Waste & Pollution Prosperity increases both the weight and volume of waste per person. Per capita waste production in industrialized countries has increased 30% in the past decades to 510 kgs. a year. Data for developing countries is scarce, but residents in many of these countries are estimated to produce 182 kgs. a year. Dumps and landfills leach pollutants into groundwater and pose serious health risks to neighbors. They also generate methane and dioxin emissions. And, dumping in oceans or other bodies of water creates serious water pollution problems. In fact, more than 90% of the waste water in the developing world is dumped directly into streams, open drains, rivers, lakes and coastal waters without treatment. Africa/Middle East Asia/South Pacific Latin America/Caribbean Europe North America Africa/Middle East   Association for the Protection of the Environment (Egypt) www.ritsec.com.eg/ritsec/env/ape A.P.E runs various projects and programs: recycle compost, rags, paper teach literacy, run a children's club, manage and execute garbage separation project, project for teenage girls, organize field trips and recreational activities and many others. Asia/South Pacific   Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand www.casanz.org.au/~mainpage/ The Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand (CASANZ) is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization first formed in the late 1960's to bring together people with an interest in clean air and the mechanics of air pollution. Its focus is now expanded to encompass broader environmental management affairs, but with particular reference to air quality and related issues. Latin America/Caribbean   Emissions Virtual Space (Mexico) www.laneta.apc.org/emisiones Este sitio tiene como propósito documentar los trabajos ambientales de las organizaciones y grupos civiles que particularmente se han dirigido hacia la problemática de las sustancias tóxicas. Europe   Argus www.argus.cs.tu-berlin.de/arghome.html Since 1976 ARGUS, the Study Group for Environmental Statistics at the Technical University of Berlin, is involved as an inter-disciplinary team of scientists with the Department of Computer-Science in the salient field of environmental research. The team combines methods from areas like engineering, national economics, planning and statistics, applied mathematics as well as electronic data processing. Waste Watch www.wastewatch.org.uk Waste Watch is a charity whose inspiration and values derive from a desire to protect the environment by ensuring the sustainable use and disposal of scarce resources, primarily by advocating waste reduction, re-use and recycling of materials. These values provide the basis of our work with community and voluntary organizations, local authorities, educational institutions, businesses and individual members of the public, all of whom share our desire for an improved environment and the reduction of waste. World Resource Foundation www.wrfound.org.uk Preserving Resources through Integrated Sustainable Management of Waste, PRISM is the information service of the World Resource Foundation (WRF), dedicated to providing a information on sustainable waste management. One of the Foundation's objectives is to stimulate an effective debate into this important area of society's use of resources. WRF is a registered British charity, supported by an eminent Advisory Council of academics, waste management professionals, environmental specialists and consultants - all of whom give their services free of charge. PRISM offers information on municipal waste management, minimization, re-use, recycling, composting, energy recovery and final landfill disposal. North America   Earth's 911 www.1800cleanup.org Earth's 911 is the nation's official, 24 hour public service resource for geographically specific environmental and recycling information. This service is made possible through an innovative public/private partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency, all 50 states, and dozens of public and private organizations. Earth's 911 provides information on the environment including reducing, reusing, and recycling; your nearest recycling center location; how to buy recycled products; how to handle household hazardous waste; an interactive kid's section; and more! Information on Corporate Polluters www.essential.org/monitor/monitor.html The Multinational Monitor tracks corporate activity, especially in the Third World, focusing on the export of hazardous substances, worker health and safety, labor union issues and the environment. Recycle City www.epa.gov/recyclecity The Recycle City Web site is a project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 9 office in San Francisco. It was brought to life on Earth Day 1997. The story of Recycle City was that it used to be called Dumptown. For years, the folks living here hadn't thought much about where waste went when they threw it out. And, eventually, that became a very BIG problem... Recycler's World www.recycle.net Recycler's World was established as a world wide trading site for information related to secondary or recyclable commodities, by-products, used & surplus items or materials.