Dear Friends--Not local, but of general interest and concern. The startling statistic to me is, "More than 200 billion beverage containers are sold in the U.S. each year, but over 130 billion of those are still sent to landfills and incinerated...." This really falls into the "oughta be a law category". See sig file below. Tom
>Coke Adds Recycling Life > >12/17/2008 > > >Coca-Cola has received the highest grade in a beverage container >recycling report released by As You Sow, a San Francisco-based group >that identifies itself as a "corporate responsibility watchdog.â > >As you Sow says it evaluated the recycling practices of 23 large >beverage companies in the U.S. The highest grade assigned to any of >them was the âCâ received by Coca-Cola, followed by Anheuser Busch, >Pepsi Co. and Nestle Waters, companies that received C minuses. > >The study, entitled âWaste and Opportunity: U.S. Beverage Container >Recycling Scorecard and Report,â is based on original research that >evaluated the beverage companies based on four criteria: > >Source Reduction (reducing the use of virgin packaging materials) >Use of Recycled Content >Beverage Container Recycling (supporting and investing in legislative >policies that increase beverage container recovery and recycling) >Transparency (compiling and offering information on goals and >commitments made on container recycling, including making such >information accessible through company Web sites). >The 23 companies evaluated in the report represent 74 percent of the >U.S. carbonated soft drink market, more than 60 percent of the U.S. >bottled water market and nearly half of the U.S. beer industry, >according to As You Sow. > >The companies evaluated (and the grades they received) were: Coca-Cola >(C), Anheuser Busch20(C minus), Pepsi Co. (C minus), Nestle Waters NA (C >minus), Red Bull (D plus), Fiji Water (D), Honest Tea (D minus); and >the following companies that all received failing grades by As You >Sowâs criteria: Dr. Pepper/Snapple, Miller Brewing Co., Coors Brewing >Co., Starbucks, Cott, National Beverage, Hansens, Crystal Geyser, >Adirondack, Arizona, Boston Beer, DS Waters, Jones Soda, Monarch >Beverage, New Belgium Beer and Polar Beverage. (Please see detailed >list of grades below.) > >âDespite some impressive progress, most beverage companies continue to >fail basic criteria for dealing with the environmental implications of >their packaging,â says Amy Galland, research director at As You Sow and >author of the study. More than 200 billion beverage containers are sold >in the U.S. each year, but over 130 billion of those are still sent to >landfills and incinerated, representing a huge waste of natural >resources, says Galland. > >Those wishing to read the report can find it on the Web at >www.asyousow.org. > >Wednesday, December 17, 2008 ****************************************** Tom Shelley 118 E. Court St. Ithaca, NY 14850 607 342-0864 [email protected] http://www.myspace.com/99319958 (Just updated 12-16-08.) http://www.facebook.com/129295929#/home.php (Just updated 12-16-08.) Compost Educator and Sustainability Scion Buy products in glass, not plastic! Recycle all of your glass bottles. The percentage of PET recycled is declining. PET Recycling Rages Graph Source: National Association for PET Container Resources, American Plastics Council Note: 39% of plastic recycled in 2003 was PET. _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
