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Something for Everyone at Earth Day
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The Reason We Care. Children get in the groove early, dancing at the Earth Day celebration '03
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A fair-like atmosphere will pervade the canyons of the business district when Lane County celebrates the 34th Earth Day in downtown Eugene on Saturday April 17th. This year’s event features entertainment, information, mirth and merriment, as thousands gather to honor Mother Earth. There will be continuous performances on a main stage powered by SunRover, EWEB’s portable, solar generator, from 11 to 4, and information and fun galore at the Earth Action Arena, where local organizations will share their vision for a sustainable future.
A growing tradition in a number of Northwest cities, the Procession of All Species will march through downtown starting at 2P.M.. Led by the dynamic Brazilian ensemble, Samba Ja, the procession will fill the air with joyful sounds as it celebrates life in its manifold glory. Wear a monkey costume, macaw mask or carry your favorite houseplant and join the parade. Viva la difference!
Since its introduction, Earth Day has profoundly influenced the world community. By increasing people’s awareness of the big picture, it has spurred many of the laws, organizations, and common understandings about environmental health in practice today.
Grocery Bags Sacking the Environment?
Excerpted from a 9/2/03 article by John Roach on the National Geographic News website:
The “paper or plastic” conundrum that vexed earnest shoppers throughout the 1980s and 90s is largely moot today. Most grocery store baggers don't bother to ask anymore. They drop the bananas in one plastic bag as they reach for another to hold the six-pack of soda. The pasta sauce and noodles will get one too, as will the dish soap.
Plastic bags are so cheap to produce, sturdy, plentiful, and easy to carry and store that they have captured at least 80 percent of the grocery and convenience store market since they were introduced a quarter century ago, according to the Arlington, Virginia-based American Plastics Council. As a result, the bags are everywhere; they sit balled up and stuffed into the one that hangs from the pantry door. They line bathroom trash bins. They carry clothes to the gym. They clutter landfills. They flap from trees. They float in the breeze. They clog roadside drains. They drift on the high seas. They fill sea turtle bellies.
“The numbers are absolutely staggering,” said Vincent Cobb, an entrepreneur in Chicago, Illinois, who recently launched the Web site www.Reusablebags.com to educate the public about what he terms the “true costs” associated with the spread of “free” bags. He sells reusable bags as an alternative. According to Cobb's calculations extrapolated from data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 on U.S plastic bag, sack, and wrap consumption, somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.
Laurie Kusek, a spokeswoman for the American Plastics Council, said the industry works with its U.S retail customers to encourage recycling of plastic bags, which are in high demand from companies such as Trex in Winchester, Virginia, for use in building materials. We also feel it is important to understand that plastic grocery bags are some of the most reused items around the house,” Kusek said. “Many, many bags are reused as book and lunch bags as kids head off to school, as trash can liners, and to pick up Fido's droppings off the lawn.” The Film and Bag Federation, a trade group withi n the Society of the Plastics Industry based in Washington, D.C., said the right choice between paper and plastic bags is clearly plastic. Compared to paper grocery bags, plastic grocery bags consume 40 percent less energy, generate 80 percent less solid waste, produce 70 percent fewer atmospheric emissions, and release up to 94 percent fewer waterborne wastes, according to the federation. Robert Bateman, president of Roplast Industries, a manufacturer of plastic bags—including reusable ones—in Oroville, California, said the economic advantage of plastic bags over paper bags has become too significant for storeowners to ignore. It costs one cent for a standard plastic grocery sack, whereas a paper bag costs four cents, he said. “The plastic bags are so inexpensive that in the stores no one treats them as worth anything —they use two, three, or four when one would do just as well.” Bateman said that plastic bags are becoming a victim of their success. “The industry is at the stage where its success has caused concerns and these concerns need to be addressed responsibly”. Among other initiatives, Bateman supports the development of biodegradable plastic bags, a technology that has made strides in recent years.
 Plastic bag litter has become such an environmental nuisance and eyesore that Ireland, Taiwan, South Africa, Australia, and Bangladesh have heavily taxed the bags or banned their use outright. Several other regions, including England and some U.S cities, are considering similar actions. Tony Lowes, director of Friends of the Irish Environment in County Cork in Ireland, said the 15-cent (about 20 cents U.S.) tax on plastic bags introduced there in March 2002 has resulted in a 95 percent reduction in their use. “It’s been an extraordinary success,” he said. According to Lowes, just about everyone in Ireland carries around a reusable bag and the plastic bags that once blighted the verdant Irish countryside are now merely an occasional eyesore. Cobb believes a similar tax in the U.S. would have a similar effect on reducing consumption.
