Downtown Atlanta recycles self into a Zero Waste Zone

                                                          

Last year, downtown Atlanta lost a convention to another Southern city because the visiting group perceived the other city as "greener" than Atlanta. The loss propelled Holly Elmore into action.  Environmental practices are fast becoming a strong consideration in business decisions," explains the Green Foodservice Alliance founder. Elmore teamed up with Atlanta Recycles and Laura Turner Seydel -- eco-awareness consultant and an Atlanta native -- to create the South's first Zero Waste Zone.

First stop: The downtown Atlanta convention district, where the EPA estimates hundreds of thousands of tons of "waste" are sent to landfills -- "waste" that could be recycled into reusable products.

If it grows, it goes

In 2008, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta served an average of 8,143 meals per week, a total of 423,433 meals in a single year. Imagine the "waste" that was sent to rot and pollute the overflowing landfill. 

Continue reading...  http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/17/gsif.atlanta.zero.waste.zone/#cnnSTCText