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20 Oct 04 - electronics; weeds; gift cards; book; paper; reuse; shopping
** 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 Bruce Nordman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA,
responding to the 10/14/04 positing asking about reuse ideas for AC power
adapters that come with electronic devices:
Regarding the inquiry about possible reuse options for the many AC power
adapters that are left after the devices they power are no longer with us,
the short answer is that there are few good options. There is the problem
that many different voltages are used by different products. I don't think
(not sure) that the connector types are well-correlated to the voltage, so
that having the right voltage doesn't mean that the physical connectors will
connect (solvable by adapters though). Some adapters of the right voltage
may not be able to supply enough current, and there may be issues with the
quality of the DC power they put out. Some adapters are just AC-AC.
However, the biggest issue is that such adapters are usually energy
inefficient, and there is presently a large effort to convert this industry
(dominantly in China) to much more efficient models. If you have an
efficient one (very small size is the best indicator), then it is worth
considering reuse, but otherwise I doubt there is any good fate for them.
E-mail: BNordman ( AT ) LBL ( DOT ) gov
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From Jim Lynch, CompuMentor, San Francisco, CA:
Just thought I'd let people know that I've published a big report that
describes the noncommercial computer refurbishing industry in the U.S.
Folks can download it at http://www.compumentor.org/recycle
The report has gotten some pretty
decent attention. It was written up in the Wall Street Journal last month
(see next item).
E-mail: jimlynch ( A T ) compumentor ( D O T ) org
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Excerpted from an article by Vauhini Vara in the 9/23/04 Wall Street
Journal:
DONATING OLD COMPUTERS MORE EFFICIENT THAN RECYCLING, BUT FACES HURDLES
Donating aging personal computers to needy users is more efficient than
recycling them. But efforts to reuse PCs face some big hurdles, including
high costs and a lack of industry coordination. Those are top conclusions of
a study published Sept. 23 by CompuMentor, a San Francisco nonprofit group
that is trying to drum up more interest in reusing machines. Its report
concludes that adding a few years of life to computers by refurbishing and
reusing them is five to 20 times more energy efficient than recycling and
could help meet demand for 28 million computers by nonprofits, schools and
low-income families.
Cost is a major obstacle to reuse, notes Jim Lynch, a senior program manager
at CompuMentor who authored the report. In many cases, refurbishing old
systems is expensive. Even giving machines away isn't free; including
transportation and other costs, it can cost companies $127 per donated
computer, according to findings of the research firm Gartner Inc. cited by
CompuMentor. Other factors include wariness about the usefulness of old
equipment and the absence of encouragement from the federal government,
Lynch says.
Longer use of old machines also could pose problems for computer makers,
which are facing competition from sales of used computers through outlets
such as online auctioneer eBay Inc. Indeed, some experts believe that makers
of PCs and other products tend to favor component recycling because reuse is
bad for business. But PC giants Hewlett-Packard Co., of Palo Alto, Calif.,
and Dell Inc., based in Round Rock, Texas, say they have nothing against
reuse. Dell says it has reused 3,000 computers through an after-school
program that teaches low-income students to take computers apart, then
reassemble them to take home. Dell, which also has worked with a reuse group
called the National Cristina Foundation, is trying to expand the program.
Hewlett-Packard puts donated items through a "triage" process, in which it
determines whether equipment is suitable for reuse, refurbishment or
recycling. David Isaacs, Hewlett-Packard's director of government and public
policy, said he isn't concerned with the potential loss in sales because of
reuse but wants to make sure that nonfunctioning machines aren't shifted to
economically disadvantaged communities "under the guise of reuse."
Microsoft Corp., meanwhile, three years ago created the Microsoft Authorized
Refurbisher program, in which the Redmond, Wash., software company donates
operating systems for computers refurbished by nonprofit organizations.
Intel Corp. gives students equipment to recycle, refurbish or reuse; usable
items are then donated to schools. Meanwhile, networking giant Cisco Systems
Inc., which created one of the first in-house reuse programs, is helping to
fund research into the viability of such methods. The San Jose, Calif.,
company donates used products to nonprofits; when those organizations have
finished using the products, Cisco reclaims and recycles them.
