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17 Jun 02 - toxics; summit; conferences; food; EPR; weddings; summer break ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive -------------------- Excerpted from a message from Fran Kurk, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, business assistance program, St. Paul, MN: The Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA) has produced a new segment addressing reducing toxics for its Waste Reduction Campaign. Practical yet impactful suggestions on "How to Reduce Toxic Chemicals in your Home" are presented through OEA's waste reduction website: http://www.reduce.org Click on "Toxics at Home" on the left side. A print version of "How to Reduce Toxic Chemicals in your Home" is available upon request through OEA's Environmental Education Clearinghouse at (651) 215-0232, or send an e-mail to: jeanne [ D O T ] giernet [ A T ] moea [ D O T ] state [ D O T ] mn [ D O T ] us E-mail: fran (D O T) kurk (A T) moea (D O T) state (D O T) mn (D O T) us -------------------- Link to information about how the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development, also known as the Johannesburg Summit, will be a "zero waste" event (forwarded by Gary Liss): http://www.no-burn.org/campaigns/wssd.html (This information is on the website of GAIA, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.) The summit, which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 26 to Sept. 4, 2002, is a follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. More than 60,000 participants are expected at this summit conference, which is sponsored by the United Nations. For additional information on efforts to make the summit a green conference, see: http://www.joburgsummit2002.com Click on "Summit Facilities" and then click on "Greening the Summit." -------------------- From Barbara (Nichols) Zaccheo, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, DC, responding to the 6/7/02 inquiry about festival waste reduction: Below are two "green conference" websites that may be of some use regarding waste reduction at festivals: U.S. EPA Green Meetings website - http://www.epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings/index.htm Sustainable Business.com - http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/features/feature_template.cfm?ID=791 E-mail: Zaccheo [D O T] Barbara [A T] epamail [D O T] epa [D O T] gov -------------------- From Victor Aguiar, Ecology Action, Santa Cruz, CA: I'm looking for any information I can find on programs or research involving the management of food packaging waste. We have particular interest in operations that compost packaging with food residuals. Any referrals appreciated. Many thanks. E-mail: vaguiar ( A T ) ecoact ( D O T ) org -------------------- From Dwight Mercer, waste diversion program, City of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada: Here is the new website for the 2002 National Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Conference for Canada, which was held in Winnipeg in March, 2002. The conference was well done. http://www.gov.mb.ca/environ/epr/ E-mail: DMERCER [ A T ] cityregina [ D O T ] com -------------------- Excerpted from a 6/14/02 article by Elizabeth Bernstein in the Wall Street Journal: HONEY, I SHRUNK THE WEDDING Smaller weddings, with fewer guests, are becoming increasingly popular. Overall, the average wedding size in the U.S. has shrunk about 15 percent since 1995, says the Association of Bridal Consultants. According to Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, a group of luxury properties, weddings of 50 people or fewer have jumped 75 percent this year. Even tinier weddings, with under 20 guests, are up 20 percent at the tony Meadowood hotel in Napa Valley, CA. -------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition: FORUM TAKES A SUMMER BREAK I just wanted to let everyone know that the Waste Prevention Forum will be taking a summer break this year. I will be out of the office for about three weeks, so there will be no Waste Prevention Forum from June 20 to July 15. If you are looking for information on a particular topic, please consider using our archive (the website address for the archive is given at the top of every issue of the Forum). The archive can be searched easily and has proven very useful to me and many others. (Thanks again to Darin Cosgrove and Reuses.com for providing the archive for us, free of charge!) - end -