August 1, 2024 • 29 mins
Unlock the secrets of zero waste in business with our host Stephanie McLarty and incredible guest Celeste McMickle, the Director of Client Solutions for True Zero Waste Certification at the US Green Building Council. Celeste uncovers the hidden world of industrial waste, often invisible to consumers, and its massive impact on the circular economy. She enlightens us on the zero waste hierarchy, highlighting the critical strategies of redesign, reduction, and reuse to proactively prevent waste.
Next, we discuss the rising wave of companies striving for zero waste certification as they navigate their sustainability journeys. Learn how the TRUE Zero Waste Certification Program acts as a crucial roadmap, guiding businesses to achieve an impressive 90% or better diversion from landfill, incineration, and waste-to-energy. Celeste also underscores the importance of third-party reviews in ensuring a robust certification process, and we talk about the realistic timelines for companies to meet their zero waste goals.
Finally, we explore the intricacies of achieving facility-level zero waste certification and the benefits it brings. From boosting employee engagement to providing marketing advantages, the rewards are manifold. We also emphasize the significance of widespread, imperfect participation in zero waste efforts, particularly in IT asset disposition and e-waste recycling. Join us at Quantum Lifecycle as we support your sustainability journey and work together towards a more circular future.
Takeaways
- Zero waste is a critical goal for businesses to reduce their environmental impact and contribute to a circular economy.
- The zero waste hierarchy prioritizes reduction, reuse, and recycling as strategies to minimize waste.
- The True Zero Waste Certification program provides a framework for companies to measure and improve their waste diversion efforts.
- Third-party certification adds credibility and transparency to a company's waste reduction initiatives and can benefit marketing, employee engagement, and overall sustainability performance.
Thanks for listening!
If you like our podcasts, please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Want to be a guest on The Circular Future podcast? Email Sanjay Trivedi at strivedi@quantumlifecycle.com
- Listen on: https://quantumlifecycle.com/podcast
- Follow us on LinkedIn | Facebook
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephanie McLarty (00:02):
For every one ton of waste you generate, 71
tons of industrial waste havealready been created before the
product even got to you.
Welcome to the Circular Future,your access to thought leaders
and innovations to help you be abusiness sustainability
champion, even if it's not yourcore job.
(00:23):
I'm your host, stephanieMcLarty, head of Sustainability
at Quantum Lifecycle Partners.
You may be familiar with theiceberg concept, where the
majority of something is belowthe surface and you can't see it
.
Well, this iceberg concept canbe applied to waste and, in
effect, we have a wasteberg.
(00:44):
So much waste is producedbefore products even get to us,
which is both a huge challengeand opportunity for the circular
economy.
With me to understand improvingwaste diversion for businesses
is Celeste McMickle, director ofClient Solutions for True Zero
Waste Certification with the USGreen Building Council or USGBC.
(01:07):
Celeste is trained as anarchitect and has a background
as a sustainability consultantand waste expert.
Welcome to the podcast, celeste.
Celeste McMickle (01:16):
Thank you so much.
I'm so happy to be here.
Stephanie McLarty (01:19):
I'm thrilled you're here too.
This is a fascinating topicthat I'm really excited to get
into.
But first we'll start, as wealways do, and, celeste, let's
peek into your world.
What would be three things thatthe world maybe wouldn't know
about?
The US Green Building Council?
Celeste McMickle (01:36):
It's a great question and I hopefully have a
great answer.
The first thing I would say isthat, even though US is in our
name, we are actually a globalorganization.
So we do quite a bit of workoutside of the US and actually
have a large presence throughoutthe world, which is really
amazing.
The second thing is that we arenot a government agency.
(01:58):
That's another confusion thathappens a lot.
We are a nonprofit.
We're a 501c3 nonprofit.
And the third thing is that,for those of us that are
familiar with the USGBC and haveonly heard of the LEED
certification program, one ofthe things that you'll learn
today is that we actually have anumber of other certifications
related to other sustainabilityissues.
(02:18):
So we work worldwide, we are anonprofit and we have a lot of
different cool programs that canhelp support sustainability
goals.
Stephanie McLarty (02:26):
Yeah, and that was something that really
stood out for me when I met youis that I know of LEED, but up
until that point I didn't knowabout all the zero waste work
you do, so I'm excited to getinto that today.
So let's start withunderstanding zero waste when we
think about businesses.
What are we talking about whenwe say zero waste?
Yeah, so zero waste when wethink about businesses.
What are we talking about whenwe say zero waste?
Celeste McMickle (02:48):
Yeah, so zero waste, I think, is a really
interesting phenomenon.
I think there's a lot ofconfusion around the term zero
waste because it's used in avariety of contexts.
We see people on social medialiving zero waste lifestyles and
keeping all their trash in amason jar, which is amazing.
But then we also see largecompanies making commitments to
(03:10):
be zero waste or a zero wastecompany, and I think the
differential between that oneindividual version and that more
company corporate version ishuge.
And so one of the things thatwe do at the USGBC that again
kind of aligns with our originwith LEED, is that we create
standards around thesesustainability issues.
(03:31):
So when we think about zerowaste, we really wanted to
create some alignment aroundwhat it meant to achieve that at
a company level, so that thereisn't that sort of like industry
confusion around what that isand the way that we have gone
about defining.
That is by working through whatthe EPA and the Zero Waste
(03:54):
International Alliance have usedto define zero waste, which is
basically through the zero wastehierarchy.
Stephanie McLarty (04:00):
So walk us through that hierarchy.
How do you prioritize thedifferent elements of this whole
reduce, reuse, recycle and somuch more.
Celeste McMickle (04:08):
Great.
So I love the zero wastehierarchy and I also love
explaining it.
I think many of us, when wegrew up, were used to the term
reduce, reuse, recycle, andessentially what's happened over
the years is that as a culturalsociety, we have focused on the
recycle piece of that, andreduce and reuse have become far
(04:29):
less prevalent, and one of themain reasons that I would
attribute that phenomenon isthat the recycling piece allows
us to continue business as usual.
When we focus on some of theseother strategies, it can disrupt
a bit of how we go about ourday and that has been
challenging.
But, as we all know, we have ahuge waste issue and we really
(04:55):
need to look at that.
So the zero waste hierarchybasically looks like a upside
down triangle and it gives anoverview of the most efficient
and economical way thatmaterials can be used throughout
their life cycle to keep themin their useful life for as long
as possible.
So at the very top of thehierarchy we start with things
like redesign, reduction, youknow, remanufacturing, that type
of thing.
