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27 Feb 09 - phone books; scavenging; Austin; Twitter; moving; spending; Obama; homes; cell phones; packaging ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.nwpcarchive.org --------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition, following up on the 1/9/09 update about national phone book reduction efforts: The phone book industry has created an official national website where consumers can easily find out how to opt out from different phone books: http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com This is the first time the industry - through its two major trade groups, the Yellow Pages Association and the Association of Directory Publishers - has made this information easily available. I think that because the trade groups now stand behind these listings, it gives consumers more assurance that these opt-out methods will actually work (though there may be some glitches, especially at first). In our national efforts to reduce unwanted phone books, we have also requested that the industry provide details on how the opt-out systems work for the major phone books (so we know they really do work), and they have agreed to do that. They are also working on eventually turning this website into more of a "clearinghouse" where the consumer can opt out right on the site, instead of just getting the info and then having to contact the company to opt out. We also want easy opt-out info prominently featured on the phone books themselves. Still, this new industry website represents progress on this issue. If you're with a local or state government, it's something helpful that you can provide to your residents when they ask how to opt out from receiving unwanted phone books. Thanks again to everyone whose efforts have helped encourage the industry to take opt-outs seriously! E-mail: tom [DOT] watson [AT] kingcounty [DOT] gov Phone: 206-296-4481 --------------------- From David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Solid Waste Policy & Program Development, Portland, OR (from the Product Stewardship Institute phone books listserv): Using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks" (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/reports.html), it appears that under national average landfill, recycling, and manufacturing conditions, not publishing a phone book reduces greenhouse gases by about 3 times as much as recycling (relative to landfilling). We've included this information on our website (http://www.deq.state.or.us/programs/sustainability/phonebooks.htm) to help Oregonians understand the benefits of recycling phone books, and the even greater benefits of avoiding unwanted distribution. E-mail: Allaway [D O T] David [A T] deq [D O T] state [D O T] or [D O T] us ----------------------- The Scavenging Code of Ethics: http://scavenging.wordpress.com/code-of-ethics This is adapted from a book that will be out in March, The Scavengers' Manifesto, by Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson. ----------------------- Austin's new zero waste plan (forwarded by Katie Jensen): http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/0waste.htm The Austin, Texas, City Council unanimously approved the Zero Waste Strategic Plan in January. ----------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition: I know some of you are interested in using new social networking media for public outreach, so I wanted to briefly share my experiences with Twitter. I personally have never believed in using Facebook or MySpace for public outreach, because it doesn't seem a good fit for what most people want out of those networks. But Twitter is different. I think it is a natural conduit for info related to my program, the King County EcoConsumer program. I've been doing it for a few weeks, and here is the page with my Twitter postings: http://twitter.com/ecoconsumer (I know you're supposed to call them "tweets," but I refuse). There is a link to that Twitter page on our main EcoConsumer page - http://www.KCecoconsumer.com - and some of my Twitter postings send people to my EcoConsumer blog, which is also on that main page. With Twitter, basically you have 140 characters to say what you're doing, link to an article, make a comment or whatever. Ideally my number of Twitter followers will build and will include a wide sampling of the public, the media, and people in the environmental field. My main concern about Twitter is that it doesn't seem to make sense financially for its owners (where's the revenue stream?), so it might just disappear one of these days. But people like it so much that it would probably quickly be re-created. I really believe Twitter has huge potential for public outreach and promotion. The traditional media - newspapers, TV and radio - are dying or changing, and their audiences are dwindling or fragmenting. If we want to stay current getting our messages out to the public, we need to try some new approaches. Also, everything I do in my job right now I try to relate to the severe economic problems so many individuals, businesses and governments (including mine) are facing. Many ways of going green and reducing waste can help people save money, and that's what we're emphasizing now in our public education. And Twitter can not only help get those messages out - directly and instantly - but it is also free for anyone to use. So if you are using it, feel free to connect with me at the address above. And if you're not, and if it fits with your work - well, Twitter is easy to start, and it's not a big commitment, so why not give it a try? ----------------------- "Moving Day Without All the Waste," by Emily B. Hager, from the 1/21/09 New York Times (forwarded by Marcia Rutan): http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/garden/22moving.html ---------------------- "To Spend or to Save? Trick Question," by David Leonhardt, from the 2/10/09 New York Times (forwarded by David Allaway): http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/business/economy/11leonhardt.html Comment from David: I think readers of the Forum - especially those who are concerned about promoting waste prevention at a time when consumers are being encouraged to spend (again, even more) - might find this thought-provoking and potentially useful. I did! -------------------- From President Obama's Jan. 20 inaugural speech: OBAMA ON CONSUMPTION "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it." --------------------- "New Homes Being Built Smaller," by Wendy Koch, from the 1/11/09 USA Today (first seen in the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center bulletin): http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-01-08-homesize_N.htm --------------------- Cell phone industry plans universal cell phone charger: http://tinyurl.com/as5692 --------------------- New "Greener Package" website for packaging industry: http://www.greenerpackage.com - end -