The Resource Conservation Challenge
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What Can You Save
Today?
WHAT CAN YOU
SAVE TODAY?
S M T W T F S
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
CHALLENGE
he Resource Conservation Challenge is a major national effort to find flexi-
ble, yet more protective ways to conserve our valuable natural resources
through waste reduction and energy recovery. Through this initiative, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenges us to:
Increase the nationalj recycling rate to 35 percent by 2005.
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Cut the generation of 30 priority chemicals in hazardous waste in half
by 2005. |
We're challenging all Americans to make smarter purchasing and disposal
decisions that conserve our natural resources, save energy, and preserve the
environment for our children and future generations. Because we live in a
rapidly changing world, it is more important than ever for us to make sound
environmental decisions.
Challenging Ourselves To Change Our Ways
Everyone has a role in preserving our environment. Through the Resource
Conservation Challenge, We're asking makers of goods, sellers of goods, and buyers
of goods to join us in a better way of doing busi-
ness. We all must adopt a resource conservation
ethic; operate more efficiently; purchase more
wisely; and make and use products that are easy
to recycle and composed of recycled materials.
While challenging us to recognize both the good
and harmful impacts of our actions on our environ-
ment, we are committed to meeting the national
waste reduction goals of the Challenge. Reaching
these goals will result in a cleaner and safer envi-
ronment with less waste, more economic growth,
and tremendous energy savings. For example, just by reducing priority chemicals in
hazardous waste by 50 percent, we will eliminate 76 million pounds of these chemi-
cals in the environment.
The Resource Conservaticjn Challenge means more than conserving our natural
resources. It also means reasonable waste management requirements and costs;
fewer environmental releases and risks; less greenhouse gas emissions; and more
energy savings and recovery.
'Today, we are challenging all
Americans to take personal
responsibility for their day-to-
day decisions, and to take one
small action every day to con-
serve our natural resources."
-EPA Assistant Administrator
Marianne Horinko
Forming Partnerships To Meet the Challenge
We are using a broad range of approaches and tools to help businesses, manufactur-
ers, and consumers reach! the Resource Conservation Challenge goals. To help
industries, states, and others reduce waste, we are forming partnerships designed to
provide smarter, faster, voluntary solutions that safeguard our natural environment.
¥jy Printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumer fiber.
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For example, under our National Wast0 Minimization Partners program, businesses
have accepted our challenge to reduce one or more of 30 hazardous waste chemicals
by changing manufacturing practices, and by reducing and recycling waste.
Eliminating or reducing these chemicals protects us and our environment, and saves
money and energy.
The founding partners of the National Waste Minimization Partnership Program are -
American Video Glass; Corning Asahi; Dow Chemical Corporation; International Truck
and Engine; and Toyota Motor Manufacturing. Over the next 3 years, we will recruit at
least 100 partners, from both Fortune |500 companies and small businesses. For com-
plete details, see our website at .
Stimulating Infrastructure Development, Product
Stewardship, and New Technologies
The success of any effort requires the systems and support that make it function. One
facet of the Resource Conservation Challenge serves that function by providing infra-
structure development and other opportunities to make it easier for businesses and
consumers to: i
Reduce waste through reuse and
recycling. i
Acquire and use recycled materials.
[
Purchase products containing recycled
materials.
We support the National Electronics Product
Stewardship Initiative, which unites eleptronics
manufacturers, recyclers, retailers, state and
local governments, and nongovernmental
organizations in a nationwide effort to reuse
and recycle electronic products. By working
together, we not only promote these efforts,
we also can provide appropriate incentives for
manufacturers to make even more environ-
mentally sound products. Recycling used elec-
tronics prevents them from entering the waste
stream, conserves valuable landfill space, and
creates opportunities for beneficial reuse of
valuable materials.
We are promoting the development of pew
and better recycling technologies and explor-
ing ways to obtain energy or products from
waste. By adjusting federal hazardous waste
regulations to encourage and promote ithe
recycling of used computer and television glass
tubes), markets for these materials cari develop
underway throughout the country.
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We support several on-going regional initiatives using revamped technologies to
reduce or eliminate the use of virgin materials and recover energy to produce power
and manage waste better.
Partners in Waste Reduction
The National Waste Minimization Partnership
Program builds on the success of our large
and well-known WasteWise Partnership
Program. WasteWise Partners seek to reduce
municipal solid waste through innovative
waste prevention and recycling techniques.
More than 1/200 partners from business, gov-
ernment/ and institutions have voluntarily
reduced more than 35 million tons of munici-
pal solid waste.
