By MIKE COHEN
Associated Press Writer
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - While delegates attending the World Summit wrangled over how best to save the planet's rapidly dwindling resources, they gave scant indication of leading by example.
The 10-day summit, billed as the largest U.N. conference ever held, is expected to generate between 300 and 400 tons of trash, and so far, just 20 percent of it is being recycled.
``We never had any illusions this would be a green summit,'' Mary Metcalfe, the environment minister of the Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, told reporters Friday. ``At one stage we were hoping to achieve 90 percent diversion (of waste) from landfill sites.''
Together with the U.N. Development Program, Metcalfe's office is leading a project - known as the Johannesburg Climate Legacy - to monitor and minimize the summit's environmental impact. It's the first time that it's been attempted at any U.N. conference.
Toilets have been fitted with flushing systems to minimize water usage, while two venues hosting summit fringe events are being run with renewable energy sources. Recycling bins have been put in conference halls, but they've ended up as replacements for garbage cans, filled with all sorts of non-recyclable waste.
Consumption barometers were erected in the summit venues, too, graphically illustrating the extent to which resources are being consumed and recycled.
Nonetheless, trash compactors erected at the back of the main conference center have been working overtime, and municipal workers have made several trips daily to empty overflowing trash containers.
The move to make the summit as environmentally friendly as possible was gaining momentum daily, said Nikhil Sekhran of the UNDP's Global Environmental Fund.
``The system is completely new,'' he said. ``Clearly a lot more education needs to be done.''
Hundreds of organizations have collectively produced mountains of pamphlets, press statements and brochures, hoping to draw attention to their multitude of causes during the summit.
Organizers estimate 5 million sheets of paper will be consumed during the gathering.
The conference's 45,000 delegates are also plowing through other resources. On average each of them is using 53 gallons of water a day, and the city's electricity consumption has soared.
The legacy project also estimated that flying delegates to Johannesburg and transporting them around the city will generate nearly 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
The Johannesburg Climate Legacy project hopes to offset this by raising nearly $3 million from participating countries, corporations and individuals, and using it to implement 16 projects to reduce carbon emissions.
Only $300,000 has been raised, and only seven of the 192 countries at the summit have pledged donations.