Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Zero Waste Strategies to Improve Your Bottom Line
September 17, 2012
Monday, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
UO in Portland, White Stag Block 152
Presenter:
Dorothy Atwood
A one-day workshop in the principles and practical methods of moving towards zero waste and improving your bottom line by reducing visible and invisible waste streams.
Course Description
This interactive workshop is designed for those seeking to learn practical methods to move their sustainability efforts forward by applying zero waste strategies. Zero waste is a common goal for organizations seeking to become more sustainable and it is a strategy with strong financial benefits. Once the low hanging fruit of recycling has been picked, people are often at a loss of what to do to continue to move toward zero waste.
The primary focus of the workshop is on practical methods of systemic zero waste opportunity evaluation and prioritization. Through a combination of lectures and group exercises, participants will learn how to:
- Map the flow of materials and resources through their organizations.
- Assess options to eliminate wasted resources.
- Close loops to achieve zero waste.
The exercises will employ management system concepts and tools, and the results will be evaluated for internal zero waste and financial opportunities as well as for external collaboration.
Participants will learn about the issues associated with zero waste:
- What does zero waste mean?
- How does it relate to sustainability and the triple bottom line?
- How far can an individual organization go without collaboration with others?
Outcomes
During this training session participants will:
- Gain a deeper understanding of the traditional three R's: reduce, reuse, recycle.
- Learn how zero waste strategies contribute to the fiscal and green house gas reduction goals.
- Create a zero waste vision of the organization.
- Work with effective tools to identify and assess opportunities to eliminate waste and save money.
- Develop methods to prioritize and select high-impact projects.
- Explore resource collaboration opportunities with other participants.
- Learn form the examples of best practices
