2011 – Envision Charlotte Announced

Energy Project

61 Buildings ~ 21 Million SQFT ~ 50 Company Commitments ~ 1000 Champions

4 Pillars Air Water Waste Energy

SEAP – Sustainable Energy Action Plan

• 42% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to extracting, processing, and disposing of materials

• Charlotte has recently adopted a low carbon strategy, through which it will strive for a net annual CO2e emission of less than two tons per person.

Reducing the total waste-to-landfill is one way of reducing emissions.

• Zero waste could result in .08-.34 tons less of direct emission per person

CIRCULAR ECONOMYSupport Sustainable and Resilient Resolution Goals

Key Findings

• 88% of waste in Charlotte is going to the landfill

• National average is 65%

• If Charlotte could divert up to 15% we could have a CO2e savings of 379,000 tons/year (75,000 cars per year)

2018 Metabolic Study

• Analyzed Charlotte’s waste stream

• Provided a short term and long term strategy for Charlotte’s Transition to Circular Economy

VISION FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Focus on the following 4 areas:

Plastics

Organics

Concrete

Textiles

Innovation Center

INNOVATION BARNGoals of project:

• Job Creation – both directly at the barn also through incubator lab and entrepreneurship

• Innovation – creating innovations around materials destined for the landfill

• Education and Awareness – creating opportunities for public engagement both through demonstration projects, classes and our partnership with CMS

Small Businesses/Start Ups• Crown Town Composting• 100 Gardens• Queen City Teaching Farm

Large Businesses• Electrolux• Philips• Cisco• National Gypsum• Lowes

Organics Soldier Fly Composting

Aquaponic/Hydroponic Garden

Teaching KitchenIncubator Hub

Precious Plastics Lab Cafe

Otts

Seigle Ave

INNOVATION BARN - PHASE 1

FEBRUARY 2020

ORGANICS

Soldier Fly Composting at Innovation Barn

Via Crown Town Compositing

(figures below are on a yearly basis)

Food Waste – 26 tons

• 21.13 metric tons of avoided CO2e emissions

Opportunity – capable of scaling 4x

Nearly 150,000 tons of food waste from Charlotte households and small businesses end up in the landfill. Decaying waste in landfill results in high amounts of methane emissions – 25x more potent than CO2e

80,000 lbs of wood waste per day

(figure below are on a yearly basis)

• Lumber – 1,000 tons• Firewood – 3,000 tons• Other – 2,000 tons

11,700 metric tons of avoided CO2e emissions (2,525 cars taken off road)

• Debris via Biochar** – 15,000 tons• Pallet waste via Biochar – 15,000 tons

58,800 metric tons of avoided CO2e emissions (12,630 cars taken off the road)

**Permit from county required

WOOD WASTE CENTER

Biochar – ‘black gold’ • made from biomass via pyrolysis• carbon sequestration • soil health benefits

(Council Action for land lease)

PLASTICS144,403 tons – 3,029 tons recycled

Send Me on My Way –

Program partners Coca Cola Consolidated, Sealed Air, CATSProgram Goals:• Educate Charlotte citizens via employers about

plastics• Collect pure materials to be returned to Coca

Cola Consolidated and Sealed Air

Some Collection partners:Government CenterCharlotte Motor SpeedwayCompass GroupWhitewater Middle SchoolBelmont NeighborhoodMicrosoft

PLASTICSPrecious Plastics Lab at the Innovation BarnProgram Goals:• Reduce plastic waste• Provide Entrepreneurs a lab for prototyping/creating products from waste• Educate all citizens on plastics

Products examples: furniture, construction material, modular structures….

PLASTICSLitter Gitters Program Program partners • Coca Cola Consolidated• Charlotte Storm Water

Program Goals:• Collect debris from 3 waterways• Analyze waste for source – reduce waterway waste• Upcycle/recycle materials

EXAMPLE