Washington

Washington State News And Updates

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:59:24 -0700

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...recycle04m.html

E-Recycle: Where loads of electronic waste wind up

The nine-month-old "E-Cycle Washington" program has collected an estimated 27 million pounds of TVs, computers and monitors. So where does this e-junk go? The vast majority passes through approved processors who deconstruct the gadgets and send the raw materials back into the production stream.

By Richard Seven
Seattle Times staff reporter

Rob Afner loads televisions and computer monitors onto a conveyor belt for dismantling last month at Total Reclaim in Sodo. The company recycles, among other things, electronics and appliances. The E-Cycle program allows many groups, including households, small businesses and charities, to turn in for free their old TVs, computers and monitors.
Enlarge this photo

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Rob Afner loads televisions and computer monitors onto a conveyor belt for dismantling last month at Total Reclaim in Sodo. The company recycles, among other things, electronics and appliances. The E-Cycle program allows many groups, including households, small businesses and charities, to turn in for free their old TVs, computers and monitors.

Pallets of old televisions and computer monitors wait to be dismantled at Total Reclaim in Sodo.
Enlarge this photo

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Pallets of old televisions and computer monitors wait to be dismantled at Total Reclaim in Sodo.

A container of metal scraps extracted from electronic components is readied for shipment to a recycling company.
Enlarge this photo

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES

A container of metal scraps extracted from electronic components is readied for shipment to a recycling company.

E-Cycle snapshot
Televisions have accounted for about 57 percent of electronic junk.

Monitors make up about one-third of the total.

Computers, about 10 percent.

Information online

E-Cycle Washington: www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eproductrecycle/

Drop-off locations: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/recycle/

E-Stewardship: www.e-stewards.org/

Reuse sources: www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eproductrecycle/reuse.html

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The nine-month-old "E-Cycle Washington" program has collected an estimated 27 million pounds of TVs, computers and monitors. So where does this e-junk go?

The vast majority passes through approved processors who deconstruct the gadgets and send the raw materials back into the production stream.

Almost every workday, old TVs fill an assembly line inside Sodo recycler Total Reclaim. Workers pry off the black plastic cases that are squashed, baled and eventually ground into pellets and sold to make a wide range of products.

Workers smash the tubes into pieces, pick out metal, and ship the glass to Mexico for power washing and then to India, to be made back into new picture tubes.

They mince circuit boards to be sent to smelters, and they separate valuable metal such as copper, aluminum and steel that gets resold to manufacturers.

Monitors and computers that aren't refurbished and reused go through a similar process.

"Disposal in a garbage Dumpster at our facility would be less than 1 percent," said Craig Lorch, co-owner of Total Reclaim.

The E-Cycle program allows households, small businesses and governments, schools, special-purpose districts and charities to turn in for free their old TVs, computers and monitors.

King County has produced almost 39 percent of the total weight collected. Snohomish County is second with 16 percent. Both counties ban electronics from landfills.

Manufacturers who sell TVs, monitors and computers in Washington pay the entire cost � about $10 million this year � of the E-cycle program. A manufacturer-based board, the Washington Materials Management & Financing Authority, runs the program with oversight by the state Department of Ecology.

The authority has set up drop-off sites across the state. It also coordinates the transportation and handling of the waste and pays the collectors and processors.

Charities are the biggest collectors, and TVs make up more than half of the waste so far. The conversion to all-digital broadcasting led to the discarding of some older TVs, as did the falling prices of big plasma and LCD televisions.

The program aims to keep the electronic waste out of landfills and away from countries with histories of disregarding environmental stewardship and human rights. It also tries to keep as much raw material as possible within the production stream.

Electronic equipment contains toxic materials, including lead, cadmium and mercury, that may leak into the soil and groundwater when disposed of in landfills. The average CRT (cathode ray tube) computer monitor contains four to eight pounds of lead.

Seattle's Basel Action Network (BAN) and other toxic-waste watchdogs have chronicled how some companies, under the guise of recycling, export the electronic equipment to Third World countries where the material is dumped.

Seattle's Total Reclaim and seven other "preferred processors" � four of which are in King and Snohomish counties � must follow strict rules and account for where the materials go.

"If someone can't or won't disclose where the material is going, then you have a good reason to ask," Lorch said. "I have personally visited most of them � including three in Asia � but where that is not possible, I hire a third-party auditor to conduct the audits, which are very comprehensive."

Total Reclaim and some of the other preferred processors have signed BAN's "Pledge of True Product Stewardship," which commits them to handle hazardous e-waste responsibly.

