GreenYes Digest V97 #191

GreenYes Mailing List and Newsgroup (greenyes@ucsd.edu)
Fri, 22 Jan 1999 17:09:51 -0500


GreenYes Digest Fri, 8 Aug 97 Volume 97 : Issue 191

Today's Topics:
Alert - call for delay in sale of public assets
August '97 San Diego Earth Times is now online
Declining Recycling Rate for SD Beverage Containers
Has anyone heard of this group?
Warmer Bulletin

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Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 18:39:28 -0700
From: Carolyn Chase <cqual@znet.com>
Subject: Alert - call for delay in sale of public assets

On August 12 1997, the Board of Supervisors for the County of San Diego,
will hold a public hearing at 9:00 am to adopt an Ordinance authorizing the
sale of the County's active solid waste assets to Allied Waste Industries,
Inc. and authorize execution of the Purchase and Sale Agreement (Agreement)
with Allied which details the price, terms, and conditions.

Please write or fax to the County Board of Supervisors to ask for a 30-day
delay to faciliate citizen review and comment and another hearing to
follow.

Board of Supervisors contact info:
District 1: Greg Cox 531-5511 FAX: 557-4025
District 2: Dianne Jacob 531-5522 FAX: 696-7253
District 3: Pam Slater 531-5533 FAX: 234-1559
District 4: Chair Ron Roberts 531-5544 FAX: 685-2252
District 5: Bill Horn 531-5555 FAX: 685-2662

Board of Supervisors 1600 Pacific Highway San Diego 92101

If you're not sure which District you're in call the Clerk of the Board of
Supervisors, at 531-5600.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Background:
COUNTY MAY SELL BILLION DOLLAR PROFIT CENTER FOR MILLIONS

On August 12 1997, the Board of Supervisors for the County of San Diego,
will hold a public hearing at 9:00 am to adopt an Ordinance authorizing the
sale of the County's active solid waste assets to Allied Waste Industries,
Inc. and authorize execution of the Purchase and Sale Agreement (Agreement)
with Allied which details the price, terms, and conditions.

The Chief Administrative Officer has made the following recommendations to
the Board of Supervisors for Tuesday's meeting:

1. Declare that this recommended divestiture (selling County Owned Waste
Management Property) will have no negative environmental impacts.
2. Adopt an Ordinance that will sell the landfills, the recycling plant and
the leasehold interests in the Palomar transfer stations and 10 rural bin
stations.
3. Authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to sign the contract.
4. Come back in November with a statement of where the money will go.
5. Come back with a plan on how to fund unincorporated recycling and
household hazardous waste management services.

The ordinance resolution is clear that the Board on December 17, 1996 "by
unanimous vote directed that the County's solid waste system comprised
of.....be divested through a competitive request for proposals process", and
on April 16,1997 began that process.

This public hearing on Tuesday is the culmination of the that process.

Nowhere in this process was there a discussion of who should own the system.
The only questions asked were: what was the system worth, who would buy it
and what was the downside.

Now that the process has been completed, we know that the system is not
bankrupt and in fact it is worth $184,000,000 cash to Allied Waste
Industries. and their financial backers.

Shouldn't we discuss the real value of such an asset in terms of potential
revenue over the life time of the system? Shouldn't we know about any
potential liabilities and shouldn't we have time to review the contract?
Shouldn't we know where the money will go before the deal is done. What
guarantees do the taxpayers have that landfill prices won't go up
exorbitantly in the future?

This discussion should be county wide and all the voters should be
allowed to understand what the divestiture of government property really
means and what will be the potential impact to ourselves and our children.

Carolyn Chase, Editor, San Diego Earth Times, http://www.sdearthtimes.com
Please visit ;-)

Tel: (619)272-7423 (SDET)
FAX: (619)272-2933
email: cqual@znet.com
P.O. Box 9827 / San Diego CA 92169

'You've got to conserve what you can't replace'
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"Every citizen is involved in politics; it's just that some people do
politics, some have it done to them."

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Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 07:54:52 -0700
From: Carolyn Chase <cdchase@qualcomm.com>
Subject: August '97 San Diego Earth Times is now online

The August '97 "Beach Issue" San Diego Earth Times is now online and
available free at more than
400 locations in San Diego County. Pick it up and use those coupons! Call
for those catalogs!

