Post on 03-Apr-2018
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On The ROadTO ZeRO WasTe
SucceSSeS and LeSSonS
from around the WorLd Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives
Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance
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GaIa scrtritUnit 330, Eagle Cout Condominium26 Matalino SteetBaangay CentalQuezon City, PhilippinesTeleax: +632-436 4733Email: ino@no-bun.og
GaIa europEmail: ino_eu@no-bun.og
GaIa Lti amricc/o Obsevatoio Latinoameicano deConictos Ambientales (OLCA)Alonso Ovalle 1618 O. A.Santiago, ChileEmail: magdalena@no-bun.og
GaIa U.s. & C1958 Univesity AvenueBeeley, CA 94704USAPhone: +1-510-883-9490Fax: +1-510-883-9493Email: monica@no-bun.og
GAIA is a woldwide alliance o moe than 650 gassoots goups, non-govenmental oganizations, andindividuals in ove 90 counties whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-ee wold without incineation.
Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives
Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance
autor Cotributor
Ccili all is a sociologist active in envionmental health and justice oganizations with a paticula inteest in waste management;she was pat o GAIAs coodination team o eight yeas.
Virli Gokl has a bacgound in envionmental science and business management with a ocus on the geen economy; sheadvises social ventues and nonpofts on opeational impovements and gowth o newpogams, poducts, and sevices.
a Lrrc has been with GAIA in the Manila ofce o six yeas. She helps coodinate wo o zeo waste and againstincineation in the Asia-Pacifc egion.
Lli a Miot, GAIAs Development Diecto since 2010, has been undaising since 1996 o intenational, national, and localhuman and civil ights, LGBT, health, envionmental, and youth oganizations and pojects.
Mv Mori, a eseache with expetise in solid waste management, consulted o GAIA in Buenos Aies om May to August in2011.
nil Tgri, a ounding membe o GAIA, wos on GAIAs waste and climate change campaign.
Burr Tylr, a lielong envionmentalist, is GAIAs Publications Coodinato and has a Mastes degee in Education.
Bill Wlkr is a Beeley, Calionia-based wite, edito, and communications stategist who has woed with Geenpeace,Envionmental Woing Goup, Fiends o the Eath and many othe leading NGOs.
www.o-bur.orgJu 2012
COVeR CLOCkWISE FrOM TOP LEFT: Alaminos (Anne Laacas), Buenos Aies (Coopeativa El Ceibo),Henani (Gipuzoa Zeo Zabo), Mumbai (Michael Atin), Flandes (OVAM), San Fancisco (Lay Stong),Pune (Amit Thavaaj), Taiwan (Allianz SE), La Pintana (DIGA)
Design and Layout by Design Action Collective
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On The ROad
TO ZeRO WasTeSucceSSeS and LeSSonS
from around the WorLd
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ackowlgmt
This epot is the wo o many individuals, but we owe a special thans to those who gave sogeneously o thei time, eseach, and mateials: Gaspa Acosta, Michael Atin, Snia Maia
Dias, Manie Dolea, rhonda Douglas, kevin Dew, Exequiel Estay Tapia, Lucia Fenndez, Malati
Gadgil, robet Haley, Helin Hsieh, Jyoti Mhapsea, Maeva Moin, Laxmi Naayan, Paticio
Navaete Benavides, Gace ravaa, Maiteyi Shana, Joan Mac Simon, Amit Thavaaj, Manuel
Valencia Guzmn, Anne Vandeputte, Monica Wilson, OVAM, Pello Zubiia kamino, and the Del
Oeste, El Alamo, El Ceibo, MTE, and recupeadoes Ubanos Del Oeste coopeatives. Most o
all, we owe thans to the many thousands o zeo waste pionees who ae ceating the eality
this epot sees to descibe.
Cck GaIa wbit to r c ty r to t ri:
www.o-bur.org/ZWctui
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Tbl o Cott
Introduction:Stoies Fom the Font Lines o the Zeo Waste Movement ................................. 2
Pune, India: Waste Pices Lead the Way to Zeo Waste .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
San Francisco, USA: Ceating a Cultue o Zeo Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Alaminos, Philippines: Zeo Waste, om Deam to reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 2
Hernani, Spain: Doo-to-Doo Collection as a Stategy to reduce Waste Disposal .................... 30
La Pintana, Chile: Pioitizing the recovey o Vegetable Waste .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 8
Mumbai, India: Waste Pice-run Biogas Plants as a Decentalized Solution .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Flanders, Belgium: Euopes Best recycling and Pevention Pogam . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Taiwan: Community Action Leads Govenment towad Zeo Waste .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Buenos Aires City, Argentina: Including Gassoots recycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
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InTROdUCTIOn
Stoies Fom the Font Lineso the Zeo Waste Movement
Zeo waste is both a goal and a plan o action. The goal isto ensue esouce ecovey and potect scace natual
esouces by ending waste disposal in incineatos,
dumps, and landflls. The plan encompasses waste
eduction, composting, ecycling and euse, changes
in consumption habits, and industial edesign. But
just as impotantly, zeo waste is a evolution in the
elationship between waste and people. It is a new
way o thining that aims to saeguad the health and
impove the lives o eveyone who poduces, handles,wos with, o is aected by wastein othe wods,
all o us.
Zeo waste stategies help societies to poduce and
consume goods while especting ecological limits
and the ights o communities; they ensue that
all discaded mateials ae saely and sustainably
etuned to natue o manuactuing. In a zeo waste
appoach, waste management is not let only to
politicians and technical expets; athe, eveyone
impactedom esidents o wealthy neighbohoods
to the public, pivate, and inomal secto woes who
handle wastehas a voice.
Pacticing zeo waste means moving towad a
wold in which all mateials ae used to thei utmost
potential, and the needs o peoplewoes andcommunitiesae integated into a system that also
potects the envionment while ensuing that nothing
goes to waste. It is much lie establishing zeo deectgoals o manuactuing, o zeo injuy goals in the
woplace. Zeo waste is ambitious, but it is neithe
unachieveable no pat o some a-o utue. In small
towns and big cities, in communities ich and poo, in
the global Noth and South, innovative plans in place
today ae maing eal pogess towad the goal o
zeo waste.
Throughincentivesandextensivepublicout-each, San Fancisco has educed its waste
to landfll by 77 pecentthe highest divesion
ate in the United Statesand is on tac to
each 90 pecent by 2020.
A door-to-door collection service operated
by a coopeative o almost 2,000 gassoots
ecycles in Pune, India, has been integated
into the citys waste management system and
divets enough waste to avoid 640,000 tons
o geenhouse gas emissions annually.
Aggressivestandardsandincentivesforboth
individuals and businesses in the Flandes
egion o Belgium have achieved 73 pecent
divesion o esidential waste, the highest e-
gional ate in Euope.
InTaiwan, community opposition to incinera-
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l l n ti I n ci n r t r l li n c
tion pushed the govenment to adopt goals
and pogams o waste pevention and ecy-
cling that wee so successul that the quantity
o waste deceased signifcantly even as the
population inceased and the economy gew.
Ananti-incineratormovementin theSpanish
povince o Gipuzoa led to the adoption o a
doo-to-doo waste collection sevice in sev-
eal small cities that has educed the amount
o waste going to landflls by 80 pecent.
In Alaminos,Philippines, a participatory, bot-
tom-up appoach poved that communitieshave the ability to solve thei own waste man-
agement poblems.
InMumbai,India,andLaPintana,Chile,afo-
cus on oganics has poduced eal value om
thei lagest and most poblematic potion o
municipal waste.
In Buenos Aires, by organizing into coop-
eatives and taing collective political action,
gassoots ecycles called cartoneros have
gotten the city to adopt sepaation o waste at
souce, an essential step towad its goal o 75
pecent divesion by 2017.
The stoies o these communities and othes ae
detailed in this epot. While ew locations ae bingingtogethe all the elements o a compehensive zeo
waste plan, many have in common a philosophy diven
by ou coe stategies:
sttig nw dirctio awy FromWt dipol
Open dumps, landflls, and incineatos (including
so-called waste-to-enegy schemes) ae pat o ashotsighted and outmoded way o thining that views
waste disposal as cheap because tue costs ae not
taen into account. The costs o pollution, esouce
depletion, climate change, health poblems, and human
sueing ae extenalized onto the envionment and
people, including utue geneations.
Zeo waste moves societies away om waste
disposal by setting goals and taget dates to educe
waste going to landflls, abolishing waste incineation,
establishing o aising landfll ees, shiting subsidies
away om waste disposal and into discad ecovey,
and banning disposable poducts, among othe
inteventions. These policies ae stongest when they
incentivize community paticipation and incopoate
the inteests o waste woes.
supportig Compriv Ru,Rcyclig, Orgic TrtmtProgrm
Zeo waste equies a system o sae and efcient
ecovey o mateials so that the discads that ae
inevitably poduced ae etuned to natue o to
manuactuing. Such a system opeates though
sepaating waste at its souce in ode to euse, epai,
and ecycle inoganic mateials, and compost o digest
oganic mateials.
Oten, sepaate collection and pocessing o oganics
is the ey complement to existing ecycling eots.
