Aspen City Council is considering some radical waste reduction and climate action policies that would mandate people to compost their food, require developers to divert construction materials from the local landfill and electrify buildings. It’s part of an eight-year effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels that will hold global warming to a 1.5 degree Celsius increase threshold, which is a goal of the Local Governments for Sustainability.
Council is being asked by the city’s climate action office to join in a global campaign called the Race to Zero, established by the UN Climate last year. The scientific community has determined that the next eight years are critical in fighting global warming, and local environmental leaders estimate that is the same time frame the landfill will be full if action is not taken, according to the city’s climate action team.
In a memo to council, Aspen climate action officials wrote that voluntary participation in climate and waste reduction programs is not enough to achieve the ambitious goals of the community and council. Last year, over 58% of the material buried in the Pitkin County landfill came from construction and demolition activities, according to city officials.