Fwd: [GreenYes] Zero Waste at World Summit

[Gary Liss <gary@garyliss.com>]

Apologies for Cross-Postings

>From: "Monica Wilson" <mwilson@essential.org>
>Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 14:22:54 -0700
>
>Activists Applaud Commitment and Steps towards Zero Waste at Earth Summit
>
>At meeting, confirm will closely follow implementation of Zero Waste plans
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PHOTOS AVAILABLE
>
>Contact:Muna Lakhani, Earthlife Africa, Johannesburg, (mobile)
>+27-834-717276, muna@iafrica.com
>           Monica Wilson, GAIA, USA, (office) +1-510-524-4000 x104,
>mwilson@essential.org
>           Gary Liss, Consultant, USA, (office) +1-916-652-7850, 
> gary@garyliss.com
>
>Johannesburg, South Africa, 27 August 2002 -- The United Nations, the 
>World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Civil Society Secretariat, 
>and the South African Government are together implementing huge steps 
>towards designing waste out of the system of the 2002 Earth Summit Civil 
>Society Global Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa (August 19—September 
>4). At the "Zero Waste, Not Incineration Forum" on 27 August, activists 
>voiced hopes that the waste reduction systems would be implemented as 
>planned by the Global Forum management.
>
>Waste targets for the Global Forum include:
>·       Reduce total potential waste by 80 to 90%
>·       Reduce water and energy consumption by 20%
>·       Zero waste to incinerators
>
>The Global Forum will be the largest component of the World Summit on
>Sustainable Development, also called the Earth Summit; 30,000 delegates 
>are expected to attend the Global Forum daily at the height of activities. 
>The Global Forum is located at the Johannesburg Expo Centre (Nasrec).
>
>“We hope that Global Forum and Earth Summit management will implement 
>these plans correctly, to show that it is possible to drastically reduce 
>waste through simple systems and educated product choices,” said Muna 
>Lakhani, coordinator of the Zero Waste Earth Summit team for Earthlife 
>Africa in Johannesburg. “We are educating participants to actively take 
>control of the waste they produce, and we hope to inspire Zero Waste 
>policies in South Africa and around the world.”
>
>Earthlife Africa (Johannesburg Branch), with the support of GAIA, the 
>Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, has been working to design 
>waste out of the Earth Summit, and reuse, recycle and compost as many 
>discards as possible. A large element of Zero Waste efforts is preventing 
>the procurement of environmentally-unsustainable products such as plastic 
>packaging (especially PVC), plastic products that may be thrown away, and 
>toxic chemicals and solvents.
>
>Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary General of the United Nation responsible for
>the Earth Summit, met with Earthlife Africa's Zero Waste team in June to
>confirm his support for Zero Waste efforts throughout the Earth Summit. "I 
>support this project, and encourage all to reach as close to Zero Waste as 
>is possible," Mr. Desai stated.
>
>Zero Waste refers to a range of policies and practices designed to achieve 
>a sustainable use of materials and the minimum of waste discarded. Zero 
>Waste is consistent with the recent Stockholm Convention's goal towards 
>elimination of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), including incinerator 
>by-products dioxin and furans. Zero Waste systems will reduce the 
>environmental impact of the WSSD itself, set the highest standards for 
>future events, and demonstrate the viability of Zero Waste to thousands of 
>international visitors.  Zero Waste also holds great potential for 
>livelihood generation and poverty alleviation as reuse, recycling, and 
>composting produce far more jobs than wasting.
>
>Earthlife Africa is a volunteer driven South African organization that has
>been active on environmental and social issues since 1988. GAIA is an
>international alliance working on waste reduction, with over 265 members 
>in more than 55 countries. For more information, photographs of the 
>collection systems, and updates, as well as articles about the waste 
>problems following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, please 
>see www.earthlife.org.za and www.no-burn.org
>###
>
>******************************************
>To post to the greenyes list,
>email to: greenyes@grrn.org
>
>subscription, faq and netiquette info for
>this list are available here:
>http://greenyes.grrn.org/
>Please be sure to read the faq and netiquette
>pages before posting.
>******************************************

Gary Liss
916-652-7850
Fax: 916-652-0485

******************************************
To post to the greenyes list,
email to: greenyes@grrn.org

subscription, faq and netiquette info for
this list are available here:
http://greenyes.grrn.org/
Please be sure to read the faq and netiquette
pages before posting.
******************************************