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Eureka Recycling is the only organization in Minnesota that specializes in zero waste, and is one of the largest zero-waste organizations in the nation. Our services, programs, and policy work present solutions to the social, environmental, and health problems caused by wasting. We track national, regional and local developments, using our expertise to advocate for practices that help individuals, organizations, and communities understand the significance of zero waste and to achieve their own zero-waste goals.
· What is zero waste? · What is extended producer responsibility? · How are recycling, composting and climate change linked? · Common Recycling Questions such as Why can’t I recycle more plastic?, Does it matter how my recycling is collected?, Do my materials really get recycled?
In a zero waste system, materials are designed and managed to be conserved and recovered, rather than destroyed, buried or transformed in ways that limit our ability to safely reuse them for productive purposes. Communities and businesses currently in the process of adopting zero waste goals look to examples of ecological systems, where the output of one system becomes the input for another system, the way decomposition and decay form the basis of nourishment for new organisms. To learn more about zero waste, visit EcoCycle, Grassroots Recycling Network, and the Zero Waste Alliance.
The City of Saint Paul sets goal to be zero-waste city by 2020 In 2005, residents from throughout Saint Paul participated in the Saint Paul Environmental Roundtable to help set Saint Paul's policy direction on six environmental issues: zero waste, food systems, cleaner energy, green building, open space, and water stewardship. In 2006, as a result of the Roundtable recommendations, the City of Saint Paul adopted the goal of being a zero waste city by 2020 and created Sustainable Saint Paul to carry out the city's environmental work. Eureka Recycling works closely with the City to craft zero-waste policies and strategic plans to achieve zero waste. Many communities around the country and around the world are adopting policies and strategic plans to move towards Zero Waste. In 2005 Eureka Recycling convened the Saint Paul Environmental Roundtable. The work of the Roundtable, made up of residents from throughout Saint Paul, culminated in the passage of a resolution to set Saint Paul’s policy direction on six environmental issues: zero waste, food systems, cleaner energy, green building, open space and water stewardship. In 2006, as a result of the roundtable recommendations, the City of Saint Paul adopted the goal of being a zero waste city by 2020. Recognizing the need to provide all communities clear and concise examples for crafting zero waste policies and strategic plans to achieve zero waste, Eureka Recycling has compiled a Zero Waste Ordinance Resource Guide with nearly 70 examples from communities that are leading the way! The Zero Waste Resource Guide was first presented at the Alliance For Sustainability’s “Local Government Sustainability Workshop – Using Model Sustainability Ordinances to Implement your City’s Sustainability Goals” in Saint Paul, MN on April 16th, 2008. What is Extended Producer Responsibility?
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), also referred to as Product Stewardship, is an approach that shifts responsibility for the recycling, composting, or safe disposal of products and packaging to those who design, market and profit from them: the producers. This shift makes it possible to completely empty our trash can of the “toughest” trash. Consider these figures from US EPA for 2007: Nearly three-quarters (73.3%) of the waste we generate is throw-away products and packaging. According to a new study released in September by the Product Policy Institute, 44% of US greenhouse gas emissions come from products and packaging.
Waste has become institutionalized in our society. It has become embedded in our communities so that we see it as a normal part of daily life. Our tolerance of wasting has grown to the point where we not only take waste for granted as inevitable, but actively plan for its growth. Some are now seeing municipal waste as a "renewable resource", a replacement for declining fossil fuels to power our economy. But there is a better way: waste is completely preventable. Together we can transform our throw-away society into a zero-waste society! Eureka Recycling is working in partnership with the Product Policy Institute, a North American not-for-profit working to prevent waste, to build local public support for extended producer responsibility, which makes producers responsible and accountable for producing better products and less waste.
Eureka Recycling, Minnesota’s zero-waste nonprofit, is working in partnership with the Product Policy Institute to build local public support for extended producer responsibility, which makes producers responsible and accountable for producing better products and less waste.
What’s happening in Minnesota? In Minnesota, State Representatives Paul Gardner and Britta Sailer have authored Producer Responsibility “framework” legislation (HF2407). The “framework” approach allows one law to establish producer responsibility as policy and gives state government the authority to address multiple products over time. Several provinces in Canada, including British Columbia, already have framework regulations in place. To learn more, visit the Product Policy Institute website and contact Eureka Recycling to get involved. Contact your legislator to voice your support for this framework legislation. Healthy Legacy, a Minnesota nonprofit organization, is working to remove toxic chemicals from products. In May 2009, Minnesota became the first state to ban BPA (Bisphenol A) from baby bottles and sipply cups. BPA, a common chemical that helps harden plastic, is found in many plastic food storage containers. It also lines the inside surface of metal food and soft-drink cans. Furthermore, the Minnesota Toxic Free Kids Act (Minn. Stat. 116.9401 – 116.9407) became law in May 2009. It establishes a framework by which the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), in consultation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), will compile a list of chemicals of high concern. It also requires the MDH to designate and publish a list of priority chemicals in children’s products by February 1, 2011.
Top How are recycling, composting and climate change linked?
The energy saving benefits of recycling has been touted for years—for example, making a new aluminum can from old cans results in 90-97% energy savings compared to making a new can from bauxite and other raw materials—but calculations about the benefits of composting are just surfacing. We now have a full report prepared on the environmental benefits of recycling and composting. You can read it to learn more or simply take the Minnesota Energy Challenge to see how you can make a difference by recycling and composting. For additional information about the impacts of wasting in terms of climate change, read Stop Trashing the Climate, a report issued in June 2008 by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the Global Anti-Incineration Alliance, and Eco-Cycle. Common Questions about Recycling As a mission-driven organization, one of Eureka Recycling’s goal is to make sure that the materials people recycle are used for their highest benefit. This means that all of the significant environmental and social benefits of recycling are realized: materials really get recycled, programs are cost-effective, recycling is convenient for people to do, and that there are good, green jobs that pay livable wages. These resources outline some of the deeper issues in recycling and answer some of the most common questions we get about recycling every day.
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