GreenYes Digest V97 #139

GreenYes Mailing List and Newsgroup (greenyes@ucsd.edu)
Fri, 22 Jan 1999 17:11:42 -0500


GreenYes Digest Sat, 14 Jun 97 Volume 97 : Issue 139

Today's Topics:
a clean composting industry?
Cloth bags
Fwd: Latin American Briefs
Job Opening at MFF
Perhaps someone asked the wrong question.
Re[2]: Biosolids and composting
Recycled Content in PET Bottles - WHY NOT HERE?????
RECYCLED CONTENT IN PET SODA BOTTLES--- WHY NOT HERE??????=20
Recycled PET Content Revisited - Coke Boycott
Stop the mysterious cell from hell by returning to the values of an earlier=
time
unsubscribe (2 msgs)
ZERO CUT MEETS ZERO WASTE

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 18:18:08 -0400 (EDT) From: DavidOrr@aol.com Subject: a clean composting industry?

Let me clarify my somewhat off-the-cuff remarks:

When I say we don't need a composting industry, I refer to the=20 "biosolids" industry that is spreading municipal sludge around on=20 agricultural lands. And I mean specifically the currently POLLUTED=20 sludge.

I did not intend to say that we shouldn't compost the food residues and=20 other CLEAN organic material that should be composted. We need to have=20 clean compost, but I am concerned that if we turn it all over to large=20 corporations - as we have done with so many municipal recycling programs=20 - running composting operations will become just another business, and we=20 all know that common business practices usually mean looking for ways to=20 cut costs, which in turn often means carelessness.

We need compost; but we don't need corporate compost.

I was asked what do I think we should do with all the municipal sludge=20 that's out there already being spread on ag lands. Well, I don't think=20 we should be spreading that shit around. Do I have a solution? No, but=20 that doesn't mean we should accept the status quo. We need to be asking=20 what else can we do. But I don't hear those questions being asked. It's=20 not a sexy issue, so I'm not surprised there aren't more activists=20 working on it. But if our failure to develop some environmentally=20 preferable alteratives to land application of the dread biosolids, we're=20 definitely going to have LOTS of contaminated soils, and ultimately we'll=20 have nitrate-contaminated groundwater, and microbe- and heavy=20 metal-contaminated surface runoff all over the country.

This is unacceptable, and I challenge the biosolids industry to start=20 coming up with some CLEAN alternatives. Until they get off their compost=20 piles and demonstrate some concern for this issue, I'll just assume they=20 have no interest in cleaning up their act.

And it won't surprise me a bit, either.

David Orr

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 08:25:25 -0500 From: "Susan K. Snow" <sksnow@1stnet.com> Subject: Cloth bags

Myra Nissen said: >...People were encourgaed to leave surplus used bags in bins at the >front fo the store for pthers to reuse.

The health food store (which I frequent) accepts bags from customers, but gives them to me to recycle ( with their corrugated and packaging peanuts. The state health department frowns on reusing one customer's bag for another's purchases due to insect pests may hide/lay eggs within the folds of the bag.

I bring my own bags for produce and grains. When produce is pre-packaged by the store, I remove the veggies from the bag at the checkout counter. Whether or not these bags, which never left the store, are reused. I know not.

On the other hand, a natural food co-op, which had a store front in the 1970's in my area (prior to the health food stores entrance) accepted and reused bags from other customers for all customers. Could it be that regulations have become stricter?

I have found that most stores in my area will accept my cloth bags for my newly purchased items. However, if a clothing store refuse my request even with the receipt stapled to the purchase, I have been known to demand my money back, and leave the store without the purchase.=20 Those stores are now changing policy. =20

Susan Snow

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Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 02:51:20 -0400 (EDT) From: DavidOrr@aol.com Subject: Fwd: Latin American Briefs

Subject: Latin American Briefs Sent: 6/13/97 5:26 PM

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A candidate for mayor got a face full of trash for trying to tell garbage pickers at a landfill how best to protect the environment. Green Ecology Party candidate Jorge Gonzalez Torres visited the Santa Catarina landfill on the city's east side, where several hundred families sort and pick garbage for a living. All the garbage sorters belong to the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, which has been in power since 1929 mostly by using strong-arm tactics. Gonzalez Torres' party wants garbage collection in Mexico's capital of 8.5 million people to be fully mechanized. But he couldn't make his pitch to the workers Thursday because his station wagon couldn't get past the gate. About 300 ruling party activists blocked the way, smashed the car's windows with crowbars, pelted vehicles with stones and threw garbage at Gonzalez Torres. Green Ecology is one of eight political parties fielding candidates for the July 6 election. It is a minor party and is not expected to win.

