With the year 75% behind us, a pause in the action to review the data from ZeroLandfill 2008. The NE Ohio project has recently closed
and the totals are no less than amazing :
~31.5 tons of specification materials diverted from the NE Ohio waste stream
~ 866 pounds of collected materials actually entered the waste stream (1.37% of total handled)
~372 arts educators and artists participated in the 90 day project
~80 interior design firms, architecture firms, and manufacturers participated
~38 volunteers made it all work
Adding in the Boston and Cincinnati project totals from 2008 and ZeroLandfill
has achieved a significant milestone on its 3rd anniversary. Since the first
collection/distribution project on September 1, 2006, the ZeroLandfill program
has repurposed 75.25 tons of specification samples that traditionally enter the
waste stream at the end of service life. That’s over 150,000 pounds of items
diverted from landfills; items that weigh less than a pound apiece on average.
That’s a lot of stuff.
That deserves a round of applause !
Next up? ZeroLandfill Akron, a pilot project to explore the feasibility of zero waste action in the Akron/Canton market.
In the meantime, the ZeroLandfill Blog is heading to Pittsburgh for the National Recycling Coalition Expo where our story will be shared and new ideas and innovation in zero waste practices await discovery. More after the show.
ZeroLandfill Boston Team Celebrates 6,000 Pounds Diverted From The Waste Stream
September 19th, 2008
Known for producing rugged footwear and outdoor gear, Timberland faced a challenge in aligning their product R&D and manufacturing goals with their commitment to environmental stewardship. Couched in their relentless pursuit of excellence in every phase of the operation, Timberland took it upon themselves to develop a sustainability protocol that focused on green product design, recycling, clean manufacturing, energy efficiency, and human rights. Waste in it’s many forms has been wrung out of every aspect of the organization.
The results? A commitment to be climate neutral by the year 2010. Brand responsibility such as the development of the Earthkeeper line of footwear. Reduced resource consumption. Increased market share. A shrinking carbon footprint.
Betsy Bliasdell, Timberland’s Manager of Environmental Stewardship tells the story of this remarkable transformation on Friday September 19th at E4S’ monthly network meeting in Cleveland. To learn more about this informative presentation and to register click Entrepreneurs for Sustainability.
September 10th, 2008
The mission of ZeroLandfill is two-fold: 1) disrupt the flow of viable materials entering the solid waste stream unnecessarily and 2) return the materials to the community where they hold value for other processes and audiences. Three supply constituencies have stepped forward as the source to this stream (now a river) of creative items: architects, interior designers, and manufacturers. Likewise, three demand audiences have emerged with an interest in repurposing these items through ZeroLandfill: arts educators, artists, and non-profits.
One local arts educator blogs on the critical need for alternative supply and funding streams to ensure a fulfilling experience for student and teacher. It is not an easy road to traverse. ZeroLandfill appreciates the dedication of today’s arts educator and practicing artist both as entrepreneurial thinkers and vanguards of the creative process. Part two of our mission is reflective of the condition of need that is omnipresent in our community today. Our work continues, driven by the demand to connect viable material streams to other segments of the local economy where the embodied value of manufactured items can be placed back into service.
August 26th, 2008
ZeroLandfill visits groups in Kentucky and Ohio this week to present the evolving story of industry driven beneficial reuse to the city centers of IIDA (International Interior Design Association) in Lousiville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, and Cleveland. All five markets are in various stages of organizing or managing a ZeroLandfill project. A report from the field will be posted at the conclusion of this road trip.
Serious inquiries about launching ZeroLandfill in Orlando/Melbourne, Chicago and San Francisco have been received of late. A busy fall…
August 18th, 2008
The data collected during ZeroLandfill programs this summer is compelling and raises several key questions as the work continues.
To reset the dashboard, ZeroLandfill 2008 has distributed nearly 70,000 pounds of recovered materials this summer to local artists, arts educators, and arts education programs in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Boston. Other audiences have joined in to receive materials, ranging from community garden groups (bricks for raised beds) to vocational training programs (fabric for locallly produced reusable shopping bags).
