Grassroots Opposition to a New Landfill, and a Path to Zero Waste

This month we have two speakers, Leslie Evans and Stephen Brown.

Grass Roots Opposition to a Proposed Landfill in Salem Township
Presented by Leslie Evans
The Arbor Hills landfill is quickly filling and is expected to reach the end of its permitted capacity in or around 2028. The Canadian company that owns Arbor Hills, Green for Life, has a very poor record for regulatory compliance. Nonetheless, they now want to create a new landfill in Washtenaw's Salem Township. Opposition to the new landfill is led by The Conservancy Initiative (TCI), a nonprofit made up of volunteers.

Our speaker, Leslie Evans, is a retired organizational consultant and bird/outdoor enthusiast who serves on the Board of TCI.
Leslie will talk about the issues, what actions have been done and need to be done to stop this new landfill from being approved by the Washtenaw County Commissioners. TCI needs support and ideas on how to address this with Washtenaw County leaders. Money from the landfill is heavily relied on by the Washtenaw County’s Water Resources-Public Works Division and is a primary factor why support for stopping any new landfill is lacking.

The Path to Zero Waste
Presented by Stephen Brown
Stephen Brown is a member of the City of Ann Arbor's Sustainability Commission and the Washtenaw Zero Waste Coalition. He has been involved in solid waste issues since 1970, and will present local opportunities for households to become zero waste generators.

The first step is "precycling", or buying items with minimal or recyclable packaging. The next step is segregation of organic waste, including all food scraps, for weekly collection. Secondly, shopping at re-use outlets can lead to significant budget savings with minimal packaging. Some attention must be paid to "recyclability" by whatever organization has been granted the contract by local governments. Simple changes of habit can result in only 96 gallons of waste each year for households of 2-4 persons. Some dedicated people can fit their entire annual waste in one Mason jar. Several states have already passed "Extended Producer Responsibility" Laws, which are necessary to achieve further progress society-wide.