Celebrating progress in Missoula toward Zero by Fifty

Kelly Hess

Recently, we had the opportunity to stand with Mayor Davis as she proclaimed April Zero Waste Action Month. In 2018, the City of Missoula adopted the “ZERO By FIFTY” plan to achieve zero waste by 2050.

The goal was to involve residents, businesses, and the university in various projects, educational efforts, and policy changes to substantially decrease waste in our community.

Preventing waste from entering landfills is essential for cutting methane emissions. When organic materials are dumped in landfills, they decompose and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Methane's warming effect is more than 80 times greater than that of CO2 over 20 years.

At Home ReSource, we take the Zero By Fifty initiative very seriously and have been thrilled by all the community’s efforts.

● We worked with Missoula County Public Health to open a Household Chemical Disposal site on our property.

● Our community now has a municipally-owned compost facility.

● Home ReSource Green Teams are at many large community events, like the Western Montana Fair, Roots Fest, Missoula Marathon, Pride, and the Zootown Music Festival.

● Every MCPS elementary school has implemented zero-waste systems in cafeterias.

● We helped businesses transition to zero waste.

These are just a few efforts that have made a remarkable impact. The Zero by Fifty plan set an interim goal of 30% waste diversion by 2025, and we’ve reached 31%! Making it the first climate action goal that we’ve achieved in our community.

But our work isn’t done.

The year-round Household Chemical Disposal Site at Home ReSource is now open every Monday. We are working with the city to open a “Last Chance Building Material Donation Site” on May 1, located on the way to the landfill.

While Home ReSource is open 7 days a week, we want to attract people who may not know what we accept and show them how easy it is to donate. This way, contractors, homeowners, and renters can drop off materials right before the landfill, saving time and money.

During Zero Waste Month, we aren’t “wasting” the opportunity to celebrate and host a variety of fun and informative activities.

We are partnering with Missoula Aging Services on a mini lamp fix-it clinic, working with Missoula Compost on a composting clinic, hosting a Lunch & Learn about Zero by Fifty, building cat posts for AniMeals (how fun is that?), and every Friday, offering open woodshop work hours. Check out our website to learn about the activities at Home ReSource and other community partners all month.

There is no doubt that what is happening in Montana and nationwide is alarming. Clean air and water rules are being rolled back, there are cuts to renewable energy funding, and even plastics and Styrofoam are making a comeback.

However, here in Missoula, we are making progress. We want to thank the City and County for their outstanding leadership in finding innovative solutions to reduce waste.

We appreciate Missoula Compost and Soil Cycle for making composting easy. We'd like to thank other nonprofits, such as MUD and Free Cycles, for making sustainability and repair accessible. And we sincerely thank all the businesses making big and small efforts to reduce waste and help Missoula build a circular economy.

We are all lucky to live in this beautiful place, where many work to protect it. Together, we can build a vibrant, sustainable local economy and achieve our Zero by 50 Waste goals. And, because we are Missoulians, we'll have a lot of fun doing it.

Kelli Hess is Executive Director of Home ReSource. Home ReSource is a community sustainability center, working to reduce waste and build a more vibrant, sustainable local economy. The organization operates a ReUse Store for building and home supplies that is open seven days a week, and also manages education, workforce development, and community zero-waste programs to build a future with less waste. Learn more at www.homeresource.org.