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[greenyes] CA event: Plastics, Health and Environment Roundtable, June 21 (reminder)
Reminder: NGO event in Berkeley, CA, June 21 (Saturday)
Below please find the event details, followed by an invitation explaining
the event.
********

Please come to the
BAY AREA ROUNDTABLE ON PLASTICS, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Share the latest information on plastics, including scientific findings,
recycling updates, activist campaigns, and strategies for reducing and
preventing packaging and waste. Hear what is happening about plastics,
packaging, and waste in the Bay Area, around the country, and overseas.

Agenda includes:
· The most serious environmental health issues associated with some plastics
and additives (including PVC and brominated flame retardants)
· Extended Producer Responsibility and other tools for promoting clean
production and plastic use reduction
· Campaigning against polluting facilities involved in the plastic
life-cycle
Saturday, June 21st
10:00 am through 4:00 pm

Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge Street
Community Meeting Room, Third Floor

Please RSVP to Carrie Teiken at the Ecology Center, 510-527-5555 or
carrie@no.address Library is one block from Downtown Berkeley BART
station. Lunch is not included.

This roundtable is co-sponsored by:
BAY AREA WORKING GROUP ON THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE, CALIFORNIANS AGAINST
WASTE, CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, ECOLOGY CENTER, GLOBAL
ANTI-INCINERATOR ALLIANCE, GREENACTION FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE,
HEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM, HEALTHY BUILDINGS NETWORK, PLASTICS TASK FORCE,
WEST COUNTY TOXICS COALITION

*******************
Letter from the Ecology Center and Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives (GAIA)

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to invite you to the first ever Bay Area Roundtable on
Plastics, Health and the Environment. The Roundtable will be held on
Saturday, June 21st in the Community Meeting Room on the Third Floor of the
Berkeley Central Library from 10:00 am through 4:00 pm. The library is
located at 2090 Kittredge Street,  a block from the Downtown Berkeley BART
station.

The goal of the Roundtable is to provide the Bay Area community a chance to
share the latest information on plastics, including health impacts of
specific plastics and additives, strategies for reducing packaging and
waste, updates on recycling goals and programs, and activist campaigns. We
will learn about what people are doing about plastics and related toxics in
the Bay Area, around the country and overseas.

The Roundtable will also include discussions to identify possible areas of
collaboration and ways to engage more people in the ongoing campaigns
against the harmful effects of plastics, waste and toxics in the region and
beyond.

We are fortunate to have Beverly Thorpe join us for this event. Currently
the Director of Clean Production Action based in Montreal,
(www.cleanproduction.org), Beverly is an expert on many of the plastics,
packaging, and toxics issues that we in the Bay Area are facing. Beverly
will give presentations on:
· the most serious environmental health issues associated with plastic,
including PVC and the use of brominated flame retardants in foam products;
· Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a tool for promoting clean
production and plastic use reduction; and
· case studies of regulatory approaches in Europe that have been successful
in reducing the volume and toxicity of packaging and products. Examples
include                                                    the "green dot"
system and the more recent WEEE directive aimed at reducing toxics in
electronic products.

We will also hear from environmental health organizations in the Bay Area
addressing plastics issues through a variety of activities, including:
· educating the public about the environmental health threats of plastic;
· running curbside recycling programs (including the problems plastics cause
in these programs);
· phasing out PVC in health care settings and construction;
· promoting bottle bills and other policies to reduce plastic use;
· campaigning to ensure that our tax payer dollars don't fund migration of
plastic waste or production facilities to the Third World;
· campaigning against polluting facilities involved in the plastic
life-cycle, including incinerators;
· promoting the precautionary principle as a guiding value in local
environmental decision-making.

We hope to see you on the 21st. If you have any questions ahead of time,
please feel free to call the Ecology Center at (510)527-5555 or GAIA at
(510) 524-4000, ext 102 or 104.

Sincerely,
Martin Bourque, Dave Williamson, Beck Cowles and Carrie Teiken, Ecology
Center
Monica Wilson and Ann Leonard, GAIA (Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance)






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