Workshop on Zero Waste Strategy
Learn how the waste management industry can transform itself into a "maximum resource recovery" industry in a workshop presented by Eco Cycle Executive Director Eric Lombardi at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 26, Old City Hall, 510 Greene St.
Created more than 30 years ago by Boulder, CO. residents, Eco-Cycle has become one of the largest non-profit recyclers in the United States and has an international reputation as a pioneer and innovator in resource conservation.
The focus of the workshop, “A 10-Year Bridge Strategy Toward a Zero Waste Community,” starts with the assumption that waste is not inevitable but rather is the result of bad design, and thus can be changed. Lombardi will present rare "good news" stories about how communities can accomplish many of the significant goals required to thrive in the 21st Century, including: jobs creation, local economic development, climate cooling, resource conservation and local protection of the environment and public health.
The recycling revolution over the last 20 years has opened the door to a new way of viewing society's "trash" from both the perspective of what it really is and where it all goes at the end-of-life.
The results from disposing garbage in landfills and incinerators include groundwater pollution, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource destruction.
Many communities are now achieving high levels of waste diversion by creating local recycling and composting. The results from choosing this "resource recovery" option are all good, including less local air and water pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, many more local jobs than the bury/burn option could provide, resource conservation which reduces the pressures for resource wars and, perhaps most importantly, a widespread civic pride stemming from residents who are hungry for green living options and hope for their children.
The goal of eliminating waste in our society is not an ideological issue and offers common ground -- for the capitalists in the audience a chance to see how future Zero Waste Millionaires will be made, and for those in pursuit of a cleaner environment how the Zero Waste Path provides the fastest, cheapest way to combat global warming and resource depletion. As the state of Florida pursues a goal of 75% recycling, the Florida Keys stand at the beginning of a noble quest. This workshop will bring valuable ideas to the public and officials responsible for turning a vision into reality.
Lombardi’s workshop is sponsored by Last Stand, Green Living and Energy Education (GLEE) and the Banyan Resort. For more information call 305-923-1994.