{"id":466,"date":"2020-07-17T08:31:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T08:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enlightenment-demo.onedesigns.com\/blog\/?p=466"},"modified":"2020-10-08T09:33:41","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T09:33:41","slug":"the-us-millenial-hotspot-pioneering-a-zero-waste-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enlightenment-demo.onedesigns.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/17\/the-us-millenial-hotspot-pioneering-a-zero-waste-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"The US millenial hotspot pioneering a zero waste economy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is the US city that is a magnet for millenials and that is positioned at the forefront of a new kind of economy: one powered by startups developing creative ways to turn waste into valuable new products. No, we are not talking about the high-profile green innovators of San Francisco, Portland or Seattle, but the quiet achiever of Charlotte, North Carolina. The city, which in 2017 was ranked the top destination in the country for millenials to move to<\/a>, has in recent years been undertaking a range of eco-friendly measures popular with younger Americans, including vast expansions of bike lane networks and public transport systems<\/a>, not to mention the addition of swaths of parkland. Now city authorities are about to take things to a whole other level as Charlotte becomes the first American city to commit to the circular economy as a public sector strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Metabolic developed a zero waste strategy for the city of Charlotte based on the sustainability consultancy\u2019s seven pillars of the circular economy. Photo credit: Circular Charlotte<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A new report, developed by sustainability consultants Metabolic<\/a> for Envision Charlotte<\/a>, with input from City of Charlotte staff, details the path forward for the city to transition to a circular economy. This model is regenerative and waste-free by design, in contrast with today\u2019s linear model that sends Charlotte\u2019s 944,177 tons of annual waste to landfill, throwing out materials with a residual value of roughly $111 million per year. If the plan is fully adopted, Charlotte could be a zero waste city by 2040, saying goodbye to landfill and hello to a new, eco-friendly way of living. Environmental gains are not the only benefit of a circular economy that are particularly attractive to the city\u2019s millenials<\/a> \u2013 the plan would also improve quality of life, create thousands of jobs, and generate up to $2.3 billion in revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Metabolic developed a zero waste strategy for the city of Charlotte based on the sustainability consultancy\u2019s seven pillars of the circular economy. Photo credit: Circular Charlotte<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a first step, the City of Charlotte has committed $2 million to the creation of an Innovation Barn, which will serve as a hub for circular economy business ideas. The 6,000-square-foot event space, which is slated to open in August 2019, will feature a restaurant specializing in creating dishes from food that would have been thrown away at grocery stores or other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Charlotte from Marshall Park at night. Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The City of Charlotte has committed to four of five case studies detailed in the strategy document:<\/p>\n\n\n\n