The American Plastics Council is wary of such a tax in the U.S. They say it would cost tens of thousands of jobs and result in an increase in energy consumption, pollution, landfill space, and grocery prices as store owners increase reliance on more expensive paper bags as an alternative. Bateman said the Irish tax of about 20 U.S. cents per bag is too high, but that a tax of 3 to 5 cents could have a positive impact on reducing plastic bag consumption by changing people's behavior. “Having bags charged for has some merits because it gets them used more responsibly,” he said. For example, instead of a bagger using six bags to package a person's dinner, the bagger might use just two.
IN MY OPINION
Recycling: More Than Rates and Dates
While Eugene residents pride themselves on their recycling ethic, a recent waste composition study, commissioned by the City of Eugene, shows that Eugeneans put more garbage in the landfill, on a per capita basis, than other communities in Oregon. In 2002, Lane County residents disposed 1,575 pounds per capita, but Eugene’s rate was 1,671 pounds. Are Eugeneans more wasteful, or is the extra tonnage from visitors passing through? Whatever the reason, it’s too much waste. As officials at Lane County’s Short Mountain landfill prepare a brand new hole for the next three to five years worth of garbage, they’re also working with local city officials on ways to stem the flow of trash. After all, future “cells” at the landfill not only cost in the neighborhood of five million dollars, but will be much more visible from the 1-5 freeway than previous ones. The black plastic capped mountains will almost yell “Welcome to Eugene-Springfield, land of over-consumption and cheap landfilling!”
Oregon has an official goal of recovering more materials for recycling than it landfills and burns. How to get there is described in the Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapters 459 and 459a. Oregonians were initially supposed to achieve this by 2000, but missed the mark by 12 percent. Instead of giving up and going home, House Bill 3744 was passed during the 2001 Legislative session and a new goal of 50 percent recovery was set for 2009. It’s a tall order. Oregonians generated over 4.7 million tons of garbage during 2002 and recovered 2 million tons of it through recycling and energy recovery. Assuming disposal remains constant (and that may be an unrealistic assumption) 500,000 more tons must be recovered each year.
Especially important to this effort are the actions of the large population centers of Portland, Eugene, and Salem. Each city will tackle the problem in slightly different ways, but waste composition studies done for these communities clearly indicate that paper, wood, and food are still being thrown away in copious amounts. Lane County residents generated 460,000 tons of recycling and garbage during 2002. In order to assist the state in meeting the 50 percent recovery goal, House Bill 3744 stated that Lane County must attain a recycling rate of 54 percent. To reach this amount, an additional 36,000 tons worth of material a year must be kept out of the landfill by 2009. Eugene’s share of this amounts to 16,000 tons, Eugene residents and businesses generate approximately 45 percent of the garbage in Lane County.
City of Eugene Solid Waste and Recycling Program staff are examining strategies for accomplishing this goal. By commissioning the waste composition study, the City was able to determine the volume of recyclable materials still being put in the landfill that could potentially be recovered. The study found that fully 50 percent of the garbage generated in Eugene is considered “organic”: i.e. food waste, yard debris, wood, and “other organics”, (a category that includes textiles, diapers, pet wastes, and even carpet). As expected, the yard debris tonnage was significantly less than when the last study was done in 1993. Back then, 11 percent of the waste stream was considered yard debris. Thanks to the success of Eugene’s every other week yard debris collection program, it’s down to just 5.5 percent, with over 10,000 tons of compostable materials collected every year.
Food waste, however, amounts to almost 14 percent of the waste stream, with 16,000 tons landfilled from Eugene alone. Food waste contributes significantly to the greenhouse gases and leachate that the landfill generates. While it could be composted, creating the collection and processing infrastructure to easily deal with it may make it more expensive to recycle than to bury in the landfill.
