Americans recycle about 30 percent of their household waste. Despite this, the amount of trash going to the dump increases every year. Butthanks to a new way of looking at manufacturing goods, Great LakesRadio Consortium commentator Suzanne Elston says that garbage dumpsmay soon become a dying industry:
Transcript
Americans recycle about 30% of their household waste. Despite this,
the amount of trash going to the dump increases every year. But
thanks to a new way of looking at manufacturing goods, Great Lakes
Radio Consortium commentator Suzanne Elston says that garbage dumps
may soon become a dying industry.
It’s called Zero Waste and it’s gaining momentum around the world.
Countries such as the United States, England, Australia and even
Brazil are embracing it. And now Earth Day Canada has launched its
own Zero Waste program called Target Zero.
The idea behind Zero Waste is simple. Right now, garbage is designed
into our production cycle. A certain amount of waste is expected. But
Zero Waste advocates will tell you that what we need is a new design
principle – a system that’s geared towards eliminating waste – not
managing it once it’s been created.
It may sound impossible, but it can be done. To begin with, we have
to start thinking of garbage not as waste but as a valuable resource.
Interface Flooring for example, recycles old carpet fibers into new
ones. This cuts down on waste. And since the old carpet provides
feeder material for the company’s plants, it also reduces the amount
of virgin resources needed to make new carpets. In the process, its
Canadian operation has cut energy consumption by 70% and reduced the
amount of garbage it sends to the dump by 90%. In total, these and
other environmental initiatives have saved the company $ 90 million
worldwide.
Xerox is another company that has embraced the zero waste philosophy.
Since the company adopted its Waste-Free Factory policy, solid waste
recycling rates at Xerox factories have reached 87% worldwide. Last
year alone improvements in product design saved 387 million kilowatt
hours of electricity. That’s enough to light 290,000 homes for a year.
But this kind of product innovation isn’t just good for the customer
or the landfill. In 1999, Xerox pocketed $ 47 million in reduction,
reuse and recycling savings.
In Ontario, provincially owned Beer Stores have a closed-loop system
based on refillable bottles. The system recovers and reuses 98% of
its bottles and prevents a half-a-million tons of garbage from
reaching the dumps in the process. Once again, it all comes back
round to design. The Beer Store system was designed to eliminate
garbage.
Another corporate Zero hero is Husky Injection Molding Systems. In
1999, Husky diverted more than 5,000 tons of material from the
landfill. This saved the company more than $ 350,000 in disposal
costs. This year, Husky diverted 95% of all the waste material that
it generated.
This kind of closed loop is what the 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle
– are supposed to be about. It preserves precious resources and
energy while dramatically reducing the need for garbage dumps. It
encourages economic development and creates employment.
About the only thing I can see wrong with the whole idea of Zero
Waste is that everybody isn’t doing it.