In November 2019, the Ann Arbor City Council adopted A2ZERO: A Living Carbon Neutrality Plan to achieve a just transition to community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 in four sectors: energy, mobility, resources' usage reduction, and adaptation and resilience.

The plan aims to eliminate 2.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually and focuses on seven strategies and 44 actions identified by members of the public, technical advisors, the peer-reviewed and grey literature, and internal staff. One of these strategies is “Change the way we use, reuse, and dispose of materials” with a focus on the circular economy.

Currently the city is measuring materials management by calculating and tracking the weight of materials diverted to landfills. This method contributed to some problems such as tracking the end use of the material (a circular economy measurement approach encourages the reuse of materials), not tracking on a per capita basis (this is important as the city continues to grow), and missing large segments of the waste stream including reuse, construction and demolition debris, as well as other potential material flows.

Therefore, in the city's move towards adopting circular economy practices that allow for more transparency, traceability, and the calculation of embedded greenhouse gas emissions for different materials, goods, and services there is a need to define better circular economy metrics.

The A2ZERO strategic plan encompasses working with peer municipalities to create tools to track and understand the full life cycle impacts of materials, goods, and services. This also includes actions to promote resource reduction, material reuse, and regeneration. In summary, the "Change the way we use, reduce, and dispose of materials" strategy aims to change the city's relationship with the purchase and usage of products and materials during their entire lifecycle.

Moreover, the plan is linked to the City’s Solid Waste Resource Management Plan (SWRMP), which is based on the Sustainability Framework goal of responsible resource use to “produce zero waste and optimize the use and reuse of resources in our community”.

Actions detailed in the A2ZERO plan:

1. Expand Composting Program

2. Expand Commercial Recycling

3. Require Sustainable Materials in New and Existing Developments

4. Move Toward a Circular Economy

5. Support a Plant Rich Diet

6. Enhance Refrigerant Recycling and Reuse Program

- Waste diversion rate in Ann Arbor is 50% compared to 35% in the national average.

- A reusable container pilot launched with four restaurants during Green Fare in an effort to reduce food container waste. 

- An academic paper published on the circular economy.

- A successful "Shop Local" campaign, simultaneously fostering local economic development and reducing emissions from transport of goods.

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash