FEATURE STORY 
A CHAMPION FOR ZERO WASTE

According to the U.N., humanity currently generates more than two billion tons of municipal solid waste annually, including plastics, textiles, rotting food, discarded electronics and debris from mining and construction sites. At the first International Day of Zero Waste on March 30, Gutteres claimed that we are “treating our planet like a garbage dump” and called for a “war on waste.” 

In his letter of invitation to Ali, Gutteres wrote, “It is my hope that the multi-partner and multidisciplinary, regionally and gender balanced Board will work to publicize best practices and success stories and raise awareness to promote local and national zero-waste initiatives.”  

Ali, who holds joint appointments in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment and the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, is the sole U.S. academic on the 13-member board. He joins Emine Erdoğan, first lady of Türkiye (honorary chairperson); Jose Manuel Moller, chief executive officer and founder, Algramo; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, co-founder and chairman, Yunus Environment Hub; Carlos Silva Filho, president, International Solid Waste Association; Laura Reyes, directora ejecutiva, Cempre – Economía Circular; Lara van Druten, chief executive officer, The Waste Transformers; Hakima El Haite, founder, EauGlobe; Gino Van Begin, secretary general, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability; and Vijay Jagannathan, secretary general, CityNet Asia Pacific. Additionally, Melissa Santokhi-Seenacherry, first lady of Suriname, and Fatima Maada Bio, first lady of Sierra Leone, will serve as honorary members. Guy Ryder, under-secretary-general for policy, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, will be the U.N. liaison for the board.

UDaily reached out to Ali to learn more about his role on this new U.N. board.