My last blog was about how changing our approach to recycling from one of mere “diversion” to “destination” — that is, implementing a preplanned system of directing different materials for reprocessing – could best enable us to create a “zero waste world.” This again got me thinking about the meaning of “sustainability,” a subject which
In striving to create a waste-free world, it is important that we articulate not only our goals but the ways we plan to go about bringing them to fruition. I believe our objectives would be much better served in this regard with a simple word substitution. Rather than focusing on diversion rates as the way
After spending time at the Sustainable Packaging Forum 2012 and hearing some of the challenges involving recycling and the multiple approaches to it, from educating the public to spending billions on infrastructure, I couldn’t help but reflect back on a time when a ‘recycling mentality’ existed throughout America. Ask anyone who was around during the
Recently I met Farouk Banna of the World Bank, and we discussed the bank’s investments in the global waste business. What always strikes me is how the waste industry is all about collection and landfills. In fact, out of the $220 billion per year spent today, and even more importantly, the $375 billion anticipated annual
Last week, while attending the annual Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore, an annual lovefest of companies and individuals in a growing sector of the economy that I always find enjoyable, I decided to squeeze in another gathering – a random waste symposium in New York. As I entered the New York Harvard Club, however,
My previous blog was about the how the ultimate success of recycling programs with the long-range objective of achieving “zero waste” will depend not on incentives, but on instilling in the public a sense of respect for the intrinsic value of the things we now casually discard. No matter what physical assets we put in
In the course of nearly a decade spent working with and learning about waste streams and recycling technologies, I’ve managed to visit most of the countries that boast world-class reprocessing and recycling facilities and high percentages of waste diverted to other uses, as well as some at the bottom of the ‘refuse heap’. These experiences
I recently met with an entrepreneur who has an incredible product to offer the water conservation industry. As he quickly started rattling off schedules of ownership and budgets, I had to stop him because I wasn’t yet interested in the numbers or percentages involved. First, I wanted to determine whether I thought that both he
It’s often said that “timing is everything” (which is now even the title of a popular song). And we often see examples that seem to bear that out – instances where the timing of a particular endeavor spelled the difference between success and failure. But just how important is timing in the realization of our