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Letter to Governor Requesting Zero Waste Challenge in State-of-the-State

Gary Liss & Associates

4395 Gold Trail Way, Loomis, CA  95650-8929

916-652-7850; Fax: 916-652-0485

gary@garyliss.com, www.garyliss.com

 

                                                                                    November 8, 2006

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

State Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA 95814

                                                                                    RE: Zero Waste in State-of-the-State

 

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

 

Congratulations on your election victory!  Clearly your strong support for the environment and sustainability was a key contribution to your success this year.

 

I would like to suggest a simple action for you to include in your State-of-the-State speech this year: a Zero Waste Challenge to both California communities and businesses.

 

As noted on the attached request from the Global Recycling Council, for communities such a Challenge could encourage communities to go beyond AB939 to adopt a Zero Waste goal for their community, and develop a Zero Waste Plan to implement that goal. For businesses, you could encourage businesses to highlight their voluntary, positive achievements in diverting over 90% of their waste from landfills or incinerators, as dozens have already been documented at http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/business/profiles.php) and we are highlighting at conferences such as the upcoming event in San Diego (http://www.earthresource.org/zerowaste.html).

 

Thank you for your past leadership on Sustainability and Climate Change initiatives. You could advance those missions significantly by issuing this Zero Waste Challenge to communities and businesses throughout California in your State-of-the-State.  If you or your staff would like to discuss this idea, please contact me at 916-652-7850 or gary@garyliss.com.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Gary Liss

 

Cc:       Rosario Marin, Chair, Governor’s Green Action Team

Eileen Wenger Tutt,

Cal/EPA Assistant Secretary for Climate Change Activities

Members of CA Integrated Waste Management Board

Tam Doduc, State Water Resources Control Board

Maureen Gorsen, CA Department of Toxic Substances Control

Bridgett Luther, CA Department of Conservation

Linda Christopher, GrassRoots Recycling Network

Stephanie Barger, Earth Resource Foundation

Bill Magavern, Sierra Club

 

List of Supporters for this Request (as of 12/15/06):

Office of Mayor Jerry Brown, Oakland

GrassRoots Recycling Network

CA Resource Recovery Association

Global Recycling Council of the CA Resource Recovery Association

Earth Resource Foundation, Costa Mesa, CA

Margo Covington, Covington Consulting (Systems, Strategic & Action Planning, Sustainability & Entrepreneurial Training), Santa Fe, NM

Robert Gedert, City of Fresno, Public Works Department

Mark Gorrell, Architect, Berkeley, CA

Richard A. Ludt, Interior Removal Specialist, Inc., South Gate, CA

Nancy Macy, Environmental Committee, The Valley Women's Club of the San Lorenzo Valley, Ben Lomond, CA
John Moore, Henn, Etzel and Moore, Oakland, CA

Terry O'Keefe, Sustainable Business Alliance, Oakland, CA 

Mike Paparian, Sacramento, CA

Val Peters, Zero Waste Advocate, Berkeley and Humboldt Co., CA

Stefanie Pruegel, Gigantic Idea Studio, Oakland, CA

Russell Reiser, City of Palo Alto, Public Works Department, Solid Waste Program

Steve Salzman, Humboldt Plan It Green

(email gary@garyliss.com if you would like to be listed)

**************************************

Global Recycling Council

4395 Gold Trail Way, Loomis, CA  95650

(916) 652-7850

www.crra.com/grc/index.htm


August 4, 2004

Linda Moulton-Patterson, Chair
CA Integrated Waste Management Board
P.O. Box 2815
Sacramento, CA 95812-2815

Chair Linda Moulton-Patterson:

The Global Recycling Council of the CRRA has often commended the leadership of the CIWMB for its foresight and leadership in adopting Zero Waste as one of its goals in your Strategic Plan. GRC and the signatories below now call upon you to take steps to implement that goal for California with a Zero Waste Challenge, to both California communities and businesses.

For communities, such a Challenge could, with your assistance, encourage communities to go beyond AB939 to adopt a Zero Waste goal for their community, and develop a Zero Waste Plan to implement that goal. With the Office of Local Assistance and the many publications and tools on your website, California communities are ready to aim beyond 50% waste diversion. The adoption of a Zero Waste Plan would also be an excellent way for communities to further demonstrate their good faith efforts

For businesses, CIWMB could include in the WRAP award application process information about Zero Waste businesses (as documented at http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/articles/companies_zw.html), a request that all applicants provide overall waste diversion rates from landfills and incinerators, and encourage businesses to highlight how they are meeting the goals of Zero Waste Business principles (see http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/business/) in their applications.

To launch this new Zero Waste Challenge, GRC requests that you send an email to all local recycling coordinators and elected officials (especially those in RMDZs) to invite them to learn more about Zero Waste at the unique set of upcoming conferences highlighted below. GRC asks that you request them to send a "delegation" to at least the International Dialog and/or the GRRN Zero Waste Conferences, including an elected official, a high level staff member, a recycling coordinator, a business leader from their community, and a community or environmental group leader.

Similarly, for businesses (especially those associated with the CIWMB’s WRAP Program) GRC asks that you request them to send a "delegation" to at least the International Dialog and/or the GRRN Zero Waste Conferences, including a high level executive, a member of their facilities staff, a member of their Environmental, Health and Safety staff, a member of their design staff responsible for product design and packaging, and/or a member of their operations staff responsible for solid waste and recycling.

Thank you for your past leadership on Zero Waste. We believe that you can really make it happen for many communities and businesses throughout California!

Sincerely,

Tedd Ward

Tedd Ward, M.S., Chair
Global Recycling Council of CRRA

Richard V. Anthony, Boardmember
GrassRoots Recycling Network

Michael Closson, Executive Director
Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth

Peter Anderson, Executive Director
The Center for a Competitive Waste Industry

Mikhail Davis, Director
The David Brower Fund (a project of Earth Island Institute)

Dorsey Moore, Deputy Director of Operations
San Jose Conservation Corps

Brenda Platt, Co-Director
Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Captain Charles Moore
Algalita Marine Research Foundation

Bradley Angel, Executive Director,
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice

Nancy Macy
The Valley Women's Club of the San Lorenzo Valley

Alison Wise, Director, Business Development & Public Policy
Future 500/ Global Futures and Executive Director, Sea Change Sustainable Business Interest Group

Yoriko Kishimoto, City Council member
City of Palo Alto

Gil Friend, President & CEO
Natural Logic, Inc.

Antoinette Stein, Menlo Park resident
Independent Environmental Researcher

 The Global Recycling Council (GRC) is a Technical Council of the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) . The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the CRRA, other CRRA Technical Councils, or CRRA members.

 

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Gary Liss & Associates * 916-652-7850 * gary@garyliss.com