[GreenYes] Re: with $400 million, I think we could get darn close to ZW!

["Reindl, John" <Reindl@no.address>]

Hi Alan ~
 
Yes, I would say that, for example, transporting glass 1,000 miles for glass-to-glass recycling may result in the use of more energy and the emission of more pollutants to the atmosphere than alternative methods of handling that material.
 
I recommend that we do analyses of what the environmental impacts are of our decisions. I also recommend using an environmental valuation process to help us combine the range of impacts (a pound of arsenic or mercury to the air has a larger impact than a ton of carbon dioxide; environmental valuation can help show the different sizes of these impacts). 
 
Europe has used these methodologies to set green taxes. I suggest that we also explore this approach. 
 
John 

-----Original Message-----
From: GreenYes@no.address [mailto:GreenYes@no.address]On Behalf Of Alan Muller
Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 9:12 AM
To: Greenyes List
Subject: [GreenYes] Re: with $400 million, I think we could get darn close to ZW!


At 12:22 PM 6/29/2006 -0500, Reindl, John wrote:


I would hope that Zero Waste would also include a feature of minimizing the environmental impacts of the use/management of materials, or, at least reducing them to the point of sustainability (whatever that point may be). 100% (and even less than 100$) recovery can result in increasing these impacts and do more damage than good.
 
John 


John:

Could you expand a bit on what you are getting at here?  Obviously there are impacts associated with recovery and reuse of materials.  But we usually claim those impacts are less that the impacts of extracting and processing the virgin stuff we hope we are offsetting the use of.  Are you saying this isn't always the case?

Alan



-----Original Message-----


From: GreenYes@no.address [  <mailto:GreenYes@no.address> mailto:GreenYes@no.address]On Behalf Of Eric Lombardi


Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 12:05 PM


To: 'Eric Lombardi'; 'Greenyes List'


Subject: [GreenYes] Re: with $400 million, I think we could get darn close to ZW!



Sorry folks, I fell (again!) into the language trap of equating ZW with 100% Recovery.   I am really trying to talk about Zero Waste as something much bigger than the end-of-the-pipe world IâEUR(tm)ve lived in for so long.  Of course, maximum recovery is a cornerstone of a ZW Community, but it is only one piece.   In our opinion here at Eco-Cycle, there are three other âEURoeKEYâEUR? focus areas that need to grow in importance, and in our collective knowledgebase on the GreenYes list:  (1) âEURoeNew RulesâEUR? by government to go upstream and prevent waste before it is created; (2) Producer Responsibility - legal, financial and pphysical connection between producers and their End-Of-Life (EOL) responsibilities; and (3) The Power of Zero Waste Purchasing - are we buying the future we want??





  

(sorry for this personal conversation with myself in a public space...)





  



  

Eric Lombardi



Executive Director/CEO



Eco-Cycle Inc



Boulder, CO. USA



303-444-6634



www.ecocycle.org <http://www.ecocycle.org/>  





  

-----Original Message-----


From: GreenYes@no.address [  <mailto:GreenYes@no.address> mailto:GreenYes@no.address] On Behalf Of Eric Lombardi


Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 10:43 AM


To: 'Greenyes List'


Subject: [GreenYes] with $400 million, I think we could get darn close to ZW!





  




ST. LUCIE COUNTY FLORIDA WILL EMPLOY PLASMA ARC GASIFICATION TO DEAL WITH WASTE





  

St. Lucie County Commissioners recently authorized a plan to contract with Atlanta based Geoplasma LLC to build a plasma arc gasification plant that is expected to gasify at least 3,000 tons of waste per day. Plasma arcs produce a type of artificial lightning that heats anything in its path upwards of 7,000 degrees C. A byproduct of the process is combustible gas which, in this case, will be used to generate enough electricity to power 37,000 to 48,000 homes. The plant will cost $400 million and take two years to build.





  



  

Eric Lombardi



Executive Director/CEO



Eco-Cycle Inc



Boulder, CO. USA



303-444-6634



www.ecocycle.org <http://www.ecocycle.org/> 






  






Alan Muller, Executive Director
Green Delaware
Box 69
Port Penn, DE 19731 USA
(302)834-3466
fax (302)836-3005 
greendel@no.address
www.greendel.org <http://www.greendel.org/>  





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