Sarah Westervelt, e-Stewardship director for BAN, says her group would like more up-to-date information on the exact path the materials take. Currently, processors have to reveal their downstream subcontractors once a year, but BAN wants that information available in "real time," so the destination of toxic material and its handling can be visible to the public.

BAN also thinks the law should be expanded to cover other electronics such as cellphones and fax machines. People now expect to be able to get rid of their electronics for free, so they may be more likely to hand over their cellphones and such to someone who will ship the whole device overseas.

Westervelt says people should look for the "e-Stewards" logo when recycling their e-waste or check on the Web site, www.e-stewards.org. E-Stewards is a group of North American electronics recyclers and asset managers who have been qualified as upholding the highest standard of environmental and social responsibility.

Miles Kuntz, spokesman for the state Department of Ecology, said the agency hopes to expand E-Cycle's program, but there are not yet "serious discussions" about it.

Washington State News And Updates

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:42:30 -0700

http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/08/17/puget...slaughterhouse/

Mobile meat processing coming to Puget Sound
By Ethicurean @ 4:48 pm on 17 August 2009.

Slaughter, Airstream-style: Livestock producers in Washington�s Puget Sound region are pinning their hopes on a 45-foot mobile meat processing unit that will travel from farm to farm, eliminating the logistical nightmares (including a several-hour drive) associated with the few mega-slaughterhouses still running in the state. The mobile unit will butcher animals and deliver them to a cut-and-wrap facility that will package the meat for retail and restaurant sale. Built with $300,000 from the Pierce County Conservation District�which sees the unit as a means to preserving local farmland�it will be USDA-inspected and certified organic. Area producers think it�ll be a year before the unit is running at full capacity.

It�s not just a boon for local producers, but also for consumers craving hard-to-find local meat. Says the president of the Seattle Chef�s Collaborative: �Restaurants are using [local] as a selling point�. �This is from such-and-such farm; we met the farmer.� It�s a conversation piece. It�s something we can talk about. We can have a story behind it.� (Seattle Times via The Consumerist; thanks, Jack!)

Farmers Markets

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:00:27 -0700

Hi Everyone:

As it's getting close to the opening of the Walla Walla's Farmers' Market (May 2). The reason I bring up the market is that I think we sometimes forget that not all of us sell food items. The problem is that those of us who do not sell food aren't mentioned very often, if at all.

People need food to survive, there's no doubt about that. However, there are also crafters and artisans at the markets as well--knitting, sewing, crocheting, photographers, painters, felting, wood working, stained glass, beading, etc. I've read that some of the Farmers' Markets do not have artisans and crafters at their events, limiting their participants to food vendors only. I think that is a mistake. Many farmers and ranchers need to sell their non-food products as well as their food products at the market to make enough money to survive the winter, in some cases.

Let's face it, though we love what we do, we don't always make enough money. More and more of us are selling our farms to contractors to build tracts of homes because they cannot afford to keep up their farms any longer, or their children do not want to continue with the family's heritage of farming or ranching.

The thing I see in Walla Walla right now is that hay has gone sky high. Many of those who raised hay in the past, have gone to growing corn (which is subsidized), just to stay in business. I can hear my Grandmother right now (though she's been dead for years), saying, "the world's going to hell in a hand basket." She said that a lot, but I think this time she'd be right.

We need to use more tourism, sell non-food items, etc. so we can keep our farms and ranches going, just like we need to participate in the local venues to sell our goods. Whether food or non-food items, we need to be at our Farmers' Markets and not just support them, but support ourselves as well. And right now, our economy is definitely depressed, so we need to work even harder to survive.

Take care and I hope you all have a great market season!

Jet Tenley
Celtic Crossroads
Walla Walla, WA

Nais In Washington State

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:36:55 -0700

Bio on my farm and the overview of the comments will come later.

I'm a 55 yo shepherdess in Walla Walla, WA. I caretake two Icelandic ewes and three male alpacas all for their fiber. I use the least amount of chemicals on/within my animals as possible, and use mainly homeopathic de-wormers/pesticides on pests (worms, lice, mites, etc.) so that my animals fiber is as clean as possible and people do not come in contact with the things that could harm them (commercial dewormers and pesticides with chemicals to kill lice/mites/etc.). I realize that though the natural pest killers can be harmful to humans, if not used with care, IMO they are by far less harmful than the commercial products.

I process my raw wool and alpaca fiber using soaps that do not contain chemicals that will harm the fiber or people. I do not sell meat, only my animals' fiber. I do add vinegar in the final rinse to remove all soap residue as well as lavender or pennyroyal oil at the end of the rinse to give them more protection from moths.