LIMA, Peru (AP) - The Ashaninka Indians of Peru's remote eastern jungle entered the world of modern telecommunications Friday by logging on to the Internet for the first time. Ashaninka chief Oswaldo Rojas said the tribe was planning a Web page to educate the world about its culture, customs and the medicinal uses of the plants in the Indians' jungle home. ``The time has come for us to start to promote our own interests. We want to speak with our own voices and not through intermediaries,'' Rojas said. The Ashaninkas' jungle life was disrupted in the late 1980s and early 1990s when their lands became a battleground between the Peruvian army and Maoist Shining Path guerrillas.

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 19:21:21 -0400 (EDT) From: KiviLeroux@aol.com Subject: Job Opening at MFF

(apologies for cross-postings)

JUNE 1997, APPLY IMMEDIATELY. OPEN UNTIL FILLED.

AMERICORPS*VISTA POSITION

The Materials for the Future Foundation (MFF) seeks a creative, motivated individual who is committed to reuse, recycling and community economic development to serve as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member engaged in full-time community service for one year.

MFF is a nonprofit organization based in the Presidio of San Francisco. We promote the creation of jobs and economic development opportunities for low-income communities through the development of reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing enterprises in Northern California. In partnership with the National Recycling Coalition's "Recycling to Build Community Project" and= the Corporation for National and Community Service, MFF will host one AmeriCorps*VISTA member from July 1997 through June 1998, joining a current AmeriCorps*VISTA member whose term expires in November 1997. =20

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

* Conduct outreach to community-based organizations serving low-income communities in the San Francisco Bay Area about opportunities for recycling, reuse, and remanufacturing related to military base conversion, affordable housing development, and business entrepreneurship.=20

* Administer mini-grant program and provide ongoing technical assistance to community-based organizations awarded mini-grants.

* Develop written materials for community-based organizations on topics= such as: starting small-scale reuse and recycling enterprises, how to fundraise for reuse and recycling enterprises, and how to develop collaborations between environmental and community development organizations.=20 =20 * Produce quarterly newsletter including writing, editing, and graphic design.

* Assist with general office support (phones, fax, filing, and database maintenance).

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

* High school diploma or GED; college or related experience a plus.

* Ability to handle a variety of responsibilities, to work flexibly, independently, and to exercise initiative and follow-through.

* Enjoys working with and conducting outreach to people of diverse backgrounds; excellent research, writing, and public speaking skills;= ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner.

* Familiarity with low-income communities and community-based organizations in the Bay Area.

* Computer skills: Experience with Macintosh systems, Pagemaker, Filemaker Pro a plus.

VISTA members receive a monthly living allowance (approximately $700 in the Bay Area) to budget for food, housing, and incidental costs. Medical insurance is provided. VISTA members are eligible for either a $4,725 education award or a $100 per month stipend, paid upon completion of one= full year of service. Stafford and Perkins student loans may be deferred during the term of service.

TO APPLY: Send, fax, or email cover letter and resume to AmeriCorps*VISTA Opening, Materials for the Future Foundation, P.O. Box 29091, San Francisco, CA 94129. Fax (415) 561-6474. Phone (415) 561-6530. Email: MFF@igc.org. Please direct questions to Erica Adshead, Outreach Coordinator and AmeriCorps*VISTA member or to Kivi Leroux, Program Director. =20

MFF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. People of Color Strongly Encouraged= to Apply.

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 22:50:17 -0500 From: "Susan K. Snow" <sksnow@1stnet.com> Subject: Perhaps someone asked the wrong question.

