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I know there are those with, shall we say, mixed
feeling a/b the NRC.
Still I believe this is very good
news worth sharing
Thanks
Rod Muir
Waste Diversion Campaigner
The Sierra Club of Canada
NATIONAL RECYCLING COALITION
TO FOCUS ON WASTE DIVERSION'S ROLE
IN THE MITIGATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE
During the closing plenary session of
it's annual conference, held this year in Denver, CO., the NRC introduced it's
"Climate Change Initiative". Noting that, "the forming of new public policies to
address climate change provides an extraordinary opportunity for the recycling
community", the session focused "on the NRC's initiative to establish
recycling's role in environmental, energy and economic sustainability and to
recognize the value of recycling in a carbon constrained world"
The launch followed two earlier
sessions at the conference. The first "Setting a Place at the Climate Change
Table". After acknowledging "the benefits of recycling in lowering energy demand
during material extraction and production and eliminating the emissions
associated with waste management" sought to "discuss whether the benefits of
recycling were being appropriately addressed at the various levels of
government".
Speakers were John Armstrong Fort
Collins CO., Margo Reid Brown, CIWMB, Chair and Washington Lawyer, Peter Grey.
John, indeed set the table by sharing with the audience that the mix of
recyclable containers could be made using 1/3 the energy vs. prime (virgin)
material. Ms. Reid-Brown cited Zero Waste principles when she remarked upon the
need for Producer not just Government responsibility. And Peter described the
perfect storm gathering around the climate change issue, in next year's
Presidential election.
The second session was entitled
"Climate Change and Organics Material Management" and featured "experts from
around the country (to) explain the unique position of organics management
relative to efforts to mitigate climate change". Dr. Sally Brown, U. of
Washington made several significant points. The first, that given methane (CH4)
has a global warming potential 23 times greater than CO2, a ton of foodscraps
buried in a landfill, under anaerobic conditions, produces 5 tons of CO3e.
Second that as this gassing over occurs quite rapidly landfill gas capture
systems are, to paraphrase, to little to late.
To continue, Scott Subler
Environmental Credit Corp. a Chicago based emissions credit trader, talked as
would be expected about the potential to trade outset emissions credits from
composting. Matt Cotton, representing the U.S Composting Council, identified
infrastructure as a significant barrier, saying that while 4,000 compost
facilities exist in the Unites States just 100 take foodscrap material. Finally
Rod Muir imploded all, to position, both to they residents and politicians,
foodscrap collection as the logical "next step" in our diversion
efforts.
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