A free virtual workshop on Tuesday will showcase national experts dismantling the fallacy that everything we throw away is “waste,” rather than a resource with monetary, social, and ecological value. The panelists will examine the systemic changes required to effectively address this issue, as individual behavior change is an inadequate solution to the scale of the problem.

The Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions (WASS) presents “Moving Westchester County Towards Zero Waste” from 7 – 8:30 pm on Tuesday, November 15th. By adopting Zero Waste strategies, a number of major U.S. cities have reduced the amount of garbage that gets landfilled or incinerated by 70 percent. At this program, a panel of national and regional experts will explore the untapped possibilities for material recovery enterprises, composting, and optimizing recycling.

This event is free and open to all. Advance registration at https://wasspeekskill.org/workshop is requested. Contact [email protected] for more information.

The featured panelists include respected pioneers in the national Zero Waste movement: Neil Seldman, PhD, directs the Recycling Cornucopia Project for Zero Waste USA; Dan Knapp, PhD is co-founder of Urban Ore, the iconic reuse operation in Berkeley, CA; and Mary Lou Van Deventer is the special projects manager at Urban Ore. The other panelists will be Bob Spencer, president of the Composting Association of Vermont, and executive director of the Windham Solid Waste Management District (Brattleboro, VT), which operates a profitable municipal food waste composting facility, the 2nd largest in the state; and Tracy Frisch, who is the coordinator of Zero Waste Warren County (NY) and a founding board member of the Adirondack Compost Education Council.

Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions (WASS) is a county-wide effort to move our communities to Zero Waste and make Wheelabrator-Peekskill obsolete. Our focus is to educate Westchester municipalities about the dangers of trash incineration and the ease and importance of adopting alternative solutions.

This past month the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County recognized WASS with the Green Seal Award at their annual Anniversary Gala for their outstanding environmental leadership and advocacy across the county.

WASS is based out of Peekskill, an environmental justice community that is home to the Wheelabrator facility that burns most of Westchester County’s trash. It is the largest source of air pollution in the county, the health impacts of which are harming Peekskill and neighboring communities.