The Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, working for a healthy and
just Maryland, is holding its annual dinner on Sat., Apr.30 from 6 to 8:30 PM
at the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation,7401 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore
21208. The featured speaker will be Paul Connett, PhD, an acclaimed
author on zero waste solutions. Paul has been a leading global fighter
against incineration and for sustainable waste solutions, such as composting,
recycling, reuse, repair and redesign. He is a graduate of Cambridge
University, with a PhD in chemistry from Dartmouth College. A retired professor
of chemistry at St. Lawrence University where he taught environmental chemistry
and toxicology, for nearly three decades, he has researched and spoken on waste
management in the U.S. and 54 other countries.
Ralph Nader said of Dr. Connett, “He is the only person I know who can make
waste interesting.” Dr. Connett is the author of “The Zero Waste
Solution: Untrashing the Planet One Community at a Time” (Chelsea Green,
2013). The suggested donation levels are $10, $25 or $50. To RSVP,
contact Tim Whitehouse at twhitehouse@psr.org
or (240) 246-4492.
The Urban Quest for 'Zero' Waste
Some cities are leading the way in reducing the amount of
trash they send to landfills. Here's how they're doing it.
By
DAVID
FERRY
September 12, 2011
After years of burning or burying their waste, some cities are
getting serious about garbage.
Across the country, a handful of municipalities are radically
reducing the amount of refuse they send to landfills, with the eventual goal of
reaching "zero waste." Seattle recycles or composts more than half of
what its residents toss out. San Francisco diverts 77% of its waste from
landfills. Even sprawling Los Angeles recycles or composts about two-thirds of
its garbage.
Those numbers stand in stark contrast to the rest of the U.S.,
where the Environmental Protection Agency estimates only about a third of waste
is recycled or composted. The cities are getting the job done largely by having
citizens and businesses sort trash more carefully, to recycle as much as
possible.
Officials in these cities think they can go further. "It's
good; doesn't mean we stop there," says Tim Croll, solid-waste director
for Seattle Public Utilities. "We know the word 'low-hanging fruit' is
overused, but there is still more stuff to be gotten out of that waste
stream."
Less Than Zero?
The prime benefits in adopting zero waste are environmental;
many cities that have enacted zero-waste plans say they have taken up the task
in the name of sustainability.
ENLARGE
Compost and recycling containers awaiting collection in San
Francisco. GETTY IMAGES
And supporters argue that reducing waste doesn't necessarily
mean increasing costs. For cities with limited landfill space—and the higher
fees that come with it—most zero-waste activities cost less than normal garbage
disposal, says Gary Liss, a zero-waste consultant who has helped
about 20 cities form plans to reduce waste.
One
caveat: "Zero waste" doesn't necessarily mean "no waste." Most cities use a definition from
Zero Waste International Alliance, an environmental group, which says that
diverting 90% of waste from landfills without the use of incinerators is "successful
in achieving zero waste, or darn close."
Why don't cities shoot for 100% diversion? "We're not
crazy," says Neil Seldman, president of the Institute for Local
Self-Reliance, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that promotes sustainable
communities. The closer cities get to that goal, the harder it is to go
further, largely because there are so many products out there that just can't
be recycled—and people continue to buy them.
Cities can pass ordinances and require households and businesses
to recycle and compost, but "they can't control the behavior of
residents," says Chaz Miller, the state programs director for
the National Solid Wastes Management Association, a Washington, D.C., trade
group for the waste and recycling industry. "There is still a lot of
material to dispose of in this country, and it's going to remain that way for a
long time," he adds.
Indeed, despite increased recycling in recent years, Americans
are still prodigious wasters. In 2009, the most recent year for which figures are
available, Americans threw out roughly 243 million tons of trash—or about 4.34
pounds of garbage per person, per day, according to data from the EPA. After
recycling, composting and incineration, about 132 million tons ended up in
landfills that year.
Recycling by the Bay
One of the most comprehensive zero-waste strategies is San
Francisco's. The city has relied on ordinances and regulations to prod citizens
and businesses into wasting less. In 2009, it became the first city in the U.S.
to require food composting for residents and businesses, Rather than throw food
scraps and dirty napkins into the trash, individuals and businesses must chuck
their organic material into city-provided green bins.
ENLARGE
The mandate led to a large boost in compost collection, says San
Francisco Department of the Environment director Melanie Nutter. Recology, the
city's collection agency, now hauls more than 600 tons of organic waste to a
composting facility each day. In an effort to "close the loop,"
Recology sells the certified organic compost materials.
