PEORIA -- Neil Seldman of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance had some interesting new ideas on recycling, when he spoke on June 6 at an event sponsored by Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste. About 50 people attended the event.
Seldman is a nationally recognized recycling expert and President of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (www.ilsr.org). Among his comments:
- The Earth's human population of more than 6 billion demands more resources but "the low hanging fruit is gone." That means recycling and reusing what we have making waste streams more and more valuable. There is more metal in landfills now than in mines.
- Organic waste, 50 percent of the US waste stream, can be turned into topsoil and methane gas.
- Big corporations in the waste business, including Waste Management, are buying composting and aerobic digesters to prepare for the future.
- Every ton that is recycled is worth $72 when the cost of saving landfill space is considered.
- Electronic waste should be dismantled locally, creating jobs, since the materials are valuable.
- A municipal landfill "is an incredibly valuable resource."
- Smart landfill operators are now recycling the metals and organics to save landfill space. They get paid twice, to take the waste, then to sell it.
- "Wherever there is civilization there is salvage" -- a pattern broken only briefly by post World War II prosperity in the USA. (Remember scrap drives and paper drives during that war?) That's ended now because we need the resources.
- The ideal recycling system is "pay as you throw"' and "make it mandatory." But in low income areas, the first garbage can should be free.
- Composting is easy and works will. Suburbanites should all do it. It's a good chore for children.
- Recycling creates jobs. It's happening in many cities, using unskilled labor trained to do the jobs.
- Building materials can be reused, and companies that deconstruct buildings and reuse the materials create jobs. "Everytime you add value you create jobs."
- 10,000 tons of waste going into a landfill creates 1 job, but recycled can create hundreds of jobs.
- Education and public awareness are needed to expand recycling. Children can be taught math and geography using recycling. Government must be the role model in recycling.
- Bottle bills are politically difficult and have their own issues. They encourage recycling. But items should be sold in refillable bottles, as they once were. Then "the big companies" figured out how to externalize their waste onto the public with throw-aways.
- Aluminum is too valuable to use for beverages, and recycling it causes toxic waste that is not recycled because there's no requirement to do so. "Using aluminum is stupid." But bottle bills encourage recycling and eliminate garbage.
- Politicians like big projects such as landfills which requiring bonding, which sends money to Wall Street and lawyers, who in turn contribute to politicans. Both major parties are guilty of falling for this method. But it's better to finance waste out of a municipal budget.
- A Citizens Advisory Committee can pressure politicians to do the right thing.
Chris Coulter of Peoria Disposal Co. attended the talk and commented that Peoria's recycling plan is a trade off between convenience and value. Separated recyclables have more value, but tossing all into a single container is more convenient, so that was the trade off to get recycling going, he said.
Seldman said to stick with the system that's working.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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