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The first ever PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP WORKSHOP focusing on agricultural films and other “ag” plastics will be held as part of the annual conference of The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA), Feb 22-24 2009, at the Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

You belong around the table if you:

• manufacture or distribute agricultural plastic products
• manufacture products that currently or potentially use recycled ag plastics as feedstock
• represent an agricultural trade or commodity group, or
• re otherwise involved with (or interested in) ag plastic/film recycling.

Monday, Feb 23

Session I:  Ag Film Product Stewardship: Learning from Other Industries
What lessons can we learn from the voluntary stewardship agreements developed by other industries, e.g.,  paint, electronics, carpet, and pesticide containers?     Moderator: Wayne Gjerde, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Session II:  Ag Film Product Stewardship: Manufacturers’ Perspectives
Manufacturers of ag film products—bunker silo covers, mulch and fumigation films, bale wrap, etc.—are the anchors of any stewardship strategy. What constraints do they face? What opportunities do they see? Panel discussion with ag plastic product manufacturers.  Moderator: Roger Springman, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture

Session III:  Ag Film Product Stewardship: Role of Standards in Facilitating Stewardship
Product standards affect recycle-ability, usability, environment, and environmental health. What should be the focus of ag film standards? What process should we follow? Moderator: Wayne Gjerde, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Tuesday, Feb 24

Session VI:  Emerging Markets for Used Ag Plastics
Learn about products that can be made from less-than-perfectly clean used ag plastics:  e.g., sweet crude, roofing material, binder for wood fuels, lumber. Moderator: Roger Springman, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture

Session VII:  Moving Ag Film Stewardship to the Next Level
Roundtable wrap-up to set the stage for TPSA’s ag film product stewardship initiative, led off by a reality check on the global economy and recycling markets. Moderator: Lois Levitan, Cornell University

The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) conference objectives:
To serve as a forum to facilitate networking and cooperation among parties from around the world to improve stewardship program efforts: increasing effectiveness and efficiency through pesticide labeling, judicious application, container containment, waste minimization, and proper handling of empty containers and other agricultural plastics. TPSA seeks individuals with pertinent information from private companies, public entities and organizations who are willing to share their stories, findings, and challenges. Network during the evening festivities, opening reception, and grand reception.

Conference details at http://www.tpsalliance.org/conference/Introduction.htm.

For more information about the Ag Film Product Stewardship Workshop and related sessions, contact organizers Roger Springman (Roger.Springman@Wisconsin.gov), Lois Levitan (LCL3@cornell.edu), or Wayne Gjerde (Wayne.Gjerde@state.mn.us).

Firms Partnering with EPA Recycle More Than 66.5M Pounds of Electronics in 2008
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/09/firms-recycle-electronics
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported the tally yesterday and said it represents a 30 percent year-over-year increase in the amount of consumer electronics recycled by manufacturers and retailers participating in the agency’s Plug-In To eCycling program.

Carbon Reduction Project Ratings Now Available Through Bloomberg
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/09/carbon-project-ratings-bloomberg
The Carbon Rating Agency assesses carbon reduction projects and how likely they are to provide expected emissions in certain timeframes.

Some Businesses Get Relief From New Lead Testing Rules
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/01/business-relief-lead-testing
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has tentatively approved exemptions to a new law requiring all children’s items be tested for lead and phthalates.

Grand Canyon Visitor Center Goes Solar
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/08/grand-canyon-goes-solar
The roof and grounds of the Visitor Center near the Grand Canyon’s South Rim will soon host some 84 solar panels that will help power the building frequented by an estimated 4.5 million sightseers a year.

Perdue Farms and EPA Ink Pact to Protect Water
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/08/epa-perdue
Poultry producer Perdue Farms Inc. and the U.S. Environmental Protection agency signed an agreement this week that is intended to help protect the waters in the mid-Atlantic and Southest from contamination.

Mandatory CSR Reporting for Denmark’s Largest Companies
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/08/mandatory-csr-reporting-denmarks-largest-companies
The Danish Parliament voted in mid-December to force the 1,100 largest
enterprises to describe their corporate CSR or socially responsible investments policies, how they’ve been implemented and the results they’ve produced.

Procter & Gamble Plans More Compact Detergents
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/08/procter-gamble-compact-detergents
In the U.K., P&G will reduce the many formats its detergents come in, focusing on concentrated versions that use fewer resources.

Green Fuels, Cars Get Boost from Cow Pie Power, the Queen and New EV Charging Hub
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/07/green-fuels-cars-get-boost
The drive to green mobility got a boost into the New Year with news of
heightened efforts to produce fuels from a variety of waste products, word that Queen Elizabeth’s Bentleys are going green and the launch of an electric vehicle charging network in Northern California.

South Korea to Invest $38 Billion in Green Projects
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/01/07/south-korea-invest-38-billion-green-projects
The country hopes to spur job growth and boost its economy by pumping funds into a range of efforts, from making bike tracks to turning garbage into energy.

