Guest Speaker: Gary Liss

Gary Liss talked to our class today about zero waste. It was an interesting and new concept to me... in order to be considered as producing zero waste you have to have 97% clean, recycled, non-producing waste. Its interesting to think about because even recycling plastics produces waste and uses energy in the recycling process, so how do we achieve zero waste? The most alarming yet unsurprising thing I learned was that landfills are the number one largest source of greenhouse gases, over our cars and factories.... it is our trash that continues to trash and harm the environment. It was really interesting to hear about companies that produce zero waste, like this carpet company that just uses squares that are free of glues and all the toxic stuff---and they recycle their own carpet rather than having it go to a landfill. Gary talked about how in order to have zero waste, people and companies must practice more than just reduce, reuse, recycle, but also practice refuse and return. There is no pressure like consumer pressure, companies will respond if you won't accept their product and its practices. It wasn't surprising that San Francisco and Santa Cruz are zero waste cities because they are typically on the verge of environmental revolutions. It was really awesome to learn of how many cities have already achieved zero waste. It is awesome because it shows the rest of the world that it is possible. We just have to change our thinking from a merely recycle concept, to include more sustainable practices and seek our companies that abide by our standards of non-polluting operations. The stage has been set and we've seen that its possible, now the public just has to act. Its an awesome concept and we shouldn't and don't have the time to wait any longer.