United States
                              Environmental Protection
                              Agency
                                                   Solid Waste and
                                                   Emergency Response
                                                   (5305)      i
                              EPA530-N-94-005
                              Fall 1994
                              NEW
 Environment and
 the Economy—
 A Winning
      As part of the Jobs Through Recycling Initia-
      tive—EPA's new program to expand markets
      for recycled materials, stimulate economic
 development, and create jobs in the recycling in-
 dustry—California, Minnesota, New York, and
 North Carolina are establishing Recycling and
 Reuse Business Assistance Centers (RBACs). Each
 center will  provide a unique  mix  of technical,
 business,  financing, and marketing assistance to
 ^••^^^^•I^^MB local enterprises using recy-
                cled materials.

                  In addition to supporting
                RBACs, the Initiative estab-
                lishes Recycling Economic
                Development  Advocates
 	 (REDAs) in eight states, the
 «^^^^^—^— District of Columbia, and one
                Native  American tribe (see
 sidebar on page 7). These advocates will work to
 strengthen recycling market development within
 their respective jurisdictions.

   Some of the interesting initiatives under way in
 each RBAC are highlighted in this issue of Reus-
 able News. Turn to page 6 for more information.
 Recycling Is
Good for the
Environment
  and the
 Economy!
           IN THIS  ISSUE
RBACs and REDAs Ready to Roll • Keep America

Beautiful: Buy Recycled  •  Tap Into ReTap  •

Reusable News  Goes On Line   »   Compost

Publications Available •  Foam Recycling Soars
 Shop


 You Drop


 Keep America

 Beautiful

 Communities Buy Recycled

    From the Great Plains to the Florida Keys, communi-
    ties across America are being challenged to "buy
    recycled"—thanks to the help of  Keep America
                    Beautiful (KAB), a nonprofit or-
                    ganization dedicated to improv-
                    ing waste management practices
                    in communities across the coun-
                    try. KAB  is empowering its local
                    affiliate  organizations—a net-
                    work of more than 500 commu-
                    nity groups across the nation—to
                    spread the buy-recycled message.
                     With EPA assistance, 15 KAB
affiliates are encouraging businesses, government agen-
cies, and individuals in their communities to purchase
and use products made'from recycled materials. Because
of these communities' efforts, markets for local recycla-
ble  materials can grow and prosper. Below are four
examples of proactive and creative buy-recycled cam-
paigns conceived by local KAB affiliates.


       Buying Recycled Provides Food for
       Thought   ;

  The great thing about buying recycled is that everyone
can do it—it can be as easy as a trip to the grocery store!
During Earth. Week in 1994, the Alliance Clean Commu-
nity System (ACCS), in. Alliance, Nebraska, devised a
campaign to teach consumers how to be "green" shop-
pers. Over 5,000 people learned about buying recycled
in one week during  ACCS's "Every Day is Earth Day"
campaign.
                            (Continued on page 2)
       Rocycled/Rocyclablo -Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Recycled Paper (50% Postconsumer) >Please recycle as newsprint

-------
Shop Til  You Drop
Keep America Beautiful Communities Buy Recycled
(Continued from page 1)

   As part of the campaign, ACCS
developed tags to be placed on gro-
cery  shelves   that  informed
customers which brands of napkins,
paper towels, and greeting cards
were made with  recycled content,
and which brands of cake mixes,
canned fruits, laundry products, egg
cartons, and breakfast cereals came
in packaging made from recycled
materials.

   ACCS also developed posters and
flyers promoting the campaign, and
ran  TV and radio "buy-recycled"
public service announcements. Par-
ticipating supermarkets displayed
the posters and stuffed the flyers in
shopping bags during the week.
Some  stores  even developed  their
own store displays to help educate
shoppers.
   "Customers who shopped at par-
ticipating stores during the campaign
were surprised at how many products
contained recycled materials or used
recycled packaging," said Norma
Kuhlman, director of
ACCS. "Many of them
made a verbal commit-
ment to buy recycled
now that they know
how  many recycled
products are out there.
It's not as  hard as they
thought."