The study also found that paper was another material thrown away in large amounts. Eugene residents threw away almost 25,000 tons of paper in 2002, 38 percent of which could have been recycled. City of Eugene staff are watching the impacts of the new co-mingled collection methodology being practiced by Eugene’s two largest haulers, Sanipac and Lane-Apex Disposal. Between them, these companies provide collection services to more than 36,000 households in Eugene. In examining other programs that have switched from source separated recycling to co-mingled, it’s clear that co-mingled collections mean more stuff gets collected from more participants. Some communities have experienced as much as a 35 percent increase. It’s not exactly clear why this is so. Some claim that co-mingling is so easy that people who found recycling “too difficult” change their minds and start recycling. Others think that the excitement and increased promotion that results from rolling out a new program re-motivates the recycling ethic. Still others claim that the increases are from people who are adding non-recyclables to the recycling stream. Whatever the case, the initial reports indicate that the collection amounts coming out of the residential routes in Eugene have increased significantly. That said, the 4,000 additional recycled tons predicted to be collected are not enough to meet the 2009 goal.
I believe that the future will bring us a recovery system that is material and place specific. Fibers (paper products), organics, and the remaining garbage will be collected at the curb. Glass, plastic, and aluminum containers will all have a deposit value and will be redeemed at independent redemption centers that will accept every container that meets the definition. Dry, bulky wastes generated from businesses and industry will be directed to material recovery facilities like EcoSort and McKenzie Recycling that recover wood, metals, and paper fiber. Even burning certain materials for energy recovery will occur in specialized facilities scattered across the state. Whether or not this can occur by 2009 is an open question. With lots of landfill capacity in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, rising pressures to put material into them will drive tipping fees down. But as transportation costs to these distant locations go up, real savings from recycling will remain in play. Hence the importance of developing and maintaining strong, local markets for recyclable materials.
It’s a complicated issue. Organizations like BRING will continue to play an integral role in development of policy, in educating and urging citizenry to participate in recycling on a variety of levels, and by actually handling recoverable goods. Governments must set measurable goals with consequences that policy makers fear. Industry must be enticed to participate through the potential for a profit-making venture. When, and if, all these things come together, Oregonians will have realized the goals that the original BRING Board envisioned back in 1971—Alex Cuyler, Recycling and Solid Waste Specialist, City of Eugene.
The Cost Of Convenience
Vicky Weiland, a teacher of Family and Consumer Sciences (what used to be called “Home Ec”) at Robert Frost Middle School in Potomac, Maryland, has calculated the annual costs of a number of disposable and convenience products and compared them with reusable ones. Here’s what she found out.
OVER ONE YEAR:
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Pre-packaged lunches for children $299
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$180 Buying items separately and making at home (100 school lunches)
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| Tuna lunch-to-go kits $99 |
$49 Homemade tuna lunches
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| Furniture polish wipes $43 |
$25 Canned furniture polish
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| Car cleaning wipes $14 |
$9 Spray bottle of car cleaner plus paper towels
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| Windex wipes $42 |
$14 Spray Windex and towels
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| Dish wipes $73 |
$60 Dish washing liquid and sponge
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| Disposable cutting sheets $20 |
$8 Durable cutting board
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| Clorox Ready-Mop system $49 |
$30 Sponge mop and cleaner
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—Excerpted from 2/5/04 and 2/6/04 reports by consumer reporter Liz Crenshaw on WRC-TV (NBC4), Washington, DC (from transcripts on the station's website).
Weyerhaeuser Recycling to Collect Bag and Film Plastic
Taking advantage of good market values, Weyerhaeuser Recycling is offering plastic bag and film recycling in Lane and Douglas counties. This is a laudable endeavor, and an important waste stream to curtail, since the material doesn't biodegrade in landfills. Instead, it can be ground and melted, to be made into extruded plastic items or building products.
In addition to accepting commercial loads from businesses and haulers, a new plastic film recycling container will be placed at the public drop off area in the front parking lot of EcoSort/Weyerhaeuser—that’s a left turn off 17th Ave in Glenwood, right next to the County Transfer Station.
The materials MUST be clean and dry, no visible food or dirt can be present. You can recycle grocery bags of any color (Wal-Mart to Safeway), dry-cleaner bags, bread bags, (no Ziploc and no netting). Also acceptable would be shipping shrink-wrap and lumberwrap material (without paper backing or fiberglass strands).
All types of film and plastic bags require source separation to them keep clean. Any film going into a co-mingled recycling bin is invariably going to be dirtied by other materials. By the time it goes through the processing plant it will be contaminated and end up as garbage. So please recycle your bags and film, but separate them, and take them to the appropriate recycler. For more information call Weyerhaeuser Recycling at 744-4100. For commercial quantities (tons), contact Lorena Young.
