Dear friends,In much of the western world, we generate 2-3 pounds of solid waste per person per day. Despite this enormous scale, waste is often an absent part of our urban fabric. We set our trash bins on the sidewalk once a week, the waste truck empties them, we bring in the trash bins, and that’s it. But, is it? Most of that waste ends up in landfills, creating environmental issues which affect our communities. Reducing, reusing, and recycling our waste has incredible potential to mitigate environmental crises. The less waste we generate, the less litter and pollution we get. Decreasing waste also means slashing waste hauling emissions and reducing traffic. Additionally, finding other uses for our waste can create new opportunities. For example, composting food scraps alone can reduce waste by nearly 22%, eliminate 8% of GHG emissions worldwide, and create alternative fuel sources. In 2003, San Francisco set an ambitious goal to achieve “zero waste” (no longer needing landfills) by 2020. While SF fell short of reaching “zero waste”, it has come a long way with investments in better waste policies, new waste infrastructure and technology, and a city-wide cultural shift that has achieved a 80% diversion rate (diverting 80% of waste from landfills). This is quite a feat! To put this in perspective, Detroit’s diversion rate was quoted at just 4.5% in 2019. Detroiters have tried to change this, but low statewide landfill tipping fees and limited waste infrastructure have prevented any significant progress. This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the innovators and leaders who are changing how we think about waste (AKA “commodities” and “resource recovery”) to build better cities. So let’s talk trash,
Kate
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