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Big advances in e-recycling for New Yorkers

2009-04-22T17:21:54Z

Earth Day presents an excellent opportunity for an update on e-waste recycling initiatives in New York, where things are developing at a fast and furious pace.

You may recall that last summer the New York City Council passed landmark legislation enacting the first municipal extended producer responsibility (EPR)-based electronics recycling law in the country. Though similar to many of the laws that exist in 17 other states, the NYC bill is special in two regards.

First, it represents "pure EPR." Instead of giving manufacturers a choice between running their own programs to take back their electronic products from consumers at the end of their useful lives for recycling OR paying into a government-run program to do so (so-called "pay or play"), manufacturers in NYC must play. One of the primary concepts underlying EPR is that by requiring producers to internalize the costs of handling their products at end of life, they will have the incentive to design their products so that they are less toxic and easier (and hence cheaper) to recycle. The "play only" approach most directly achieves this objective.

Second, it contains mandatory minimum collection standards that manufacturers must meet each year, measured as a percentage by weight of what they sold in the City in the prior year. Stiff penalties may be assessed for failure to meet these mandatory collection requirements. Enforcement performance standards like these are the simplest and surest way to ensure that manufacturers design programs that will take back the maximum amount of obsolete TVs, computers and other electronics from consumers.

Although we would have liked to see them sooner, we were happy to see the NYC Department of Sanitation issue its final rules to implement the City law a week ago today. The delay in publication will unfortunately mean that City residents are almost certain to have to wait longer for a viable means of getting rid of their unwanted electronics than they should given the law's passage almost a year ago - and the digital conversion that will render non-digital TVs obsolete in June - and this is unfortunate. But we are very pleased that the final rules suggest Sanitation's intention to implement the mandatory minimum collection standards that go into effect in 2012. (You may recall that the mayor vetoed this portion of the law, which was then overridden by the City Council, making the standards the law of the City. While we may yet need to fight to see the standards enforced given the mayor's antipathy towards them, their inclusion in the final rules sounds a hopeful note.)

The other big news is that the NYS Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee today passed a comprehensive EPR e-waste bill (A7571) that would cover the entire state as part of its Earth Day package of measures. This same bill passed through the entire Assembly and out of the Senate Environment Committee last year before dying in conference. Although the bill isn't perfect, and opposition by manufacturers remains a weighty obstacle, we remain very hopeful that, with both houses and the Governorship in a single party's hands, we'll see an e-waste bill enacted for the state as a whole this year.

Stay tuned for further reports of the future of e-waste regulation in New York...

Obama is Right to Ask Congress to Delay the Digital Conversion

2009-01-13T17:47:00Z

The Obama transition team is asking Congress to postpone the transition to digital broadcast set for February 17 because of concerns that the Commerce Department has run out of money to subsidize the purchase of converter boxes. Consumers who don't currently have either cable or satellite service or a TV with a digital tuner will need to have converter boxes to continue to receive a signal following the conversion. A particular concern is that many such consumers are elderly, lower income and/or live in rural areas, and that these groups will be adversely affected if the conversion isn't delayed until the government can provide coupons to assist in the purchase of required converter boxes.

Another important benefit of delaying the conversion, though, is that it would provide more time for TV manufacturers to set up take-back programs to recycle the old TVs that will be trashed ahead of the conversion in favor of new TVs with a digital tuner. As the recent TV Recycling Report Card issued by the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (of which NRDC is a member) indicates, the highest ranked TV manufacturer (Sony) received a grade of only B- - for launching the first national take-back program. Nine manufacturers have no programs at all, and the remaining 7 received pitiful C or D grades.

Because the conversion is expected to result in a "tsunami" of old TVs (and the lead and other toxic components they contain) hitting municipal waste streams, any delay in its implementation - coupled with pressure on the manufacturers to improve their recycling programs - will benefit the environment and public health.

A delay would also provide additional time for those states that are currently considering e-recycling legislation to enact laws before the conversion. Legislators in New York State, for example, are expected to make a big push this year to enact a comprehensive bill mandating that manufacturers of TVs and computers take back their products for responsible recycling at the end of their useful lives. This law would be based on the New York City e-recycling law that NRDC successfully advocated for last year, which now provides for mandatory electronics recycling for half the state's population. Knowing that they may have a little more time to pass a law in advance of the conversion may provide an important impetus to get the bill - which came closer to passage than many had expected last year - done this year.

