Path D: Policy
The City’s careful use of incentives, policies, safeguards, and restrictions will ensure continuous community progress toward its Zero Waste goal.
Objective D1: Lead by example by implementing Zero Waste across all City operations
Action D1.1 - SHORT - Encourage environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) practices
Encourage EPP purchasing practices across all City departments. Adopt the precautionary principle for purchases and services. Reduce use of toxic products by replacing them with non-toxic alternatives. Consider pursuing regional purchasing cooperatives to buy recycled products in bulk to reduce cost.
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Action D1.2 - SHORT - Adopt and implement ZERO by FIFTY goals and action plans for all public venues and events
Events generate a significant amount of waste in a short period of time making them prime targets for actions to increase diversion and educate the public. Missoula Parks & Recreation has already adopted a Zero Waste protocol developed by City staff. Adopt and implement similar protocols wherever public events take place.
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Action D1.3 - SHORT/MEDIUM - Integrate reuse, recycling, and deconstruction into all City-supported construction and demolition projects
Ensure full consideration of materials reuse and recycling options during planning for all future projects. Intentionally remove timing barriers to deconstruction by beginning all projects with the assumption that any structures requiring removal are candidates for deconstruction. Evaluate early to factor in time needed for deconstruction with the goal of maximum recovery of all CDD materials.
This Action in Action - Missoula Redevelopment Agency Demolition Alternatives Policy
Action D1.3 - MEDIUM - Require environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) practices and incorporate Zero Waste objectives into all contractual purchases and services
Require green purchasing practices across all City departments. Require that all contractual agreements between the City and suppliers or service providers align with ZERO by FIFTY guiding principles and recommended actions.
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Action D1.4 - MEDIUM/LONG - Incorporate reusable and recycled materials into municipal road construction and maintenance projects
Research best practices for road construction and maintenance projects using reusable and recycled materials. Work with County, State, and Federal partners to pilot road construction projects and maintenance projects using locally-sourced materials such as glass or recycled concrete. Normalize procedure for road construction and maintenance projects using reusable and recycled materials.
Objective D2: Stimulate and support Zero Waste activities across the community
Action D2.1 - SHORT - Integrate the ZERO by FIFTY actions into existing comprehensive City & City partner planning documents.
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Action D2.2 - SHORT - Develop incentives for new Zero Waste business start-ups
Develop a grant program to inspire Zero Waste entrepreneurs and help remove barriers such as upfront capital costs, Launch/participate in a regional initiative to encourage businesses to use recycled materials in their manufacturing processes for new products. Collaborate with local economic development groups to provide financial, siting, permit, and marketing assistance and incentives to businesses.
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Action D2.3 - SHORT - Provide incentives to developers & contractors who include reuse, recycling, and deconstruction in project plans
Provide incentives to developers to support adaptive reuse of older or historic buildings to new uses. Provide incentives to developers who use materials made from recycled content or for on-site reuse and recycling. Review development process to integrate appropriate incentives into the process.
This Action in Action - Refundable Fees
This Action in Action - Preference & Credits
Action D2.4 - SHORT - Encourage and provide incentives for homes, neighborhoods, schools, and businesses to compost
While Garden City Compost is a major asset to the City, backyard or on-site composting of yard trimmings and food scraps is a source reduction activity with upstream impacts that may help more Missoulians adopt Zero Waste behaviors. Provide or partner with an organization that can provide composting workshops to the public. Subsidize the cost of compost bins to offer bins at reduced costs to workshop attendees. Explore opportunities for neighborhood composting. Explore recognition program for schools and foodservice establishments that choose to compost their food scraps and food-soiled compostable packaging. Consider incentives for foodservice establishments that subscribe to compost collection service.
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Action D2.5 - SHORT - Offer incentives for use of local compost
Host annual compost giveaway event at Garden City Compost. Offer no-cost compost to contractors for use in filter socks on construction sites to prevent runoff. Support carbon farm projects such as the Hybrid Poplar Tree Project by offering no-cost compost as a soil enhancer.
