`
October 28, 2003
GovPro E-Newsletter
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 Volume 2, Issue 42
Welcome to the GovPro Newsletter brought to you by the Penton Government Media Group. Look forward to news, resources, product and supplier information, and links relating to the government market.
If this message was sent in error or you wish to unsubscribe, see the unsubscribe information below.
Sponsored by MSA
CONTENTS
States to Tackle E-Waste Digital Licenses Drive Data Return to Sender Radio Frequencies Reduce Inventory Time News of The Weird
FEATURES
E-WASTE DISPOSAL -- STATES' COMPUTER-AGE HEADACHE
Starting next April, Californians may pay $6 to $10 more when they buy a new television or computer to offset the cost of recycling discarded electronics equipment.
Californias environmental protection agency estimates six million monitors are stacked in state homes and offices waiting to be tossed.
California is not alone in trying to cope with discarded electronics products. More than 50 bills were introduced in 29 states this year addressing the environmental and fiscal impacts of e-waste, according to the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
Few of those bills have passed, and none are as far-reaching as Californias new law. The latter will fund statewide collection and recycling of e-waste, and requires toxic materials like lead and mercury to be eliminated from electronic products sold in the state by 2007. Californias law also establishes a first-in-the-nation ban on the export of e-waste to foreign countries that dont meet U.S. environmental protection standards.
Lawmakers in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Oregon have created task forces to investigate the e-waste problem.
Massachusetts, Minnesota and Maine also passed a ban similar to Californias that outlaws the dumping of CRTs.
There is no precise estimate of how much e-waste is piling up in the nations landfills, but the National Safety Council estimates that 500 million defunct computers and monitors will be discarded by 2007.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that e-waste accounts for 40 percent of lead found in landfills and 70 percent of heavy metals, like mercury and cadmium.
The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) opposes bans on the dumping of e-wastes. The NSWMA is a nonprofit that represents the commercial waste industry, and argues that e-wastes have not been proven to contaminate the environment.
It is very clear that there is no scientific evidence that (E-waste) causes problems, Chaz Miller, NWMA state programs director, said.
Computer monitors have been shown to fail the EPA acid leach aid test, which indicates lead could contaminate the environment from a landfill. But there have not yet been any reported cases of actual contamination.
Those opposed to e-waste reaching landfills stress the fact that there is no evidence of contamination is because not enough time has passed for landfills to be tested.
Outlawing e-waste dumping can be costly for states because someone has to pay for recycling. A few electronics companies, like Hewlett-Packard Co., operate their own recycling programs. Often, local governments bear the brunt of the cost.
If (e-wastes) are going to be banned from disposal, youve got an unfunded mandate for recycling, so local governments are stuck with a bill of recycling products they never manufactured, Miller said.
Many environmentalists advocate making the electronics industry responsible for its products from cradle to grave.
Some suggest shifting the cost and responsibility onto brand owners. Because the problems with these products include toxicity, product redesign may be a prime directive.
State and local governments, which are major consumers of computer products, may soon use their purchasing power to pressure the industry to recycle their products.
A consortium of state governments is negotiating an agreement with computer manufacturers that would mandate a take-back plan for all state-purchased computer equipment.
The project is being undertaken by the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA), a 10-year-old organization of purchasing directors from 15 states. Thirty states currently purchase computer equipment under prices negotiated by the Alliance.
WSCA spokesperson Ron Jones said an RFP (request for proposal) that would mandate that computer brand-owners take back computers sold to state governments after theyve outlived their usefulness will be discussed at the Alliances annual meeting in New Mexico this December.
Nothing has happened on this yet, its just an idea weve discussed. But were looking at ways, possibly under solid waste act statutes that require states to buy products that are recyclable, Jones said.
MSA
Since 1914, MSA has been offering a complete line of personal protection equipment. MSA has over 2,000 products on GSA schedules covering Respiratory/Head/Eye/Face/Hearing/Fall Protection and Portable Instruments for Gas Detection. http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.69kp.3.2nur.5bxn
NEWS
LICENSE AUTHENTICITY TAKES NEW TURN Government Computer News Online (10/13/03); Jackson, William
Five States--Nebraska, New Jersey, Vermont, Kansas, and Michigan--plan to use digital watermarks to validate drivers licenses and state-issued identifications. The watermarks hide computer-readable data in an image, and their invisibility to the eye makes them difficult to efface or change.
