Neil Seldman directs the Waste to Wealth Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) in Washington, D.C. He has been a pioneer in the U.S. recycling , anti-incineration and zero waste movement since 1974. He focuses on working with cities and businesses to recover materials from the waste stream and add value to these materials through local processing and manufacturing. ILSR has been instrumental in helping cities such as Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, and counties such as King County, Wash., and Alachua County, Fla., reject incineration and adopt recycling, composting and reuse alternatives. Seldman is co-founder of ILSR, National Recycling Coalition, Grass Roots Recycling Network, Zero Waste International Alliance and Save the Albatross Coalition. Prior to ILSR, Seldman worked in manufacturing and was a professor of political science.