Sepaate oganics collection ensues a steam o
clean, high-quality mateial which in tun enables the
ceation o useul poducts (compost and biogas)om the lagest action o municipal waste. It also
impoves the ecycling ate because the mateials
emain ee o contamination.
eggig Commuiti
Zeo waste elies on democacy and stong
community action to detemine the diection o waste
management pogams. Citizens need to be pato the vey design o the plan, and a lengthy initial
consultation pocess can pay o with bette design
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and highe paticipation ates. residents must actively
paticipate in the pogams by consuming sustainably,
minimizing waste, sepaating discads, and composting
at home. They should also be active in monitoing the
implementation o the pogams in thei community.
A successul zeo waste pogam must also be an
inclusive one. Inclusive zeo waste systems mae
sue that esouce ecovey pogams include and
espect the community and all social actos involved
in esouce consevation, especially inomal ecycles
whose livelihoods depend on discaded mateials. The
woes who handle waste should be ully integated
into the design, implementation, and monitoingpocesses, as it is the application o thei sills and
eots which ultimately mae the system unction.
A successul zeo waste system will pioitize waste
woes saety and well-being and ensue that thei
inteests ae aligned with pogammatic success. In
some communities, whee waste woes come om
histoically excluded populations, this may equie
ending long-standing disciminatoy pactices.
digig or t Futur
Once communities begin to put zeo waste pactices
in place, new oppotunities emege. The esidual
actionthat which is let ove because it is eithe
too toxic to be saely ecycled o is made out o
non-ecyclable mateialsbecomes evident, and
industial design mistaes and inefciencies can bestudied and coected. Zeo waste institutes can help
businesses and manuactues establish cleane and
moe sustainable poduction pocesses and poducts
even as govenment policies push them to do so. Zeo
waste goes beyond ecycling pogams and pioitizes
the edesign o poducts. I it cannot be eused,
composted, o ecycled, it just should not be poducedin the fst place.
Specifcally, zeo waste emphasizes efcient use
o esouces; sae manuactuing and ecycling
pocesses to potect woes; poduct duability; and
design o disassembly, epai, and ecycling. Extended
Poduce responsibility, clean poduction, educing o
substituting toxic mateials, educing pacaging, and
envionmentally peeable puchasing ae impotantstategies.
The communities discussed in these case studies,
and many othes aound the wold, ae enjoying
signifcant envionmental, climatic, social, economic,
and sanitation benefts om thei adoption o vaious
elements o zeo waste. Evey community is dieent,
and no two zeo waste pogams will be identical.
The vaiety o appoaches pofled is indicative o the
divese appoaches that all lead towads the same
goal. Although some o these systems also cuently
include elements which ae incompatible with zeo
waste, such as incineation, the positive elements
oe a oundation on which to build compehensive
zeo waste systems. Fo now, these communities oe
enlightening examples o how the vaious elements
unction in the eal wold, in a wide vaiety o economic,cultual and political contexts. We can all lean om
thei eots.
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l l n ti I n ci n r t r l li n c
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PUne, IndIa
Waste Pices Lead the Wayto Zeo WasteBy Neil Tangri
Ovr t lt 20 yr,Punes waste pickers1 have created
a remarkable transormation in their citys municipal waste
management system and in their own lives. These inormalsector collectors o recyclable materials ormed a union to
protect their rights and bring dignity to their work. The union
has been so successul that it has allowed them to implement
door-to-door collection, source separation, and separate
treatment or organics, all while improving waste picker
livelihoods and working conditions. Now, the waste pickers
own cooperative is pioneering a wider-reaching and morerigorous zero waste program.
Rally or dignity. (photo: Amit Thavaaj kkPkP/SWaCH)
PUne
Maharashtra State, India
Area: 700 km2
Population: 3,115,431
Population density: 4451/km2
Average annual rainall: 2,751 mm
Altitude: 560 meters above sea level
Average temperature range: 11C to 37C
Waste generation: 0.3 kg/capita/day
Avoided costs to city: US $2.8 million per year
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l l n t i In ci n r t r l li n c
Lie most Indian cities, Pune has long had an inomal
waste management system opeating in paallel with
an ovebudened municipal system. residents wee
obliged to place thei waste in oadside containes
made o steel (also called dumpstes o sips)eachcapable o holding seveal cubic metes o waste
which wee supposed to be emptied daily. In pactice,
the city only emptied about 40 pecent o them each
day, tanspoting the waste to the dump. As a esult,
oveowing containes was a common complaint o
esidents.
The containes did povide a livelihood o waste
pices, who would loo though them o ecyclablemateials, which they bundled and sold to middlemen
(kabariwalas). Howeve, some o the moe valuable
mateial neve made it to the oadside bin because
house-maids o secuity guads would lay claim to
it and sell it to itineant scap buyes. Othe waste
pices woed at the landfll. Unde the most noxious
conditions, they ecoveed ecyclables om what the
city dumped thee. All o this mateial was soted,
cleaned, and sold to industy, though a seies o
middlemen, o eventual ecycling.
In Pune, 92 pecent o waste pices ae women,
almost all om the lowest, o Dalit , caste. Thity pecent
ae widowed o deseted, and anothe 50 pecent ae
the pimay beadwinnes o thei amilies. Beoe the
union, they moved mostly on oot, coveing a distance
o up to 12 m pe day with headloads o up to 40g. Some taveled by tain o tuc to the villages and
industial aeas aound the city. They let thei homes
at sunise and etuned at sunset ate woing a 10
hou day. The aveage daily eaning was 60 (US
$1.12).
The occupation was extemely hazadous. Foced to use
bae hands to ummage though puteying gabage
containing glass shads, medical waste, dead animals,
toxic chemicals, and heavy metals, waste pices
collected bits o eusable, epaiable, and maetable
mateials. Many sustained epeated injuies, illnesses,
and diseases as a esult o thei wo. Tubeculosis,
scabies, asthma, espiatoy inections, cuts, animal
bites, and othe injuies wee common.
Othe potential danges in the citys dumps included
injuy om alling itemso even avalanchesin the
mountains o waste, o being hit by moving vehicles
when scambling to get to the mateials being dumped.
In addition, thee wee equent squabbles between
Mangal Gaikwad lives
in a slum in Aundh,
Pune. The dierence
that her involvementin doorstep collection
and in the Union made
to her lie is presented
in her own words. Today I earn 3000 [US
$56]2 rom doorstep collection and the sale o
scrap. The residents in the area who used to
rown at me while I was at the garbage bin, now
know my name and greet me. A resident gave
me a second hand bicycle. I had never ridden
one beore. Today, I ride to work on that cycle.
When I was a child I used to envy the children
who went to school with their bags and water
bottles while I had to go wastepicking. Since
my work day is shorter now I was able to attend
the literacy class in my slum. I am now literate.
I am the Treasurer o the credit cooperative
and the representative or my slum. I used to
be terrifed o my abusive alcoholic husband.
Twice I sent him to a deaddiction centre. He
stopped or a while but continues to drink. I
am no longer terrifed o him. I do not give him
money to drink. I have bought a bigger house
or 65,000 [US $1200] rom my savings and
a loan I took rom the credit cooperative.
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waste pices ove teitoy, and they had to compete
om the bottom o a hieachy o domestic woes,
sweepes, and othes who had fst claim to any
mateials o value. Witout rigt to t grbg
ty liv o, t liv livlioo o wtpickr wr vry icur.
As bad as the physical conditions o wo wee the
social conditions. Without any ight to the gabage
they sited, waste pices wee oten accused o
thet. They equently had to pay bibes to police and
municipal woes; they wee vulneable to sexual
assault; they wee viewed with distaste, o wose, by
most o the est o society; thei childen wee eusedadmission in schools; etc. Nevetheless, they peeed
waste picing to constuction o domestic wothe
othe pincipal occupations open to thembecause it
aoded geate independence, exibility, and elative
eedom om the eudal and oten sexually exploitative
elationships pevalent in those felds.
a Wt Pickr Uio
In 1993, with the encouagement o activists
associated with a local univesity, some 800 waste
pices attended a citywide convention to give voice to
thei gievances. They esolved to engage in collective,
nonviolent stuggle to impove thei conditions; thus
was bon kagad kach Pata kashtaai Panchayat
(kkPkP), the fst waste pices union in India. From
t bgiig, t uio w tbli wit
lrgr gol o gtig or ocil jutic,
git ocil, coomic, culturl, politicl
xcluio. In paticula, it has a stong ocus on caste,
class, and gende issues.
kkPkPs membeship apidly gew to include 6,400
o the 7,000 waste pices in Pune as it tacled a
numbe o issues o concen to its membes. One o
thei fst victoies was to conont police ofces who
had taen bibes and sexually popositioned wastepices. Faced with seveal thousand waste pices
who wee stating to gane the suppot o politicians
wanting thei votesthe police baced down and
etuned the money taen. The success o this
expeience encouaged kkPkP to tacle even moe
issues. In 1995-96, they won ofcial ecognition om
city govenment, which issued them identity cads
something that in pactice potected them om police
haassment but was also a tangible epesentation othei impoving status in society.
In 1997, kkPkP ceated a cedit coopeative with
the paticipation o ove 2,000 membes; this eed
the waste pices om thei dependency on usuious
moneylendes. aotr crucil milto w
civ i 2003, w t muiciplity took
t uuul tp o pyig lt iurc
prmium or KKPKP mmbr i rcogitio o
tir cil viromtl cotributio
to t cityt ormr clcult t 3 millio
(Us $3.85 millio) pr yr.
