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U.S. EPA data shows that approximately 90% of materials disposed in U.S. incinerators and landfills are recyclable and compostable materials.  Which poses the question: why aren’t all products required to be made so that they are recyclable, built to last, and non-toxic?  Because doing so requires a commitment to work for what is known as “Zero Waste”, which means establishing a goal and a plan to invest in the infrastructure, workforce, and local strategies necessary to eliminate our dependence on incinerators and landfills. Supporting Zero Waste would require an end to subsidies for waste projects that contaminate environments and the people who live in them, then investing public money in innovative waste reduction, reuse and recycling programs.

Communities who strive for Zero Waste are investing in laws, technologies and programs that ensure that all products are made and handled in ways that are healthy for people as well as the planet. Our communities here in New Orleans have the opportunity to work towards Zero Waste, and recognize that on a planet with a finite amount of resources, the only responsible course of action is to live in such a way that protects the environment and public health for generations to come.

Cities around the world, including Buenos Aires, Canberra (Australia), Oakland, Nova Scotia (Canada), Seattle among others, have already made great progress towards achieving Zero Waste. These cities are building recycling and composting parks, implementing innovative collection systems, requiring products to be made in ways that are safe for people in the planet, and creating locally-based green-collar jobs. A variety of policies, such as Extended Producer Responsibility, Clean Production, packaging taxes, and material-specific bans (such as plastic bags, styrofoam, PCBs, etc.) have proven effective at reducing and eliminating problematic materials in different locales. As the residual portion shrinks, the system approaches its goal of zero waste to disposal. Rather than pouring money into harmful waste disposal projects like gasification, pyrolysis or plasma incinerators, these cities have devised specific and achievable plans to invest in sound economic development and jobs that will benefit their residents.

Besides saving resources and money, and generating more jobs for local communities, Zero Waste produces far less pollution than waste disposal techniques, including global warming pollution. It eliminates methane emissions from landfills by diverting organics; it eliminates greenhouse gas emissions from incinerators by closing them; it reduces greenhouse gas emissions from industry by replacing virgin materials with recycled materials; and it reduces greenhouse gas emissions from transport by generally keeping such materials close to the end-user.

Zero Waste means:

• Striving to reduce waste disposal in landfills and incinerators to zero

• Investing in reuse, recycling and composting jobs and infrastructure

• Requiring that products are made to be non-toxic and recyclable

• Ensuring that manufacturers of products assume the full social and environmental costs of what they produce

• Ensuring that industries reuse materials and respect worker and community rights

• Preventing waste and reducing unnecessary consumption

San Francisco is on track to achieve Zero Waste by the year 2020, already reducing waste 72 percent through waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting; its unionized workers receive comparably high wages and benefits. Achieving Zero Waste is a process, and it may take years. Most communities continue landfilling a small residual portion of their waste stream while various elements of the Zero Waste program are phased in. While this may be necessary in the short-term, the success of any Zero Waste system should be measured by its ability to prevent waste, eliminate use of both landfills and incinerators and return materials safely and cost-effectively back into the earth and economy. Because residual materials contain significant contaminants, including plastics and household hazardous wastes, it is essential that regulations be strengthened to limit liquid, solid and gaseous emissions of pollutants (including methane).

The future health of communities around the world depends on the choices that municipalities make today. Investment in innovative waste reduction and recycling programs can be a vehicle for truly “green” environmental and economic renewal.  Support local strategies striving for Zero Waste.

Live Green Orleans would like to thank the following resources:

Energy Justice Network

Global Alliance for Incinerator Aternatives

Green Action for Health & Environmental Justice

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 8:51 pm and is filed under Green Growth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.