The word from Minneapolis is that during General Assembly in June, NO waste was sent to landfills from our time at the Convention Center.
76% of waste produced was recycled and composted, and the rest was processed to generate electricity and steam. Wow! I’m impressed!
Thanks is due to all of the wonderful volunteers who stood by the recycling containers, explaining over and over how to separate things out or digging through what we’d discarded to be sure the items were put into the right containers. Their work, and the intentionality of the GA planners, and the cooperation of the Convention Center staff, made this possible.
I’m proud of us!
September 2, 2010 at 2:19 am |
Well, that is nice to hear! I also encountered happy volunteers at the bins. A joyous GA in a wonderfully green place.
September 2, 2010 at 3:21 pm |
Thanks, Elizabeth! Good work by all – planners and Convention Center staff and volunteers!
September 23, 2010 at 4:25 pm |
I attended both Prairie Star District Meeting and General Assembly this year and was inspired by both. Thanks for all the work that went into these meetings.
At GA, I was very impressed at the attention given to provide us with recyclable eating utensils made from –was it corn cobs? Or corn stalks?
This green earth is our home and only “heaven.” I’m loving all the attention we give to making it a greener place to live.
I’m also very interested in participating in these on-line courses. I can’t sign up for Oct 9 as I’m attending a Memorial Service at First Unitarian Society in Mpls that day. But if I can do some at hom, that will be wonderful. l’ll learn more about them and look forward participating in the future.
September 23, 2010 at 4:43 pm |
Thanks, Gail. I appreciate the positive comments and am glad that you were able to attend these events. I’ll see you at the Memorial Service on October 9th. I’m hosting the New Presidents workshop that afternoon but think I can do both that day. Hope to “see” you online at one of our future events!
November 12, 2010 at 6:26 pm |
Not to rain on anybody’s parade, but my understanding is that no waste from downtown Minneapolis is sent to landfills. What isn’t composted or recycled is always sent to the incinerator, i.e. “processed to generate electricity and steam.” So although the 76% recycling/composting rate is definitely something to crow about, the other 24% is business as usual.
November 12, 2010 at 6:58 pm |
Business as usual in Minneapolis, yes. But I wonder whether other cities across the country would be able to make the same claim – that they send no waste to landfills- which is one of the reasons I wanted to get this word out.