Maggie Clarke New York Oct 31, 2009 13:49 pm

I don't know if folks noticed the zero waste article on the front page of the New York Times on Tuesday of last week (Oct 20). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/earth/20trash.html Zero waste, which simply means all discards are prevented (by change in behavior, largely), reused (also change in behavior), recycled or composted, was described as coming from the fringes to the mainstream. One of the volunteers in the zero waste conference early last week worked to get the article in the Times; two of the speakers at the conference were featured in the article. I spoke at the conference on the range of waste prevention recommendations that I and others have made to New York City over the last 20 years. http://www.grrn.org/conference2009/general/agenda.php I consider that zero waste has everything to do with fostering sustainable behavior. You can't achieve zero waste without significant changes in behavior. Sometimes those behaviors change because of educational programs, but other times it requires legislation, incentives, and many other modalities.

Maggie Clarke
Maggie Clarke Environmental
United States
www.maggieclarkeenvironmental.com