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Innovations in Sustainable Business Practices: Path to Zero Waste

This conference presentation by Jennifer McDonnell at the EITC Green Technology Conference explores the critical need for resource conservation as the U.S. consumes 25% of the world’s resources with only 4% of its population. Highlighting the impending regulations on carbon pollution, the presentation emphasizes the significance of Zero Waste strategies, which advocate for closed-loop systems and viewing waste as a potential resource. It also showcases sustainable practices from companies like Aveda and Patagonia that effectively utilize recycled materials and demonstrate the importance of closing the loop in industrial processes.

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Innovations in Sustainable Business Practices: Path to Zero Waste

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  1. Resource Conservation and the Path to Zero Waste Innovations in sustainable business practices EITC Green Technology Conference Jennifer McDonnell, CRP March 20, 2009

  2. We Have Limited ResourcesWith just 4% of the world's population, the U.S. consumes 25% of the earth's resources Just ONE!

  3. Regulations are Coming • "So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America." -- President Barack Obama, February 25, 2009 • The Canada-wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility • Makes businesses responsible for handling the recovery of packaging, printed materials, and other special and hazardous wastes. • Would eventually also cover construction and demolition materials, furniture, textiles and carpets, and appliances, especially those made with ozone-depleting substances. Sources: Congressional Record, The Canadian Press

  4. Waste – The State of Garbage in America • In 2006, the US generated 413 MILLION tons of municipal solid waste • 29% was recycled or composted • 7% combusted (incinerated) • 64% landfilled • In Manhattan, diesel trucks carry garbage 7.8 million miles every year. That’s the equivalent of circling the Earth 312 times Sources: BioCycle “the State of Garbage in America, December 2008; Human Footprint: Where Does All the Stuff Go? by Dan Kulpinski, National Geographic April 2008

  5. Resource extraction is “costly” • The IPCC estimates that virgin material production causes 40 times the greenhouse emissions of recycled material production per ton of aluminum. • For many other industrial materials, primary production emissions are 4 to 5 times as great as secondary emissions per ton. Source: IPCC, 2006

  6. X Thinking Zero Waste • A visionary goal • Identifies the need for a closed-loop industrial/societal system • Waste is a sign of inefficiency - should be thought of as a “residual product” or simply a “potentialresource” • Zero Waste strategies consider the entire life-cycle of products, processes systems http://www.zerowaste.org/case.htm

  7. Re-framing the context • “The economy,” says Anthony Cortese, founder and president of the sustainability education organization Second Nature, “is a wholly owned subsidiary of the biosphere. The biosphere provides everything that makes life possible...” • Says Paul Hawken, “We have an economy where we steal the future, sell it in the present, and call it GDP.” SOURCE: “Top Ten Myths about Sustainability”, Michael D. Lemonick. Scientific American, March 2009

  8. Cradle to Cradle • The McDonough Braungart Philosophy • The opposite of today’s cradle-to-grave MO where “stuff” is dumped in landfills at the end of its “life” • Organic and technical nutrients • Everything cycles - materials are perpetually circulated in closed loops • Waste = food • Maximizes material value without damaging ecosystems http://www.mbdc.com/index.htm

  9. Graceful and Delicious Simplicity

  10. Plastic is a Problem (APC, 2004) We are generating a LOT of plastic!!! And recovering VERY little!!!

  11. Recycling is a Start • Fibers • Cardboard • Mixed Paper • Commingled (GMP) • Plastics • Stretch Plastics • Rigid Plastics • Textiles • C&D Waste • Organics • Electronics • Hazardous Waste • Capital items/equipment

  12. Recycling is evolving

  13. TerraCycle – We’ll take your trash • Pilot program in NY/NJ with major retail stores • For each unit of waste deposited, TerraCycle and its partnering retailer donate $0.02 to charity • TerraCycle cleans and “upcycles” the waste into products that can be sold back to the retailer • Current partners: Petco, OfficeMax, Home Depot, Best Buy • Last year, the company manufactured reusable shopping bags out of Target plastic bags. Source: Environmental Leader February 23, 2009 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/02/23/terracycle-piloting-in-store-waste-collection-points/