Nearly One Million Strong

2008-09-09T20:37:18Z

Still less than one year old, Catalog Choice is poised to register its one millionth user any minute now (at the time of this posting, membership stands at 999,450). That’s an amazing accomplishment for a completely not-for-profit service that has depended entirely on word-of-mouth and media coverage to advertise its existence.

What do one million users translate into in terms of environmental benefits? According to the EDF Paper Calculator, our one million users – who have collectively opted out of approximately 13.3 million catalogs – are saving:

Over 60,000 tons of wood, the equivalent of more than 420,000 trees saved.
Over 180 million pounds of CO2 equivalent, the same as taking more than 16,000 cars of the road each year.
About 900,000 million BTU’s, or the equivalent energy used in about 10,000 homes per year.
More than 421 million gallons of waste water, the equivalent of about 650 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Approximately 65 million pounds of solid waste, or about 2,300 garbage trucks’ worth.

This is a remarkable achievement, and grossly exceeds the Catalog Choice creators’ wildest expectations. Believe it or not, at the time of launch, we had hoped to have 100,000 users by the end of our first year. We clearly blew that goal out of the water – by a factor of 10!

But to fully realize these potential environmental benefits – and save our users from the inconvenience and annoyance of pulling all those unwanted catalogs out of their mailboxes – we still have work to do. Merchant compliance with Catalog Choice users’ opt-out requests is still voluntary. As many who are already members have no doubt discovered, while many companies are acting responsibly (and in their own economic self-interest) to honor your requests, others continue to refuse to do so and their customers (or for the truly frustrated, former customers) keep receiving their catalogs even after opting out.

We continue to work hard every day to convince every catalog mailer to comply with our users’ requests, and we are making progress.

To help push us over the edge in terms of merchant compliance there are a few simple things you can do, too:

First and foremost, if you haven’t already, sign up for the Catalog Choice service at www.catalogchoice.org.
Use the Invite Friends feature to tell your friends to sign up.
If you blog, keep the word about Catalog Choice circulating.
Call those merchants who continue to refuse to honor your opt-out requests and ask them to take you off their mailing lists and to honor all requests transmitted through Catalog Choice.

Help us reach that all important one million mark that will let the catalog industry know just how important it is to you that they honor your mail preferences!

One step closer to all "green" yellow cabs for NYC

2008-07-17T23:14:00Z

Good news from New York City: Since the last Checker went the way of the old Penn Station, New York has lacked a cab that lives up to New Yorkers’ elevated self-image. Uninspiring Crown Victorias now lumber down Broadway, inadequate substitutes for the Checkers they replaced. The Checker is history, but thanks to Mayor Bloomberg and the Taxi & Limousine Commission, New York will again have an iconic cab fleet, this time notable for being one of the world’s greenest and cleanest.

Last fall the mayor announced that, starting this October, all new cabs must get at least 25 m.p.g. in city driving. By October 2012, every cab in the city will have to get at least 30 m.p.g. By way of comparison, the Crown Vic averages a shameful 14 m.p.g. This initiative is a prominent example of New York’s sustainability efforts, and one that cities around the world have begun to emulate.

As I testified before the TLC at the time, this is great news; cabbies will save big money at the pump, and the cars will both spew less throat-clogging local pollution and reduce New York’s carbon footprint and dependence on oil. Though bicycling, walking or taking public transit are still the most environmental transportation choices, hybrid cabs are a big improvement over the status quo. According to the TLC these new cabs will emit up to 215,000 fewer tons of carbon every year than the old fleet.

There are currently eight hybrid models that meet the new standards (and given technological advancements, likely many more in future years), but some fleet owners had worried that there wouldn’t be enough vehicles to meet the new requirements. Yesterday the city and carmakers reached an agreement ensuring that the fleet conversion to hybrids can happen on schedule. Nissan, GM, and Ford will guarantee the city 300 hybrids a month to meet the fleets’ demand. While none of these vehicles may be able to evoke the classic looks of the Checker, they represent the city’s innovation and optimism like the Crown Vic never could.