        Florida
        Businesses
Ride the Buy-
Recycled Tide
                      Norman, Danny, and Connie Williams oflslamorada Dry Clean-
  When you envision ere show off their "Recycling Business of the Week" award for
Key Largo, Florida, you • buying recycled garment bags, tissue paper, and hangers.
As part of a buy-recycled campaign, grocery
ana ret ail stores in Alliance, Nebraska, tagged
products containing recycled materials.
probably think of palm
trees swaying in the breeze, Hum-
phrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and
key lime pie. Residents  and busi-
nesses of the town of Tavernier,
however, concentrate more on recy-
cling.
  To encourage and recognize Tav-
ernier businesses that are recycling
and buying recycled products, Clean
Florida Keys, Inc., created "The Re-
cycling  Business of the Week"
program. Clean Florida Keys selects
one outstanding business each week
from  a pool of contestants nomi-
nated by individuals  in   the
community.  The winning business
is featured in the local newspaper,
and on a local radio and television
station. The company also receives
a commemorative plaque.

  "We've initiated a  lot of busi-
nesses into the recycling arena,"
said Executive Director Bill Dalton.
"Many of these businesses never re-
cycled or bought recycled products
until they saw what other busi-
nesses were doing, and then they got
inspired."

  Since the program's inception in
January  1994,  winners .have
included:
• A mortgage corporation that buys
  recycled notepads, reuses  and
  then recycles used  office paper,
  and donates used office materials
  to a local daycare center for arts
  and crafts.
  A law office that purchases recy-
  cled file folders, copy paper, and
  computer paper, when available.
  A lumber company that manufac-
  tures plastic lumber from recov-
  ered plastic.
  A carpet store that sells rugs made
  from recycled polyethylene tere-
  phthalate (PET) soda bottles.

        Recycled Frisbees
        Make the Grade
  Students at the Texas A & M Uni-
versity  learned  a new equation
during a 1994 Earth Day festival:
3 milk jugs = 1 frisbee. "Cool!" was
the students' first reaction to the
frisbees created entirely from recy-
cled milk jugs and distributed by
KAB affiliate, Brazos Beautiful,  at
the festival. Brazos Beautiful, lo-
cated in Bryan/College  Station,
Texasr brought its traveling display
of recyclables  and recycled prod-
ucts to show students the benefits
of buying recycled.

  While the booth features recy-
clables  collected locally and
products that can be manufactured
from them,  none of the  products
regularly displayed at the booth was

-------
manufactured in Brazos County.
Brazos Beautiful decided to manu-
facture frisbees from milk  jugs
collected locally. "We liked the idea
that the frisbees were not brought in
from far away," said Diane Graig, di-
rector  of Brazos Beautiful. "They
came from our refrigerators."

  The frisbees were used to attract
students to the booth and were flung
out as souvenirs. Craig felt that the
frisbees and the booth "definitely
made students more aware of buying
recycled," and as a result she  feels
the buy-recycled message will  stick
with them.

  Students not only learned about
buying recycled from attending the
booth, but many got a first-hand
glimpse at how recovered materials
can be used  to  manufacture  con-
sumer products. In preparation for
the event, students  collected  milk
jugs from local recycling programs,
One of 3,000 frisbees made from recycled milk jugs for Texas
A&M University's 1994 Earth Day festival.
to show that the buy-
recycled concept is re-
ally taking off.

        Buying
        Recycled
Is Kidstuff, Too
  Recycling is not only
essential to our exist-
ence on earth, it is
helpful to  our  world.
These are the words of
an 8th grader's  public
service announcement,
written as part of a buy-
recycled campaign.
  Keep the Mahoning
Valley Beautiful, a  KAB affiliate in
Youngstown, Ohio,  has campaigned
in area schools to help children un-
derstand recycling and why buying
recycled products is so important.
As part of  the campaign,  Keep the
              Mahoning Valley
              Beautiful sponsored
              a student essay con-
              test. Winning essays
              were turned  into
              public service an-
              nouncements.  Two
              hundred and ninety
              students in grades 7
              through 12 partici-
              pated in the contest,
              and responded to
              the  following ques-
              tion: If  I  were
             America's repre-
              sentative to an Earth
              Summit  on recy-
              cling, what issues
              would I address?
Students do some dwnpster diving while waste-auditing a local
business.