KKPKP meeting. (photo: Amit Thavaaj) kkPkP/SWaCH
Until now we were counted among the animals;
Baba Adhav [one o the KKPKP organizers]
has brought us to sit here as humans. Hirabai Shinde, KKPKP member
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l l n t i In ci n r t r l li n c
kkPkP ealized ealy on that changes in the waste
management system could delive impotant benefts
to waste pices. I esidents sepaated thei waste at
souce and waste pices etieved it om individual
homes though doo-to-doo collection, both wouldbeneft: esidents would have a convenience sevice
while waste pices would spend less time soting waste
and ecove a highe pecentage o saleable mateials
(since coss-contamination educes the quality and
amount o ecyclable mateials). Howeve, getting
esidents to souce sepaate thei waste also ceated
oppotunities o middlemen and pivate companies to
step in and claim those ecyclables. When the Pune
Municipal Copoation (PMC) consideed handingthe entie waste collection pocess ove to a pivate
company, kkPkP was compelled to act to pevent its
membes om being completely displaced.
From scvgr to srvicProvirsWCh Oprtio
Fo seveal yeas, kkPkP encouaged its membes
to establish doo-to-doo collection outines; many
did so, and beneftted om the small sevice ees
esidents would pay as well as access to cleane,
bette-sepaated ecyclables. In 2008, kkPkP omed
a coopeative, Solid Waste Collection and Handling
(SWaCH),3 to egulaize and expand this pactice. Its
aims ae to guaantee membes access to ecyclable
mateial, to impove thei woing conditions and
eanings, and to tansom the status o the occupationom scavenging to sevice povision.
a o My 2012, sWCh pproximtly
2,000 mmbr wr proviig oor-to-oor
collctio or mor t 330,000 ouol,
or 47 prct o t city, i bot ititutiol
cmpu i oriry igboroo, on a
contact basis. Its coveage continues to expand as
moe esidents sign up o its sevices.
The uniomed co-op membes geneally use a
pushcat to collect waste om each house.4 residents
ae supposed to souce sepaate thei waste, but
compliance is modest: about 30 pecent do igoous
wet/dy sepaation, and anothe 60 pecent sot out
some ecyclables but mix othe dy waste with the
oganics. The waste pices do a seconday sot o
dy waste, using the 19 soting sheds povided by
the PMC to pull out ecyclable mateial om the
non-ecyclable. The sheds ae citical o eeping the
women and waste shelteed om the weathe.
The membes then sell thei ecyclables eithe to pivate
scap deales o to one o kkPkPs own scap shops,
whee they ae assued o ai pices. Non-ecyclable
dy waste is put in oadside containes which ae
collected by the municipality; but because o highe
ecovey ates, ewe containes ae needed thanbeoe SWaCHin its fst two yeas, the municipality
was able to tae 64 o them o the steets.
The tansition om waste pice to sevice povide
has not been easy. It has equied new attitudes and
behavios om both waste pices and esidents;
but these changes have been mutually einocing.
The waste pices have had to lean to be punctual,
egula, and codial in thei wo, and to poessionalize
thei appeaance. The esidents have leaned to teat
them as woes and human beings. This change in
SWaCH members collecting waste. (photo: Maiel Vilella)
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the waste pices social status and sel-peception is
one o the most damatic esults o thei oganizing.
Tcklig Orgic or tPublic Goo
Taditionally, waste pices have not been inteested in
oganics (i.e., wet waste), as it had little commecial
value. But oganic waste is a majo pollution issue:
when buied in landflls, it geneates toxic leachate,
bad odos, and methanewhich can cause landfll
fes. And since it compises moe than 70 pecent o
Punes waste steam, no waste management system
can claim to be complete without tacling oganic
mateial. SWaCH has begun to pioitize pope
oganics management, but seveal othe entities
public and pivateae also pocessing oganic
waste, and not all the appoaches ae successul o
compatible.
Pune has 15 biogas plants which pocess about 75
tons pe day (tpd) o oganics. The methane poduced
is buned in a geneato to powe steet lights. This
is widely consideed the best teatment o oganic
waste, since it not only avoids the majo poblems
associated with oganics but also poduces enegy,
and has minimal bypoducts; even the sluy is usable
as compost.
But the biogas plants ae vey sensitive to the
intoduction o plastic o had-to-degade waste
(including coconut shells, mango seeds and othe
woody oganic matte), which equently plug up the
plants and tae them out o opeation. So the biogas
plants limit thei intae to mostly souce-sepaated
oganic mateial om estauants, which is elativelyclean. Only one plant accepts oganics om SWaCH,
which stuggles to get esidents to ully souce
sepaate thei waste.
Some o the oganics that SWaCH collects om
households go to centalized composting opeations:
Disha, a local NGO, opeates one lage (100 tpd)
composting plant, and the municipality opeates a
ew smalle ones. Again, contamination is a poblem;although composting can toleate highe levels o
contamination than biogas, the esulting compost is
o poo quality.
Most o the citys oganics ae not eectively sepaated
and end up in mixed waste at a commecial acility
whee they ae pocessed into two dieent poducts:
low-gade compost and euse deived uel (pellets).
Both ae signifcantly contaminated with plastics and
othe toxins lie mecuy om lightbulbs, batteies,
etc. These contaminants ae eleased, and some new
ones ae ceated, when the pellets ae buned.
In some communities, SWaCH oes a moe
envionmentally sound altenative. Its philosophy
is to deal with the oganics as close to the point
o geneation as possible. SWaCH membes, inaddition to poviding doo-to-doo collection, opeate
composting acilities at 40 apatment buildings and
institutional campuses. These oten tae the om o
simple compost pits, but some ae moe elaboate,
with ginding machines and bacteia additives that
speed up the composting pocess. SWaCH membes
only opeate the acility; the esulting compost is
owned and used by the community o institutions that
geneate the oganic waste. sic rit c
wr tir orgic r big compot,
sWCh mmbr clig t
Composting operations on the Pune University campus.(photo: Maiel Vilella)
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15/88PUNE, INDIA | 11
l l n t i In ci n r t r l li n c
orgic, ty r r mor rigorou i tir
ourc prtiowic rult i bttr
qulity compot. Apatment buildings opeating
on-site compost pits eceive a fve pecent ebate on
thei eal estate taxes, which a exceeds the cost oemploying SWaCH membes to maintain the compost
pits.
Although on-site composting has the potential to
solve the oganics poblem, the pogam is theatened
by the intoduction o bun technologies. In addition to
the existing euse deived uel plant, the municipality
has signed a contact to delive 700 tpd to a new
gasifcation plant. Since the company building theplant has no tac ecod and Pune does not geneate
sufcient waste to supply the plant, the implications o
this contact ae unclea.
Tbl 1. SWaCH Waste Management (tpd)
dry Wt Totl
SWaCH collects 180 420 600
For recycling 90 90
For compost and biogas 123 123
For disposal 90 297 387
Diversion % 50 29 36
Tbl 2. Oganics Teatment in Pune (tpd)
SWaCH-opeated compost acilities 2.5Disha compost acility 100
Othe composting acilities 5
Biogas 75
reuse-deived uel 1000
Note: Not all o these oganics ae collected by SWaCH.Souce: Pesonal communication, Apana Susala, SWaCH.
sWCh Mmbr Icom Orgiztiol Fic
SWaCH membes ean most o thei income om two
souces: the sale o ecyclables and the sevice ee
paid by esidents. Some may supplement thei income
with othe wo, such as steet sweeping, but waste
wo is geneally peeed as it is moe lucative.Incomes vay signifcantly, depending on the oute,
among othe actos: wealthie neighbohoods tend
to geneate moe saleable ecyclables and also pay
a highe sevice ee; but they ae also moe spead
out, which inceases tanspotation time and costs.
Households pay a monthly ee, between 10 (US
$.19) and 30 (US $.56) (highe in wealthy aeas)o the doo-to-doo collection sevice; those who do
not pay ae cut o. Institutions and housing societies
pay SWaCH, which then passes the money on to
membes. Pivate households oten pay the waste
pices diectly.
SWaCH taes fve pecent o the sevice ees as
an administative ee, which goes into building an
opeational eseve. In addition, SWaCH eceivesfnancial suppot om the PMC, which allows it to
pay poessional salaies and suppot positions that
bing added value to the wo, o example by doing
extensive data collection.
SWaCH membes geneally ean between 4,500 (US
$84) and 6,000 (US $112) pe month, with moe
than hal coming om the sale o thei ecyclables
and the est om collection ees; this is two o thee
times what most waste pices eaned beoe SWaCH.
In addition, they oten get othe pequisites om the
households they sevice: secondhand clothing, ood,
and access to wate and toilets; SWaCH povides
health insuance and some educational benefts, such
as school boos o thei childen.
Wb o accoutbility
SWaCH opeates within, and is successul because
o, a web o elationships that povide accountability
to the majo staeholdes in waste management. As
a mass movement that can bing thousands o waste
pices, and sometimes othe allied goups, into the
steets, kkPkP has the ability to put pessue on local
legislatos who in tun can pessue the PMC. But
SWaCH also has to maintain a egula, dependable
sevice o ace the ie o local esidents, who have thei
own political inuence and ultimately pay the taxes
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on which the PMC depends. Ovr t yr, t
wt pickr t muicipl govrmt
v vlop trog workig rltioip;
but it umtlly rt o bot sWCh
proviio o qulity wt collctio rvic
wll KKPKP bility to pply prur
troug lrg trt prott mi
covrg.