The process can only be used with digital licenses printed from electronic files. Oregon-based Digimarc has been commissioned by at least two of the States, Nebraska and Florida, to complete the process. Law enforcement and Department of Motor Vehicles staffers will be able to access digital photos through a central image server in the states of Kansas and Nebraska. That way, they can confirm identities and correlate images of new applicants with an existing image databank.
MILLIONS RETURNED TO IRS
The IRS reminds taxpayers they have until Dec. 5 to claim 115,744 undelivered checks from this summers advance child tax credit. After the December cut-off, taxpayers cannot claim the checks until they file their tax returns next year.
These undelivered checks are among nearly 24 million issued this summer and fall for the advance child tax credit. In all, more than $14 billion in child credit checks have been issued.
In all, the IRS has money for more than 200,000 taxpayers whose income tax refund or advance child tax credit checks were undelivered and returned to the agency. Taxpayers need to update their addresses before the IRS can reissue the checks, which total more than $118 million.
In addition to the 115,744 child credit checks worth more than $50 million, there were another 92,810 regular tax refund checks, those issued to refund tax overpayments, returned to the IRS as undelivered. These regular refund checks total more than $66 million an average of $722 per check.
To update addresses or track refunds, visit: Xhttp://www.IRS.gov
DOD ANNOUNCES RADIO FREQUENCY POLICY
The Department of Defense announced the establishment of a Radio Frequency Identification Policy (RFID). RFID technology greatly improves the management of inventory by providing hands-off processing. The equipment quickly accounts for and identifies massive inventories, enhancing the processing of materiel transactions to allow DoD to realign resources and streamline business processes.
Implementation of RFID minimizes time spent through the normal means of inventory processing. This technology allows the improvement of data quality, items management, asset visibility, and maintenance of materiel. Further, RFID will enable DoD to improve business functions and facilitate all aspects of the DoD supply chain.
The new policy will require suppliers to put passive RFID tags on the lowest possible piece part/case/pallet packaging by January 2005. Acknowledging the impact on DoD suppliers, the department plans to host an RFID Summit for Industry in February 2004. The RFID policy and implementation strategy will be finalized by June 2004.
NEWS OF THE WEIRD: Bizarre but true stories about real people. http://www.govpro.com/GPRONewsletter/Article/29263/
INDUSTRY DECK: Products for Manufacturing Professionals, Design Engineers, and Industrial Buyers.
Are you looking for new products in the industrial marketplace? Industry Deck from NEW EQUIPMENT DIGEST is changing the way the industrial market learns about, specifies and purchases products, equipment, and services. Click here for more information: http://www.nextdecks.com/industrydeck/current
EVENT
The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) will present a Reverse Auctions Webinar on Thursday, November 13th. In the 90-min. session, Brenda Thielen Willard will demonstrate how to determine if reverse auctions may work for your organization and when to use them. Learn how to arrange a reverse auction so that you get the best results for your organization.
For more information or to register, visit http://www.nigp.org/educate/WebinarRevAuc.htm
LINKS
Upbeats Institutional Catalog features site furnishings/amenities including trash containers, park benches, picnic tables, ash urns, bike racks, banners and more. Shop online http://www.upbeatinc.com
Utility Metals manufactures outdoor lighting products. Lighting poles and brackets are available for immediate shipment. Custom fabrication provides unique solution. Call 800-627-8276 for free catalog or visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.610j.30.2vte.2hbf
Crown Equipment designs, manufactures, distributes, services, and supports material handling products that provide customers with superior value. http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.5jpy.25.2cmg.2hbf
SimplexGrinnell: Your OneStop* provider for integrated fire, security and communications. Serving you via the GSA Schedule. To learn more, visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.69kp.15.2clu.5bxn
Safety Storage, the first choice for custom and pre-fabricated hazardous storage buildings. http://r.mb00.net/s/c?ij.4p62.11.1zs4.271n
C & H Distributors provide a fast, efficient way to purchase shelving, cabinets, packaging and shipping products, or office furniture. Visit: http://r.ms00.net/s/c?ij.4i5e.7.1umv.14mj
You may qualify for a FREE Magazine Subscription
Complimentary subscriptions to Government Product News, a product-driven resource, and Government PROcurement, editorial targeting the public sector purchasing professional are available to those who qualify.
To subscribe to Government Product News visit: http://www.submag.com/sub/gn
To subscribe to Government Procurement visit: http://www.submag.com/sub/gp
Copyright 2003 Penton Media, Inc.