Along with putting compost in green bins, individuals and
companies are expected to sort plastics, aluminum and papers into blue bins and
garbage in black "landfill" bins. The less waste residents put in the
landfill bin, the less they pay for curbside collection; recycling and compost
collection are free. (The system, known as "pay as you throw," is
used in hundreds of other cities as well.)
San Francisco's rules don't end there. There's also a mandate
for waste at building sites. Construction and demolition crews must recycle or
reuse at least 65% of the material from a site, which involves sorting all
debris or ensuring it is hauled to a collection facility.
The result of all these efforts is a waste-diversion rate of
77%—the nation's highest—and the city is aiming for 100% by 2020. Ms. Nutter
says the city can reach 90% if it prods its citizens to be even more
waste-conscious; about a third of the waste that San Francisco sends to the
landfill is recyclable, and another third is compostable.
Officials in San Francisco say sustainability is the driving
factor behind its push for zero waste. The city pays for garbage collection
only from city buildings and property; residents and businesses pay for their
service through fees. The city says residents pay about the same for curbside
trash service as in nearby cities.
Shades of Green
Another zero-waste leader is Seattle, which diverts about 54% of
its waste from the dump and hopes to reach 70% by 2022. The city mandates
recycling for businesses and residents, and requires food composting for
single-family residences.
It has also banned the food-service industry from providing
goods in plastic-foam containers, and requires single-use packaging—including
plates, coffee cups and utensils—to be recyclable or compostable. Among the
approved alternatives on the city's website: drink cups made from corn, bowls
made from tapioca starch and wooden utensils.
Still, not all high-achieving cities get there with mandates and
bans. Los Angeles diverts over 65% of its waste from landfills and is shooting
for 70% by 2013. But it doesn't mandate recycling. "We don't believe in
banning, as a city," says Alex Helou, assistant director of the
city's Bureau of Sanitation.
Mr. Helou says the bureau encourages residents by giving prizes
like Starbucks gift cards to neighborhoods that increase their recycling the
most. He says the city has also sought to make recycling as convenient as
possible and has expanded the type of waste that consumers can throw into
recycling bins to include items like plastic foam and milk cartons.
Austin, Texas, currently recycles or composts about 38% of its
waste and is in the process of finalizing its zero-waste plan. In addition to
considering a recycling mandate, the city has pursued an original outreach
campaign. Earlier this year, "Dare To Go Zero" premiered on the
city's public-access channel. The "Biggest Loser"-style reality show
challenged four families to reduce their waste by 90% over the course of five
weeks.
The city's director of solid-waste services, Bob Gedert, says
Austin hopes to ratchet up its diversion rate to 75% by 2020 through a mix of
regulation and outreach, but says the city does not expect to reach zero waste
until 2040.
Incinerate or Innovate?
Some in the municipal solid-waste business don't believe that
recycling and composting can reduce a city's waste down to nearly nothing.
Their suggested alternative: incinerating vast amounts of trash to convert it
into energy. Not only does burning turn the trash into something useful, they
say, but it's also a much cleaner process than it was 30 years ago. Los
Angeles's Mr. Helou says the city believes it can hit 85% through proper
sorting but would consider incinerating waste to produce energy.
Officials in San Francisco, like many other zero-waste
supporters, maintain that incinerating waste increases greenhouse-gas
emissions, and note that incineration destroys, rather than conserves,
resources.
Still, many city officials agree that some sort of technological
help will be needed as they get closer to zero waste. Seattle's Mr. Croll says
he is interested in anaerobic digestion, a process where micro-organisms break
down organic waste and produce methane, which can later be used for energy. San
Francisco is hoping to rely on advanced mechanized sorting systems that pick
more recyclables from the garbage flow, Ms. Nutter says.
After that, she says, it may be out of the city's hands.
"There are some items in the waste stream that can't be recycled or reused
or repurposed," she says. "So, in that case, we think the last 10%
will really come down to working with manufacturers" to reduce and rework
materials packaging.
Mr. Liss, the zero-waste consultant, says that at some point
cities have to say, "We've done a lot with recycling, but we need to do a
lot more with reducing and reusing."
Mr.
Ferry is a writer in Oakland, Calif. He can be reached at reports@wsj.com.
Corrections
& Amplifications
San Francisco hopes to divert 100% of its waste from landfills by 2020. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the city hopes to divert 90% by 2020.
San Francisco hopes to divert 100% of its waste from landfills by 2020. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the city hopes to divert 90% by 2020.
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
No comments:
Post a Comment