Trash into treasure: ASU, Phoenix partner to find new uses for waste

With over four million residents, Maricopa County has a lot of waste, and it only diverts 16 percent of it out of landfills, compared to the national average of 34 percent. City of Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has charged the Public Works department in achieving 40 percent diversion by 2020, an initiative called Reimagine Phoenix.

To help, Arizona State University's Sustainability Solutions Services, the consultancy arm of the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, is working with Public Works on building a network of trash talkers – researchers, practitioners, organizations and businesses who will find uses for Phoenix's waste.

The new Resource Innovation and Solutions Network (RISN) was a topic at the annual Sustainable Brands conference in San Diego, where Sustainability Solutions Services manager Dan O'Neill and Public Works assistant director John Trujillo presented the partnership and future goals to leading sustainability communicators, global companies and subject matter experts.

If you have a waste diversion project or want to build partnerships for a resourceful Arizona, join RISN.

Video provided by Sustainable Brands