Richard Anthony

Zero Waste International

Alliance Zwia.org

The Zero Waste Approach

to Managing Global Resources

Richard Anthony

Zero Waste International Alliance

ZWIA.ORG

• 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.

Definition of Zero Waste*

* www.zwia.org/standards.html

• Landfills are one of the largest sources of human generated Methane, which is a Greenhouse Gas (GHG)

• Methane is 21-72x more potent as a

green house gas than Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Climate and Zero Waste

• For Every Ton of Municipal Solid Waste discarded to Landfill, 71 Tons of materials and energy are wasted.

• Recycling & Composting all discards in California is equal to eliminating the equivalent of all CA auto CO2 emissions

• Nature Is The Model

• Zero Waste, or Darn Close

• Businesses have Achieved

Over 90% Waste Reduction

Is Zero Waste Attainable?

Picture: Methane Earth; Credit: GISS, NASA

Zero Waste Businesses are Leading

the Way (>90% diversion) • Anheuser-Busch, Fairfield,

CA

• Apple Computer, Elk Grove, CA

• Atlanta Zero Waste Zone

• Epson, OR

• Fetzer Vineyards

• Frankie’s Bohemian Café, SF

• Greens Restaurant, SF

• Hewlett-Packard, Roseville, CA

• Honda

• Mad River Brewery

• New Belgium Brewery

• Pillsbury

• Playa Vista, LA, CA

• Ricoh Electronics

• San Diego Wild Animal Park

• Scoma’s Restaurant, SF

• Subaru

• Toyota

• Vandenberg Air Base

• Vons-Safeway

• Xerox Corp

• 2800 Businesses in Japan

See www.earthresource.org

Ricoh Zero-Waste-to-Landfill

Achieved Feb. 2001

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Land Disposal 5R Resource Recovery

100% Resource Recovery

Tons

Basic Principles

• E=MC2

– Stuff exists

• There is no “away”

– Your “away” might be my back yard

• No such thing as a free lunch

– Your free lunch is your grand-children's dinner

• Highest and Best Use

• Required Separation at source of

generation

5 R’s 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 99% 97% 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.

Zero Waste Management

• Up Stream

– Clean Production

– Product Redesign

– Product Stewardship

• Down Stream

– Reuse

– Composting

– Recycling

– Resource Recovery Parks

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

4%

Ceramics

2%

Chemicals

0% Reuse

3%

Polymers

11%

Putrescibles

19%

Plant Debris

10%

Market Categories

1. Reusable

2. Paper

3. Plant Debris

4. Putrescibles

5. Wood

6. Ceramics

7. Soils

8. Metals

9. Glass

10. Polymers

11. Textiles

12. Chemicals

All materials can be grouped into these

12 market-driven categories.

Master Category Clusters

• Paper and Containers/Blue Bin – Paper, metals, glass, polymers

• Organics/Green Bin – Food, vegetative debris, food dirty paper, paper, plant

debris, putrescibles, wood

• Discarded Items/Bulky or Charity Pickup – Furniture, appliances, clothing, toys, tools, reusable

goods, textiles

• Special Discards Resource Recovery Park – Chemicals, construction and demolition materials,

wood, ceramics, soils

Clusters and Facilities

CLUSTERS PROCESSING CENTERS

Recyclables: Paper and containers;

Paper, Metals, Glass, Polymers

Organics: Food, vegetative debris, food dirty paper,

paper, plant debris, putrescibles, wood

Reused Products: Furniture, appliances, clothing, toys,

tools, reusable goods, textiles

Special Discards: Chemicals, construction and demolition

materials, wood, ceramics, soils

Recyclables: Papers, plastic, glass and metal

containers

Organics: Food, vegetable debris, and food paper,

putrescibles, untreated wood and

sheetrock

Reuse & Repair: Reuse, repair, dismantling, reconditioning,

remanufacturing, manufacturing and

resale of furniture, large and small

appliances, electronics, textiles, toys,

tools, metal and ceramic plumbing,

fixtures, lighting, lumber and other used

building materials

C and D: Rock, soils, concrete, asphalt, brick,

land clearing debris, and mixed

construction and demolition materials

Regulated Materials: Used motor oil, paint, pesticides,

cleaners, and other chemicals

Revenue and Jobs from Discards

Clean DozenSM

Master Categories

Jobs Tons

per Year

Market Price

$/T (est.)

Total Value of Discards

in Delaware ($)

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 7 1,330,000

5. Wood 24 40,000 4 320,000

6. Ceramics 7 20,000 4 80,000

7. Soils 20 10,000 7 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 40,000 200 8,000,000

12. Chemicals 4 2,000 15 30,000

Total 2,055 1,000,000 47,030,000

Provide Incentives Before Ban or Mandate

Eliminate Waste by

Designing Out of

Products and

Processes

Foster

Sustainable and

Green

Businesses

Retailers Take Back

Difficult to Recycle

Materials

Resource Recovery Park

Producer Responsibility

Expand City Outreach &

Technical Assistance

and Lead by Example

Jobs from

Design &

Discards

© Copyright Eco-Cycle, 2004 with text modifications by permission.

www.ecocycle.org/zerowaste/zwsystem

Empowered Consumer

Zero Waste System (Replace

with Oakland version)

• ricanthony@aol.com

• WWW.RichardAnthonyAssociates.com

• WWW.ZWIA.ORG

• WWW.GRRN.ORG

If you’re not for Zero Waste,

how much waste are you for?

Now its up to you.