Article of potential interest in Resource Recycling
Kelley Dennings
Recycling professionals weigh in on zero waste
By Kelley Dennings
We’ve all watched the phenomenon since the COVID-19 pandemic began: As daily routines are disrupted and restaurants forced to focus on carryout orders, the piles of single-use food serviceware destined for landfills across the country continues to grow.
But takeout containers are just one example of how the pandemic has increased our consumption of throwaway items. COVID-19 has created great challenges for recycling and waste reduction, but it’s also highlighted why we urgently need to rethink how we design, use and dispose of items.
The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but uses 30% of all resources and creates 30% of all waste. Even before COVID-19, each person in the U.S. was creating nearly twice as much waste as a person did in 1960. All that waste contributes to the climate crisis, as does the production of all the stuff we purchase.
To better understand how to address our consumption woes, the Center for Biological Diversity, where I work, partnered with state recycling organizations in 2019 to conduct three focus groups around the topics of zero waste, extended producer responsibly and conscious consumption. These discussion groups were made up of mostly local and state government recycling professionals. The Center is a national, nonprofit conservation organization that uses science, law, organizing and creative media to protect wildlife and the wild places they need to thrive. That includes seeking solutions for reducing the pressure our consumption of stuff puts on the environment.
Kelley Dennings, PMP, MPH, CPH, FPHW