(05:15):
What types of processes wouldallow materials to maybe exist
for longer in their same formatwithout needing to be adapted?
From there we start to look atstrategies like reuse or, again,
maybe some type of repairsituation, and then those are
(05:35):
all strategies that we considerto be upstream, which
essentially means it'sprevention of waste from
occurring in the first place,because these materials can
still be used in their currentformat.
Then, when we move down, we endup with recycling and
composting, and below that, wehave landfill and incineration
and waste to energy.
Now all of these bottom tiersare referred to as downstream
(05:58):
solutions, including recyclingand composting, and I want to be
really clear here I am a hugesupporter of recycling and
composting.
I I want to be really clearhere I am a huge supporter of
recycling and composting.
I got my start in this industryas a composter.
I think these are reallyimportant aspects of how our
material lifecycle works.
However, when we look atrecycling and composting and
(06:18):
then, of course, landfill, theseare waste management strategies
.
These are things that happenonce these materials can no
longer stay in their currentform and need to be processed
into a different form.
In order.
Upstream strategies, becausethose are, by and large, most
effective.
Link the image of the hierarchyin the show notes.
Stephanie McLarty (06:37):
So people can actually take a look at it.
(07:07):
I know I'm a visual person, butat Quantum we first prioritize
reuse, whether it's reuseproducts and, if not, reuse of
parts, and then we do recycling.
But when we looked at, we havea sustainability calculator that
measures the carbon avoidanceof reuse and recycling and it's
depending on the product type.
It's anywhere from seven to 21times the emissions.
(07:30):
Avoidance of reuse overrecycling.
There's just so much moreenvironmental benefit and also
often financial benefit to stayin the upstream side, as you're
saying.
So that makes a lot of sense tome.
Now, where are companies todayon this journey of reducing
(07:51):
their waste and ultimatelyaiming to be zero waste?
Are we doing well or are we notdoing well?
And I think I know the answer.
Celeste McMickle (08:00):
But I'd love to hear it from you.
Yes, that's a great question.
I think we're a work inprogress.
I'm a very optimistic person,so I always kind of err on the
side of feeling like we're doingthe best that we can and we
have a long ways to go, butthere is progress that is
occurring.
The one thing I would say is,with that overview of the zero
(08:20):
waste hierarchy, I think thething that I've learned the most
by working in this industry andworking with companies that are
on their journey is that, byand large, many places are still
focusing on the recycling andagain, that's just because
that's kind of what we're usedto.
That's a very easy tracker.
Sometimes, calculatingreductions associated with reuse
or redesign can be a little bitmore challenging.
(08:41):
We do have some specificformulas at the USGBC that we
encourage project teams to useto help with that, because we
really want to move them in thatdirection.
However, I do think that somuch of what companies are used
to looking at is thosedownstream numbers, and so it's
a real challenge to get them tokind of look at things from 180
(09:04):
degrees and really turn theirapproach around to looking at
like ah, actually we could startwith upstream solutions first,
and that would be more effectiveand then, as we move through
the process, we can look towardsthe downstream numbers once we
get to that point.
But we need to start withpurchasing and we need to start
with training and we need tostart with actually looking at
(09:25):
what materials we're bringing inand how we're using those
materials before we look at howwe're getting rid of those
materials.
And that's the biggestchallenge that I think we face
is just helping peopleunderstand kind of how to
revisit the way materials aremanaged throughout the life
cycle of the way that they'reused in the facility.
Stephanie McLarty (09:44):
Yeah, I totally get it.
At Quantum, we're currentlydoing a packaging project where
we're looking at how sustainableis our packaging and why.
Because a customer startedasking us for information and
for numbers and we actually,prior to the project, really
didn't have any idea of how wellwe were doing.
(10:05):
So we did a little pilot anddiscovered that 74% of our
packaging was either reusable orrecyclable, and so I mean I
suppose that's not bad, but wehave a long way to go, and at
least it gave us a startingpoint to look at.
Okay, what are we purchasingfor packaging and how else can
we package our materials andmove away from plastics?
(10:26):
Even if they say they'rerecyclable, a lot of plastics
don't get recycled in the endeither.
Are you seeing that any type ofcompany, any industry, is
really looking at this, or arethere specific examples of
industries or types of companiesthat are really prioritizing
this whole waste journey?
Celeste McMickle (10:45):
It's a good question.
I think it depends.
I do work with companies allacross the board everything from
higher education tomanufacturing to commercial
office spaces and I think one ofthe things that's happened over
the last number of years isthat there have been a lot of
increased awareness around wasteand around plastics especially,
(11:05):
and just kind of how thesematerials are staying with us in
the environment for longer thanI think anybody realized.
And so, with that huge sort ofupsurge and awareness, we're
seeing a lot of companies makevery big commitments to waste
reduction efforts, specifically,hopefully, towards being a zero
(11:26):
waste company or towardscertifying towards zero waste.
So I think I'm seeing a lot ofincreased participation in
companies that are interested ingetting started.
But that's exactly what I wouldsay.
There's a lot of organizationsthat are in that getting started
phase and they want to reachthe commitment that they've made
for 2025, which now is verysoon or 2030 or 2035.
(11:49):
But they really need clearsteps in order to help them get
there, because it's a huge taskto go from maybe never having
done a waste audit or maybenever having analyzed how your
materials are being processed.
I see so many examples ofcompanies that are paying to
have materials brought in andthen paying to have those same
materials hauled away, right,and that's a huge inefficiency.
(12:11):
So how can we sort of revisittheir internal operations so
that, okay, we're bringingmaterials in and then we're
reusing them and we'rerevisiting them and then it
reduces what has to happen onthe downstream?
So it's in progress.
It's really exciting to see howmuch interest and excitement
there is and I'm happy to be onthe solutions end of it and
(12:32):
being able to provide tools andresources to help these
companies get there.
But I do think there's still along way to go.
Stephanie McLarty (12:38):
Right?
Well, you've piqued my interest.
So what is the TRUEcertification and what kind of
tools and solutions do youprovide?
Celeste McMickle (12:45):
Yeah, so TRUE is our Zero Waste Certification
Program.
It stands for Total ResourceUse and Efficiency and, as I
mentioned, it is basicallydeveloped around the idea of the
zero waste hierarchy.
And what we have done with itis we've developed a checklist,
a program that's based onstrategies that are embedded
within the zero waste hierarchythat can then be used as a
(13:08):
playbook for companies to get tothat goal of zero waste.
