Earth's 911: 1-800-CLEANUP / www.1800cleanup.org

[Nathan Benjamin <nbenjamin@cleanup.org>]

Hello, and thank you all for participating in this exciting exchange of information.

I write to tell you about Earth's 911, a source for community-specific environmental information. In the simplest sense, it is my hope that librarians, administrators and other participants will find 1-800-CLEANUP / www.1800CLEANUP.org a useful tool. In a more ambitious sense, I hope to see new partnerships and information/content sharing opportunities come out of this discussion.

Earth's 911 is a nationwide "call to action" for the environment. By making a toll-free phone call to 1-800-CLEANUP, or logging on www.1800CLEANUP.org, the public uses this service to accesses bilingual (Spanish / English) community-specific environmental information, including recycling and HHW disposal locations. Earth's 911 also a Virtual Library at which local nonprofits and agencies can view and order at no cost customized outreach - TV, radio, print – to promote programs like grasscycling and motor oil recycling.

Earth's 911 works with nonprofits, local, state and federal agencies, a partnership of thousands of organizations. This innovative public service uses private sector technological and financial resources to fund public sector programs. As such, it is available to local, state and national government agencies at no expense.

This service consolidates thousands of publicly funded environmental hotlines, Web sites, and other information resources into one nationwide information network. Earth's 911 was expanded nationwide through the support and guidance of USEPA, providing a unique opportunity for government and industry to work together to promote non point source pollution prevention.

As recently stated by Administrator Browner, a "...key to EPA's success is forging strong partnerships- businesses, communities, environmentalists, public health groups, government at all levels-pooling time, talent, and resources to find protective, common-sense, cost-effective solutions."

As Earth's 911 embarks upon international expansion, actively working with government and nonprofits in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK, I invite you to contact me with questions, and to discuss opportunities to work with your organization.

For questions outside of this forum, contact Nathan Benjamin, Government Relations, 831-425-4868; nbenjamin@cleanup.org.