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10 Apr 06 - goal; fuel; RFP; consumption; ink; California; Wal-Mart; London; chopsticks
** 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 Bruce Nordman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA,
responding to the 3/30/06 item about the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) seeking comments on its Draft Strategic Architecture for its
2006-2011 Strategic Plan:
The EPA Draft Strategic Architecture does not mention the possibility of
using materials more efficiently to reduce the amount of materials
discarded. It only acknowledges that source reduction exists through
"materials reuse," and there is no goal that addresses source reduction
except to the extent that it occurs in the context of C&D (construction &
demolition) "reuse and recycling" as an aggregate.
So, my conclusion is that for source reduction, this plan is completely
irrelevant. A useful goal would be: Reduce the amount of industrial
materials used by the U.S. economy by 10 percent by 2011. ("Industrial"
would exclude plant debris and would cover materials produced by industrial
processes, regardless of what context - residential, commercial, or
industrial - they are used in.)
E-mail: BNordman [ A T ] LBL [ D O T ] gov
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From Tracy Artley, University of Michigan, recycling program, Ann Arbor, MI,
responding to the article posted 3/30/06 about fossil fuel consumption:
A point about Chad Heeter's article on the fossil fuel consumption
associated with food - I question the author's accuracy since he cited
information from researchers from the University of Michigan's Center for
Sustainable Agriculture. I'd like to know who these folks are, since UM
does not have a Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Hmm....
E-mail: artleyt (AT) bf (DOT) umich (DOT) edu
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Link to a Request for Proposals from Metro, a regional government agency
serving the Portland, Oregon, area (forwarded by Heidi Rahn):
http://www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleID=18714
This RFP is for
a Business Waste Prevention Market Assessment on Packaging Wastes.
Proposals are due by April 21, 2006. The objective of the market assessment
is to identify opportunities and market potential for non-residential waste
prevention of shipping and packaging waste in the Metro region.
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Link to an article by Gar Alperovitz, "Time to Get Serious about Inequality
and Sustainability," in the Fall 2005 issue of Synthesis/Regeneration
magazine (forwarded by Thor Peterson):
http://www.greens.org/s-r/38/38-17.html
This article deals with
consumption issues.
(Note from Thor: I was especially intrigued by the idea of possessions as
compensation for a fraying social fabric, and the growing disparity between
actual incomes and the amount people feel they need to attain their goals.)
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From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the
National Waste Prevention Coalition, following up on the recent postings
regarding inkjet printer cartridge refilling:
In a posting several weeks ago, I asked people about their experiences using
the new printer-ink refill chains, as part of my research for an article.
Thanks to all who responded! Here is a link to the resulting article:
http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/ecoconsumer/columns.asp
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Excerpted from a message from Kristy Chew, California Integrated Waste
Management Board, Sacramento, CA:
The California Integrated Waste Management Board has allocated $250,000 for
the 2006/2007 cycle of Reuse Assistance Grants, to provide incentives for
local public agencies in California to establish new or expanded reuse
opportunities. All California cities, counties, and regional agencies that
are mandated to have waste reduction programs under the Public Resources
Code are eligible to apply (individually or regionally), and may partner
with businesses or non-profit organizations. For more information or to
download the application, visit: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/Grants
Applications are due by June 30,
2006.
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Excerpted from an article by Sandra O'Loughlin in the 4/3/06 issue of
Brandweek, an advertising industry trade journal:
WAL-MART MAKES GREEN MOVES
An "eco-friendly" store opened by Wal-Mart last year in Aurora, Colorado, is
partially powered by a 146-foot wind turbine and uses other renewable energy
technologies. At a conference last month, Barry Moehring, vice president for
marketing operations at Wal-Mart, touted the store as part of a
"sustainability platform" by the world's largest retailer. Moehring also
noted how Wal-Mart saved 1.7 million pounds of cardboard by persuading one
vendor to shrink its packaging by a few inches. "We can use our size and
scale to have an environmental impact," he said.
While some might dismiss such sentiment as spin designed to ward off a wave
of bad PR that has gripped the retailer over the last year, the Bentonville,
Ark., giant plans to make some eco-friendly moves this year that are driven
at least in part by a desire to woo the type of upscale, "blue state"
customer it needs to cultivate, now that many of its 3,700 stores in rural
locales are hitting the saturation point. Plans include: A new house brand
of organic food; a line of baby clothes made of organic cotton; and an
organic apparel line for adults.
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Link to information about the London Furniture Reuse Network (forwarded by
MaryEllen Etienne):
http://www.lcrn.org.uk/projects/london_frn
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Excerpted from an article by Clifford Coonan in the 3/29/06 Independent
(London):
DISPOSABLE CHOPSTICKS A HOT TOPIC IN CHINA
Disposable chopsticks in China are convenient, hygienic and everywhere. And
they are incredibly wasteful - environmentalists say they are up there with
plastic shopping bags and clear plastic CD cases. The Chinese use 45 billion
pairs of disposable chopsticks every year, which adds up to 1.7 million
cubic metres of timber or 25 million mature trees, and badly depleted
forests. China is the world's largest maker of disposable chopsticks, with
more than 300 factories employing about 60,000 workers. Since the start of
the decade, the country has exported nearly 165,000 tonnes of chopsticks.
Environmentalists warn that if China continues to use timber at current
levels, China's remaining forests will be gone in about a decade.
Now a campaign against disposable chopsticks has come to symbolise China's
efforts to try to halt the degradation of the country's forests and to
protect the environment. In a surprising move, the Government in Beijing has
introduced a tax on "one-time" chopsticks, which took effect April 1. China
is now trying to persuade its people to use metal or plastic chopsticks
instead of disposable ones.
The country's environment is getting steadily worse - the World Bank says 16
of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China and more than 400,000
people die prematurely each year from pollution-related illnesses. As well
as deforestation, roughly a third of China is exposed to acid rain and
around 70 per cent of the country's rivers and lakes are polluted.
It is ironic that the humble chopstick became the environmental pariah in a
country that is one of the worst polluters in the world. The chopstick
occupies a vital position in Chinese culture and history. They come in all
shapes and sizes, including golden and jade chopsticks engraved with
calligraphy and probably dating back more than 5,000 years ago in Asia, when
westerners were eating with their hands.
Like so many other booms in China, the rise of disposable chopsticks can be
traced back to the success of the open economy. Market reform meant economic
success in the city, which in turn led to people earning more and eating out
more in restaurants, hence the pressure for more disposable chopsticks. The
country began using disposable chopsticks in earnest in the mid-1980s, when
they were mass-produced from birch or poplar. The Government insisted on
them as they helped to stop the spread of disease and promoted better public
hygiene. Their use rose during the Sars epidemic in 2003, when they were
seen as a hygienic option.
But today, a public campaign has galvanised schoolchildren into action,
calling for disposable chopsticks to be banned. Pouches for reusable
chopsticks are de rigueur for hip young people keen to enjoy the cachet that
being an environmental activist offers. Over the past few years, thousands
of restaurants have started washing and reusing chopsticks. South Korea is
held up as a model, as it has mostly switched to metal chopsticks and banned
the use of disposable chopsticks in many restaurants. Beijing's top Qinghua
University uses reusable chopsticks in the canteen following pressure from
students.
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