Green Building Program

The Circular Economy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reconsider and Reimagine

 There is wisdom in the old saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” What if instead of burying our trash in a landfill, we recirculated it back into the economy? What if we began to regard “waste” as a “resource”?

Scottsdale’s Green Building Lecture Series kicks off its new season with “The Circular Economy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reconsider and Re-imagine,” a discussion of the reuse and recovery of materials and products we use every day.

In a traditional linear economy, products are made, used and disposed of in the landfill. In a circular economy, resources are kept in use for as long as possible to extract maximum value, then recovered to regenerate new materials. Circular economies divert waste from landfills, reduce environmental impacts, conserve energy and water, save money, and create jobs.

Come hear about community initiatives, business opportunities and what you can do to support a circular economy.

Speakers:

John Trujillo, Principal of Circonomy Solutions is our featured speaker.

As former City of Phoenix Public Works Director, he reinvented the city’s waste collection and recycling programs to dramatically move the city toward zero-waste. John will share business and public sector efforts to recover material resources for reuse and regeneration in an economically viable and environmentally compatible way. 

Steve Caldwell, Vice President of Operations for GreenSheen Paint

Steve is responsible for the national expansion of latex paint recycling facilities. He will discuss the process of recycling used latex paint (otherwise destined for the landfill) into a premium quality architectural grade paint.