             Youngstown. "This program has re-
             ally had an impact on the local waste
             stream," she added.  "Some busi-
             nesses  we audited are now big on
             buy-recycled." 1  ,
and then cleaned, ground, and pre-
pared the plastic for manufacturing.
The resin was sent to a contractor,
where engineering students helped
in the manufacturing process. The
frisbees contain 96 percent recycled
content,  all of which is postcon-
sumer.

  In all, students helped manufac-
ture  some  3,000 frisbees, which
used about 9,000 milk jugs that had
been collected by the community.
More than half of these were  given
away at the festival, which just goes
                The three winning
essays, which came from grades 7, 8,
and 9, were read on a local television
program called "Talk-Back." Each
winner received a $100 U.S. Govern-
ment Savings Bond.

  The campaign  also included a
waste audit program where 7th
grade  student audit teams surveyed
14 local businesses to evaluate their
recycling and procurement prac-
tices and recommend  additional
measures". "People listen to kids,"
said Marie Viglio, a teacher at St.
Christine's Grade School in
               Spread the
               Word  on
               Buying
               Recycled!
                    AB, with assistance from
                    EPA, has developed  a
                    training package to assist
               cornmunitfes that want to pro-
               mote the buy-recycled ethic.
               The  package includes a video
               featuring EPA Administrator
               Carol Browner. She  answers
               questions about the importance
               jbf "closing the  loop"  and the
               Heed to educate the public, as
               iWell  as about the role of busi-
               jness,   industry,  and   the
               government in stimulating mar-
               kets for materials recovered
               ifrorn municipal solid waste. The
               [package also includes a "how-
               ito"  program  manual that has
               information about the 1 5 KAB
                uy-recycled  pilot projects and
                :amera-ready brochures. It is
                vailable at a cost of  $40. To
               'order the package, call KAB at
               203 323-8987.1

-------
 Tapping  Into   ReTAP
  It's not as easy as you may think for
  manufacturers to become "green."
  While many manufacturers want
 to be more environmentally con-
 scious in their operations, they often
 do not have the technical know-how
 to change their practices or materi-
 als. To help manufacturers across
 the country get the information they
 need, EPA is supporting the Recycling
 Technology Assistance  Partnership
 (ReTAP) National Network.
  ReTAP is a joint effort of the Clean
 Washington Center (CWC), the Na-
 tional Recycling Coalition (NRC),
 the National Institute of Standards
 and Technology (NIST)—a division
 of the U.S. Depart-
 ment of Commerce
 —and EPA. NIST's
 support of ReTAP is
 part of President
 Clinton's technology
 reinvestment pro-
 ject,  which assists
 defense  industry
 businesses in adopt-
 ing new technologies  to become
 more competitive.
  ReTAP has two distinct goals:
 • To provide technical assistance to
  companies in the State of Wash-
  ington interested in producing or
  using recycled feedstocks
 • Tb disseminate recycling technol-
  ogy information across the country
  through a national network.
  Tb accomplish its first goal, Re-
 TAP engineers visit companies to
 evaluate their recycling  technology
 needs, identify barriers to recycling,
 and find solutions. ReTAP's services
 are customized to meet the needs of
 each individual company. For exam-
 ple, assistance might entail teaching
 a firm how to substitute recovered
 materials  for virgin  materials or
 helping a  company locate markets
 for materials being sent to a landfill.
 An example of the type of ReTAP
 success stories achieved to date is
 introducing recycled resins from
 milk bottles into an  injection-
molded product. As a  result, the
product's performance  was en-
hanced, and the company realized a
significant cost savings.

  To create a national technology
information network for manufac-
turers, ReTAP will start by forging
an electronic link among NIST's
manufacturing extension centers.
NIST will establish 100 such centers
in communities across the country
by 1997 to help small manufacturers
become more competitive. ReTAP
will also join  with EPA's fobs
Through Recycling Initiative to de-
velop targeted resources, such as a
technology tool kit and a series of 10
"best practice"  manuals.  These
                resources  will
                help  both  the
                companies using
                recovered materi-
                als and individuals
                providing tech-
                nology services to
                these firms.
 .  ,   	,	.. ._The tool kit was
                designed specifi-
cally for engineers  and specialists
who interact with companies. It will
include  such items  as  case studies
and models for program structuring,
protocols to assess the  use of recy-
cled  feedstock, and software
programs to track and evaluate pro-
gress. The  manuals will help
companies learn how to effectively
use existing technologies  for recy-
clable commodities, such as glass
and scrap tires. Another key compo-
nent of the network will be an easily
accessible database on recycled use
practices, new technological develop-
ments,  and innovative  applications
for recovered materials.

