Category: Product Stewardship

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Ten Most Recent Resources Added to P2TagTeam

P2TagTeam is collaborative tagging effort on Delicious, spearheaded by the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx), to encourage P2 professionals to share the resources they find and bookmark. If you locate a resource that you think would be helpful to other P2 professionals, simply add P2TagTeam tag in the Tags field when you add the bookmark to Delicious. For more background on P2Tag Team, Delicious, and social bookmarking, see P2 is Delicious, my earlier post on the topic.

As an example of the kinds of resources being identified, here are the ten most recent bookmarks tagged for P2TagTeam. You can view the entire collection at http://www.delicious.com/tag/p2tagteam.

  • Green Vehicle Guide | US EPA
  • Ground-Level Ozone Reduction Links – Programs & Outreach – LouisvilleKy.gov
  • B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Bag)
    380,000,000,000 plastic bags are consumed each year in America, 1% of them get recycled. Princeton SECN students explores the world of plastic, and non-plastic bags. Learn how bringing your own bag, can help the environment.
  • ScienceCinema, the source for Department of Energy (DOE) multimedia – Home Page
    ScienceCinema utilizes audio indexing and speech recognition technology from Microsoft Research, allowing you to search for specific words and phrases spoken within video files. You can then easily access the exact point in the video where the words were spoken by the presenter. The videos in ScienceCinema highlight DOE’s scientific research.
  • Don’t be left in the dark.: Safely clean up and recycle CFLs.
    EPA brochure on cleaning up broken compact fluorescent light bulbs.
  • The Green Grid
    The Green Grid is a global consortium of IT companies and professionals seeking to improve energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems around the globe. The organization seeks to unite global industry efforts to standardize on a common set of metrics, processes, methods and new technologies to further its common goals.
  • State of Green Business Report 2011
    The fourth annual edition of our State of Green Business report continues our efforts to measure the environmental impacts of the emerging green economy. We document how well — or poorly — companies are improving their environmental performance despite the challenges posed by the Great Recession, and begin to note promising signs for a sea change in corporate sustainability efforts. The free, downloadable report measures the progress of U.S. business and the economy from an environmental perspective, and highlights key trends in corporate culture in regard to the environment.
  • Check Your Paper
    The Check Your Paper scheme is WWF’s global benchmarking tool for responsible producers and buyers of paper products. It also provides a virtual meeting place for organisations who want to act sustainably and transparently when producing or buying paper products.
  • National Yellow Pages Opt Out Site
    Opt out of yellow pages, white pages & phone books delivery.
  • Thermal Paper & BPA — Trash or Recycle?
    Thermal paper receipts contain BPA. Is it a good idea to recycle thermal receipts?

For more information on P2TagTeam, visit the P2Rx web site or contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu).

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ISTC Technical Assistance Program Director Moving On After 19 Years

Dr. Tim Lindsey is leaving the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) to take another job with the University of Illinois.  Dr. Lindsey has been an Associate Director of ISTC and head of the Technical Assistance Program.

He now will be the Director of Energy and Sustainable Business Programs at the U of I – Business Innovation Services (BIS).  He will lead the State’s Green Jobs Initiative and will also direct the State’s efforts to create a stronger local foods industry. Business Innovation Services (BIS) provides customized consulting and training services, as well as public workshops and certificate programs.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Tim,” said Dr. Manohar Kulkarni, PE; Director of ISTC.  “Tim is an innovator; passionate about pollution prevention; and a gentleman.  While his daily presence at the center will certainly be missed, I hope to work with Tim on collaborative projects in his new role.  On behalf of the scientists and staff of ISTC, I wish Dr. Lindsey a roaring success in his future endeavors.”

Lindsey recently received a P2 Champion award from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable.  He has been at ISTC since 1991 and has directed the program that included work in pollution prevention, green business, energy efficiency, alternative energy, carbon foot-printing, water foot-printing, environmental cost analysis, life cycle analysis, and systems engineering.  He is best known for his pioneering work in developing Accelerated Diffusion of Pollution Prevention Technologies (ADOP2T), a model for technology diffusion that speeds the transfer of better environmental technologies and processes from the bench to the plant floor. Lindsey is the driving force behind the Sustainable Electronics Initiative, and has been the leader in ISTC’s effort to promote and improve biofuels.  In recent years, Lindsey has applied his expertise and passion to address sustainability problems in Haiti.  He has worked with local farmers and non-government organizations to set up biodiesel processors and to train Haitians in harvesting a suitable crop like Jatropha, processing it, and operating reactors to produce a quality bio-fuel.

Lindsey was previously employed at Exxon and worked as an environmental consultant.  He received his B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Science from Southern Illinois University and his Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois.

We offer Tim our congratulations and best wishes. Those of us at ISTC will greatly miss him!

