GAIA

20 July 2004

Dear Friends,

Concerned citizens from Mexico and United States are seeking global support to dissuade the Mexican government from moving forward with a project to "solve" the problem of the sites with millions of scrap tires abandoned in the border with US by burning them in cement kilns in the North of Mexico.

The Mexican Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (Semarnat) has announced that under frame of an agreement set with the Mexican National Cement Chamber the collection of millions of tires abandoned in the border with the US will take place with their latter burning in cement kilns in the border area.

Groups in Mexico and US are deeply concerned about the health and environmental impacts this project will cause, and are requesting your support to urge Mexican government to:

1. Stop the burning of scrap tires in cement kilns in the border area;
2. Cancel the agreement set between Semarnat and the Mexican National Cement Chamber to burn tires and hazardous waste in cement kilns;
3. Promote Clean Production within the cement industry;
4. Take Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) measures to hold tire manufacturers responsible for their products during their entire life-cycle, even after they are discarded;
5. Classify scrap tires as "waste subject to control" in the law - for their import to be banned- and include citizens´participation and consultancy.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Please endorse the following letter directed to the Mexico President, Vicente Fox, with the abovementioned demands. Please note that this letter will also be sent to Semarnat, and to the Environment and Border Affairs Commissions of the Mexican Senate and Chamber of Deputies.

Please send endorsements to Cecilia Allen cecilia@no-burn.org or to the GAIA Secretariat before July 26.

2. Also, we encourage you to send letters to the following,to express your concern on this project:

- Eng. Alberto Cárdenas Jimenez, Secretary of Semarnat:
secretario@semarnat.gob.mx

- Vicente Fox Quesada, Mexico President:
FAX (52) 55-55 22 34 26
Phone to confirm the FAX was received: (52)55 59 99 28
00 ext. 4521 and 4523

3. You may also contact the following major tire manufacturers and tell them it is their business responsibility to ensure safe end of life management of their products, consistent with EPR principles:

- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
* United States:
1144 E. Market St.
Akron, OH, 44316-0001 US
Phone: 330-796-2121 FAX: 330-796-2222
http://www.goodyear.com/email/faq.html

*Mexico:
http://www.goodyear.com.mx/email/contactus.html

- Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc.
* United States:
535 Marriott Dr.
Nashville TN 37214 United States
Phone: 615-937-1000 FAX: 615-937-3621
firestone_consumer_affairs@faneuil.com
*Mexico
Darwin 74 Col. Anzures, 11590
Mexico D.F. México
epintado@bfmx.com.mx

-Euzkadi
Cia Hulera, Lago Xochimilco 364, Anahuac, 11320 Mexico
DF, Mexico
Phone: +52 (55) 5545 6540; Fax: (55) 5203 8184
http://www.euzkadi.com.mx

We appreciate your continuous solidarity.

Regards,

Cecilia Allen
GAIA
Spanish information contact
cecilia@no-burn.org

María Teresa Guerrero
Comisión de Solidaridad y Defensa de los Humanos A.C.
(Commission for Human Rights Defense and Solidarity
A.C.) Chihuahua, Mexico
kwira@terra.com.mx

Cyrus Reed
Texas Center for Policy Studies, United States
cr@texascenter.org

Jose Rene Cordova Rascon
Coordinator of Red Fronteriza de Salud y Ambiente, A.C.
(Health and Environment Border Network, A.C.)
Member of the National Consultant Council for Sustainable
Development. Hermosillo, Sonora. Mexico.
lared@rt.uson.mx

Marisa Jacott,
Fronteras Comunes (Common Borders) Mexico
mjacott@laneta.apc.org

Fernando Bejarano G.
International Persistent Organic Pollutants Elimination
Network (IPEN) focus point in Mexico, and member of
RAPAM-RAPAL
rapam@prodigy.net.mx

<ENDORSE LETTER HERE>