So let's say, company X has agoal of having all of their
facilities certified to zerowaste.
They would essentially workwith our team.
Again, we're a nonprofit and soall of our resources and tools
are totally free.
They're just meant to be aguidepost for how to basically
(13:28):
get to that industry standard ofwhat we consider to be zero
waste.
They'll go through the process,they'll identify all the
possible strategies that theycan use and hopefully that will
work in tandem withincorporating their diversion
numbers and getting to our goal,which is 90% or better
diversion from landfillincineration and waste to energy
(13:50):
.
So that is the requirement thatproject teams need in order to
be able to certify.
They need to be at that 90%.
Again, that comes from sort ofan industry standard, and then,
in addition to that, they usethe resource playbook to help
them get to that goal and thosetwo pieces work together and
we're here to help answerquestions and support them along
(14:11):
the way.
And at the end of that processthey go through a rigorous
third-party review process andthat is very similar with all of
the USGPC programs.
We really believe in the powerof third-party to be able to
help guide project teams towardsa really robust and valuable
certification process.
And if they make it throughthat review process without any
(14:32):
issues, hopefully, then they areable to be certified.
Stephanie McLarty (14:35):
That is really cool and it just reminds
me, when you speak of 90% orbetter diversion, of the sign
that's in the refillery that Igo to and it was there just two
days ago refilling dishwashercubes and soaps and things like
that on a personal level andthere's a sign that says we
(14:56):
don't need a few people doingzero waste perfectly, we need
millions of people doing zerowaste imperfectly.
Get to that 90% goal or better.
So that's a really it's a greatmeasurement for us all to
strive for.
And as I think about thatpackaging project that we've
initiated of how far we have togo but it doesn't have to strive
for, and as I think about thatpackaging project that we've
initiated of you know how far wehave to go, but you know it
(15:18):
doesn't have to be perfect.
What is the timeline?
If someone starts this journey,how long does it take them to
get to quote unquote zero wasteuntil they get to that
certification piece generally?
Celeste McMickle (15:32):
So it can really depend on the company and
the process that they are goingthrough.
It varies a lot.
I think one of the main thingsis that we require 12 months of
data demonstrating that 90%diversion number.
So if that 12 months of 90% orbetter already exists, then they
(15:52):
might actually be able to gothrough the process very quickly
.
However, by and large, mostcompanies are not already at 90%
diversion, and so they aregoing to need some time to be
able to gather that 12 months ofdata.
One of the things that I do wantto highlight that's really
important is that the 12 monthsof diversion data includes not
only downstream numbers, butalso upstream numbers.
Again, downstream is usuallywhat companies are used to
(16:15):
tracking.
They have their line item forrecycling, they have their line
item for composting, and thenthey have their line item for
landfill, and then you breakthat down and that comes out to
be their diversion number.
What we do at True that's reallydifferent is we incorporate,
okay, what strategies andmaterials associated with
reduction were used, whatstrategies and materials
(16:38):
associated with reuse were used,and by incorporating those
upstream strategies into thediversion tracker, it's going to
give recognition andacknowledgement for those more
environmentally preferablestrategies that were actually
used, and so even for companiesthat maybe have been tracking
their waste for a while, theymight need to revisit that if
they're going through the trueprogram, because their materials
(16:59):
and their diversion numbermight actually be better than
they realize when they thinkabout all the things that
they're doing for reduction andreuse.
So it can really depend, butthey do need that 12 months of
data and then our review processcan take about 10 weeks, so
some companies can get certifiedvery quickly and others might
need a little bit more time.
I've seen a little bit of allof it.
Stephanie McLarty (17:19):
Right, I'm sure, I'm sure.
And do you certify as a companyor as a single facility, or how
does that work?
Celeste McMickle (17:28):
So companies do certify the facilities
themselves.
The big reason for that is weare tracking the diversion waste
right, and that is always goingto be associated with a
facility itself.
So it's really important thatwe associate the certification
itself with the facility wherethat material was processed,
because if we're just doing froma company level, there's a
(17:50):
little bit less transparency inexactly how and where those
materials were collected anddiverted and so on and so forth.
That said, it's certainlyentirely possible for a company
to certify all of the facilitiesthat are within their portfolio
and thus be able to say thatall of their facilities are
certified zero waste, whichessentially means that their
(18:12):
company is certified.
But because we always track itspecifically to the facility, we
always want to make sure thatthat is transparent and that
that is communicated correctly.
Stephanie McLarty (18:22):
Interesting.
I'm curious what are you seeingis the true benefit that
companies are realizing frombeing on this journey and in
certifying Like, how are theyleveraging it to their benefit
as a company?
Celeste McMickle (18:36):
Sure.
So I think this kind of comesback to the whole issue of
third-party certification andwhy we feel like that's an
important piece of the processand basically having a
third-party certify the workthat you're doing is a really
standard part of the scientificprocess.
Because if we're only lookingat what we're doing ourselves
(18:59):
and we don't have somebody fromthe outside reviewing that work,
I don't even think it's in anyway malicious or it's
intentional, but it's justharder to see things when you're
within a company itself ratherthan when you're communicating
something externally that youknow is going to go through a
review process.
So something might seem like,oh, we're doing all this great
(19:19):
work and then when you compareit to a more industry standard,
you actually realize thatthere's some missing pieces.
And I see that happening moreoften than not when companies
are saying, oh, yeah, well,we've been doing zero waste for
years, and then it's like, okay,well, let's compare what you're
doing to what we've developed.
Which, again, is this globalstandard?
And they realize, wow, there'sactually a lot more that we
(19:39):
could be doing.
So I think it really increasesthe performance of these zero
waste programs.
I think it's a huge opportunityfor them to be able to
demonstrate externally to theirclients from a marketing
perspective, from a transparencyperspective, to just really be
able to actually show thatthey're walking the talk,
because, again, if you're justdoing something within a silo, I
(20:03):
think it's really hard to havethat actual perspective on it.
So it's a third party issue, forsure, and then I also just
think that it's something thatnow the public is very engaged
in, so especially for companiesthat maybe have a product that
they're developing, or Imentioned higher education,
students are very passionateabout zero waste in the
environment, and so to be ableto have teeth behind the
(20:25):
commitments that you're makingand demonstrate that publicly
through the third party program,I think does a ton from a
marketing perspective, from atrust perspective and, quite
frankly, there can even beeconomical benefits as well,
because I use the example ofpaying to bring something in and
paying to bring it out.
