The Second District of Laguna in the Philippines is launching a project to educate the Filipino community on responsible solid waste management--a particularly important effort due to the fact that the district suffers from open dumping of toxic and other wastes near one of the country's major lakes. The local effort, called the Community Greening and Waste Education Project, features key lessons learned through a US-AEP State Environmental Initiative (SEI) project. In 1996, an SEI grant enabled members of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to visit the Philippines to help develop a Solid Waste Management Plan for the district and form partnerships with the University of the Philippines at Los Ba�os, the Laguna Task Force on Waste Management, and Laguna Congressman Joaquin Chipeco, Jr. The SEI project also made possible a 1997 visit to Minnesota by the Filipino partners, where they met with state officials and visited state-of-the-art waste management facilities. Based primarily on the experiences of the Filipino delegation during these site visits, the Community Greening and Waste Education Project team will develop and distribute educational stickers, brochures, posters, and videotapes. Congressman Chipeco is releasing P$225,000 through the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources to support the initiative, which was proposed by Dr. Nieva Librojo-Basilio of the University of the Philippines at Los Ba�os. Dr. Librojo-Basilio will continue to assist the project by working with a local technical advisory group. The SEI grants program is administered by the Council of State Governments.

US-AEP's Environmental Technology Fund opened doors to the Asian market for King Dry Fragrance Co., a Decatur, Illinois, manufacturer of eco-friendly odor control products used in municipal dumps and landfills. King Dry initially faced obstacles during its Tech Fund project to supply landfill odor-eliminators to Indonesia. The firm's Indonesian partner firm underwent significant reorganization, and in the process, King Dry's principal contact left the firm. Subsequently, the landfill operators withdrew their interest in King Dry's product, choosing instead to use a more toxic substance to alleviate the odor problem. Undeterred, the U.S. company utilized contacts made during visits to the region to identify potential customers in other Asian markets such as Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong. This strategy paid off handsomely. In Thailand, King Dry's odor control system has been extremely successful. Now, through its trading company in Hong Kong, it is set to make major sales to China. The company has recorded $60,000 in sales to date, creating two jobs at King Dry and 12 jobs elsewhere in the United States. Next year, this sales figure is expected to reach $165,000, excluding projected sales to China. The company has far surpassed its original target for exports to Asia, and its performance earned it the Illinois Governor's Export Award for 1997. In documenting its success, King Dry cited the invaluable assistance of US-AEP/Indonesia's Technology Representative. The National Association for State Development Agencies manages US-AEP's Environmental Technology Fund program.

Building on earlier efforts with India's Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Hazardous Waste Action Team visited Chennai, India, December 15-20, 1997. Members of the team included Dr. Rao Y. Surampalli (Engineer Director, EPA Region VII, Kansas City, Missouri) and Mr. Felix W. Flechas (Environmental Engineer, Hazardous Waste Program EPA, Region VIII, Denver, Colorado). US-AEP Technology Representative Sundaresan Subramanian introduced the Action Team to the Member Secretary as well as other TNPCB senior officials and helped organize a week-long program for the visiting team. The program was structured to facilitate evaluation of contamination at a chromate and chemical facility in Ranipet (120 kilometers from Chennai) and pollution associated with numerous leather tanneries in the same area. The Action Team consulted with TNPCB on various options for the containment, treatment, and ultimate disposal of the stockpiles of chrome sludge at the Ranipet industrial facility. In addition, the U.S. experts evaluated the central wastewater treatment plant that services local tanneries and provided site remediation options for the 600-acre area that has been used for dumping untreated waste over the last several decades. TNPCB officials reported that they were pleased with the team efforts being made by US-AEP and EPA to address Tamil Nadu's most important environmental issues.

US-AEP/Taiwan's Kamran Akhtar recently participated in a panel discussion which enabled more than 100 attendees to deliberate the balance of rapid industrialization and better resource management. The event's host--the American Institute in Taiwan Cultural Information Center--brought together panelists from the business, government, and academic communities, as well as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Several themes promoted by US-AEP were discussed, including cleaner production, waste minimization, and regional collaboration. Due to the success of the event, another panel discussion is being organized to coincide with Earth Day '98.

Earlier this month, Dr. Alma Madrazo of US-AEP/Philippines met with local company representatives to discuss the effects of currency devaluation on the Philippines' environmental market. The participants agreed that many manufacturing firms have indefinitely postponed their pollution control projects, and those that still plan to make purchases are looking for local equipment and services. In addition, government environmental infrastructure projects that were ready to be bid out have been postponed. The Philippines' environmental market was about $400 million in 1996, and imports accounted for 80-90 percent of the total. If the exchange rate remains above 40 pesos to one dollar, 1998 U.S. exports to the Philippines are expected to decrease 50-90 percent from the 1996 figure. Dr. Madrazo is encouraging U.S. environmental companies to consider setting up local production capacity in order to maintain market share.