I teach classes in spinning, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, felting, and dyeing, as well as workshops in processing a fleece from raw to processed and dyeing using either "natural" or synthetic dyes. I put natural in parentheses because even though you are using natural ingredients to color your protein or cellulose fibers, the mordants or fixatives of the color can be quite poisonous to both people and to the environment. I also do spinning demonstrations at local day cares and elementary schools, which is such a joy to me. I enjoy sharing my information with kids and the teachers and librarians also get involved by asking questions the kids haven't asked. Each time I demonstrate to kids, they never fail to ask questions I hadn't heard before, so I'm forced to learn even more about my craft.

In teaching classes, I hear a lot of information as well as misinformation about the NAIS (National Animal Identification System). Most times, they aren't even sure what the NAIS is or what it's supposed to do, or they've heard about the problems small farmers and ranchers are having, but didn't realize it was part of the NAIS problems. One of the students I taught late in February commented that she'd heard information about people quitting farming and ranching due to pressure from the State regarding animals on small farms being a hot bed for diseases and thus we needed to get rid of all small farms and ranches. So, as a NAIS fighter, I told her about what was going on. The main problem with the information she and her college classmates are getting is that it's a small farm/ranch problem, but in actuality, it's a large farm and ranch problem. When animals or poultry are too crowded, you can almost ensure you'll have more problems with animal/poultry diseases than a farm with much fewer animals. Also, many small farms/ranches are using organic/holistic/homeopathic techniques to ensure that their animals are healthy. It's in a small farmer/ranchers vested interest to ensure their animals are as healthy as possible because with each animal lost, it's a huge hit in their own pocketbooks.

The main thing that scares me is the misinformation from the Government about small farms and ranches causing the problems. If that's so, then why was the only ranch in WA State with Mad Cow was a large producer in the Tri-Cities? Of course, that farm/rach got it from a larger farm/ranch in Canada, but still, we haven't had much disease in WA State so far, whether a small or large farm/ranch. Small farms/ranches are the very backbone of the United States, but if the State governments keep up all this misinformation, it's going to be a much larger problem for those of us who are not large producers.

Even after Pres. Obama basically stopped the Federal Government from pushing forward with the NAIS, the States are pushing even more vigorously to get the NAIS in place and shut small farms and ranches down. A large part of the reason this is happening is that people who live in large cities don't see a problem as long as they can get their food. They don't understand that the fewer options of where to buy organic grass fed beef, sheep, and other meat animals, will increase their costs over all. Not to mention if we lose the organic producers, all we'll have left are the HUGE meat farms and truck farms so we'll have not only less options of the types of meat/produce we buy, but the costs will probably continue to rise. We need to talk with people that we know live in large cities (relatives, friends, etc.) about the impact the NAIS will have on ALL of us, not just the small producers. IF we cannot get the city people to vote against NAIS within the State, we're all going to be in deep alpaca pucky.

So, please, help the small farmers and ranches by voting NO against any proposition regarding the National Animal Identification System. Because the cities have a larger population (yes, I know that it is obvious), even if all the rural farmers/ranchers vote no, we will still need lots of help.

Thanks for listening.

Jet Tenley
Celtic Crossroads
Walla Walla, WA

Washington State Online Stuff

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:41:47 -0700

Off the top of my head ...

The biggest calendar is the puget sound eco calendar. It has some sub calendar for all of the pacific northwest. jocelynsevents.com

Our premier permaculture farm is the bullock brothers farm: permacultureportal.com

The big forums are at permies.com

And the regionals permaculture wiki is at seattlepermacultureguild.org

Local Organictransitions Groups

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:00:33 -0800

Time to get organized for sustainabilty. Denote local areas in the greater
Seattle community you would like to see form a Organic Transitions group'

Don't Let Organic Milk Get Booted Out Of Wic In Washington State

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:44:33 -0700

Folks,

The WIC program in Washington State is proposing to cut organic milk and organic baby cereal (that have been part of the package for eight years) from the WIC food package and include the restrictive qualifier "non-organic" for the following food types: Cheese, eggs, peanut butter, apple, cranberry, grape, pineapple, grapefruit, tomato and orange juices. This qualifier will restrict WIC recipients from obtaining organic versions of these approved food types for clients the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC - the grocery store WIC program not to be confused with the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program).

