Each year across the world, we dump more than 2-billion tons of solid waste in the oceans, rivers, landfills and other places, threatening the entire eco system.

And Americans, according to the Washington Post contribute a disproportionate amount, throwing out the equivalent of their own body weight each month.

But in Dan, help has begun.

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Back in 1979, Dan, an ex-college professor with a doctorate in sociology, was living a tumultuous life.

He had lost his job, his wife had left him and being a long-haired hippy, he hitchhiked to Berkeley, California to make a new start.

After visiting the Berkeley landfill, he fixated on trash, and came to a realization that would help change the world.

Berkeley's Urban Ore
Photo: alumni.berkeley.edu

He saw a mountain of waste begging for recycle. Bottles, cans, newspapers, clothing and other materials, including food waste, and realized this was a huge, untapped resource.

Today, Dan owns Urban Ore, which helps salvage Berkeley’s waste. For Berkeley no longer has a landfill, an example to us all of what is possible.

And nearby San Francisco now recycles 80% of its waste, including food waste used as compost, as it focuses on becoming a zero-waste city.

But the garbage problem remains enormous because many communities still don’t recycle, and many companies ignore the recyclability of their products.

The solution lies within each of us, for we have the power to pressure our communities to recycle and we can stop using products that are not recyclable.

Let us learn from Dan, as we each strive to make this a better world.

Editor's Note: To learn more, click here and here.

In the next KazanToday: A hero to traumatized children.