In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

In Business, March-April, 2006, Vol. 28, No. 2, p. 8

SUPERVISORS SUPPORT REQUIRING
MANUFACTURERS TO RECYCLE PRODUCTS
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on February 14 to pass a resolution that supports statewide legislation and local initiatives requiring manufacturers to take responsibility for collecting and recycling their products at the end of their useful life. Says Bill Sheehan, director of the Product Policy Institute based in Athens, Georgia: “This is the strongest statement yet from a local

government in the U.S. The resolution signals a fundamental shift in thinking among local governments, which have borne responsibility for collecting and disposing refuse since a century ago. As the resolution puts it: 'By covering the costs of collection and disposal, local governments are subsidizing production of waste because manufacturers know that whatever they produce, the local government will foot the bill for recycling or disposal.'”
Product Policy Institute has been assisting San Francisco and other California communities develop policies that conserve resources and reduce local taxes. The resolution is posted under “Local Government EPR” at www.product policy.org/resources/index.html. Bill Sheehan can be contacted via e-mail at: bill@productpolicy.org.

BINDER CHOICE WITH RECYCLED CARDBOARD
IS BASIS FOR GREEN BUSINESS LAUNCH
Bradley Hole launched the Sustainable Group in Seattle, Washington to create environmentally friendly office products. He explains how the concept developed in a letter to In Business:
“The idea to create Rebinder came to use while working in an office with many vinyl three ring binders. We found that we were always looking for the right way to dispose of the old ones with ripped covers or bent rings. It felt terrible having to throw the entire thing away. Knowing how toxic it is to manufacture vinyl and dispose of it, our quest was to find a better solution. Unlike traditional vinyl three ring binders, Rebinder's cover is made of durable corrugated cardboard (35-38 percent postconsumer recycled). The cover is removable (by unscrewing the two screws that affix it to the spine) and 100 percent recyclable. New covers can be used with the old ring metals and assembly. Available in three sizes, all our products are made in Washington State and assembly is done by a back-to-work program at Goodwill Commercial Services (Tacoma, Washington). Our newest product, Repocket, is a little different than traditional two pocket folders. We used a thicker bending chip board (20 point thickness) made from 100 percent recycled fibers (56 percent postconsumer and 44 percent postindustrial).
“Our customers tell us that our products help communicate an important message about sustainability and social responsibility. Clients from LEED Certified Architects, green businesses, law offices and schools are replacing their vinyl binders and folders with more sustainable alternatives.”
For more details or to place orders, contact Bradley Hole at Sustainable Group, 844 NW 49th St., Seattle, WA 98102. (206) 706-0966.

FURNITURE COUNCIL WORKS WITH RAINFOREST
ALLIANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
Launched at the High Point Market in October, 2005, the Sustainable Furniture Council (SFC) is taking steps to change the furniture industry. “We contacted everyone who attended the October meeting, outlining objectives and benefits,” says Gerry Cooklin, an SFC founder and CEO of South Cone Furniture headquartered in Gardena, California. “We are also developing a memorandum of understanding with the Rainforest Alliance.” Adds Daphne Hewitt of the Rainforest Alliance: “We're excited to see an industry-led initiative encourage and promote sustainable forestry and sourcing practices.”
The SFC has two objectives: To assist manufacturers to adopt sustainable practices and to promote sustainable products. Members will be guided to full certification under wood harvesting standards set up by the Forest Stewardship Council and after certification, to educate consumers about sustainable products. For more information, visit: www.ra.org.

GETTING READY FOR THE SPRING
GARDENING SEASON
Our company mission, says Vince Mazza who is CEO of Green Organics, Inc., based in Bristol, Illinois, is to “offer consumers environmentally safe and natural products for their homes and gardens to make the gardening experience more enjoyable. ... Through offering environmentally safe, organic soils, the net result is healthier plants with greater yields and disease resistance.” The company was acquired from Scotts and established in 1999. Grass trimmings, leaves and brush are accepted at its composting facility - up to 150,000 cubic yards of material per year. The company also delivers bulk organic soils to businesses and consumers in the Chicago area. Jeffrey's Products is a division of Green Organics that bags and distributes organic soils all over the Midwest. Visit its website at www.greenorganicsinc.com.

