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04 Aug 06 - printer; diapers; TV show; Trunk-a-Palooza; jobs; toxics ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.nwpcarchive.org --------------------- From Terry Foecke, Materials Productivity LLC, St. Paul, MN: ODE TO A LASERWRITER In 1990, our little brand-new nonprofit purchased an Apple LaserWriter II NTX for about $3,500. Charges to run high-quality prints at Kinko's, plus the time cost of the trek back and forth, seemed to justify what at the time was viewed by some as an extravagance. We soon discovered this amazing printer's willingness to swallow any type of (non-stapled) "used" paper, and we happily fed it on that diet as a default, feeding letterhead and clean stock manually when needed. In about 1995, the LW had its only service call. The technician looked grim, and told us, "This thing is not designed to do this. You're just wrecking it feeding all that junk in there." We panicked, and bought another printer as a back-up. And the LW just kept running...until yesterday (17 July 2006). The lights flash, but she just won't go. Oh, it was time. The last couple months the printer roller left little "stars" on most prints because the rubber covering had cracked and crazed. And when we hooked up the Kill-A-Watt meter we found that the electricity draw was about 4X the newest printer in our inventory. We're a for-profit now, though, so we don't run as much used paper as we once did (mostly confidentiality issues), and the LW was only powered up when we were doing a training or some other paper-heavy activity and wanted to make a point. If anyone has contacts at Apple or a printer manufacturer, it would be nice to let them know why the LW was so great. It was not just its ability to take anything we fed it, and its amazing little brain that kept up with dozens of software upgrades (until the last one; we finally dedicated on old Mac to be the LW's "nurse"). The fact is that even at that insane purchase price, the total cost of ownership has been rock bottom. We could adjust toner "doses" to economize there, and it idled down obediently and could be set to turn off if we wanted. But the big cost reduction was in enabling use of used paper. Of its 320,000 impressions, we are fairly sure that almost 250,000 were on "waste" paper. At $40 a case for fairly standard office paper (not the high-recycled-content stuff we would buy), that's $2,000 saved. Plus avoided service calls, avoided purchase of new printers - we estimate a cost per impression down close to a penny, depending on assumptions. I don't think general-duty office laser printers are being built now that could do for even a few years what the LW did for almost 16 years. The question is: Why not? E-mail: tfoecke (AT) matprod (DOT) com --------------------- Links to two Australian websites on diapers (known as "nappies" in Australia), following up on recent postings (forwarded by Michelle Minstrell): - http://www.eenee.com.au This is the website for the company that makes flushable diapers (the same ones marketed as gDiapers in the U.S.). - http://www.natureschild.com.au/flex/nappies/19/1 From the website of a natural baby products store. Includes detailed tips for using cloth diapers. --------------------- Link to info about a contest to rename an environmental TV show (forwarded by Amy Stodghill): http://www.builtgreentv.com For the past two years, a New York City-based non-profit called Green Ground Zero has hosted a television show called "Built Green TV." Now they must change the name of that TV show, and they are holding a contest to pick the new name. The deadline for entries is Aug. 22, 2006. The prize is a Voltaic solar backpack from 3r Living, a Brooklyn, NY-based store selling environmentally-friendly products. -------------------- Link to the website for "Trunk-a-Palooza," an innovative flea-market-type community sale in Ann Arbor, Michigan (forwarded by Nancy Stone): http://www.glbtbooks.com/trunkapalooza.htm Proceeds from the rental of stalls, and donations, go to a neighborhood association and two different charities each month. -------------------- Link to several job postings for the San Francisco Department of the Environment (from the Association of Oregon Recyclers listserv): http://www.sfenvironment.com/aboutus/employment At least three of these positions - Environmental Specialist-Recycling Outreach; Environmental Specialist-Toxics Outreach; and Senior Environmental Specialist-Outreach Program - have waste prevention components. The deadline for applications for all three of those jobs is Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006. The annual salary ranges are $62,868 to $88,868, depending on the position. -------------------- Link to a job posting for an Outreach Program Director for the Oregon Environmental Council (OEC), Portland, OR (from the Association of Oregon Recyclers listserv): http://www.oeconline.org/about/jobs Click on Staff Openings - Outreach Program Director. This newly-created position will direct two "healthy kids" outreach programs - Eco-Healthy Childcare and Tiny Footprints. Through Eco-Healthy Childcare, OEC recognizes and promotes childcare facilities that qualify as "eco-healthy" by taking 25 steps to make their childcare environment as toxic-free as possible. Through Tiny Footprints, OEC provides expectant parents with information on raising their baby in an environmentally-healthy home. The Outreach Program Director will also lead a short-term project to reduce mercury in the environment by educating homeowners to recycle mercury-containing thermostats. The starting salary range is $33,000 to $40,000. The deadline for applications is Monday, Sept. 4, 2006. -------------------- Link to a job opening for a Campaign Director for Climate Solutions, a non-profit based in Olympia, WA (from the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center bulletin): http://www.climatesolutions.org/pubs/pdfs/CampaignDir.pdf This position may be based in either Olympia or Seattle. Climate Solutions is a research and advocacy group whose mission is to accelerate practical and profitable solutions to global warming. No salary range is listed for this position. The deadline for applications is Friday, Aug. 25, 2006. -------------------- Link to information on a new Toxics Use Reduction Institute report about safer alternatives to five common hazardous chemicals (from the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center bulletin): http://www.turi.org/content/content/view/full/3811 -------------------- Note from Tom: I will be out of the office August 7-11. - end -