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Action D2.6 - MEDIUM - Develop a recognition & reward program for outstanding Zero Waste businesses & institutions
Provide or partner with an entity who can provide recognition for successes through a Green Business program or a Zero Waste Businesses or Schools program.
Action D2.7 - LONG - Provide incentives for use of C&D recycling facilities
Require C&D processing facility(ies) to provide financial incentives to increase recovery rates, e.g., lower tipping fees, pre-sorting discounts, coupons, and/or expedited service.
Objective D3: Compel community-wide participation in Zero Waste
Action D3.1 - SHORT - Adopt a community-wide Universal Zero Waste Ordinance
This ordinance will be phased in and will seek to expand recycling and composting to all Missoula residents, employees, and visitors.
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Action D3.2 - MEDIUM - Identify a path to a Universal Deconstruction Ordinance
This ordinance will seek to require deconstruction of all structures in Missoula identified for removal in demolition and building permit applications. Determine existing legislative barriers and identify a process to overcome them. Research and develop code language to require deconstruction of all buildings slated for demolition.
This Action in Action - Milwaukee
This Action in Action - Portland
Action D3.3 - MEDIUM - Establish minimum reuse and recycling requirements for construction, demolition, and deconstruction (CDD) projects
Identify materials diversion requirements. Require businesses engaged in CDD projects to submit a Waste Minimization Plan with building permit applications. Develop system for tracking and reporting. Determine enforcement and penalties.
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Action D3.4 - MEDIUM - Implement mandatory retailer take-back
Require businesses that sell items that must be collected as household hazardous waste or are not currently reusable, recyclable, or compostable locally to take those items back for proper reuse, recycling, or disposal.
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Action D3.5 - LONG - Implement mandatory universal recycling & composting
Require by ordinance that businesses and institutions have recycling plans and/or space for recycling. Require by ordinance households, businesses, and institutions to properly separate recyclables and compostables from refuse.
This Action in Action - Recycling
This Action in Action - Composting
Action D3.6 - LONG - Adopt an Equal Space policy that requires new construction to provide space for source separation of materials for collection
Require by ordinance that new commercial and/or multi-family home buildings be constructed with adequate space for on-site aggregation and collection of recyclables and compostables.
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Action D3.7 - LONG - Support Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for hard-to-recycle items and toxics
In 2009, the State of Montana passed EPR legislation that bans the sale of mercury thermostats [endnote]. Advocate for more Producer Responsibility legislation and programs by adopting local resolutions or by participating in or convening a Product Stewardship Council for Montana.
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Objective D4: Reduce availability of problematic materials and limit inappropriate disposal options
Action D4.1 - SHORT - Restrict free distribution of single-use disposables
Adopt ordinances that limit or ban sales or distribution of toxic and hard to recover products and product packaging such as plastic bags, plastic straws, and expanded polystyrene foodservice packaging. Alternatively, further explore option of fees or taxes on single-use disposables.
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Action D4.2 - MEDIUM - Ban landfill disposal of e-waste
Adopt an ordinance to ban landfill disposal of electronic devices and require sites receiving e-waste to manage used electronic devices in a manner that prevents the release of waste or waste constituents into the environment.
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Action D4.3 - LONG - Ban landfill disposal of reusable and recyclable materials from construction, demolition, and deconstruction (CDD) projects
Adopt an ordinance to ban landfill disposal of CDD materials. Seek to include commonly recycled C&D materials such as aluminum, asphalt, brick, buckets, cardboard, carpet & carpet padding, concrete, land clearing debris, lumber, pallets, paper, pipe, plastic, roof tile, steel, shingles, wallboard, and wood as well as high-value building components including lumber, doors, windows, cabinets, lighting & plumbing fixtures, etc.
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Action D4.4 - LONG - Ban landfill disposal of compostable organics
Adopt an ordinance to phase-in a ban on compostable organics from refuse collection and from entering the landfill including yard trimmings, food scraps, food-soiled paper, BPI-certified compostable foodservice ware, and discarded lumber from CDD projects.
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