When you throw something away, it’s gone as far as you are concerned. But in fact, it’s still around and will most likely end up in a landfill. Landfills are where solid waste goes to build up into unpleasant mounds and where organic waste, like food that is thrown away, goes to fester and decompose, giving off huge amounts of methane gas. Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and a big contributor to climate change.
Whether you call it trash, waste or garbage, it’s in our interest to reduce the amount we generate, so that less is sent to landfills. In this program, we are getting to zero waste with Richard McHale, Director of Austin Resource Recovery.
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Richard McHale, Director has more than 30 years of experience with Austin Resource Recovery and most recently served as Deputy Director, helping to lead the storm debris collection efforts during Winter Storm Mara. He was instrumental in the rollouts of the City’s single-stream recycling and curbside composting programs. He also led the development of the Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center.
In addition, McHale is a director of the Texas chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America (TxSWANA), a former member of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) Municipal Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Advisory Council and serves on the Solid Waste Advisory Commission for the Capital Area Planning Council of Governments. He served as a past President of both TxSWANA and the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Municipal Waste Management Association. While President of TxSWANA, he spearheaded the efforts that resulted in Slow Down To Get Around legislation.
McHale is a graduate of Texas State University, earning both a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography and Planning, and a Master’s Degree in Resource and Environmental Studies
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Since it began in 2015, Mothering Earth has been bringing listeners informative programs on a broad range of environmental and sustainable living topics .
