By: Catrina Leone, intern

The cold winter weather never slows down this great community as another exciting event came to Cleveland this past weekend! Friday, January 10, the City of Cleveland Office of Sustainability kicked off the “Year of Zero Waste” in the rotunda of City Hall. It was the halfway mark for Sustainable Cleveland 2019, Mayor Jackson’s ten-year initiative announced in 2009. The goal was to transform Cleveland into a “Green City on a Blue Lake”. Businesses and organizations were available with resources on local and regional zero waste efforts, including solutions for homes and businesses.

2014 has been designated as the Year of Zero Waste, as part of Mayor Frank Jackson’s Sustainable Cleveland initiative. The “Year of Zero Waste” will focus on the idea of dramatically reducing the amount of waste created by re-purposing materials that otherwise would have been disposed. Throughout the year, the Zero Waste celebration committee will be working to highlight all the work already in progress in our region to reduce the volume of materials ending up in landfills.

“I’m excited to kick off the Year of Zero Waste in Cleveland. We have good momentum from government, business and residents around waste reduction and recycling and we look to 2014 to engage even more people to reduce waste at home, at work and in their community,” said Chief of Sustainability, Jenita McGowan. “Projects such as the Collinwood Bio-energy, Detroit Shoreway’s bicycle composting pilot, the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District’s Backyard Composting program, zero waste events such as the City’s Sustainability Summit and others set a great foundation for the year.”

There has been an annual sustainability summit each year since 2009  and since 2011, a Celebration Year devoted to focusing on a particular aspect of sustainability. So far, the City of Cleveland has celebrated the Year of Energy Efficiency, (2011), The Year of Local Food (2012), and the Year of Advanced and Renewable Energy (2013).

It was an amazing event to raise awareness on sustainability and what the community can do to make sure our city stays clean and green! For more information on this event and others circling the city, stay tuned to TV20 for updates! For more information on Sustainable Cleveland 2019, you can also check out their website:

http://www.sustainablecleveland.org/