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20 Feb 07 - Target; tankless; envelopes; EPR; computers; packaging; mail; days; jobs ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.nwpcarchive.org --------------------- The first two postings are in response to the 2/1/07 posting complaining about a Target store in New York City throwing away usable display furniture, instead of offering it for sale. --------------------- Excerpted from a message from Kinley Deller, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA: Following the posting in the Forum, I contacted Target about this. In two separate e-mail responses from Target's "Guest Relations" staff, they made these points: - Target customers handle these displays every day, so they might not be in the best condition anymore. - Sometimes, the display is just a mock-up of the item and doesn't function like the actual product. - Many of the displays belong to the manufacturer, so they're not Target's to sell. - Target stores are never instructed to sell any furniture displays. Anything that doesn't get sold or sent back to the manufacturer gets salvaged. Target sells its leftover merchandise to Event Sales, a national salvage company. If anyone is interested in purchasing large quantities of salvaged merchandise (such as pallet-sized purchases) from Event Sales, their contact info is at: http://www.eventsale.com/company.html E-mail: kinley ( DOT ) deller ( AT ) metrokc ( DOT ) gov --------------------- From Shira Fogel, Clackamas County Community Environment Division, Clackamas OR: In response to the posting about Target's policy to throw away furniture: As a waste reduction specialist, I have encountered this problem with just about every mid- to large-sized retailer. Sadly, it is not just Target that has the policy to throw away useable items. The main reason that they have this policy in place is because if an item does not sell or is defective in some way (even if it is a small chip), the retailer usually gets refunded the money. The distributor finds it more cost-effective to just tell the retailer to destroy the items rather than have to pay for the return shipping costs. If the retailer sells the item or even donates the item (which then may get sold again - think Goodwill), they are breaking their contract. This is the same sad story I have gotten over and over again from many retailers. From dumpster diving at these businesses, I can tell you that the destruction ranges from cutting the bills off baseball caps to smashed furniture. I also worked with a national retailer who even threw away (and eventually recycled after I pleaded with them) whole cases of paper that did not sell "in time." It is something that I have brought up many times in the recycling/waste reduction circle and never seems to go anywhere. Change needs to happen from the top down, and in this case that would be to reach some sort of agreement with the distributors. E-mail: shirafog [AT] co [DOT] clackamas [DOT] or [DOT] us --------------------- From Jonathan Lantz-Trissel, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA, responding to the recent postings about tankless water heaters: I am sad to hear tankless heaters failing folks! If you are buying tankless water heaters, I highly recommend the Takagi line of propane and natural gas instant hot water heaters. According to my research, 90 percent of water heaters in Japan are tankless, and because of such wide usage they have developed very reliable products. I bought my Takagi TK-2 two years ago to run the radiant floor system in my remodeled house and it has not given me any problems. They are an expensive initial outlay, but like most things sustainable, the life costs are cheaper. Check out this table on life costs of water heaters provided by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (the Takagi is the "high-efficiency, pilotless demand gas" type): http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/water_heater_LLCs.pdf Lastly, the Takagi tankless water heater is also the only product of its kind to receive Southern California Air Quality Management District approval for its low emissions (CO, Nox). Tankless water heaters are a great technology, but like solar hot water (which we will be installing alongside our Takagi this year), there are a lot of companies making cheap, inferior products and giving a bad name to a good technology. E-mail: jonathan ( DOT ) lantz-trissel ( AT ) emu ( DOT ) edu ---------------------- From Chris Myers, Telluride, CO: Here's a tip for reusing bubble-plastic FedEx or UPS padded envelopes: Turn them inside-out to get rid of the corporate logo and old mailing labels, and you have a great second-use envelope. E-mail: c ( AT ) thisrepublicCAN ( DOT ) us -------------------- Excerpted from a release from the Product Policy Institute (forwarded by Bill Sheehan): The Product Policy Institute welcomes the 2/13/07 adoption by the California Integrated Waste Management Board of the strongest language yet in the U.S. supporting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The text of this directive is at: http://www.productpolicy.org/assets/resources/CIWMB_strategic_directive_ on_producer_responsibility.pdf Other documents related to this issue can also be found on the Product Policy Institute website at: http://www.productpolicy.org/resources E-mail: bill [AT] productpolicy [DOT] org --------------------- Excerpted from a message from Jim Lynch, CompuMentor, San Francisco, CA: The 4th Annual International Computer Refurbisher Summit will be held in Washington, DC, on March 9th & 10th. The conference website is: http://www.crs.memberlodge.org Registration fees this year are $150 per person. Find the agenda at: http://crs.memberlodge.org/Default.aspx?pageId=9352. In previous years these events have been for North American refurbishers, but this year we're excited to announce that the event will have a much more international focus. As far as we know, there is no other conference like this in the world. This is truly the best opportunity for you to meet colleagues from across the globe, working in the areas of computer refurbishing and repair, asset management, digital inclusion, recycling policy, refurbishing industry standards, and computer import/export. E-mail: jlynch [ A T ] compumentor [ D O T ] org --------------------- Link to information on the Food Packaging and Sustainable Alternatives workshop, to be held 3/16/07 in Vancouver, WA (forwarded by David Allaway): http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~cwch/programs/SBJD/SDCD/nfWORKSHOPS.html#pa ckaging Speakers will include: Dan Imhoff, author of "Paper Versus Plastic: Searching for Solutions to an Overpackaged World"; David Rodgers, president of the Reusable Pallet and Container Coalition; and David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Solid Waste Policy & Program Development, Portland, OR. For more information on this workshop, contact Natalie Reitman-White, program coordinator, at nwhite [ AT ] uoregon [ DOT ] edu or (541) 346-1609. --------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition: The junk mail issue has arrived at state capitols across the nation. According to a recent e-mail from the Center for a New American Dream, state legislation that would create "Do Not Mail" lists (similar to the existing national "Do Not Call" list) has been introduced in nine states: Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas and Washington. Information on the Washington state Senate and House bills is at: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5719&year=2007 and http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1205&year=2007 Here is a release from the National Association of Letter Carriers, stating its "fierce opposition" to the Washington state bill: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/0 2-08-2007/0004523772&EDATE= E-mail: tom (D O T) watson (A T) metrokc (D O T) gov --------------------- Links to information about Earth Day and the National Day of Climate Action: The first National Day of Climate Action (http://www.stepitup2007.org) will be held Saturday, April 14, 2007. Earth Day (http://www.earthday.net) will be held, Sunday, April 22, 2007. --------------------- Link to job postings for two Resource Conservation Coordinator positions with the City of Issaquah, WA (forwarded by Brett Stav): http://www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/Employment.asp (Click on the position title.) The salary range is $4,330 to $5,803 per month. The deadline for applications is Monday, Feb. 26, 2007. Issaquah is a city of about 15,000 residents located 16 miles east of Seattle. --------------------- Link to a job posting for a program director for the WorkSmart Sustainable Business Program in Bend, OR (first seen on the Association of Oregon Recyclers listserv): http://resourceoregon.org/downloads/WS_Job_Description__Announcement_020 907.pdf This is a 32-hours-per-week position. The salary range is $20,800 to $27,200 per year. The deadline for applications is March 5, 2007. This is a program of reSource, a non-profit organization. Bend is located in central Oregon, and has about 75,000 residents. - end -