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28 Sep 05 - Ikea; jobs; exchange; refillables; Swiffer; consumerism
** 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 Patrick Domres, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA,
responding to a newspaper column posted 9/20/05, which praised the
environmental policies of the Ikea chain of home furnishings stores:
I think that it is great what Ikea is doing. But they still sell products
that are poorly made and fall apart or are outdated in two years. My
grandmother has the same couch from 1947 and my Ikea couch from 2001 fell
apart in two years.
E-mail: patrick [DOT] domres [AT] metrokc [DOT] gov
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Link to a job posting for an Environmental Initiatives Manager for Warner
Brothers Entertainment, Burbank, CA:
http://crra.com/jobsrfp/jobline.html
Click on the job listing. This position was posted on this job board on
9/21/05 and is listed as "open until filled." No salary is given. Duties
include overseeing the recycling program and the donation program.
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Link to a job posting for a Recycling & Market Development Specialist for
the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Helena, MT:
http://statejobs.mt.gov/pls/mjs/MJS0110W.QueryView?P_EMPR_ID_SEQ=1902&P_JORD
_APPL_SEQ=567
This position is responsible for reducing solid and
hazardous wastes in Montana through source reduction, increased reuse,
recycling, and composting. The salary range is $34,400 to $45,000 annually.
The deadline for applications is Oct. 14, 2005.
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From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the
National Waste Prevention Coalition:
A friend asked me if I had any ideas about this, so I thought I would send
it out to all of you: A county-operated transfer station in Washington
state (not in King County) is located in a small community, on an island.
The transfer station is only open Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, from
noon until 4 p.m. For a number of years, this transfer station has had a
wonderful reusables exchange area (which I have visited), where people can
take or leave household items. However, recently some people have been
"camping out" at the reusables area and taking all the good items as soon as
they come in. Several of these people are reportedly selling the items on
eBay or Craig's List and making a profit. Some island residents are very
upset about this.
So now, the manager of the station is trying to decide how to resolve this,
and my friend is trying to help him. Any ideas? I believe some of you are
involved with reusables exchange areas in your communities. Have you dealt
with similar situations? I will pass on any responses to my friend, and I
may also run some of them on the Forum. Thanks!
E-mail: tom (DOT) watson (AT) metrokc (DOT) gov
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Excerpted from a 9/6/05 Reuters news service article by Chris Aspin:
MEXICO EYES TAX CUT FOR REFILLABLE BEER BOTTLES
Mexico is proposing to tax beer sold in reusable bottles at a lower rate
than for disposable cans and bottles, in a bid to twist the arms of brewers
Modelo and Femsa to sell more environmentally friendly products. Under the
budget the government sent to Congress Sept. 5, Mexico plans to tax beer
served in reusable bottles, such as Modelo's Corona or Femsa's Carta Blanca,
at a rate 72 percent lower than the rate for disposable bottles and cans.
The proposal would have to be passed by the opposition-controlled Congress,
which has in the past blocked some tax tweaks proposed by the government of
President Vicente Fox. "The initiative seeks to support the environment by
promoting that the beer industry uses reusable containers of better quality
and longer life so that the amount of garbage generated is reduced," the
budget document said. "What is being proposed is a tax with an ecological
slant, because obviously disposable bottles create a major problem across
the country," said Jose Luis Flores, a deputy with the opposition
Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Beer produced or imported into Mexico would be taxed at a rate of 3 pesos
($0.28) per liter, but beer sold in reusable bottles would be taxed at a
rate of only 1.74 pesos per liter, according to the proposal. Mexican
brewers now pay a 25 percent tax on beer sold. The government's proposal
would require brewers to pay the new tax per liter or the current 25 percent
flat rate on sales, whichever was higher.
Mexico has a huge garbage headache. Roads across the country are littered
with glass and plastic bottles and other waste. Environmental consciousness
is low. "One problem that cannot be brushed aside is how the environment is
affected by containers that are not collected and reused, which obliges
states and municipal governments to spend more on collection," the budget
document said. "Although certain containers can be recycled, the process of
recycling is less friendly to the environment than the process of reusing,"
it said, adding that recycling had energy costs and generated pollutants.
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Excerpted from the 2005 Global Corporate Citizenship Report for Diageo, a
major international alcoholic beverage company:
Where distribution distances are short, refillable bottles are
environmentally preferable to single-trip packaging. This is the system we
use for beer bottles in Africa, where over 90 percent are returned for
refilling. In Jamaica also, beer bottles destined for the domestic market
are returnable and have an expected life of 20 fillings before being
recycled. For exported beer, it is environmentally better for bottles to be
recycled in the country of use rather than being returned along long supply
lines. Export bottles contain 20 grams less glass than the refillable
bottles sold in Jamaica, to minimize the energy required to manufacture,
transport and recycle them.
Diageo's brands include Guinness, Cuervo, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys,
J&B, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray, Crown Royal and Beaulieu Vineyard and
Sterling Vineyards wines. The company's full 2005 Global Corporate
Citizenship Report is at:
http://www.diageo.com/en-row/ValuesAndPolicies/CorporateCitizenshipReports/2
005
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Excerpted from an article by Cliff Peale in the 9/14/05 Cincinnati Enquirer
and an item by Cheryl Reid-Simons in the 9/24/05 Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
SWIFFER EXTENDS BRAND WITH CARPETFLICK
Expanding on the success of Swiffer, the floor cleaner that has racked up
annual sales approaching $600 million, was the challenge facing Procter &
Gamble Co. (P&G) this year. Research showed P&G that it should develop a
product for carpets, which cover about three-quarters of all U.S. floors,
without departing too far from the formula that had made Swiffer a hit. The
solution? Swiffer CarpetFlick hit store shelves in August, using a new
technology that works on carpets. Crumbs and other small bits of dirt are
flicked up onto a disposable, ultra-sticky piece of cardboard.
"Consumers were really frustrated at having to lug out the vacuum for...
quick carpet cleanup," said Kristine Decker, North American brand manager
for Swiffer. "We were looking for a better everyday solution." The
CarpetFlick starter kit sells for $12.99. The refill disposable sticky cards
cost $4.29 for a dozen. P&G is promoting the product with a full-fledged
marketing program. So far, Decker said, results look good.
The P&G Swiffer CarpetFlick website is at:
http://www.homemadesimple.com/swiffer/usenglish/products/flick.shtml
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Excerpted from a recent essay by Chris Jordan, a Seattle photographer whose
photos of American mass consumption have been featured in the New York Times
(and have previously been mentioned in this Forum):
"Our consumerism holds an anesthetizing kind of mob mentality; collectively
we are committing a vast and unsustainable act of taking, but we each are
anonymous and no one is in charge or accountable for the consequences."
- Chris Jordan
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