Obama and the Vision Thing
By Joel Makower
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/11/obama-and-vision-thing
The biggest problem in the green world is this: No one has created a vision of
what happens if we get things right — we know what business as usual looks
like, but what about if we get things right? What does that look like?

Rethinking Meetings to Achieve Greener Formats and Sustainable Solutions
By Amy Spatrisano
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/06/rethinking-meetings-achieve-greener-formats-and-sustainable-solutions
Amy Spatrisano’s business cuts across all other industries. If you’re in
business, you’re in the meeting industry, she says. And now is the time to
reevaluate how you do meetings.

Fast-Tracking Green Economic Recovery: Some Advice for the New Congress
By Leanne Tobias
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/06/fast-tracking-green-recovery
As the 111th Congress gets under way this week, the key task will be developing a fast-track economic stimulus program — ideally one that emphasizes sustainability, says Leanne Tobias.

Coffee Could Be the Next Big Biofuel Source
By Ariel Schwartz
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/01/06/coffee-could-be-next-biofuel-source
Coffee could power your car as well as your brain according to researchers
writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Closing The Loop For Carpeting
By Jonathan Bardelline
http://www.greenbiz.com/podcast/2009/01/07/closing-the-loop-for-carpeting
For more than 15 years Zeftron Nylon’s 6ix Again program has collected and
recycled waste commercial carpet, turning used nylon 6 – a type of nylon that is infinitely recyclable – into brand new nylon. Richard Radke, Zeftron’s marketing specialist, spoke with GreenBiz Radio about Zeftron’s Cradle-to-Cradle certification and how it’s 6ix Again program helps find alternate uses for unwanted carpet.

The Smart Grid: An Introduction
http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/the-smart-grid-an-introduction
This report explains what a smart grid is, the benefits of a smarter electrical
grid and what the Department of Energy is doing to put a smart grid in place.

EDF’s Innovation Exchange
http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/edfs-innovation-exchange
The website from the Environmental Defense Fund brings together best practices, successful case studies and resources specific to a host of industries to help transform the ways businesses do business.

Read the press release.

Now in the final months for entries, the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is encouraging middle school students across the United States to kick off 2009 by “going green” and implementing environmental change in their local communities. The website for this entirely web-based challenge, http://www.wecanchange.com, is host to lots of kid-friendly activities such as virtual interactive labs, an eco-footprint game, an environmental IQ quiz, online journals, video clips-plus many more resources for both students and adult advisers.

ESTCP is seeking innovative environmental technology demonstrations as candidates for funding. The solicitation for the FY 2010 ESTCP program was released on January 8, 2009. This solicitation is open to both federal and non-federal organizations. The due date for all pre-proposals is March 5, 2009. More specific information about the solicitation is available under the Opportunities option.

WEBINAR FOR THE ESTCP SOLICITATION – JANUARY 15. Through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Technology Innovation Program, ESTCP Director Dr. Jeffrey Marqusee will conduct an online seminar “ESTCP Funding Opportunities” on January 15, 2009, from 2:00-4:00 PM EST. This “how to play” briefing will offer valuable information for those who are interested in new funding opportunities within ESTCP. During the online seminar, participants may ask general questions about the funding process, the current ESTCP FY 2010 solicitation, and the proposal submission process. To learn more about this online seminar or to register, visit www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/estcpfunding.

Read the full story in USA Today.

Hong Kong intercepted and returned 41 ship containers to U.S. ports this year because they carried tons of illegal electronics waste from the U.S., according to the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.

By turning the containers away, Hong Kong thwarted attempts by U.S. companies to dump 1.4 million pounds of broken TVs or computer monitors overseas and an estimated 82,000 pounds of lead, a known toxin, in the devices.

But thousands of other shipments probably slipped through, says Jim Puckett, head of the Basel Action Network, or BAN, a three-employee environmental non-profit that over eight years has become a respected watchdog over the rapidly growing electronics recycling industry.

Puckett expects much more e-waste will be exported from the U.S. once the broadcasting industry switches to digital signals on Feb. 17 and millions of households junk their old analog TV sets.

Deloitte LLP believes that greening efforts in health care organizations are appropriate and necessary for two reasons: They are good business and they are the right thing to do for employees and communities. Based on our Firms’ experiences and observations, there is a business case for “going green,” and health care organizations can achieve both business and social value through greening initiatives.

Greening and Sustainability in Health Care and Life Sciences: Implementing a Strategic Response, a new report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, part of Deloitte LLP, explores leading practices of companies in several industries where greening efforts are mature, and compares and contrasts them with efforts of health care organizations. Six impact zones based on the leading practices of these companies provide a comprehensive framework for a health care organization’s greening initiatives.

For each of the major health care sectors – providers, health plans, life sciences companies and regulators – this paper provides:

• A value chain environmental footprint analysis
• Examples of sector leaders in greening
• Case studies
• Sector implications

Greening has the potential to have an impact on virtually every aspect of the U.S. health care system. It is clearly a trend, not a fad. It also is an imperative that will require organizations to change to be successful.

