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25 Apr 05 - surplus; polystyrene; wipes; consumption; EcoConsumer; stickies; churches
** 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 John Crisley, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection,
Municipal Waste Reduction Program, Boston, MA:
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Operational
Services Division (OSD), our statewide purchasing office, are working on a
joint project to develop a database and enhancements to their existing web
site to manage state surplus property. The purpose of this effort is to
develop a more efficient internal management system, and means of
advertising surplus on the web site, to increase the amount of surplus that
gets reused by state agencies and municipalities.
I'm looking for information and other examples of state or regional
governments that have designed a database/web-based system for
redistributing their surplus. Ideally, I would like to speak with project
managers and/or consultants who have worked on similar surplus systems. I
will share whatever I learn with our OSD project team, who are in the design
stage of such a system. Thanks for your assistance.
E-mail: John (DOT) Crisley (AT) state (DOT) ma (DOT) us
Phone: (617) 556-1021
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From Cheryl Laufle, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Fisheries, Seattle, WA:
Does anyone know of a means of making polystyrene boxes available for reuse?
I work for NOAA Fisheries in Seattle. We have an assortment of polystyrene
shipping boxes that were typically used for shipping fish eggs, but could be
used for just about anything. There are various sizes: 18-inch, heavy duty
24-inch, and a couple about 3 feet long. We'd like to keep them out of the
landfill. Thanks in advance for any help you can lend.
E-mail: Cheryl [DOT] Laufle [AT] noaa [DOT] gov
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From John Halenar, environmental writer and consultant, Ridgewood, NJ,
responding to the recent postings about a sample letter that people can use
to complain to manufacturers using polystyrene foam pieces to package their
products:
I think the opposition to expanded polystyrene illustrates quite nicely the
ongoing tension between waste prevention and recycling. I am currently
doing some consulting work for a not-for-profit in New York City called the
Gaia Institute, which is involved with wetlands restoration and remediation,
storm water runoff reduction, green roof installations, and environmental
education. The executive director of the Institute, Dr. Paul Mankiewicz,
has developed a patented lightweight soil for green roof installations that
is made from recycled expanded polystyrene, an organic gel coating, compost
and clay. The lightweight soil not only reduces the load-bearing capacity
requirements for green roof installations, but for every 1,000 square feet
of roof covered with the material, 500 cubic feet of expanded polystyrene is
diverted from the waste stream, along with 200 cubic feet or five tons of
organic matter used in generating the compost component of the material (50
cu. ft. of compost per 1,000 sq. ft of roof covered). We are also doing a
pilot project with the Marcal Paper Mills in Elmwood Park, NJ, to determine
if we can use the clay that is a waste product from Marcal's recycled
paper-making process, in which case all of the components of our lightweight
soil would be recycled materials.
The polystyrene used in the soil is modified in order to hold water,
minerals, and nutrients, making these available for plant growth. While we
understand why some people might oppose the use of polystyrene packing
materials, we believe we have found a beneficial use for this material and
if the material were eliminated completely, we would not be able to make our
environmentally-beneficial product. An interesting paradox, to say the
least.
E-mail: johnhalenar ( AT ) yahoo ( DOT ) com
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Link to a 4/17/05 Chicago Tribune article by Karen Klages:
DISPOSABLE WIPES RAISE ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/11451148.htm
Here is a link to additional companion resources to that article,
"Alternatives" and "Trash Me a River," plus a condensed version of the
original article: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/features/3150262
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Link to a 4/22/05 article by Joe Rojas-Burke in the Portland Oregonian:
RISING CONSUMPTION CANCELS OUT RECYCLING GAINS
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/11141641502840
80.xml&coll=7
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From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the
National Waste Prevention Coalition:
King County has a new EcoConsumer website: http://www.KCecoconsumer.com
We started this website in conjunction
with a new EcoConsumer column I am writing for the Seattle Times, which will
appear every six weeks as the feature article on their Sunday consumer page.
To see the first column, which is about packaging, click on the link on the
left.
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Excerpted from an article by Katie Thorsos in the Frugal Environmentalist
(distributed in March, 2005):
NON-TOXIC TRICK FOR REMOVING ADHESIVE RESIDUES
We've all struggled to remove adhesive price tags, labels on jars, and other
sticky substances. Some folks may resort to nail polish remover or paint
thinner. But ordinary cooking oil provides an amazingly effective,
non-toxic solution.
Start by removing as much adhesive as possible with a knife, razor blade or
thumbnail. Then rub a healthy amount of cooking oil onto the adhesive.
Sometimes, the adhesive will disintegrate on contact. Other times you'll
need to let the oil sit for a few minutes. Use dish soap to wash off the
oil and adhesive.
Cooking oil also dissolves many other sticky substances, such as tree sap.
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Excerpted from a 4/18/05 Associated Press article:
MAINE CHURCHES EMBRACE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFORTS
You won't find foam cups, paper napkins or plastic spoons at the morning
coffee at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Belfast, Maine. The church
recently became certified as a "Green Sanctuary," one of just 21 Unitarian
Universalist churches nationwide that are so designated. As a Green
Sanctuary, the church hopes to build a faith community that acts as a good
steward of the Earth. That means no disposable items at its coffee
gatherings.
Across Maine, a number of churches are taking steps to tread more softly on
the environment.
Eastern and indigenous religions often center the practice of their faith in
the natural world. And the Unitarian Universalists, long known as a liberal
denomination, embraced ecology as part of their official doctrine during the
environmental movement of the 1960s. But only recently in the United States
have mainstream Judaism, Islam and Christianity begun to speak of a
responsibility to care for the Earth. That's a change that Paul Gorman of
the National Religious Partnership for the Environment calls "an almost
universal religious awakening."
"I think churches really had a wake-up call that the Earth is in trouble,"
said Andy Burt, a Quaker who heads the Maine Council of Churches'
environmental justice program. "We've kind of turned a corner and begun to
understand that the first commandment was to take care of the garden, to
care for this Earth."
About three dozen Maine congregations have created so-called EarthCare teams
to work within their communities increasing energy efficiency and reducing
pollution. St. Anne's Catholic Church in Gorham, for example, is creating an
organic garden to produce vegetables for its food pantry. The Bath United
Church of Christ encouraged members to buy local produce and to give up
foods that require extensive transportation, donating their savings to
charity. The Midcoast Friends Meeting has retrofitted its Damariscotta
building with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs and biodiesel
heating fuel.
At least 27 churches and synagogues have participated in free energy audits
conducted by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The energy conservation
that resulted has kept hundreds of thousands of tons of greenhouse gases
from being emitted into the atmosphere, Burt said. In 2000, Maine churches
drew national attention for their role in the creation of Maine Interfaith
Power and Light, a nonprofit "green power" company that supports wind,
solar, biomass and hydroelectric power. In its first two years of providing
power, the company has served more than 3,000 customers, including churches
all over the state, and the movement is growing, said outreach coordinator
Christine James.
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