The Solid Waste Association of North America presents
WASTECON 2009
The Power of Solid Waste – www.wastecon.org
Long Beach Convention Center, September 22 – 24, 2009

Does your agency have a “Super Strength” to advance the environmental and economic management of municipal solid waste?
Don’t miss this “budget-friendly” opportunity to showcase your innovative programs to solid
waste professionals from throughout world! Meet local and international experts and visit
with hundreds of vendors to see their latest products and services.
For the Super-Saver rate of $125, your agency receives
space in the Local Agency Pavilion, which includes a 6-foot table, 2 chairs and parking for all 3 days ($30 value). Book your space by September 4, 2009 by filling out the registration form.

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Thank you to everyone for helping to make this year's
Palm Springs Western Regional Symposium a success!

Click here to view pictures from this year's event!

Why Picking Up Garbage is Important
*Compiled By Cheryl Lester, Supervising Hazardous Materials Inspector
City of San Diego

It’s the largest landfill in the world and it floats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  It’s a place where slow moving, clockwise spiral of currents, created by a high-pressure system of air currents, has given birth to two large masses of ever-accumulating trash, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 
           
The eastern portion of the Garbage Patch floats between Hawaii and California; scientists estimate its size as two times bigger than Texas.  The western portion of the Garbage Patch forms east of Japan and west of Hawaii.

Each swirling mass of refuse is massive, collecting trash from all over the world, and is about 90 percent plastic.  In some areas, the amount of plastic outweighs the amount of plankton by a ratio of six to one.

The sun degrades the floating plastic into tiny plastic particles that can get sucked up by filter feeders and damage their bodies.  Other marine animals eat the plastic, which can poison them or lead to deadly blockages.  About 70% of the plastic eventually sinks, damaging life on the ocean floor.  The rest floats and some plastic washes up on distant shores. 

The albatross is a good example of wildlife affected since they grab food wherever they can find it, which leads to many of the birds ingesting – and dying from – plastic and other trash.  In total, more than a million birds and marine animals die each year from consuming or becoming caught in plastic and other debris. 

Of the more than 200 billion pounds of plastic the world produces each year, about 10 percent ends up in the ocean.  Most of this trash doesn’t come from seafaring vessels dumping junk – 80 percent of ocean trash originates on land.  So picking up the trash does make a difference!

*Visit http://science.howstuffworks.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm to read the section that inspired this article.