20, 2004. The Computer Take Back Campaign is a
coalition effort founded by 14 environmental organizations.
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Link to information on a conference called "Waste - The Social Context," to
be held May 11-14, 2005, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (forwarded by Dwight
Mercer):
http://www.ualberta.ca/ERSC/Waste/index.htm
This international
conference will explore the socio-economic aspects of waste management. By
bringing together researchers and practitioners from a wide variety of
disciplines, this conference hopes to provide a holistic perspective of
waste management challenges and solutions. If you are interested in
presenting at the conference, submit your abstract by Oct. 15, 2004 (see
http://www.ualberta.ca/ERSC/Waste/abstract.htm
). Conference sponsors
include: Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence; City of Edmonton;
University of Alberta; Environmental Research and Studies Centre.
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Excerpted from a 9/23/04 column by Kara Swisher in the online edition of the
Wall Street Journal (forwarded by Meg Lynch):
SWIFFER'S SUCCESS SPURS A WAVE OF THROWAWAY CLEANERS
What hath Swiffer wrought? Dozens upon dozens of "quick" cleaning products,
it seems. All of them are hoping to repeat the success of the wildly popular
Swiffer swiveling-wipe-on-a-stick device made by Procter & Gamble (P&G).
Amid the proliferation of quickie-cleanup products, Swiffer is not only a
terrific product but also king of the hill. However, its strategy of adding
more and more brand extensions raises questions about when convenience
products cease being convenient and instead, become unnecessary. Since
Swiffer's inception in 1999, P&G has added a wet cloth version, a model with
a spray attachment, and a hand duster, among other things. The company says
Swiffer products are in 34 million U.S. households.
All the new "quick" cleaning products, including disposable dishwashing
towels and disposable toilet brushes, vary considerably in their approach to
cleaning - and some are more successful than others. When I tested some of
these with Ed, my dirty-home consultant, overall what we found was that the
"instant" mentality behind products like these is perhaps getting out of
hand, creating products just for the sake of making a quick buck without
thinking about what consumers really need. In other words, you can buy these
- and many are clever and well-made - but you probably don't need them.
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