The Zero Waste Path Greening the Greater Yellowstone Area

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The Zero Waste PathGreening the
GreaterYellowstone Area

• Eric Lombardi
• Executive Director
• Eco-Cycle
• www.ecocycle.org
• Boulder, CO

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• Largest NGO Zero Waste Corp. in the USA
• In operation since 1976
• 55 employees
• 4 million per year in revenues
• Recovering 50,000 tons/year

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Takin out the trash aint what it used to be.
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Takin out the trash

• Germany outlaws landfilling of unprocessed mixed
  waste
• Norway adds 70/ton fee to bury or burn waste to
  cover externalities missed by the market
  (pollution, public health, etc.)

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Takin out the trash

• Ontario curbside recycling program costs paid 50
  by industry
• EU REACH law will remove from all products
  lead, mercury, flame retardants, PBT chemicals,
  and more
• EU Producer Responsibility laws producer must
  take back cars and any product with a power cord!

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So where are we going?

• Zero Waste
• Or Darn Near

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• What is Zero Waste?
• What is ZW Community Planning?

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• Zero waste is
• A philosophy
• A design principle
• A policy goal -
• ZW is not simply 100 recovery it is not only an
  end-of-pipe solution
• ZW means going upstream and designing products
  and packaging with reuse and recycling in mind

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• ZW means making manufacturers take responsibility
  for the entire lifecycle of their products and
  packaging.
• ZW means shifting subsidies away from the
  wasting economy of landfills and incinerators.
• Zero waste efforts, just like recycling efforts
  before, will change the face of solid waste
  management in the future. Instead of managing
  wastes, we will manage resources and strive to
  eliminate waste. -Institute for Local
  Self Reliance

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• Zero waste is NOT about getting to zero.
• It is about being on the path to zero.

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• Industry understands zero goals, has had them for
  20 years but never expected to achieve them
• Zero Accidents
• Zero Defects
• Zero Waste

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• " Waste-Free goal
• of making Waste-Free Products
• in Waste-Free Factories
• to help customers attain
• Waste-Free Workplaces
• -XEROX

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• Once a Zero Goal exists
• the benchmark exists
• to measure every future action.
• Are you getting closer or further from the goal
  of creating Zero Waste ?

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Why Bother ?

• Why all this anti-landfilling,
• anti-incineration activity?
• Why make Zero Waste
• public policy?

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Because

• Landfills and incineratorsare not what the 21st
  Century needs to
• Protect public health
• Build sustainable economy
• Reduce resource depletion
• Reduce global warming

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Because

• Protect public health
• Groundwater pollution all will leak
• Air toxics daily incidences
• Landfill gas GHG and toxics
• Build sustainable economy
• Scrap metal and paper 1 export
• JOBS! From ten to hundred more!
• Local economy grows

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Because

• Reduce resource depletion
• Resource Wars in the 21st Century
• Social justice breakdowns from corporate money
• US is 5 of population on Earth, but consume 25
  of energy and resources
• Reduce global warming
• Embodied energy in recovered materials not lost
• Landfill gas largest human-made methane source
• Israel landfill gas is 25 of GHG problem over
  next 20 years

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Once youve taken the step and a Zero Goal exists

• The Dialogue will Change
• We dont have a waste problem, we have a
  resource opportunity.
• Youll Stop Destroying Resources
• Minimize landfilling, stop burning trash.
• Youll Design for Cradle-to-Cradle
• Industry makes products and packaging that are
  non-toxic and easily recovered for re-use,
  recycling or composting.

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ZW Community Planning-in-Action

• Three Stakeholder Groups
• (1) local government officials
• (2) local business community
• (3) local community advocates

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Four Key Areas for Coordinated Action

• Invest in Resource Recovery Infrastructure
• Make New Rules so the Clean Win the Profits
• Require Local Producer Responsibility (LPR)
• Use The Power of ZW Purchasing

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ExampleInvest in ZW Infrastructure

• The Big Six ZW Facilities
• The MRF (traditional recycling)
• The CHARM (non-traditional items)
• The Composting Facility
• The Re-Use Facilities
• The C D Facilities
• The Residue Facility

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Example Make New Rules So the Clean Win the
Profits

• New York State law that requires green
  janitorial services in public schools and state
  agencies.
• led to the growth of a national green cleaning
  products standard, Green Seal
• in protecting the children and janitorial
  workers, now less harmful aromatics and chemicals
  in all our environments.

