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27 Mar 06 - ink; calculators; EcoDeals; procurement; PSI; art; mail; book; food
** 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 Anne McLaughlin, City of Portland, Office of Sustainable Development,
Solid Waste & Recycling Program, Portland, OR, responding to the 3/6/06
query asking about people's experiences using refilled ink cartridges for
inkjet printers:
I would add another question to the list: Have folks seen negative
consequences on the part of the printer where they're using a refilled
cartridge? Not negative differences in print quality, but in other printer
features.
Here's my story: I have an Epson printer. A couple of years after I bought
it, I tried using Office Depot's brand of replacement cartridges. Soon my
printer began to be very finicky. The ink supply monitor feature was no
longer available. If I sent a second print job while an earlier job was
still in progress, the printer shut down and would not respond without
rebooting the whole system. I eventually went back to Epson brand
cartridges, and I've recently had the computer worked on, and those problems
are finally gone. But I definitely felt that I was being "punished" by
Epson for using another brand of cartridge, and it seems to me they might
also build in "problems" for folks who find other ways not to buy new Epson
cartridges - like by refilling their old ones.
E-mail: amclaughlin [ A T ] ci [ D O T ] portland [ D O T ] or [ D O T ] us
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Link to five household project calculators, on the LivingHome website:
http://library.livinghome.com/Cool-Tools
These calculator tools help
people reduce waste by estimating the exact amount of materials needed for
fencing, painting, wallpapering. laying tiles or sowing grass seed.
LivingHome, an online home living magazine, is based in Portland, OR.
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Link to the website for EcoDeals, a new King County (WA) program that helps
people shop for green products:
http://www.EcoDeals.org For more information on
this program, contact Patti Southard, King County's project manager for
EcoDeals, at: patti [D O T] southard [A T] metrokc [D O T] gov
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Link to information on an Internet seminar on green procurement (forwarded
by Lisa Friend):
http://www.nigp.org/educate/WebGreenPro.htm
This "webinar," featuring
environmentally-preferable purchasing expert Scot Case, is being offered,
for a fee, by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing.
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Links to information about several events offered by the Product Stewardship
Institute (PSI):
- Networking calls on product stewardship topics, for a fee.
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=106848
- 2006 Product Stewardship Forum June 14-15 in Chicago (forwarded by Jan
Whitworth).
http://www.productstewardship.us/supportingdocs/ChicagoForum.doc
(Word
file)
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Link to the website for the Visible Trash Society (first seen in Jim
Schrock's "Delete This Newsletter"):
http://www.thevisibletrashsociety.net
This website - which includes
photos of art made from reused materials, and links to related websites - is
maintained by graphic designer "Little Shiva," of Charlotte, NC.
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Excerpted from a 3/7/06 item from Environmental Data Services, a European
news service (forwarded by David Stitzhal from the GreenYes listserv):
FRANCE APPLIES POLLUTER-PAYS LOGIC TO JUNK MAIL
Senders of unsolicited mail in France will have to help pay for recycling of
the resultant waste, under a decree agreed by the council of ministers. The
direct-mail sector has been put on notice that if it fails to cooperate, the
government will introduce a junk mail tax. Under the decree, the senders of
the mail can pay into a fund that will then support recycling by local
authorities, or they can pay for advertising to encourage consumers to
recycle waste. The government says it will decide on payment levels later
this year after consulting with interested parties.
French households receive an average of 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of
unsolicited printed materials every year, according to the French
environment ministry. The decree is designed to help meet an official target
of reducing the amount of household waste going to landfills or incinerators
to 200 kilograms (440 pounds) per person per year within ten years.
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Link to a book review for "Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping" by
Judith Levine, in the 3/7/06 Christian Science Monitor (forwarded by Rob
VanOrsow):
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0307/p14s02-bogn.html?s=u
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Excerpted from an article by Sanjay Bhatt in the 3/23/06 Seattle Times
(forwarded by Marcia Rutan):
SALVAGING FOOD TO FEED THE HUNGRY
Several efforts are under way in Seattle to keep good food from going into
the trash. Seattle Public Utilities and Food Lifeline, Western Washington's
largest food-bank supplier, held a media event March 23 to draw attention to
an ironic fact: Even though Washington state has a high rate of hunger in
U.S. Department of Agriculture studies, businesses are throwing out more
food than ever, according to a study by Seattle Public Utilities published
in 2005. A decade ago, Seattle businesses generated nearly 43,000 tons of
food waste annually. Now that figure exceeds 64,000 tons. The study found
that hotels threw out the most, with food accounting for almost half of
hotel garbage, on average.
More than half a million people, most of them working poor, turned to an
agency last year served by Food Lifeline. About half had to choose between
food or heat, and almost as many between food and medical care or rent,
according to a recent Food Lifeline study.
About 30 percent of food that's dumped by businesses is probably edible,
said Timothy Jones, a University of Arizona anthropologist and food-waste
expert who met March 23 with Seattle Public Utilities. Because food is
relatively cheap and plentiful, "food loss is something that people don't
think about," Jones said. Yet the value of wasted food in Seattle is more
than $343 million a year, Jones said.
Carl Woestwin, a waste-prevention planner for the utility, said Seattle is
looking at Portland's ForkItOver program, which connects hotels, restaurants
and institutions with local food banks. The City of Seattle has committed
about $20,000 to develop its own version of that program, he said, and an
additional $80,000 to helping Food Lifeline buy more freezers.
Here are some tips from Jones for avoiding food waste:
In the home:
- Most Americans buy nearly a third more fruits and vegetables than they'll
eat before they rot. Observe how much you consume and buy only that amount.
- Don't buy more just because it's cheaper.
- Learn which foods have a short shelf life and recognize when they exceed
it.
- Learn how to store fresh foods and leftovers properly.
- Contact a food-bank, shelter or similar agency about donating your excess
food.
At grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses:
- Educate employees about the causes and prevention of food loss.
- Fine-tune ordering and delivery systems.
- For convenience stores and grocery stores, sell "made-to-order" foods
rather than prepared foods to minimize unsold items at day's end.
- Serve realistic portions.
- Contact a food-bank, shelter or similar agency about donating your excess
food.
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