1. Stop Trashing the Climate
Brenda Platt
Stop Trashing the Climate
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
presented at the 16th Annual Maine Recycling & Solid Waste Conference
Bar Harbor, Maine, May 5, 2009
Brenda Platt
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
BioCycle West, San Diego
April 15th, 2008

2. U.S. huge contributor
! 4.6% of global population
! Consume one-third of Earth!s timber and paper
! Generate 22% of global CO2 emissions
! Produce 30% of world!s waste

3. Wasting Trend in U.S.

4. Landfill greenhouse gas emissions,
% of total
Total 2005 = 7,260 megatons CO2 equiv.

5. The global warming potential concept
CO2
Methane - 100 year time horizon, 21 times more potent than CO2
Methane - 20 yrs,
72 times more
potent

6. Climate Change Tipping Point
! Global emissions must peak and decline over the
next 10 to 15 years in order to limit global warming to
2oC above pre-industrial limits.
! Uncontrolled climate change will lead to widespread
devastation, economically and environmentally.
! A short window of opportunity exists to radically
reduce GHGs and stabilize atmospheric CO2
concentrations before our climate reaches a “tipping
point.”

7. Landfill greenhouse gas emissions,
% of total, 20 yr time horizon
Total 2005 = 8,754 megatons CO2 equiv.

8. Disposal sector emissions, 8.1% of
total, 20 yr horizon

9. The Wasteberg
For every ton of
municipal trash, 71
tons of waste are
produced during
manufacturing, mining,
oil and gas
exploration,
agriculture, and coal
combustion.

10. Upstream = 71 x MSW Waste

11. Sectors impacted by wasting, % of
total, 20 yr horizon

12. Impact of Waste Reduction
X X X
X X X

13. Landfill Gas Capture Systems Band-
Aid Approach at Best
! Rules do not require gas collection for the first 5
years.
! Rules allow removal of gas collection systems 20
years after landfill closes.
! All landfill barriers will ultimately fail during post-
closure period, after which precipitation will re-enter
the landfill and in time cause second wave of
decomposition without any controls.
! Gas generated inside landfills escapes all day,
everyday from every landfill in America.
! Over lifetime of landfill, gas capture could be as low
as 20%.

14. Waste incinerators are NOT good for
the climate

15. Zero Waste Path

16. Aiming for zero waste is key GHG
abatement strategy
Abatement Megatons % of Abatement
Strategy CO2 eq. Needed in 2030 to
Return to 1990
Reducing waste
via prevention, reuse,
recycling, composting 406 11.6%
Lighting 240 6.9%
Vehicle Efficiency 195 5.6%
Lower Carbon Fuels 100 2.9%
Forest Management 110 3.1%
Carbon Capture & Storage 95 2.7%
Wind 120 3.4%
Nuclear 70 2.0%
Source: ILSR, GAIA, and Eco-Cycle, Stop Trashing the Climate (2008), and McKinsey &
Company, Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much and at What Cost? (2007)

17. Zero waste path: less coal plants
X
By significantly
reducing waste
disposal, the U.S. can
take the equivalent of
21% of its coal-fired
power plants off the
grid by 2030.

18. A Call to Action!
! Implement zero waste targets and plans.
! Stop disposing organic materials – COMPOST!
! Pursue recycling-based local economic
development.
! Make manufacturers responsible for their products.
! Regulate single-use plastics.
! Reduce junk mail.
! Buy recycled.
! Institute pay-as-you-throw trash fees.

19. Organics Diversion: Core Climate
Protection Strategy
! Prevents landfill methane emissions
! Stores carbon
! Improves soil!s ability to store
carbon
! Substitutes for energy-intensive
fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides
! Improves plant growth, and thus
carbon sequestration
! Reduces energy use for irrigation
! Anaerobic digestion offsets fossil
fuel consumption

20. U.S. municipal waste disposed
169.2 million tons in 2007
Source: US EPA, 2007 data (http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/msw99.htm)

21. Yard Trimmings Generated and
Recovered in the US, 1960-2007
Thousands
of tons
Source: US EPA, 2007 data (http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/msw99.htm)

22. Compost Applications
! landscape and nursery
! agricultural and horticultural
! vegetable and flower gardens
! tree and shrub planting
! sod production and roadside projects
! wetlands creation
! soil remediation and land reclamation
! sports fields and golf courses
! sediment and erosion control

24. Composting, lots of models

25. On-farm composting

26. Toronto

27. Unit-based Pricing Sends a Clear Message
Worcester, MA San Francisco, CA
Population 173,000 Population 775,000
Unit based pricing is just a different way of paying for waste
Source: Kristen Brown, Green Waste Solutions, www.thewastesolution.com

