NSWMA Voices Support for Zero Waste

The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) and its members stated on Thursday that “they fully support state and local initiatives to reach ‘zero waste,’ and will continue to invest in technology to reach that goal,” says an NSWMA press release.

In a new position paper, the association states that “America is transitioning slowly but surely to a zero waste society” and that NSWMA’s members are “stepping forward to facilitate a discussion among the public, waste collection service providers, customers, manufacturers, government and consumers on how we can collectively work toward zero waste.”

“Solid waste companies are an important partner in zero waste efforts,” said Bruce Parker, president and CEO of NSWMA, in a press release. “Zero waste doesn’t mean ‘no trash,’ but rather, continuing to find economically achievable ways to treat as much waste as possible as a resource. It means diverting more of the waste stream away from disposal to be recycled or turned into a clean, renewable source of energy. Trash haulers and other solid waste processors will still be needed to make it work.”

“It is important to recognize that the transition to zero waste will not be easy or quick,” Parker added. “It took almost twenty years to double the recycling rate, from 16.2 percent of municipal solid waste in 1990, to 33.2 percent in 2008. To boost these numbers even further, we will need to continue to expand recycling programs, invest in properly built and permitted processing facilities and cut down on packaging and other waste at the source.”