Feature Stories: Owning Your Own Economy, Masters of Our Destiny, Bits Bytes and Community, and Rooting for the Home Team
Place Rules: Good rules make a difference but only if they have muscle, Devolving power, and Traditional road design in the back seat.
by Brenda Platt and Joanne Goodwin 1998, fact sheet packet (24 pages) – View Online Download PDF File (1.26 MB) EPA-530-F-98-023 two-color printed copies available free through the RCRA hotline 1-800-424-9346 (within U.S.),1-703-412-9810 (outside U.S. and Washington, DC metro area). A growing number of food-related businesses are diverting their food discards to useful purposes in… Continue reading
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s (ILSR’s) 1998 pilot project in Hartford, Connecticut -conducted in conjunction with the Hartford Housing Authority, Manafort Brothers Construction Company, and the Laborers International Union, proved that deconstruction Is a low-cost alternative or complement to demolition. According to data gathered and analyzed from the Hartford project, trained workers can deconstruct a building at… Continue reading
Compost yard trimmings Only those programs with comprehensive composting of segregated organics have achieved very high levels of materials recovery. Target a wide range of materials For a community to recover a high percentage of its total waste, it must target a variety of materials. Targeting only two or three materials (for example, newspapers, bottles,… Continue reading
This report examines major solid waste issues facing the nation’s capital and offers recommendations for making ecologically sound and cost-effective improvements that build community and entrepreneuralism. The report includes recommendations on recycling, trash collection routes and vehicles, waste transfer stations, and retraining city workers. by Neil Seldman Download PDF File (2.52 MB) Continue reading
Too Bitter a Pill To Swallow by Pam Neary Institute for Local Self-Reliance November 13, 1997 Too many of our elected officials are old enough to have loved Mary Poppins as a child. The have apparently taken to heart her musical refrain, “just a spoonfull of sugar makes the medicine go down.” Having determined that… Continue reading
This report profiles six model reuse operations and seven programs that collect reusable goods from households. Each profile documents materials handled, marketing information, process and equipment utilized, costs, and replicability. The report also details job creation and other community benefits of reuse. View Introduction by Brenda Platt ISBN 0-917582-95-0, LC 97-1338 Download PDF File (8.92 MB) Continue reading
Because computers become obsolete so swiftly, they are often discarded with many or all working components. This report provides contact information on 150 computer recovery facilities as well as in-depth profiles of the operating experiences of 13 that focus on computer reuse. Operations profiled are all replicable and many are interested in starting similar enterprises… Continue reading
While pallet repair businesses are becoming more common, many pallets are still discarded without repair or salvage. This report lists 31 pallet reuse businesses interested in expanding, and documents jobs through pallet recovery. Profiles of five enterprises detail sources of pallets, repair equipment and process, and more. An appendix lists 193 pallet recovery facilities. View Introduction… Continue reading
by Neil N. Seldman- Institute for Local Self-Reliance December 1996 One would think that recycling, like motherhood and apple pie, would be an activity beyond reproach. After all, an enterprise that requires less than a minute a day, that makes us feel good about ourselves, that reduces pollution and saves energy would seem to have… Continue reading
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