World Series Champs are Champs of Going Green

2008-04-22T22:38:10Z

This evening NRDC Founder John Adams will throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park – the storied home of the world champion Boston Red Sox and oldest original ballpark in the country. The Fenway Faithful will also be treated to a public service video narrated by long-standing NRDC Board member and “Natural” star, Robert Redford, detailing the MLB’s efforts to green the league. For this card-carrying (some might even go so far as to say rabid) member of Red Sox Nation, tonight’s Earth Day festivities are a source of double pride.

John will throw out the first pitch after accepting an Environmental Merit Award being jointly presented by EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to NRDC and the Sox in recognition of the team’s “Greening Fenway” initiative, in which NRDC has played a key advisory role. Among the environmentally friendly measures being implemented by the Sox at Fenway with NRDC’s help are:

Installation of solar panels on the roof along the first base line.
Installation of solar powered trash compactors around Fenway Park.
Reduced use of water and fertilizer on the playing field, and electric carts for the grounds crew.
Use by concessionaire ARAMARK of recycled paper for food service materials, as much locally grown produce as possible, and compostable trash bags.
Use of recycled paper for media guides, schedules and yearbooks.
Mobilization of the Poland Spring Green Team, a corps of 30-50 mostly student volunteers who will gather plastic bottles and distribute recycling information to fans.

Although my beloved Sox aren’t alone among MLB teams taking serious steps to improve their stadiums’ environmental profiles, they are certainly the only one that can lay claim to housing a Greenah Monstah.

And because no post about the Nation would be complete without a dig at the Empire, I would point out that the Sox’ activities have some in the Bronx seeing green.

GO SOX!!

The Post Office and E-Waste, Perfect Together

2008-03-19T23:42:55Z

Here’s a marriage that I wish I’d arranged myself.

Responding to a significant and increasing decline in first class mail – due to the ever-growing use of email, on-line banking, and efforts like our own Catalog Choice – the U.S. Postal Service has come up with an exciting initiative to keep itself relevant, while also addressing a pressing environmental challenge.

The U.S. Postal Service just began a free recycling program for small electronic devices. Have an old cell phone or camera to recycle and live in one of the 10 pilot cities? Just put your device in one of the free prepaid pouches that will be available in your local post office and it gets sent to a nearby center for refurbishment or recycling.

The postal service believes it can profit by recycling these obsolete electronics, which contain valuable, if often toxic materials. Electronics are of particular environmental concern because they are the fastest growing part of the residential waste stream and can contain lead, mercury, cadmium and other harmful materials. And if this program is a success, the USPS may expand it to cover other materials, such as all those expired pharmaceuticals that have been turning up in our drinking water.

Not only does this initiative hold out the promise for helping to keep our nation’s postal service relevant and in business, but it couldn’t come at a better time in helping to address the growing proliferation of e-waste.

Those of you who have read my past blog posts will know that NRDC has been working to enact e-waste recycling laws for a number of years, including a set of bills in New York City that will pass next week. Like nine other state laws currently in place, New York’s plan requires manufacturers to create programs to take back their discarded products.

Which brings us back to the USPS take-back initiative. Because every community in the country has a Post Office, this program has the potential to help manufacturers who are still figuring out how to get their products back from consumers. If the small electronic pilot succeeds, there will be a tremendous opportunity for the USPS to build on that success by partnering with manufacturers to take back electronics of all sizes.

The USPS should be applauded for advancing this progressive take-back initiative, which has the potential to benefit its employees, consumers and the environment all in one fell swoop. This is just the kind of creative thinking we’d all like to see more of – if not to come up with ourselves!

Today Show boost for Catalog Choice

2008-01-24T23:01:57Z

As I blogged about at the time of its launch last October, Catalog Choice is the free, easy on-line service that lets you opt out of receiving all those unwanted catalogs – the ones you never asked for, never intend to purchase from, and throw immediately away – while continuing to receive the ones you like.

Since that time, nearly half a million people have signed up with Catalog Choice, of which NRDC is a sponsoring organization. Those 500,000 people have together already opted out of more than 5 million catalogs. Since most mailers send on average 11 catalogs a year, that means that in a few short months, the Catalog Choice community has already cancelled more than 55 million catalogs that were destined – unread! – for the landfill, the incinerator or the recycling plant.

