|
|
Resolution for Zero
Waste
WHEREAS
The placement of materials in waste
disposal facilities, such as landfills and incinerators, causes damage
to human health, wastes natural resources and/or wrongly transfers liabilities
to future generations, and
The elimination of specified types of
waste for disposal, also known as disposal bans, will protect states from
waste importation from other states and nations, and
Consumers are currently forced to assume
the high financial cost of collecting, recycling, and disposing of materials,
and
Tax subsidies for waste and virgin materials
send the wrong economic signals to both consumers and producers, and
A resource recovery based economy will
create and sustain more productive and meaningful jobs, and
Increasingly, U.S. and international
governments and organizations are adopting the policy that the financial
responsibility of collecting, recycling, and disposing of materials belongs
with producers, and
Producers should design products to ensure
that they can be safely recycled back into the marketplace or nature,
and
Most types of waste streams can be easily
eliminated through across-the-board minimum recycling content laws, the
use of non-toxic alternatives in product design, and local composting
facilities, and
Recognizing that some materials are necessary
for the public health and national security, in which case, storage is
the only safe alternative, and
Recognizing that voluntary recycling
goals have not achieved waste elimination, and
Government is ultimately responsible
for establishing criteria needed to eliminate waste, so that manufacturers
produce and businesses sell materials that can be safely recycled or composted,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT
[City/
County/ Organization] supports the creation of a Zero Waste Plan in order
to eliminate waste and pollution in the manufacture, use, storage, and recycling
of materials.
The Resolution for Zero Waste can be adapted to local conditions and passed by local governments and community organizations. See also our Resolution for Producer Responsibility for Waste. Please let us know of your progress so we can post news on this site.
|
|