Integrated Waste Management--Part 1 (2007)

League of Women Voters^®
of Marion and Polk Counties

Intro. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC, #3). Construction Waste. Electronic Waste (E-waste).

Introduction

Our League is conducting a 2-year study to update our current Solid Waste position. This is the first of the Every-member Materials to be provided before we reach consensus. This report covers Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Electronic Waste (E-waste), and Construction Waste.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC, #3)

PVC is an amazing material and has made incredible in-roads into most walks of our lives: construction, packaging, hospital products, food preparation and storage, etc. It is lightweight, durable, flexible, inexpensive, easy to transport, and long lasting.
Upon closer observation, PVC is not without a major flaw. Any time it is incinerated, it forms dioxin. (Waste Incineration, A Dying Technology, Neil Tangri, p.1) Dioxin is a toxic pollutant linked with numerous health issues including cancer. (2006 National Academy's Review of EPA's Dioxin Reassessment, p. 108).
Be aware of products with PVC and avoid them wherever possible. Look for clues:
1=Recycling #3, (inside the arrowed logo on container bottom)
2=An `off-gas' smell (such as in a new car or shower curtain).
3=PVC containers always have a line or seam, and
4=Creasing the plastic creates a white line.
Marion County provides a free drop-off site at Minto Brown Landfill and has a website, http://www.co.marion.or.us/PW/ES, where you can type in "PVC" to find other places for disposal as well as ideas for reusing the item.

Construction Waste

There are two major issues in construction waste:
1=How to deal with the waste from demolished construction
and

2=How to build new structures in a more environmentally friendly way.
Marion County encourages recycling and reuse of construction materials. A link on their web site at http://publicworks.co.marion.or.us/es/ helps people find out how to dispose or recycle a particular material.
For used construction materials, the county operates a special landfill on Browns Island so that toxic items can be contained, kept out of the burner, or await recycling.
To reduce future waste the County encourages sustainable building practices through the use of "green" construction techniques. A number of resources have been compiled in the pamphlet Sustainable Building Guide. This free book includes ideas for using recycled or salvaged materials; solar energy (both passive and active); thinking smaller; buying locally; avoiding PVC and plastics that might produce toxins; using organic or natural materials; and avoiding waste during the construction process.

Electronic Waste (E-waste)

One of the emerging problems in waste disposal and recycling is the proliferation of electronic gadgets and machines. As technologies create new and more sophisticated e-machines, yesterday's machines are ending up in landfills or refuse burners. (It is estimated that by the end of 2006, Americans will have disposed of 300 million obsolete computers!¹)
There are emerging ways of addressing this problem:
1= Some states charge a disposal fee at point of sale; California is an example.
2=Manufacturers of TVs, etc., are responsible for collecting and recycling their products; Maine is an example.
3=Creating a fund via manufacturing fees to be used for e-waste disposal; Maryland, for example.
4=Banning e-waste from incineration; Massachusetts and Minnesota have this ban.
5=Individual disposal sites charge a fee for handling e-waste. 6=Requiring buy back by manufacturers--product stewardship.
At the present time, Marion County is studying and reviewing various options, but as of February 2007 has not adopted a policy. There is an attempt to promote reuse and recycling. The 2007 Oregon State Legislature has three pending bills proposed to deal with e-waste that require manufacturers to finance or provide a recycling program.
¹ http://www.Nsc.org

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: November 13, 2008 15:19 PST.