I think when we do an analysisof how these materials are used,
(20:46):
we actually find that there's alot of efficiencies that can be
found as well.
Stephanie McLarty (20:49):
Makes sense.
Celeste McMickle (20:50):
There's a lot of reasons.
Stephanie McLarty (20:51):
Yeah, and another one that sticks out to
me is the employee side how itreally engages employees.
It's great for retention.
We see this at Quantum.
They love working for Quantumbecause we make a difference,
and I think a lot of individualswant to work for a company
that's actually walking the talkwhen it comes to sustainability
and all of this whole space.
(21:12):
Let's get into our how-tosection, celeste.
There's so many measures outthere.
We talked on episode 32 abouthow to measure circularity, so
in this particular space, how tofigure out which measures to
focus on when it comes to waste.
Celeste McMickle (21:29):
Okay, so that's a good question.
So the way that we've developedthe program I mentioned, we
found strategies that arederived from the zero waste
hierarchy.
So what that looks like inpractice is let's take the issue
of reuse.
So we have seven credits withinour program that focus on
(21:49):
strategies associated with reuse.
Those could be things likefinding one commodity to reuse.
That could be something likefinding opportunities within
existing purchasing policies.
There's different ways thatcompanies can go about it.
We don't necessarily give anexact prescriptive goal of what
they need to do for that credit,but we create that standard
(22:13):
that they can align to how toget the most out of your rating
system, how to score the mostpoints or credits.
Right.
So we have it broken down intofour different certification
tiers certified, silver, goldand platinum.
That's going to be veryfamiliar for those of us that
have worked with LEED.
We try and keep alignmentbetween our programs.
Each different certificationtier requires a different number
(22:37):
of points in order to hit thatnumber.
So for certified they need toachieve 31 points and within the
whole program there's 81 points.
So depending on whichstrategies they want to
implement and depending on whichthings may or may not be
feasible, they could chooseanywhere between that range of
31 to 81 points.
(22:58):
Some companies come in and saythat range of 31 to 81 points.
Some companies come in and sayautomatically we know we want
gold, we know we want platinum,and so we're going to definitely
target the number of pointsthat we need to get there, no
matter what Other companies arelike.
Well, we want to see what wecan do, and so they might end up
with certified or silver and behappy with that.
It really just depends over andbe happy with that.
(23:22):
It really just depends,honestly, to me, because we have
this tandem rating system thatis point-based, that goes along
with the 90% diversionrequirement.
I think that all projects thatare able to achieve
certification are phenomenal,because hitting that 90% is no
easy task and, honestly,sometimes if projects have done
a little bit more work upfront,they might actually need less
(23:45):
points to be able to hit that90%, whereas if a company is
right at the beginning of theirzero waste journey, they might
have to go all out on the ratingsystem and get as many credits
as they can, becauseimplementing those credits are
going to help reduce theirdiversion number and get them
closer to that goal of 90%.
So there's a really broad rangein why projects might choose to
(24:07):
pursue a certain number ofcredits and implement those
strategies, and then there'sreasons why they might, you know
, pull back a little bit and gofor a lower certification tier.
Again, I think all achievementsare really valid and really
phenomenal.
When we get to those highercertification tiers of gold and
platinum, I mean, those arereally the elite performers that
(24:28):
have gone above and beyond whatthe majority of companies out
there are doing.
Stephanie McLarty (24:33):
Amazing, and I know for the true
certification.
You offer training programs, soit's possible to get your staff
trained in your programs.
And it reminded me not long agowe had this opportunity at
Quantum to do a waste audittraining and we actually didn't
know who should go.
There isn't a single person onstaff where we could say it is
(24:56):
your responsibility to do atraining like this.
So how do you figure out whoshould do the training for this
type of work?
Celeste McMickle (25:06):
Sure.
So to pull back on that a bit,the training program that we
have is called the True Advisorand it is open to anyone.
You don't have to be workingwithin a company that's pursuing
zero waste to get the TrueAdvisor.
We see a lot of students gothrough it.
We see consultants go throughit, also, folks that are maybe
looking to make a careertransition or just really
interested in zero waste in thecircular economy.
(25:28):
It's a deep dive into true andit's also a really good overview
of zero waste practices andphilosophies, a lot of
information about the zero wastehierarchy, how to do bin right,
sizing, everything like that.
So I think it's a greatopportunity for most of us that
are working in this world ifit's of interest.
(25:48):
It's actually how I gotinvolved with the program, which
is kind of fun.
But when we're looking at acompany that's going through the
program and trying to decide,okay, who should we put through
this, I think there's a coupleof obvious places to start.
One is going to be if there issomeone that is tasked with
actually going through and doingthe documentation, that's
(26:10):
definitely somebody that shouldgo through the true advisor
because you're going to reallywant to have those skills and
resources.
Another person that might bereally helpful is an operations
or a facility manager, becausethose are often the ones that
are doing the overview ofexactly what processes are going
to be happening at thatfacility and might be able to
showcase that information to therest of the team.
(26:32):
So that's another person that Ioften say is good to have on
board.
Also, somebody that works inpurchasing can be really helpful
as well.
Also, somebody that works inpurchasing can be really helpful
as well.
It's largely going to depend ona company's structure, size and
sort of overall goals when itcomes to zero waste and
sustainability, but I do thinkthat there are a lot of key
people that can be involved andI usually recommend at least one
(26:54):
person per facility go throughthe process.
Stephanie McLarty (26:59):
That's great advice.
At least one person perfacility.
It sounds like great training,Regardless of the role that
you're in.
You'll get a lot out of it.
Celeste, this has been sointeresting and I feel like it's
really opened my eyes aroundwaste diversion in companies and
zero waste.
What would be one final pieceof advice you would leave our
listeners with in terms of howto make progress within their
(27:22):
companies in this whole space?
Celeste McMickle (27:25):
Honestly, get started.
I think the main thing that Isee holding people up is just
like oh, but we don't know howto get started and we really
want to think about it for along time and do a lot of
planning on the front end andjust at a certain point we'll
move forward.
But we need to think about itfirst.
And that's great.
I get it.
It's really good to bewell-informed and feel like you
(27:46):
have a plan.
And also, I think the only waythere's actually movement is if
we pull the trigger and startthe process, and I promise it's
not as scary as it seems.
It might take a while.
There might be some two stepsforward, one step back, but
that's great because we're stillmoving in the right direction.
Again, I'm an optimist and Ijust think having a plan that's
(28:07):
moving forward is better thannot.
Stephanie McLarty (28:11):
I agree.