Alternatives to Pesticides
Usually, my motto is “live and let live,” but I have to admit that I make an exception when it comes to my garden. Creatures that destroy months and months of my coddling, prodding, doting and hard work just don’t rate and I want them gone, and quickly. However, I draw the line at spraying them with pesticides. Pesticides used on small urban plots and lawns are just as much to blame for poisoning the environment, endangering wildlife, and causing illness as those used by agribusiness.
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We really don’t need chemicals to combat the bugs that bother us and eat our plants. The following nontoxic mrthods are easy, earth friendly and really work.
Slugs and Snails
• The beer trap. Fill a tuna can or shallow dish with beer and set into the ground so the lip is even with the soil. Slugs drink it up and later die.
• Made in the shade. Lay a wood plank or broad, flat-surfaced item in the garden. The shade of the bottom side is a moist and cool haven that attracts slugs and snails during the heat of day. Gather and dispose of them.
• Mineral weapons. When the above methods fail, I use Sluggo, a nontoxic slug bait, or diatomaceous earth, the calcium deposited from ancient seabeds. Both are available at garden centers and are easy to use.
Aphids
• Water. A strong blast of water will dramatically reduce colonies that threaten your favorite veggies.
• Color therapy. In her book Trowel and Error, Sharon Lovejoy suggests setting a shallow yellow dish or pan filled with soapy water at the base of the infested plants and aphids, enamored of the color yellow, will dive to a watery end.
• Mineral weapons. Dust with diatomaceous earth (available at garden centers)
For more information about non-toxic garden solutions (they have dozens and dozens of fact sheets), as well as the broader issues related to pesticide use in agriculture, check out www.pesticide.org, the comprehensive and helpful website of Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides.
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Consumer Action Corner
Last fall, a dedicated group of Master Recyclers formed the Consumer Action Council. The mission of the group is to target companies, products or issues that are particularly in need of consumer response for the sake of waste prevention, and to create outreach opportunities to encourage consumers to get involved in that action. Remember boycotting California grapes when you were a kid? Consumers are a driving force in our economy, and it’s time to start looking at where we are steering this boat.
It was hard to know where to start so the group began by brainstorming some big baddies in the wasteful world. One Master Recycler disliked the fact that Ensure packages their product in a container that is not recyclable. For another, it was that the fresh local sushi she enjoys is sold on a #6 Styrofoam tray. Another recycler was displeased that their favorite supermarket uses non-recyclable #6 clamshell packaging for bakery items.
Another Master Recycler described how she had responded to the disposable DVDs that Disney is offering. Instead of making customers go to a website to get the return address for mailing the CD back for recycling, she recommended that Disney merely design the original product package for easy return mailing or include a mail back label in all CD’s. (This action item was featured in Used News last year. See consumer action page of the Grass Roots Recycling Network at www.grrn.org).
Last but not least, we discussed the proliferation of disposable wipe products. All agreed that a moment or two of convenience is a sorry excuse to trash our trees and waste what would be our childrens’ resources. From single use cutting boards to toilet bowl sponges, last year alone manufacturers introduced 110 new disposable wipe products to consumers. Compare that to the 28 products that were available in 1998.
If you would like to see less of these wasteful products, contact one or both of the companies below and let them know how you, as a consumer, feel about such products. And if you think that they don’t care how you feel, think again. If you are a potential customer, they care. When they hear the same thing from more than a handful of customers, they sit up and listen. Let’s start a wave. —Sarah Grimm
Write a post card, write a few • Call them up • Let them know your view
• Be polite, be concise • Polluted air and water’s way too big a price!
Makers of “Swiffer” products: dry cloths, wet cloths, max cloths, mitts, dusters:
Procter and Gamble
Cincinnati, OH 45202
1-800-742-9220
www.pg.com
CEO and chairman of the board: A.G. Lafley
Makers of single use/load disposable dish cloths:
Colgate-Palmolive Corp.
300 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10022
1-800-338-8388, 1-800-763-0246
www.palmolive.com
Springtime in the Warehouse
 Spring has arrived! It’s time to make cold frames for your seedlings, start some new plants or build a trellis for your pole beans or peas. The Warehouse is just the place to find the low-cost windows, pots and supplies you’ll need. If you’re short on ideas, ask for one of our “Reuse Recipes” to spur your creative juices. With the arrival of warmer days, the mosquitoes, flies and other summer bugs will soon be flying about. It’s the perfect time to put up window screens and hang screen doors. We have great selections of both right now, but don’t procrastinate, because when the weather gets warm those materials fly out of here as fast as the bugs fly in your house! If you’re planning a building project, you’ll find we have lots of great used lumber, much of it of higher quality than new. Our deconstruction crew keeps on bringing in more, so you’ll find a good selection. And, we always have some new treasure waiting to be discovered. Which one has your name on it?
