NRCM Blog

Maine Protects Families from Toxic BPA

It’s Thursday, December 16th, and I am just back from the Board of Environmental Protection meeting where they took a significant step forward to protect Maine families from the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA).

During a six-month public hearing and comment period, the BEP heard the consensus of the nation’s top scientists that BPA is dangerous, even in small doses, such as those we are exposed to every day in products such as food and beverage containers including sippy cups and baby bottles. BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical that can reduce immune function, impair brain development, has been linked to diseases like breast and prostate cancers later in life.   

Ninety-three percent of us are walking around with BPA in our bodies at levels that may be harmful, due to activities like eating canned food or drinking out of polycarbonate plastic bottles or painting the floor with epoxy paint. Experts around the world are saying that these chemicals are a risk to human health. Fortunately, we can do something about this, and here in Maine, we are. 

Businesses large and small, ranging from the Belfast Co-op to Whole Foods urged BEP to get BPA out of consumer products. Also, big companies like Nestle, Heinz, and General Mills have pledged to eliminate BPA from their food packaging. 

Beyond the action today, NRCM also urged BEP to restrict BPA in infant formula and baby food packaging and substitute safer alternatives that are already available. We hope DEP will move quickly to develop recommendations for meeting this goal, to further reduce exposure to BPA by children. 

This law and this rule are about protecting Maine children’s health.  Today we are one step closer to doing so.  

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the hearing or submitted comments (you can read my testimony on behalf of NRCM here).  This would not have happened without you!

- Matt Prindiville, NRCM Clean Production Project Director

 

Governor-elect Excludes Enviros from Recent Forum

Did you see this front-page story on 12/1/10’s Portland Press Herald and other newspapers?

“Business Leaders Target Red Tape: Advocates for the environment, consumers, public health take no part in meeting”

http://www.kjonline.com/news/businessleaderstargetred-tape_2010-11-30.html

The piece describes how Gov.-elect Paul LePage is asking businesses and industry groups to help him reduce the regulations they believe hinder economic development. Twenty-eight representatives of these groups met with LePage and listed regulations they described as burdensome—issues related to the environment, civil rights, public health, child labor laws and tax policy. Unfortunately, environmental groups, public health advocates, and consumer advocates were not invited to the forum. NRCM Advocacy Director Pete Didisheim was interviewed for the story. "There are many voices that need to be he heard," said Didisheim. "This is not a balanced and fair approach to the policy process."

It does, however, provide insight into the direction the LePage Administration is likely headed regarded his view of protections put in place to protect Maine families and the state’s natural resource-based economy. You can read the full article here.

To stay informed about issues like these that put Maine’s environment at risk, and to hear about ways you can help make a difference, join NRCM’s Action Network.

New Video: The Story of Electronics (and e-waste)

Hot of the presses! The Story of Stuff project has just released an excellent new 7-minute film, the Story of Electronics. You may already be familiar with the Story of Stuff Project’s series of wildly popular and fun web videos that expose the hidden costs of all the consumer products we buy and toss at alarming rates. This new film takes on the electronics industry’s “designed for the dump” mentality, and asks, why do we throw away millions of tons of electronics every year, and what does that mean for the planet?

Check it out at: http://storyofelectronics.org

As you may remember, in 2004, NRCM led the campaign for Maine, which became the first state to require computer and television manufacturers to set up e-waste collection centers and pay for the costs of environmentally safe recycling. Since then, Maine has recycled over 30 million pounds of e-waste, saved taxpayers more than $20 million dollars, and prevented more than 6 million pounds of lead and other toxics from entering our environment. This breakthrough paved the way for other states to follow and helped to spur on the movement for e-waste recycling in the United States. Since 2004, 23 other states have followed Maine’s lead, enacting producer responsibility laws to recycle unwanted electronics. 

More good news: Collecting, hauling, and recycling is all now being done by private companies. New businesses have been created and existing businesses have expanded, creating jobs and helping to build out Maine’s clean tech economy.

Our law originally only covered TVs, computers, laptops, and monitors. In 2009, NRCM led an effort to expand the law to incorporate video game consoles, printers, and additional digital display devices. Maine people now have convenient opportunities to recycle these products, but there are many more electronics products that can and should be recycled. Canadian provinces and the European Union are developing e-waste programs that require manufacturers to recycle everything “with a plug or battery.” 

There are many opportunities to recycle your electronic products. To learn more about where to take your old unwanted electronics, visit our website.

-Matt Prindiville, Clean Production Project Director

Give Your Beauty Products a Makeover

Check out this great new video from the makers of the “Story of Stuff.”  If you’ve been wondering what nasty chemicals are lurking in your shampoo, deodorant or even toothpaste, this is the video to watch. When you’re done, don’t forget to send a message to our congressional delegation. Thanks for helping make our products safe!  - Matt Prindiville, Toxics Project Director

A Zero-Waste Future: Pipe Dream or Reality?

What would you say if I told you that consumer product manufacturers are teaming up with local solid waste officials to eliminate the concept of “trash” altogether?

Does that sound like an eco-pipe dream?

Well, it’s not. Right here in Maine, electronics manufacturers have already set up and are financing collection and recycling programs for unwanted television sets, computers, monitors, cell phones, mercury-containing light bulbs and more. 

The goal of these programs is to divert these products from landfills and incinerators and get them into recycling operations where they can be broken down and turned into new products. 

