Zero Waste: The Future
is NOW!
Pete Pasterz
CURC Webinar
09/02/10
Zero Waste: Really?
► Waste
is inevitable, isn’t it?
► You can’t recycle everything
► “Extremes” are not accepted at my university;
incremental, measurable goals are
► Recycling Rates are already not improving…how
can we divert resources to some new thing that is
hard to explain?
 Rates NOT standardized and fraught with abuse, how
can we possibly document not making waste?
What isn’t Zero Waste?
► It
is NOT a new, radical concept
What isn’t Zero Waste?
► It
is NOT a new, radical concept
► It is NOT “pie-in-the-sky”
What isn’t Zero Waste?
► It
is NOT a new, radical concept
► It is NOT “pie-in-the-sky”
► It is NOT just another “end of the pipe”
solution
What isn’t Zero Waste?
► It
is NOT
► It is NOT
► It is NOT
solution
► It is NOT
a new, radical concept
“pie-in-the-sky”
just another “end of the pipe”
[necessarily] about reaching ZERO
What is Zero Waste?
► It
is a POLICY Goal
What is Zero Waste?
► It
is a POLICY Goal
► It is a DESIGN PRINCIPLE
What is Zero Waste?
► It
is a POLICY Goal
► It is a DESIGN PRINCIPLE
► It is a PATH, toward a Destination
What is Zero Waste?
► It
is a POLICY Goal
► It is a DESIGN PRINCIPLE
► It is a PATH, toward a Destination
► It is the LOGICAL CONCLUSION to
Continuous Improvement in Waste
Reduction
What is Zero Waste?
► It
is a POLICY Goal
► It is a DESIGN PRINCIPLE
► It is a PATH, toward a Destination
► It is the LOGICAL CONCLUSION to
Continuous Improvement in Waste
Reduction
► It’s what hundreds of units of government
and thousands of organizations claim…
What is Zero Waste?
"If it can't be reduced, reused, repaired,
rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold,
recycled or composted, then it should be
restricted, redesigned or removed from
production.“—Ecology Center, Berkeley
“Wasteberg”
► 71X
MSW
► 4000X laptop
Upstream Wastes
The Waste Economy
► Linear
Courtesy, Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO
The Zero Waste Economy
► Circular
Courtesy Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO
What is Zero Waste?
► Upstream







Extended Producer Responsibility [EPR]
Consumer Education/Action
Distribution [retail, wholesale, shipping]
Clean Production/Toxics Reduction
Design for Environment
Shifting Subsidies from Waste
Change the Rules
What is Zero Waste?
► Downstream
 Recycle
►“Hard
to Recycle”
 Compost
 Reuse/Repair
Is this Zero Waste??
Zero Waste Int’l Alliance
► Zero
Waste means designing and managing
products and processes to systematically
avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity
of waste and materials, conserve and
recover all resources, and not burn or bury
them.
Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all
discharges to land, water or air that are a
threat to planetary, human, animal or plant
health."
ZWIA Standard
► “Businesses
and communities that
achieve over 90% diversion of waste
from landfills and incinerators are
considered to be successful in
achieving Zero Waste, or darn close.”
What is Zero Waste?
► Competing
visions
► Competing Standards/Certifications are
being developed and implemented
 Penn State
 Earth Resource Fd’n/GRRN Business Standards
 RONA standards for Colleges and Universities
► Co-opted
Branding
Is “Zero Waste to Landfill” Zero
Waste?
► Many
business’ goals
► Many focus only on end-of-pipe solutions
 NOT “UPSTREAM”-focused
► Usually
include incineration with “energy
recovery”
Industry Understands
“Zero” goals:
Zero Accidents
Zero Defects
Zero Waste
And can get “darn close” to
achieving them…
Zero Waste, Really!
► Xerox
► “Waste-Free
goal of making Waste-Free
Products in Waste-Free Factories to help
customers attain Waste-Free Workplaces”
► In 8 years, reduced solid waste by 90%,
saving $50,000,000
► 70% of product parts designed for reuse
Zero Waste, Really!
