Go Green Radio

A lot of ideologues in the environmental activist community would like to see the U.S. become a “zero waste” society, where nothing is thrown away. It’s a great goal, but realistically, it is unlikely to come to fruition anytime soon. Even in cities with high recycling rates like San Francisco, there is so much waste that they have to truck it to rural communities in California, leaving a carbon footprint along hundreds of miles of freeways that the garbage travels from the Golden Gate to someone else’s backyard. Our society has a growing need to properly manage our solid waste stream. Are landfills the best solution? Should we burn trash to create energy? Are public policy makers well-educated enough to make these decisions? This week’s guest on Go Green Radio is Keith Weitz, manager of the Sustainability and Environmental Assessment program at RTI International. He specializes in solid waste management, energy technology assessment, global climate change research, and life cycle assessment.