Amy Westervelt has written two recent articles on why recycling is failing and how corporate America can save recycling. (“Can Recycling Be Bad for the Environment?” and “How Corporate America Might Just Save Recycling”) The articles present anecdotes as facts and facts without proper analysis. Much like the recent book Recycling Reconsidered by Samantha MacBride, Westervelt calls … Read More
Impressions of Recycling Reconsidered By Samantha MacBride Reviewed for GreenYes Listserve Ms. MacBride makes zero waste one of her central concerns. She provides the best description and analysis of the recycling movement I have seen to date. It is not perfect, but she captures the nuances that link and yet differentiate components of the movement. The … Read More
At its meeting on Dec. 15th, 2011, the Austin City Council unanimously approved the Austin Resource Recovery Master Plan, a long-term plan that empowers the Austin community to achieve a drastic reduction in the amount of trash landfilled and aim for zero waste. In 2009, City Council passed Texas’ first Zero Waste Plan and set a … Read More
Directing Federal Stimulus Money to Real Green Projects published at http://www.emagazine.com/archive/4601 “Shovel-ready” is the key to the Obama Administration’s plan for a rapid flow of money to city public works projects in its effort to stimulate green jobs, green infrastructure and local spending. But is this plan practical? Do cities have “shovel-ready” green projects? Most projects … Read More
Recycling and the New York Times by David Morris July 30, 1996 “Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America…” Thus wrote John Tierney, a staff writer for the New York Times in a recent Sunday magazine cover story. The article generated more mail than any piece the magazine has ever published and spawned … Read More
The recovery of more than 40 percent of municipal solid waste is now a reality. This report establishes materials recovery as a cost-effective, primary waste management strategy. The operating experiences of 17 communities—urban, suburban, and rural—are extensively documented. The book includes 58 charts with specifics of recycling and composting programs, breakdowns of capital and operating costs, … Read More
The garbage wars have begun. The well-publicized odyssey of the wandering garbage barge from Islip, Long Island in New York, is but the latest in a series of skirmishes that threaten the very political fabric of this country.… Read More