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Excerpted from a message from Andrew Hurst, California Integrated Waste
Management Board, Sacramento, CA, responding to the 10/14/04 item about a
combined lawn mower and weed sprayer for highway vegetation management,
which has the weed-spraying feature hidden:
(Note from Tom: The text of the item Andrew is referring to, and the
subject heading for the item ("deception") were written by me.)
I just visited the web page about the brush mower/herbicide applicator and
would argue that the item that ran in the Waste Prevention Forum about this
was equally, or possibly more, deceptive in its portrayal of the product. I
can find several statements on that web page that can be construed as having
positive environmental impacts. The reduced drift, the reduction in
treatment cycles, and the reduction in the herbicide application rate all
stand out as positives. I recognize the value of full disclosure to the
public and think the marketing folks at this company probably went too far.
However, the portrayal of this technology in the Forum message was not, in
my mind, full disclosure.
E-mail: AHurst [A T] CIWMB [D O T] ca [D O T] gov
Note: The advertising web page and the online flyer for this product, which
were also linked-to in the 10/14/04 item, are at:
- http://www.dowagro.com/ivm/highway/brown/why.htm
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http://www.dowagro.com/webapps/lit/litorder.asp?filepath=ivm/pdfs/noreg/010-56521.pdf&pdf=true
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Excerpted from a message from Stacey Long, Starbucks Coffee Co., Property
and Utility Management, waste and recycling, Seattle, WA:
Does anyone know what can be done with plastic gift cards (recycling
program? reuse?), other than throwing them away? I'm referring to the cards
that are the size of credit cards, usually with a magnetic strip, which many
businesses (including Starbucks) now use instead of gift certificates.
Thanks!
E-mail: StLong [AT] starbucks [DOT] com
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From Ticiang Diangson, Seattle Public Utilities, Community Services
Division, Seattle, WA:
Does anybody have recommendations for a children's book that covers the same
non-consumer themes of "Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference," by Wanda
Urbanska and Frank Levering? (That's a new book, aimed at adults.) I'm
looking for something that gets kids into celebrating holidays without
wanting a lot of "stuff." Thanks.
E-mail: Ticiang [ DOT ] Diangson [ AT ] seattle [ DOT ] gov
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From Angela Patrick, North Carolina:
I am a graduate student, and I was referred to the Waste Prevention Forum by
a member of the list. I am doing a project for a town here in North
Carolina whose planning, engineering and inspections departments are trying
to reduce paper by receiving all the plans and applications electronically.
I have to find out the social benefits, meaning how that will benefit
society by actually putting a monetary value on it. I'm not exactly sure
how to do this so I'm trying to seek help. The three social benefits I have
identified are natural resource consumption, source reduction and waste
reduction. I am also trying to find similar studies or policy analysis on
other companies or cities that have moved from paper to electronic. Can
anyone help? Thanks.
E-mail: angie_patrick2004 ( AT ) yahoo ( DOT ) com
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Link to information on the 3rd annual Choose to Reuse Week, October 16-23,
2004, which is promoted by Hennepin County, Minneapolis, MN:
http://www.hennepin.us/vgn/portal/internet/hcdetailmaster/0,2300,1273_83267_
100408852,00.html
Related information about reuse in Hennepin County is at:
http://www.hennepin.us/vgn/portal/internet/hcdetailmaster/0,2300,1273_1716_1
00474551,00.html
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Excerpted from a message from Lisa Friend, RE Sources, Bellingham, WA,
responding to the 10/14/04 posting about the women's shopping boycott held
on Oct. 19:
"Buy Nothing Day" in the U.S. and Canada is the day after Thanksgiving
(Friday, Nov. 26) again this year, and a day later in the United Kingdom.
As always, both locations of The RE Store (the used building materials
stores operated by RE Sources) will be closed in recognition of the shopping
boycott. Last year, one of the RE Sources board members closed her store
that day, too. Look for an article on U.S. consumerism in the latest
edition of the RE Sources newsletter:
http://www.re-sources.org/pdf/news_autumn2004.pdf
(page 13)
Lisa's e-mail: recycle (AT) re-sources (DOT) org
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Note from Tom:
I will be out most of next week, so the next edition of the Forum may not
come out until November. Thanks!
E-mail: tom ( D O T ) watson ( A T ) metrokc ( D O T ) gov
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