The PMC subsidizes SWaCHboth diectly and by
poviding equipmentbut also taes the heat i thee
ae poblems. This system o checs and balances
is not static; it is egulaly tested and constantly
execised. Ultimately, the woing aangement with
the PMC is essential o the unctioning o SWaCHs
entie pogam.
Furtr Growt
SWaCH and kkPkP continue to gow and expeiment
with new appoaches. In May 2012, SWaCH launched
a zeo waste pogam that encompasses seveal
neighbohoods in an attempt to bing disposal ates
as low as possible. The ey will be esidents tuly
complying with souce sepaation mandates. This
will damatically educe the disposal ate by divetingoganics, and will geneate a clean steam o oganic
mateials o composting and biogas. SWaCH
membes will need to educate esidents and enoce
the souce sepaation ules.
Anothe goal is to incease coveage and integation
o waste pices into SWaCH. Cuently, less than athid o the citys waste pices ae SWaCH membes;
some continue to do doo-to-doo collection on thei
own, without the SWaCH umbella, and ae eluctant
to contibute fve pecent o thei income to SWaCH.
And thee ae many neighbohoodswhee neithe
SWaCH no independent collectos opeatethat still
need doo-to-doo collection and souce sepaation.
Towr Icluiv Zro Wt
Ove 20 yeas o oganizing, kkPkP and SWaCH
have achieved emaable accomplishments. Waste
pice incomes have isen om appoximately 60
(US $1.12) to 150 (US $2.80) pe day. One o the
citys most maginalized and vulneable populations
has become integated into society. residents have
benefted om impoved waste management sevices
at lowe costs. The cuent pogam saves the city an
estimated US $2.8 million pe yea.5 Bette teatment o
oganics educes emissions o methane, an impotant
geenhouse gas. Highe ecycling ates tanslate to
enegy savings, educed climate impact, and less
pessue on natual esouces such as oests.
SWaCH representative talking with waste pickers. (photo:Amit Thavaaj) kkPkP/SWaCH
A KKPKP Scrap Shop. (photo: WIEGO)
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17/88PUNE, INDIA | 13
l l n t i In ci n r t r l li n c
As SWaCH gows, the quantity o waste needing
disposal will continue to all. This will mean ewe
waste containes in the steets, lowe disposal ees,
and less waste being bunedall o which will add up to
envionmental impovements and lowe expenditues
o the city.
sourc:
Chiamane and Naayan, Oganising the
Unoganised: A Case Study o the kagad kach
Pata kashtaai Panchayat (Tade Union o Waste-
pices), WIEGO 2005.
Chiamane et al., Study O Scap Collectos,
Scap Tades And recycling Entepises In Pune,
Intenational Labou Oganisation, 2001.
Cushing, Waste-to-enegy o Wasted Oppotunity?
Inomal secto ecycling o climate change
mitigation in India, Mastes Thesis, Enegy and
resouces Goup, Univesity o Calionia at
Beeley, 2010.
Inteview, Malati Gadgil, CEO o SWaCH, 29 Apil
2012.
Scheinbeg et al., Economic Aspects o Inomal
Secto Activities In Solid Waste Management, GTZ
2010.
eot:
1 Waste pice is the tem used in English by the
kkPkP to ee to those woes in the inomal
economy who ecove ecyclable mateials omtash. A vaiety o tems ae used in dieent
languages and locations aound the wold.
2 US dolla fgues ae based on exchange ate o
US $1 = 53.635 as o 12 May 2012.
3 SWaCH means clean in Maathi. In addition
to its opeations in Pune, SWaCH has a contact
with the neighboing municipality o Pimpi-
Chinchwad. The opeations ae athe dieent,howeve, and this case study ocuses on
SWaCHs Pune pogam.
4 In neighboing Pimpi-Chinchwad, whee SWaCH
also opeates, the coopeative opeates small
tucs to collect the waste.
5 Scheinbeg estimates avoided collection and
disposal costs at 2.2 million pe yea; PMC
pays SWaCH about 400,000 pe month. Not
included ae additional PMC expenses, such
as the povision o potective gea to SWaCH
membes.
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s Frcico tbli itl as a global leade
in waste management. The city has achieved 77 pecent
waste divesion, the highest in the United States, with a thee-
ponged appoach: enacting stong waste eduction legislation,
patneing with a lie-minded waste management company to
innovate new pogams, and woing to ceate a cultue o
ecycling and composting though incentives and outeach.
san FRanCIsCO, Usa
Ceating a Cultue o Zeo WasteBy Virali Gokaldas
Advertisement or composting on a San Francisco bus. (photo: Lay Stong, coutesy recology)
san FRanCIsCO
State o Caliornia
Population: 805,235
Area: 121 km2
Population density: 6,633/km2
Average annual rainall: 518.16 mm
Average temperature range: 8C to 21C
Altitude: 16 meters above sea levelWaste diversion rate: 77%
Waste generation: 1.7 kg/capita/day
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19/88SAN FrANCISCO, USA | 15
l l n t i In ci n r t r l l i n c
The City and County o San Fancisco is small oa majo metopolitan aea: only 127 m2 houses
805,235 esidents and hosts 1.3 million daytime
woes. The population is highly divese, and 1 in 2
esidents do not spea English at home. About hal
o esidents live in small multi-amily dwellings, with a
thid owning thei homes.
The citys waste is egulated pimaily by the San
Fancisco Depatment o Public Wos and Public
Health. The Depatment o Envionment (SFE) is
esponsible o eaching the citys zeo waste goals.
SFE wos closely with recology, the pivate waste
management patne with a union wooce that
collects, ecycles, and disposes o all commecial and
esidential waste in the city. SFEs Zeo Waste team
ocuses on outeach, implementation o city-mandated
ecycling pogams in sectos, and advancing wasteeduction policy at the local and state level.
Builig upo Lgiltiv succSan Fanciscos zeo waste jouney began with
enactment o a state law in 1989, the Integated
Waste Management Act. The law equied cities and
counties to divet 25 pecent o municipal solid waste
by 1995 and 50 pecent by 2000. Ove the last two
decades, San Fancisco built upon this equiement by
passing seveal successive odinances that tageted
additional aeas o the waste steam.
I 2002, t city t mbitiou gol to
civ zro wt to ipol by 2020. Since
then, legislation has pushed the city, esidents, and
businesses to incease thei ecycling ates. These
waste eduction laws include the Constuction and
Demolition Debis recovey Odinance o 2006 and
the Food Sevice Waste reduction Odinance o
2007, which equies estauants to use compostableo ecyclable tae-out containes. I 2009, tr
rit bui bcm ccutom
Figur 1. San Fancisco Waste Legislation and Divesion rates
Souce: Adapted om San Fancisco Planning and Uban reseach Association, 2010.
2009
SF adoptsmandatoryrecycling andcomposting
2010
Plastic BagReductionOrdiancePassed
2007
Food ServiceWaste ReductionOrdinance Passed
2007
Food ServiceWaste ReductionOrdinance Passed
2006Constructionand DemolitionDebris RecoveryOrdinance Passed
2002SF Board oSupervisorsadopt 75%wastediversiongoal by2012
2001SF adoptscity-widecompostcolection
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to volutry compotig, s Frcico p
lmrk lw tt mandated rcyclig
compotig or ll rit bui.
Most ecently, the city passed an odinance equiing
all etail stoes to povide compostable, ecycled,
o ecyclable bags stating Octobe 2012. All o
these laws have been timed so that the necessay
inastuctue is available, and paticipants ae given
suppot, tools, and education. The legislation also
empowes SFE to oll out pogams to evey home
and business and enoce ules as needed.
One eason o the continued engagement on zeo
waste is a citizen base that demands a politicalcommitment to envionmental sustainability. San
Fancisco has activated and empoweed civic leades,
including advocates om the envionmental feld. Fo
example, the Commission on the Envionment, a seven-
membe goup that advises the Boad o Supevisos,
includes an envionmental attoney and eco-educato.
This goup highlights cutting-edge eseach on
envionmental issues, and speaheads esolutions and
odinances that then go on to the mayo and Boad o
Supevisos o a vote. The Boad o Supevisos, in
tun, eects the envionmental ethics o its esidents
and egulaly appoves envionmental legislation.
Anothe dive o passing these waste eduction
laws is the cost associated with landflling at the
Altamont Landfll in Livemoe, 82 m away, wheeSan Fancisco hauls its waste daily. The city, which
does not own its own landfll, contacted with Waste
Management o capacity at Altamont in 1987. The
contact allows o 65 yeas o capacity o 15 million
tons o capacity, whicheve aives fst. At a ate o
1,800 tons daily, the city expects to hit its capacity
limit by 2015 o, based on newe divesion fgues,
by 2016. In anticipation, San Fancisco just awaded
its next waste disposal contact to recology, at a newlandfll in Yuba County, unde simila tems: 10 yeas
o fve million tons o capacity, whicheve comes fst.
Hence, inceased divesion and hitting zeo waste
goals will continue to ceate eal savings in landfll
costs.
Prtrig wit Locl CompyYil Ivtiv Progrm
Along with laws obliging esidents and businesses to
educe thei waste and souce sepaate, San Fancisco
has developed a obust collection and picing
scheme with its waste-hauling patne, recology,
to complement these eots. The elationship with
recology dates bac to the ealy 1900s when waste
collection was an inomal secto activity. Following
the eathquae in 1906, the waste pices ceatedloose edeations to compete bette. Two companies
emeged in the 1920s: Scavenges Potective
Association and Sunset Scavenge Company. At the
same time, the city began egulating the industy
and awaded these two companies exclusive euse
collection licenses in 1932. Each company developed
unique and complementay expetiseone in densely
paced downtown San Fancisco, and the othe
in outlying esidential disticts. These companies
eventually meged to om recology, now the sole
waste collecto in San Fancisco.
