Zero-Waste

Austin, TX has set itself a goal of going Zero-Waste by 2040, reports Earth 911.

“Zero Waste is a design principle that goes beyond recycling to focus first on reducing wastes and reusing products and then recycling and composting the rest. Zero Waste works to redesign the system to mimic natural systems, recognizing that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and everything is a resource for something or someone else. Currently, Austin is estimated to lose over $40 million annually by sending materials that could be recycled or reused to area landfills.”"

Took about four years to develop and approve the policy--a nice example of long-range thinking.