DECONSTRUCTION NEWS
Continuing our robust 2003 work schedule into the New Year, BRING’s Deconstruction Crew remained busy this winter. Our labors included subcontract work on several major tear outs and acting as the lead contractor for taking down an unrepairable house in the Friendly neighborhood. There, the homeowners took advantage of our nonprofit status by donating the house and other improvements to BRING and claiming them at the assessed value. Doing this realized the greatest tax benefit. While financial dealings like this don’t work in every instance, it’s definitely worth looking into if. Check with an accountant to see how you can benefit and give us a call next time you need a house, garage, shed, deck, or fence removed from your property.
Keeping our Deconstruction crew busy means less stuff going to Short Mountain or into the pit at Delta Sand and Gravel, and more and better stuff in BRING’s reuse yard. Lumber, cabinets, windows, doors, plumbing and electrical fixtures, insulation, molding, and the other useful materials extracted from the buildings we bring down are brought to our yard and made available at bargain prices. While you may not always find what you’re looking for, you’ll always find something worth looking at.
For more information about the Decon program, or for the business hours of the yard or the availability of used items, give BRING a call today at 746-3023.—David Wollner
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Rechargeable Battery Recycling
4 million pounds collected in 2003
The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) announced it collected more than 4 million pounds of rechargeable batteries for recycling in 2003, a 22 percent increase over 2002. RBRC says it has recycled more than 21.9 million pounds of rechargeable batteries since 1995. About 30,000 retailers, businesses and communities serve as collection points for the batteries. National participating retailers include Best Buy, Home Depot, RadioShack, Sears, Staples, Target and Wal-Mart.
More than 300 manufacturers and marketers of portable rechargeable batteries and products fund the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp and its public education and recycling program in the United States and Canada. — Excerpted from a 1/13/04 article on the Waste News website.
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Planet Improvement Center Update
New web page charts our progress
What’s new at BRING’s new home, the Planet Improvement Center? While you won’t see much change on the ground, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes. Thanks to a technical assistance grant from the USDA Forest Service, our preliminary site plan, already approved by the City of Springfield, is being further developed and refined, an essential step on the way to construction.
Our architects, TBG Architects & Planners Inc., have assembled a design team from some of the finest professionals in the area. Each participant brings great enthusiasm and a wealth of technical knowledge. The team has been busy becoming familiar with all aspects of the project from the existing site conditions to the program and goals for the Planet Improvement Center. The team consists of Balzhiser & Hubbard Engineers (Civil Engineering), Interface Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical Engineering), Kate McGee (Landscape Architect) and Hohbach-Lewin, Inc (Structural Engineering) along with VIK Construction (General Contractor) and the ever enthusiastic BRING Board of Directors.
The contractor has developed a preliminary project construction budget based on the existing site review plan and some general assumptions about building types and construction. The project costs have been encouraging thus far.
Much of the planning work that has to be done isn’t exactly glamorous, but it is crucial nonetheless. For example, our existing home near Seavey Loop lacks the most basic amenities like indoor plumbing and adequate parking for our customers. The Planet Improvement Center will be connected to the new sanitary sewer system the City of Springfield will be installing along Franklin Boulevard and TBG is working with City officials to integrate our system with theirs. Our design team is also working on another basic amenity—parking. Without making the site look like a parking lot, we want to fit in as much parking, unloading and loading space as possible so you’ll have a safe, accessible place to drop off donations and load your purchases.
Design team members visited a number of similar recycling facilities in the Portland area to discover how they operate and to learn from their achievements and shortcomings. In the coming weeks, a number of design team workshops are planned to allow the entire team the opportunity to give input on the site and specific building plans. This cross-pollination of ideas will hopefully develop synergistic relationships between the various disciplines and result in a more holistic design with building, landscape, lighting, heating, cooling, site issues and artistic elements blending harmoniously together.
The result will be a facility that is convenient for customers, that increases our capacity to salvage more materials, provides more opportunities for learning, and makes it fun to visit and shop. That’s a result worth waiting for!
Thanks to Jim Duffy, TBG Architects & Planners Inc. for contributing to this article.