San Francisco waste pickers in the early 1900s.(photo: coutesy recology)
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21/88SAN FrANCISCO, USA | 17
l l n t i In ci n r t r l l i n c
Ove time, the city and recology have developed
a symbiotic elationship. San Fancisco conducts
ovesight, policy development, outeach, and eseach
on technology and best pactices, while recology
ceates, tests, and uns inastuctue to collect andpocess tash, ecyclables, and compostables. Even
though the company has an exclusive ight to collect
unde the 1932 Odinance, and thee is no contact,
San Fancisco maintains inuence ove recologys
activities pimaily though a ate-setting pocess
that occus evey fve yeas. The city also meets with
recology weely to discuss any outstanding issues
and next steps o pogams.
One outcome o this collaboation is San Fanciscos
cuent ecycling system, the Fantastic 3. strt
i 1999, t Fttic 3 progrm u blck,
blu, gr crt or tr, rcyclig,
compotig, rpctivly. Fully olled out in 2003,
businesses and esidences segegate waste at the
souce, and double-chambeed bac-loading tucs
pic up the tash and ecycling bins. Smalle side-
loading tucs pic up compostables. The Fantastic 3
pogam was one o the fst in the United States to
scale up collection and composting o biodegadable
waste.
Grbg rcyclig collctio rt
r tructur to ictiviz rcyclig
compotig o both recology and its customes.
All customes pay a minimum collection sevice ee torecology, plus additional ees based on the volume o
gabage they ceate. Fo esidents, recology povides
ecycling and composting sevices at no additional
cost. Fo businesses, these sevices ae discounted
up to 75 pecent o tash sevices to encouage
businesses to cut down on the moe expensive
gabage ee. With this stategy, recology pofts in
two ways: fst it etains the evenue it eceives om
ecycling and composting sevices, as well as fnal
sale o ecyclables and compost; second, it eceives
up to a US $2 million bonus based on exceeding
company-wide divesion goals and educing city-
wide disposal. To help meet goals and incease the
value o diveted mateials, the company has invested
heavily in ecycling inastuctue, including mixed-
ecyclables mateials ecovey acilities (MrF) andseveal egional composting sites. Notably, it has also
developed a maet o compost that goes to local
ams and gadenes, theeby impoving its own etun
and closing the loop.
Also notewothy is that San Fancisco has a thiving
inomal ecycling secto, thans to the statewide
bottle bill that places a 5 o 10 cent value on glass
and plastic bottles and ove 20 ecycling centes in thecity whee esidents o collectos can edeem them.
The city has a small population o people who mae a
living collecting cadboad, metal, and e-waste which
have highe value maets because o envionmentally
peeable puchasing ules o state agencies, state
laws equiing post-consume ecycled content, and
access to obust domestic and intenational maets.
Composting poster or an apartment building.
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sitig to Cultur o Zro Wt
T city o s Frcico b xtrmly
uccul i ltrig t mi, bit,
cultur o it citiz to ccpt t gol o zro
wt. In the US, this is no easy eat, especially given
negative peceptions elated to ood scaps and wet
waste in geneal. In Mach 2012, the city maed its
millionth ton o oganic waste tuned into compost.
Milestones and metics lie these have been essential
to ceating the stoy o zeo waste.
The citys Zeo Waste division is compised o 11
employees, assigned to dieent waste segments. The
pogam has one manage, ou expets in commecial
waste, thee in esidential waste, and thee ocused
on the city govenment (see chat below). In addition,
thee ae seveal people ocused on toxics eduction
in a dieent pogam, as well as a sepaate Outeachdivision. These 11 positions ae esponsible o all
stategies, pogams, policies, and incentives to each
zeo waste.
Fo the commecial secto, one position is ocused
on constuction and demolition waste, woing
with buildes and contactos to deconstuct and
ecycle building mateials at recologys MrF in San
Fancisco. Two positions wo to help companies ullyadopt the Fantastic 3 pogam and ensue they ae in
compliance with San Fanciscos mandatoy ecycling
and composting law. Out o 18,000 to 20,000
commrcil ccout, pproximtly 80 prct
o compi wr prtig tir orgic by
2012; SFEs ocus is now the emaining 20 pecent.
The last commecial ole is ocused on policy initiatives
such as Extended Poduce responsibility, statewide
legislation, o ballot measues.
In the esidential secto, all buildings with ewe than
six units sepaate thei oganics o collection, as do
most o the lage-scale multi-amily dwellings (7,200
The blending pad at Jepson Prairie Organics, a moderncompost acility used by San Francisco. (photo: Lay Stong,coutesy o recology)
Another beneft o the longstanding
relationship with Recology is that the city and
company both value local hiring and well-
paying, union jobs. The agreement betweenRecology and the Port o San Francisco or
leasing land at Pier 96 includes a frst-source
hiring provision. This requires Recology to
fll entry-level jobs frst with San Franciscos
Workorce Development System, so that
these jobs go to economically disadvantaged
people rom the city. The jobs are well
paying, with a starting rate o US $20/
hour compared to the city minimum wage
o US $10.24/hour. The city also requires
that Recology provide health benefts or
workers. For its part, Recology prides itsel
on employee well-being and ownership;
employees bought out the company in 1986
and started an employee stock options plan.
Out o 2,500 employees, approximately
80% own shares in the company. Recology
drivers and recycling sorters are represented
by the Teamsters union.
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23/88SAN FrANCISCO, USA | 19
l l n t i In ci n r t r l l i n c
o 9,000). The city is now ocusing on the emaining
1,800 buildings o six o moe units that may not be
composting, estimated to be 20 pecent o buildings
in San Fancisco. This includes public housing, single-
oom occupancy esidences, and ent-subsidized
buildings.
One goal is o city govenment, which poduces 15
pecent o the citys waste steam, to lead by example.
Fo this eason, thee people ae pimaily ocused on
govenment waste eduction and management. To help
educe waste, an online vitual waehouse acilitates
exchange o suplus supplies among city agencies. It
also aids the city in geen puchasing.
In addition to the small Zeo Waste team, thee ae
sepaate outeach pogams within SFE, employing
20 envionmental advocates. Most o these positions
come om Envionment Now, an annual geen job
taining pogam un by SFE. Paticipants in the
Envionment Now pogam come om all ove San
Fancisco, paticulaly undeseved communities o
colo. These city employees conduct outeach activities
on behal o all the pogams at SFE, including Enegy
Efciency, renewables, Toxics reduction, Clean Ai,
and Uban Foesty and Gadening. Because they
hail om these aeas themselves, the advocates ae
able to each taditionally had-to-each audiences
and impove community paticipation in envionmental
initiatives. Fo the Zeo Waste Pogam, outeach
occus ate pogam ollout, to help ceate ecycling
and composting habits once the inastuctue is in
place.
Pat o the success o SFE can be cedited to
consistent undingnot om the city, but diectly
om the ates paid o gabage collection. The oveall
budget o the Zeo Waste Pogam is appoximately
US $7 million annually. These unds come out o
an account recology pays into egulaly om its
collection evenues.
Futur Gol Zro Wt
San Fancisco landflled 15 pecent less in 2010 than
it did in 2009. Moe astounding, its disposal in 2010
was appoximately hal what it was in 2000. In 2010,
San Fanciscans each geneated 1.7 g o waste, 77
pecent o which was ecycled. The city estimates
that o the emaining 23 pecent anothe 75 pecent
is ecyclable, which would bing the ecycling ate
up to 90 pecent. The city is close to ensuing ull
Figur 2. San Fanciscos Depatment o Envionment Zeo Waste Division
Souce: San Fancisco Depatment o the Envionment.
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adoption o the Fantastic 3 pogam; it has taen two
decades o a behavioal and cultual shit to occu
acoss the city. While SFE goes ate adoption by
the last 20 pecent o lage multi-amily dwellings
and businesses, it is also setting its sights on a new
plant to sot the gabage itsel. A low tempeatue,
mechanical/biological sepaation plant, possibly with
anaeobic digestion, would allow sotes to pull apat
bags o gabage and ecove smalle pats o the
waste steam. Ideally, this would be in place beoe
the zeo waste deadline o 2020.
Though a unique synthesis o egulation, a long-tem
patneship, and engaged outeach, San Fancisco is
ceating a model zeo waste pogam.
sourc:
Pess elease. City and County o San Fancisco.
August 30, 2010. http://www5.sgov.og/s_
news/2010/08/san-ancisco-achieves-77-landfll-
divesion-ate-the-highest-o-any-us-city.html.
Solid Waste Management in the Wolds Cities
Wate and Sanitation in the Wolds Cities. United
Nations Human Settlements Pogamme. 2010.
http://boos.google.com/boos?id=5BukI8Zeh-
wC&souce=gbs_navlins_s.
recology Websites.
a. www.scollectionates.com/oveview.php.
b. www.scollectionates.com/esidential_ates.php.c. www.ecology.com/pofle/histoy.htm.
d. www.ecologymedia.com/pess_oom/index.php.
San Fancisco Commission on the Envionment
Annual repot. 2011. http://spl.og/pd/libaies/
main/gic/annual-epots/envionment_2011.pd.