   If you are interested in tapping
into  ReTAP's onsite  services (in
Washington state only), call Viki
Sonntag of the Clean  Washington
Center at 206 464-6009. If you are
interested in information available
through the National Network and
other available services, call Gordon
Davidson of the National Recycling
Coalition at 202 625-6406. f
WASTE Newsletter
WI$E Now
          Available
   The first issue of a newsletter
 dedicated to the WasteWi$e program
 is available free of charge to any in-
 terested party.

   WasteWi$e helps businesses take
 cost-effective  actions  to prevent
 waste, collect  materials for recycl-
 ing, and buy  recycled. To receive
 the WasteWi$e Update,  call  the
 WasteWi$e Hotline  at 800  EPA-
 WISE.I
     Thanks to you, all sorts of everyday
    products are being made from the
    paper, plastic, metal and glass that
    you've been recycling.
     But to keep recycling working to
    help protect the environment, you
   ...need to;biiy those products.""-'-™'  "-""-
     BUY RECYCLED.

        AND SAY!=:
     So look for products made from
   recycled materials, and buy them. It
   would mean the world to all of us.
    To receive a free brochure, write
   Buy Recycled, Environmental Defense
   Fund, 2S7 Park Ave. South, New York,
   NY 10010, or call 1-800-CALL-EDF.

-------
  Recycling  Is Becoming
  Part  of the  Package
   Imagine how many foam peanuts
   you would need to fill the Empire
   State Building. Would you believe
 that it would take about 23 million
 pounds? That's the amount of pea-
 nuts and other expanded poly-
 styrene (EPS) foam packaging
 that the Association of Foam
 Packaging Recyclers  (AFPR)
 and consumers  collected for
 recycling in 1993.

   In just three  years, the
 recycling rate of EPS foam
 packaging has grown from
 almost nothing in 1991 to
 nearly 11 percent in 1994,
 according to a study con-
 ducted for AFPR. As a result,
 EPS foam—which you might
 also think of as the large
 white molded shapes used to
 cushion appliances  and
  «• .     ^yrXrirwirf Mnfif v'inn.- r
 equipment—is now the third
 most commonly recycled
 used  plastic after  soda
 bottles and milk jugs.

   All of  the  foam
 collected is considered
 "postconsumer," as
 it has served its in-
 tended  purpose.
 Most   (approxi-
 mately 90 percent)
 of the EPS foam col-
 lected for recycling
 comes from indus-
 try. EPS foam is used
 to transport parts to
 equipment manufacturers
 and finished products to retailers. In
 the past, the foam was discarded af-
 ter shipments were received. Now,
 after the foam has transported mate-
 rials safely, companies  can  send
 delivery trucks full of the foam back
 to foam manufacturers for recycling,
 which can save companies the cost
 of disposal. Foam manufacturers
grind up the used foam and either
make new foam out of it or market
the ground-up materials to other
   companies for use in making plastic
   products such as videocassettes or
   desk organizers.

     The remaining 10 percent of the
 ^  EPS foam collected for recycling
       comes from consumers who
       buy products that are pack-
       aged in foam, such as stereos.
       AFPR has  established over
         200  consumer collection
          sites in 39 states at AFPR
          member plant locations,
          recycling companies,
          Army depots, grocery
          stores, and other sites.

            Most consumers first
          learn about EPS foam recy-
          cling   from  inserts
          developed by AFPR, which
          many manufacturers are
          now enclosing in their
          packaging. The insert pro-
          vides a toll-free number
           that consumers can call
           to find out where EPS
           foam is collected for re-
           cycling in their area.
           According to AFPR, the
                toll-free number
                receives  hun-
                dreds of calls per
                month.

                  Prior to  the
                winter holiday
            season, a  time that
            usually  produces
            large quantities of EPS
            foam   packaging
    waste, AFPR runs special cam-
 paigns to encourage EPS foam recy-
 cling. During this time, AFPR often
 receives  thousands  of calls  per
 month—50 percent are from con-
 sumers who have read the packaging
 insert.

