"I'm convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

Excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "A Time to Break Silence" address at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967

The Global Recycling Council is organized to discuss and initiate the goals and objectives of the Agenda for the New Millenium

1. ZERO WASTE. In a zero waste world, items which cannot be safely assimilated into the environment simply cannot be sold, but only leased. Local governments still collect materials to make compost, but the other materials remain the financial responsibility of those who aim to profit by their sale. At present, garbage is an unfunded mandate. Until the lifecycle costs of goods are fully incorporated into the purchase price, we must lead with a label to inform citizens about the extraction and processing impacts of the goods we use.

2. END WELFARE FOR WASTING. Although the adverse environmental impacts of litter and even legal disposal can be significant, reducing waste through reuse and recycling preserves the environment mainly by reducing our need to mine, log, and make new goods to replace those we failed to reuse, repair or recycle. Federal and State stewardship of public lands requires resource policies which encourage conservation over wasting. We must reform both the tax and campaign finance systems, and dramatically increase user fees for mineral and timber rights on public lands.

 3. JUMPSTART JOBS WITH DESIGN AND DISCARDS. Reuse, repair, composting and recycling operations generally create many more jobs for the amount of discards processed than disposal alone. Reuse businesses like tire retreaders or bottle washers create more local jobs than their competing disposable products. Reuse, composting and recycling conserve resources, create jobs and build communities.

To truly improve the material efficiency of our culture and economy, over the next forty years we must change everything: how we manage our public lands; how our elected officials finance campaigns and assess taxes; how we design and manage our communities; how we design products and services; how industries and government work together to improve resource and energy efficiency; and how we define waste.

We invite you to join us in helping to achieve this vision.