EPA 2012. http://zwbaintustdatabeta.wodpess.
com/lessons/san-ancisco/.
Inteview with robet Haley, Zeo Waste Manage at
San Fancisco Depatment o the Envionment. May
3, 2012.
M. Lomele. Lette to Depatment o Labo, Febuay
8, 2011. http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pd/1210-AB32-
198.pd.
Ojea, Pauli. The Zeo Waste Economy in SF:
Building a Geene Moe Equitable Futue. SF
Depatment o the Envionment. 2012.
Recology truck with advertising. (photo: recology)
7/28/2019 On the Road to Zero Waste
25/88SAN FrANCISCO, USA | 21
l l n t i In ci n r t r l l i n c
Phelan, Saah. Tash Tal San Fancisco Bay
Guadian. Mach 30, 2010. http://www.sbg.
com/2010/03/30/tash-tal?page=0,0.
No on A Website. http://eepSFgeen.com/?gclid=CIn
D9Pvm8k8CFaUZQgodnyV2Vw.
Phelan, Saah. Tale o Two Landflls. June 15, 2010.
http://www.sbg.com/2010/06/15/tale-two-landflls.
Ebelein, Sven. Whee No City Has Gone Beoe: San
Fancisco Will Be Wolds Fist Zeo-Waste Town by
2020. Altenet. Apil 18, 2012. http://www.altenet.
og/visions/155039/whee_no_city_has_gone_
beoe%3A_san_ancisco_will_be_wolds_fst_zeo-waste_town_by_2020.
Envionment Now website: http://www.senvionment.
og/aticle/building-a-geen-wooce-envionment-
now/about-envionment-now-0.
Tam, Laua. Towad Zeo Waste. San Fancisco
Planning and Uban reseach Association. Febuay
2010. http://www.spu.og/publications/libay/aticle/
towad_zeo_waste.
kielty, Alexa. San Fanciscos Food Composting
Pogam. SF Depatment o the Envionment. 2006.
BArT Ad o Compost. http://www.ic.com/photos/
anthonylibaian/2664296141/in/photosteam/.
Fey, David. The Uban Quest o Zeo Waste. Wall
Steet Jounal. Septembe 12, 2011. http://www.
ecologymedia.com/pess_oom/aticles/pd/2011/Uban_Quest_o_Zeo_Waste.pd.
Julie Byant, kevin Dew, robet Haley, and Jac Macy.
The Stoy o Zeo Waste. resouce recycling. August
2011. http://www.ecologymedia.com/pess_oom/
aticles/pd/2011/Stoy_o_Zeo_Waste.pd.
Calionians Against Waste. http://www.cawecycles.
og/.
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almioi t t orrot o implementing the Philippines
decentalized waste management law. Though an NGO
patneship, village leadeship has established compehensivezeo waste stategies, including bacyad and village-level
composting, souce sepaation pogams, and small-scale
soting acilities. As a esult, open buning and dumping have
vitually ended, and inomal secto ecycles ae ecoveing
moe mateials, unde bette conditions, and selling them
o bette pices than beoe. All this was made possible by
a bottom-up planning pocess that bought togethe localofcials and staeholdes to geneate zeo waste plans at the
village level.
aLaMInOs, PhILIPPInes
Zeo Waste, om Deam to realityBy Anne Larracas
Eco-shed, composting garden, and collection vehicle o Barangay Sta. Maria, Alaminos. (photo: Anne Laacas)
aLaMInOs
Pangasinan province
Population: 84,000
Area: 166.23 km2
Population: 84,000
Population density: 505/km2
Average annual rainall: 2,751 mm
Altitude: 0-20 meters above sea level
Average temperature range: 22C to 32C
Waste generation: 0.3 kg/capita/day
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27/88ALAMINOS, PHILIPPINES | 23
l l n ti I n ci n r t r l l i n c
Alaminos is home to the most popula touist
destination in the povince and the fst national
pa in the county, Hunded Islands National Pa.
Widely nown o its beautiul beaches and abundant
wildlie, the pa attacts moe than 160,000 visitosa yea and geneates hundeds o jobs and millions o
Philippine pesos in evenue o the city.
As with othe local govenment units (LGU) in the
county, Alaminos City is divided into barangays o
villages, o which thee ae 39. Each barangay is
headed by a publicly-elected council led by a Punong
Barangay o village chie. Among many things,
barangay leades paticipate in local planning andgovenance o the city and the barangay, and ae
in chage o passing and enocing laws, especially
those petaining to waste management.
Taditionally, the majoity o the waste poduced
in Alaminos has consisted o biodegadable o
compostable mateials but, as is typical o a ast-
developing city, non-biodegadable pacaging and
poducts have become a pat o eveyday lie. In ecent
yeas, the polieation and disposal o non-ecyclable
poducts have inceasingly become moe poblematic,
especially in Alaminos coastal aeas whee they
theaten maine lie and spoil the natual beauty o the
city. Touists to the Hunded Islands also contibute by
binging in and disposing o plastic pacaging.
Waste management in the Philippines is coveed by
a 2000 law populaly nown as republic Act 9003.
Beoe its passage, waste was managed almost
wholly by municipal govenments that typically would
haul mixed waste to a cental dumpsite. Unde thenew law, the public and all levels o govenment shae
esponsibility o managing waste, with the biggest
tassensuing segegation, composting, pope
collection and stoage, and building inastuctue
esting with barangayofcials.
Specifcally, rA 9003 stipulates that all LGUs
should have and implement a compehensive
solid waste management plan o the sae andsanitay management o solid waste geneated in
aeas unde its geogaphic and political coveage.
It lo mt t cotructio o
mtril rcovry cility i cbarangay,
grgtio t ourc, barangay
muicipl compotig, 100%barangay-
l grgtcollctio. It outlw mix
wt collctio op burig
wll ucotroll mi-cotroll
umpit.
situtio o t Grou
Howeve, by 2009 waste management pogams
at the barangay level in Alaminos, as in most o
the county, wee non-existent. Attempting to mae
the barangays conom to rA 9003, the city fstencouaged and late mandated that the barangays
tae moe esponsibility o waste management.
Neithe appoach was eective. Alaminos was still
maintaining a cental dumpsite; waste was collected
daily by the city, but in only 14 o the 39 barangays. The
emaining villages had to deal with thei own waste,
which led to widespead open buning and dumping.
Households did not pactice waste sepaation, and
mixed waste collection was still commonly pacticed.
The city had built a mateials ecovey acility in 2004,
but o yeas it was unde-utilized due to lac o aBurning o agriculture waste was a common sight in Alaminosduring harvest season. (photo: Anne Laacas)
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compehensive waste management plan.
A suvey done by the city classifed the waste into
thee steams: biodegadable, non-biodegadable,
and esidual. Biodegadable waste, oughly two-thids o the total, consisted o itchen and gaden
waste, animal waste, and human waste. A small
non-biodegadable steam was compised o metal,
glass, ubbe, dy papes/catons, cloth, dy leathe/
eathes, and ecyclable plastic. The emaining thid
was esidual waste including sanitay napins, plastic
bags, ceamics, composite pacaging such as Teta
Pas, and candy wappes. The total volume o
waste geneated in the city (25 tons pe day) mostlycame om esidences, as shown in Figue 1, and
was pojected to incease 1% each yea. In ode to
implement rA 9003, clealy the citizens o Alaminos
City would need to be active paticipants.
Figur 1. Souces o Waste Geneated in Alaminos(tons pe day)
Note: Actual 2004 fgues.
Souce: Alaminos 10-yea Solid Waste Management Plan Dat
To addess the gowing volume o waste, the city
planned to tae out a ban loan to invest in a waste
convesion acility that would tansom solid waste
into hollow building blocs and compost. The acility
was pojected to cost 26 million (US $605,000). The
technology was untested howeve, and many believed
that it was unwise o the city to invest a substantial
amount in an unpoven technology, paticulaly one
that pomoted centalized collection.
T Birt o Zro Wt City
In August 2009, the Global Alliance o Incineato
Altenatives (GAIA) poposed a patneship with the
city govenment. The Zeo Waste Alaminos pojectwas bon the ollowing month. GAIA povided one
sta membe o the poject team, as well as taining
in zeo waste in the om o sillshaes, meetings,
technical inomation, assistance in stategic planning,
and suppot to barangayleades as they dated thei
own waste management plans. GAIA also povided
fnancial suppot (o pinting educational mateials,
buying sheddes o oganics and plastics, awading
mini-gants o baangays to build eco-sheds opuchase vehicles, etc.). The city povided two ull-time
employees o the poject team, tanspotation o the
team and taines, logistical suppot o all activities
and tainings, technical assistance, and suppot in
stategic planning o the barangays. A outh team
membe was ecuited om Mothe Eath Foundation
(a GAIA membe) to seve as a consultant o all the
barangaytechnical consultations.
atr two yr, t barangays civ
v wr clo to civig ull complic
wit Ra 9003, my o t otrbarangays
wr wll o tir wy.
Itrvtio strtgi
To begin, a compehensive suvey was administeedto assess and ecod the existing waste management
pactices thoughout Alaminos. Team membes
tavelled to all 39 barangays whee they inteviewed
Punong Barangay (village chies) and documented
what they saw.