Business can play a leading role in fostering more sustainable consumption patterns, according to a report released today by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The report, Sustainable Consumption: Facts and trends from a business perspective ( 1.3 MB), is the result of a year-long study of the relationship between business activities, consumer behavior and environmental and social challenges.

Read the special section of American College & University.

Many entrants of the 2008 Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities are in the first few years of their green-cleaning programs and are initiating new ideas, thinking outside the box, and enabling the strategies that will define green cleaning at their education institutions.

In this special awards program, an expert jury of green-cleaning professionals chose eight education institutions whose green-cleaning programs are off to a great start in their cleaning efforts to protect health without harming the environment. The jury named a Grand Award winner in each of three categories: school districts, colleges and universities. It also gave one Honorable Mention in the school district category, one in the colleges category and three in the universities category.

Judging criteria were based on the comprehensiveness and quality of the program, and how well each education institution followed the following five steps, as outlined in the second edition of The Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools:

• Use green-cleaning products.
• Use green equipment and supplies.
• Adopt green-cleaning procedures.
• Use green paper and plastic products.
• Share the responsibility.

The eight winners showcased in the following pages show how much one education institution can accomplish in just a few years. These schools have beefed up their recycling programs, reduced their cleaning chemical inventories, improved their maintenance procedures and actually changed the marketplace by partnering with vendors that specify green-cleaning products.

Read the full story from the Environmental Working Group.

Resolving to save money? And the planet? Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs promise a win-win: according to the industry and U.S. government’s Energy Star program, which promotes CFL bulbs and other substitutes for energy-hogging incandescents, a CFL uses 75 percent less energy than its incandescent counterpart, lasts up to 10 times longer and prevents more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.

Over its lifetime, a single CFL can save the consumer $80 or more, depending on local electric rates.

But all CFL bulbs aren’t equal. Some have lower mercury content than others, and some last much longer. Unfortunately, you can’t tell the best of the best by their labels – or the U.S. government Energy Star logo. Some Energy Star labelled bulbs could not be legally sold in Europe due to excessive mercury content.

An Environmental Working Group investigation has identified 7 bulb lines made by Earthmate, Litetronics, Sylvania, Feit, MaxLite and Philips that trump the rest. These bulbs, listed in our Green Lighting Guide contain a fraction of the toxic mercury allowed by Energy Star, reducing the mercury contamination from a broken bulb. All last 8-15,000 hours, dramatically longer than the Energy Star standard of 6,000 hours, and also offer high efficiency.

Read the full story in Water & Wastewater News.

On Dec. 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the American Dental Association (ADA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) to establish and monitor the effectiveness of a Voluntary Dental Amalgam Discharge Reduction Program.

Via BeSpacific.

Follow up to previous postings on perchlorate contamination of drinking water, today “EPA issued an interim health advisory to assist state and local officials in addressing local contamination of perchlorate in drinking water. The interim health advisory level of 15 micrograms per liter (µg/L), or parts per billion (ppb), is based on the reference dose recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The Agency is also seeking advice from the NAS before making a final regulatory determination on whether to issue a national regulation for perchlorate in drinking water.”

Interim Drinking Water Health Advisory for Perchlorate (49 pages, PDF), December 2008, EPA 822-R-08-25

Questions and Answers

The latest issue of Renewable Energy Weekly is now available. Highlights include:

• The German Perspective, Part 2: A Resilient Renewable Energy Leader
• The German Perspective, Part 3: Training the Future Wind Power Workforce
• Beijing’s Showcase “Clean Coal” Power Plant
• Husum Windenergy 2008: Where the Wind Blows Is Where the Money Goes

Read the full post at Biobased News.

If you have a conservationist’s mindset, you probably got a little distressed spotting all those beautiful, discarded Christmas trees lining America’s gutters and curbs the past couple of weeks – seemingly unceremoniously tossed after providing just a few weeks of cheer. Stop fretting! Instead, celebrate what has become a massive annual international recycling effort that is having some interesting turns and twists along the way!

Read the full story from the Why Files.

Fess up. Faced with the morning craving for caffeine, do you, with trembling hand, pour that first delicious, nutritious cuppa joe, and then just trasho the soggy coffee grounds?

Maybe you’re a caffeinated eco-freak, and you diligently compost the stinky remains. That’s better.

But instead of deep-sixing the dregs of your addiction, why not transform them into diesel fuel? In a new study, Mano Misra of the University of Nevada calculates that the 16-billion-pound global coffee crop could still supply the essential nectar of bean — and about 340 million gallons of diesel fuel.

Read the full story in Environmental Protection.

Changes to the purpose and scope of ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1 as well as new lighting requirements are being proposed through public review, according to a Dec. 30 press release.

ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of buildings except low-rise residential buildings.

Among the proposed addenda out for public review is addendum aq, which proposes changes to the purpose and scope of the standard. The proposed modification addresses applications not covered in the existing standard scope, such as requirements for laboratories, data center cooling, and kitchen exhausts. It would also permit the 90.1 committee to address technologies, such as computer equipment and refrigerated casework, and would extend existing requirements for envelope, space cooling, and lighting to a larger group of spaces where energy is consumed.