Zoos, Aquariums, and Eco-Friendly Waste Management Programs

May 22, 2018

May 22, 2018


Today’s Guest Blog is by the Marketing Team of NERC Supporting Member Solus Group. It was originally posted on the Solus Blog on May 14, 2018.


Zoos and aquariums face tremendous opportunities (and expectations) for creating eco-friendly waste management programs. The public expects these institutions to offer comprehensive recycling and compost programs to demonstrate their commitment to the Earth. Thankfully, America's zoos and aquariums are up to the challenge. Let's take a look at some innovative institutions to see what they're doing and how they're doing it.


Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Leaders in Composting


With Jack Hanna on the board of directors, you'd expect the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to have a top-notch collection of animals. However, the Ohio zoo takes its commitment to the Earth a step farther. It has an innovative composting program that sends 864 tons of material to a local commercial composter. That's 1,728,000 pounds of food scraps, animal manure, and bedding!


Zoos have the unique opportunity to be such prolific composters due to the large amount of animal manure produced. For instance, at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the animals produce about two tons per day. By partnering with a nearby facility, the zoo is able to solve a waste management problem while creating nutrient-rich soil and local jobs in the process. 


By collecting food scraps in their kitchens, the zoo adds even more useful organic material to their haul of compost. Zoo maintenance workers can also divert soiled animal bedding from the landfill and send it to the composting facility. Maintenance managers should just remember to provide assistive lifting devices when asking workers to handle awkward, heavy loads.


Philadelphia Zoo: 2017 Green Award Winners


The Philadelphia Zoo has been around for more than 150 years, but it’s still coming up with innovative solutions to worldwide problems. Its current focus is on sustainability, and it’s created an ambitious set of goals to continually drive down energy expenditures and water use.


Two of the zoo's major sustainability goals involve water conservation, and it’s created innovative approaches to achieve them. For instance, to reduce water consumption, it’s installed waterless urinals, and it collects rainwater to flush toilets. These are great examples of changes that save water without negatively impacting the zoo experience.


Over a five-year period from 2009 to 2014, the zoo decreased water use by 64 percent. It’s also removed large swaths of pavement and replaced it with rain gardens and infiltration basins to capture rainwater. This reduces local flooding and gives the zoo extra water to use for landscaping and other applications that use non-potable water. In 2017, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums honored the Philadelphia Zoo's sustainability program with their prestigious Green Award.


Recycling at Zoos and Aquariums


Recycling programs in zoos have never been more robust. Almost all zoos collect plastic, glass, and aluminum, but it's also becoming commonplace for them to accept cell phones and more obscure items. The Topeka Zoo even accepts old holiday lights, which are dismantled and recycled for parts.


This focus on recycling is about more than just keeping junk out of landfills; it also reduces the need for mining and deforestation. More specifically, cell phones require a mineral called coltan that comes from Congo. By harvesting and reusing coltan from old cell phones, there is less need to mine it from the habitat of the lowland gorilla, which helps conserve the species.


As stewards of wild animals, zoos are creating a multitude of programs to help the earth. Whether it's through the alchemy of composting, simple solutions to reduce water use, or reusing parts from old items, zoos are meeting and overcoming their unique waste management challenges.


Solus Group offers a wide variety of quality material handling products with solutions focusing on warehouse storage, shelving, battery handling, industrial safety, dock accessories, drum handling, packaging, industrial and office furniture, and janitorial maintenance. The company provides product solutions that promote facility safety, efficiency, and productivity. The Solus Group is a NERC Advisory Member. The article is reposted by permission.

 

NERC welcomes Guest Blog submissions. To inquire about submitting articles contact Athena Lee Bradley, Projects Manager at athena(at)nerc.org. Disclaimer: Guest blogs represent the opinion of the writers and may not reflect the policy or position of the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.



Article References:

  • "About the Zoo." Philadelphia Zoo, 2018. Web. 2 Apr. 2018.
  • "The Green Award." AZA. Association of Zoos and Aquariums, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2018.
  • "Holiday Lights Recycling." TopekaZoo. Topeka Zoo, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2018.
  • Lovgren, Stefan. "Can Cell-Phone Recycling Help African Gorillas?" NationalGeographic. National Geographic Society, 20 Jan. 2006. Web. 2 Apr. 2018.
  • "Philadelphia Zoo Sustainability Report Fiscal Year 2014. PhiladelphiaZoo. Philadelphia Zoo, 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2018.
  • "Poo at the Zoo - Composting." ColumbusZoo. Columbus Zoo, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2018.
  • "Sustainability at the Zoo." PhiladelphiaZoo. Philadelphia Zoo, 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 2018.

