How to Get to Zero Waste

1. How to Get to Zero Waste Presented to CA Resource Recovery Association San Pedro, CA August 1, 2007 By Gary Liss Gary Liss & Associates 916-652-7850, gary@garyliss.com www.garyliss.com

2. CIWMB Strategic Plan San Luis Obispo County Del Norte County El Cajon Fresno Burbank (informally) San Bernardino County Zero Waste Communities (informally) SF Bay Area San Francisco Oakland Santa Cruz County and all cities in Co. Berkeley Palo Alto Marin County Novato Fairfax Sonoma County LTF CA Zero Waste Communities

3. ASK to Adopt ZW • Environmental Group (e.g., GRC-CIWMB, Berkeley Ecology Center, ZWTFSoBay, Marin County, New Zealand ZW Trust) • Elected or Appointed Official (Palo Alto, Marin County) • Staff (San Francisco, Oakland, San Luis Obispo)

4. Zero Waste & Global Warming • Landfills are one of the largest sources of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) • Methane is 21 x more potent than CO2 • 71 Tons “Upstream” For Every Ton MSW • Recycling & composting all discards in CA = eliminating all auto exhaust in CA Wasteberg

5. GHG Benefits of 25% Increase in Recycling/Composting in CA Source: John Davis, Recyclers Global Warming Council, 2007

6. Solid WasteReductions in the SF Climate Action Plan:302,000 tons • Recycling and Composting • Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling • Source Reduction & Waste Prevention

7. ReduceReuseRecycle = Zero Waste

8. Pillars of Zero Waste • Upstream • Downstream • Green Businesses and Jobs

9. Upstream = 71 x MSW Waste

10. CA 20-Year History of EPR

11. 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

12. Highest and Best Uses • End Subsidies for Wasting • Clean Production and EPR • Reduce, Refuse & Return • Reuse • Recycle • Regulate • Not OK: Incineration and Subtitle D Landfills

13. Green Businesses and Jobs • Expand, attract, and support green businesses and job opportunities • Reserve sufficient land for Zero Waste infrastructure • Buy green goods and services 10,000 tons of SW = Landfill - 1 job Composting – 4 jobs Recycling – 10 jobs Reuse – 75 jobs

14. Help Local Business Be Green • Adopt Zero Waste goals • Develop Zero Waste plans • Adhere to Zero Waste Business Principles* • Meet waste reduction targets • Source separate designated materials • Recycle construction and demolition debris • Deconstruct existing buildings • Develop LEED-certified Green Buildings • Buy green products and services *see www.grrn.org/zerowaste/business/

15. Connect with Other Programs • Climate Change & Sustainability • Urban Environmental Accords • Waste Water Treatment • Stormwater Runoff • Energy • Green Business • Pollution Prevention • Environmental Justice

16. Know Your Discards • Conduct Commodities Characterization Study • Determine how and where materials are discarded • Identify service opportunities Master Categories* 1. Reusables 2. Paper 3. Plant Debris 4. Food Scraps 5. Wood 6. Ceramics (C&D) 7. Soils 8. Metals 9. Glass 10. Polymers 11. Textiles 12. Chemicals *Urban Ore developed these.

17. Know Your Discards Value Richard Anthony, Resource Management in the New Millennium, 2005, http://www.richardanthonyassociates.com/presentations/rm_2005.ppt

18. Know Your Discards Sources (Ref. Bill Worrell, San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority)

19. 9 Types of Generation at Businesses To understand wasting, we must understand waste generation. Generally, the twelve categories of waste are generated in nine typical sources, any of which can be found at a business or agency, & with consistent content. • Warehousing & Distribution – Cardboard & plastic packaging, metal, wood • Offices – Primarily wastepaper of all types, packaging & electronics • Food Services – Food, packaging, plastics, paper, metals, and glass • Grounds – Grass clippings, debris, wood, trimmings, branches, soil Presentation by Michael Huls to Western Regional Pollution Prevention Network Conference,, 10/12/06, San Diego, CA

