For Release: Tuesday, 27 August 2002
PHOTOS AVAILABLE

Activists Applaud Commitment and Steps
towards Zero Waste at Earth Summit

Contact:
Muna Lakhani, Earthlife Africa, Johannesburg, (mobile) +27-834-717276
Monica Wilson, GAIA, USA, (office) +1-510-524-4000 x104
Gary Liss, Consultant, USA, (office) +1-916-652-7850

Johannesburg, South Africa, 24 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

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