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ISTC Receives Pair of National Environmental Awards

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) has received a pair of national environmental awards. Awards were received for the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) and by Dr. Tim Lindsey.

MVP2 Awards

The 2010 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention (MVP2) awards presented by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) celebrate the successes of innovators in the areas of pollution prevention and sustainability. These prestigious awards were presented recently at a ceremony in Washington, DC.  ISTC is a unit of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Continue reading “ISTC Receives Pair of National Environmental Awards”

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International E-waste Design Competition Turns Refuse into Resource

Electronic waste, or “E-Waste,” generated by computers, TVs, cameras, printers, and cell phones, is a growing global issue. According to the U.S. EPA, Americans currently own nearly 3 billion electronic products and as new products are purchased, obsolete products are stored or discarded at alarming rates. About two-thirds of the electronic devices removed from service are still in working order. However, only about 15% of this material is recycled while the vast majority is disposed in landfills. The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), is pleased to announce the International E-Waste Design Competition, in which participants will explore solutions to this problem at the local level and beyond, by using e-waste components to create appealing and useful products. Continue reading “International E-waste Design Competition Turns Refuse into Resource”

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SEI “Ask an Expert” Service Provides Information on Electronics and the Environment

The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), is pleased to announce the availability of its online “Ask an Expert” service for the submission of questions related to electronics and their environmental impacts. Continue reading “SEI “Ask an Expert” Service Provides Information on Electronics and the Environment”

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Documents recently added to GLRPPR sector resources

These publications were recently added to GLRPPR’s Sector Resources. This list is also available as an RSS feed at http://www.istc.illinois.edu/info/library_docs/SectorRSS.htm.

Lead-Free Wheels
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:15:14 GMT
The Lead-Free Wheels Program is partnering with retail tire outlets to make lead-free wheel balancing available to consumers when they purchase new tires. They are also actively working with numerous state and local fleets to phase out the use of lead wheel balancing weights. Site also includes information on sources of lead-free weights, wheel balancing, and lead-free alternatives. A project of the Ecology Center (Michigan).

National Lead Free Wheel Weight Initiative (NLFWWI)
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:11:37 GMT
The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) National Lead Free Wheel Weight Initiative encourages the transition from the use of lead for wheel weights to lead-free alternatives. Wheel weights are clipped to the rims of every automobile wheel in the United States in order to balance the tires. These weights often come loose and fall off. They are either washed into storm sewers and end up in waterways or are gathered during street cleaning and placed in municipal landfills. The weights are susceptible to atmospheric corrosion. Currently, there are no regulatory controls governing the use of lead wheel weights.

Google PowerMeter
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:10:19 GMT
Google PowerMeter shows consumers their electricity consumption in a secure Google gadget. Google is currently testing the product with utility partners in the US, India and Canada.

Know the Number
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:08:42 GMT
The Carbon Counter displays the running total amount of long-lived greenhouse gasses in the earth’s atmosphere, measured in metric tons.

Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:06:51 GMT
The Electronics Environmental Benefits Calculator is intended to assist institutional purchasers, including Federal Electronic Challenge (FEC) program participants, in quantifying the benefits of environmentally sound management of electronic equipment. The Calculator estimates the environmental and economic benefits of purchasing EPEAT-registered products, in addition to improvements in equipment operation and end-of-life management practices. Currently this tool is designed to evaluate EPEAT-registered desktop (with a CRT or LCD) and notebook computers. For end-of-life, users can calculate the benefits of reuse and recycling of computers as well as mobile telephones.

TranAtlas
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:03:18 GMT
This interactive map uses a Google Maps interface to display: Existing and planned alternative fueling stations; Alternative fuel production facilities; Light-duty vehicle density; Roads and political boundaries. Users can customize the map display, print, and query the underlying data.

Climate Change Portal
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:00:46 GMT
This portal includes links to reports and other technical literature on the subject of climate change and how it affects water supply. Developed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, so the focus is California, but there is a lot of good, general information here.

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:10:10 GMT
The report summarizes the science and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It focuses on climate change impacts in different regions of the U.S. and on various aspects of society and the economy such as energy, water, agriculture, and health.

Practice Greenhealth
Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:11:09 GMT
Practice Greenhealth is the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in the healthcare community that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Members include hospitals, healthcare systems, businesses and other stakeholders engaged in the greening of healthcare to improve the health of patients, staff and the environment.

Top 25 Green Energy Leaders
Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:05:40 GMT
It is no longer enough to just conserve energy. More and more corporations, government agencies and entire cities are making large, long-term commitments to ensure that the power they do use comes from renewable sources. To recognize these trendsetters, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes a quarterly list of the top American users of green power: organizations that generate their own renewable energy, buy it from suppliers, or purchase offset credits to compensate for their traditional energy use.