Campaign Update
We made solid progress on our capital fund drive last quarter. Since our last Used News came out, we’ve received 54 donations, and pledges, totaling $46,170. Of the 54 gifts, 31 came from people who had never donated to us before. We now have 169 donors! Are you one of them? Don’t miss out on the opportunity to make a contribution to a sustainable future for Lane County. The Planet Improvement Center will make it possible for us to offer more great used materials at low prices, keep more stuff out of the landfill and encourage the “reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink” way of life through expanded education programs for children and adults. It’s easy to donate. You can use the envelope in the newsletter and mark it “Capital Campaign”. You can use a credit card or authorize a direct draw from your bank account. Spreading a donation out over time makes sense for many people and allows you to make a bigger gift than if you had to pay it all at once. For example, just $10 a month—the price of one latte a week—pledged for three years adds up to $360!
We’ve added some new pages to our website so we can keep you up to date with our progress. Click here to learn all about it, see the site plan, find out how to get involved and, as we expand the pages, learn about particular features of the site.
Thank you all, your support is critical to our success.
Wired to Waste Reduction
 Here are our favorite items from the Waste prevention forum hosted by Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition.
BOOK REVIEW
Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator
by Spring Gillard New Society Publishers, 2003
Spring Gillard works for City Farmer, a pioneering non-profit organization that promotes urban agriculture in Vancouver, BC. Her book is honest, personal and at times, very funny and covers all sorts of environmental gardening topics including home composting, worm composting, alternatives to pesticides, public education, garden tours, rainwater harvesting, “the scoop on poop” and “critter control.” By honest, I mean she doesn't leave out the all-too-common realities of composting and rain barrels, such as rats, mosquitoes and lukewarm results. The fact that she acknowledges these potential problems, and explains how to deal with them, just makes her overall case all the stronger.
If it starts off a little too cutesy for you, stay with it. The last four chapters are terrific. The book is also packed with useful resources, (websites, books, etc.), for those who want to explore these topics further. “Diary of a Compost Hotline Operator” is easily the best book on environmental gardening I've ever read. It gave me a warm feeling of hope, but at the same time it made me want to change the world in 2004.
E-mail: tom.watson@metrokc.gov
TimeBucks
Link to the website for TimeBucks, a free neighbor-to-neighbor service exchange: www.timebucks.org
TimeBucks is active in more than 35 communities in North America. Members trade services that they like to do. One hour is worth 15 time-bucks. Members provide a service or volunteer in their community to receive time-bucks.
Personal CO2 Calculator
Link to the Personal CO2 Calculator, on the website of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (seen in the WasteCap of Lincoln (NE) e-newsletter): www3.iclei.org/co2/co2calc.htm
By filling in this online form, you can calculate your yearly direct personal carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Carbon dioxide is considered the most important cause of the human-made greenhouse effect and resulting global warming.
Megacycle Your Stuff:
Barter Digitally.
Barter and the Internet, respectively the oldest and newest forms of exchange, are getting hitched. FreeCycle announced this May-December wedding last fall when it unrolled its groundbreaking format for swapping goods online. Despite it’s nationwide reach, FreeCycle is easy to use. Their site is locally oriented so that traders are dealing with people in their own area. Lane County residents can participate in the Eugene FreeCycle by visiting www.freecycle.org. Once registered, find the listing for Eugene and have a look. You can sign up for the email list, receive an email digest, or go back periodically and pay the website a visit. A typical digest of recent vintage has about ten items listed as “offered,” “wanted” or “taken,” and contained such diverse entries as roosters, refrigerators, mattresses, and yogurt lids. All of which could be yours. Services may also be listed.
Another option more recently arrived is Santa Cruz Barter. Its web managers relocated to our area and are opening the doors to Lane County. Folks wanting to help launch the local branch can visit www.santacruzbarter.com for information. Santa Cruz Barter’s site is easy to navigate and, best of all, it’s free: there are no ‘trade dollars’ or points involved, either. This is simply a great way to barter directly with another person: Trade cooking for childcare; a first edition for an antique desk; tutoring for appliances. There’s really no end to the goods and services that can be bartered, exchanged, or traded online. —Sarah Grimm
Odds ‘n Ends Around the World
 Erasable Ink
Toshiba has come up with carbon-free ink that can be rubbed out with heat from a portable eraser machine. The ink and machine, which goes on sale in Japan this week, can clean swathes of paper at a time, and could help create more eco-friendly paper use. Waste paper currently makes up 40% of total office rubbish in Japan, with about 60% being recycled.” A copier using the technology is in the works. —Pakistan Daily Times, 12/17/03
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_15-12-2003_pg6_2
“Killer Chip” Threatens Refilling Of Printer Cartridges
Friends of the Earth, a British environmental group, is warning that the refilling of printer cartridges could be wiped out in the UK unless the UK Government includes them in a new European Union (EU) waste law that is scheduled to go into effect this summer.
