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19 Jan 05 - disposables; Tweel; diapers; mail; EcoTalk; building; job; purses; eBay
** 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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Excerpted from a 1/18/05 advertising industry column by Jane Levere in the
New York Times:
MAJOR BRANDS ADD DISPOSABLE AND FLUSHABLE PRODUCTS AIMED AT KIDS
Looking for new ways to expand their businesses, makers of the two top
diaper brands, Huggies and Pampers, are both introducing lines of toiletries
for babies and small children.
Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies, the top-selling disposable diaper and
training pants brand in the United States, was the first to diversify. Last
March, the company, which had 43.7 percent of the $2.35 billion diaper
market last year, introduced a Huggies disposable washcloth and a liquid
soap for babies. Next month, it will begin selling a line of Huggies
toiletries, including a Disposable Toddler Mitt (a bath mitt designed to be
used by toddlers), plus a liquid soap and a shampoo and conditioner for
toddlers. It will also add a wash, lotion and powder for babies.
Pampers, made by Procter & Gamble, the No. 2 diaper brand in the United
States with 30.5 percent of the market, is now rolling out a new line of
products called Kandoo, including flushable wipes and foaming hand soap,
both intended to teach children aged 3 to 7 proper bathroom hygiene. Both
Kandoo products have ergonomically designed packaging with graphics that
show children how to use them, and a frog cartoon character, which also
appears in a new advertising campaign. Tina Maloney, director of North
America marketing for Pampers, said Procter & Gamble would devote up to 20
percent of its total 2005 Pampers advertising budget to Kandoo. According to
TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, Procter & Gamble spent $62 million on
advertising for all Pampers products in the first 10 months of 2004 and $76
million in 2003.
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From Don Van Dyke, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Business
Resource Efficiency and Waste Reduction Section, Sacramento, CA, responding
to the 1/11/05 posting about the "Tweel," a combination tire and wheel being
developed by Michelin, which could replace standard tires:
If Tweels are twuly wetweadable and wecyclable, they would be no twouble for
us.
E-mail: DVanDyke (A T) CIWMB (D O T) ca (D O T) gov
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From Michelle Portman, Department of Environmental Protection, Waterways
Program - Bureau of Resource Protection, Boston, MA, responding to the
recent postings about cloth diapers:
I've had difficult experience with cloth diapers (aside from my husband's
constant griping about them). Maybe someone can offer me some advice.
My three-and-a-half year old is pretty much potty-trained and I used cloth
with her when she was very small and now only at night. Other than leaks
through the diaper, wraps and plastic pants, that went pretty well.
However, my two-and-a-half year old hasn't been able to use cloth diapers
because she always gets a bad rash from them, appearing a few hours after
she's had them on. I have different types and she has no reaction from the
disposables even though I change her very infrequently and they are quite
saturated when I throw them out. Ideas anyone?
E-mail: Michelle [ D O T ] Portman [ A T ] state [ D O T ] ma [ D O T ] us
(Note from Tom: If you have ideas for Michelle, please e-mail her directly,
and cc me. If there are a lot of responses to this, we may not be able to
run them all on the Forum, since we have already had a number of recent
postings about diapers. Thanks!)
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Link to a new website that allows people to remove their names from lists
for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance, which are often sources of
unwanted mail:
https://www.optoutprescreen.com
Previously, this opt-out service has only been available by calling a
toll-free phone number, 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688).
This website and phone number are offered by four major consumer credit
reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion. Opting out
through this service will not necessarily eliminate all credit card offers
in the mail, but may reduce them.
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From the Air America and EcoTalk websites:
EcoTalk, a one-hour radio program about environmental issues hosted by Betsy
Rosenberg, is being carried on the Air America radio network. Air America,
a national network that began broadcasting last year, bills itself as
"progressive talk radio." It currently has nearly 50 affiliates nationwide:
http://www.airamericaradio.com/stations.asp
Hosts of other Air America
shows include comedian Al Franken and singer-songwriter Steve Earle.
A number of recent EcoTalk programs on Air America have dealt with waste
prevention, overconsumption and zero waste. Summaries and audio archives of
some recent shows are at:
http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php?mode=show&id=12
EcoTalk started as short daily segments on KCBS news radio in San Francisco.
Those programs are continuing, along with the longer version on Air America.
For more information on EcoTalk, see: http://www.ecotalk.net
(Note from Tom: Betsy has been a member of the Waste Prevention Forum since
it started, and was a founder of the National Waste Prevention Coalition's
dry cleaner waste prevention project in the 90s. When I talked to her last
week, Betsy mentioned that not all Air America stations are currently
carrying EcoTalk. Also, some West Coast stations may be taking the
program's feed from New York and running it at 4 a.m. on Sundays instead of
its listed time of 7 a.m. So, if your local Air America station is not
carrying EcoTalk (or not carrying it at a decent time), call them and ask if
they will. Betsy and EcoTalk are important national voices for waste
prevention, and Air America is a terrific home for this kind of show.)
