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Workshop on Zero Waste
Strategy is Open to the Public
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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, Colorado 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.
