United States
       Environmental Protection
       Agency
EPA530-F-93-018
October 1993
       Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5306)
PA   WasteWi$e
      EPA's Voluntary Program
      for Reducing
      Business Solid Waste

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Become
a
Member!
Many U.S. companies have
demonstrated that by reducing and
recycling materials that would
otherwise become trash, they can
reap substantial savings, sometimes
millions of dollars per year.

EPA developed the WasteWise
program to assist businesses in
taking cost-effective actions to
reduce solid waste.

To accept the WasteWise challenge,
your company would commit to
achievements that you choose in
each of three areas:

Waste prevention

Recycling collection

Buying or manufacturing
recycled products

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Why Reduce
Solid Waste?
Each of the three waste reduction activities offers
distinct benefits, both for the environment and your
bottom line.
Waste Prevention
Waste prevention can save your company money
through lower purchasing and disposal costs. It
can also save your customers money by reducing
what they throw out. Avoiding the generation of
waste reduces the burden on disposal facilities,
conserves natural resources, and often reduces
pollution.

Recycling Collection
Collecting recyclables can help keep large
amounts of material out of your company's
dumpster. It can reduce your waste disposal bill
and generate revenues from the sale of some
materials. Recycling offers some of the same
environmental benefits as waste prevention:
extending the life of landfills, conserving natural
resources, and reducing pollution.

Buying or Manufacturing
Recycled Products
Recycled products are of high quality and can be
competitively priced compared to virgin
products. Buying and manufacturing goods with
recycled content helps ensure that recycling will
continue to advance and will eventually help
lower the cost of recycled products.

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Why  Join
WasteWise?
In addition to the benefits of waste reduction
outlined above, participation in WasteWise offers
several advantages.

• EPA will provide technical assistance via a hotline and
  electronic bulletin board, "how to" publications, lessons
  from other companies, and regular program updatts.

© Successful waste reduction efforts will be highlighted in
  EPA documents, business magazines, environmental
  journals, and trade publications.

® Participating companies also may use the WasteWise logo
  in their advertising.

© WasteWise provides an opportunity for your firm to be
  viewed by peers and customers as a leader in
  environmental initiatives.
Commit to Achieving
Waste Reduction Results
Becoming a WasteWise member means committing to
achieve results in each of these three areas:

Waste prevention

Recycling collection

Buying or manufacturing recycled products

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  Waste
Prevention
  Waste prevention is
  eliminating waste
  before it is created. For
  many companies, this
  involves eliminating
  waste that would go
  into their own
  dumpsters, as well as
  materials that would
  become waste for their
  customers. Some ways
  to prevent waste are to
  use less of a material,
  reuse materials and
  supplies, and
  purchase
  products that
  create less
  waste.

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             What
         Would I
          Do as a
   WasteWi$e
      Member?
As a WasteWise member, you
would commit to identify and
implement three significant
waste prevention actions. Your
firm would choose these actions
after you have determined that
they are practical and
cost-effective. The types of
actions your firm could
implement include:

• Purchasing supplies in
  reusable containers.

• Reducing paper use through
  electronic communication and
  double-sided photocopies.
• Leaving grass clippings on the
  lawn.

• Redesigning products or
  packaging to use less material.

• Working with vendors to
  reduce transport packaging.

• Using two-way envelopes for
  billing customers.
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  Recycling
Collection
   Recycling collection
   involves the separation,
   collection, storage, and
   removal of recyclable
   materials. It also
   includes composting
   materials off-site, such
   as in a municipal
   composting program.
   Items collected for
   recycling will vary
   depending on the
   materials your company
   generates and the
   availability of markets
   for those materials.
   Collection of recyclables
   is a high-profile activity
   that many companies
   are already
   enthusiastically
   implementing.

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          What
      Would I
       Do as a
WasteWi$e
   Member?
As a WasteWise member, you
would commit to expand or
improve programs for
collecting recyclables on
company premises. This may
mean starting a new program,
if you don't already have one.
It could also mean maldng
improvements to an existing
program by adding new
materials to be collected,
improving program efficiency
through activities like
employee education, or
providing community outreach.

Common recyclables include:

® Computer printout paper

• Corrugated cardboard

• Newsprint and magazines

• High-grade paper
  (e.g., copier paper)

* Low-grade paper
  (e.g., colored paper)

• Glass containers
• Plastic containers

• Aluminum containers

• Steel containers

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  Buying or
Manufacturing
  Products
  Buying recycled means
  purchasing products that
  contain both preconsumer
  and postconsumer recovered
  materials. Company
  purchasing officials can
  work with your suppliers
  and vendors to determine
  which products contain
  recycled content. Often
  these products are
  competitively priced
  compared to virgin products.

  Manufacturing recycled, an
  option available to
  manufacturers, means
  increasing the amount of
  postconsumer recovered
  materials in products, thus
  ensuring that collected
  materials are used in new
  products.
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                      •"  For this part of the WasteWise
                      F  program, nonmanufacturing
                      L  firms would commit to increase
      .»_^               the recycled content in
      I  j(^\  il Q i3   purchased products, either by
      J—s\J  CIO C3L  purchasing recycled products
                         instead of virgin products or by
                         increasing the recycled content
_  _       -.           in those recycled products that

Member?   youaireadybuy-
 If you are a manufacturer, you have two options for meeting
 this part of the program: increase the recycled content in
 products purchased as described above or increase the
 percentage of postconsumer recovered material in your
 products.  Some of the many products that contain recycled
 content:
Office/Printing              Janitorial