Woshops wee held to begin convesations
among leades at the barangay level about waste
segegation and collection, composting, the rA 9003
law, the components o the Zeo Waste Alaminos
poject, planning, etc. Each barangay sent thee
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29/88ALAMINOS, PHILIPPINES | 25
l l n ti I n ci n r t r l l i n c
epesentatives; city ofcials, including all depatment
heads, wee also in attendance, as was the poject
team.
Ate the woshops, the barangays held technicalconsultations and assemblies bac in thei villages.
These meetings, held ove a 14-month peiod,
wee the ey to the Alaminos pojects success.
Technical consultations equied the attendance
o the entie barangay council. At the end o the
consultation, a complete waste management plan
including a calenda o activities, investment plans o
inastuctue o equipment, a budget with unding
souces, and tas assignmentswas geneatedand signed by the entie council and all esidents in
attendance. This plan was then used as the bluepint
o the barangays waste management pogam and
was pesented in assemblies to esidents o appoval
and comments beoe it was implemented. While
the poject team was typically vey active in leading
the technical consultations, once the barangays had
omulated thei own waste management pogams,
the paticipating leades too owneship o the
poject in thei barangays and led the assemblies
themselves.
Additional staeholdes om vaious city depatments,
city woes in waste management and collection, and
epesentatives om jun shops, the touism industy,
the boat ownes and opeatos association, hospital
and medical health acilities, academia, business, andvaious eligious sectos wee consulted in sepaate
sessions to expand paticipation in implementing rA
9003.a rult,rort i tbli
compotig ciliti improv wt
grgtio, tourit wr uct
rmi bout t trict o-littrig
wt prtio polici, opitl cliic
trt to implmt wt grgtio,
cool uivriti improv tir wt
grgtio compotig prctic.
At the end o the Zeo Waste Alaminos poject, a
second compehensive suvey was administeed
to evaluate the implementation o the management
pogams developed though the couse o the poject.
Each o the 39 barangayswee visited by poject team
membes who inteviewed esidents and ecoded
all changes elated to waste management that had
occued since the initial suvey was conducted.
The suvey tageted 10 pecent o the population in
Alaminos and evealed both positive and negative
esults. A high pecentage o esidents wee pacticing
waste sepaation (88% o those suveyed) and
composting (53%), and many said they new about
thei villages waste management pogam (56%)and the national law (63%). On the othe hand, some
esidents (58%) said that the inomation they eceived
om baangay ofcials about waste management
was not enough, and thee wee those who wee
not paticipating in the pogam because they elt it
was too cumbesome. Still, the majoity expessed
appeciation o the new waste management pogam
in most o the barangays and wee willing to suppot
and paticipate in the citys pogam.
A team member interviews a Punong Barangayabout thecurrent waste management system in his village. (photo: reiPanaligan)
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Lo Lr
The Alaminos poject encounteed multiple
challenges and oadblocs. Initially, political tensions
theatened to pevent the poject om getting o
the gound. An existing ivaly between city andmany barangayofcials made some o the barangay
leades appehensive and even hostile to the idea o
coopeating with the city. a grroot pproc
llow my milto to b civ i
w mot, i cotrt to t top-ow
trtgy mploy by t city govrmt
prviouly. While the citys govenment-oganized
woshops on waste management wee attended byonly a handul o barangayleades, the pojects fst
zeo waste woshop had moe than 100 barangay
ofcial paticipants, and 21 out o 39 barangayleades
attended a second woshop months late.
The poject team woed with all the barangayleades
egadless o thei political afliations. Consequently,
the pojects momentum and the staeholdes
enthusiasm wee easily sustained, and activities atethe elections wee immediately esumed with ew
poblems. GAIAs most impotant ole in Alaminos ove
the two yeas may well have been as liaison between
city and barangayofcials who had not seen eye to
eye about waste management o yeas. The pesence
o a neutal oce acilitated objective discussion and
esolution o impotant issues.
A bochue supplied by GAIA duing and ate thebarangay meetings was vey helpul in einocing
ey messages om the technical consultations and
assemblies. Barangay leades wee able to give
bochues (poste size) out to people when they
visited. The esidents wee ased to sign a log boo
saying that they had eceived the bochue. Late,
when ofcials saw open buning and othe signs o
pohibited activities, the esidents wee no longe able
to use the old excuse that they did not now the law.Open dumping and buning deceased signifcantly. In
2009, almost evey feld had a pile buning; by 2011
thee wee almost none. It also helped temendously
that thee ae no hazadous industies in the city,
and that Alaminos aleady had some geat initiatives
in place, such as the vemicompost pogam and a
pogam to pomote oganic agicultue.
Most impotantly, the city govenment ully committed
to the zeo waste vision, poviding employees to
seve ull-time as membes o the poject, who
wee highly espected by barangayleades.
Rult
The poject gew by leaps and bounds in the span
o two yeas. While in 2009 almost no barangayshad begun implementation o rA 9003, in 2011,
25 had local odinances on waste management that
specifcally banned open buning and dumping and
mandated household segegation and composting.
Bacyad composting has long been common in ual
aeas thoughout the Philippines; many locals have
pacticed open buning o decades and believed
that buning wasteespecially agicultual wasteis
benefcial to the soil, helps plants bloom, and dives
away pests. Beoe the poject, it was not unusual to
Barangay ocials and residents in all 39 barangays oAlaminos were included in discussions about proper wastemanagement. (photo: Anne Laacas)
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31/88ALAMINOS, PHILIPPINES | 27
l l n ti I n ci n r t r l l i n c
fnd non-biodegadable waste mixed in with compost.
Fiteen barangays ae now consistently implementing
pue composting. Vemicomposting has also inceased,and the city has povided barangays, as well as
selected schools that stated thei own vemicompost
pogams, with woms and oganic etilize.
svtbarangaysv trt compr-
iv collctio ytmicluig collctio
cul, collctio vicl(), collctor,
workig MRF (mtril rcovry cility),
i om c, collct rom rit
that wee ageed upon by thei village councils and
esidents. Fiteen o these ae also segegating at
souce.
Thity-two barangays have built eco-sheds which
povide tempoay stoage o esidual, hazadous, and
small amounts o ecyclable waste. These mateials
ae then collected by the city and bought to the citymateials ecovey acility o pocessing (esidual
waste) o long-tem stoage (hazadous waste).
In many barangays, thee is ample space o bacyad
composting, so the waste collected and bought to
the mateials ecovey acilities is mostly esidual.Since the waste is typically collected twice a month,
esidents ae eminded to clean and stoe dy esidual
waste so that it will not smell o attact pests.
recently, the city announced a No-segegation, no-
collection policy. residents will eceive a waning i
thei waste is not sepaated. Ate a couple o wanings,
it will not be collected. The city has aleady seen a
noticeable eduction in the volume o oveall waste, as
well as a eduction in oganics and ecyclable matte
in the waste collected, although the changes have not
yet been measued.
The city has consideedbut not yet passeda
ban on plastic bags. Howeve, it has put in place a
esidual waste management pogam to addess
plastics collected om the barangays. Pltic rr, mix wit cocrt i 40/60 rtio,
tur ito pvr tt r u to improv
An eco-shed is checked to make sure it is being used properly by the barangay. (photo: Anne Laacas)
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iwlk i t city ctr.The entie sidewal in
ont o City Hall and the Alaminos Cathedal has been
enovated using these bics. Seveal public schools
in the city have also eceived the paves to impove
thei walways. The bics cost about hal as much astaditional paves, and the city plans to commecialize
thei poduction.
I 2010, t city coucil p ito lw t rt
zro wt city oric i t coutry, a local
vesion o rA 9003 that includes a stonge povision
against incineation and specifes how Alaminos will
implement collection and conduct public education,
among othe things. This histoic legislation upholdssegegation at souce, sets a taget o waste divesion,
and einoces the national ban on incineation by
declaing it a pohibited act.
T Iorml sctor
Beoe the Zeo Waste Alaminos poject, appoximately
35 waste pices wee woing in Alaminos City. While
the intention was to integate these individuals into the
poject om the beginning, they unotunately let the
city duing peliminay poject negotiations. Howeve,
in ealy 2012, the cental Alaminos City dumpsite was
suppoting as many as 50 o 60 waste pices.
The numbe is lage because o impoved conditions
and access to new souces o mateials. Fo instance,
beoe the poject, all esidual plastic waste wasbought to the dump, and waste pices wee oced
to ummage though oganics in ode to collect
any salvageable mateials. a rult o t
city no-grgtio, o-collctio policy,
tr r wr orgic mix i wt
pickr c mor ly rcovr rcyclbl
pltic. Futhemoe, waste pices ae able to
collect clean, sepaated plastics om public sevice
buildings (e.g., chuches, schools) and sell them bac
to the city o a set pice o 2.50/ilo (US $.06). In
pe-poject days, the pice o mateials was sometimes
up to the whim o the buyes. Today not only collection
is easie, selling is as well.
In act, the city allots an aveage o 25,000 (aound
US $600) pe month to buy the bul o the plastic
wastes o its sidewal pave pogam om the waste
pices. Even when thee ae ewe ecyclables to
collect, the waste pices still ean eliable income
(700 - 1500 o US $16.50 - $35.50 pe wee)this way.
recyclable waste continues to be diectly sold by
esidents to itineant jun buyes who come to the
villages on a daily basis. The poject has actually
beneftted the itineant buyes as well as the waste
pices. Since waste sepaation is now mandatoy
in many barangays, ecovey o useul mateials
has inceased, so the buyes can buy om moe
households.
