This report, completed for Greenpeace China, critiques plans to build a waste incinerator in Hong Kong and presents a more rationale non-burn discard management strategy. It provides a blueprint for moving toward zero waste policies and programs in Hong Kong. The report presents zero waste as a philosophy and a design principle for the 21st Century … Read More
More than 70% of soda and beer containers are refilled in Finland, Denmark, and Germany, where policies are in place to require, if not support refilling. In the U.S., less than 5% of beverage containers are refilled. U.S. beverage companies offer their products for sale in Europe and elsewhere in refillables. Why not in the U.S.? … Read More
Citizen Perseverance Pays Off; Still a Way to Go for a Zero Waste City By Neil Seldman and Kelly Lease Neil Seldman is Director of the Waste to Wealth Program and Kelly Lease is the program’s Senior Research Associate at ILSR. Seldman is a co-founder of the National Recycling Coalition and the GrassRoots Recycling Network. Please … Read More
Recycling is an economic development tool as well as an environmental tool. Reuse, recycling, and waste reduction offer direct development opportunities for communities. When collected with skill and care, and upgraded with quality in mind, discarded materials are a local resource that can contribute to local revenue, job creation, business expansion, and the local economic base.… Read More
Between 1990 and 1993, ILSR published its Facts to Act On series, 38 articles covering a wide range of topics on recycling, waste management, and grassroots organizing. The series was renewed between 2000 and 2002.… Read More
Twenty years ago, many solid waste planners thought no more than 15% to 20% of the municipal waste stream could be recycled. ILSR’s 1988 publication, Beyond 25%: Materials Recovery Age Comes of Age, shattered this myth. It featured 15 communities recycling 25% or more of their residential and commercial/institutional discards. Our 1991 report Beyond 40%: Record-Setting … Read More
MEDIA ADVISORY January 11, 2002 For Immediate Release Contact: Dr. Neil Seldman, Ph. D. 202-898-1610 Recycling Sector Has 30-Year Record of Impressive Growth Washington, D.C. — Recent economic and employment news has been somewhat grim. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent in December 2001 – the highest in six years. The economy may be … Read More
Alameda County, California (pop. 1.46 million), diverts almost 60% of its municipal solid waste, making it one of the nation’s record-setting recycling communities. The Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recycling Board deserves much credit. This glossy booklet — chock full of case studies and photographs — features the Board’s source reduction, reuse, construction material recycling, … Read More
September, 20 2001 Mr. Allan Gerlat, Editor Waste News, Akron, OH Dear Editor, Bob Eisenbud, Director of Legislative Affairs for Waste Management, Inc., said that the problem with recycling today is commodity prices, not relatively cheap landfills (“Recyclers oppose tax breaks,” Waste News, September 3, 2001). We disagree. Commodity prices do not drive recycling. The actual … Read More
