Aiming at Zero: Planning for Zero Waste in the Pioneer Valley

When: Thursday, June 30, 7:00 PM Where: John F. Kennedy Middle School, 100 Bridge Road, Florence, MA What: Slide presentation by Zero Waste advocate Lynne Pledger, followed by a question and answer session. Learn about this potentially transformative international movement -- what it is, where its happening, and how your town can be a part of it. Why: Our accelerated production and waste cycle is a root cause of our planets most confounding problems, including climate chaos and dwindling natural resources. Now, with area landfills closing and a state ban on building new incinerators, communities in the Pioneer Valley are looking for ways to reduce the amount of waste to be managed, save money and protect our environment. Where theres a will, theres a way! Who: Lynne Pledger is the Solid Waste Director for Clean Water Action, Massachusetts and Coordinator of the Massachusetts Product Stewardship Council. She serves on the MassDEP* Solid Waste Advisory Board; and a founding Steering Committee member of Dont Waste Massachusetts, an alliance of thirty-five Massachusetts groups concerned with health, the environment, and the public interest; and a member of the national Sierra Club Zero Waste Team. In the last two years she has been a speaker for the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, the national Grassroots Recycling Network, Mass Recycle, Toxics Action Center, the Concord-Carlisle League of Women Voters, Cape and Islands Renewable Energy and a guest lecturer at Lesley University. Sponsors: Amherst League of Women Voters, City of Northampton Department of Public Health, City of Northampton Department of Public Works, Clean Water Action, Coop Power, GREEN Northampton, Greening Greenfield Energy Committee, Hampshire Council of Governments, Northampton League of Women Voters, Pedal People, Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network, Sierra Club of Massachusetts, Town of Amherst Department of Public Works, Town of Amherst Energy Task Force, Toxics Action Network, Transition Northampton. * The states Department of Environmental Protection Draft 2010-2020 Solid Waste Master Plan, A Pathway to Zero Waste, calls for keeping in place the state's current moratorium on new municipal waste combustion facilities, expanding public and private sector recycling and re-use of waste materials, ensuring greater producer responsibility for materials management, and increasing promotion of recycling businesses and green jobs.