And Catalog Choice got a tremendous boost this morning when we were featured on the Today Show! The segment (click the “launch” button), part of the “Today Goes Green” series, is hosted by Ann Curry and features a fabulous group of school kids who have taken on the challenge of cancelling unwanted catalogs – and extended that challenge to schools across the country. By noon EST, Catalog Choice’s registered users had increased by more than 30,000 and the hits just keep coming!

To put this all in perspective, every year, the catalog industry mails more than 19 billion catalogs in the United States. A shocking approximately 95% of those catalogs are made from virgin forests (i.e., with no recycled paper content), at great ecological costs to our atmosphere, biodiversity, water, rare forests, landfills and incinerators.

Overall, producing that many catalogs on an annual basis uses:

· 53 million trees – the equivalent of clear-cutting 2000 Central Parks

· 3.6 million tons of paper

· 38 billion BTUs of power – enough energy to power 1.2 million homes per year

· 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions – equal to the annual emissions 2 million cars

· 53 billion gallons of water – enough to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

Yet the industry’s own research shows that only less than 2% of the catalogs received in this country actually result in a purchase.

In other words, the billions of unwanted catalogs that are mailed every year – besides being clogging our mailboxes – result in a tremendous waste of precious natural resources.

To date, Catalog Choice’s members have already saved more than 150,000 trees, enough energy to power 3,500 homes for a year, and as much global warming pollution as emitted by 6,000 cars over a year.

But we still have much to do. So if you haven’t already, please join in our efforts to rid Americans’ mailboxes of resource-squandering unwanted catalogs. And if you are already a member, don’t forget to tell your friends and family to sign up and take control over their mailboxes.

For those of you who are already registered users – or plan to join the Catalog Choice community – thank you! Also, we have also recently rolled out a series of updates to the site to let you readily determine which of the catalog companies you have requested to stop sending you their catalogs are honoring your requests, and which still need to come on board. This link takes you to a thorough explanation of the site’s new features. We hope you find them useful, and be assured that more is to come as we continue in our efforts to ensure that all of our members’ requests to get off mailing lists are being duly honored.

Nice PSA and electronic recycling update

2008-01-24T19:48:00Z

Just before the new year, I wrote about some ways folks can safely and responsibly get rid of their used electronic equipment, such as TVs, computers, and MP3 players. As I discussed, one of the only options for doing so in many areas of the country where comprehensive e-waste laws are not yet in effect is going to a voluntary collection event, usually sponsored by a municipal solid waste authority or a non-profit organization.

Earlier this month, the non-profit Lower East Side Ecology Center (LESEC) sponsored its fifth annual After the Holidays E-Waste Collection Event in New York City. More than 500 people showed up at this year’s event, which brought in over 35,000 pounds of e-waste for recycling. This public service announcement produced for Science Friday and posted on green.tv features the LESEC event and provides a nice quick sketch of why e-cycling is so important.

Events like these demonstrate the tremendous demand that exists for easy and reliable opportunities to safely get rid of our unwanted electronics. That is why NRDC has been working for several years to enact progressive, comprehensive e-cycling laws across the country.

On January 30th, the New York City Council is poised to enact the nation’s first comprehensive municipal electronic recycling law, which NRDC had a major hand in drafting and advocating aggressively to get passed. I’ll write more after the 30th, when our next major efforts will be directed at convincing Mayor Bloomberg to sign the bill into law and then moving to Albany to push for a statewide e-waste law. It suffices to say for now that successful passage of the New York City law, which would require manufacturers to conduct events like LESEC’s and/or provide other convenient ways to return used electronics for recycling, would provide a very satisfying cap to the month of January!

Getting Rid (Safely) of Holiday E-Waste

2007-12-28T23:15:20Z

This time of year, many of us are happily playing with (or for some of us trying to master the features of) the newest electronic gadget that arrived under the Christmas tree or as a Hannukah gift. Unfortunately, that may leave us with the dilemma of how to get rid of the old gadget it replaced. Most of us probably feel intuitively that throwing old electronic equipment like cell phones, TVs, computers and MP3 players – commonly referred to as “e-waste” – into the garbage can’t be right. And that’s true. E-waste contains numerous toxic substances, including mercury, lead and cadmium, that can present a health risk when burned in incinerators or improperly disposed of in landfills. But we don’t know what other alternative we have.