  For information on EPS foam recy-
 cling or to  locate the nearest EPS
foam recycling collection center, call
the Association of  Foam Packaging
Recyclers at 800 944-8448. H
 Two Guides

 Provide the

 Dirt  on

 Composting

       Organic wastes (includingpa-
       per, food scraps, and yard
       trimmings) make up a siz-
 able portion of the municipal solid
 waste (MSW) stream in many com-
 munities. By adding composting to
 the mix of waste management op-
 tions, communities can divert  as
 much as 60  percent of MSW from
 landfilling or combustion!  The
 following  resources can help you
 determine whether residential  or
 municipal composting is an option
 for your community.
   Keep It Off the Curb is a step-by-
 step manual for  community and
 state government officials who
 want to establish a backyard com-
 posting program for residents.
 Specifically, it is designed for those
 communities that want to distrib-
 ute bins so that residents can
 compost in their own backyards.
 The book presents information on
 composting basics, potential cost
 savings from waste diversion, and
 bin selection and distribution op-
 tions, as well as information on
 hciw to elicit support, conduct
 workshops, and set up demonstra-
 tion sites. It provides case studies
 of successful bin distribution pro-
 grams and ready-to-use  tools for
 the community, such as camera-
 ready brochures and surveys. To
 order a copy of the manual, call
 Harmonious  Technologies at  805
 646-8030.

   Composting Yard Trimmings
 and Municipal Solid Waste is an
 EPA. guidance manual for state and
 local planners who are interested
 in organizing municipal compost-
 ing operations. It provides guidance
 on Setting up all kinds of composting
 operations—from  basic windrow
processes to  high-tech, in-vessel
systems. The guidebook also pro-
vides assistance on anticipating and.
            (Continued on page 8)

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Environment and the Economy—A Winning Combination
(Continued from page 1)
Creating Markets for
Hard-To-Recycle Materials in
Minnesota
        Minnesota is developing markets for several
        materials generated in large quantities that
        are currently difficult to recycle within the
state. By focusing on wood waste, certain plastics,
and low-grade paper, Minnesota will help the state
move beyond its current 40 percent recycling rate.
  One potential use for these materials is in com-
posite  products.  (Composites  are made by
combining two or more different materials in a way
that enhances their combined properties.)  Building
on prior research conducted by the Office of Envi-
ronmental Assistance (OEA), Minnesota's RBAC has
developed an impressive list of potential new com-
posites that might prove economical to produce. For
example,  Minnesota will fund a study to explore.
ways to increase demand for bagged wood chips and
mulches derived from blends of wood waste and
demolition waste. Another project will support re-
search  on ways to add  structural reinforcement
materials into composites of wood and  plastic
wastes  to expand their usage. For  example, such
reinforcement will make these materials stronger so
that they can be used for structural purposes.
   Minnesota industries have already shown a will-
ingness to integrate recovered materials such as old
newspapers,  old corrugated  containers, and steel
cans into existing manufacturing processes.  By fo-
cusing  on the more  difficult to recycle wastes,
Minnesota will not only  improve  waste manage-
ment,  expand recycling, and  conserve virgin
resources, but it also will create new businesses and
new jobs in  recycling. "By targeting and working
closely with  specific industries and expanding co-
operative activities  with economic  development
officials, we  will have a significant impact on the
state's recycled materials markets," said Ted Troolin,
supervisor of OEA's Market Development Unit.

