Waste management is t only costly, it’s often wasteful. Many of the materials commonly sent to landfills can and should be repurposed to reduce or eliminate waste. Circularity centers can help communities make efficient use of resources, cut down on waste, and achieve ESG (environmental, social, and governance) targets. Circularity centers, also kwn as sustainability campuses, are facilities that use a whole systems approach to direct discarded materials to their highest and best use. Moving away from a “take-make-waste” linear path toward a zero-waste closed loop is a viable solution to the growing challenge of waste management. Zero waste aims to conserve resources and divert materials from incineration or landfills by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of all byproducts and packaging. This session will feature a case study of the Los Reales circularity center in Arizona. Los Reales is customizing its campus to meet community needs, including incorporating a landfill, a tree nursery, and a composting/organic waste facility. The facility will help support the community’s initiative to plant one million trees by 2030. The circularity center supports recycling business development, landfill gas collection for energy, and provides a facility to convert plastic waste into fuels. There is a community education component as well. After this session, participants will be able to:
• Explain how the circularity center concept could support future waste diversion goals by using invative sustainability programs.
• Discuss how a circularity center can be customized to its inputs—such as a traditional landfill, a materials recovery facility, and a construction and demolition waste site.
• Evaluate the potential of implementing zero waste strategies in their own community’s operations to be better environmental stewards, save money, and reduce waste.

Contributor/Source

Sonya Betker

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