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Example Require Local Producer Responsibility

• City of Madison, WI, requires retailers of
  flourescent light bulbs and mercury thermostats
  to take back those products for recycling.
• New York City requires retailers of rechargeable
  batteries to take back those batteries for
  recycling.

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Example Use The Power of ZW Purchasing

• University of Colorado, Boulder, required their
  winning bidder for computer supplies to take back
  and recycle any e-scrap generated on-campus
  during their contract period.
• Wal-mart is now giving preference to suppliers
  with minimal packaging.

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Our Partners in Boulder

• Zero Waste Hotel The Outlook Hotel and Suites
• Zero Waste Coffeeshop Folsom Street Coffee
  Company
• Zero Waste Hospital Boulder Community Hospital
• Zero Waste Restaurant The Kitchen

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Boulder Partners cont.

• Zero Waste School Horizons Alternative
• Zero Waste Grocery Store Whole Foods
• Zero Waste Office White Wave
• Zero Waste Food Processor Boulder Ice Cream
• Zero Waste Government City of Boulder

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Extended Producer Responsibility
Changing the Rules

• Mall recycling requirement
• Boulder ordinance on trash haulers

• Partners for Responsible Recycling
• Daily Camera
• ListenUp
• CompUSA

ZERO WASTE BOULDER COUNTY
Resource Recovery Infrastructure
Purchaser Power

• Business food wasteWhole Foods compactor
• Farmers Market no trash cans!
• Schoolsgrow up with it!

• Boulder County paper purchasing system
• Eco-Cycles ZWS for businesses

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The Greater Yellowstone AreaThe question
isHow to move toward Zero Waste?
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First, do we have a problem?The Rocky
Mountain Region has the LOWEST recycling rate
in the USA - BioCycle, 2006
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Second, acknowledge the problem and make a
public statement.Eco-Cycle suggestionCreate
a Profound Social Policy Initiative and
proclaim Zero Waste as a Goal.
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social policy (n.) A policy for dealing with
social issues. profound (adj.) (a.)
Characterized by intensity of feeling or
quality (b.) All encompassing Profound Social
Policy An intense, high quality, all
encompassing policy for dealing with social
issues.
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An intense, high quality, all encompassing
policy for dealing with social issues. This is
the controversy Zero Waste is not Integrated
Solid Waste Management
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Third, make a Plan

• After you pass your Zero Waste goal
• 2-Phase, 5-Year Plan
• Step One Build Your Local Infrastructure
• Step Two After infrastructure in place, launch
  a Regulation/Education Campaign

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In Closing

• It will take power, courage and political will to
  create a Sustainable GYA.
• The technology is known, and even the money
  needed will be paid back.
• The hard part is called status quo.

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The Power to Make ZW Happen

• A Zero Waste Goal or Policy must come from the
  top and be accepted at the highest levels of
  authority in each Stakeholder Group
• All stakeholders are not created equal- a joint
  vision by government and community groups almost
  matches the power of commerce.

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Two Big ChangesNeeded Now

• Stop the creation of landfill gas (methane) and
  toxic leachate by banning the landfilling of yard
  waste and food scraps
• End landfilling-on-the-cheap through
  municipalization of the industry since the market
  is NOT protecting the environment

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This is what the future looks like.
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The 3-bin system is nothing new
CARD OF INSTRUCTION FOR HOUSEHOLDERS
Put into Rubbish Bundles
Bottles, Paper, Pasteboard, etc. Rags,
Mattresses, Old Clothes, Old Shoes, Leather and
Leather Scrap, Carpets, Tobacco Stems, Straw and
Excelsior, (from households only)
The Sanitary Code requires householders and
occupants to provide separate receptacles for
ashes and garbage and forbids mixing these in the
same receptacle. This law will be strictly
enforced.
New York City ca. 1905
Courtesy of Product Policy Institute, 2006
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