October 26, 1999

National Satellite Forum on Recycling to be Telecast

to Middlebury College on Nov. 9 — EPA Interactive Program

titled “Buying Recycled: The Real Story About Cost, Availability,

and Quality” is Free and Open to the Public

A national satellite forum, “Buying Recycled:

The Real Story About Cost, Availability, and Quality,” will

be telecast from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9, to Middlebury

College’s Dana Auditorium, in the Sunderland Language Center on

College Street (Route 125). The interactive program is free and

open to the public.

Geared toward businesses, governments, schools and

other organizations, and designed to offer insights on how to

purchase quality and competitively priced recycled products, the

forum will feature Chief of Recycling for Maryland Environmental

Services Richard Keller, a nationally recognized trainer for the

buying of recycled products. Keller, who has conducted over 125

seminars across the nation as well as in Australia, will give

suggestions on proven strategies for buying recycled products,

and tips on how to review product specifications and testing procedures,

how to set up cooperative purchasing, and how to explore the feasibility

of closed-loop systems.

A panel of representatives from members of both the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program called WasteWise,

and the Buy Recycled Business Alliance (BRBA), a partnership of

the National Recycling Coalition, will accompany Keller’s presentation.

Panelists will include Robert Langert, director of public and

community affairs for the McDonald’s Corporation; Susan McCloskey,

president of Office Plan, Inc., which sells high-end recycled

office systems furniture; and Eric Nelson, environmental purchasing

coordinator for King County, Wash. Langert, McCloskey, and Nelson

will discuss their experiences in identifying reasonably priced

quality products with recycled content-ranging from commonly used

items such as various paper and office products to less frequently

purchased items, including construction or remodeling products,

retread tires, plastic lumber, and compost. A phone will be available

in Dana Auditorium so that viewers from the audience may use the

toll-free number to call in questions to Keller, the panelists,

and other forum participants.

The event will be presented by the EPA’s WasteWise

program, and the BRBA.

For more information, contact Middlebury College

Environmental Coordinator Amy Seif by phone at (802) 443-5043,

or by e-mail at aseif@middlebury.edu.