Last but not least, barangays v gi
grtr pprcitio or t rvic provi
by t itirt buyrespecially ate leaning
that the barangay leades wee esponsible o
collecting all discads om the households. Because
the wo o the itineant buyes educed the volume tobe collected, the barangays did not need to hie many
new employees o any lage vehicles to accommodate
Pavers made rom concrete and recovered plastic are usedto improve walkways in the city. (photo: Anne Laacas)
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l l n ti I n ci n r t r l l i n c
all o the discads om the households. In addition,
many barangays wee able to implement a bi-monthly
athe than a moe equent collection schedule,
theeby saving labo costs. In some barangays, the
itineant buyes became the ofcial waste collectoso the village. In othes, the ees nomally chaged
itineant buyes wee eliminated in exchange o thei
collecting ecyclables om all the houses.
T Ro a
Although implementation o waste management
pogams has inceased in the barangays, much moe
needs to be done. Two yeas is suely not long enoughto evese decades o old habits. Ten barangayspassed
evey acet o the fnal evaluation with ying colos,
while nine o those that did not pass wee at least
halway to achieving thei waste management goals.
The emaining villages have much to do, but with the
pope oundation now in place, many ae expected
to pogess with thei pogam implementation in the
coming months.
sourc:
Alaminos 10-yea Solid Waste Management Plan.
Facts And Figues Cy 2010, City o Alaminos,
Pangasinan, Philippines.
Field visits and inteviews by the autho.
republic Act 9003, Chapte II, Section 12.
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T rgiol wt mgmt coortium
in Spains Gipuzoa Povince, aced with a nealy ull
landfll in 2002, poposed building two new incineatos.
Citizens stongly opposed the incineatos and pevented
one om being built. Although the second is now unde
constuction, Henani and two othe small cities in theegion have established an ambitious pogam o doo-
to-doo collection o souce-sepaated waste, including
oganics, that has been enthusiastically embaced by
esidents. The amount o waste going to the landfll has
been educed by 80 pecent. With new political leadeship
opposed to incineation, doo-to-doo collection is poised
to expand thoughout the egion.
heRnanI, sPaIn
Doo-to-Doo Collection as aStategy to reduce Waste DisposalBy Cecilia Allen
Protest calling or a moratorium on the construction o the incinerator and in support o a zero waste plan. (photo: GipuzoaZeo Zabo)
heRnanI
Province o Gipuzkoa
Population: 19,300Aea: 40 m2
Population density: 485/m2
Aveage annual ainall: 1,400 mm
Altitude: 44 metes above sea level
Aveage tempeatue ange: 9C to 20C
Waste geneation: 0.86 g/capita/day
Waste divesion ate: 79%*
Waste to landfll eduction ate since the beginningo the pogam: 80%**
Public spending pe capita in solid wastemanagement: US $115 pe yea
* Estimated as resources recovered out o the totalproduced.** Compares waste landflled in April 2010the last month othe ormer systemand amount landflled in April 2011.
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l l n t i In ci n r t r l l i n c
Prctic v. Tcology
Henani is a city o ove 19,000 esidents in the
Basque County o Spain. Togethe with nine
othe municipalities, it is pat o the San Maomancomunidad(a ee association o municipalities),
ceated to manage solid waste jointly. At the povincial
level, all the mancomunidades plus the povincial
govenment compise a consotium that pomotes
and manages the Gipuzoa Integated Waste
Management Plan. Henanis ome municipal waste
management system stongly elied on waste disposal
complemented by a limited ecycling system. While
citizens could voluntaily dispose o ecyclables in theou lage containes placed on the steets, most o
the citys waste went to the landfll.
In 2002, when the San Mao landfll was nealy ull,
the povincial govenment pesented a contovesial
plan: the addition o anothe containe o the voluntay
ecycling o oganic mateials and the constuction o
two new incineatos. Citizen opposition to incineation
was immediate. Since then, the egion has been
immesed in a tenacious dispute between those who
want to build the incineatos and those who pomote
waste pevention policies and bette souce sepaation
stategies. Ate yeas o stuggle and mobilization,
the people stopped one incineato om being built,
but the govenment moved owad on the othe one.
Joining the citizens opposition, some municipalities
decided not only to eject the plan to build new
incineatos but also to implement an altenative to
buying o buning. Usubil was the fst municipality to
do so. This town o 6,000 people established a doo-
to-doo collection system o souce-sepaated waste
steams, including oganic mateials. In just six wees,
the amount o collected waste destined o landflls
dopped by 80 pecent. T rourc rcovry rtrgitr i t rt yr w 82 prct. In
2008, beoe doo-to-doo collection stated, Usubil
was taing 175 tons pe month to the landfll. One
yea late, the amount had dopped to 25 tons.
Implmtig Cg
In May 2010, ate two months o dialogue with the
citizens to explain and solicit input on the new system,
Henani ollowed the model o Usubil. The municipality
distibuted two small bins pe household, placed hoos
Note: The doo-to-doo collection stated in May 2010.Souce: Based on data published by the govenment o Henani: http://www.henani.net/es/sevicios/pueta-a-pueta.
Tbl 1. Municipal Solid Waste Landflled in Henani
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to hang the bins and bags at the ont o houses and
buildings, emoved the lage containes om the
steets, established waste segegation as mandatoy,
and launched doo-to-doo collection. Citizens began
to place sepaated oganics, light pacaging, papeand cadboad, and esiduals in ont o thei houses.
Each steam has a designated pic-up day: oganics
on Wednesdays, Fidays, and Sundays; light pacaging
on Mondays and Thusdays; pape and cadboad on
Tuesdays; and esiduals on Satudays. Light pacaging
is placed in bags, and the govenment sells eusable
bags o this pupose. Pape and cadboad ae tied
in bundles o placed in boxes o bags. Oganics aeplaced in the bins povided by the govenment, and
the esiduals ae disposed o in bags. The collection is
done by a public company called Gabitania, ceated
by the govenments o Henani, Usubil, and Oiatzun.
Collection is done at night, with a complementay shit
duing the moning. Each bin and each hoo have a
code that identifes the household that uses them.
This allows the govenment to monito sepaation in
each household. I the collecto identifes a steam
that does not coespond to that collection day, s/he
puts a stice with a ed coss on the bin and does
not collect that waste. The inomation is given to the
administation ofce, and the household eceives a
notice explaining why the waste was not collected.
Fo glass, the system o lage containes on the
steets was maintained, and doo-to-doo collectionis done only in the old pat o the city. A non-poft
association ceated by poduces, paces, bottles,
and ecycles handles this steam. The association is
unded by contibutions the pacaging companies pay
o each poduct they put on the maet.
I someone misses the doo-to-doo collection, thee
ae ou emegency centes to dop o waste. Thee is
also a dop-o site that taes buly waste, electic and
electonic devices, and othe waste not coveed by the
doo-to-doo collection ee o chage. Fo businesses,
the collection schedule is the same as o households,
with an exta day o collection o esiduals. In ual
aeas, home composting is mandatoy, and othe
steams ae eithe collected doo-to-doo o taen to
dop-o centes.
Unde the new system, Henani pomotes home
composting thoughout the municipality. People
can sign up o a composting class, equest a home
composting manual, and eceive a compost bin o
ee. Thee is a phone line to get composting advice,
and thee ae compost specialists who can visit
households in need o assistance. Popl wo ig
up to compot t om rciv 40 prct
icout o t muicipl wt mgmt. The ee o businesses vaies accoding to
the collection equency and the amount o waste
poduced, using Pay As You Thow citeia.
The San Mao mancomunidadopeates a mateials
ecovey acility whee light pacaging is soted o
sale. Pape and cadboad ae sold to a ecycling
company neaby. Oganic mateials must be taen 50
m away to a compost plant, opeated by the povincial
consotium. sourc prtio i rfct i t
mtril tt hri tk to t compot
Bins or organics used in Hernani and Usurbil.(photo: Gipuzoa Zeo Zabo)
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37/88HErNANI, SPAIN | 33
l l n t i In ci n r t r l l i n c
plt, wic coit oo vrgoly 1.5
prct impuriti (o-orgic otr
pollutt).1
In the fst ull month o the doo-to-doo collection,t riul ropp by 80 prct, t
totl wt mg cr by 27 prct.2
In 2010, the municipality landflled 53.8 pecent less
waste than in 2009(5,219 tons in 2009 and 2,412
tons in 2010), and doo-to-doo collection had only
begun in May.
Our tt-o-t-rt tcology i
t igbor.
Communication and community paticipation have
been ey to the success o the pogam. The conviction
that the use o incineatos was the wost option and
that doo-to-doo collection was easible and the best
solution o Henani suppoted the change. I t two
mot prior to t implmttio o t w
collctio ytm, t govrmt orgiz
mtig to xpli rvi t w
ytm. As the mayo declaed, Ou state-o-the-at
technology is the neighbos. I the neighbos sepaate
well, thee is no need to build an incineato.3
The govenments that have implemented doo-to-doo
collection pogams have pomoted the ceation o
citizens committees to monito thei implementation.
Moeove, local Zero Zabor (zeo waste) goups
have emeged in these cities, building on ealie anti-incineato movements. The dieent local goups
ae woing togethe in Gipuzkoa Zero Zabor. In a
ew yeas, these voluntee activists have advanced
the convesation om opposing incineatos to
pomoting an authentic zeo waste stategy that
ocuses on peventing wastethough changes in
design,