SDET August '97
Table of Contents

Editorial
Signal of my discontent by Carolyn Chase

Coastal Ecology
Pollution related beach closures
The annual national summary of pollution-related beach closures.
2-stroke engines pollute 2 much
The #1 source of toxic pollution in U.S. waterways.
Paddle for Clean Water on August 16th hosted by Surfrider Foundation
Cigarette butts and beverage containers top beach litter

Health and Diet
Safe Sun: Slip, slap, slop it on ... and remember, kids need more
than sunscreen.
New sunscreens: protection from damaging rays
Unlocking the door to "soul" is the key to your health By Catherine
Honora Kineavy
Green Restaurant Review: Poke your head into Pokez Mexican restaurant

Education
Peace Corps - still making a difference, are you ready?
A learning environment that matters: Waldorf schools
CREEK restoration and kids ecology education at Rose Creek by The
Nature School

In Your Garden!
Let's Garden - Introducing the Garden Goddess!
Garden Gambles by Laurie Cohen
It doesn't always turn out like we plan, but that shouldn't stop us.

Local Ecology
Apply for Pollution Prevention awards by Aug. 22
Protect the Special Nature of San Diego
What's developing in and around Neighborhood 8A and the Future
Urbanizing Area: Attend this town hall meeting Aug. 20 at the Carmel
Valley library.

Making a Difference
Activist mom wins environmental prize
This view from the trenches is must reading for people attempting
to protect their quality
of life.

San Diego Earth Day
Volunteer for the Harvest EarthFair in Vista Saturday, Sept 27;
Volunteer meeting on August 27

Observations from the Edge by Robert Nanninga
Eating Spanish crow
Our intrepid eco-activist takes another trip to zoo oh my!

New Think: the cartoon by Bob Ocegueda "Fishing with Straw"

Dear SDET: letters to the editor
1. X Games & Audubon by Norma Sullivan
2. Public funds for professional sports? by David Bainbridge

August calendar of Earth-Friendly Events


Carolyn Chase, Editor, San Diego Earth Times, http://www.sdearthtimes.com
Please visit ;-)

Tel: (619)272-7423 (SDET)
FAX: (619)272-2933
email: cqual@znet.com
P.O. Box 9827 / San Diego CA 92169

"Whatever you do may seem very small but it is
very important that you do it."
-- Mohandas Gandhi

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 07:04:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Pat Franklin <cri@igc.org>
Subject: Declining Recycling Rate for SD Beverage Containers

Readers of GreenYes -- Attached is a press release released on July 16
regarding the NSDA's release of 1996 soft drink container recycling rates.
The rate is falling because the soft drink industry is moving to more PET
bottles and the rate of PET bottle recycling fell dramatically last year.
Call us at 202/797-6839 if you have any questions or want the numbers for
1995 and 1996.

For Immediate Release Contact: Pat Franklin
July 16, 1997 202/797-6839

Research Group Bursts Soft Drink Industry's Bubble
Soft Drink Container Recycling Rate Drops Again

WASHINGTON, DC (July 16, 1997) -- The Container Recycling Institute (CRI)
today accused the soft drink industry of distorting the soda container
recycling numbers released yesterday by their trade association. "We hate to
burst the soft drink industry's bubble," said Pat Franklin, Executive
Director of CRI, "but the numbers they released yesterday are flat out wrong."

In a press release issued yesterday, the National Soft Drink Association
(NSDA) claimed that a record number of soda containers were recycled last
year. But, according to CRI, the number of soda containers recycled in 1996
was exactly the same as 1995 -- 48.4 containers -- and the recycling rate
for soda cans and bottles actually decreased.

"Whether the discrepancy was a manipulation of the numbers or simply an
oversight, NSDA should issue an immediate retraction," said Franklin. "The
public should know that soft drink container recycling is declining, and
that the recycling rate has dropped for the third year in a row." Franklin
attributes the drop in soft drink container recycling to the drop in PET
soda bottle recycling, which fell more than 17 percent last year. "Because
1 out of 5 soft drink containers is a PET bottle, even a small discrepancy
in the PET numbers skews the entire calculation," she said.

Franklin explained that the American Plastic Council (APC), this year,
changed the way they calculate the recycling rate for PET bottles. They now
use the number of pounds of bottles collected, whereas in the past they used
the number of pounds of bottles processed. The new method was adopted by
APC, because it is the method used by other industries.

"Using the old method for 1995 made it look like there was an increase in
PET soda bottle recycling last year, when actually there was a decrease,"
said Franklin. "When you are measuring trends," she said, "you have to be
consistent in your method of calculation, otherwise you end up comparing
apples and oranges." Using the same method for both years, the number of
soda containers recycled in 1995 was 48.4 billion soda containers--exactly
the number recycled in 1996, and the recycling rate declined from 58.5
percent to 57.6 percent.

