Zero-Waste Going Mainstream?

The New York Times examines a handful of places in the US embracing zero-waste policies, how they're doing it, and what challenges lie ahead.

1 minute read

October 22, 2009, 6:00 AM PDT

By Alek Miller

"Americans are still the undisputed champions of trash, dumping 4.6 pounds per person per day, according to the E.P.A.'s most recent figures. More than half of that ends up in landfills or is incinerated.

But places like the island resort community of Nantucket offer a glimpse of the future. Running out of landfill space and worried about the cost of shipping trash 30 miles to the mainland, it moved to a strict trash policy more than a decade ago, said Jeffrey Willett, director of public works on the island.

Jim Lentowski, executive director of the nonprofit Nantucket Conservation Foundation and a year-round resident since 1971, said that sorting trash and delivering it to the local recycling and disposal complex had become a matter of course for most residents."

FULL STORY: Nudging Recycling From Less Waste to None

Monday, October 19, 2009 in The New York Times

Environment United States Sustainability Landfills Zero-Waste

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