David, I could not agree with you more. Neither you, nor I, said that we were against composting. I thought you were very clear ---it is the toxics within the sewage sludge that meets with our opposition.

This reminds me of some Sierrans that support waste-to-energy and stronger regulations, when they are asking the wrong question.=20

The correct question being: How can we unmake the waste in the first place? Not: Where do we dispose of the waste---in the air and land or in the water? This is because, it is my understanding, that what we spread on the land, ultimately percolates into groundwater, which may recharge surface waters and flow to the sea. Everything may be contaminated in its path--especially mammals and other animals, as they top the food chain.

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 97 11:14:32 EST From: grussell@nybg.org Subject: Re[2]: Biosolids and composting

DavidOrr: I am not sure what considerations could bring someone to the conclusion, "We don't need a composting industry". Are you refering only to the processing of sludge? If not, I am interested in what you imagine will happen to all of the compostable solid organics that are generated not just in this country but all over the world, which are composed of nutrients, organic matter, and microorganisms desperately needing to be returned to the increasingly barren and eroded lands from whence they came. You'll compost in your backyard? Commendable, but what about all of the tremendous volumes of clean food residues from every school, college, hospital, prison, and business cafeteria? What about the vast quantities of valuable resources generated by restaurants? And, how about the cleanest supply of food residues, the food processing industry, from brewery hops to the truckloads of leftovers from, for example, Mrs. Smith's Pies, or the poultry carcasses from Perdue Chickens, to the seafood industry? All extremely valuable, needing to be returned to soils everywhere.

Not to mention the leaves, grass clippings, weeds, prunings, brush, and woody materials produced by these institutions, as well as by parks, playgrounds, and recreational fields. On-site composting? Great (assuming, unrealistically, that money is no object), but the facilities would be designed, built, operated and maintained by whom, if not by some component of the composting industry? If your opinion refers only to the processing of sludge, I suggest that clarity is called for in a discussion of this nature. Remember, too, that sludge, or biosolids, refers usually to three distinct streams: 1) what we flush down our toilets (clean, if we can get most of the paint thinners and chlorine-based cleansers out); 2) industry's effluent (getting much cleaner but still unacceptable to be mixed with what come out of our homes); and, 3) non-point source pollution, ie, stormwater runoff (by far the filthiest and most toxic, and for which we are all responsible). It seems to me that instead of trying to consider a TRULY end-of the pipe characterization of the materials, we can continue to explore methods for separating the 3 streams, segregating what is valuable for its highest use.

Gray Russell Compost Project Manager Bronx Green-Up The New York Botanical Garden grussell@nybg.org

Bronx Green-Up is a community outreach program at NYBG, and we run a home composting program teaching urban residents, community gardeners, groundskeepers and landscapers, and schoolkids about the many benefits, to our gardens, backyards, and the environment, of composting.

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 07:42:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Pat Franklin <cri@igc.org> Subject: Recycled Content in PET Bottles - WHY NOT HERE?????

The Australians subsidiary of Coke Atlanta responded to pressure from government to "take responsibility for their products by agreeing to use recycled content in their PET soda bottles. A solid waste law in New South Wales was enacted last year giving that state the power to require "producer responsibility" for any industry. (Recycling Laws International, 2/96) Now Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. (CCA) has cemented its financial commitment to recycled content by deciding to manufacture their own recycled-content PET bottles in Australian. According to Plastics News (609097) they are making a multi-million dollar investment in a PET bottle preform manufacturing factory in Sydney, and will soon start construction on a PET reprocessing plant.=20

CCA will begin by using a minimum of 25 percent recycled material "in a broad range of recycled-content bottles" but "expects to boost that percentage in the future" (Plastics News - 6/9/97). Colin Whyte, environmental affairs manager for CCA was quoted in the article as saying "We will increase that level (25 percent) over time because the technology we have developed will allow us to have a higher recycled content. . . A lot will depend on the guaranteed supply of material."

WHY NOT= HERE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

OOPPPS!!!! I failed to mention the Coke Boycott in Australia that was discussed on greenyes last week. It is often difficult to determine cause and effect. but as Hop (oldxeye@crisscross.com) explained in his note of Jun 2, the boycott got lots of attention. For those of you who missed Hop's email, his final comment on the boycott was this -- "It's dead easy." Let me here from you if you are interested in some action that would get Coke moving on recycled content.

