Global Alliance For Incinerator Alternatives

GAIAS MISSION IS TO CATALYZE A GLOBAL SHIFT TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE BY STRENGTHENING GRASSROOTS SOCIAL MOVEMENTS THAT ADVANCE SOLUTIONS TO WASTE AND POLLUTION.

INTERNATIONAL: GAIA USES A MOVEMENT-BUILDING NETWORK MODEL THAT EMPOWERS MEMBERS TO BUILD THEIR OWN CAPACITY, FACILITATES INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY IN RESPONSE TO LOCAL ORGANIZING EFFORTS, AND COORDINATES COLLECTIVE RESEARCH AND CAMPAIGNS AROUND THE ISSUES OF WASTE, POLLUTION, CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. WE CONTINUE TO COORDINATE VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL LISTSERVS, REACHING A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF OUR NETWORK OF NEARLY 1100 MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS 90 COUNTRIES, AND WE HAVE BEEN ADVANCING OUR MEMBER OUTREACH THROUGH NEW PLATFORMS THAT WILL ENHANCE THE SHARING OF MEMBER EXPERIENCES AND THE COORDINATION OF CROSS-REGIONAL EFFORTS. WE ALSO HELPED TO LINK OUR MEMBERS TO EXPERT RESOURCES FOR PUBLIC EVENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REVIEWS. GAIA SUPPORTED MEMBERS AROUND THE WORLD IN EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND HUMAN RIGHTS BY BLOCKING THE CONSTRUCTION OF INCINERATORS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES AND SHIFTING POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL DRIVERS AWAY FROM DIRTY ENERGY. GAIA'S EMERGENCY SOLIDARITY FUND, LAUNCHED DURING THE PANDEMIC TO ADDRESS THE SMALL ORGANIZATIONS AND WASTE PICKER GROUPS HARD HIT BY THE IMPACTS OF COVID, CONTINUED TO DISTRIBUTE NEARLY $200,000 IN SMALL GRANT FUNDING TO COMMUNITIES IN NEED OVER THE PAST YEAR.

U.S. & CANADA: GAIA PROVIDED TECHNICAL AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT, RESOURCES, AND INFORMATION TO MEMBERS AND ALLIES IN THE U.S. AND CANADA AND AMPLIFIED THEIR EFFORTS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA, AS THEY WORKED TO ADDRESS PRESSING WASTE ISSUES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. OUR PROJECT FROM DUMPING GROUNDS TO HEALTHY COMMUNITIES PROVIDED FOCUSED, ONGOING SUPPORT TO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS IN BALTIMORE, MD; DETROIT, MI; LONG BEACH AND COMMERCE, CA; MINNEAPOLIS, MN; NEWARK, NJ; AND OREGON IN EFFORTS TO SHUT DOWN POLLUTING INCINERATORS AND ADVANCE HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVES. AS PART OF OUR PROACTIVE STRATEGY TO SHUT DOWN AGING INCINERATORS IN AREAS WHERE THESE FACILITIES ARE PREDOMINANT, WE PUBLISHED THE REPORT A TALE OF FIVE CITIES, EXAMINING SUCCESSFUL MUNICIPAL RECYCLING PROGRAMS IN FIVE U.S. CITIES. MULTIPLE WEBINARS ON ZERO WASTE, INCINERATION, AND THE PLASTIC WASTE TRADE WERE HELD THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO ACCOMMODATE GROWING REQUESTS BOTH BY GAIA MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE.

BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC GLOBAL: BFFP, A FISCALLY-SPONSORED PROJECT OF GAIA, IS A GLOBAL MOVEMENT ENVISIONING A FUTURE FREE FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION. LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2016, THE MOVEMENT NOW COMPRISES MORE THAN 2,500 ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD AND THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS DEMANDING MASSIVE REDUCTIONS IN SINGLE-USE PLASTICS AND PUSHING FOR LASTING SOLUTIONS TO THE PLASTIC POLLUTION CRISIS. BFFP STRIVES TO BRING SYSTEMIC CHANGE THROUGH A HOLISTIC APPROACH THAT TACKLES PLASTIC POLLUTION ACROSS THE WHOLE PLASTICS VALUE CHAIN, FOCUSING ON PREVENTION RATHER THAN CURE, AND PROVIDING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS.