Archive for September, 2010
L.A. County restricts us of polystyrene in county buildings
September 27th, 2010 | 
Author: L.A. County restricts use of foam food containers in county buildings and concessions
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to restrict the use of foam food containers at most county buildings and concessions.
The action against foam food containers, or expanded polystyrene containers, was seen as a victory for environmental groups but was protested by manufacturers who warned it could cost local jobs.
The vote came as officials study a far more sweeping ban of the material. The supervisors have asked for more information about possibly banning the containers – essentially plastic that is puffed up into a white, solid foam – in private restaurants and retail establishments in unincorporated areas of the county, over which they have jurisdiction.
“We are hoping to provide leadership. This is a large county taking a very bold step,” Supervisor Gloria Molina said.
Foam food containers and cups have long been a target of environmental groups. The material does not easily degrade, can last hundreds of years, and can be eaten by birds and sea mammals, causing their deaths, according to the environmental group Heal the Bay, based in Santa Monica.
According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 56,000 tons of foam food containers and packaging, equivalent to the volume of eight Empire State buildings, enter the California marketplace every year. Food containers are often easily blown into the storm drain system, according to the Department of Public Works.
“Plastics in the ocean is a huge problem. It never breaks down. It just turns into smaller and smaller particles,” Angela Howe, managing attorney for the nonprofit ocean advocacy group Surfrider Foundation, based in San Clemente, said in an interview.
Howe cited estimates by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that ingested ocean plastics kill 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals a year.
Other California cities banning foam food containers include Alameda, Berkeley, Calabasas, Carmel, Emeryville, Fairfax, Hercules, Laguna Beach, Malibu, Marin, Monterey, Newport Beach, Oakland, Palo Alto, Richmond, San Bruno, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, according to Surfrider.
Howe called the county’s action heartening, particularly because the California state Senate last month failed to approve legislation banning plastic grocery bags.
Full Article: http://lat.ms/aAyCsJ
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E-waste should not end up in our landfill
Advocate editorial board opinion:
By the Advocate Editorial Board Originally published September 16, 2010 at 6:09 p.m., updated September 16, 2010 at 6:25 p.m.
Most people accumulate outdated computers and other electronic devices. That’s why the E-waste days provided by the city of Victoria is a great service.
And what’s really nice is that it is free of any charge to Victoria residents. All you have to do is collect the electronics you want to get rid of and take your discards to the back parking lot of the Community Center to drop them off.
Old TVs, computers, VCR/DVD players, laptops, cell phones and too many other electronics to name will be accepted.
We think recycling electronic waste is a benefit to our city and environment. If we had to discard all those outdated computers, monitors and other electronic equipment, the dump would be filled with material that would take hundreds, maybe thousands, of years to break down.
Besides, environmental laws now prohibit TVs and computers from landfills. Mercury, lead and other chemicals found in TVs and computers prevent these items from being among other trash in landfills.
Full Article: http://bit.ly/93ICwP
Kenya: UN Environment Agency Backs Action to Regulate E-Waste
8 September 2010
Kenya is set to become the first East African nation to regulate the management of electronic waste, also known as “e-waste”, following a conference run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
These regulations would minimize the impacts of the unsafe disposal of electronic products on public health and the environment, a goal that UNEP actively supports.
At present, Kenya has no specific laws relating directly to e-waste. But the Government-backed recommendations produced at yesterday’s meeting – which identified this issue as a national priority – could pave the way towards the first legislation in East Africa on e-waste management. Participating in the conference were representatives of Kenya’s Environment Ministry, its National Environment Management Authority, software giant Microsoft, UNEP and the telecommunications industry. They came together yesterday to chart a common way forward in dealing with e-waste management in line with the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal and other international frameworks.
E-waste consists of old electronic items such as computers, printers, mobile phones, refrigerators and televisions. Increasing demand for electronic goods in Kenya and in the developing world means that levels of e-waste are growing fast. As a result, the hazardous substances such as heavy metals contained in most of these discarded products are posing a serious risk to the environment and to human health.
Full Article: http://allafrica.com/stories/201009090015.html
Ewaste – Ghana
