Meet Laura Anthony | President of Zero Waste San Diego and Program Coordinator for SD Fixit Clinic & Zero Waste Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Anthony and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In 2015, I found out about the Fixit Clinic group up in Berkeley, CA led by Peter Mui, and loved the idea of getting skilled people together to help repair items. I reached out to Peter to help me get started and he mentioned his blog where all the information is needed to start clinics in your area. I just took that and ran with it.

I started a nonprofit group in 2007 called Zero Waste San Diego. Our purpose is to educate the community in San Diego County on zero waste practices through informational booths, symposiums, and special events. We have been talking about recycling a lot but we were not addressing the other parts that are essential to zero waste like reduce, reuse, repair, rot, redesign, regulate, then recycling. Recycling should be the last resort.

In 2015, I was a librarian at San Diego Public Library and was allowed to start an innovative program that would encourage community engagement. With the resources provided, I started the SD Fixit Clinic. It was very well received but unfortunately as my career progressed the program did not follow. So, with permission from the library, I was able to adopt it using Zero Waste San Diego as the program leader and started to bring the SD Fixit Clinic around San Diego County. To date, we have hosted over 100 clinics and diverted over 3000 lbs. of wasted resources from the landfill through repair or recycling.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

As a young woman, I was very passionate about solving the world’s problems regarding how they see “waste”. I started the passion through watching and learning from my father. My father, Richard Anthony, is a pioneer and leader in the industry who was in the room when they started to use the phrase zero waste in the United States and was the pivotal part of creating the definition that leaders use now. My father has worked most of his career in the local government, managing solid waste departments and landfills. When he retired from the local government, he became a consultant to help Cities, businesses, and even countries abroad how zero waste works.

When it was time for me to start my career, he introduced me to people in the industry and I started to create my way. My passion is to connect with people in the community. More of the boots-on-the-ground approach. Where my father was talking to the administration and bigwigs on top. I would talk or connect with the workers and concerned citizens.

In 2007, we started Zero Waste San Diego together. The reason behind this was because while San Diego is the “Finest City” they are not the greenest. And, we knew we could help make this happen. Soon after we started the organization, we helped zero waste the San Diego Earth Fair at Balboa Park and started a letter-writing campaign to demand that we have recycling available where we live, work, and play. There was so much talk that recycling is so easy to do, and that is true, but it wasn’t convenient. Unless you give people the option to recycle, they will not recycle. So, we got a seat at the table with the Mayor, City Attorney, and Environmental Services Department to see how we can make this happen. Within a year, the City Recycling Ordinance (CRO) was launched and now it was mandatory that every business, resident, and city building had recycling available for their customers and workers. Huge Success! But we were not done.

Every year we host a Zero Waste Symposium and February 2023 will be our 10th. We spotlight green businesses, allow local governments to give updates on what they are doing in their community, and talk about policies and community actions. We provide zero wasting of events as a service to help special events responsibly manage their discards and at the same time educate the attendees. Then in 2016, I took SD Fixit Clinic from being hosted at one location to several locations within the County of San Diego. To promote repair vs. buy. Also, to teach people how to be better consumers and to purchase items that can be repaired to extend the life of the item and to save us from constantly mining virgin materials. Our purpose is to sit down together, open up the item and see if we can fix it. Once we repair it, we ring the bell and hoot and holler. I tell people this is not a drop-off and you go do errands while we fix it. Nope, you have to sit down and take ownership of the item and hopefully empower you to fix it with our guidance.

Zero Waste San Diego is not my job, it is my passion. My education and training were in public libraries. I received my Master’s in Library and Information Science in 2012 and worked for the San Diego Public Library for 25 years. I resigned from the position in 2018 to focus on my passion for zero waste education. I am currently a Zero Waste Consultant with several companies and organizations.

My key to success is passion and persistence. Also, it is important to align yourself with like-minded individuals to help you move forward. I was very fortunate to have my father as my guide. He brought me to his meetings and introduced me to the right people. With my experience in customer service (libraries), program and planning, being pretty savvy with technology and connecting with people. I was able to stand on my own.

My advice to anyone who is trying to find their way in this industry is to network network network. Find that one person that will talk your ear off and get you excited and will point you in the right direction. Find a way that you can help. Don’t wait for someone to delegate it to you. Be willing to get your hands dirty and ask a lot of questions.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Every single time someone comes to visit me here in San Diego I always have an agenda but it depends on the season (if that is what you want to say San Diego has seasons  )

I currently live in Pacific Beach. So, in the morning we would take a little bike ride around the bay, then cruise over to the boardwalk on the beach and stop at Kona’s by the pier and have breakfast watching the ocean. I love the smell and feel of the ocean. Being in nature charges me.

Then we go to the San Diego Zoo or Safari Park. I love the zoo. I love the nighttime hours during the summer and December and take advantage of the vibe.

I am big on using the coaster to go to Encinitas and Carlsbad and walk around the downtown area off of Pacific Coast Highway.

I always say San Diego is a Big City with a Small City feel. All the communities in San Diego are so unique I love them.

When I used to live in Normal Heights off of Adams Ave. We would frequent this a lot, everything was close by and very walkable with great breweries and restaurants.

At night we would end up either downtown or North Park to people-watch, or venture to the harbor or beach to have dinner.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wear a lot of hats and all the organizations that I am involved with definitely need shoutouts* Zero Waste San Diego
* Zero Waste USA
* Save the Albatross Coalition
* Cool Now
* Zero Waste International Alliance
* California Resource Recovery Association

Partnerships with SD Fixit Clinic
* Fixit Clinic
* Goodwill of San Diego County
* Green Steam Alliance
* San Diego Makers Guild
* Be Creative
* Sustainability is Sexy
* Reclaimed Goddess
* Positive Phee

People that Inspire Me Every day
* Richard Anthony my father a pioneer and leader of the zero-waste movement. Big feet to follow.

Website: www.zerowastesandiego

Instagram: sdfixitclinic or zerowastesd

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zerowastesandiego/

Twitter: zerowastesd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zerowastesandiego