 North  Carolina's RBAC Launches
 Demonstration Projects
      During the summer of 1994, North Carolina's
      Department of Environment, Health, and Natu-
      ral Resources (DEHNR) surveyed nearly 500
 recycling companies within the state. The survey in-
 cluded manufacturers, scrap dealers, processors, col-
 lectors, brokers, equipment dealers, and pallet
 reclaimers. It assessed their size, growth potential, and
 financing and technical assistance needs. North Caro-
 lina will use these data, along with the findings of its
 soon-to-be released report entitled Assessment of the
 Recycling Industry and Recycling Materials in North
 Carolina to  establish four demonstration projects
 showcasing different recycling market development
 strategies:
 • Capacity Expansion Demonstration  Project—
   The RBAC will help  a chosen company increase
   the amount  of recycled feedstock it  presently
   uses.  Assistance will include securing capital,
   installing new equipment, and locating potential
   supplies of recovered materials. The experience
   of this select company will serve as a  model for
   other fledgling recycling businesses and help ex-
   pand use of recovered feedstocks within the state.
States with
  RBACs
O REDAs
   Feedstock Conversion Demonstration Project—
   Switching from virgin to recovered material feed-
   stocks is not always easy for manufacturers. For
   example, such a conversion can entail equipment
   purchases, changes in processes and product for-
   mulations, and employee training. North Carolina
   will help a select company completely convert
   from virgin to recycled feedstock. A team of RBAC
   specialists will work closely with plant managers
   to identify appropriate equipment, secure capital,
   and seek out consistent, stable feedstock sources.

   Industrial Recruitment Demonstration Project—
   North Carolina will coordinate state efforts to
   attract companies that  use  targeted recovered
   feedstocks to the state by offering expert business
   development advice and technical assistance.

  I Regional Commodities Demonstration Project—
   Many new recycling businesses find it difficult to
   locate economical sources of high-quality recovered
   feedstocks. This project will help a chosen company
   identify local suppliers of recovered materials. Us-
   ing local, rather than out-of-state, suppliers reduces
   transportation costs, making it more attractive for
   manufacturers to use recovered materials.

-------
  North Carolina is poised to bring these combined
economic and market development plans to fruition.
"We believe our efforts will open up new markets,
strengthen existing ones, and eventually create jobs in
the recycling industry," predicted Mary Beth Powell,
manager of DEHNR's Solid Waste Reduction Program.

Postconsumer  Payoff in New York
        Working in cooperation with the South Bronx
        2000 Local Development Corporation, the
        New York RBAC will support community-
based recycling enterprises that use materials recov-
ered from commercial, industrial, and institutional
generators. Bronx 2000 has already started several
innovative recycling projects, including the Big City
Forest facility that is remanufacturing thousands  of
wood  pallets and  shipping containers. This pilot
project created 37  jobs and processed 37,000 dis-
carded pallets and 413,000 pounds of wood.packag-
ing materials. RBAC  funding  will help establish
additional wood reclamation programs based on this
prototype.
  New York's RBAC, housed in the State Department
of Economic Development (DED), also plans to im-
prove the  collection infrastructure for office paper


  Economic Development
  Specialists Focus on Recycling
  EPA's Jobs Through Recycling Initiative is also
  supporting ten professional staff positions for Recy-
  cling Economic Development Advocates (REDAs).
  These economic development specialists are help-
  ing  create new recycling jobs, advising new and
  existing  recycling businesses, and coordinating
  solid waste and  economic  development efforts
  within their respective jurisdictions.  Each of the fol-
  lowing is hosting a REDA:
  • Arizona—Department of Commerce
  • Delaware—Development Office
  • District of Columbia—Office of Economic
    Development
  • Iowa—Department of Economic and
    Employment Development
  • Maryland—Department of Economic
    Development
  • Nebraska—Department of Economic
    Development-
  • Ohio—Department of Development
  • Oklahoma—Department of Commerce
  • Oregon—Economic Development Department
  • Siletz Tribe (Oregon)—Economic
    Development Office
 and paperboard packaging. It will establish partner-
 ships between local collection programs and paper
 companies. These partnerships will  demonstrate
 cost-effective methods for collecting,  processing,
 transporting, and delivering  high-quality  waste-
 paper to mills. New iYork will also work with  12
 plastics processors, reclaimers, and manufacturers
 to help them resolve barriers to expanding their use
 of postconsumer recovered plastics.

   "EPAs RBAC  funding will help us accelerate our
 efforts to optimize market conditions for recycling in
 New York and raise the efficiency with which secondary
 materials are recovered and used as manufacturing feed-
 stocks," said William Ferretti, director of DED's Office
 of Recycling Market Development.

