1. Richard Anthony Zero Waste San Diego San Diego February 24 , 2010
Zero Waste Plans
Richard Anthony
Zero Waste San Diego
San Diego February 24 , 2010

2. Zero Waste A Policy, Path, Direction
A Target, Process, Way Of Thinking
Recognizes 71 Tons “Upstream” For Every Ton MSW
From Waste Mgt. To Resource Mgt.
Stops Climate Change as landfills are one of largest sources of Greenhouse Gases
Wasteberg

3. The only peer-reviewed internationally accepted definition of Zero Waste is that adopted by the Zero Waste International Alliance: “Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use. 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.”

4.   “If a product can't be reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned, or removed from production.”*
*Martin Bourque, Berkeley Ecology Center, GRRN Zero Waste Conference, NY, April 2005.

5. Upstream
Reduce volume and toxicity of raw materials and manufactured products
Rethink and redesign products and processes to reduce wasting and planned obsolescence
Embodied energy savings (upstream) are greater than energy produced
Businesses can adopt policies and make vendors comply

6. Downstream
Ensure the highest and best use of products and packaging at the end of their useful lives
Reuse products and packaging, retaining their original form and function
Recycle materials that are not reduced or reused
Compost materials that are not recycled

7. ZW Business Principles
Commitment to the triple bottom line
Use Precautionary Principle
Zero Waste to landfill or incineration
Responsibility: Take back products & packaging
Buy reused, recycled & compost
Prevention pollution and reduce waste
Highest and best use
Use economic incentives for customers, workers and suppliers
Products or services sold are not wasteful or toxic
Use non-toxic production, reuse and recycling processes

8. Reuse, Recycling, & Composting Reduce Resource Use & Greenhouse Gas Production
Aluminum
Steel
Paper
Glass
Energy Use
90-97%
47-74%
23-74%
4-32%
Air Pollution
95%
85%
74%
20%
Water Pollution
97%
76%
35%
Mining Wastes
80%
Water Use
40%
58%
50%
[1] R. Letcher and M. Shiel, “Source separation and Citizen Recycling”, in William Robinson, ed., The Solid Waste Handbook, New York, 1986.

9. All discards can be sorted into 12 Market Categories…
1. REUSABLE
Appliances
Durable Plastic Items
Textiles
Mattresses & Furniture Composite C & D
Books & Catalogues
Other Repairables
2. PAPER
Cardboard
White Ledger
Newsprint
Magazines / Catalogs
Other Office Paper
Paperboard
Other / Composite Paper
3. PLANT DEBRIS
Leaves & Grass
Prunings
Branches & Stumps
PUTRESCIBLES
Food Waste
Fish and Meat Waste
Sewage Sludge
WOOD
Untreated Wood
Treated Wood
CERAMICS
Concrete
Asphalt Paving

10. 10. TEXTILES 7. SOILS 11. POLYMERS 8. METALS 9. GLASS 12. CHEMICALS
Poly Fibers
Cotton and Wool
11. POLYMERS
#1 PET
#2 HDPE
#3 - 7
Tires
Asphalt Roofing
12. CHEMICALS
Used Motor Oil
Paint
Household Hazardous Products
Medicine
Sharps
Batteries and Lights
7. SOILS
Gypsum Board
Fines
8. METALS
Auto Bodies
Aluminum Cans
Steel Cans
Ferrous Metals
Non-Ferrous
9. GLASS
Clear Glass Containers
Mixed Glass Containers
Clear Glass
Green Glass
Mixed Glass
Brown Glass
Window Glass
Other Glass

11. Discards Sorted into the 12 Market Categories
Note: Half of the Pie is Organic Material Suitable for Composting
Metals 6%
Glass 3%
Paper
37%
Wood 4%
Soils 1%
Textiles
Ceramics 2%
Chemicals 0%
Reuse
Polymers
11%
Putrescibles
19%
Plant Debris
10%

12. Total Value of Discards ($)
Revenue and Job Potential from 1,000,000 Tons of Discarded Material
Clean DozenSM
Master Categories
Jobs
Tons
per Year
Market Price
$/T (est.)
Total Value of Discards ($)
1. Reuse
350
28,000
550
15,400,000
2. Paper 65
370,000 20
7,400,000
3. Plant Trimmings 30
100,000 7
700,000
4. Putrescibles 85
190,000
1,330,000
5. Wood 24
40,000 4
320,000
6. Ceramics
20,000
80,000
7. Soils
10,000
70,000
8. Metals 35
60,000 40
2,400,000
9. Glass 75
30,000 10
300,000
10. Polymers
1,020
110,000
100
11,000,000
11. Textiles
340
200
8,000,000
12. Chemicals
2,000 15
Total
2,055
1,000,000
47,030,000

13. Setting Up Zero Waste Programs
Get top management on board
Examine the current system of discard management
Get everyone involved in making the plan
Let every one know what you are doing

14. 1. Adopt ZWIA Zero Waste definition
2. Establish benchmarks and a timeline to meet goals for measuring success and monitoring accomplishments
A key part of the planning process is establishing goals and targets that start with the Board and top management
3. Engage the whole company.
Don’t leave Zero Waste to “waste experts.”
Involve all agencies and departments, existing vendors and resource markets.
Challenge all to pursue Zero Waste at work. .

15. 5. Educate employees and vendors about the new rules & programs
4. Use fees levied on tons of waste hauled or landfilled to fund programs
5. Educate employees and vendors about the new rules & programs
Zero Waste is a strategy not a technology that aims for better organization, better education and better industrial design to achieve the cultural change needed to get to Zero Waste
6. Perform Zero Waste Assessments
ID amount and type of discards produced
Collect Data by generation points
Use as baseline to ID recovery and employment opportunities, cost savings, and to measure success of reduction and recovery programs

16. 7. Residual Separation & Research Facilities
Residuals need to be made very visible to ID
Bad industrial design
Bad purchasing habits
Change through dedicated research and education
8. Develop New Rules and Incentives to move towards Zero Waste
new policies, new rules and new incentives.
Restructure contracts and policies to make the avoided costs of collection and disposal a key engine for moving towards Zero Waste.
9. Enact Extended Producer Responsibility
Businesses take back products and packaging at no cost
Advocate for state and national EPR policies
redesign products to be less toxic and easier to reuse and recycle

17. 10. Support Zero Waste Procurement
Adopt Precautionary Principle for municipal purchases
Purchase Zero Waste products and services
Avoid single use products and packaging
Return to vendors wasteful packaging
Reduce packaging and buy in larger units
Use reusable shipping containers
Purchase reused, recycled and compost products
Buy remanufactured equipment
Lease, rent and share equipment
Buy durables (using life-cycle cost analyses)
Encourage businesses and institutions to follow as well

18. 11. Expand Zero Waste Infrastructure
Develop locations for reuse, recycling and composting, including Resource Recovery Parks.
12. Challenge Employees to lead the way to Zero Waste

19. Zero Waste San Diego
Twitter: zerowastesd
Be our Fan on Facebook