Zero Waste – really

The following news release has been issued by Zero Waste Simcoe in response to a Bradford Times editorial. May 31 2010
Use the words Zero Waste in Simcoe County and get ready for strong reactions.  Zero Waste advocates hold it out as the solution to all our waste problems, while the unconvinced regard it politely as “pie in the sky”. These divergent opinions have a lot to do with the ill-defined nature of Zero Waste, its rapid evolution, its informality and even its very name.
What’s in a name? 
The problem for many is that the name is distracting. To say Zero Waste is to say you must show how to get rid of the last bag of garbage generated by the last resident of the County. Zero Waste fortunately is much more practical.  Zero Waste recognizes that we will have waste for some time. It will not go away in the next ten years. So as opposed to coming up with the 100% solution, lets find a way to get rid of 90% over the next ten years, then meet back here with all that new information and plan to get rid of 90% of the remainder.  Zero Waste is more a compass than an end-point.
The other criticism about Zero Waste is that it is somehow years from being implemented. Nothing could be further from the truth. 
Zero Waste is built upon two principles;
1.  Waste Hierarchy – Applying the 3Rs to our waste stream
2.   Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – The person who manufactured the waste is responsible for its recovery
The Waste Hierarchy can be practiced today, in our homes, in our offices, at school and one does not need the permission of government to do it. It could not get more immediate. Every time you choose a ceramic mug over a polystyrene cup; use a reusable shopping bag; or put organic waste in a Green Bin and not the green bag, you are practicing Zero Waste.  Do your individual efforts add up? Remember those plastic bags from the grocery stores that you used for 30 minutes and then went in landfill for the next 500 years?  Stores in my area have stopped using about 70% of those bags because residents are bringing reusable bags to the store. We can change.
Some parts of Zero Waste will take more time. Manufacturers are still producing goods that cannot be recovered. These are destined for landfill or incineration. Even with our best “3Rs” efforts we cannot stop some manufactured garbage. This is where the second principle, EPR, comes in. Manufacturers who adopt EPR can change how their products are made so they do not become garbage. They will need a few years to change over but it can be done.  Fortunately our Province is expected to encourage this change by passing EPR legislation in the very near future.
We residents of Simcoe County generate some 100,000 metric tones of waste each year. We have the tools today to stop and/or recover some 90% on that amount just by changing our attitude towards waste. We can do it. And when the Province gives us EPR, we can get rid of the last 10% as well. 
Then we will have Zero Waste – really.
Gord McKay
Chair, Zero Waste Simcoe