Presentation for Global Landscapes Conference at King's College. Breaking Boundaries and Creating Connections for Innovation, Sustainability and Growth

2.  PA’s 1st
Benefit Corporation ~ a new legal entity type to create a positive
impact on society and the environment
The start of a new economy in Pennsylvania, one based on a triple
bottom line: people, planet, purpose
And you CAN do well by doing good!
We offer:
Free Website Building Workshops
Give & Take Days…all items FREE!
Check out www.mcearthday.org

3.  Give & Take Days, annually since 2009

4. To truly “close the loop”,
we need to do 3 things:
1) recycle our waste
2) make something new out of it
3) buy recycled

5. We have one planet with finite resources, in nature there is no waste.
Nature builds up & breaks down…every organism provides an
environmental service during and after its life ~ we can do the same with
humans to create a society in which there is also no waste.

7.  There are thousands of people out there
leading lives of quiet, screaming
desperation, where they work long, hard
hours at jobs they hate to enable them
to buy things they don't need to impress
people they don't like. ~ Nigel Marsh

8. We can change society's definition of
success away from the simplistic notion
that the person with the most money
when he dies wins, to a more
thoughtful and balanced definition of
what a life well lived looks like.
Collect experiences, not things…
Remove the excess that is holding you
back, remove the debt, free to do work
you actually care about. Path to
security, path to happiness.
1) sell or donate your “stuff”
2) pay off your debt
3) do what you love

9. < = >
Less = More (Happiness)

10. Tiny House
Living Benefits:
1. Less stuff/clutter
2. Less time cleaning
3. More savings/money to enjoy life!
4. Higher quality of Life, work less
5. Lower carbon footprint, less materials
6. Less expensive to build/heat/maintain
7. Easily moves for travel/job relocation
8. Can help reduce poverty/homeslessness

11.  Consumption is a big problem, but design is
the best solution.
 Waste is really a DESIGN FLAW!
 “The best waste-management plan is the
waste you don’t create.” ~ Nicholas Esposito
~ Zero Waste/Litter for NFL Draft in Philly, estimated 200,000 people attending
 The goal of “zero waste” will involve donating leftover food, recycling, and composting.

12.  Living meaningful lives…passionate &
purpose-driven ~ is where you find
happiness…
 Minimalism ~ buy less, buy quality things
that last…
 Find your purpose, your passion…

13.  “You have succeeded in life when all you
really want is only what you really need.”
~ Vernon Howard

14. According to the EPA, the waste materials
generated in the US annually:
 Plastics - 30 million tons of plastic waste (nearly 60
billion pounds). Only 9% of plastic waste was recycled
in 2013
 Glass – 13.2 million tons of glass, about 22 % recycled
 Tires – 300 million tires in the US, 12 million in
Pennsylvania alone.

15. Humans make products that do not break down, creating problems
throughout the world on land and sea for generations to come.

16. Source: Closed Loop Fund

17.  About 91% of the total plastic waste generated was landfilled,
littered, incinerated or finds its way into our oceans…
 Only 9% was recovered for recycling…
 Source: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/plastics.htm

18.  How can you
make something
disposable that's
indestructible?
Photo:
Midway Journey

19. Plastics kill 1.5
million marine
animals each
year ~ litter
finds it way to
our oceans

20. Plastic Waste

21. …can be turned into
Plastic Livestock Posts

22.  It is hard to increase the quantity of
recycled raw material without
compromising quality. (Single Stream)

23. Of the Recycled
Plastic Bottles Collected:
Source: 2008 United States National Post-Consumer Plastics
Bottle Recycling Report
Less than half of the PET (#1) collected goes to US manufacturers of recycled
products, the majority goes overseas to China and other countries.
In 2014, the Svendborg Maersk was struck by high wind and waves off the coast of
France and lost more than 500 containers, now at the bottom of the ocean.

24. Glass Waste

25. The Process of
Glass Recycling

26. …can be turned
into a sparkling
landscape glass
walkway or used in
a gas fire pit

27. This is where we came from…

28. This is the progress
we’ve made:

29. We can do the same with plastics…

30. Waste tires can be turned
into playground surfacing,
horse footing, rubber
timbers & tiles…

31. Here’s the
Solution:

32.  It takes 525 gallon-sized milk jugs to
produce one 2-rail section of plastic post
& rail fencing.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 It takes 100 tires to make 1 ton (2,000
lbs) of rubber mulch ~ enough to cover
an average size home playground.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 It takes 4,000 beer bottles to make 1 ton
(2,000 lbs ~ about 1 cubic yard) of glass
mulch. It takes 100 beer bottles to make
1, 50 LB bag of glass mulch.

33. In your lifetime there are ~50 yrs of oil left for
gasoline, heating, plastics, tires, much more…
Question:
Will we be forced to mine landfills
for raw materials?
Video ~ America's National Wonder: Plastic!?

34. Areas of Green Opportunities:Areas of Green Opportunities:
1)1) Conserve, recycle, and efficiently use energyConserve, recycle, and efficiently use energy
and materialsand materials
2)2) Use renewable & alternative sources of energyUse renewable & alternative sources of energy
3)3) Purchase materials with recycled contentPurchase materials with recycled content
4)4) Reduce the amount of waste we throw away.Reduce the amount of waste we throw away.
5)5) Encourage Extended Producer ResponsibilityEncourage Extended Producer Responsibility
or enact legislation to require it.or enact legislation to require it.

35. According to NRDC Report
“More Jobs, Less Pollution” report shows that a 75 percent
national recycling rate would create nearly 2.3 million jobs.
The US recycles about 35% now…
Jobs in:
 Recycling Industries: MURF’s ~ collection and processing of
recyclables to make them available for use
 Reuse and Remanufacturing Industries: new recycled
products
 Source: Natural Resources Defense Council, http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/11/recycling-create-23-
million-jobs-according-nrdc-report/

36.  Design products with the end of life in mind…
cradle to cradle, not cradle to grave (landfills).
Focus for the future: waste = food (resources)Focus for the future: waste = food (resources)

37. Impacts of Buying
US Made Recycled Products
 Investing in American made products creates jobs
 Sets a good example & helps our economy
 Long-term economic and environmental benefits.
 What better raw material to use than our waste
materials transformed into a valuable resource ~
in nature there is no waste.

38. Leave less of a footprint on the earth…

39. Favorite quotes:
 You cannot get through a single day without having
an impact on the world around you. What you do
makes a difference, and you have to decide what
kind of difference you want to make. ~Jane Goodall
 Plastics, like diamonds, are forever! ~ Capt. Charles Moore, Algalita
Marine Research Foundation
 If only they made a pesticide for litterbugs! ~ Monroe County,~ Monroe County,
PA Beautification OrganizationPA Beautification Organization

40. www.closetheloop.com
rita.lacey@closetheloop.com
570.629.8414
Thank you!
Rita Lacey