Welcome to the GovPro Newsletter brought to you by the Penton Government Media Group. Look forward to news, resources, product and supplier information, and links relating to the government market.
If this message was sent in error or you wish to unsubscribe, see the unsubscribe information below.
Sponsored by MSA
CONTENTS
States to Tackle E-Waste Digital Licenses Drive Data Return to Sender Radio Frequencies Reduce Inventory Time News of The Weird
FEATURES
E-WASTE DISPOSAL -- STATES' COMPUTER-AGE HEADACHE
Starting next April, Californians may pay $6 to $10 more when they buy a new television or computer to offset the cost of recycling discarded electronics equipment.
Californias environmental protection agency estimates six million monitors are stacked in state homes and offices waiting to be tossed.
California is not alone in trying to cope with discarded electronics products. More than 50 bills were introduced in 29 states this year addressing the environmental and fiscal impacts of e-waste, according to the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
Few of those bills have passed, and none are as far-reaching as Californias new law. The latter will fund statewide collection and recycling of e-waste, and requires toxic materials like lead and mercury to be eliminated from electronic products sold in the state by 2007. Californias law also establishes a first-in-the-nation ban on the export of e-waste to foreign countries that dont meet U.S. environmental protection standards.
Lawmakers in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Oregon have created task forces to investigate the e-waste problem.
Massachusetts, Minnesota and Maine also passed a ban similar to Californias that outlaws the dumping of CRTs.
There is no precise estimate of how much e-waste is piling up in the nations landfills, but the National Safety Council estimates that 500 million defunct computers and monitors will be discarded by 2007.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that e-waste accounts for 40 percent of lead found in landfills and 70 percent of heavy metals, like mercury and cadmium.
The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) opposes bans on the dumping of e-wastes. The NSWMA is a nonprofit that represents the commercial waste industry, and argues that e-wastes have not been proven to contaminate the environment.
It is very clear that there is no scientific evidence that (E-waste) causes problems, Chaz Miller, NWMA state programs director, said.
Computer monitors have been shown to fail the EPA acid leach aid test, which indicates lead could contaminate the environment from a landfill. But there have not yet been any reported cases of actual contamination.
Those opposed to e-waste reaching landfills stress the fact that there is no evidence of contamination is because not enough time has passed for landfills to be tested.
Outlawing e-waste dumping can be costly for states because someone has to pay for recycling. A few electronics companies, like Hewlett-Packard Co., operate their own recycling programs. Often, local governments bear the brunt of the cost.
If (e-wastes) are going to be banned from disposal, youve got an unfunded mandate for recycling, so local governments are stuck with a bill of recycling products they never manufactured, Miller said.
Many environmentalists advocate making the electronics industry responsible for its products from cradle to grave.
Some suggest shifting the cost and responsibility onto brand owners. Because the problems with these products include toxicity, product redesign may be a prime directive.
State and local governments, which are major consumers of computer products, may soon use their purchasing power to pressure the industry to recycle their products.
A consortium of state governments is negotiating an agreement with computer manufacturers that would mandate a take-back plan for all state-purchased computer equipment.
The project is being undertaken by the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA), a 10-year-old organization of purchasing directors from 15 states. Thirty states currently purchase computer equipment under prices negotiated by the Alliance.
WSCA spokesperson Ron Jones said an RFP (request for proposal) that would mandate that computer brand-owners take back computers sold to state governments after theyve outlived their usefulness will be discussed at the Alliances annual meeting in New Mexico this December.
Nothing has happened on this yet, its just an idea weve discussed. But were looking at ways, possibly under solid waste act statutes that require states to buy products that are recyclable, Jones said.
MSA
Since 1914, MSA has been offering a complete line of personal protection equipment. MSA has over 2,000 products on GSA schedules covering Respiratory/Head/Eye/Face/Hearing/Fall Protection and Portable Instruments for Gas Detection. http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.69kp.3.2nur.5bxn
NEWS
LICENSE AUTHENTICITY TAKES NEW TURN Government Computer News Online (10/13/03); Jackson, William
Five States--Nebraska, New Jersey, Vermont, Kansas, and Michigan--plan to use digital watermarks to validate drivers licenses and state-issued identifications. The watermarks hide computer-readable data in an image, and their invisibility to the eye makes them difficult to efface or change.