And back to that quote we needmillions of people doing this.
Even if it's imperfectly Likeit's okay.
Celeste McMickle (28:19):
Exactly, it's okay.
It's really okay and we're areally nice team to work with.
We're not mean, we just wanteveryone to do their best, so we
always love to work withproject teams that are really at
any stage of their journey andhelp them move forward however
we can.
That's the goal.
Stephanie McLarty (28:35):
Yes, and I totally get that.
Celeste, thank you so much forbeing here and thank you so much
for your energy and yourpassion in this space.
It comes out in spades, so Iappreciate you.
Celeste McMickle (28:45):
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.
Stephanie McLarty (28:47):
And remember, if you're looking for a
Canadian partner in ITAD ande-waste recycling, we'd love to
chat Head on over toquantumlifecyclecom and contact
us.
This is a Quantum Lifecyclepodcast and the producer is
Sanjay Trivedi.
Thank you for being a CircularFuture Champion in your company
(29:08):
and beyond.
Logging off.
For every one ton of waste you generate, 71
tons of industrial waste havealready been created before the
product even got to you.
Welcome to the Circular Future,your access to thought leaders
and innovations to help you be abusiness sustainability
champion, even if it's not yourcore job.
(00:23):
I'm your host, stephanieMcLarty, head of Sustainability
at Quantum Lifecycle Partners.
You may be familiar with theiceberg concept, where the
majority of something is belowthe surface and you can't see it
.
Well, this iceberg concept canbe applied to waste and, in
effect, we have a wasteberg.
(00:44):
So much waste is producedbefore products even get to us,
which is both a huge challengeand opportunity for the circular
economy.
With me to understand improvingwaste diversion for businesses
is Celeste McMickle, director ofClient Solutions for True Zero
Waste Certification with the USGreen Building Council or USGBC.
(01:07):
Celeste is trained as anarchitect and has a background
as a sustainability consultantand waste expert.
Welcome to the podcast, celeste.
Celeste McMickle (01:16):
Thank you so much.
I'm so happy to be here.
Stephanie McLarty (01:19):
I'm thrilled you're here too.
This is a fascinating topicthat I'm really excited to get
into.
But first we'll start, as wealways do, and, celeste, let's
peek into your world.
What would be three things thatthe world maybe wouldn't know
about?
The US Green Building Council?
Celeste McMickle (01:36):
It's a great question and I hopefully have a
great answer.
The first thing I would say isthat, even though US is in our
name, we are actually a globalorganization.
So we do quite a bit of workoutside of the US and actually
have a large presence throughoutthe world, which is really
amazing.
The second thing is that we arenot a government agency.
(01:58):
That's another confusion thathappens a lot.
We are a nonprofit.
We're a 501c3 nonprofit.
And the third thing is that,for those of us that are
familiar with the USGBC and haveonly heard of the LEED
certification program, one ofthe things that you'll learn
today is that we actually have anumber of other certifications
related to other sustainabilityissues.
(02:18):
So we work worldwide, we are anonprofit and we have a lot of
different cool programs that canhelp support sustainability
goals.
Stephanie McLarty (02:26):
Yeah, and that was something that really
stood out for me when I met youis that I know of LEED, but up
until that point I didn't knowabout all the zero waste work
you do, so I'm excited to getinto that today.
So let's start withunderstanding zero waste when we
think about businesses.
What are we talking about whenwe say zero waste?
Yeah, so zero waste when wethink about businesses.
What are we talking about whenwe say zero waste?
Celeste McMickle (02:48):
Yeah, so zero waste, I think, is a really
interesting phenomenon.
I think there's a lot ofconfusion around the term zero
waste because it's used in avariety of contexts.
We see people on social medialiving zero waste lifestyles and
keeping all their trash in amason jar, which is amazing.
But then we also see largecompanies making commitments to
(03:10):
be zero waste or a zero wastecompany, and I think the
differential between that oneindividual version and that more
company corporate version ishuge.
And so one of the things thatwe do at the USGBC that again
kind of aligns with our originwith LEED, is that we create
standards around thesesustainability issues.
(03:31):
So when we think about zerowaste, we really wanted to
create some alignment aroundwhat it meant to achieve that at
a company level, so that thereisn't that sort of like industry
confusion around what that isand the way that we have gone
about defining.
That is by working through whatthe EPA and the Zero Waste
(03:54):
International Alliance have usedto define zero waste, which is
basically through the zero wastehierarchy.
Stephanie McLarty (04:00):
So walk us through that hierarchy.
How do you prioritize thedifferent elements of this whole
reduce, reuse, recycle and somuch more.
Celeste McMickle (04:08):
Great.
So I love the zero wastehierarchy and I also love
explaining it.
I think many of us, when wegrew up, were used to the term
reduce, reuse, recycle, andessentially what's happened over
the years is that as a culturalsociety, we have focused on the
recycle piece of that, andreduce and reuse have become far
(04:29):
less prevalent, and one of themain reasons that I would
attribute that phenomenon isthat the recycling piece allows
us to continue business as usual.
When we focus on some of theseother strategies, it can disrupt
a bit of how we go about ourday and that has been
challenging.
But, as we all know, we have ahuge waste issue and we really
(04:55):
need to look at that.
So the zero waste hierarchybasically looks like a upside
down triangle and it gives anoverview of the most efficient
and economical way thatmaterials can be used throughout
their life cycle to keep themin their useful life for as long
as possible.
So at the very top of thehierarchy we start with things
like redesign, reduction, youknow, remanufacturing, that type
of thing.
(05:15):
What types of processes wouldallow materials to maybe exist
for longer in their same formatwithout needing to be adapted?
From there we start to look atstrategies like reuse or, again,
maybe some type of repairsituation, and then those are
(05:35):
all strategies that we considerto be upstream, which
essentially means it'sprevention of waste from
occurring in the first place,because these materials can
still be used in their currentformat.
Then, when we move down, we endup with recycling and
composting, and below that, wehave landfill and incineration
and waste to energy.
Now all of these bottom tiersare referred to as downstream
(05:58):
solutions, including recyclingand composting, and I want to be
really clear here I am a hugesupporter of recycling and
composting.
I I want to be really clearhere I am a huge supporter of
recycling and composting.
I got my start in this industryas a composter.
I think these are reallyimportant aspects of how our
material lifecycle works.
However, when we look atrecycling and composting and
(06:18):
then, of course, landfill, theseare waste management strategies
.
These are things that happenonce these materials can no
longer stay in their currentform and need to be processed
into a different form.