 California Nurtures Fledgling
 Recycling Businesses
    •alifornia's RBAC, dubbed the "R-Team," is es-
     tablishing an information network to provide
    *recycling companies with the many types  of
 information they neeld to be successful, from gen-
 eral business advice jto technical assistance. The
 network will help recycling entrepreneurs  access
 the technical reports and materials testing informa-
 tion they need. It alsojwill link these entrepreneurs
 with experts at federal laboratories and manufac-
 turing technology centers.
   Housed at the California Integrated Waste Manage-
 ment Board', the  RBAC will set up a telephone and
 facsimile hotline thatj offers two levels of support.
 First, the hotline willj provide all recycling compa-
 nies that call in with general business advice. It will
 also disseminate publications, answer questions,
 and make referrals. Second, the hotline will provide
 more individualized  services  to selected recycling
 businesses. These services will include:
 •  Identifying low-cos:: technical assistance.
 •  Coordinating financing.
 •  Helping  with  business planning and marketing
   activities.         i  •
 •  Identifying sources bf recovered materials.
 •  Providing siting and permitting assistance.
   In addition to establishing this resource network,
 California is also  identifying existing businesses that
 can convert from the ikse of virgin to recovered ma-
 terials, as well as thosje that are likely to benefit by
 diversifying their current product mix or expanding
 their manufacturing capacity.  "By providing direct
services to recycling businesses, we are working  to
help them profit through recycled content manufac-
turing," said R-Team director Ranny Eckstrom.

  For more informatioii on EPAs Jobs Through Recy-
cling Initiative, see the Spring issue of Reusable News, fl

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Reusable News  Goes  Online
      As part of a new EPA pilot pro-
      ject, Internet users are now
      able to find everyone's favor-
ite solid waste periodical, Reusable
Mews, on line. The EPA Internet Pilot
Project grew out of a desire to make
solid waste publications available to
the growing ranks of computer users
seeking information on line.  So,
along with documents on landfill
regulations and RCRA  hazardous
\vaste materials, individuals can
now pick up the latest issue of this
publication electronically.
  Since the project began in July,
organizers are reporting a lot of inter-
est in the various EPA publications.
Unfortunately, all good pilot projects
must come to an end—this one in
January. But EPA will be conducting
a thorough analysis of the  process,
and, if all went well, users will soon
find Reusable News regularly on the
Internet.

  Reusable News can be accessed on
line using one of several Internet
pathways:

• Through Gopher:
  Go to the gopher.epa.gov server.
  firom the main menu, begin with
  "EPA Offices and Regions."
  Reusable News is under the
  "Office of Solid Waste" directory.
  Through FTP:
  Go to the ftp.epa.gov server.
  Login as "anonymous" using
  your Internet address as the
  password. Reusable News files
  are located in /pub. All OSW
  files are in directories beginning
  with "OSW."
  Through Telnet:
  Go to the gopher.epa.gov'server
  and choose the EPA Public
  Access Gopher. From the main
  (Gopher) menu, begin with "EPA
  Offices and Regions." Reusable
  News is under the "Office of
  Solid Waste" directory.
• Through Mosaic:
  Go to the http://www.epa.gov
  server and choose the EPA
  Public Access Gopher. From the
  main (Gopher) menu, begin with
  "EPA Offices and Regions."
  Reusable News is under the
  "Office of Solid Waste" directory.
• Through dial-up access:
  Dial 919 558-0335. Once
  connected, choose the EPA Public
  Access Gopher. From the main
  (Gopher) menu, begin with "EPA
  Offices and Regions." Reusable
  News is under the "Office of
  Solid Waste" directory, fi
Two Guides Provide the Dirt on Composting
(Continued from page 5)
overcoming some of the common challenges involved in establishing a
composting program, including designing the facility, managing odors,
involving the public in the siting process, and identifying end users of the
compost product. It also explains the biology of the composting process,
collection and processing methods, and marketing techniques. A compre-
hensive listing of many types of composting equipment (along with
product costs and advantages and disadvantages) also is included. This
manual can be ordered for $27 (plus a $4 handling charge)  by calling the
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at 800 553-6847 and request-
ing publication number EPA530-R-94-003.il
 The mention of publications, products, or organizations in this newsletter does not
 constitute endorsement or approval for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
&EPA
   United States
   Environmental Protection Agency
   (5305)
   Washington, DC 20460

   Official Business
   Penalty for Private Use
   S300

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