Zero Waste was the overriding theme of this year’s Women in Green Forum. Not only did we have a fascinating panel on Recycling and the Circular Economy, but also the whole event was sustainable with minimal wastage, thanks to the organizers at Three Squares. This year, Women in Green celebrated its ‘decade of impact’ with a diverse mix of speakers, topics and a sell-out audience of around 400 women (and a sprinkling of men).
Solutions to China’s Ban on Waste
As we all know, China’s effective ban on plastic and paper waste has had a huge knock-on effect on the US’s waste program. We can no longer dump our waste on China, but have to face up to the reality of the mountains of waste our society is generating. A fascinating panel of women entrepreneurs tackled this challenge by finding new ways forward.
‘We don’t have a recycling crisis – we have a packaging crisis’ proclaimed Jessica Aldridge, of Athens Services. She believes that the responsibility for recycling is on the shoulders of the producers of our goods, rather than the current focus on consumer action. Producers need to think in sustainable terms, of the full lifecycle of their products, to reduce packaging, maximize reuse, and minimize or eliminate waste altogether.
Many of us know about TerraCycle – the company that recycles what others will not! It has a new initiative call Loop that takes it one-step further – selling goods in re-usable containers that are returned to the manufacturers for cleaning and refilling. Clem Schmid, VP of Loop, asked ‘Do you remember milk deliveries in glass bottles that you left out for collection and reuse?’ Yes, some of the best ideas are from the past when frugality and reuse was part of the culture. In the UK, the milkman even drove an electric vehicle called a ‘milk float’.
Limeloop tackles the ‘Amazon’ problem of throwaway packaging by providing companies with returnable, reusable shippers. Chantal Emmanuel, Co-Founder, explained that this approach cuts out waste but also saves money for the suppliers. And many, many trees and carbon emissions!
Finally, Faith Legendre, CISCO, spoke of the use of technology such as the ‘internet of things’ and simple QR codes that allow producers to track their goods, optimize delivery and pick-up routes, to facilitate the pick-up of goods for re-use. All the consumer needs to do is leave the empty package by their mailbox.
Eco Marketplace Focused on Zero Waste
The annual Eco Marketplace also focused on re-use and zero waste. The Refillery LA is a mobile refilling station for beauty and household products such as shampoo, detergent, and cleaning sprays. Compostable offers a composting collection service for homeowners. Swap Society allows you to swap your unwanted clothes for lightly-used ones – an updated version of the thrift store or ‘jumble sale’. And Simple Ecology sells cloth and muslin bags for produce shopping and storage.
Green and Sustainable Event
Three Squares did a great job of greening the event with many sustainability initiatives. The food was all vegetarian or vegan and locally sourced – served buffet style with real plates, flatware and linen napkins. Drinks included jugs of water with glasses, aluminum cans of soft drinks and NO straws. There was composting and recycling throughout the event – and a paperless registration and agenda process. In fact, the whole event is a Carbon Neutral event – although with the help of carbon offsets.
As I see it, the one big sustainability failure is the venue. A luxury hotel hardly sets the tone for an event based on sustainable ideals – and its location distant from public transit options alongside a polluting freeway is far from green.
Shout Out to Gina McCarthy, SheEPA
The annual Trailblazer Award went to Gina McCarthy, of EPA fame. Her passionate and inspiring speech had the whole audience on their feet cheering – if only, we had politicians like her in charge of the world!
Read about the 2018 Women in Green Forum here.
And the 2011 Women in Green Forum here!
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