CRRA Resource Management Professional Certification

Student Materials

COURSE TITLE: Introduction to Zero Waste, the Foundation to Resource Management – Expanded 101B (6 hour course)

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
This workshop is intended to provide a solid foundation of understanding the broad features and issues of zero waste, the foundation to resource management. The impetus in the industry is towards zero waste management, and practitioners need to know and understand the history, technology, socio-economics, communications, ecology, and application of zero waste principles to real world problems of wasting.

Zero Waste Businesses are leading the way for Zero Waste and have diverted over 90% of their waste from landfill and incineration. Zero Waste Communities have adopted Zero Waste goals and plans to implement those goals. Join us to understand how Zero Waste can be a key part of community and business sustainability plans and help contribute to reducing greenhouse gases and global cooling.

COURSE OUTLINE

In this course, students will be introduced to:

Definitions and why defining terms is so important.
Overview of the resource management paradigm.
Theory and origins of wasting.
Conventional wisdom of sanitation method as opposed to managing discarded resources.
Need for and application of conservation and environmental protection in the municipal arena.

Specific topics will include:

Intro to Zero Waste, the foundation of resource management

Definition of Zero Waste
Resource management paradigm
Connections between Zero Waste and Climate Change
Communities that have adopted Zero Waste as a goal
Zero Waste Businesses that divert over 90% of their waste from landfills or incinerators

Intro to Zero Waste Businesses

Zero Waste Business Principles
Technologies of Zero Waste Practices
Model Zero Waste Businesses

Intro to Zero Waste Communities

Sample Zero Waste Resolution
Sample Zero Waste Community Plans
Sample Zero Waste Goals and Objectives

Developing Zero Waste Community Plans

Service Opportunities Analyses
Commodities Analysis, Economics & Jobs
Menu of Incentives and Policies
Environmental Benefits of Zero Waste for Communities (WARM Model)
Extended Producer Responsibility
Zero Waste Infrastructure (Reduce, Reuse, Recycling and Composting)
Resource Recovery Parks
Public Participation Processes
Education and Outreach, motivational techniques

The workshop will include three components:

A 4.5-hour lecture with questions and answers.
A one-hour Class Project.
An exam covering what was learned in class.

PREREQUISITES
None.

CLASS PROJECT
In class, students will break into groups. Each group will share their experience with Zero Waste at their business or community. The team will choose one example and develop a Zero Waste Plan for them based on the principles and examples learned in class. Each team will present their analysis to the rest of the class.

To obtain the CRRA Certificate, students will be required to implement an "Information to Action Project" within 1 year of the class. That activity could be getting their business, community or environmental group to adopt Zero Waste as a goal, organizing an event as a Zero Waste event, or developing an incentive or policy to help their business or community get to Zero Waste.

TESTING
Students must receive at least 75 out of 100 points in order to pass the class, earned as follows:

Review of URLs prior to class and sharing insights/comments during class up to 20 pts.
Participation in class project up to 40 pts.
Completing test in class up to 40 pts.

COURSE MATERIALS
We will email participants a list of URLs of Zero Waste websites and will ask participants to review and comment on those as part of the class. We will show sample documents in class, including Zero Waste Business Principles, Zero Waste Community Strategies and Plans, Sample Resource Recovery Park designs and useful references on Extended Producer Responsibility. A course workbook will be provided.

INSTRUCTORS (two of the following instructors will team-teach this class in any given location depending on availability and schedules)

Richard Anthony, CRMTI Vice-Chair and Trustee is an accomplished researcher, presenter, and innovator in zero waste management. Mr. Anthony received his education [B.S. 1969; M.A. 1974; Political Science (Public Administration)], from California State University, Long Beach, California. His experience is varied and a core strength, including significant time in local government, NGOs, and the private sector. His governmental work includes:

County of Fresno, Public Works; Solid Waste Program Coordinator 1979-1987)
County of San Diego, Public Works; Principal Solid Waste Program Manager (1987-1994)
County of San Diego, Public Works; Public Works Program Coordinator, Wastewater Management Division (1994 - 98)

His private sector experience includes:

SCS Engineers; Project Scientist (1974-1979)
Richard Anthony Associates (1996-present)
State of California, Senate Task Force for Solid Waste Management; Recycling Committee Chairman (1987-1989)

His NGO experience includes both university experience and nonprofit organizations:

Lecturer; Careers in Waste Management, Public Administration, San Diego State University (1989-1993)
Instructor; Solid Waste Management, Environmental Health Department, Fresno State University (1986)
Lecturer and Class Coordinator; Solid Waste Management and Recycling, Engineering Department, California State University Long Beach (1976-1980)

