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30 Mar 06 - EPA; computers; job; ink; fuel; Earth Day
** 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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Link to a form to submit comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Draft Strategic Architecture for its 2006-2011 Strategic Plan
(forwarded by Kris Beatty from the GreenYes listserv):
http://epa.gov/ocfo/plan/06draftarch.htm
Comments are due by this
Friday, March 31, 2006. A link to the draft document is also on this page.
One major section about decreasing waste generation is on page 13.
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Link to information on the Computer Reuse and Recycling Coalition's "100
Percent Day" campaign (forwarded by David Stitzhal):
http://www.pcsforschools.org/100percentday
This national campaign seeks
to collect 100,000 personal computers (PCs) for reuse and recycling for
Earth Day, 2006. The concept is that an average of more than 100,000 PCs
are taken out of service every day in the United States, and this effort
aims to recover 100 percent of those. Collection days are set for Saturday,
April 22 (Earth Day) for individuals and Friday, April 21 for businesses.
On the website is a form that organizations can use to sign up to host a
collection event in their community. The Computer Reuse and Recycling
Coalition includes a number of major organizations and corporations.
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Link to a job listing for a Solid Waste Management Supervisor for the
Washington County Department of Health & Human Services, Hillsboro, OR
(forwarded by Meg Lynch):
https://hrapps.co.washington.or.us/applicationsonline/index.cfm?page=jobdesc
&id=184
This person will supervise and coordinate all aspects of the
solid waste management program, which includes waste reduction and
recycling. Washington County is located in the Portland metropolitan area.
The salary is $5,402 - $6,567 per month. Deadline for applications is
April 14, 2006.
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The next two postings are in response to the recent postings regarding
inkjet printer ink cartridge refilling and remanufacturing.
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From Alicia Culver, EnviroSpec, Berkeley, CA:
The problems described in the 3/27/06 posting, where an Epson printer would
not work properly with another brand of cartridge, were likely due to the
presence of "killer chips" in the printer. Printer/copier manufacturers put
in chips that shut down the printer and/or cause other problems when a
remanufactured ink or toner cartridge is used. A company near me says that
most of the cost associated with remanufacturing the ink jet cartridges is
associated with getting a new chip for the cartridge that will work with the
copier or printer. For more information on killer chips, see
http://www.rechargermag.com/display.asp?id=7286
. Some local governments
have considered specifying printers devoid of killer chips.
E-mail: alicia ( A T ) envirospec ( D O T ) org
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From Deb Hanson, University of Arizona, Residence Life, environmental
projects, Tucson, AZ:
Until just recently, refilling ink cartridges or purchasing refilled
cartridges was a disaster. As with most everything, the first go-around is
usually not the most successful until it has been tried out and tweaked a
few times. Today there are several companies refurbishing ink cartridges
and they work just as well as the new manufacturer's brand. Why are
companies practically giving away printers today? It is because they make
the money on the ink cartridges. It only cost them a couple dollars to make
an ink cartridge and they sell it for $50-60 dollars - huge profit margin.
I can't speak for all the ink cartridge refilling companies out there, but I
have worked with Cartridge World here in Tucson and they have been awesome.
They are a franchise company and have perfected the method of cleaning used
ink cartridges and refilling them with quality ink that does not cause
problems with printers. The owners here in Tucson are very environmentally
conscious and have been working with my recycling program to help educate
our residents. The main website is http://www.cartridgeworldusa.com
if you would like to check them out.
Ink cartridges will go the myth route just like using recycled paper in
copiers. When recycled paper first hit the market it did cause problems and
today you can't even tell the difference.
E-mail: hanson [ AT ] life [ DOT ] arizona [ DOT ] edu
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Link to an opinion piece by Chad Heeter in the 3/26/06 San Francisco
Chronicle (forwarded by David Allaway):
The oil in your oatmeal - A lot of fossil fuel goes into producing,
packaging and shipping our breakfast
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/03/26/ING3PHRU681.D
TL&type=printable
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From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the
National Waste Prevention Coalition:
Whole Foods Market, a grocery chain with 171 stores in the U.S., is
currently using paper grocery bags that say Whole Foods - Earth Day 2006.
All of these slogans are printed on one end of the bag: "Think locally;
switch to organics; think green when you clean; start a compost pile in
your yard; recycle! recycle! recycle!; avoid buying disposables; buy in
bulk; plant a tree; reuse shopping bags; conserve more water; buy
recycled products; turn out the lights; get involved."
Whole Foods gives more details on those tips, and lists several others, on
this website: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/25ways.html
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Link to a set of Earth Day 2006 materials aimed at churches and other
religious organizations, from the Earth Day Network:
http://www.earthday.net/resources/2006materials/EarthDay-in-a-Box.pdf
Note: Earth Day is Saturday, April 22.
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