What is most compelling however, is the average overall distribution yield that ZeroLandfill has maintained weekly. Since the first ZeroLandfill Harvest date 14 weeks ago in Boston, the program has held a steady average rate of 5,000 lbs of materials repurposed back into the community each week. While that may not seem like a lot of volume, consider that the most popular items selected by the various constituents of ZeroLandfill weigh less than 2 pounds each (a brick, a fabric book, a carpet tile, a 3 ring binder, etc). There have been spikes in the weekly volume from time to time to represent the spikes in donated materials; a lot of brick and stone sample donations from architects and manufacturers on any given date = a spike in brick and stone samples distributed back into the community. In other words, the demand equals the supply in certain categories that are common to the specification process by the interior design and architectural industry. If it shows up as ZeroLandfill Pollinates and Cultivates the industry, it will be Harvested by the community. The needs of the communities served by ZeroLandfill will continue to grow as funding is harder to attract and operating costs (energy) grow.
So the question on the table follows: If a major market such as Boston, Cleveland, or Cincinnati pulls over 1.5 tons of “sponsored waste” weekly out of the market, what is the real opportunity
for repurposing materials of value away from the waste stream and back into the community? Several hunches fall along these lines :
1) designing a self sustaining permanent year round program vs. a seasonal program is in order
2) establishing a more user friendly process for supply and demand participants, where materials are identified and distributed from their source versus double handling items in and out of a central distribution location
3) capturing the ongoing, dynamic needs of demand audiences in real time so materials of value can be isolated and redirected efficiently upstream, as close to the manufacturing source as possible.
As any ZeroLandfill volunteer can attest, there is a great deal of heavy lifting, not to mention fossil fuel miles, associated with a successful beneficial reuse effort. A more efficient and sustainable model for ZeroLandfill activities deserves to be explored so the impact can be more wide ranging for both the supply and demand participant. All without losing the personal touch offered by the connection of for-profit and non-profit markets.
Comments? Please share.
August 11th, 2008
Next couple of days are busy at ZeroLandfill.
Will post on the other side.
August 7th, 2008
In 2008, ZeroLandfill NE Ohio has distributed over 37,000 pounds of materials and samples donated by 50 local architecture and interior design firms as well as interior product manufacturers. Some findings yielded by the close handling and sorting of this viable material stream :
~THE THREE RING BINDER remains the largest classification of materials (by cubic volume) that ZeroLandfill is handling this year, which is consistent with our past project experience in 2006 and 2007. It appears that the convenience of a three ring binder is waning in the industry…while convenient for the manufacturer binders quickly become inconvenient for the users. Couple of reasons, based on discussions with industry participants: binders are maintenance intense, requiring lots of handling to keep current; they occupy a lot of shelf space, space that could be dedicated to other facility needs; and they are difficult to deconstruct. A typical three ring binder is difficult to recycle, it is made up of a minimum of 5 separate materials (vinyl skin, cardboard inserts, polymer divider elements, paper contents, and metal rings). This year alone, ZeroLandfill NE Ohio has recycled 1.5 tons of paper contents removed from nearly 1,000 donated three ring binders. A quick deconstruction experiment on a randomly selected binder showed that it takes a minimum of 10 minutes to properly dismantle a typical three ring binder (if you have the right tools) and separate the 5 elements for recycling/disposal.
The general consensus from industry participants this year - either offer a recycling project to reuse existing three ring binders that become obsolete, or completely ban the binder in favor of oniine reference materials. Other suggestions include offering an alternative method of housing printed material such as a single material binder or reference box that can easily be managed during its useful life and then dismantled and recycled at end of life.
