The Recycling Cornucopia Program helps communities across America create less waste and save money by stopping polluting waste facilities and finding better ways to reuse and recycle materials. Your donation helps us provide free expert advice to local groups working to create cleaner, healthier neighborhoods while creating good jobs through recycling and reuse programs.
The Recycling Cornucopia provides technical assistance to cities, community groups and businesses in the field of sustainable resource management. The program is led by Neil Seldman, Phd., who has pioneered developments in processing, building deconstruction and small scale manufacturing from recycled materials.
Dr. Seldman has also chronicled the US recycling movement in the last 50 years in “History of the US Recycling Movement, Encyclopedia of Technology Energy and Environment” and “Wasting and Recycling in the US 2000.” He has also documented worldwide recycling developments for the World Bank in “Recycling From Municipal Refuse: a State-of-the-art Review and Annotated Bibliography.”
Neil Seldman, PhD, is co-founder of five notable organizations in the US and international Zero Waste movement: the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 1973, National Recycling Coalition, 1980, Zero Waste USA 1996, Zero Waste International Alliance, 2003 and Save the Albatross Coalition, 2013. According to Robin Cannon, Concerned Citizens of South Los Angeles, Seldman is known as a grassroots organizer who “shows communities how to fight against incinerators and for the sustainable solutions to solid waste management and local economic problems.” He has worked in Atlanta, Alachua County, FL, Austin, Baltimore, Bridgeport, CT, Detroit, King County, WA, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Reading, PA and Washington, DC as well as numerous smaller cities and counties throughout the USA.
Dr. Seldman writes regularly on the political economy of wasting providing insight and constructive criticism of poorly designed technologies and policies. He has prepared numerous Zero Waste plans, which help cities, and counties transition from waste incineration to thriving local businesses and the infrastructure that supports them.
Dr. Seldman was a manufacturer in New York City and a university lecturer in political science before co-founding the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC in 1973.
Services Available
Civic and environmental organizations, small businesses, local agencies and local officials may obtain free technical assistance on wasting, recycling, reuse and composting policies and programs. Recycling Cornucopia examples include:
- Analysis of current wasting and recycling system
- Identify policies, programs and enterprises that pave the way to Zero Waste
- Identify sources of local, state and national funding for planning, organizing and implementation
- Link local activists with regional and national networks of Zero Waste communities
- Train organized citizens in Zero Waste analysis and research
If your community and/or organization would like to be considered as a Recycling Cornucopia Project please complete this form (I/P). Plan to provide your name, the name of your organization and location. Briefly describe the Zero Waste challenge you are facing: a proposed incinerator, an existing incinerator, a proposed mega landfill, poor recycling, reuse and composting programs that need to be improved, how to access federal infrastructure investment funding, or developing a Zero Waste Plan and Implementation Schedule.
Cornucopia Posts
Presentation notes from Rick Anthony and Neil Seldman’s NRC presentation 11/19/24; Early History of the Recycling Movement and the Origins of the National Recycling Coalition
Rick and I presented in-person at this year’s National Recycling Coalition conference in Cooperstown, NY. It was not recorded but we’ve put together this statement. Currently, it’s a draft that we expect to be published soon.
Zero Waste Tribute to Jerry Goldstein and Mary Appelhof
Mary Appelhof and Jerry Goldstein had a considerable impact on our recycling, composting, reuse and Zero Waste movement.
Selected articles by Neil from 2018-2022
Selected articles on the political economy of wasting and recycling 2018-2022
Neil’s newest feature articles in Resource Recycling Magazine
Feature articles on the progress Zero Waste in the US by Neil Seldman in Resource Recycling Magazine, April and June 2024
New article in Biocycle about community based composting in Detroit
Grass roots efforts are in progress to build a composting infrastructure and create good jobs. Please read the full article in Biocycle Magazine
Zero Waste USA advice helps New Jersey town of 18,000 people successfully replaces single stream with dual stream recycling
Zero Waste USA consulted with South Orange Village officials who followed through and changed their recycling collection process.
(Use the above pagination buttons to view more Cornucopia posts.)