Do you know why cities all around the world are setting Zero Waste goals and implementing plans to achieve these goals? There are multiple reasons. Probably the most compelling reason for a majority of cities is the fact that waste is valuable. That’s not the mentality with which most of us have been raised, is it? Garbage is garbage. You throw it in a bag, put on the street for your local sanitation workers to cart away, and it’s thrown into a hole somewhere far away. Good riddance! Today, though, more and more cities and businesses are waking up to the idea that our waste can be mined for resources; there are perfectly good metals, plastics, organics and wood in the landfill. Billions of dollars of resources are thrown into these stinking holes every year.
Being wise with the way we use and re-use our (waste) resources is also incredibly important for the environment. Zero Waste means cities or businesses are working to be as efficient as they can possibly be, refusing to waste the earth’s water, oil, minerals, metals and materials. For some, the fact that Zero Waste is one of the healthiest choices we can make for our earth is a convincing reason to put such a plan in place.
Our team passionately believes in both the economic and environmental promise of Zero Waste. That’s why members of our team have been working to make sure Zero Waste becomes a reality in Dallas, Texas (among other cities) for years. In fact, we first started advocating for a Dallas Zero Waste goal in 2010, when we met with the Sanitation Department Director to tell him about this fairly new movement among progressive cities. Around this time, we also brought Gary Liss to Dallas to offer a Zero Waste training. The author of Austin, Texas’ Zero Waste plan among numerous other municipal Zero Waste plans, Mr. Liss is one of the foremost Zero Waste experts in the world. The city opted not to attend this training (though Dallas did attend our Zero Waste training last year), but many local businesses did. Getting local businesses trained to work with the city on Zero Waste is key to the implementation of municipal Zero Waste plans.
Soon after our meeting, Dallas took its first step on the Zero Waste path. The city adopted a Zero Waste goal – which was good, but, unfortunately, they also passed an ordinance called flow control – which was not so good. Instead of giving the community access to the valuable municipal waste stream (discarded resources that can be used to make new products) as we believe should happen with the implementation of good municipal Zero Waste plans, Dallas tried to monopolize the waste for their own use by controlling the flow of waste (flow control). Eventually, a federal court ruled that Dallas’ monopolization of the waste was illegal, and the city had to rethink its Zero Waste plan.
Since that time, we had the opportunity to train several Dallas officials (along with representatives from surrounding Dallas suburbs and Fort Worth) at a Zero Waste workshop hosted by Northlake College, so we know they are on track with the right information.
This week, we checked in with city officials to find out how much progress Dallas has made in the quest to become a Zero Waste city since we last spoke at our training. Recent developments include the planned construction of a new recycling facility on the McCommas Bluff Landfill site in Southern Dallas, thanks to Spanish firm, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, known as FCC, owned partially by billionaires Bill Gates, George Soros and Carlos Slim. Additionally, Green Dallas (the City of Dallas’ sustainability office) told us that Dallas is addressing their Zero Waste plan in phases; currently, they are “working on multi-family recycling, and using other cities' experiences to create a successful program. We are working with organizations like the North Central Texas Stewardship Forum and the North Texas Corporate Recycling Association to offer more options to local residents and companies. We have electronics recycling, cooking oil recycling, and other programs open to Dallas residents. There are many groups that have organized around food waste, and that will be a topic as we move forward with our Local Foods, Local Places program. I hope this helps you get a better picture of what we have to offer."
They also asked us to check out their calendar for some upcoming solid waste workshops presented by the NCTCOG Transportation Department.
Going forward, our team will continue to advocate for Zero Waste actions that will benefit Dallas’ economics while also improving the lives of city residents and ensuring responsible stewardship of the earth’s invaluable resources. Please let us know what we can do for your city or business, as well. Our Zero Waste consultations and trainings help municipalities and businesses to achieve maximum efficiency and sustainability while optimizing economics. Contact [email protected] for more information.
