Recycling Firm Discusses Municipal Recycling Efforts at United Nations

Greenstar Recycling, headquartered in Houston, recently appeared in front of the United Nations to discuss its role in helping the city of San Antonio create a pathway to zero waste by increasing recycling volume by 300 percent over the past five years.

In a release, the company says that it has been instrumental in working with San Antonio to build one of the country’s largest, most automated recycling facilities in that city, creating a sustainable program where discarded materials are viewed as resources instead of waste.

Matt Delnick, Greenstar’s CEO, discussed the program during the UNCSD PrepCom 2, a preparatory committee for the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro.

During his presentation, Delnick discussed how Greenstar and San Antonio officials worked together to implement a 60 percent residential recycling rate, as well as created a program that decreased landfill space and energy consumption.

“We were honored to present the success story of the City of San Antonio’s recycling program before the global forum of the United Nations,” Delnick says. “We believe that recycling should be at the forefront of all sustainability efforts and that a discussion on green infrastructure should always include recycling. With recycling rates at about 30 percent nationwide, an accomplishment like San Antonio’s recycling growth rate of 300 percent in the past five years is remarkable. It is uplifting to show how much cities around the world can learn from San Antonio and the pathway we have worked together to follow toward zero waste.”

“Our key recommendations included that all levels of local government and community members need to be engaged in creating a sustainable recycling program, and that education is key to building a successful program,” Delnick adds. “It was a message that the assembled audience of diplomats representing member states, local governments, non-government organizations and conference attendees with an interest in the urban space found inspirational, and we believe that enthusiasm will help propel greater efforts at sustainability for the world’s major cities.”