20. 9 Types of Generation (cont.) • Construction – Inert materials, paving, concrete, building products M • Manufacturing. – All manner of materials & most complicated • Vehicular Maintenance – Lubricants, tires, metals, chemicals, & batteries • Retail – Wastepaper, defective items, plastics, wood, bottles & cans, & packaging • Housing & Hospitality – Food, plastics, paper, bottles & cans, textiles

21. Design It Out • Redesign Products for: • Durability • Reusability • Recyclability • Compostability • Adopt incentives to eliminate wasting • Suppliers and vendors take back products and packaging • Take back products and packaging from your customers (Extended Producer Responsibility)

22. P3 – Procurement, Practices, & Product Stewardship • Working Upstream & Downstream • Require suppliers to meet Zero Waste • Develop “supply and demand” profiles of commodities currently wasted • Resource efficiency work groups in sales, production, management, & distribution • Plus (+) and Plus/Plus (++) feedback • Highlight benefits of Zero Waste • Lead by Example

23. Downstream Programs Reuse – Building materials, Furniture, Food, Clothing, Toys, Sports Equipment, Electronics Recycling - Multi-material, as convenient as trash, universally available to all generators Organics Collection - Yard trimmings, Food scraps, Compostable paper C&D – Deconstruction, Reuse & Recycling “New Rules” - Disposal bans; Require separation, plans, achieving goals; EPR Incentives

24. Downstream Programs • Waste Franchise Contract • Outreach and technical assistance • (including Community Based Social Marketing) • Zero Waste Infrastructure • Reuse • Recycling • C&D dismantling and processing • Organics processing

25. Clusters and Destination Points

26. ZW Commercial Strategy • Information and Technical Assistance • Incentives • Bans and Mandates • Municipal Services

27. Incentives • Restructure Marketplace • Revise To Encourage Waste Prevention, More Reuse, Recycling & Composting: • RFPs & Contracts, Rates, Ordinances, Land Use Permits, Facility Permits, General Plans, Zoning, Policies, & Definitions • Tax Bads, Not Goods

28. Incentives • Change Economics So What Was Marginal Is Now Economic • Pay For What You Want: Waste Prevention, Reuse, Recycling & Composting • Don’t Pay For Wasting (Or Much Less) • Recognize Waste As Symptom Of Inefficiency • Harness Forces Of Marketplace To Achieve Goals 

29. Incentives • Contractor Payments • Performance Incentives & Penalties • Variable Rates (PAYT) • Franchise Fees • Deposits • Grants • Lease Equipment • Build On Existing Businesses

30. California Product Stewardship Council MISSION “To shift California’s product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design.”

31. Plan for and Build Zero Waste Infrastructure • Build on Existing Reuse, Recycling and Composting Businesses and Nonprofits • Preserve Enough Industrial Land for Key Zero Waste Facilities • Reusables, Food Scraps, C&D Materials and Difficult to Recycle Materials • Take-it-Back Infrastructure • Offer incentives for services needed • Resource Recovery (RR) Parks

32. Purchasing for Zero Waste • Precautionary Principle • Return to Vendor • Lease, Rent and Share Equipment • Manage Surplus • Reduce Packaging • Reusable Shipping Containers • Compostable Items • Buy Recyclable and Recycled • Buy Remanufactured Equipment • Purchase Durables • Buy Less Toxic Products

33. Get Everyone Involved • For communities, involve all facets of the community, not just solid waste industry • For businesses, ask all levels of employees to ID wasting and give ideas to eliminate wasting • Ask vendors and suppliers to adopt similar standards

34. Update Everyone • Let everybody know how they are doing • Media • Subjects - • Successes and Savings • What happens to the materials' • Exemplary performances • New ideas

35. Palo Alto Zero Waste Strategic Plan

36. Palo Alto Zero Waste Strategic Plan Continued

37. Upcoming Zero Waste Events • American Public Works Assn. Conf., 9/11/07, San Antonio, TX • National Recycling Congress, Denver, CO, 9/16-19, 2007, www.nrc-recycle.org • Western Regional Pollution Prevention Conference, San Diego, CA, 10/23-25, 2007, www.wrppn.org

38. If you’re not for Zero Waste, how much waste are you for?