Europe - Beverage Packaging Targets Set
In light of reports showing beverage container recycling rates dropping in the United States (see related story on page 5), it is encouraging to see Europe step up to the plate. The European Parliament has recently passed a bill that increases packaging recycling targets to 65%, starting in 2006. The bill sets specific targets for paper, plastic, glass and metal. Parliament also adopted an amendment stipulating waste may not be exported to meet these targets.

Ireland - Plastic Bag Use Down By 98%!
Ireland’s Environment Minister recently announced that a tax placed on plastic shopping bags in March, 2002 has reduced the use of plastic bags by 90% and has raised over $3 million for an environmental fund. The tax is designed to encourage shoppers to use tougher, reusable bags or perhaps revive the use of the traditional wicker basket. The new Irish legislation follows the outright ban implemented on plastic bags in Bangladesh this past March, and is being looked at in the United Kingdom and elsewhere as a possible model. It is estimated that four out of every five shopping bags in the U.S. are plastic.

Hawaii - A New Bottle Bill in the US After 16 Years of Fighting!
Aloha, Hawaii! Hawaii just became the 11th state in the nation, and the first in the last 16 years, to pass a bottle bill. This bill will place a 5-cent refundable deposit on a wide variety of beverage containers throughout Hawaii. It has been shown that the ten other states with bottle bills recycle over 80% of all their beverage containers, which is more than the other 40 states combined. Considering that an average of 75,000 beverage containers are thrown in the trash every hour in Hawaii, it is expected that this bill will have a tremendous influence on boosting recycling efforts. The opponents of bottle bills in the United States (including the soft drink and grocery store lobbies) have defeated hundreds of attempts to create new bottle bills in nearly every state, including Colorado.

Forget New York - San Francisco Leads the Way!
San Francisco is at it again. The San Francisco City Council recently passed a resolution adopting a goal of 75% diversion by the year 2010, with a subsequent goal of establishing a timeline for achieving Zero Waste once a 50% diversion rate is achieved. (Currently, they are at 49%, so the Zero Waste goal is right around the corner). Included in these efforts is an expanded residential and small business curbside collection of yard and food waste, which makes up approximately 24% of the waste stream. With a population of over 770,000, more than 30,000 businesses, and an international reputation as a thriving metropolis, San Francisco is having a tremendous impact on furthering the international dialogue on waste disposal and efforts toward a Zero Waste world! In the wake of recycling cutbacks in New York City, San Francisco’s leadership is not only timely, but critical.

Europe - Toxic Toy Part Banned, So Why Not Here Too?
To protect kids in Europe, Sony has agreed to replace 1.3 million of the cables on PlayStation 1 consoles because they contain more than the legally allowable level of cadmium, a toxic material. The European Union abides by a standard that forbids the sale of products with more than .01% cadmium, and the Dutch government claims that the PlayStations contain three to 20 times that amount. In contrast to the European plan, however, there are no plans in the U.S. to make the same change on the popular game. Why not? Aren’t our children worthy of protection too?

Norway - Setting the Bar High
Norway: the little country that could. Norwegians recycle an average of ten pounds of old electronics per person each year. This translates to more than 20,000 tons of equipment or 80% of the electronic waste stream. As a result, 89 tons of hazardous materials are kept out of the environment!