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[GreenYes] World Summit to be a "Zero Waste" Event


World Summit to be a “Zero Waste” Event

Johannesburg, South Africa, June 10, 2002 -- The United Nations, along with
the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Civil Society
Secretariat, and the South African Government, have agreed to Green the
Johannesburg Summit following Zero Waste principles. The Johannesburg
Summit will bring together tens of thousands of governmental officials,
non-governmental organizations, businesses and other civil society members
from around the world to discuss the global environment and develop a plan
of action for sustainable development.

Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary General of the United Nation responsible for
the WSSD in Johannesburg this August, met with Earthlife Africa's Zero
Waste team to highlight his support. "I support this project, and encourage
all to reach as close to Zero Waste as is possible."

The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and Earthlife
Africa (Johannesburg Branch) are leading the campaign to make the
Johannesburg Summit a “Zero Waste” event. GAIA and Earthlife Africa have
called on the event sponsors and organizers to conduct the event with an
aim to divert 90% of the waste from being sent to landfills and to ensure
that none is sent to incinerators.

Muna Lakhani, Zero Waste Project Coordinator for Earthlife Africa said,
“Zero Waste refers to a range of policies and practices designed to achieve
a sustainable use of materials and the minimum of waste discarded.  We want
to design waste out of this event, and reuse, recycle and compost
everything else.”

The numerous benefits to having the Johannesburg Summit be organized as a
Zero Waste event include
·       Zero Waste is consistent with the recent Stockholm convention’s
goal towards elimination of POPs, including incinerator by-products dioxin
and furans.

·       Conducting a Zero Waste event demonstrates South Africa’s and the
U.N. Environment Programme’s leadership on this issue.
·       Zero Waste systems will minimize the environmental impact of the
WSSD itself and set the highest standards for future events.
·       Official commitment to Zero Waste now will help mobilize the
resources needed to make this happen.
·       A Zero Waste Summit demonstrates its logistical and economic
feasibility and launches South Africa on the path to becoming a Zero Waste
society in the future with a legacy of redesign, minimisation, reuse,
recycling and composting practices that others can follow.
·       A Zero Waste Summit will train people in the civil society
secretariat, catering, hospitality and restaurant business, as well as
other people involved in the Greening of the Summit, in applying Zero Waste
principles.
·       Zero Waste practices and systems at the event will educate many
thousands of South Africans and visitors on concepts of sustainability in
action in very tangible ways that they can bring back to their own
countries and implement after the Summit.
·       It will minimize waste dumping costs for the WSSD, as well as
minimize landfill usage, and avoid incineration.
·       Zero Waste also holds great potential for livelihood generation and
poverty alleviation as reuse, recycling and composting produce far more
jobs than wasting.

"Zero Waste is indeed a significant milestone in the path to sustainable
development," says Reshaad Ismail, Manager in the CEO's office within the
Civil Society Secretariat. " Applying International Best Practice within
the Global Forum will lead the way to showcasing truly sustainable
development. The support by the United Nations is welcome indeed."

“GAIA members around the world congratulate the WSSD sponsors and
organizers for committing to Zero Waste. Holding the decade’s premier
environmental gathering as a Zero Waste event provides a real life example
of the kind of solution needed to save the global environment at this
critical time.” said Ann Leonard, GAIA’s International Co-coordinator.

GAIA is an international alliance working on waste reduction, with over 265
members in more than 55 countries. Earthlife Africa is a volunteer driven
South African organization that has been active on environmental and social
issues since 1988.

######
Released Monday, 10 June 2002

FOR MORE INFO:
Muna Lakhani, Zero Waste WSSD Project Coordinator, Earthlife Africa,
Johannesburg Branch, Tel. +27(0)834-71-72-76; Fax. (27-11) 3394584; Email.
muna@iafrica.com

Ann Leonard, International Co-coordinator, GAIA, Berkeley, California, USA,
Tel (1-510)-524-4000, ext 102; Fax (1-510) 524-4228; Email: gaia@no-burn.org

Von Hernandez, International Co-coordinator, GAIA, Manila, the Philippines,
Tel. (632) 434-7034; Fax (632) 434-7035; Mobile: (63)(0)917-526-3050;
Email: von.Hernandez@dialb.greenpeace.org

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