While, Maine’s been on the cutting edge of this policy approach known as product stewardship (or extended producer responsibility) in the United States, we’re well behind places like the European Union and Canada, which are implementing stewardship plans to get pretty much everything you can think of out of the waste stream and into recycling operations. 

And, here’s the kicker – it’s all done by private companies and the costs are incorporated into the price of the product, instead of left to taxpayers and local governments to figure out what to do with all the unwanted stuff.

Pretty soon, we won’t be talking about “solid waste” policy anymore. We’ll be talking about “sustainable materials” policy, and that, my friends, is a heck of a lot more exciting and truly has the potential to revolutionize the way we manufacture, use and dispose of consumer products. Rather than designing products for disposal, manufacturers will now have the incentives to design their products – and packaging – for their next uses, and will create the systems to capture those unwanted products and turn them into something new and valuable.

If all this sounds exciting to you, then you need to join us in Portland, Tuesday, August 17th for "The Product Stewardship State Legislative Forum: How Business and States are Turning Today’s Trash into Tomorrow’s Products.”

This free forum, taking place in conjunction with the Council of State Governments' Annual Eastern Regional Conference and sponsored by NRCM and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, is an exciting opportunity to learn about how product stewardship is sweeping Maine and the nation and what it means for you, your business, local solid waste district, and our environment.

To register and learn more about agenda and the speakers for the event, please visit http://www.nrcm.org/product_stewardship_forum.asp.

Hope to see you there!

Matt Prindiville
NRCM Clean Production Project Director

The hope inside my garbage can

Just as a follow-up to my post on recycling and municipal waste, check out the essay below by author, ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber about the link between toxic waste, health and trash:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sandra-steingraber/the-hope-inside-canadas-g_b_586625.html

Sandra is an inspiring speaker and advocate.  Maybe you got a chance to see her speak recently in Portland.  If not, read her books Living Downstream and Having Faith.

- Mathew Scease

Another first-in-the-nation law for Maine! CFL recycling bill passed

NRCM just achieved a big legislative victory with passage of a sweeping, first-in-the-nation bill to collect and recycle light bulbs that contain mercury (compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs).  Building off the success of Maine’s landmark electronic waste law, the new CFL bill directs light bulb manufacturers to share the costs and responsibility of recycling mercury-containing light bulbs.  The bill’s passage will set a national precedent for other states to follow. 

At one point during the legislative process, the bill appeared to be headed for a bitter partisan fight – with Democrats at the Natural Resources Committee supporting and Republicans opposed.  That was not the outcome we were looking for, so we redoubled our efforts to talk with every Republican with the goal of building bi-partisan support.

That is when lobbyists representing the manufacturers expanded their ranks and pushed hard for a weakening amendment that would have completely gutted the bill and absolved manufacturers of all responsibility to collect the mercury.  We worked with our friends in the retail community to get letters of opposition to the amendment.  The manufacturers backed down off their amendment strategy, and focused instead on spreading false information about the bill – with the hope of delaying action until next year, so that “more studies” could be done.  In other words:  study the issue to death. 

As the bill was about to head for a final vote, we knew it was make or break time, so we called in reinforcements: Sierra Fletcher from the Product Stewardship Institute, who co-chaired the national stakeholder group on mercury lamps recycling, and Michael Bender, from the Mercury Policy Project and chair of the Multi-state Mercury Campaign.  Michael and Sierra drove up the morning before the committee vote, and we talked with swing committee members right up to the vote.  We prepared documents the night before showing that the manufacturers have been pushing for delay and studies, studies and delay, around the country.  “Anything but action,” has been their refrain.

The vote was taken, and we won with 12-1 vote out of committee, leading to a 130-13 victory in the house, and a near unanimous vote in the Senate.   

We’re very excited about this victory.  The Governor will hold a bill signing of the legislation next week – sending a clear message nationally - and globally - that a new day is dawning for total life cycle management and shared responsibility - from ‘the cradle to the grave’ for products containing mercury and other hazardous substances.  This new law also sends a message to manufacturers that they need to assume their share of responsibility to reduce and wherever possible eliminate the toxicity of their products, and also to alleviate the increasing waste management cost burden on local governments.  

We need to keep mercury and other hazardous materials in products out of the environment.  This bill contributes to that goal.

NRCM appreciates the work of all the legislators who contributed to this victory, especially the bill’s sponsor, Representative Seth Berry from Bowdoinham, the lead co-sponsor, Senator Kevin Raye from Perry, and the two committee chairs, Representative Bob Duchesne and Senator Seth Goodall.  They helped craft the final language that won overwhelming support in both Houses. 

-Matt Prindiville, Toxics Project Director

Industry ad ignites Deca bill backers

This comes to us from the Bangor Daily News in response to the terrible and misleading ad that the chemical corporations are now airing on TV to try and kill this important Deca toxic pollution ban.  The chemical company lobby is the true special interest here... spending who knows what spreading false and misleading information all over the airwaves.

Meanwhile, Maine firefighters wholeheartedly endorse a ban on Deca, since safer, more effective flame retardants are readily available.  Please watch our online flash video and forward to your friends so people can get the full story!

Industry ad ignites deca bill backers       

By Kevin Miller

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - Bangor Daily News

The political firefight over a chemical that helps keep televisions from bursting into flames has spread to — where else? — the television airwaves.

Several Maine television stations are airing advertisements, paid for by a chemical industry trade group, suggesting that bills under consideration in the state Legislature could put people and property at risk during a fire.

A legislative leader responded to the ad with some heat of her own...