CLAYTON O’BRIEN-SMITH: What does the term “Zero Waste” mean to you?

RICHARD CONLIN: [It means]…treating waste as a resource and thinking that anything otherwise is a problem; recognizing of course, that Zero Waste is an aspiration. The chances of achieving 100 percent reuse are challenging, if not impossible, but if we are short of 100 percent, it means we’re not imitating nature and its cycles in the appropriate way.

COS: What made this one of your priorities?

RC: I took on the chairmanship of the committee that oversees Seattle Public Utilities in 2006. One of the first tasks on this committee was updating the solid waste plan and revisiting the city’s transfer station system. The mayor’s office proposed to reconstruct these transfer stations (to current standards) and build a third to facilitate transferring garbage on trains to eastern Oregon. I became convinced that this path would create a barrier to increasing our recycling and waste reduction efforts.

COS: So, the alternative was?

RC: To say, “We don’t need this. Let’s change the system.” Let’s limit ourselves to live within our means. One of the key parts of our Zero Waste strategy was to say, “Okay, we’re not only going to recycle more (which has been a major emphasis), but we’re also going to reduce the amount of waste that we send away.”

COS: How big is the problem now? I keep hearing about how many train loads go to Oregon every day.

RC: A mile-long train every day.

COS: That is incredible. Is there a target to reduce the quantity in a certain number of years?

RC: Our goal is to start by reducing it by one percent per year for the next five years, see how well we do on that and then set more ambitious targets. At the end of 2008 we’ll see whether we met our goals. Our approach is modeled after our water conservation program, which has been extraordinarily successful—we’re now using the same amount of water we used in 1970 and serving 40 percent more people.

COS: What are the big targets for reductions (in solid waste)?

RC: Food, construction and demolition waste.

COS: What are the major strategies to achieve the targeted reductions in solid waste?

RC: With food waste, we promote composting and offer pickup with our yard waste collection to single-family residences. In 2011 we may reduce the regular garbage pickup (frequency), which will further encourage all food waste to go into the composting system. The goal is to get to where almost everybody is doing it.

With construction and demolition waste, our activities range all the way from an ordinance that makes house moving easier to an ordinance that separates the construction permit from the demolition permit (to facilitate deconstruction and salvage).

COS: Are there other ways to encourage waste reduction?

RC: Yes, one way is take-back programs for product stewardship. The first major product stewardship initiative, an electronic “e-waste” take-back program, begins in January...we’re working with several other industry sectors, including a pilot with pharmaceuticals. The carpet industry is, of course, really getting into stewardship in a big way, and so is the paint industry.

In addition to this kind of stewardship activity, we also will directly ban some products, starting off with Styrofoam in January. The plastic bag fee is another approach to product waste reduction.

COS: Has the (Seattle) arts and culture community been engaged in the Zero Waste initiative at all?

RC: The recycled fashion shows like the International Sustainable Solutions (ISS) Trash Fashion Bash have been a great way to engage people. There will be other opportunities with the reconstruction of the transfer stations under the 1% for art program. There will be (close to) a million dollars available for art, and I really hope this is used in a way that gets the arts community involved.

COS: Any other thoughts about where we’re headed or what’s next?

RC: …implementation. I’m going to really push on this. We have a set of milestones that Seattle Public Utilities has committed to, and each step of the way is going to be a new and an experimental step toward making these things happen.

COS: What do you think are the biggest obstacles to this all working out well?

RC: …finding the right convenience technique for people and then getting that out in a timely and accessible way so that people understand it before they have a chance to develop a negative stereotype.

COS: So, consumer objections (are one of the biggest obstacles)?

RC: Exactly. We have to think of this as a marketing exercise.