CAL EPA Secretary to Key Note Take It Back! Conference.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2000

California EPA Secretary Winston H. Hickox has confirmed to be the Day 1 key note luncheon speaker for Take it Back! Pacific Rim: Forging New Alliances for Waste Reduction, to be held February 28 - March 1, 2000 at the Furama Hotel, Los Angeles airport. Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan will provide opening remarks.

The conference is co-sponsored by City of Los Angeles, California Integrated Waste Management Board, GTE Recycling, E-Tech Products, Inc., and the Southern California Council on Environment and Development, (SCCED).

The unique new conference will bring in the world's top experts on recycling and producer responsibility policy, (EPR) packaging design, and electronics takeback. The conference is organized by Recycling Laws International publisher Raymond Communications, Inc., College Park. MD, and J. Michael Huls, REA, Azusa, CA.

The conference is designed to brief corporate, government, and non-profit decision-makers on the status of EPR policy worldwide. Packaging and product managers will learn how to cope with the new patchwork of takeback laws in 28 countries, and U.S. recycling laws as well. Policy-makers will have an opportunity to learn some best practices from other California cities in a special government track organized by SCCED.

The international portion of the conference will feature Akira Ueno, chief executive director of the Japan Container and Package Recycling Association in Tokyo. There will also be speakers from Norway, Germany, the U.K., Taiwan, Canada and Latin America as well.

A unique plenary session Feb. 29 will bring all sectors together to debate &uot;Does Industry need a Law to Make Progress on EPR?&uot;

Day Two also will include a tracks for compliance with California's recycled content mandate on rigid plastic containers. The electronics track will feature case histories from Hewlett-Packard, Sony Corp. and Motorola on its international cell phone. takeback program.

On Day Three, packagers will learn how Texas Instruments has saved 20% over what their transport packaging budget would have been this year through source reduction and reusable systems. Vons Supermarkets will also present.

On Day Three there also will be an optional workshop, &uot;Coping with International Packaging Takeback Laws - the Details&uot; featuring Perchard and U.S. environmental packaging expert Victor Bell.

Raymond Communications publishes the newsletters Recycling Laws International and State Recycling Laws Update. For registration information, call toll-free 877-279-8388; Registration page: http://www.raymond.com Contact: 301-345-4237 Fax: [phone] E:mail: [e-mail]