Printer cartridges contain computer chips that record the amount of ink left in them. But manufacturers are inserting a new type of “killer chip” into the cartridges that means they cannot be reset when they are refilled with ink. This will make refilling impossible—bad news for the environment. It will also be bad news for businesses and consumers because refilled cartridges are much cheaper than buying new ones.
The problem could be resolved if the UK Government includes cartridges when it implements the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which must take place by Aug13, 2004. Under Article 4 of the directive, equipment must not include any design features that prevent it from being reused, unless there is a safety or environmental reason for doing so. But, the UK Department of Trade and Industry currently defines printer cartridges as “consumables,” not “equipment.” Unless the Government changes its proposals, the reuse of printer cartridges could be wiped out in the UK.—Friends of the Earth, London, United Kingdom (UK).
Your donations make it possible!
Invest in a sustainable future: Donate and help BRING make a difference. Your donations are important. They fund the innovative programs that result in positive change.
Education
The key to conservation. BRING taught 15,600 children and adults to reduce, reuse and recycle in 2003. Help us reach more people in 2004.
Innovation
Programs BRING pioneers change the future. Electronics recycling, started by BRING in 2001, proved so effective that it will be offered year round by Lane County Waste Management starting July 2004. We rely on your support to fund groundbreaking programs.
Dedication to Conservation
Thirty-three years helping Lane County residents reduce, reuse and recycle. We do more with less! Donations to BRING go a long way.
THANK YOU!
Thanks to all of you who gave us operating support last quarter
Anonymous (12)
Tom Agemenon
Warren & Gay Blankenship
Terri Brown
Sandra Busch
John Craig
Heather Henderson & David Donielson
Denise Jessup
Teri & Bob Jones
Bill Klupenger
Paul & Jeannine Mainville
Christine Mitchell & Sue Dockstader
Sally Myers
Rowland Orum
Dick & Jeanne Roy
David Simone & Karen Perkins
Paula Staight
Brenda Summers
Jean Sun
Elizabeth J. Thorin
Rick Varnum
Karen Wildish
Kurt Willcox
Robin Winfree & Mark Andrews
Thanks to BRING Volunteers
Board Commitees:
Hallis, Bill Klupenger, Chris Stebbins
Drop Site:
Ewen Davison, Majik, Julie Miller, Jerry Morsello, Grant Wiegert
Newsletter and Office:
Anne Forrestel, Laura O’Hanian,
Looking Glass ITC program:
Pat Fagan and Alain Despatie
Education Helpers:
Gary Cornelius and Barbara Edmonds, Justin Thompson, Shane Recknagel
Warehouse Helpers:
Ashlin Aronin and Evan Arkin, Spencer Butte Middle School
Education Beat
Recycling Works for Schools
Territorial Elementary is an excellent example of how schools can integrate composting and recycling into everyday skill building and classroom activities. Last fall, Territorial received a Lane County Trash Buster Award to recognize their long-standing commitment to such a successful endeavor.
The school’s third graders are in charge of the milk carton recycling. Using the recycling activities as an active learning platform, students report that in the first semester, they collected 5,120 cartons—enough to circle the school track two and half times. They collect the cardboard, newspaper and paper for recycling, and develop educational presentations to take to other classrooms in the school. Each month, the school newsletter updates parents and staff on how much material has been composted and recycled to date.
The fourth graders are in charge of collecting food scraps from each classroom and the cafeteria. Before adding them to the school’s garden compost pile or the classroom worm bin, students weigh, and record quantities. In the first semester, 800 lbs of food scraps were diverted from the landfill.
The finished compost and nutrient rich worm castings are added to the school garden, supplying kids and the school cafeteria with healthy foods. Involving students in every step of the recycling program allows them to apply the math, language arts and science skills they learn in class to a rewarding, real-world activity. Now that’s education. —Sarah Grimm
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4th grade students at Territorial Elementary pose with their RRRecycled Scarecrow they use to protect garden goodies raised on rich compost made from cafeteria food scraps. |
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4th grade student shows how the class collects data and charts information about the worm bin in their classroom. |
Reuse Craft Hour
Craft Hour at the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts (MECCA) is hosted by Sarah Grimm, Education Coordinator of BRING Recycling.