In order.
Upstream strategies, becausethose are, by and large, most
effective.
Link the image of the hierarchyin the show notes.
Stephanie McLarty (06:37):
So people can actually take a look at it.
(07:07):
I know I'm a visual person, butat Quantum we first prioritize
reuse, whether it's reuseproducts and, if not, reuse of
parts, and then we do recycling.
But when we looked at, we havea sustainability calculator that
measures the carbon avoidanceof reuse and recycling and it's
depending on the product type.
It's anywhere from seven to 21times the emissions.
(07:30):
Avoidance of reuse overrecycling.
There's just so much moreenvironmental benefit and also
often financial benefit to stayin the upstream side, as you're
saying.
So that makes a lot of sense tome.
Now, where are companies todayon this journey of reducing
(07:51):
their waste and ultimatelyaiming to be zero waste?
Are we doing well or are we notdoing well?
And I think I know the answer.
Celeste McMickle (08:00):
But I'd love to hear it from you.
Yes, that's a great question.
I think we're a work inprogress.
I'm a very optimistic person,so I always kind of err on the
side of feeling like we're doingthe best that we can and we
have a long ways to go, butthere is progress that is
occurring.
The one thing I would say is,with that overview of the zero
(08:20):
waste hierarchy, I think thething that I've learned the most
by working in this industry andworking with companies that are
on their journey is that, byand large, many places are still
focusing on the recycling andagain, that's just because
that's kind of what we're usedto.
That's a very easy tracker.
Sometimes, calculatingreductions associated with reuse
or redesign can be a little bitmore challenging.
(08:41):
We do have some specificformulas at the USGBC that we
encourage project teams to useto help with that, because we
really want to move them in thatdirection.
However, I do think that somuch of what companies are used
to looking at is thosedownstream numbers, and so it's
a real challenge to get them tokind of look at things from 180
(09:04):
degrees and really turn theirapproach around to looking at
like ah, actually we could startwith upstream solutions first,
and that would be more effectiveand then, as we move through
the process, we can look towardsthe downstream numbers once we
get to that point.
But we need to start withpurchasing and we need to start
with training and we need tostart with actually looking at
(09:25):
what materials we're bringing inand how we're using those
materials before we look at howwe're getting rid of those
materials.
And that's the biggestchallenge that I think we face
is just helping peopleunderstand kind of how to
revisit the way materials aremanaged throughout the life
cycle of the way that they'reused in the facility.
Stephanie McLarty (09:44):
Yeah, I totally get it.
At Quantum, we're currentlydoing a packaging project where
we're looking at how sustainableis our packaging and why.
Because a customer startedasking us for information and
for numbers and we actually,prior to the project, really
didn't have any idea of how wellwe were doing.
(10:05):
So we did a little pilot anddiscovered that 74% of our
packaging was either reusable orrecyclable, and so I mean I
suppose that's not bad, but wehave a long way to go, and at
least it gave us a startingpoint to look at.
Okay, what are we purchasingfor packaging and how else can
we package our materials andmove away from plastics?
(10:26):
Even if they say they'rerecyclable, a lot of plastics
don't get recycled in the endeither.
Are you seeing that any type ofcompany, any industry, is
really looking at this, or arethere specific examples of
industries or types of companiesthat are really prioritizing
this whole waste journey?
Celeste McMickle (10:45):
It's a good question.
I think it depends.
I do work with companies allacross the board everything from
higher education tomanufacturing to commercial
office spaces and I think one ofthe things that's happened over
the last number of years isthat there have been a lot of
increased awareness around wasteand around plastics especially,
(11:05):
and just kind of how thesematerials are staying with us in
the environment for longer thanI think anybody realized.
And so, with that huge sort ofupsurge and awareness, we're
seeing a lot of companies makevery big commitments to waste
reduction efforts, specifically,hopefully, towards being a zero
(11:26):
waste company or towardscertifying towards zero waste.
So I think I'm seeing a lot ofincreased participation in
companies that are interested ingetting started.
But that's exactly what I wouldsay.
There's a lot of organizationsthat are in that getting started
phase and they want to reachthe commitment that they've made
for 2025, which now is verysoon or 2030 or 2035.
(11:49):
But they really need clearsteps in order to help them get
there, because it's a huge taskto go from maybe never having
done a waste audit or maybenever having analyzed how your
materials are being processed.
I see so many examples ofcompanies that are paying to
have materials brought in andthen paying to have those same
materials hauled away, right,and that's a huge inefficiency.
(12:11):
So how can we sort of revisittheir internal operations so
that, okay, we're bringingmaterials in and then we're
reusing them and we'rerevisiting them and then it
reduces what has to happen onthe downstream?
So it's in progress.
It's really exciting to see howmuch interest and excitement
there is and I'm happy to be onthe solutions end of it and
(12:32):
being able to provide tools andresources to help these
companies get there.
But I do think there's still along way to go.
Stephanie McLarty (12:38):
Right?
Well, you've piqued my interest.
So what is the TRUEcertification and what kind of
tools and solutions do youprovide?
Celeste McMickle (12:45):
Yeah, so TRUE is our Zero Waste Certification
Program.
It stands for Total ResourceUse and Efficiency and, as I
mentioned, it is basicallydeveloped around the idea of the
zero waste hierarchy.
And what we have done with itis we've developed a checklist,
a program that's based onstrategies that are embedded
within the zero waste hierarchythat can then be used as a
(13:08):
playbook for companies to get tothat goal of zero waste.
So let's say, company X has agoal of having all of their
facilities certified to zerowaste.
They would essentially workwith our team.
Again, we're a nonprofit and soall of our resources and tools
are totally free.
They're just meant to be aguidepost for how to basically
(13:28):
get to that industry standard ofwhat we consider to be zero
waste.
They'll go through the process,they'll identify all the
possible strategies that theycan use and hopefully that will
work in tandem withincorporating their diversion
numbers and getting to our goal,which is 90% or better
diversion from landfillincineration and waste to energy
(13:50):
.
So that is the requirement thatproject teams need in order to
be able to certify.
They need to be at that 90%.
Again, that comes from sort ofan industry standard, and then,
in addition to that, they usethe resource playbook to help
them get to that goal and thosetwo pieces work together and
we're here to help answerquestions and support them along
(14:11):
the way.
And at the end of that processthey go through a rigorous
third-party review process andthat is very similar with all of
the USGPC programs.
We really believe in the powerof third-party to be able to
help guide project teams towardsa really robust and valuable
certification process.
