SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENT'S
GREEN MATERIALS THINK TANK
Organized by
SCCED'S SOLID WASTE TASK FORCE
JULY 14, 1995
Background
The Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED) is a non-profit, public benefit program dedicated to promoting an increase in the application of sustainable policies and technologies. Building on the multi-sectoral dialogues that began at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, SCCED is dedicated to being a vehicle for real solutions that have both environmental and economic paybacks for the people of Southern California.
Overview of Task Force
SCCED's Solid Waste Task Force, which has been meeting since fall of 1994, is comprised of corporate, environmental, city and county agency people -- a group dedicated to environmentally and economically sound solutions to our recycling and solid waste management problems. Task force members are very sensitive to city, county, and corporate budget problems in our struggling Southern California economy, but are also aware that, working together, we have an opportunity to provide solutions that cross the normal institutional borders, much like the problems themselves.
Purpose of the Think Tank:
Early in our discussions Task Force members recognized that green materials make up a high percentage of the content of local landfills, despite the fact that they have economically viable uses. In light of the legislative mandate for cities to double waste diversion rates by the year 2000 (AB 939), we decided to focus much of our attention on the handling of green materials in Southern California.
Our deliberations revealed that some of the important players held opposing views, and we felt the need to encourage positive dialogue on neutral ground. With this in mind, the Task Force designed the Green Materials Think Tank held July 14th, 1995.
Fourteen key thinkers and policy people were invited to participate, with the Task Force members as observers. All fourteen invitees attended and engaged in intense and constructive dialogue, working together to envision, invent, and initiate actions to increase the recycling of green materials.
REPORT OF GREEN MATERIALS THINK TANK
July 14, 1995
The invited participants began with a candid conversation, where different perspectives were aired in an atmosphere of listening and open exchange. In a facilitated four hour session, Think Tank participants were guided through a strategic planning process, defining vision, strategies, action steps and responsibilities.
- The first order of the day was to define objectives for the four hour session, which included the following:
- Think Tank participants then worked together to define a consensus vision of sustainable green materials management in a sustainable Los Angeles.
Components of the vision included:
After generating the vision, strategies to implement the vision were clustered into the following categories:
- Government agency/regulations:
- Market development:
- Education:
Think Tank participants then defined the following tac