The process can only be used with digital licenses printed from electronic files. Oregon-based Digimarc has been commissioned by at least two of the States, Nebraska and Florida, to complete the process. Law enforcement and Department of Motor Vehicles staffers will be able to access digital photos through a central image server in the states of Kansas and Nebraska. That way, they can confirm identities and correlate images of new applicants with an existing image databank.
MILLIONS RETURNED TO IRS
The IRS reminds taxpayers they have until Dec. 5 to claim 115,744 undelivered checks from this summers advance child tax credit. After the December cut-off, taxpayers cannot claim the checks until they file their tax returns next year.
These undelivered checks are among nearly 24 million issued this summer and fall for the advance child tax credit. In all, more than $14 billion in child credit checks have been issued.
In all, the IRS has money for more than 200,000 taxpayers whose income tax refund or advance child tax credit checks were undelivered and returned to the agency. Taxpayers need to update their addresses before the IRS can reissue the checks, which total more than $118 million.
In addition to the 115,744 child credit checks worth more than $50 million, there were another 92,810 regular tax refund checks, those issued to refund tax overpayments, returned to the IRS as undelivered. These regular refund checks total more than $66 million an average of $722 per check.
To update addresses or track refunds, visit: Xhttp://www.IRS.gov
DOD ANNOUNCES RADIO FREQUENCY POLICY
The Department of Defense announced the establishment of a Radio Frequency Identification Policy (RFID). RFID technology greatly improves the management of inventory by providing hands-off processing. The equipment quickly accounts for and identifies massive inventories, enhancing the processing of materiel transactions to allow DoD to realign resources and streamline business processes.
Implementation of RFID minimizes time spent through the normal means of inventory processing. This technology allows the improvement of data quality, items management, asset visibility, and maintenance of materiel. Further, RFID will enable DoD to improve business functions and facilitate all aspects of the DoD supply chain.
The new policy will require suppliers to put passive RFID tags on the lowest possible piece part/case/pallet packaging by January 2005. Acknowledging the impact on DoD suppliers, the department plans to host an RFID Summit for Industry in February 2004. The RFID policy and implementation strategy will be finalized by June 2004.
NEWS OF THE WEIRD: Bizarre but true stories about real people. http://www.govpro.com/GPRONewsletter/Article/29263/
INDUSTRY DECK: Products for Manufacturing Professionals, Design Engineers, and Industrial Buyers.
Are you looking for new products in the industrial marketplace? Industry Deck from NEW EQUIPMENT DIGEST is changing the way the industrial market learns about, specifies and purchases products, equipment, and services. Click here for more information: http://www.nextdecks.com/industrydeck/current
EVENT
The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) will present a Reverse Auctions Webinar on Thursday, November 13th. In the 90-min. session, Brenda Thielen Willard will demonstrate how to determine if reverse auctions may work for your organization and when to use them. Learn how to arrange a reverse auction so that you get the best results for your organization.
For more information or to register, visit http://www.nigp.org/educate/WebinarRevAuc.htm
LINKS
Upbeats Institutional Catalog features site furnishings/amenities including trash containers, park benches, picnic tables, ash urns, bike racks, banners and more. Shop online http://www.upbeatinc.com
Utility Metals manufactures outdoor lighting products. Lighting poles and brackets are available for immediate shipment. Custom fabrication provides unique solution. Call 800-627-8276 for free catalog or visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.610j.30.2vte.2hbf
Crown Equipment designs, manufactures, distributes, services, and supports material handling products that provide customers with superior value. http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.5jpy.25.2cmg.2hbf
SimplexGrinnell: Your OneStop* provider for integrated fire, security and communications. Serving you via the GSA Schedule. To learn more, visit: http://r.pm0.net/s/c?ij.69kp.15.2clu.5bxn
Safety Storage, the first choice for custom and pre-fabricated hazardous storage buildings. http://r.mb00.net/s/c?ij.4p62.11.1zs4.271n
C & H Distributors provide a fast, efficient way to purchase shelving, cabinets, packaging and shipping products, or office furniture. Visit: http://r.ms00.net/s/c?ij.4i5e.7.1umv.14mj
You may qualify for a FREE Magazine Subscription
Complimentary subscriptions to Government Product News, a product-driven resource, and Government PROcurement, editorial targeting the public sector purchasing professional are available to those who qualify.
To subscribe to Government Product News visit: http://www.submag.com/sub/gn
To subscribe to Government Procurement visit: http://www.submag.com/sub/gp
Copyright 2003 Penton Media, Inc.