And if they make it throughthat review process without any
(14:32):
issues, hopefully, then they areable to be certified.
Stephanie McLarty (14:35):
That is really cool and it just reminds
me, when you speak of 90% orbetter diversion, of the sign
that's in the refillery that Igo to and it was there just two
days ago refilling dishwashercubes and soaps and things like
that on a personal level andthere's a sign that says we
(14:56):
don't need a few people doingzero waste perfectly, we need
millions of people doing zerowaste imperfectly.
Get to that 90% goal or better.
So that's a really it's a greatmeasurement for us all to
strive for.
And as I think about thatpackaging project that we've
initiated of how far we have togo but it doesn't have to strive
for, and as I think about thatpackaging project that we've
initiated of you know how far wehave to go, but you know it
(15:18):
doesn't have to be perfect.
What is the timeline?
If someone starts this journey,how long does it take them to
get to quote unquote zero wasteuntil they get to that
certification piece generally?
Celeste McMickle (15:32):
So it can really depend on the company and
the process that they are goingthrough.
It varies a lot.
I think one of the main thingsis that we require 12 months of
data demonstrating that 90%diversion number.
So if that 12 months of 90% orbetter already exists, then they
(15:52):
might actually be able to gothrough the process very quickly
.
However, by and large, mostcompanies are not already at 90%
diversion, and so they aregoing to need some time to be
able to gather that 12 months ofdata.
One of the things that I do wantto highlight that's really
important is that the 12 monthsof diversion data includes not
only downstream numbers, butalso upstream numbers.
Again, downstream is usuallywhat companies are used to
(16:15):
tracking.
They have their line item forrecycling, they have their line
item for composting, and thenthey have their line item for
landfill, and then you breakthat down and that comes out to
be their diversion number.
What we do at True that's reallydifferent is we incorporate,
okay, what strategies andmaterials associated with
reduction were used, whatstrategies and materials
(16:38):
associated with reuse were used,and by incorporating those
upstream strategies into thediversion tracker, it's going to
give recognition andacknowledgement for those more
environmentally preferablestrategies that were actually
used, and so even for companiesthat maybe have been tracking
their waste for a while, theymight need to revisit that if
they're going through the trueprogram, because their materials
(16:59):
and their diversion numbermight actually be better than
they realize when they thinkabout all the things that
they're doing for reduction andreuse.
So it can really depend, butthey do need that 12 months of
data and then our review processcan take about 10 weeks, so
some companies can get certifiedvery quickly and others might
need a little bit more time.
I've seen a little bit of allof it.
Stephanie McLarty (17:19):
Right, I'm sure, I'm sure.
And do you certify as a companyor as a single facility, or how
does that work?
Celeste McMickle (17:28):
So companies do certify the facilities
themselves.
The big reason for that is weare tracking the diversion waste
right, and that is always goingto be associated with a
facility itself.
So it's really important thatwe associate the certification
itself with the facility wherethat material was processed,
because if we're just doing froma company level, there's a
(17:50):
little bit less transparency inexactly how and where those
materials were collected anddiverted and so on and so forth.
That said, it's certainlyentirely possible for a company
to certify all of the facilitiesthat are within their portfolio
and thus be able to say thatall of their facilities are
certified zero waste, whichessentially means that their
(18:12):
company is certified.
But because we always track itspecifically to the facility, we
always want to make sure thatthat is transparent and that
that is communicated correctly.
Stephanie McLarty (18:22):
Interesting.
I'm curious what are you seeingis the true benefit that
companies are realizing frombeing on this journey and in
certifying Like, how are theyleveraging it to their benefit
as a company?
Celeste McMickle (18:36):
Sure.
So I think this kind of comesback to the whole issue of
third-party certification andwhy we feel like that's an
important piece of the processand basically having a
third-party certify the workthat you're doing is a really
standard part of the scientificprocess.
Because if we're only lookingat what we're doing ourselves
(18:59):
and we don't have somebody fromthe outside reviewing that work,
I don't even think it's in anyway malicious or it's
intentional, but it's justharder to see things when you're
within a company itself ratherthan when you're communicating
something externally that youknow is going to go through a
review process.
So something might seem like,oh, we're doing all this great
(19:19):
work and then when you compareit to a more industry standard,
you actually realize thatthere's some missing pieces.
And I see that happening moreoften than not when companies
are saying, oh, yeah, well,we've been doing zero waste for
years, and then it's like, okay,well, let's compare what you're
doing to what we've developed.
Which, again, is this globalstandard?
And they realize, wow, there'sactually a lot more that we
(19:39):
could be doing.
So I think it really increasesthe performance of these zero
waste programs.
I think it's a huge opportunityfor them to be able to
demonstrate externally to theirclients from a marketing
perspective, from a transparencyperspective, to just really be
able to actually show thatthey're walking the talk,
because, again, if you're justdoing something within a silo, I
(20:03):
think it's really hard to havethat actual perspective on it.
So it's a third party issue, forsure, and then I also just
think that it's something thatnow the public is very engaged
in, so especially for companiesthat maybe have a product that
they're developing, or Imentioned higher education,
students are very passionateabout zero waste in the
environment, and so to be ableto have teeth behind the
(20:25):
commitments that you're makingand demonstrate that publicly
through the third party program,I think does a ton from a
marketing perspective, from atrust perspective and, quite
frankly, there can even beeconomical benefits as well,
because I use the example ofpaying to bring something in and
paying to bring it out.
I think when we do an analysisof how these materials are used,
(20:46):
we actually find that there's alot of efficiencies that can be
found as well.
Stephanie McLarty (20:49):
Makes sense.
Celeste McMickle (20:50):
There's a lot of reasons.
Stephanie McLarty (20:51):
Yeah, and another one that sticks out to
me is the employee side how itreally engages employees.
It's great for retention.
We see this at Quantum.
They love working for Quantumbecause we make a difference,
and I think a lot of individualswant to work for a company
that's actually walking the talkwhen it comes to sustainability
and all of this whole space.
(21:12):
Let's get into our how-tosection, celeste.
There's so many measures outthere.
We talked on episode 32 abouthow to measure circularity, so
in this particular space, how tofigure out which measures to
focus on when it comes to waste.
Celeste McMickle (21:29):
Okay, so that's a good question.
So the way that we've developedthe program I mentioned, we
found strategies that arederived from the zero waste
hierarchy.
So what that looks like inpractice is let's take the issue
of reuse.
So we have seven credits withinour program that focus on
(21:49):
strategies associated with reuse.