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 06:56:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Pat Franklin <cri@igc.org> Subject: RECYCLED CONTENT IN PET SODA BOTTLES--- WHY NOT HERE??????=20

The Australians subsidiary of Coke Atlanta responded to pressure from government to "take responsibility for their products by agreeing to use recycled content in their PET soda bottles. A solid waste law in New South Wales was enacted last year giving that state the power to require "producer responsibility" for any industry. (Recycling Laws International, 2/96) Now Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. (CCA) has cemented its financial commitment to recycled content by deciding to manufacture their own recycled-content PET bottles in Australian. According to Plastics News (609097) they are making a multi-million dollar investment in a PET bottle preform manufacturing factory in Sydney, and will soon start construction on a PET reprocessing plant.=20

CCA will begin by using a minimum of 25 percent recycled material "in a broad range of recycled-content bottles" but "expects to boost that percentage in the future" (Plastics News - 6/9/97). Colin Whyte, environmental affairs manager for CCA was quoted in the article as saying "We will increase that level (25 percent) over time because the technology we have developed will allow us to have a higher recycled content. . . A lot will depend on the guaranteed supply of material."

WHY NOT= HERE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 07:22:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Pat Franklin <cri@igc.org> Subject: Recycled PET Content Revisited - Coke Boycott

OOPPPS!!!! I failed to mention the Coke Boycott in Australia that was discussed on greenyes last week. It is often difficult to determine cause and effect. but as Hop (oldxeye@crisscross.com) explained in his note of Jun 2, the boycott got lots of attention. For those of you who missed Hop's email, his final comment on the boycott was this -- "It's dead easy."

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 23:36:18 -0500 From: "Susan K. Snow" <sksnow@1stnet.com> Subject: Stop the mysterious cell from hell by returning to the values of an earlier time

I don't know how long this article will be online, so it's important that you click onto it as soon as possible.=20

http://www.seattletimes.com/extra/browse/html97/fish_061197.html

The article is:=20 Copyright =A9 1997 The Seattle Times Company=20 Wednesday, June 11, 1997=20

Mysterious `cell from hell' =20 ravaging fish along East Coast

by Joby Warrick=20 Washington Post=20

It appears that this 'cell from hell' may be due to pollution which **has shifted the natural balance and created an opening for opportunists that thrive in waters rich in sewage, animal waste and fertilizers.**

This article confirms why we must compost with animals wastes and this compost as fertilizers in order to keep runoff from going into the sea.=20 It also confirms that we must detoxify consumer products and waste!=20 Getting the toxics out does not mean recycling them into another product, such as secret ingredients in pesticides. It means stop the poisoning in the first place.=20

We need a value shift to heathy animals and people, instead of a healthier chemical industry. We need to shift to growing wildflowers and making a place for wildlife, instead of flawless green lawns and weed-free gardens. By using animal manures instead of toxic sewage sludge and synthetic fertilizers, lawns, gardens, and agriculture can be grown. They are growing quite well right now. =20

But how do we move America from being chemically dependent to sustaining life---all life?=20

Susan Snow

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 14:56:43 -0500 From: Christy Lea Corse <CCORSE@tnrcc.state.tx.us> Subject: unsubscribe

unsubscribe

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 20:26:51 -0400 (EDT) From: EarthSciKE@aol.com Subject: unsubscribe

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Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 17:09:08 -0700 (PDT) From: "William P. McGowan" <6500kai@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu> Subject: ZERO CUT MEETS ZERO WASTE

Before everyone gets on the Zero Cut bandwagon, recognize that putting a=20 stop to cutting managed forests here in the United States puts even more=20 pressure on the forests of other third world countries, where the=20 governments have neither the inclination nor the money to support the=20 kind of forest management we use here.

Say what you will about the American forest products industry, it uses=20 some of the best practices in the world when compared to the=20 clear-cutting policies grwing in Brazil, Burma, and elsewhere in the=20 thirdworld.

Bill McGowan

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End of GreenYes Digest V97 #139 ******************************