The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) is a national non-profit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts working to reduce the health and environmental impacts of the consumer products you see every day. We tackle everything from those annoying phonebooks on your doorstep, laptops that you replace, leftover pharmaceuticals in your medicine cabinet, and the packaging you see on everything from a jar of pizza sauce to a new refrigerator. We are working to make sure that when recycling and disposing of all the products in your life, there is an easy, efficient, and environmentally-friendly system in place in the United States.

PSI takes an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) approach to solving these waste issues. To educate all those who are a part of the lifecycle of a product we hold 12 informational Networking Conference Calls each year on a variety of product stewardship topics. We have participants from all over the world discussing and learning about a variety of issues. Previous calls have discussed:

· Nanotechnology, Over 800 consumer products on the market today contain nanotechnology (from cell phones to clothing). To date, no one knows with any certainty just what will happen when those products - and the nanomaterials within them - reach end of life and move through our existing recycle, disposal, or compost systems. This call provided an overview of the issue, including concerns for consumers, the end-of-life regulatory context, and product stewardship implementation possibilities.

· Recycled Paint, About 10% of all paint sold in the U.S. each year is left over, and the cost to manage this equates to about half a billion dollars per year! Buying recycled paint will significantly decrease the negative environmental effects on the environment. However, consumer concern over paint performance is one of the greatest impediments to increasing the use of recycled paint. This call discussed the market forecast for recycled paint; its availability, color, and sheen options; best applications; the impact of the Green Seal standard on recycled paint markets; how consumers can maximize the value of their leftover paint; how governments can lead by example and buy recycled paint; and the tradeoffs between recycled and low/no-VOC paint.

· Packaging Waste, Packaging waste represents a significant portion (approximately 30%) of municipal solid waste. Reducing the lifecycle environmental impacts from packaging requires an understanding of national and international economic trends that influence the use of virgin and secondary materials in product design and manufacture. This Networking Call explored key drivers that influence corporate packaging decisions, explain the regional variability of impacts, and provide the macroeconomic context in which state and local recycling programs operate.

Take advantage of this great opportunity to learn more about recycling and waste issues facing Americans today by bidding on this prize of 12 FREE Networking Conference Calls taking place fall 2009 and spring 2010.

Link: www.productstewardship.us/networkingcalls