  14. The Importance of Closing the Loop AVEDA STARBUCKS • Men’s line cosmetic bottles made almost entirely of repurposed milk jugs (HDPE) • 95% Post consumer, the highest level in the industry • Less than 30% of virgin HDPE bottles are recycled in the United States • Most of their plastic bottles use a minimum of 80%PCR. Saves over 300 tons of HDPE annually • Coffee cup made of 10% post-consumer recycled paper, a first for the food and beverage industry • Spent years obtaining FDA clearance • Looks and performs the same as the all-virgin-cup • Costs slightly more – but they committed • In 2006, equivalent of saving 78,000 trees

  15. Patagonia – Common Threads • Customers return worn-out polyester and cotton garments to Patagonia (at a retail store or mail in) • Patagonia sends them to its manufacturer where they are broken down into fibers and rewoven into new textiles (limitlessly) • Production of the recycled fiber uses 76% less energy and produces 71% less CO2 emissions than production of virgin polyester. Source: http://innovation.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=1554, http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?assetid=1956

  16. Materials Mining http://www.masercorp.com/recyclers.html

  17. Organics Recycling COOL2012 WASTE = FOOD

  18. Patented Digestion Process

  19. Recycling and Fertilizer Plant, Keasby NJ

  20. Beyond Recycling to Reduction and Better Design

  21. Poland Spring’s EcoBottle The recyclable Poland Spring Half Liter Eco-Shape® is lighter, requiring less materials and energy to make – resulting in a reduction of CO2 emissions. http://www.polandspring.com/DoingOurPart/EcoShapeBottle.aspx

  22. Pioneering Change in Consumer Electronics • Motorola’s MOTO W233 Renew • Made using plastic from recycled water bottles and is recyclable • Affordable -$9.99 with a two-year contract • Packaging made of 100 percent recycled paper • Includes a prepaid shipping envelope to recycle the phone it’s replacing • Motorola will pay to offset the carbon emissions created to manufacture and distribute the W233, as well as to recycle it at the end of its life. • Sony Ericsson’s concept phone called GreenHeart • made with recycled biodegradable components • the charger draws a fraction of the power of most chargers when it is plugged into an outlet, but not connected to a phone. • ZTE and Digicel introducing the first solar-powered, low-cost mobile phone at the Mobile World Congress, Spain (Feb -09) • LG and Samsung - launching cell phones with built-in solar panels to recharge the battery • Applications that allow users to track carbon emissions and reduce their use Source: NYT. Cell phone Makers Start Offering ‘Green’ Models By ERIC SYLVERS, February 15, 2009

  23. Greensulate insulation • Made from local, sustainable resources such as the agricultural byproducts of rice (China), buckwheat, and cottonseed (Texas) hull • Feedstocks are placed within a dark room without electricity (no CO2 emissions) and a growing organism is introduced • In seven days the organism coats the byproduct creating a strong material suitable for insulation and packaging • End product has an r-value, comparable rigidity to polystyrene • At the end of it’s useful life it can be buried in the ground and easily broken down Source: www.planetgreen.com

  24. Onsite Biomass Renewable Energy

  25. The Importance of Transparency: Certifications add Credibility • Recent announcement by Senator Feinstein to create a Federal Eco-labeling program • Third party verification is crucial • Ask “how is the certification funded”?

  26. Hope: “Bad News is Good News” • As the economy declines, so is the amount of trash thrown out by San Diego - a 12 percent decline over 2008 • Food waste - which typically uses up more landfill space than any other type of trash - has gone down as consumers tighten their budgets and eat at home • Lower volume = lower demand; San Diego collects fewer disposal fees - an important source of city income • Now they are considering implementing citywide trash pick-up fees to make up for the decline in landfill use Source: NBC.com/SanDiego

  27. Contact Jennifer McDonnell, CRP Environmental Strategy Innovations, LLC jenmesi@gmail.com 973-842-1212 www.planetdiaries.net

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