Resource Conservation and Waste ManagementResource Conservation

and Waste ManagementEco Sustenance SeminarEco Sustenance Seminar

The BasicsThe Basics

What is a resource? What resources have you used

today?Where did they come from?

What is a resource? What resources have you used

today?Where did they come from?

The Earth: A Dynamic System

The Earth: A Dynamic System

Most inorganic resources we use today are a part of a cycleRock CycleWater CycleCarbon Cycle

Length of time between renewal

Most inorganic resources we use today are a part of a cycleRock CycleWater CycleCarbon Cycle

Length of time between renewal

Rock CycleRock Cycle

Water CycleWater Cycle

Carbon CycleCarbon Cycle

Why are Cycles Important?Why are Cycles Important?

•Cycles show that resources how earth’s resources are naturally renewed

•Industrial goods, however, do not follow this cycle of renewal

•http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Where Does Our Waste Go?

Where Does Our Waste Go?

• Waste Can Be

•Recycling and Recovered

•Burned in an incinerator

•Put in a Landfill

•How much waste?

•About 4.6 pounds of waste is produced per American everyday

Recycling Waste ProductsRecycling Waste ProductsDown-cycling- Turning good into

a product of reduced qualityUp-cycling-Turning goods into a

product of increased qualityMaterials:

PaperGlassPlasticAluminum

Down-cycling- Turning good into a product of reduced quality

Up-cycling-Turning goods into a product of increased quality

Materials:PaperGlassPlasticAluminum

The Key Mantra: Reduce, Reuse then Recycle

The Key Mantra: Reduce, Reuse then Recycle

• Reduction and Reusing are just as, if not more, important than recycling:

•It can take the same amount of energy and resources to recycle good as to create new ones

•When goods can be produced cheaply, it makes no economical sense to recycle

•Recycling fosters false sense of security

•Summary: Trash is bad, Recycling is good, Reducing and Reusing is better

Palmer’s Laws of Getting to Zero Waste

Palmer’s Laws of Getting to Zero Waste

1. Recycling consists of reusing materials and function

2. No article of commerce shall be placed on the market, unless and until, the recycling of that article shall have been provided for, including complete funding, after its next extended use.

3. Large scale recycling cannot succeed until the garbage industry is excluded from the recycling industry

4. Recycling will only succeed when no dump receives a subsidy of any form

5. The economics of recycling must be manipulated to insure that recycling is profitable. The more valuable an item, the more easily it can be recycled

Now, How Does This Apply here

at NCSSM?

Now, How Does This Apply here

at NCSSM?

CitationsCitationsHome Depot. 30 May 2007 <http://www.homedepot.com/>.HSN Improvements, "Storage Spaces." Improvements - Quick and CLever Problem-Solvers. 2007. 30 May2007 <http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product/storage+spaces/outdoor+storage/garageutility/recycling+bins+(3).do>.Kokko, John. "Occupancy Sensors." Technologies and Practices. Advanced Buildings. 30 May 2007<http://www.advancedbuildings.org/_frames/fr_t_load_build_occupancy_sensors.htm>."Rain Barrels." Clean Air Gardening. 2007. 30 May 2007<http://www.cleanairgardening.com/rainbarrels.html>."Recycling and Solid Waste." Wake County. 2007. Wake County Schoola. 30 May 2007<http://www.wakegov.com/recycling/schools/default.htm>."Solar Panels." Solar Panel Info. 19 MAY 2006. 30 May 2007 <http://www.solarpanelinfo.com>."The Ultimate Recycling Equipment." Recyclingbin.com. 2006. 30 May 2007