[GreenYes] GRRN ACTION: Share the vision of Zero Waste for ARD

["Bill Sheehan" <zerowaste@grrn.org>]

Share the vision of Zero Waste Communities
on America Recycles Day 2002 (Nov.15th)

Millions of people around the country are the reason for 
recycling's success in this country. GRRN is helping to go 
beyond recycling and our success depends on active 
participation from folks like you. With three easy clicks, 
send a letter to the editor of your local papers encouraging 
your friends and neighbors to recognize America Recycles 
Day (Nov. 15) by looking beyond recycling, to Zero Waste.

Go to http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/articles/imagine_zw.html
View the model text, then send your own Letter-to-the-Editor 
or Opinion Piece (Op-Ed)! You will be able to edit your 
submission before sending. We have hundreds of newspapers,
organized by state.  Here's the model letter:

Subject:  Imagine Zero Waste 

Message: Individuals and the communities in which they live 
are the driving forces behind the great American success story 
called recycling. Despite the overwhelming dominance of the 
disposable economy, recycling thrives as a billion dollar a year 
industry employing hundreds of thousands of people. 

However, nationally we are putting more waste into landfills 
and incinerators. Clearly, the time has come to go beyond 
recycling - to Zero Waste, or darn close.

To go beyond recycling, however, let's be clear that this 
doesn't mean additional heroic efforts by individuals and their 
communities. We need to think differently about responsibility 
for waste. Rather than rely simply on taxpayer funded, local 
government programs to pick-up waste and divert 
recyclables, we need producers - brand owners and 
manufacturers - to take responsibility for the life-cycle 
impacts of their products. Shifting the costs and burden for 
safely managing waste products to producers creates a 
powerful incentive to make products that are less toxic, more 
durable, and recyclable either back into the economy or safely 
into the environment.

A national network of recycling professionals is leading the 
way to Zero Waste. The GrassRoots Recycling Network 
offers information, tools and strategies to help communities set 
and achieve a new vision. Check out their network's website 
at www.grrn.org. On November 15, America Recycles Day, 
imagine Zero Waste. If we are not for Zero Waste, how much 
waste are we for?

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