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06 Oct 04 - Nigeria; electronics; time; iPod; furniture
** 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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The first three postings follow up on the 9/30/04 posting from Sara Litke,
with the U.S. Consulate General (U.S. State Department) in Lagos, Nigeria,
asking the National Waste Prevention Coalition for leads on international
outreach programs that might be able to help Lagos with its severe solid
waste problems, by providing advice or technical expertise.
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From Polagaya Fine, Snohomish County Solid Waste Division, Everett, WA:
Maybe Engineers Without Borders can assist in Nigeria? Their website is at:
http://www.ewb-usa.org I heard them mentioned at
a sustainability conference I attended in Seattle last week. I will pass on
this information to the U.S. Consulate General in Nigeria.
E-mail: polagaya [D O T] fine [A T] co [D O T] snohomish [D O T] wa [D O T] us
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From Lisa Friend, RE Sources, Bellingham, WA:
I forwarded the Nigerian plea to CEMPRE in Brazil. I've gotten tons of
information from them over the years but have never used it. They're a
coalition of TetraPak and Coca-Cola types that promote Brazilian recycling
efforts. Their efforts are probably required by Brazilian legislation, but
I thought forwarding would be worth a try. Their website is at:
http://www.cempre.org.br/english
Lisa's e-mail: recycle [ A T ] re-sources [ D O T ] org
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From Sara Litke, Economic Officer, U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, Nigeria:
To the Waste Prevention Forum: Thanks for circulating my request for help
with waste management in Lagos. I've received several good suggestions to
pursue.
E-mail: litkesl [A T] state [D O T] gov
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Excerpted from an editorial in the November 2004 issue of Consumer Reports
magazine (full article forwarded by Stephen Long):
CONSUMERS UNION PROMOTES EFFORTS
TO REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE ELECTRONICS WASTE
Electronics waste contains a number of toxins, including lead, cadmium, and
brominated flame retardant. A projected 315 million computers now headed for
the trash heap will add up to more than a billion pounds of lead that could
leach into groundwater from landfills or pollute the air if incinerated. The
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, a nonprofit environmental group in San
Jose, California, estimates that without legislation shifting the burden to
manufacturers, it will cost governments and taxpayers some $7.5 billion over
the next decade or so to collect and process old TVs and computer equipment.
Consumers Union - the nonprofit organization that publishes Consumer Reports
magazine - is planning two projects that will promote strategies to reduce
electronics waste and improved options for recycling and reuse. This fall,
with funding from the Ford Foundation, we are launching the HearUsNow.org
website, an online resource center to promote changes in telecommunications
services that, among other things, would help consumers keep their cell
phones when they change service providers. For 2005, with funding from the
Surdna Foundation, we are developing a new area on our ConsumerReports.org
website that will feature advice to help consumers reduce the environmental
effects of their purchasing decisions. Details on these projects will be
described in future issues of Consumer Reports.
Consumers Union supports mandatory take-back programs that hold
manufacturers physically and financially responsible for recycling their
products. Until such a system is implemented nationally, consumers will
have to sort through a patchwork of existing recycling options.
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Link to information on Take Back Your Time Day:
http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday/news-current.asp
The second annual
Take Back Your Time Day will be held Oct. 24, which is a Sunday this year.
Take Back Your Time Day is a U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the
epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that threatens health,
relationships, communities and the environment.
For a listing of local events and activities around the nation, see:
http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday/pdf/time_day_events_2004.pdf
A number of Take Back Your Time Day posters have been created, including
this one: http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday/posters/need_a_break.pdf
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From an item by J. D. Biersdorfer in the 9/30/04 New York Times, following
up on past postings about the Apple iPod (a pocket-sized, computerized music
player) having a battery that is not easily replaceable by the user
(forwarded by Jeff Gaisford):
A TRANSFUSION OF FRESH POWER FOR AN IPOD ON ITS LAST LEGS
Music may last forever, but batteries do not. The battery life - and life
expectancy - of Apple's iPod has been a hot topic among the faithful since
the earliest models began to reach an advanced age. To help revive iPods
with power cells that can no longer hold a charge, Newer Technology and
Other World Computing have entered the iPod-parts business, introducing a
high-capacity lithium-ion cell that can last longer than the iPod's original
battery.