Some states have laws in place to require e-waste recycling, though many of those laws are newly enacted and have yet to be implemented. (Today, the only states with active e-waste recycling laws are California, Maine and Maryland. E-waste laws will be coming into effect over the next couple of years in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Texas, North Carolina and Connecticut. And many other states are considering passing such laws.)

But what do you do if you live in a state without an e-waste law currently in effect? Many municipalities and some non-profit organizations across the country conduct periodic voluntary e-waste collection events where you can bring your discarded electronics for recycling, usually for free. And an increasing number of manufacturers have “take back” programs, which allow you to send your e-waste back to them for recycling, either at no or little charge. Some large retailers will also take back e-waste for recycling, generally for a fee. Another great option is to donate your used electronics - provided they are in good condition - to a charitable organization so they can be put to good use by someone in need.

For more information on what you can do to safely get rid of your holiday e-waste, including helpful links to manufacturers, retailers and charitable organizations that handle e-waste, visit NRDC’s Green Living webpage.

And then you can really enjoy your holiday booty guilt-free!

NRDC in Prime Time!

2007-10-30T15:35:12Z

I caught last night’s episode of “How I Met Your Mother” and was happily surprised to see that one of main storylines was, well, kind of related to my own life experience. In last night’s installment, Marshall – saddled with law school debt – struggles with the following dilemma: to take the glamorous, high paying job with the corporate law firm or to follow his heart and work for……yup, NRDC!

At the end of the episode, Marshall ends up going with the big firm – but only because he thinks he can have it all. He will make the big bucks while also working exclusively for a client he can feel good about: a local amusement park that brings joy day after day to children young and old. Until, that is, he learns that the amusement park has an abysmal safety record leading to recurring death and destruction. What has he done?!

I graduated college with no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My parents had both spent their careers in public service, and I grew up mostly in developing countries. So I had a strong commitment to public service and to “giving back.” My personality had led those around me to suggest that I was destined to be a lawyer from the time I was quite young, but I rejected that possibility absolutely. While many of my friends were convinced of their choice of law school at the time of graduation, I was at a loss.

After graduation, I took a job working for a reproductive rights organization that was populated mostly by lawyer-advocates and for the first time understood that becoming an attorney didn’t condemn me to a life of private practice. I applied to law school and was accepted for the following fall.

I spent the six months prior to entering law school living in L.A., and that was all it took for me to decide that I wanted to spend my career working to improve the environment. From the moment I entered law school, I was focused on environmental pursuits. I spent my first summer interning for what was then unequivocally known as the Environmental Defense Fund. That experience led me to decide to pursue a joint degree in public policy, where I would also focus on environmental matters. But my summer at EDF also resulted in my being convinced to spend my second summer taking a position with a private, albeit environmentally-focused, law firm. I was correctly advised that positions with non-profit organizations directly out of law school are scarce, and that private firms offer both excellent training and the chance to make some money, a real concern for the average law student.

I was truly terrified of starting my summer associate job, convinced I would completely hate working for a private firm. I was really surprised to discover that I actually had a great experience that summer. I was gratified by the difficult legal issues I confronted, and deeply enjoyed the strategy exercises I was engaged in with my colleagues. Nonetheless, I remained committed to a career in public service, and was sure I wouldn’t return to a private firm upon graduation.

During my final year of law school I had the opportunity to participate in an environmental law clinic at NRDC, and working here some day became my official dream.

Then I graduated. With a lot of debt. And – as had been predicted – a serious dearth of opportunities for non-profit environmental work. That which I could find simply wouldn’t enable me to simultaneously pay off my law school loans and live in the custom to which I had become accustomed (that is, as a poor law student in the far East Village of New York City).

I ended up spending the next nine years working for the private firm at which I had spent my second law school summer. It was overall a wonderful job. I deeply liked and respected my colleagues, and most of the time I worked on really interesting matters. Every so often I would scour for good public interest environmental jobs, but there was never anything available at my level. Apparently no one ever left these organizations once they were ensconced in them and getting a job as a staff attorney for a non-profit environmental entity was seemingly impossible.