Those could be things likefinding one commodity to reuse.
That could be something likefinding opportunities within
existing purchasing policies.
There's different ways thatcompanies can go about it.
We don't necessarily give anexact prescriptive goal of what
they need to do for that credit,but we create that standard
(22:13):
that they can align to how toget the most out of your rating
system, how to score the mostpoints or credits.
Right.
So we have it broken down intofour different certification
tiers certified, silver, goldand platinum.
That's going to be veryfamiliar for those of us that
have worked with LEED.
We try and keep alignmentbetween our programs.
Each different certificationtier requires a different number
(22:37):
of points in order to hit thatnumber.
So for certified they need toachieve 31 points and within the
whole program there's 81 points.
So depending on whichstrategies they want to
implement and depending on whichthings may or may not be
feasible, they could chooseanywhere between that range of
31 to 81 points.
(22:58):
Some companies come in and saythat range of 31 to 81 points.
Some companies come in and sayautomatically we know we want
gold, we know we want platinum,and so we're going to definitely
target the number of pointsthat we need to get there, no
matter what Other companies arelike.
Well, we want to see what wecan do, and so they might end up
with certified or silver and behappy with that.
It really just depends over andbe happy with that.
(23:22):
It really just depends,honestly, to me, because we have
this tandem rating system thatis point-based, that goes along
with the 90% diversionrequirement.
I think that all projects thatare able to achieve
certification are phenomenal,because hitting that 90% is no
easy task and, honestly,sometimes if projects have done
a little bit more work upfront,they might actually need less
(23:45):
points to be able to hit that90%, whereas if a company is
right at the beginning of theirzero waste journey, they might
have to go all out on the ratingsystem and get as many credits
as they can, becauseimplementing those credits are
going to help reduce theirdiversion number and get them
closer to that goal of 90%.
So there's a really broad rangein why projects might choose to
(24:07):
pursue a certain number ofcredits and implement those
strategies, and then there'sreasons why they might, you know
, pull back a little bit and gofor a lower certification tier.
Again, I think all achievementsare really valid and really
phenomenal.
When we get to those highercertification tiers of gold and
platinum, I mean, those arereally the elite performers that
(24:28):
have gone above and beyond whatthe majority of companies out
there are doing.
Stephanie McLarty (24:33):
Amazing, and I know for the true
certification.
You offer training programs, soit's possible to get your staff
trained in your programs.
And it reminded me not long agowe had this opportunity at
Quantum to do a waste audittraining and we actually didn't
know who should go.
There isn't a single person onstaff where we could say it is
(24:56):
your responsibility to do atraining like this.
So how do you figure out whoshould do the training for this
type of work?
Celeste McMickle (25:06):
Sure.
So to pull back on that a bit,the training program that we
have is called the True Advisorand it is open to anyone.
You don't have to be workingwithin a company that's pursuing
zero waste to get the TrueAdvisor.
We see a lot of students gothrough it.
We see consultants go throughit, also, folks that are maybe
looking to make a careertransition or just really
interested in zero waste in thecircular economy.
(25:28):
It's a deep dive into true andit's also a really good overview
of zero waste practices andphilosophies, a lot of
information about the zero wastehierarchy, how to do bin right,
sizing, everything like that.
So I think it's a greatopportunity for most of us that
are working in this world ifit's of interest.
(25:48):
It's actually how I gotinvolved with the program, which
is kind of fun.
But when we're looking at acompany that's going through the
program and trying to decide,okay, who should we put through
this, I think there's a coupleof obvious places to start.
One is going to be if there issomeone that is tasked with
actually going through and doingthe documentation, that's
(26:10):
definitely somebody that shouldgo through the true advisor
because you're going to reallywant to have those skills and
resources.
Another person that might bereally helpful is an operations
or a facility manager, becausethose are often the ones that
are doing the overview ofexactly what processes are going
to be happening at thatfacility and might be able to
showcase that information to therest of the team.
(26:32):
So that's another person that Ioften say is good to have on
board.
Also, somebody that works inpurchasing can be really helpful
as well.
Also, somebody that works inpurchasing can be really helpful
as well.
It's largely going to depend ona company's structure, size and
sort of overall goals when itcomes to zero waste and
sustainability, but I do thinkthat there are a lot of key
people that can be involved andI usually recommend at least one
(26:54):
person per facility go throughthe process.
Stephanie McLarty (26:59):
That's great advice.
At least one person perfacility.
It sounds like great training,Regardless of the role that
you're in.
You'll get a lot out of it.
Celeste, this has been sointeresting and I feel like it's
really opened my eyes aroundwaste diversion in companies and
zero waste.
What would be one final pieceof advice you would leave our
listeners with in terms of howto make progress within their
(27:22):
companies in this whole space?
Celeste McMickle (27:25):
Honestly, get started.
I think the main thing that Isee holding people up is just
like oh, but we don't know howto get started and we really
want to think about it for along time and do a lot of
planning on the front end andjust at a certain point we'll
move forward.
But we need to think about itfirst.
And that's great.
I get it.
It's really good to bewell-informed and feel like you
(27:46):
have a plan.
And also, I think the only waythere's actually movement is if
we pull the trigger and startthe process, and I promise it's
not as scary as it seems.
It might take a while.
There might be some two stepsforward, one step back, but
that's great because we're stillmoving in the right direction.
Again, I'm an optimist and Ijust think having a plan that's
(28:07):
moving forward is better thannot.
Stephanie McLarty (28:11):
I agree.
And back to that quote we needmillions of people doing this.
Even if it's imperfectly Likeit's okay.
Celeste McMickle (28:19):
Exactly, it's okay.
It's really okay and we're areally nice team to work with.
We're not mean, we just wanteveryone to do their best, so we
always love to work withproject teams that are really at
any stage of their journey andhelp them move forward however
we can.
That's the goal.
Stephanie McLarty (28:35):
Yes, and I totally get that.
Celeste, thank you so much forbeing here and thank you so much
for your energy and yourpassion in this space.
It comes out in spades, so Iappreciate you.
Celeste McMickle (28:45):
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.
Stephanie McLarty (28:47):
And remember, if you're looking for a
Canadian partner in ITAD ande-waste recycling, we'd love to
chat Head on over toquantumlifecyclecom and contact
us.
This is a Quantum Lifecyclepodcast and the producer is
Sanjay Trivedi.
Thank you for being a CircularFuture Champion in your company
(29:08):
and beyond.
Logging off.
Popular Podcasts
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.