The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a free, bilingual workshop in Tijuana, Mexico. The program will focus on environmentally sound recycling techniques for spent lead acid batteries and electronic waste such as computers, printers, televisions, and cell phones.
The workshop is being held Dec. 4-6, and is sponsored by the EPA’s Border 2012 Program, a US-Mexico collaboration that improves the environmental health of nearly 12 million people living along the border, and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, an international organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
"Recycling spent lead acid batteries in an environmentally sound manner should reduce the potential for exposure to lead on both sides of the border," says Matt Hale, director of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Solid Waste. "The reuse and recycling of electronic equipment saves valuable resources like copper, iron, and petroleum because otherwise new resources would need to be extracted from the earth."
A roster of international experts will present at the Tijuana workshops, including:
* Matthew Hale, Director, U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste;
* Patricia Tovar - Red Mexicana de Manejo Ambiental de Residuos de Baja California, Mexico;
* Michael VanderPol, Environment Canada.