BIO-BASED MATERIALS HIGH PRIORITY AT DUPONT RESEARCH LABORATORIES
Bio-based substances that can replace oil and gas as building blocks for chemicals are high on the research agenda for DuPont at its research center in Wilmington, Delaware. The DuPont company has allocated nearly 10 percent of its $1.3 billion research budget to extracting ingredients from carbohydrates - things that grow and can be infinitely replaced - rather than from hydrocarbons, which are readily depleted, reports Claudia Deutsch of The New York Times (2/28/06). DuPont currently makes 10 percent of its products from nonpetrochemical sources, says CEO Charles Holliday Jr., who expects to increase that amount to 25 percent by 2010 ($3 billion in revenues). But his real motive for stressing bio-based materials, adds Deutsch, is his belief that they yield superior products. For example, he notes, the corn-based propane diol used in DuPont carpet fibers, offers better dye absorption and stain resistance than its petrochemical version. “We're using biology to solve problems that chemistry can't,” sums up Holliday.
According to the Times, DuPont is working with the U.S. Energy Department to turn corn plants - “husks, ears, stems, everything” - into vehicular fuel. DuPont is also reported to be close to developing plant-based hair dyes and nail polishes that will not adhere to skin, and a textile fiber made from sugar that will act and feel like cotton.

ON THE ROAD TO ZERO WASTE - FROM
BOULDER TO THE UNITED KINGDOM
At the Boulder, Colorado Farmers' Market, everything available for consumption is compostable or recyclable. Signs indicate that “You are entering a Zero Waste zone.” Eco-Cycle has partnered with market vendors to find alternatives to the styrofoam and other petroleum-derived packaging. Over the winter, Eco-Cycle staff met with each market food vendor and found compostable alternatives for items that previously generated trash - including plates, bowls, cups, etc. Preferred products are made from corn, wheat, sugarcane or other natural sources. For more information, e-mail robin@ecocycle.org.
A joint United Kingdom and United States team of planners have completed a detailed feasibility and enterprise development plan for a zero waste center based in Lowestoft, U.K. The European Union considers the project as in important model with potential to spread to other cities and regions. The report - Zero Waste Centre Feasibility Study - was guided by three key principles: A site that's convenient to the public; Built-in incentives for proper processing of materials; and Reduce, reuse and repair, and then recycle or compost. Benefits from this investment are estimated to be over $1.6 million annually. For materials that did not have local markets, a service analysis was undertaken to identify enterprises for recruiting.
Project team included an architect and illustrator from Urban Ore Design Associates, plus team members from staff at Eco-Cycle of Boulder, Colorado and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

LOW EMISSION LEAF BLOWER FOR
SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY DISTRICT
In the Los Angles area, the regional air quality agency is offering cleaner, quieter leaf blowers at a discount to landscapers who exchange their old noisy models. A newspaper report describes how the South Coast Air Quality Management District - with jurisdiction in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties - has set a goal of 1,500 new blowers. To get the program going, in mid-February 64 landscapers showed up at a gardening supply store and bought 138 new blowers. The low-emission machines which use four-stroke engines instead of two-stroke, are about five times cleaner, explains Chung Liu, a District scientist. “The number of leaf blowers compared to lawn mowers is small, but pollution is a lot more,” says Liu who estimates that there are 50,000 leaf blowers operating in the Los Angeles area.
One of the first in the nation to target blowers, the agency believes that the trade-in concept is a better alternative than bans which some cities have adopted but are difficult to enforce. Landscapers maintain that using electric blowers take more time and raise costs. Said a board member of the agency: “We decided to focus on better blowers, because it's not economically viable to ban the old machines.”