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August 29, 2025
Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Publishes 25 th Report Marking Six Years of Quarterly Data
By Recycled Materials Association July 29, 2025
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has opened the 2025 Emerging Professionals (EP) Program . Now, in its third year, the program provides professionals who are new to the field of recycling, sustainability, and environmental stewardship with discounted access to NERC’s Conference and Foundations Course, sponsored by their employer organization. EPs gain valuable connections with seasoned industry professionals and peers while engaging in discussions on current trends, challenges, and innovations shaping the industry. This program is designed for those with three or fewer years of experience. “This year, EPs also receive a discount to our Foundations of Sustainable Materials Management course (a live, instructor-led training) developed to provide the key building blocks for understanding the industry,” said Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager at NERC. “It’s a great way to close the loop: gaining both a strong technical foundation and real-world connections in one experience.” Read and Learn More.
By Chaz Miller June 30, 2025
Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. On July 1, Oregon’s packaging and paper extended producer responsibility (EPR) program begins operating. This will be a first in our country. “Producers”, instead of local governments or private citizens, will be paying to recycle packages and paper products. Colorado’s program begins operating early in 2026. For years we have heard the theory of how packaging EPR will work. At last, we will get results. Five other states also have laws. Their programs should all be operating by 2030. None of the state laws have identical requirements. The Circular Action Alliance, the “producer responsibility organization” responsible for managing the program in most of those states, knows it has a lot on its plate. EPR laws are not new to the U.S. Thirty-two states already have laws that cover a wide variety of products such as electronics, paint, mattresses, batteries, etc. Those laws are relatively simple. Most cover one product. The producer group is a small number of companies. Goals and programs are focused and narrow. They are a mixed bag of success and failure. Packaging EPR is far more complex. The number of covered products is way higher. Thousands of companies are paying for these programs. Goals are challenging. Some are impossible to meet. In addition, local governments treat recycling as a normal service. Their residents will still call them if their recyclables aren’t picked up. It probably hasn’t helped that advocates tout EPR as the solution for recycling’s problems. We are told we will have more collection and better processing with higher recycling rates. Markets will improve and even stabilize. Some of this will happen, but not all. Collection and processing should go smoothly in Oregon. The state has high expectations for recycling. I have no doubt recycling will increase. Collection programs will blanket the state, giving more households the opportunity to recycle. I’m not sure, though, how much of an increase we will see. Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. Another challenge is the “responsible end market” requirements. You’ve probably seen pictures of overseas dumps created by unscrupulous or just naïve plastics “recyclers”. In response, Oregon and the other states are requiring sellers and end markets to prove they are “responsible”. They must provide information about who and where they are, how they operate, how much was actually recycled, and more. Recycling end markets pushed back. Paper and metals recyclers argue they shouldn’t be covered. They don’t cause those problems. As for plastics, the general manager of one of America’s largest plastics recycling companies said his company now spends time and money gathering data and filling out forms to prove they’re “responsible”. His virgin resin competitors don’t have to. Ironically, we now import more plastics for recycling than we export. Maybe those countries should impose similar requirements on their plastics recyclers. Colorado faces unique problems. The mountain state is large. Its population is concentrated on the I-25 corridor running north and south through Denver with low population density elsewhere. Recycling collection and processing is limited as are end markets. To make matters worse, slightly more than half of its households use “subscription” services for waste and recycling collection. Those services are funded by the households, not by taxpayers. EPR doesn’t have this experience in other countries. Colorado gets to blaze this trail. The second state to go live poses substantive challenges for producers. The good news for both states? Local governments that pay for recycling collection and processing will see most of those costs go away. Consumers are unlikely to see prices rise, for now. National companies will simply spread their costs among all 50 states. Local and regional producers, unfortunately, don’t have that advantage. As for improved markets, remember that recyclables are and always will be commodities subject to the ups and downs of the economy. I don’t see substantive changes in recycling markets unless the producer group’s members try to manipulate markets to their own advantage. 2025 saw new laws and changes to existing laws. Maryland and Washington became the sixth and seventh packaging EPR states. At the same time, California is rewriting its regulations and Maine significantly revised its law. Some of these changes narrowed EPR’s scope to the dismay of advocates. I’m a member of Maryland’s EPR Advisory Council. We’ve been meeting for a year, discussing the Needs Assessment and now our new law. We have our own unique set of challenges. We also have a big advantage. We can learn from Oregon’s and Colorado’s experiences. Tune in next year to learn how we are progressing. Read on Waste360.