28. Overall Waste Generation Decrease 20+%
Source: Kristen Brown, Green Waste Solutions, www.thewastesolution.com

29. Communities with Zero Waste Goal
California, USA Other North America
• Del Norte County • Halifax, Nova Scotia Regional District
• San Luis Obispo County • Nelson, British Columbia Regional District
• Santa Cruz County • Kootenay Boundary, British Columbia Regional
• San Bernardino County District
• San Francisco City and County • Cowichan Valley, British Columbia
• City of Oakland • Central Kootenay, British Columbia
• Berkeley • Smithers, British Columbia Regional District
• Burbank (informally) • Nanaimo, British Columbia
• Palo Alto • Toronto, Ontario
• California Integrated Waste Management Board • Sunshine Coast Regional District, British Columbia
Other USA
• Boulder County, CO
• Summit County, CO
• Carrboro, NC
• Seattle, WA
• Central Vermont Waste Management District
Source: Gary Liss, Zero Waste International Alliance, www.zwia.org

30. Zero Waste Is an International
Movement
South America Africa
• Buenos Aires, Argentina South Africa, adopted the Polokwane Declaration
on Waste Management at 1st National Waste
Australia Summit in 2001
• Eurobodalla Council
• Willoughby Council Asia
• South Australia State Government • Candon City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines
• Canberra • San Isidro, Sueva Edija, Philippines
• The State of Western Australia • Pilar, Sorsogon, Philippines
• The State of Victoria • Linamon, Lanao del Norte, Philippines
• Sigma, Capiz, Philippines
New Zealand • Kamikatsu, Japan
Over 50% of cities adopted ZW as a goal • Kovalem, India
• Kanchrapara Municipality, West Bengal, India
Europe
• Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
• Bath and NE Somerset District Council
• Wales
• Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council
Source: Gary Liss, Zero Waste International Alliance, www.zwia.org

31. Boulder Farmers’ Market

33. Composting & Recycling Collection
System Designed For High Diversion
Recycled Paper Food Scraps
21% 20%
Yard Trimmings
5%
Glass and Plastic Bottles
Aluminum and Steel Cans
5%
Compostable Paper
10%
Construction and
Demolition Waste
25%
Other
Courtesy of City of San Francisco 15%

34. Easy to Understand Program
Courtesy of City of San Francisco

35. Designed for Easy Participation
Labeled Lids
Kitchen Pail Wheeled Cart
Courtesy of City of San Francisco

36. Special Event Composting
Courtesy of City of San Francisco

37. Color-Coded Compostable
Design for 400k cups at SF Festival
Courtesy of City of San Francisco

39. Norcal’s Jepsen Prairie Organics
Regional Composting Facility
Courtesy of City of San Francisco

40. Compost Used on Organic Farms and
Vineyards to Build Healthy Soils
Courtesy of City of San Francisco

41. Changing the rules in SF
! Bans polystyrene take-out containers
! Requires retail bags to be compostable plastic,
recyclable paper, or reusable
! Bans use of city funds to purchase single-serving
bottled water
! Will not give a street closure permit for events unless
composting collection is in place
! Extended producer responsibility (EPR) resolution

42. San Francisco EPR resolution
Calls on its Department of the Environment to:
“help City government lead by example by working with
the City Purchaser and Office of Contract Administration
and other departments to include EPR language, such
as leasing products rather than purchasing them and
specifying product and packaging collection and
recycling requirements, in contracts for commodities...”

43. Why EPR?
! 72.5% of MSW is manufactured products &
packaging
! When manufacturers are responsible they:
" Use environmentally safer materials
" Consume fewer materials
" Design their products to last longer
" Create better recycling systems
" Are motivated to minimize waste costs
" No longer pass the cost of disposal to the government and
taxpayer
Extended Producer Responsibility (2004)
Clean Production Action, www.cleanproductionaction.org

44. Challenges & Opportunities
! Leadership
! Policies
! Infrastructure
! Operator Training and Technical Assistance
! Permitting and Siting
! Education & Outreach
! Connections to Other Key Issues

45. The Tipping Point
! Innovators, the adventurous ones
! Early adopters, infected by innovators
! Early Majority
! Late Majority
! Laggards
Source: Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point (2002)

46. Make the Connections
! Climate protection
! Soil protection and revitalization
! Sustainable agriculture
! Anti-nuclear power
! Zero waste
! Environmental health
(safer, better designed products)
! Anti-waste incineration
! Community and economic development
! Cost Cutting
! Green jobs and pro-worker

47. Job Creation:
Reclamation vs. Disposal
Type of Operation Jobs/
10,000 TPY
Computer Reuse 296
Textile Reclamation 85
Misc. Durables Reuse 62
Wooden Pallet Repair 28
Recycling-Based Manufacturers 25
Conventional MRFs 10
Composting 4
Disposal Facilities 1
MRF = materials recovery facility Institute for Local Self-Reliance
TPY = tons per year

48. Starve a Landfill
Feed the soil
Conserve resources
Protect the climate
Create jobs
Sustain new businesses