November 14, 2002

Alicia Culver, Director

Chemical Hazards Prevention Program

INFORM, Inc.

120 Wall Street

New York, NY 10005-4001

Dear Ms. Culver:

As Chairman of the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District Policy Committee, I am writing to express my support for INFORM's Purchasing for Pollution Prevention Project.

Hamilton County, Ohio is a community of approximately 850,000 residents, encompassing 49 political subdivisions and with budgeted expenditures of over $2 billion. Recently, the County has made significant strides toward recognizing the impact of governmental purchasing on environmental quality. The County, through the creation of an interdepartmental task force, has begun to address ways in which we can continue to provide service and value to our residents, employees and other stakeholders while minimizing the environmental consequences of our purchasing decisions. In addition, the County recently cooperated with the City of Cincinnati to hold the first annual Southwestern Ohio Green Products Expo and Vendor Fair to expose area purchasing agents to the idea of green purchasing.

INFORM's Purchasing for Pollution Prevention Project would provide critical technical assistance to a program such as ours. In return, our Solid Waste Management District is firmly committed to bringing the recommendations of INFORM before our EPP Task Force to discuss the potential for implementation county-wide. In addition, our Solid Waste District will be reaching out to other local communities to spread the idea of green purchasing. This action would represent an excellent way to leverage INFORM's guidance to assist multiple communities.

On behalf of the Solid Waste Management District of Hamilton County, I fully support this project and INFORM's efforts to improve our environment. I look forward to a productive partnership between our organizations.

Sincerely,

Todd B. Portune

Chairman,

Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District