Life-Cycle Environmental and Economic Decision-Making for Alternative Biofuels
Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:58:54 GMT
The specific aims of this program are to develop and apply methods to study the life-cycle health, environmental, resource, and economic impacts and performance of the various pathways from biomass to fuel use. This program will produce a comprehensive framework for assessing both the benefits and impacts of biofuel technologies for environmental quality, human health, natural resources, and local, regional and global economies. This effort includes methods development, data collection, information management, and decision-support tools.

GoodNanoGuide
Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:53:17 GMT
The GoodNanoGuide is a collaboration platform designed to enhance the ability of experts to exchange ideas on how best to handle nanomaterials in an occupational setting. It is meant to be an interactive forum that fills the need for up-to-date information about current good workplace practices, highlighting new practices as they develop.

Green Building Sherpa
June 9, 2009 at 12:26 pm
An online directory of environmentally friendly products, services and information pertaining to building design, construction, management + operation.

Flexible Solar Power Shingles Transform Roofs From Wasted Space To Energy Source
June 9, 2009 at 9:59 am
A transparent thin film barrier used to protect flat panel TVs from moisture could become the basis for flexible solar panels that would be installed on roofs like shingles.

Climate TechBook
Tuesday, June 09, 2009 8:43 AM
The Pew Center’s Climate TechBook serves as an information resource on technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from across the economy, including: overviews of greenhouse gas emissions from the key economic sectors: electricity, transportation, industry, residential and commercial, and agriculture; technology overviews for broad technology areas, such as buildings and biofuels; and fact sheets that provide background information about specific technologies, the current status of the technology, cost information, policy options to promote the technology, and obstacles to further development and deployment.

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New GLRPPR Sector Resource on Electronic Waste

Recently Indiana became the 19th state in the U.S. to enact electronic waste regulations with the signing of HB 1589. The group of states with such regulations also includes Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois in the Great Lakes region. According to the Electronics Take Back Coalition, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New York will be considering e-waste legislation in 2009. At the local level, New York City also has electronic waste regulations. At the federal level, H.R. 1580, the Electronic Waste Research and Development Act, has been voted upon by the U.S. House of Representatives and been received by the Senate.

Given this trend, it seems appropriate to launch a resource collection on the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) site focused specifically on e-waste issues. The GLRPPR Electronic Waste Sector Resource will include links to relevant legislation, news, events, funding opportunities, and contacts. This resource list is under development, so if you are aware of resources for e-waste programs in your state, please feel free to send links to Joy Scrogum for potential inclusion in this new resource list. An RSS feed is available for the Electronic Waste Sector Resource so you can be aware of new resources as they are added.

GLRPPR is a member of the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) a national network of pollution prevention information centers. Another P2Rx center, the Western Sustainability Pollution Prevention Network (WSPPN) has also developed a P2Rx Topic Hub on Electronic Waste. This is linked to within the new Sector Resource on the GLRPPR site and is also available on the main GLRPPR Topic Hub page.

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December 2008 Site of the Month: Consumer Reports Greener Choices

It’s holiday time again, which means you’re probably going to buy at least one gift for someone, as well as items for celebrations and holiday meals. You may wish to consult Consumer Reports Greener Choices web site, which provides information to help choose more environmentally friendly products. Articles and “green ratings” are available for the following product categories: Appliances, Cars, Electronics, Food & Beverages, and Home & Garden.  Within these sections, you’ll find links to articles, information on conservation of resources (such as energy, water, fuel, etc.), resources for shopping greener, and information on recycling and disposal. The “Hot Topics & Solutions” section of the site includes the Eco-labels Center (which helps you interpret what product labels really mean), the Electronics Recycling Center, the Global Warming Solutions Center, and sections on Energy, Water, and Waste.

The “Toolkit” section includes calculators to help save energy, water, and money, as well as a Toxics Search tool to find out whether there’s a potential for exposure while using a particular product, and how that can affect your health. The “Community” section of the site includes links to Consumers Union campaigns, forums and resources for further information, as well as blogs on cars, food safety, green homes, and safety.

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IL Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act

On September 17, 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich announced legislation requiring electronics manufacturers to collect and recycle or reuse electronics products. At no charge to consumers, the law authorizes the use of a combination of incentives and mandates to reduce the ever-increasing amount of electronic waste – televisions, printers, computer monitors, computers, laptops, printers, fax machines and MP3 players – and their toxic substances, such as lead, cadmium, copper, flame retardants, and phosphorus, from being disposed in Illinois landfills.  It also gives manufacturers flexibility in the strategies they use to meet their goals, such as partnering with retailers and local governments to sponsor collections.  Manufacturers, recyclers, refurbishers and collectors must also register annually with the Illinois EPA. Effective January 1, 2012, landfills would be prohibited from knowingly accepting any of the covered electronic devices for disposal. SB 2313 is effective immediately.

For further information on SB 2313, as well as a link to the resulting Public Act (095-0959; the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act), see the Illinois General Assembly web site.