Washington State is far ahead of most states in allowing WIC families to choose some organic foods when they use their WIC coupons at grocery stores. The Washington State Dept. of Health that administers WIC in the state cites the growing cost difference between non-organic foods and organic foods. For more information on this, and on how to submit a comment on the proposed rule, visit my website:
http://www.thefutureisorganic.net/opinion.htm
(WSDOH has extended the comment period "for several more weeks" past their original deadline of Sept. 30)

What follows is a Proposal that addresses the concerns of WSDOH regarding the cost differential between organic and non-organic foods. We in the organics community could make this into a reality if enough of us are willing to push hard for it. It's a proposal that could possibly save some organic farmers and processors from going out of business. It's a proposal that would make sure that participants in federal food assistance programs are not frozen out of the ability to choose organic foods.

Here it is: In Partnership with USDA Food and Nutrition Services, as a benefit for clients of the Food Stamps (EBT) Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC - the grocery store WIC program not to be confused with the Farmers Market Nutrition Program), Organic foods purveyors (organic dairy processors and organic packaged foods vendors like Organic Valley, Stonyfield, Dean Foods, Hain Celestial, General Mills, etc.) would offer a 20% discount exclusively to consumers who utilize these federal food assistance programs.

The mechanics: The Food Stamp program currently uses and in the near future, the WIC program will use Electronic Benefit Transfer cards. The cards are similar to debit cards and are issued to recipients of federal assistance programs. Because of the fact that these cards use information technology software that executes and records the transactions, it would only be a matter of special programming to automatically include the 20% discount for specified organic products.

I don't have a lot of time right now to devote to this. I have alfalfa to buy and firewood to cut before the weather changes and I need to have time to do the work that I get paid for (my organizing work is all strictly volunteer). I am a single parent raising my 10 year-old daughter and I'm on Food Stamps myself. I need your help. I need other folks who think this is an important issue to step up and devote some time and energy. This would need a strong grassroots network of activists to be in constant contact with folks in the organic foods economy.

Look, I don't want Washington State's experiment in allowing WIC clients to choose organics to fail. While recognizing that WIC limits available program foods to approved foods that have the required nutritional content, it's not fair to clients of the WIC program to have their food choices dictated to them when it comes to purchasing organics.

I believe what we have here is an opportunity to set up a pilot program in Washington State that could be duplicated nationwide that will actually expand WIC recipients' ability to choose organics. An added benefit would be to improve access to organic foods by participants in the Food Stamps program.

I believe we are facing a crisis in the organic food and farming economy that will be caused by the current crisis in the global economy. I believe we are already seeing organic farms and organic food processors going out of business as consumers' incomes plummet and folks are forced to choose cheaper, non-organic, industrial food system foods. This will hurt these organic businesses and the customers who will lose their access to the benefits of organic foods.

These are hard times economically. More folks are seeking assistance from the WIC and Food Stamps programs. The ability of low-income folks to provide their families with organic foods is getting further and further out of their reach, but the reasons many low-income folks prefer organic foods are the same reasons everyone else has - namely food safety, nutritional quality, ecological responsibility and taste. Low-income folks need some extra help to be able to make the organic choice for themselves and their loved ones. Organic food producers have a special responsibility to low income consumers since in most cases, their asking price is deliberately uncompetitive, from the consumers point of view, with non-organic counterpart products.

Now, I have some experience with how government food assistance programs can help farmers. I'm a founder and current board member of the Spokane Farmers' Market (celebrating our 10th season this year). I'm a former board member of the Washington State Farmers Market Association. I have seen how the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (FMNP) and the Food Stamps program have funneled millions of dollars of federal and state hunger abatement dollars right into the pockets of small-scale family and organic farmers. I've seen the farmers at the end of a market day processing stacks of their $2 FMNP coupons readying them to take to their banks for deposit.

This is a win-win-win partnership: The government fulfills its programmatic obligations, the consumer enjoys access to healthful foods and the farmer gets paid for the effort growing and bringing the foods to market.

I know some farms where their existence hinges on their ability to serve their Senior and WIC FMNP customers. I don't think it will be long before organic farms that supply organic processors and the processors themselves find themselves in a similar position where income derived from dollars coming in from federal food assistance programs may figure into their continued viability as businesses.

If anyone else feels like this proposal sounds like something worth supporting, I would very much like to network with you. Please contact me:

Chrys Ostrander
Chrysalis Farm @ Tolstoy
Organic Micro-permaculture
33495 Mill Canyon Rd.
Davenport, WA 99122
509-725-0610
chrys@thefutureisorganic.net
http://www.thefutureisorganic.net

I would also be very grateful for any financial contributions you might be able to make to help me survive financially as I devote many hours of volunteer time to sustainable agriculture organizing in my region. I have a way for folks to use PayPal to contribute to my efforts. Please go to:
http://www.thefutureisorganic.net/contribute.htm

Thank you,

Chrys