Zero waste innovation is Daniella Russo’s approach to tackling plastic pollution. She believes we can reshape the way we use plastic and entrepreneurs can be a driving force in that change. She’ll be sharing her expertise, as one of the featured speakers at the 2018 Zero Waste Conference, Nov. 8-9 at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre.
While plastic is in the spotlight for its negative consequences in landfills and oceans, Russo points out the need to see this versatile material in context.
“It’s really important to follow the whole journey of plastic pollution,” she says, “because… plastic is a good material, just used improperly. You’re talking about a material that lasts forever and we are using it for disposable stuff. It makes no sense.”
Daniella is one of the co-founders of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. “Our vision is a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on people, animals and the environment,” she explains. “Towards this goal, we work to eliminate disposable plastics, and reduce the planetary plastic footprint.”
Russo’s achievements also include founding Think Beyond Plastic, the organization she launched in 2007 to engage consumers and businesses in a solutions-oriented endeavour to reduce their plastic footprint.Â
Not content to simply point out the problem, Russo sees the potential for solutions within human ingenuity and enterprise.
“I turn to innovation and I turn to entrepreneurs and I ask them, is there something else we could be using instead?”
The shift away from fossil fuel-based plastics towards new materials from renewable sources, innovative consumer and business products, and packaging design specifically designed to handle these new materials may be in its earliest stages, but it is underway. It’s a change that’s going to impact almost every industry, along with creating new challenges (and opportunities) in manufacturing, waste handling, recycling, and composting.
How will changing attitudes toward the use of plastic affect the decisions you have to make? Daniella Russo’s informed perspective can give you invaluable direction. Register for the 2018 Zero Waste Conference today to hear Daniella and a host of panellists and speakers share their expertise and guidance. Early bird discounts end June 30.
Never been to a Zero Waste Conference? Here’s a look at our 2017 conference, which returning attendees were calling, ‘the best yet.’
Zero Waste Conference 2017 Overview from Metro Vancouver on Vimeo.
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