What is Zero Waste all about Sue Maxwell

What is Zero Waste all about? Sue Maxwell Ecoinspire SIWMA conference 2013

2 Outline Zero waste –what it is Zero Waste –why Why Incineration is not a solution Approach to Zero Waste Change

3 Zero Waste A goal that guides people in changing their practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles in which all discarded materials become resources for others. Zero Waste means: Designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials. Conserving and recovering all resources - not burning or burying them Eliminating all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health. (ZWIA definition)

4 Zero Waste No waste to be burned or buried Design principle Target Emulate nature –cycling materials as resources

5 Zero Waste System Courtesy: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Art –Sam Bradd

6 Why is Zero Waste important

7 Global Footprint Living Planet Report 2012

8 Rate of consumption Braungart & Scheelhaase -Catalyst Design Feb 2010

9 Climate change BC Government

10 Climate change US EPA study 37% of impact from products Stolaroff, 2009, Product Policy Institute

11 Need for jobs up to 7000 new green jobs if recycled all waste more if refurbished and repaired items new report at www. policyalternatives. ca/zero-waste

12 Economics Materials scarcer Cheap energy scarcer Manufacturing returning to NA Landfills filling and hard to site new ones Increasing standards and regulation

13 Zero Waste Index zero depletion of natural resources San Francisco 609 kg/capita Stockholm 480 kg/capita San Francisco 0. 51 (half material recovered) Stockholm 0. 17 (loss through incineration) Zaman & Lehmann (2013 Journal of Cleaner Production)

14 Incineration thermal treatment of waste to energy mass burn plasma arc gasification

15 GHG Biogenic CO 2 per MWh Stop Trashing the Climate Report

16 Energy value Material Energy (GJ/t) Plastics 36. 8 Paper 16. 5 Organics 8. 9 Metals 0. 7 Glass 0. 2 Metro Vancouver study 2007

17 Energy savings Energy value Source: Dr. Jeff Morris

18 Pollution all atoms that go in will come out –air or ash meets standards but standards keep changing as knowledge advances testing? –occasional or cumulative Precautionary Principle Table 24 –MOE Draft ZW Business Case

19 Other concerns Health –EU doctors, cancer, birth defects Expensive $470 million to build, consultants, staff, upgrades opportunity cost for what else could have been done Competes with Zero Waste looks for the same materials needs to run at maximum efficiency competes for funding and government support

20 Still need for landfills ash - up to 30% by weight more toxic ash issues

21 European direction Sweden importing waste Environment Commissioner –”Good waste management needs good will and good organisation: "zero waste" is completely possible” looking at banning incineration of recyclables and compostables by 2020

22 Why choose zero waste Measure Incineratio n Landfill Zero Waste Landfills filling - - + Soil depletion - - + Resource depletion -- - + Climate Change - - + Flexible, resilient -- - + Capacity building - - + Jobs 0 0 + Human Health -- - + Ecosystem Health -- - + Not reliant on wasting -- - +

23 What is in our waste?

24 Canada –wide Action Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility By 2015 By 2017 Packaging and print materials Construction and demolition Electronics and electrical products Furniture Mercury-containing Textiles/carpet Household hazardous waste Appliances (ozone –depleting) Automotive products

25 Systems approach City of Vancouver Approach City of Vancouver

26 Pollution Prevention Hierarchy Rethink Reduce Reuse Recycle Recover Retain

27 ZWIA hierarchy Reduce and conserve materials Encourage cyclical use/shift incentives Manufacturers redesign/takeback Reuse Recycle or compost Regulate disposal (bans, biological energy, landfills with preprocessing) Not Acceptable: burning MSW, bioreactor landfills (ZWIA, www. zwia. org/standards/zero-waste-hierarchy/, March 2013)

28 How do we get there? Composting Extended Producer Responsibility Design for the Environment Service, not good Community-based social marketing =changing behaviour and thought patterns

29 Change

30 Sue Maxwell Ecoinspire susanmaxwell@shaw. ca

31 Sources Metro Vancouver Solid Waste Composition Study 2007 http: //www. metrovancouver. org/about/publications/Publications/Solid. Waste. Composition. Study. Fi nal-2007. pdf City of Vancouver Greenest City Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (2009) Canada Wide Action Plan for EPR http: //www. ccme. ca/assets/pdf/epr_cap. pdf Stop Trashing the Climate http: //stoptrashingtheclimate. org Methodology for Allocating Municipal Solid Waste to Biogenic and Non-Biogenic Energy -EIA for US EPA Competition between Recycling and Incineration. Dr. Jeff Morris. http: //www. mindfully. org/Plastic/Recycling-And-Incineration. htm What’s best to do with leftovers on the way to zero waste. J. Morris, E. Favoino, E. Lombardi, K Bailey http: //www. ecocycle. org/specialreports#leftovers Closing the Loop – M. Lee, R. Legg, S. Maxwell, W. Rees http: //www. policyalternatives. ca/zero-waste Federal Court Strikes Down EPA’s Biomass Pollution Loophole http: //ecowatch. com/2013/courtstrikes-down-epa-biomass-loophole/ Cancer mortality in towns in the vicinity of incinerators and installations for the recovery or disposal of hazardous waste. Javier Garci a-Pe rez a, b, �, Pablo Ferna ndez-Navarro a, b, Adela Castello a, Mari a Felicitas Lo pez-Cima a, b, Rebeca Ramis a, b, Elena Boldo a, b, Gonzalo Lo pez-Abente a, b The Health Effects of Waste Incinerators -British Society for Ecological Medicine www. noharm. org/lib/downloads/waste/Health_Effects_of_Incinerators. pdf Zaman and Lehmann (2013) Journal of Cleaner Production http: //ec. europa. eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/324 na 3. pdf Zero Waste Business case (draft) MOE 2013 www. env. gov. bc. ca/epd/mun-waste/wastesolid/docs/zero_waste_business_case_draft. pdf) Zero Waste Europe Principles http: //www. zerowasteeurope. eu/wpcontent/uploads/2013/09/Introducing-ZWE-The-main-principles. pdf

32 Zero Waste Europe Culture change Engage the communities Infrastructure change Waste prevention Separate collection reduction of residual Industrial responsibility Kerbside collection Price Incentives

33 What to do with what’s left? Life Cycle Analysis comparing Mechanical Recovery with Biological Treatment, with landfill with varying levels of gas capture and waste to energy Morris, Favoino, Lombardi & Bailey

34 ZW -examples Individuals – Clean Bin Project Multi-family –Quayside Village Community–Strathcona Zero Waste Community Challenge Municipal governments –San Francisco, Cappanori Regional Districts –Nanaimo –has extensive recycling and composting Business –MEC, Toyota Vancouver Parts Dept Industry –Epson, HP, Xerox

35 GHG perspective 2010 landfill emissions 2409 t. CO 2 e 2011 waste transport emissions 365 t. CO 2 e 2006 landfill emissions over 22, 000 t. CO 2 e and then started landfill gas capture methane is 25 x CO 2 methane comes from organic matter breaking down without oxygen