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14 Dec 05 - building; perc; printing; jobs; resources; Milwaukee; faxes; holidays
** 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 message from Connie Cloak, C2: Alternative Services, Santa
Rosa, CA:
I recently had the opportunity to attend an information session with the
building department in Rohnert Park, CA, which has a very forward-thinking
attitude about green building and related topics. (Our company does plan
review for the department to make sure that plans for new construction
include adequate provision for recycling.)
I'm really excited about the potential for a new electronic process to
replace use of paper building plans in plan-checking. Here is more info:
Moving a building project through various stages of review to final permits
is a paper-intensive process, as fresh rolls of plans are printed and
reviewed by multiple plan-checkers and then re-printed and distributed
following each revision. The firm Berryman & Henigar (a Bureau Veritas
Company) recently accomplished a fast-track review and approval process for
a very large project in California using electronic document transfer.
Using the Adobe pdf file format, design documents, review notes, signatures,
and specification information were communicated electronically in lieu of
traditional paper media. The company is now experimenting with adapting the
techniques for local government clients. For more information, contact Todd
Bailey, todd (DOT) bailey (AT) us (DOT) bureauveritas (DOT) com
Connie's e-mail: connie (AT) c2alts (DOT) net
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Excerpted from a 12/9/05 release from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (forwarded by Betsy Rosenberg):
EPA SEEKS COMMENTS ON PROPOSAL TO REDUCE PERC EMISSIONS FROM DRY CLEANERS
Based on recent analyses of health risks, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) proposed a rule on Dec. 9, 2005, to reduce emissions of
perchloroethylene (perc) from dry cleaners.
More than 28,000 dry cleaners of all sizes and types in the U.S. use perc, a
solvent, in the dry cleaning process. Perc is one of 188 pollutants EPA
regulates as air toxics. These are pollutants known or suspected to cause
cancer and other serious health problems. Since EPA issued its 1993 air
toxics standards, dry cleaners have reduced perc emissions by about 15,000
tons a year through increased use of alternative solvents, replacement of
older dry-cleaning machines, and state and industry programs to improve
efficiency and reduce perc use.
This proposal would amend EPA's 1993 air toxics standards to further reduce
perc emissions from large industrial and commercial dry cleaners,
free-standing small dry cleaners, and small dry cleaners located in
apartment buildings. The proposed rule would not affect dry cleaners that do
not use perc, or those that send clothes off-site to be cleaned.
For information on the proposed rule and instructions on submitting
comments, see: http://www.epa.gov/air/drycleaningrule/fs20051128.html
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Link to an April 2005 article by Cassie Hart in Dynamic Graphics magazine,
"Printing Green: 12 Things You Need to Know" (forwarded by Desmond Machuca,
responding to the 12/1/05 posting seeking info on environmentally
responsible printing practices):
http://www.dynamicgraphics.com/dgm/Article/28468
This 4-part article
includes a wide range of suggestions and resources for "green printing."
Part 3 includes photos of several examples.
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Link to a job posting for two Business Waste Reduction Planner positions
with Portland Metro (forwarded by Meg Lynch)
http://www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleid=16811
One of the jobs
is a full-time 40-hours-per-week regular position. The other one is a
part-time, 20-hours-per-week job-share position with a limited duration of
approximately two years. The pay range for both is $46,300 - $62,000
annually (based on full-time employment). The deadline for applications for
both is Jan. 6, 2006.
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Link to extensive resources and background information on a variety of
pollution prevention-related topics, from the Pacific Northwest Pollution
Prevention Resource Center:
http://www.pprc.org/hubs
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Link to the Milwaukee Green Team website, which provides information on a
new effort by the city government of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, led by Mayor Tom
Barrett, to promote environmentalism in development, job creation and city
regulations (seen in the WasteCap Wisconsin bulletin):
http://www.milwaukeegreenteam.org
This campaign includes a number of waste prevention aspects.
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Excerpted from a column by Alina Tugend in the 12/10/05 New York Times:
WHAT TO DO ABOUT UNWANTED FAXES
There is no "Do Not Fax" registry similar to the "Do Not Call" registry that
reduces calls by telemarketers. But in July, Congress passed a Junk Fax
Prevention Act. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to issue
regulations to carry out the legislation by April 5, 2006.
Unsolicited commercial faxes currently are prohibited under law. The act
allows companies to send faxes to customers with whom they have an
"established business relationship"; that is, if the customer has bought,
leased or rented a product from the business within the last 18 months. But
the law also requires senders of faxes to include a notice and contact
information on the first page of the fax telling the recipient how to opt
out of future fax advertisements from the sender.
If you have a complaint about unwanted faxes, file it with the FCC at
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html
or call them toll-free at
888-225-5322. For more info, see:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/unwantedfaxes.html
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Link to an EcoConsumer column about holiday waste reduction by Tom Watson in
the 12/11/05 Seattle Times:
http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/ecoconsumer/columns.asp
Click on the
top one.
This column includes a mention of free electronic holiday cards (which
reduce waste) from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The direct
link to those cards is:
http://www.moma.org/ecards/browse_categories.php?category_id=7
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Link to WhatGoesAround.org, a non-profit organization whose website aims to
make it easier for people to make donations to charities on behalf of
friends and family (seen in the New York Times):
http://www.whatgoesaround.org
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