Rugged Individuals:

Each year, 3.5 billion pounds of old carpets wind up in US landfills, but Georgia-based Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings (CAF) is keeping 75 million pounds of them out of the dumps by turning old carpets into new. CAF's plants close the resource-loop by reclaiming 100 percent of used rug materials to produce new carpets - the resource is "mined" from buildings, not from nature. "We take full responsibility for our products forever," says CAF vice president Lee Schilling. CAF also promises to send "a regionally indigenous tree to customers for every 500 square yards of floor coverings purchased."

Right Wash:

The Posh Wash laundromat in Portland, Oregon expects to save $5,500 and a quarter of a million gallons of water this year with the installation of 20 resource-efficient washing machines (REWMs). The new horizontal-axis REWMs load from the front, not the top. By tumbling clothes in and out of a smaller volume of washwater, REWMs only need half the water and 50-70 percent of the energy of traditional washers. The spin cycle also is faster and cheaper. REWMs, already widely used in Europe, are now available for residential use in the US.

Dumping on the Governor:

The 70-member Southern California Association of Governments, representing 15 million people in 184 cities, unanimously rejected a proposal to build a "low-level" nuclear waste dump in Ward Valley near the Colorado River. The decision challenges Republican Governor Pete Wilson's support for the waste dump. A recent report revealed that 90 percent of the waste would come from nuclear power reactors - not, as Wilson argued, from the state's biochemical and medical facilities.

Swedes May Sack "Persistent" Chemicals:

A Swedish governmental committee has recently recommended that the European Community phase-out a wide range of chemical substances, including poly vinyl chlorides, by 2007. The committee rejected the standard definition of hazardous chemicals (focusing toxicity) and, instead, called for restrictions on any chemicals that are persistent and accumulate in the biosphere. Toxicity is a poor criterion, the committee argued, since evidence of toxicity can emerge too late to protect public health. The committee asserts that the burden of responsibility for chemical risk reduction should rest with industry.

Changing Coors?:

ACX Technologies, Inc., a spin-off from the Adolph Coors Company, recently patented Heplon TM, a "natural" plastic polymer made from renewable plant sources such as corn and sugar beets. Unlike petroleum-based plastics, Heplon is said to be readily biodegradable. If Coors were to adopt Heplon containers, its beer cans would no longer be litter: They'd be compost.

A Jumbo Land Purchase:

The people of Missoula, Montana, just bought 1,600 acres of Mount Jumbo to create a protected reserve for wintering elk. The community of 45,000 (with an average individual income of $18,000/year) pooled donations, municipal bond revenue and state and federal monies to buy the land. At least 560 acres of the preserve will be protected from development - forever.

Recycling Recreates Jobs:

"If only half the 25.5 million tons of durable goods now discarded were reused, more than 110,000 new jobs could be created," declares Brenda Platt, Director of Materials Recovery for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). Four reports written by ILSR [2425 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 232-4108] and funded by the EPA explain reuse operations, collection strategies, tips for replication, financing mechanisms and sample outreach materials. The ILSR reports are available for $15 each (plus shipping) from . The EPA's free Electronics Reuse and Recycling Directory is available by calling (800) 424-9346.

Green Guide Available:

The Guide to a Sustainable Future - featuring 1,400 pages of resources, 232 reports and articles, 552 publications and videos, 563 web sites and info on 377 organizations, agencies, projects, campaigns and companies leading the way to sustainability - is available from The Green Disk [PO Box 32224, Washington DC 20007, (888) GRN-DISK, greendisk@igc.apc.org]. The guide is published on recycled Mac or IBM disks and costs $35, including postage.

Natural Step:

Next Step: The Natural Step [4000 Bridgeway, No. 102, Sausalito, CA 94965, (415) 332-9394, tns@naturalstep.org], a Swedish-based model for businesses to plan long-term sustainability by creating no-waste, closed-loop production systems, offered workshops to 200 business and community leaders in Oregon and Washington last June. Interest by representatives from the timber industry, computer industry and a range of small and large firms exceeded workshop demand.

Cold Cash:

The Clinton administration has established a new rule requiring that after July 1, 2001, all refrigerators manufactured or imported to the US must use 30 percent less energy. The added cost (about $80 per unit) will be offset by lower electric bills. By 2010, the new generation of refrigerators should save the US $1.1 billion each year without sacrificing size, features or convenience. The 125 million US refrigerators currently in operation consume about 1.5 percent of all energy used nationally. The new models are expected to save 6.7 quadrillions BTUs (more than 580 billion kilowatt hours of electricity) over a 30-year period.

Vermont's Vane-Glory:

The largest commercial wind generating station in the eastern US began supplying clean energy to 2,000 homes in Vermont in late June. Green Mountain Power's 11 turbines (built by Zond Corporation of Tehachapi, California) will generate six megawatts of electricity, while withstanding Vermont's cold, wet - and windy - winters. The $11 million project began almost 20 years ago with a $3.5 million award from the US Department of Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute of Palo Alto, California.

Dial an Environmental Job - Free

The Toll-Free Environmental Directory is a compendium of more than 7,000 free telephone numbers of US environmental organizations. Prepared by US Department of Energy attorney Paul J. Krupin, the 152-page book was designed to help information- and job-seekers interested in professional and nonprofit environmental organizations, consulting firms, schools and government agencies associated with the environment. It is available for $17.95. Call (800) 457-8746.

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E-mail Sharon Skolnick at <sskolnick@earthisland.org>.