~THE CARPET BOOK is close behind the three ring binder in terms of cubic volume collected. The problems of managing three ring binders in the industry as discussed above can be applied to carpet books as well. Carpet books tend to be maintenance intense (keeping up with discontinuations and line changes), occupy a lot of shelf space, and are difficult to deconstruct for recycling in most (but not all) cases. ZeroLandfill NE Ohio has collected several thousand carpet books to date that are deemed obsolete or unneeded by the specifier and mfg. rep. community. Many are being picked up for use by local educators and artists, but the supply outweighs the demand at the moment. As ZeroLandfill deconstructs this mountain of cardboard books and swatch inserts (separating the two materials for recycling), it is amazing to see how much glue is used to secure a carpet sample to the page. The ZeroLandfill project team and volunteer corps currently suffers from Carpet Tunnel Syndrome, a temporary condition caused by the repeated removal of carpet samples from carpet books.
As one volunteer quipped this past week while pulling carpet books apart, there is somebody in a carpet mill right now gluing carpet samples into new books while we pull apart these old carpet books. Reforming this method of sampling follows the same lines as the suggested solutions to the three ring binder dilemma: mfgs can offer a recycling program for discontinued books (some are doing this already), or provide an online reference system for specifiers to start the color/pattern/tech spec. decision making process before moving into live samples. Until this portion of managing samples is reformed, the mountain of carpet books will continue to grow unabated.
Not documented here is the adverse impact of rising energy costs for transporting and handling of these two commodities on the manufacturer’s bottom line. While both three ring binders and carpet books are heavy in terms of net shipping weight, a fair amount of air is delivered with the goods as well. Is there a better use of the marketing and transportation dollar by the manufacturer to ensure specifiers receive the information needed to protect and defend the integrity of their design and the needs of their customers?
Feel free to comment and share your ideas…
August 4th, 2008
The art supply and classroom material distributions that took place over the weekend in Cincinnati and Cleveland moved the project needle past the 100,000 pound mark for repurposed samples distributed in the community by ZeroLandfill since its inception in 2006.
That deserves a big WOW!
Thanks to the following people who helped plan the work of ZL to achieve this important milestone :
David, Jeff, Christy, Deirdre, Mike, Amy, Mike, Judy, Amanda, Erin, Courtney, Kelly, Tim, Krista, Kristie, Susan, Suzanne, Jenna, and all of the design firms that donated materials and supplies.
How about One Million Pounds distributed by 2010 ?
July 28th, 2008
ZeroLandfill is a grassroots beneficial reuse program started in Cleveland Ohio in 2006 by several individuals working in the architectural and interior design industry. Concerned by the lack of a formal recycling program for the staggering amount of specification materials used in the facility design and renovation process, the ZeroLandfill team decided to develop a program that diverted these items from the waste stream and find new audiences in the community who placed value in the materials.
Now, instead of ending up in a landfill or an incinerator, manufacturer samples such as carpet tiles, wallcovering samples, fabric swatches, ceramic tiles, and three ring binders are collected from participating firms and placed in the hands of local artists, artisans, arts educators, and school teachers where they find new life as studio materials and classroom supplies.
To date, ZeroLandfill has diverted from the dumpster and returned to the community nearly 89,000 pounds of specification waste through regularly scheduled Harvest events where the arts and education community are invited in to collect the specification materials. The original program in Cleveland has inspired other communities to adopt a ZeroLandfill project in their market; work is underway in Cincinnati, Akron, Louisville, Minneapolis, Toledo, and (recently completed) Boston.
New relationships are fostered in the community, landfill pressure is reduced, and awareness of how sustainability can look for an organization, a city, or an entire industry are just some of the benefits accrued by the work of ZeroLandfill. Happy teachers, specifiers, and artists make it all worth while.
July 26th, 2008
ZeroLandfill is :
a) a condition we strive to achieve someday through innovation, collaboration, and creative problem solving
b) a beneficial reuse project launched in the interior design industry to responsibly dispose of waste created by the specification process
c) a catch-all phrase that describes a zero waste approach to a process or system
d) a fun and committed group of people collaborating across the US to make a difference in their industry and their community
e) all of the above
July 23rd, 2008
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