NSDA credits comprehensive recycling programs for the high soft drink
container recycling rate. But, based on data in the same U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency study referenced by NSDA, CRI estimates that soft drink
and beer containers are recycled at an average rate of 78 percent in states
where they have a deposit value, and only 26 percent in the other 40 states.
"The credit for the relatively high levels of soft drink and beer container
recycling is due to the high rates of recovery in the ten bottle bill
states," said Franklin, "not curbside recycling programs."

# # #

Copy of letter to Gifford Stack at NSDA ------

Container Recycling Institute
1400 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

August 4, 1997

E. Gifford Stack
Vice President
Solid Waste Programs
National Soft Drink Association
1101 Sixteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Dear Gifford,

As you know, the Container Recycling Institute (CRI) has publicly taken
exception to the NSDA's announcement of a "record breaking year" for soft
drink container recycling. I assume Barb told you that I called the day
after you released the numbers to the press. I had hoped to talk to you
before I put out a press release, thinking perhaps you had overlooked the
fact that the American Plastics Council's (APC) change in methodology
impacted the PET bottle recycling numbers for the years preceding 1996.
Barb explained that only you could answer questions related to the press
release, and that you were out of town. I had hoped you would return my call.

I have since read that you thought it would be "terribly confusing" if you
tried to adjust the numbers for the preceding year(s), indicating that you
were aware of the fact that the methodology used by APC in 1996 was
different from the methodology used in 1995 and all previous years. Had you
not taken advantage of the change in methodology, you would have had to
announce that the soft drink container recycling rate decreased last year,
and that the number of soft drink containers recycled remained the same.

Surely you will want to correct this egregious error and set the public
record straight, so that the Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsi Co. will not be
perceived as being manipulative (at best) or downright dishonest (at worst)
in reporting the recycling rate for their post-consumer packaging.

I look forward to hearing from you. See you in Orlando, if not before.

cc: Mr. Craig Weatherup Sincerely,
Mr. Roberto Goizueta

Pat Franklin
Executive Director

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Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 10:42:36 -0700
From: Ann Schneider <aschneid@cats.ucsc.edu>
Subject: Has anyone heard of this group?

Hi:

They are out of England. Tonbridge, Kent to be exact. They have been
producing a solid waste magazine for many years. Up until last year it
was a free publication. Now costs $50. US.

The Warmer Bulletin covers solid waste around the world. Usually,
each issue either highlighs either a component of the waste stream or
a county or region. It's interesting reading, if for nothing else,
the differences in the vocabulary and spelling and a European slant on
issues.

Kit Strange is the editor and you can reach him at wrf@wrf.org.uk.

I've had several email messages with Kit over the last 6 months
regarding the plastic bag the magazine is mailed in. I asked for no
plastic bag or packaging. Kit said customers want the magazine
delivered in good shape. Had many Life Cycle Analysis discusssion and
worked out a compromize that Kit discussed in the May 1997 issue, and
at least my magazine comes in a plain brown wrapper that I can
recycle. Perhaps in the future we can convince all publishers that
thier magazines do not have to be delievered wrapped.

Hope this helps,

Ann Schneider
Univ. of Calif, Santa Cruz
Business Environmental Assistance Center
aschneid@cats.ucsc.edu


>
> Dear GreenYes folks:
>
> Have any of you heard of the World Resource Foundation? They put out a
> newsletter in May called the Warmer Bulletin with an information sheet on
> plastics. I am trying to find out what kind of group this is, what their
> affiliations are, how they are funded, and what their mission is. Can
> anyone give me the low-down? I do know they are in the UK.
>
> Thanks, Hatti Koth
> Saint Paul Neighborhood Energy Consortium

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Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 15:43:44 -0400
From: "Marjorie J. Clarke" <mclarke@shiva.hunter.cuny.edu>
Subject: Warmer Bulletin

Since the 1980s when Warmer was about waste to energy plants, they have
enlarged their focus to the upper end of the solid waste management
hierarchy, and, unfortunately, have done away with their free subscription
policy. They did review some of the publications I wrote and did so in a
fair way, unlike some of the other publications in the solid waste field.
__ __
//\\ //\\ _ _ _ o _
// \\ // \\ ({_}} {{_}} {{_}} || //_\\
// \\// \\ ^ // // || \\__
\_// \_//
Marjorie J. Clarke
Environmental Scientist and Consultant
http://everest.hunter.cuny.edu/~mclarke/index.htm
http://everest.hunter.cuny.edu/~mclarke/moodyblu.htm
New York City Phone & Fax: 212-567-8272

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End of GreenYes Digest V97 #191
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