Voluntary Positions:

Board of Directors Grassroots Recycling Network (1996-present)
Board of Directors; California Resource Recovery Association (1975-1979, 1980-1993, 1994-96, 2000-present)
Board of Directors; Keep California Beautiful (1991- present)
Board of Directors; Mount Carmel Soccer Booster Club dba Sun Devil Recycling (1991-96)
Founding member and former Board of Director; National Recycling Coalition (1980-1993)
California State University Long Beach, Associated Students Ecology Commission (1971-1974)
Board of Directors; Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA) (2003-present)
Board of Trustees; California Resource Management Training Institute (CRMTI) (2004-present)

His work is widely recognized as he has received several honors from the National Recycling Coalition, the California Resource Recovery Association, and the California Department of Conservation:

Best Regional Recycling Program; National Recycling Coalition 1993
Life membership; California Resource Recovery Association 1993
Best Recycling Program; California Department of Conservation 1990
National Environmental Leader CRRA; National Recycling Coalition 1987
Recycler of the Year; California Resource Recovery Association 1984
Recycler of the Year; California Resource Recovery Association 2003

J. Michael Huls is President of Huls Environmental Management and the CEO of Huls Environmental Media, both California Corporations. Mr. Huls is a California Registered Environmental Assessor (#01382), who is widely recognized for his expertise in integrated environmental management and zero waste systems. Mr. Huls' experience spans 36 years and ranges from award winning resource management systems to innovative storm water management programs. He was a co-founding Board Member of the National Recycling Coalition, and a co-founder of the California Resource Recovery Association. He has served on the technical advisory committees and presented at the 7th World Recycling Congress and the inaugural International Forum on Environmental Legislation and Sustainable Development, both held in Beijing, China (2006). He is currently acting director of the new product stewardship organization, the California Take It Back Partnership, developed in cooperation with the Ca Dept of Toxic Substances Control.

Since 1979, he has consulted to many prestigious agencies and industries. For the US EPA, he led development of the hazardous waste management facility permit system and conducted over 300 industrial facility assessments. He advised the Chemical Manufacturers' Association on environmental control technologies, and consulted to the National Science Foundation on recycling technologies. Huls performed state-of-the-art research for the US Congress on Glass and Plastic Recycling, and conducted world wide assessments of municipal recycling for the World Bank and United Nations that markedly influenced grant and loan strategies world wide. He counseled the State of Nebraska on market development, led Verizon Communications to real product stewardship by increasing their phone book recovery program from 6% to over 50%, and has advised foreign governments on development of waste minimization systems. At the local level, he has performed hundreds of consultations with over 100 California municipalities on recycling and zero waste management implementation.

His pioneering work in recycling program implementation with municipalities in California since 1990 includes electronic waste recycling, commercial and C&D debris recovery programs, multifamily recycling, biomass conversion and composting, and industrial recycling development. He has conducted over two-dozen discarded resource generation studies; performed hundreds of environmental and business process audits that have garnered an average of 63% diversion from landfilling; conducted numerous refuse rate studies and negotiated innovative collection rate structures; facilitated and negotiated performance-based contracts with haulers and markets; conducted performance and fee assessments of private and municipal haulers that have identified almost $50 million dollars for potential and real cost recovery; and performed several RFP processes for single and multiple hauler municipal franchises. He has developed innovative and sustainable zero waste programs for many businesses and municipalities using his proprietary Zero Waste Assessment Module (ZWAM) based on nine key waste generating characteristics that can be routinely found in businesses: office, hospitality, construction, grounds, food services, manufacturing, vehicle maintenance, warehousing and distribution, and retail. These assessments readily identify potential opportunities for zero waste applications through careful supply and demand integration of "wasted" matter and energy.

Affiliations:

Board of Directors, South Bay Business Environmental Coalition (current)
Board of Directors, Ecol-Lynx Foundation (current)
Co-Founding Board Member, National Recycling Coalition, 1976
Board of Trustees, California Resource Management Training Institute (current)
Co-Founder, California Resource Recovery Association (1974)
Advisor, Earth Resources Foundation (current)
Advisor, American Public Works Association's Solid Waste Forum (Southern California) (current)

