[GreenYes] plastic magazines

Amy Perlmutter

Perlmutter Associates
23 Avon Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-354-5456

Strategic planning, partnership building, communications, and program design for a sustainable future

On Dec 2, 2008, at 2:27 PM, Christine McCoy wrote:

I think I've mentioned before that this is likely similar to what the book Cradle to Cradle was printed on.

Here's what the website (http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm) says:

"And the book can be easily recycled in localities with systems to collect polypropylene, like that in yogurt containers. This 'treeless' book points the way toward the day when synthetic books, like many other products, can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality?in cradle to cradle cycles."

Therefore, I don't think you can get them for making a false claim, but I doubt that anyone on the sorting line would know what the heck the magazine is made out of and toss it into the reject pile. :(

It's just another scam - like making "plastic" out of corn starch, or other biodegradable materials. There's no infrastructure to identify, separate or ultimately recycle (or compost, in the case of bioplastics), so essentially it's just garbage!!! People who do not deal in resource recovery on a daily basis often come up with these hair-brained ideas - putting the horse before the cart.

Christine McCoy

From: amy@no.address
To: greenyes@no.address
Subject: [GreenYes] plastic magazines
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 13:59:57 -0500

I would doubt this is even recyclable. If they are saying it is, they could be reported to the FTC as a false marketing claim:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm

From the guidelines:
(d) Recyclable: It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is recyclable. A product or package should not be marketed as recyclable unless it can be collected, separated or otherwise recovered from the solid waste stream for reuse, or in the manufacture or assembly of another package or product, through an established recycling program. Unqualified claims of recyclability for a product or package may be made if the entire product or package, excluding minor incidental components, is recyclable. For products or packages that are made of both recyclable and non-recyclable components, the recyclable claim should be adequately qualified to avoid consumer deception about which portions or components of the product or package are recyclable. Claims of recyclability should be qualified to the extent necessary to avoid consumer deception about any limited availability of recycling programs and collection sites. If an incidental component significantly limits the ability to recycle a product or package, a claim of recyclability would be deceptive. A product or package that is made from recyclable material, but, because of its shape, size or some other attribute, is not accepted in recycling programs for such material, should not be marketed as recyclable.(4)

Amy Perlmutter
Perlmutter Associates
23 Avon Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-354-5456
Strategic planning, partnership building, communications, and program design for a sustainable future

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Sun, Nov 30 2008 3:52 pm
From: "Kendall Christiansen"

Excerpt from newsletter that tracks the magazine industry; info/opinions
welcome:

CLEAR, the fashion magazine with the clear cover, is going bimonthly and
has
published a 100% tree free and fully recyclable issue (yes, even the
cover).
It's printed on "synthetic papers" made by YUPO. Waterproof, stain
resistant, and durable, the paper is actually a category 5 polypropylene
plastic film and contains no timber or organic fiber of any kind. When
you're done reading it, simply toss it in the recycling with your empty
bottles of soda, per the manufacturer. But is recycling plastic better
than
recycling paper?

Kendall Christiansen

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