Climate Connections: Zero Waste Month spurs action
Leigh Ratterman
April marked Missoula’s second annual Zero Waste Action Month, which was jam-packed with activities, events, and information-sharing. Led by Home ReSource, the City of Missoula is proud to partner on this effort, as it helps to support the City Council-adopted goal of zero waste in our community by 2050.
One of the most exciting parts of this year's Zero Waste Action Month was the announcement that we have reached our interim goal of 30% waste diversion by 2025. In fact, we exceeded it! Missoula businesses and residents are currently diverting 31% of their waste from the landfill, choosing instead to recycle, compost, or donate those materials. This is huge news! We’re now looking forward to the next interim goal of 40% waste diversion by 2030.
Zero waste is an important climate solution, especially when we consider the global impact of our take-make-waste economy. Emissions associated with mining, production, transportation, storage, and disposal of the food and materials that we use are massive! Tossing and replacing one soda can means we have to mine for ore as far away as Australia, turn that ore into aluminum, manufacture and transport the can, fill with product, and sell on shelves for a potential one-time use. That’s a lot of energy and emissions for one single can! By contrast, cans recycled in Missoula are transported to regional processing centers to be melted down for reuse.
Additionally, when organic materials such as food, paper, or wood end up the landfill, they create methane which is a potent greenhouse gas with over 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years. Missoulians have the opportunity to significantly slash methane emissions from the local landfill if we divert those materials through compost or donation instead.
Moving towards a zero waste, circular economy focused on reduce-reuse-repair-recycle has the potential to significantly reduce our global emission impact as well as our local emissions. Importantly, the concept of Zero Waste recognizes the need both for individual actions and for creating systems to prevent waste generation in the first place – from product design and packaging, to creating reuse and repair opportunities, to conscious consumerism. We all have a role to play within those systems.
While Zero Waste Action Month has wrapped up for this year, there are still lots of opportunities to participate in moving the needle on zero waste in our community. We happen to live in a wonderful community – Missoula has so many options to help you reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost.
In a single day, you can stop at one of Missoula’s nearly 30 thrift and reuse shops (check out Home ReSource’s new thrift map to see them all), repair a bike at Community Cycles, attend a fix-it clinic, donate food, bring your landscape refuse to Garden City Compost, or sign up for compost collection via Soil Cycle or Missoula Compost. You can volunteer at one of Missoula’s many zero waste events (or help ensure your favorite event goes zero waste!), use finished compost to add nutrients to your garden, or take your reusable mug to one of our local coffee shops before you stroll along the river. The opportunities are endless!
One topic that I’m really passionate about is food waste reduction. Did you know that Missoulians waste over 25 million pounds of food each year, equating to over 29 million dollars that’s basically just thrown into the trash (or compost)? That’s just in Missoula alone! I don’t know about you, but I was shocked when I read that statistic.
Reducing wasted food can have an especially positive impact on our local emissions – while also benefiting our wallets and conserving global resources. Due to climate change and other factors, food is more expensive than ever and increasingly difficult to grow as we see some parts of the world shift to more dry and arid climates.
According to the EPA, food waste is the number one material in U.S. landfills, accounting for approximately 24 percent of what’s going into landfills across the country. And, households (meaning we, as consumers) are responsible for a significant portion of this waste, as much as 40-50% of all food waste comes from our homes. Food waste affects us all, no matter your political affiliation, socio-economic status, or whether you’re all that passionate about climate change.
Thankfully, there’s so much that we can do to prevent food waste in our households. We can plan meals ahead of time, learn about food storage, get creative with our cooking, embrace leftovers, support local food recovery through donation or volunteering, and compost what’s left. You can learn all the tips and tricks at savethefood.com, a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) resource.
However you choose to participate, we need your help in moving the needle on zero waste in our community. Individual actions make a difference! Zero waste isn’t about being perfect, it’s about doing what you can, when you can. Think before you purchase (do you really need it, is it made to be disposable, are there more durable or used options instead?), and think before you throw away (can you upcycle, mend, repurpose, or recycle what you consume?). And tell your friends! Local action is often sparked by people just like you who are willing to share what they know and inspire others to join in too.
Leigh Ratterman is the Community Resilience Specialist with the City of Missoula. Climate Smart Missoula brings these Climate Connections columns to you several times per month. Learn more about our work and sign up for our e-newsletter at missoulaclimate.org.