Eventually I made partner at the firm, something I never thought would occur and still knew I didn’t really want in my heart. Sure, I had made a good deal of money and paid off most of my loans. And I loved my colleagues. And no, gratifyingly I had never (unlike Marshall on tonight’s show) been asked to work on a matter by which I felt morally compromised; in fact, I liked most of my clients and was challenged by most of my cases. But I also didn’t really CARE about what I was doing. Though I remained involved in extracurricular environmental pursuits, at the end of the day, I desperately wanted to make a difference in my “real job” that could be measured in something other than money.

And then a miracle. About six months after making partner, a former colleague forwarded me a listing for a staff attorney position at NRDC. Though certainly not the conventional career choice, it took me approximately twenty seconds to decide I had to apply. And to my great fortune (in spirit if not in riches), I ended up with the job. And I have loved every second of it. Trite though it may sound, it really does make a difference to get to spend every day working to try to make the world a little bit better place.

So, sure, unlike Marshall I didn’t have the chance at my dream job right out of law school. But like him, the specter of law school debt did present me with the difficult choice of following my heart versus pure pragmatism, and led me to the firm job initially. But I still hope that at the end of the day, BOTH of us will have ended up working for NRDC. Stay tuned….

Talking "Paper or Plastic" with WNYC's Brian Lehrer

2007-10-16T10:55:13Z

Last Friday, Brian Lehrer at WNYC invited me on his show to talk about age-old question that consumers face at the check-out counter: Paper? Plastic? Neither?

Well, the best thing is to bring reusable canvas bags with you to the grocery store, but unless you're more prepared than an Eagle Scout you'll still have to choose between the other two from time to time. The answer usually comes down to which is easier to reuse and recycle in your community.

Check it out, and go read the excellent listener comments on Brian's blog, too!

Putting a stop to all those unwanted catalogs

2007-10-11T22:10:35Z

For most of us, one of the great annoyances in life is arriving home to a mailbox crammed full of catalogs we didn’t ask for, many of them from companies we have never bought anything from and maybe haven’t even heard of. This time of year, in the run-up to the holidays, is the worst. The catalogs seem to multiply exponentially with every passing week.

Although we may feel a little better taking those unread, unwanted catalogs and putting them in the recycling bin instead of trashing them, most of us know that only addresses a tiny portion of the overall environmental impact associated with getting the catalogs in our mailboxes in the first instance, and then disposing of them.

A few key facts: Each year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers. Catalog production uses approximately 3.6 million tons of paper, derived from 8.3 million tons of wood. Put in perspective, that’s 53 million trees – equivalent to the number of trees in 2,000 Central Parks.

Energy use to produce and dispose of this volume of paper is estimated at 119 trillion BTUs, and CO2 emissions are estimated at 11 million tons per year. Total wastewater discharges are estimated at 56 billion gallons, which is the equivalent of 574,000 households’ annual discharge. Total solid waste is about 4.1 million tons – equal to the amount of annual waste generated by almost 2 million households.

That’s a lot of resources and a lot of pollution! All for something we spent approximately three seconds removing from the mailbox, glancing at with a scowl, and then tossing in the recycling bin.

Until now, getting off of catalogers’ mailing lists has been a difficult, costly and unreliable process. And the only option was to do a “blanket” do-not-mail request, so that you couldn’t choose to continue to get those catalogs you do enjoy receiving. But now there is a new solution that is easy, reliable, and best of all, free!

This week, NRDC and its partners in the Catalog Choice Task Force (the National Wildlife Federation, the Ecology Center and several funding organizations) launched a free, new online service called “Catalog Choice”. This service allows you to “opt out” of receiving those specific catalogs you no longer wish to receive. Essentially, it allows consumers to put a stop to the undesired catalogs they receive while helping to reduce global warming, waste, and deforestation at the same time.

You can check out the website today at www.catalogchoice.org. Given the surge of catalog mailings during the holiday season, we’re trying to quickly spread the word about Catalog Choice. While many of us enjoy the convenience of catalog shopping, it’s nice to know that there is also an easy and free solution to put a stop to unwanted catalog mailings.