Tfae redaction in air'
emissions from the '
efforts of WasteWise
Partners' is equal to 1
removing 19 million
cars a year from
the road; ;
Our WasteWise
Partners continue
to take on new
challenges/ such as
encouraging the
reuse and recy-
cling of construc-
tion and demolition
debris and the use of recycled products to cre-
ate new "green buildings." Major retailers/ mall
management firms/ and trade associations also
are signing up to became WasteWise Partners
to promote recycling in shopping malls and.
other retail areas.
(otherwise known as cathode ray
and grow. Several pilot programs are
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E-recydhig To Conserve Resources
Used electronic equipment is fast becoming one
of the nation's largest wastes. In 2000 more than
two million tons of consumer electronics were
discarded-enough to fill a hole 1 acre in area
that's 3.5 miles deep. To promote and find new
opportunities to reduce this waste, we are
engaged in a number of projects that support the
collection/ reuse/ and recycling of used electronic
equipment.
Working in partnership with the electronics
industry and state environmental agencies in the
Mid-Atlantic region/ we are participating in an
"e-cycling" alliance to give residents and small
businesses the opportunity to recycle their com-
puter equipment and televisions. So far, more
than 600 tons of electronic material and 6/000
computer monitors and televisions, have been
collected. We are building on this first-of-its-kind
electronics collection and recycling partnership
to expand e-cycling across the country.
Helping Businesses/ '
Government, Institutions,
and Tribes Be More Efficient
Education, training, outreach, and technology
assistance are beneficial tools to help nearly
every organization overcome barriers and
costs that often accompany compjex waste
management strategies. We are helping busi-
nesses overcome these barriers, from offering
hands-on help to reduce material and energy
use, to identifying safe reuse optiops for
certain by-product materials. j
An example is the intricate work we're doing
with the metal-finishing industry to; reduce
the amount of metals ending up in' sludges,
and our joint efforts to safely recover those
that do.
We are helping other federal agencies
promote markets for recyclable materials by
providing information on waste reduction and
recycling; developing tools to measure and
track federal procurement; and establishing a database that encourages manufactur-
ers to list recycled-content products in a timely manner. Native Americn tribes are
working with us on a sustainable development project in rural areas that incorporates
waste reduction and energy-efficient concepts into economic development, communi-
ty infrastructure, land use, and buijding design practices.
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Engaging Youth and Educating People
According to recent Labor Departrjnent data, American teenagers spend at least $141
billion a year. Indications are that tfiis group will continue to spend more and more
money on consumer products evqry year, so the importance of informing them about
the environmental and economic benefits of reusing products, recycling products, and
using recycled-content products becomes increasingly important.
Working with major retailers, electtfonic manufacturers, and the entertainment industry,
we are reinforcing and renewing waste prevention and recycling messages nationwide.
We are also spreading the conservation message on posters targeted to youth; on in-
store display advertisements; and ;in print and broadcast public service announce-
ments. We will especially target Hispanic, African-American, and Native American
communities to foster environmental awareness and encourage waste reduction, recy-
cling, and neighborhood revitalization.
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Taking Responsibility
Even though many consumers, businesses, industries, and institutions have made
impressive waste prevention and reduction efforts, we still generate several billion tons
of waste annually. Instead of sending these wastes to landfills and incinerators, we all
need to do more to reduce, reuse and recycle.
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The Resource Conservation Challenge asks each of us to be more aware of the
benefits we gain from our waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and energy recovery
efforts. Can you do one small thing every day to conserve our resources, and save
and recover energy?
Demonstrating Progress
The Resource Conservation Challenge is being tracked in a number of ways. Our first
Waste Minimization Trends Report describes trends in hazardous waste generation
and management of the priority chemicals from 1991 tc>1998. Using data collected
through our Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), our data show a 44-percent reduction for
20 of the 30 priority chemicals. |
We also have issued our annual report characterizing municipal solid waste in the
U.S.: Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2000 Facts and Figures. Our current
national recycling rate is 30 percent, nearly double the 1990 recycling rate. Our chal-
lenge is to meet or beat a national recycling rate of 35 percent by 2005.
Both of these reports are on the internet at the address provided under "For More
Information."
For More Information
More information on the Resource Conservation Challenge is available at
. Your suggestions about how we
can meet the challenge are welcome. IE-mail us at oswchallenge@epa.gov or write to:
U.S. EPA '
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (5305W)
Washington, DC 20460
Atln: RCC
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Information can also be obtained by calling the RCRA Call Center. Call 703 412-9810
or TDD 703 412-3323 (hearing impaired), if you are within the Washington
Metropolitan Area. Call 800 424-9346 or TDD 800 553-7672 if you are a long-dis-
tance caller. '. ; .
xvEPA
Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5305W) !
EPA530-F-02-031 |
www.epa.gov/osw I
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