[San Francisco, April 15, 2013] Nohra Padilla and Rossano Ercolini
receive the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in a ceremony at the
San Francisco Opera House today. They are two of a group of six prize
winners whose grassroots environmental leadership has achieved
outstanding impacts against all odds.
Nohra and Rossano hail from opposite latitudes of the globe. She is
from the embattled city of Bogotá, Colombia. He is from the rustic
farmlands of Capannori, Italy. Though their environments and experiences
are very different, they share a deep common cause: the responsible
management of solid waste to benefit communities, workers, and the
planet.
am a grassroots recycler, which means I provide a critical public
service by salvaging re-usable and recyclable material that would
otherwise end up in landfills, dumps, or incinerators," says Nohra.
"This is a key component of a zero waste system. Through our network of
cooperatives, grassroots recyclers collect 100 times more recyclable
material than the formal recycling industry in Bogotá."
Unfazed by powerful political opponents and a pervasive culture of
violence, Nohra has organized Colombia's marginalized grassroots
recyclers (also known as wastepickers) to make recycling a legitimate
part of waste management. In March, the Bogotá Recyclers Association --
co-founded and led by Nohra -- won a landmark victory in which the city agreed to pay them official wages nearly on par with what they pay to big recycling companies.
Anelementary school teacher, Rossano Ercolini began a public education
campaign about the dangers of incinerators in his small Tuscan town that
grew into a national Zero Waste movement.
"It all started with a fight against an incinerator. Since then I
have helped close down 50 incinerators and have also helped achieve the
spread of the zero waste movement across Italy" says Rossano. "Thanks to
the Italian network Rifiuti Zero (Zero Waste) and with the support of GAIA, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, there are now 123 zero waste municipalities in Italy covering more than 2.3 million people."
Together, Nohra and Rossano's awards constitute well-deserved
recognition of the growing movement against incineration, and of
grassroots recycling and zero waste. Communities around the world
-- including in the Basque region of Spain, Mumbai in India, and San
Francisco -- are making progress with innovative plans to dramatically
reduce their waste disposal levels. Initiatives like these,
together with worker and community programs to reduce waste, have
successfully diverted an estimated millions of tons of material from
landfills and incinerators.
"Nohra and Rossano's work in Colombia and Italy are premier
examples of zero waste in action," says Christie Keith, International
Coordinator of GAIA. "They show how comprehensive recycling, citizen and
worker participation, alternatives to waste incineration, and policies
to support these systems can
transform 'disposable' communities into empowered communities -- communities leading the way toward a zero waste world."
Zero Waste, Jobs and Emissions
Zero Waste programs create jobs and grow economies by keeping
valuable resources in the economy, instead of throwing them out in
landfills or destroying them in incinerators. A GAIA report released in
2011 showed that a national goal of recycling 75 percent of the nation's
waste can create 1.5 million jobs by 2030.
What's more, this movement is helping to reduce energy use as well as global warming.
For example, the amount of energy wasted by not recycling aluminum and
steel cans, paper, printed materials, glass, and plastic in the United
States equals the annual output of 15 medium sized power plants. Zero
waste systems reduce methane gas emissions from landfills and the need
for new products and the emissions that result from their creation. For
example, deforestation accounts for 25% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. By reducing paper use and recycling paper, more trees are
left standing, and ancient forest soils (which hold a great deal of
carbon) are left undisturbed, thereby reducing the 10% of all greenhouse
gas emissions generated by the paper and pulp industry.
Learn more about the prize winners:
Contact:
Jen Soriano
jen@lionswrite.net
415-572-7154 (cell)
ATTENTION EDITORS: Photographs and broadcast-quality video of all the winners in their home countries are available by request or online at www.goldmanprize.org.
About the Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize was established in 1989 by late San
Francisco civic leaders and philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman.
Prize winners are selected by an international jury from confidential
nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental
organizations and individuals. For additional information about the
Prize and previous winners visit www.goldmanprize.org.
About the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 650 grassroots groups,
non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries
whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration.
GAIA website: no-burn.org
GAIA twitter: @GAIAnoburn
GAIA Facebook: Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
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