Robert Zetterberg, Trustee, has been in Public Service for over 35 years. For the past 26 years, Mr. Zetterberg has worked for the City of Rancho Cucamonga (City) Engineering Division and Public Works as the Coordinator for Integrated Waste & NPDES. He has had overall responsibility of implementing the requirements of the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB 939) for the City. Among his accomplishments include: developing a brochure for residents to help them with understand what the Three R's are, entitled "Everything You Wanted to Know about Recycling, But Were Afraid to Ask"; and, a children's (ages 4 to 7) coloring book called "Protecting Our Environment." Mr. Zetterberg is an able educator as well as he founded in 1998 the City's Environmental Learning Center. Over the years, several hundred children from schools, youth groups and home schooling have toured the center and learned the importance of conserving natural resources. The Center's program consists of facilitated educational activities on recycling, reusing, and reducing waste, instituting best management practices to prevent storm water pollution, and vermicomposting (i.e., the use of worms to convert food wastes to valuable byproducts).

Part of the responsibilities of his position include management of the Household Hazardous Waste Facility previously operated by the Foothill Fire District. Mr. Zetterberg applied for and received a Used Oil Block Grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board to help off-set the costs of operation, materials and public relations for the facility. With this Grant the City was able to provide do-it-yourself residents, who do their own oil changes on cars, with oil recycling drain pans and shop rags. Improvements were also made to the site itself i.e. a new storage container for the 500 gallon used oil containment tank was purchased and placed a concrete containment pad, to prevent soil contamination. Further improvements include a canopy for weather protection; a second storage container for materials and a waste diversion facility for useable household products i.e. house paints and pool chemicals.

Mr. Zetterberg is currently engaged in developing the zero waste program and policy for the City. During the better part of the past seven years, he has accomplished the following:

Implemented a greenwaste curbside collection program that diverted an additional 12 percent from the waste stream.
Automated the residential Trash and Recycling system.
Implemented a Construction and Demolition Resource Recovery program to capture and recycle at least 50% of construction waste generated. [Contractors pay a deposit and an administrative fee with the City to insure diversion of construction waste. The program has diverted several thousand tons of debris from the landfill over the past three years and helped the City reach it 50% diversion goal.]
Implemented several public education programs including cable and radio advertising which incorporated both Resource Management and NPDES messages, and contracted with local cable company to air these messages in prime times.
Chaired several committees including Public Education, MS4 Solutions (A database to meet Permit Requirements) plus a member of the Fiscal Committee, Hydrological Conditions of Concern and Contract negotiations for Consultants.
Surveyed the City's storm drain system and wrote specifications for video taping the entire storm pipelines and catch basin in the City of Rancho Cucamonga.
Wrote the specifications for a video van for continued inspection of existing and new pipelines.

Gary Liss is a leading advocate of Zero Waste and has helped more communities develop Zero Waste plans than anyone else in the United States. Mr. Liss is a special Zero Waste advisor to the GrassRoots Recycling Networka (GRRN) and Earth Resource Foundationb and a leader of ZERIc in the U.S. Gary Liss is now President of Gary Liss & Associates,d a Zero Waste consulting firm outside of Sacramento, CA. Mr. Liss has over 32 years of experience in solid waste and recycling. He was a founder and past President of the National Recycling Coalition and Solid Waste Manager for the City of San Jose, CA. In San Jose, Mr. Liss developed their recycling programs into national models.

For GRRN, Mr. Liss has documented Zero Waste Businessese, developed Zero Waste Business Principlesf and with ERF helped organize Zero in on Zero Waste business conferences.g He helped write Zero Waste Plans for: Del Norte County, CA; Nelson, British Columbia; Palo Alto, CAh; and Oakland, CAi; and is now working on drafting Zero Waste Plans for the cities of Los Angelesj, San Jose and Austin, TXk and helping to implement a Zero Waste Plan in Central Vermontl. He also helped write a Zero Waste Communities Strategy for the Zero Waste Task Force of Santa Clara, San Mateo & San Benito Counties.m Mr. Liss is on the Planning Group for the Zero Waste International Alliancen and a member of the Sierra Club National Zero Waste Committee. He is also one of the founders of the California Sustainable Business Councilo and the Zero Waste for Global Cooling Coalition. In 2005, the Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives certified Mr. Liss as a ZERI Systems Designer. Mr. Liss was selected as the CRRA Recycler of the Year in 2005.

Mr. Liss worked as the first Executive Director for the CRRA, Resource Recovery Director for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Assistant Administrator for Alternative Technologies for the NJ Department of Energy and Environmental Programs Manager for the City of Newark, NJ. He has a Masters in Public Administration from Rutgers University in Newark, NJ and a Bachelor's in Civil Engineering (Environmental Engineering major) from Tufts University in Boston, MA.