Environmentalists Everyday » Source Reduction

On Earth Day, Solid Waste Companies Pledge Support for Zero Waste

Thom Metzger — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:11:32 +0000

NSWMA published a new position paper today on “zero waste.”

In it, we state, “We see America transitioning slowly but surely to a zero waste society. This does not mean that no waste will be produced in the future. Instead, it means that the amount going to disposal will continue to progressively decline. We support this transition. The objective of zero waste is to reduce the waste stream to the point at which no commercially achievable economic value exists for the remaining residue of the waste reduction process. Experienced, knowledgeable environmental services companies with proven and permitted collection, processing and disposal activities will lead the way in this transformation ”

See news about this release here.

NSWMA opinion article published in newspapers throughout country

Thom Metzger — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:33:37 +0000

More than 20 daily newspapers have published an op-ed drafted by NSWMA President and CEO Bruce J. Parker (Reason for optimism this Earth Day? For starters, let’s talk trash!”), including the Miami Herald, the Kansas City Star and the Sacramento Bee. In this article, Parker states, “Proper waste management is actually one of America’s greatest environmental successes. In the last two decades alone, we have witnessed a startling transformation in how we deal with all the garbage.”

Republic Services has published a new sustainability report

Thom Metzger — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:24:12 +0000

Republic Services has published a new sustainability report. “The sustainability report was an opportunity to identify and discuss what we already do to protect the environment and to set a course to do more,” CEO James E. O’Connor said. “Being green is not just a philosophy at Republic. We’ve been doing it for years.” The report is available at www.republicservices.com/sustainability.

Interview on Big Think website

Thom Metzger — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:42:56 +0000

NSWMA’s Bruce Parker was interviewed by Zach Shtogren Big Think’s senior editor. It is an interesting exchange about environmental issues related to the solid waste industry.

Runners: Reduce, reuse and recycle

Thom Metzger — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:01:58 +0000

While the lifespan of a shoe varies generally depends on the shoe design and construction, running surfaces, the runner’s weight/form/frequency, etc., most runners should expect a range of 350-500 miles out of a pair of rotated shoes. However some runners start experiencing pain after as few as 200 miles. As even casual runners can average 10 to 20 miles a week, it’s easy to see that a lot of running shoes are produced, sold and discarded in the United States each year. The production of these shoes is a material and energy intense process. And despite the fact that options exist for runners to reuse or recycle their old shoes, most old shoes still end up in landfills.

The latest issue of Runner’s World has an interesting article for runners who want to be green. It explains how shows are made and describes the challenges involved in designing and producing a more sustainable shoe. It is available on the Runner’s World website.

In addition to buying shoes that have been designed in an environmentally conscious manner, runners should be thoughtful about the way that they dispose of their used shoes and workout gear. Many companies are developing programs to help their customers dispose of old running shoes and clothing in a more responsible manner. For example, Patagonia has started a program where much of the running clothing that they produce can be returned to them so it can be processed into new clothing. Learn more about it here. Nike has a program where it collects old athletic shoes, so they can be ground up and turned into athletic surfaces. Learn more about it here. And a new company called Atayne is producing performance running clothing from recycled plastic materials. Atayne has a thought-provoking logo: “REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE RUN.” The Runner’s World website contains information about additional organizations that will help runners either reuse or recycle their old running shoes.