Chula Vista is launching a free, interactive academy to teach residents how they can help bring the municipality closer to becoming a zero-waste city.

Zero Waste Academy is a seven-session course that begins Feb. 9 and runs through March 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Classes will be available in person at the Chula Vista Civic Center library or online.

The course was designed to offer residents hands-on learning opportunities.

Enrollees will have a chance to participate in a sustainability project that they will present at the end of the course. For example, they could reuse or repurpose an unwanted item or share changes made in their lifestyle. Participants will also conduct a waste audit at home and tour places like the Otay Landfill, a materials recovery facility and a construction and debris facility.

There are also classes that will cover how to deal with household hazardous waste and plastics and how businesses can implement more sustainable practices.

The goal is for participants “to take the lessons learned and become advocates for implementing Zero Waste practices,” the city said on its website.

Zero waste goes beyond recycling and composting. The Zero Waste International Alliance defines the practice as “the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.”

Baca Juga: Atasi Permasalahan Sampah, Mahasiswa KKN Tim 1 UNDIP Lakukan Sosialisi dan Demonstrasi Pengelolaan Sampah Kepada Masyarakat Desa Gendoang