Waste Systems
Table of Contents
Innovation Lab - Concept Developing and Prototyping: Learning resources to understand the topic.
Innovation Lab - Refinement: Tools and guides to inform developing programs.
Adoption Accelerator - Standards Emerging and Scaling: Implementation examples to show how it is being done.
Innovation Lab - Concept Developing and Prototyping:
Learning resources to understand the topic.
Cultivating a Regenerative Food Culture in Waco, TX: A project to provide education and infrastructure for composting and gardening with goals for food waste recovery, food production, and methane reduction at the landfill. (Partners for Places, 2024).
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Growing Secondary Markets to Inform Construction Materials Policy: A project to develop infrastructure to feed data-driven deconstruction and material reuse policies that will result in long-term solutions for the commercial construction sector. (CNCA Game Changer Fund, 2024).
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Urban Bioenergy-Biochar Development Stratey and Playbook in Boulder, CO: A project to synthesize a bioenergy-biochar implementation action strategy in four CNCA cities focusing on two opportunity areas—urban forestry & biosolids-to-biochar—and create both a “playbook” for development of similar projects in North American and European cities (urban forest carbon management) and a white paper guiding prefeasibility assessment (biosolids-to-biochar).. (CNCA Game Changer Fund, 2021).
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EcoCity Footprint Tool: This pilot project enabled USDN members and partners to to further refine and pilot the ecoCity Footprint Tool to test its potential for broader use by USDN members. This tool was created to meet city GHG reporting needs and advance the emerging practice of consumption-based emissions inventories. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2018)
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Beyond the Ban - Preventing Plastic Packaging Pollution at the City Level: This project was designed for cities to collectively explore disruptive interventions and policies to prevent the release of plastics into the environment, and to reduce the burden of managing plastics on municipalities. Products include a final report, a toolkit framework, PowerPoint slides and a participant survey from the convening, and a draft take-out beverage litter reduction ordinance. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2017).
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Eugene Memo: The Role of Cities in Advancing Sustainable Consumption: Participants in the 2015 USDN Innovation Fund Breakthrough Convening prepared a short and compelling statement that captures the essential aspects of sustainable consumption and how cities can take action to support it. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2015).
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Sustainable Consumption Breakthrough Convening: A convening of municipal sustainability staff, international researchers, policy experts, and NGO representatives to advance the topic of sustainable consumption from the conceptual phase toward actionable programs and policies within a municipal government context. The outcomes of this convening are heavily informing the ongoing work with Sustainable Consumption, which will wrap in 2016. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2015).
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Understanding Sustainable Consumption: A project to define sustainable consumption, develop metrics, and assess the degree to which sustainable consumption activities contribute to goals of economic prosperity, social equity and environmental health. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2015).
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New Waste Technologies Scan: A study of innovative waste diversion systems to redefine municipal solid waste from a liability to a valuable asset. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2014).
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Commercial Waste Scan: A scan and roadmap to reduce commercial waste. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2013).
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Innovation Lab - Refinement: Tools and guides to inform developing programs.
Heartland Carbon Drawdown Initiative: A suite of carbon management spatial analysis tools that equip cities with new capabilities to quantify carbon drawdown potential across trees, soils, and organics to achieve carbon mitigation objectives.(USDN Innovation Fund, 2021)
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Redesigning Municipal Organic Material Systems for Climate & Community Resilience & Equitable Economic Diversification: A tool to help cities quantify and redirect organic waste streams into climate stabilizing resources in ways that generate new economic opportunities and enhance equitably distributed community benefits for both urban and adjacent rural communities. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2021)
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Responsible Events - A Framework for Achievement: This project enabled USDN members and partners to create a resource kit, complete with tools, templates, and best practices. This library of responsible sporting materials, is designed to assist cities as they build their ‘event ecosystem’, predicated on a transparent global event sustainability standard, that will assist events in supporting local community goals for jobs, social cohesion, safety, culture, and sustainability. Due to the volume of material, only the Best Practice Guidebook and its appendices are available for download on this site. Access this curated set of resources on the City of Eugene’s Responsible Events page, here. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2018)
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Compostable Plastics Toolkit: A toolkit for how cities can manage compostable plastics in local solid waste programs. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2014).
» View interactive toolkit
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Compostable Plastics Toolkit Promotion Plan: A promotion plan for the online Compostable Plastics toolkit. (USDN Innovation Fund, 2015).
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Adoption Accelerator - Standards Emerging and Scaling: Implementation examples to show how it is being done.
Save Our Food Cincy Program in Cincinnati, OH:A project to enhance the sustainability of Cincinnati’s regional food system through strategic, collaborative activities to prevent, recover, and recycle food waste and educate the public on the issue. (Partners for Places, 2019)
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Chicago Green Living Program in Chicago, IL: A project to create a residential package of all of the beneficial energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste & recycling, transportation, and other “green” programs that the City offers and to connect low and moderate income residents to this package of offerings (Partners for Places, 2018).
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Committing to Inclusive Sustainability Action Hartford: A project to create a sustainability director position for the city and a climate action plan that comprehensively addresses energy, land use, transportation, waste and water usage. The plan will look at the root cause of climate change, including ways to improve air quality and reduce flooding, to improve the health and well-being of all residents (Partners for Places, 2016).
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Lots of Hope: Urban Agriculture on City Lots in Providence RI: The Lots of Hope program to transform vacant, city-owned lots into thriving centers of urban agriculture and pilot small-scale composting in Providence neighborhoods. (Partners for Places, 2012).
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Love 'Em and Leave 'Em - On-Site Mulching Campaign in New Rochelle NY: A training, marketing, and policy campaign for on-site leaf mulching. (Partners for Places, 2012).
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