Thanks to the Building Materials Reuse Association – BMRA (https://bmra.org/) – for sharing this unique celebration of International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2017. Congratulations to ILSR friends Ruthie, and Diane, pictured, and all the other women in deconstruction and reuse. … Read More
The winners for the 8th annual deconstruction materials construction contest have been announced by the ReUse People of America by Ted Reiff, TRP founder and director. Awards were made in two categories: Art and Furniture, Remodeling and Construction. First to … Read More
On February 15th, 2017, the Maryland House of Delegates’ Committee on Environment and Transportation conducted a hearing on House Bill 229: “Polystyrene Food Service Products and Polystyrene Loose Fill Packaging – Prohibition on Sale.” The legislation, which was introduced by Maryland Delegate Brooke Lierman (District 46), seeks to ban polystyrene (otherwise known as styrofoam) food service products due to its adverse impacts on disposal, the waste stream generally, and the environment.… Read More
California Assembly Member Mark Stone (D, 29th Assembly District – Monterrey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties) introduced Assembly Bill 319, which would prohibit retailers, by 2020, from selling beverages in bottles with a cap that is not tethered to … Read More
In this episode, Christopher Mitchell, the director of ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative, interviews Brenda Platt, ILSR co-director and director of our Waste to Wealth initiative. The two discuss the history of ILSR’s Zero Waste work and how the conversation around composting and waste has changed in her 30 years at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.… Read More
Now that 2016 is firmly in the rearview mirror, we are looking back at some of the great work that we did in our Waste to Wealth initiative during the year. We’ve broken down some of our top content into … Read More
The idea of reaching for zero waste is contagious and improves with each new effort to reach 90% or more diversion from landfill and incinerators. The city of Parma, Italy, population 190,000 jumped from 45% recycling in 2012 to just … Read More
The city of Niagara Falls, population 50,000, increased recycling efforts through education, public awareness and new enforcement procedures. In nearby Buffalo, NY progress is slower. Niagara Falls had the lowest curbside recycling rate in the region at 4 percent, a … Read More
Technology has a role in moving toward a goal of zero waste, but so does the “soft” infrastructure of citizen activism and effective policies. No matter how smart a city is, however, getting to zero waste isn’t going to be … Read More