► Toyota
Motor Sales [U.S.]
► 96%
reduction from 1999 baseline @ all US
non-mfg. facilities
► Ryan_mcmullan@toyota.com
[formerly @ Rice University]
Zero Waste, [almost]!
► Caterpillar,
Inc.
► Went from 30% to 80% recycling in one
year @ Main Mfg. Plant in Aurora, Ill.
► Uses sorting conveyor in-house
► Works in partnership with suppliers and
customers to reduce waste further
The following companies/divisions report
preventing/diverting
90% or more of their waste:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anheuser-Busch, Fairfield, CA
American Honda Motor Company
Apple Computer, Elk Grove, CA
Bank of America
Epson, Inc., Hillsboro, OR
Fetzer Vineyards
Fuji Heavy Industries/Subaru North America, Lafayette, IN
Herman-Miller
Hewlett-Packard, Roseville, CA
Kaiser Permanente
Kraft Foods
MillerCoors
Pillsbury, Eden Prairie facility, MN
Ricoh Electronics
San Diego Wild Animal Park
Seaman's Beverages
Toyota Motor Sales US, Torrance, CA
Vons-Safeway, Southern California and Southern Nevada
The Walt Disney Company
Xerox Corp., Rochester, NY
Zero Waste Business Resources
►
http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/business/index.php
►
www.environmentalleader.com
►
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/
2007/03/19/8402369/index.htm?postversion=2007031406
►
www.greenbiz.com
Zero Waste States
► California
► Massachusetts
► New
York [?]
► Washington
► Wisconsin
Zero Waste Communities [US]
► Los
Angeles
► Berkeley
► Palo Alto
► San Francisco
► Oakland
► Boulder
► NYC
► Austin
► Logan Co. OH
Zero Waste Schools
► University
of Florida
► Evergreen State College, WA
► College of the Atlantic, ME
► San Diego Mesa College
► Naropa University, CO
► Cal State San Marcos
► Eckerd College, FL
► Eastern Illinois University
Zero Waste Schools
► University
of Colorado
► University of California system
► College of the Menominee Nation
► Arizona State
► University of North Carolina system
► American University
► Rutgers
► Winona State
► Yours?
Zero Waste Events/Dining
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
Arizona State
Vermont
Ohio
Colorado
Colorado State
Washington State
Penn State
Oregon
UC Davis
Minnesota-Twin Cities
MIT
Michigan
Nevada-Reno
Duke
► Brigham Young
► Santa Monica College
► Northwestern MI College
► Emory
► Idaho
► Concordia University,
Portland OR
► Tulane
► U Colorado-Colorado Sprgs
► Yours??????
►
Zero Waste: The Future
► You’re
already headed down the path…but you
may not even realize it!
► Establishing the destination gives you direction
► “So our challenge is to start thinking "upstream"
on our campuses and work more effectively with
our purchasing, dining, dept chairs, secretaries
and the other thousand people who make the
decisions each day that impact waste.”—Erica
Spiegel, University of Vermont
Zero Waste: Resources
RONAU
www.recyclingorganizations.org/rona-u
EPA WARM model
www.epa.gov/climatechange
Freecycle
www.freecycle.org
EPEAT
www.epeat.net
RecycleMania!
Zero Waste Resolution
Zero Waste Video
GRRN
Junk Mail Reduction
www.recyclemaniacs.org
www.ecocycle.org/zerowaste
www.ecocycle.org/zerowastevideo/index.cfm
Sierra Club 0 Waste Committee
http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/zerowaste/
Zero Waste Int’l Alliance
http://www.zwia.org/zwc.html
www.grrn.org/campus/index.html
www.newdream.org
www.junkbusters.org
Pete Pasterz,
Cabarrus County
Concord,NC
papasterz@cabarruscounty.us
704-920-3280