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Link to the website for the Green Building Initiative (GBI), a new
non-profit organization to promote energy efficient and environmentally
sustainable building practices (first seen in the Recycling Today
newsletter):
http://www.thegbi.org GBI, which is based in
Portland, OR, works with the National Association of Home Builders and local
Home Builder Associations.
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Link to a job listing for a Stewardship/Resource Conservation Coordinator
for the City of Issaquah, Washington:
http://www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/Employment.asp
Click on
"Stewardship/Resource Conservation Coordinator." The City of Issaquah has a
population of about 15,000 and is located 16 miles east of Seattle. This
position includes a variety of work, including pollution prevention, water
conservation, recycling, alternative transportation and more. The salary is
$4,063 - $5,445 a month, depending on experience. The deadline for
applications is Jan. 28, 2005.
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Excerpted from a 1/11/05 Cox News Service article by Marylin Johnson:
TRASH TRANSFORMS TO TRENDY IN FUN POP CULTURE PURSES
In her spare time, Dawn Tupper, a kindergarten teacher in Atlanta, makes hip
handbags out of Capri Sun, Kool-Aid Jammers and Tang drink pouches and sells
them for $10 each, mostly to teen or preteen girls or their parents.
From discarded drink pouches to candy wrappers to cereal boxes, creative
hands across the country are turning trash into trendy fashion accessories.
Savvy entrepreneurs pick up the instructions on the Internet, by doing a
Google search for "Capri Sun purse" and "instructions" for example. Many
versions of the pattern are for sale, but some can be found online at no
charge.
Tupper, who learned of the bags at a craft festival, customizes the template
to create a collection of quirky handbags, wallets and checkbook covers. She
also uses the handbags to teach students an important environmental lesson.
"I explain that instead of the pouches going into a landfill, I am turning
them into something useful," she said.
Each small handbag is made from eight plastic juice pouches - nine if Tupper
fashions a coin purse to tuck inside. Clear vinyl is attached to the bottom
of each handbag. "The bags are so durable for kids," said Tracie McCrorey.
"All you do is wipe them clean. I have three daughters and I bought the
2-year-old and the 5-year-old Capri Sun bags from Dawn for Christmas. Now my
14-year-old wants one." That's music to the ears of Tupper. When students
and teachers learned that she was making these handbags, empty juice pouches
started appearing on her desk at school. So far, Tupper has made more than
30 bags. About half have been purchased by students at her school.
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Excerpted from a 1/6/05 article by Matt Hicks for PC Magazine:
EBAY FORMS INDUSTRY GROUP TO TACKLE E-WASTE
Online auction giant eBay is leading an effort to encourage the recycling or
resale of used computers and consumer electronics. On Jan. 5, eBay launched
the Rethink Initiative and a related Web site. The initiative brings
together major information technology (IT) companies such as Intel with
government agencies and non-profits to tackle the issue of electronics
waste, or e-waste.
The Rethink Web site (http://pages.ebay.com/rethink
) provides information on properly disposing
of old equipment, including by selling it on eBay. E-waste has become an
increasing problem as consumers and businesses rapidly replace older
computers and electronics. Gartner Inc. estimates that about 133,000 PCs are
becoming obsolete every day in the United States. Meanwhile, consumers will
throw out about 400 million electronics each year in this decade, eBay CEO
and President Meg Whitman said. When thrown into landfills, computers can
pose environmental risks because they contain such hazardous materials as
lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury. "We as an industry need to do more,"
Whitman said. "Together we're helping to build awareness to safely dispose
of used computers and consumer electronics."
The industry initiative is only a first step toward tackling e-waste,
Whitman said. It focuses on educating U.S. consumers and businesses about
e-waste options by tapping into eBay's community of 125 million U.S.
members. If the computer and electronics industry does not take action, it
can expect more e-waste regulation from government, Whitman said.
Intel is eBay's lead partner in the Rethink Initiative. The other founding
IT members are Apple Computer, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Ingram
Micro. Among those absent was major computer maker Dell. Asked about Dell's
absence, Whitman said eBay had approached the company and that Dell had not
ruled out joining the effort.
The Rethink Initiative includes environmental groups that have criticized
past industry e-waste efforts. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is part
of eBay's initiative and is helping provide information on responsible
recyclers and recycling practices. "The way they will be able to do
education is on a scale we never could do before," said Ted Smith, senior
strategist for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. Other Rethink
participants include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National
Cristina Foundation, United Parcel Service and the U.S. Postal Service.
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