Each Wednesday from 4–7P.M. she will feature a specific craft or material to work with—ideal for teens and adults. A sliding scale donation is requested ($2 -10). For more information about craft hour contact Sarah at 746-3023.
Apr 7 What to do with old lint – fire starters, for the birds
Apr 14 Recrafted light switch plates
Apr 21 Wild Card – staffers choice
Apr 28 Magnet book marks
May 5 Fun with sticky vinyl
May 12 Bottle cap jewelry
May 19 Wild Card – you’ll have to come see
May 26 Crafts with unwanted photos
MECCA, located at 449 Blair Blvd, sells low, low cost materials for arts and crafts and is open Wed 4 to 7 pm and Saturday and Sunday nooon to 4 p.m.
Community Supported Agriculture
Who says food has to be packaged and trucked thousands of miles before reaching the table? Lane County is blessed with a climate where most everything grows and its residents are fortunate to have a thriving farmers’ market and a variety of community supported farms (CSAs). Taking advantage of either, or growing your own, ensures the security and sustainability of local agriculture. Contrast that with the alternative, shipping food long distances, which creates waste, causes pollution and diminishes quality. Buying local is a no-brainer.
While most people know about the farmers’ market, CSA farms are still relatively unknown. The basic idea is that individuals contract directly with the farmer. They purchase a membership that rewards them with a share in that season's harvest, and the farmer, with cash in hand and knowledge of how much to grow, uses the money to buy supplies. Members then enjoy a bountiful, changing cornucopia as the season progresses.
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Earth Machine HomeCompost Bins
Earth Machine will not be holding the usual one-day bin sale in Eugene this year, but BRING will be buying bins for re-sale. We'll have 100 bins at $45 each. They won't last long, so tell your friends and hurry down. Each bin holds approximately one cubic yard. Earth Machine Compost Bins are neat, easy to use and critter proof.
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2004 Compost and Worm Bin Workshops
Free Compost Workshops
 As much as 30 percent of the waste sent to the landfill is made up of organic materials, such as yard debris and food scraps. Composting at home puts these materials back to work for you, your garden and the earth. Workshops are led by certified OSU Lane County Extension Service Compost Specialists and cover the basics for beginners, trouble shooting, advanced techniques and seasonal issues for experienced composters. Registration is not necessary. Questions? Contact Anne Donahue, Compost Specialist for City of Eugene Planning and Development Department, 682-5542.
| Saturday, April 3rd |
10-11:30 A.M. |
GRG |
| Saturday, May 1st |
10-11:30 A.M. |
GRG |
| Saturday, May 15th |
10-11:30 A.M.
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RH |
| Saturday, June 5th |
10-11:30 A.M.
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GRG |
| Saturday, June 26th |
10-11:30 A.M.
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RH |
| Saturday, July 3rd |
10-11:30 A.M.
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GRG |
| Saturday, August 7th |
10-11:30 A.M.
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GRG |
| Saturday September 4th |
10-11:30 A.M.
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Mathews |
| Saturday October 2nd |
10-11:30 A.M.
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GRG |
| Saturday November 6th |
10-11:30 A.M.
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GRG |
Location key:
RH=River House compost education garden at Maurie Jacobs Park
GRG=Grass Roots Garden, 1465 Coburg Rd (behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church)
Mathews=Community garden site at 15th and Hayes
Family Worm Bin Workshops
May 1, 2004 and May 15, 2004
Come to a family worm bin workshop and learn how worms can eat your garbage while creating your own “black gold” compost soil amendment! The City of Eugene Solid Waste and Recycling is sponsoring two “Family Worm Bin Workshops” classes taught by vermicomposting experts from the Lane County Extension Service Master Gardener Compost Specialist Program. Class is from 10 am to noon on May 1st and May 15th, 2004 at the Lane County Extension Auditorium (950 West 13th Avenue). For a $20 pre-registration fee ($25 the day of the event), participants receive two hours of instruction, worm bin composting booklet, one pound of worms, and a Rubbermaid type worm bin. Two people in the same family may take the class together and make one bin. Extra bins will be $20.00 each. Call Cindy Wise at 747-1419 to pre-register for this class.
copyright© 2004 BRING Recycling. All rights reserved.
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