TRENDS AND IDEAS

Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board (SWMCB), Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, USA with representatives of six counties in that metropolitan area, is using its new campaign, “There’s a Better Way,” to encourage businesses there to switch from disposable to reusable transport packing.

Residents of the Twin Cities are producing more garbage each year, according to a recent article published by The Business Journal, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA and the Environmental Protection Agency says Minnesota will run out of space to dump it within the next five to 10 years. Companies may be able to save money while being environmentally friendly, but there is an upfront cost required to make the switch. THE SWMCB has been studying garbage production of businesses and homes in the six counties of that metro area for four years. They have found that garbage in those counties contain 15% discarded cardboard boxes and wooden pallets used for transporting products. The result is a SWMCB objective of reducing waste in its region, starting in 2003, by 75,000 tons.

In The Business Journal report, Kevin McDonald, waste reduction team leader at the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA), St. Paul was quoted as saying that there are many reasons for companies to implement a system of reusable transportation packaging (RTP), the main reason is cost savings. One OEA report showed Tennant Co. in Golden Valley invested $43,800 in RTP to achieve a savings of US$ 54,000 per year. Much more information about this process is available at http://www.better-way.info.

Graphics gurus may compete for Smithsonian Institution exhibition. Graphic design professionals and students across North America have the opportunity to see their work hanging at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., in Spring 2003. Forty winning designs of the SMART Papers Kite Contest will be shown at the Smithsonian beginning in late March 2003. Kites do not need to be able to fly to win, but must be graphically compelling. This is a rare opportunity for graphic design professionals and design students to get their work exhibited in the Smithsonian, one of the world’s most prestigious art and science institutions.

A panel of respected graphic design judges will pick 40 of the most creative designs based on a well-executed solution, innovation in aesthetics and materials and presentation. Entries must be postmarked by February 3, 2003. Only electronic or hard copy images of the kites are needed for the initial round of judging. All finalists will be required to present a physical kite with struts for display at the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building. There are separate categories for graphic design professionals and design students.

Premium papermaker SMART Papers is the lead sponsor of the 37th Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival to be held on Washington’s National Mall on March 22, 2003. The top 10 winners and one guest each will be treated to air travel and accommodations in Washington for the Smithsonian Kite Festival and Cherry Blossom Festival. The trip will take place March 20 to March 23, 2003.

There is a nonrefundable $20 entry and processing fee for design professionals; for students, the nonrefundable fee is $10. For details on contest rules and designing the kite, go to www.smartpapers.com/kite.

Greenhouse gas emissions measurable with new internationally-developed tool. The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington D.C., USA and the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), Geneva, Switzerland, in association with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the World Resources Institute (WRI) today announced the development of a methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from pulp and paper mills. The calculation tool will serve as a simple unified industry approach to emissions accounting.

"The development of this innovative calculation tool is another example of the forest products industry taking the worldwide lead in developing simple, transparent methods to calculate greenhouse gas emissions,” said W. Henson Moore, AF&PA president and chief executive officer. “The tool can be used on any scale, from determining emissions from a specific mill, from a specific company, or for our industry as whole."

AF&PA and other global forest and paper associations in ICFPA began developing the tool in early 2001. It is based on protocols previously developed by WRI and the WBCSD, and was peer reviewed and endorsed by their project, the GHG Protocol. It is available through their web site, http://www.ghgprotocol.org.

"This process provides a model for other industry associations developing sector-specific greenhouse gas calculation tools," said Jonathan Lash, WRI president. "We welcome other industry sectors to continue collaborating with the GHG Protocol to expand this international accounting standard.”

The collaborating institutions recommend that governments and other organizations recognize the tool they developed as the appropriate method for calculating greenhouse gas emissions for pulp and paper mills. Other industry sectors, including cement and aluminum, have recently adopted similar methodologies utilizing the GHG Protocol to calculate total industry as well as factory specific emissions.