The high-capacity 2100mAh iPod replacement battery has a capacity 70 percent
greater than the original, which the company says will add hours to the
iPod's original 10 hours of playing time between charges. At $40, it is a
smaller drain on the wallet than replacing an old iPod with even the least
expensive new one. The battery works with all first- and second-generation
models released in 2001 and 2002, and comes with plastic tools to open the
iPod. (Doing so voids its warranty, but if your machine is more than a year
old the standard warranty has expired anyway.)
Standard-capacity batteries are also available, as are replacement cells for
last year's third-generation iPods. All can be ordered at:
http://www.macsales.com/ipodbattery
For those who want to know what they are getting into before they pry the
backs off their precious iPods, there is a six-page illustrated manual to
download at the site that shows the process in detail.
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Excerpted from a 9/24/04 article by Amy Merrick in the Wall Street Journal:
FURNITURE SELLERS MOVE AWAY FROM DISPOSABLES
For years, the furniture industry has been trying to persuade customers to
change sofas and lamps regularly, just as they update their clothing
fashions. Now, some major retailers are moving in the opposite direction:
rolling out more expensive furniture that they say is better-constructed and
should last for generations.
Perhaps the chief example of this shift is Williams-Sonoma Inc., parent of
furniture brands Pottery Barn and West Elm. During the past decade, Pottery
Barn has pushed families to buy relatively moderately priced pieces that
they could justify replacing as styles changed. But last week,
Williams-Sonoma launched a new brand, Williams-Sonoma Home, with a catalog
featuring the company's most expensive furniture, including a $5,800 leather
sofa, a $4,200 armoire, and beds that cost as much as $4,000. A competitor,
Restoration Hardware, also has overhauled its furniture options, expanding
its line to include more costly pieces. About 70 percent of the Restoration
Hardware's fall furniture is new. The current catalog carries leather sofas
that cost as much as $4,295; in the winter 2004 catalog, leather sofas
topped out at $4,050, and in the 2001 holiday catalog, they didn't cost more
than $3,095.
Other retailers are also taking a bigger interest in the higher end of the
furniture market or at least moving in that direction. Warehouse club Costco
Wholesale Corp. plans to open its second Costco Home store in November,
selling primarily high-end furniture, including $9,999 beds. Federated
Department Stores Inc. has opened four Bloomingdale's Home & Furniture
stores and one furniture gallery during the past two years. Even discounter
Target Corp. is stretching into higher-priced products than it has sold in
the past, expanding its furniture selection from small items such as shelves
to bigger pieces such as a sofa in microsuede for $910.
But after pushing "disposable decor" for so long, getting customers to shift
gears and pay more may pose a marketing challenge. "If you're looking for
furniture as an investment, this is not where you want to go," says
57-year-old Quincy Van Es, shopping at a Restoration Hardware store in New
York City. "I'd pay more for something I really loved - an antique that
gains value over time - but to have something from here just means I've paid
more money."
Another challenge: For all the current stress on longevity, some of this
fall's pieces could well be out of style in a few years. Williams-Sonoma
Home, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware are selling leather ottomans,
for example, which are very much a current fashion statement.
Companies say their new pieces are meant to be heirlooms, and, while more
expensive than previous offerings, are still a better bargain than designer
furniture. Williams-Sonoma Home's catalog talks consumers through the
construction of its club chair, citing features such as cushions "filled
with premium down." The cushions of the Pottery Barn equivalent are filled
with foam, a less expensive material. Similarly, Restoration Hardware has
beefed up its catalog with a "furniture resource guide" aimed at pointing
out the improved quality of its pieces.
Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware say they're responding to a desire
among older shoppers to make long-term investments in their homes. Baby
boomers, they say, no longer need comfortable, easy-going decor that easily
could be replaced when the kids spill a pitcher of juice on it. They also
note demographics are favorable. People 45 to 54 spend more on home
furnishings than any other age group, says A.G. Edwards analyst Brian
Postol, and their numbers jumped 48 percent between 1990 and 2000.
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