» Office paper               • Tissue products

• Computer paper            • Trash can liners

• Newsprint
                           Shipping and Receiving

         *                 • Containers and packaging

• Lubricating oil             • Pallets

• Retread tires


Construction Products

• Dry wall

• Insulation

• Carpets

• Paving materials

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How Does the
Program Work?
There are four basic steps to setting and achieving
your WasteWise goals.
1. Sign Up
To join the WasteWise
program, fill out the
registration form at the end of
this brochure and mail or fax
the form to EPA. Be sure to
complete sections A and B.
Before completing the form,
you'll need to determine:

• The facilities that initially
  will be included in the
  program. The challenge
  can be taken by your
  entire company or by
  individual segments, such
  as corporate headquarters
  or a specific region,
  division, or facility. If you
  start with a segment of
  your firm, you can always
  expand to other facilities
  in a year or two.
• The senior official who
  will commit your
  company to the program.
  Joining WasteWise requires
  the signature of a senior
  official who can commit
  company resources to the
  waste reduction program.
  It is also helpful if this
  person can effect changes
  in company operations
  such  as purchasing and
  facilities management.
2. Get Started
To get started in WasteWise,
it's important to understand
your company's waste and
how it is generated and
handled. EPA will provide
WasteWise members with A
Business Guide forTleducing
Solid Waste to get you
started.  The guide will help
you take a look at your
operations and make
educated decisions about
waste prevention, recycling,
and buying recycled.

EPA will provide case studies
of businesses that have
achieved cost savings and
improved operations through
waste reduction. We'll also
provide "tip  sheets" that
provide information on
waste prevention, recycling,
and buying recycled
materials.
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3.            Your
Based on your review of
company operations, you'll
choose the waste prevention,
recycling, and buying or
manufacturing actions that
make the most sense for
your firm. Using a one-page
form that EPA will provide,
let us know what your plans
are, so that we can develop
and provide targeted
technical information to
assist your waste reduction
program. We'll also be
available via telephone and
electronic bulletin board to
answer questions.
4. Share Your
Results
After your program is
underway, we'll ask you to
share your results with EPA
so that we can highlight
waste reduction
opportunities for others and
gauge the program's progress.
Using a simple form that
EPA will provide, let us
know each year how your
waste reduction initiatives
are progressing and estimate
your firm's achievements in
terms of:

• Waste prevented (weight
  or volume).
© Recyclables collected
  (weight or volume).
• Amount spent on products
  with increased recycled
  content or the increased
  amount (in terms of
  dollars or weight) of
  postconsumer content in
  products that you
  manufacture.

We'd also like to hear about
any cost savings or other
successes resulting from
your waste reduction
program.

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EPA
Assistance
The WasteWise program
will offer several forms of
technical assistance to
help participating
companies find waste
reduction opportunities
and set waste reduction
goals. The following
resources will be
available to provide
details on the elements
of a successful program:

• EPA's A Business Guide for
  Reducing Solid Waste.
• Case studies of successful
  waste reduction by
  businesses.
• Tip sheets on waste
  reduction.
• Program updates.
• Additional sources of waste
  reduction information.
WasteWise staff will be
available by telephone
(1-800-EPAWISE) to assist
you with questions on:

• Enrollment
• Waste assessments
• Goal setting
• Waste reduction tips
• Reporting
EPA's technical assistance
will focus on
nonmanufacturing waste
reduction actions.
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Waste Reduction
Successes
These are just a few of the many firms that are
successfully cutting waste . .  .
Waste Prevention
State Farm Mutual
Automobile Insurance
Company estimates that it
saves approximately $300,000
each year through numerous
waste prevention measures,
including:

• Reducing or eliminating
  shrink wrap packaging on
  forms and handbooks.

• Using double-sided copies
  and electronic mail.

• Reusing remanufactured
  laser cartridges, pallets,
  three-ring binders, and
  packing materials.

McDonald's has made waste
prevention part of its everyday
business. Over the past year,
through reductions in
children's meal boxes and bags,
sandwich wrap resizing,
container packaging redesign,
and other reductions, the
average McDonald's restaurant
in the United States has
decreased its packaging by
more than 650 pounds. These
reductions resulted in a total of
nearly 3,000 tons of avoided
packaging waste from the
9,000 McDonald's restaurants.
Recycling
Collection
In 1986, a small group of
employees at Honda of
America's Marysville, Ohio,
auto assembly plant, called
the "Wastewatchess," started
a corrugated cardboard
recycling program. Honda
estimates that from 1990 to
1992, approximately 15,000
tons of corrugated cardboard
were recycled, saving the
company hundreds of
thousands of dollars a year in
avoided disposal costs.

Buying or
Manufacturing
Recycled Products
E.I. DuPont Company
currently buys $63 million
worth of recycled packaging
materials and other recycled
products each year. Since
1990, a "buy-recycled" team
has worked to increase the
company's purchases of
packaging, paper products,
plastics, office supplies, and
construction materials with
recycled content.

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General
Q:
      What materials are included in the WasteWise
      program?

 A  .  WasteWise is a municipal solid waste program focusing on reduc-
"^^ *  tion of materials that would otherwise end up in your trash
      dumpster. We also want to reduce materials that would end up
      in your customers' trash, if your firm's products or mailings even-
      tually are discarded. Some examples of typical materials are
      corrugated cardboard, office paper, food scraps, packaging, and
      wood pallets. The program does not include hazardous or indus-
      trial waste or recycling of materials within a manufacturing
      process.

      What kind of technical assistance will  EPA provide to
      help me get started?

 A  •  A WasteWise hotline and electronic bulletin board will answer
"^^*  your questions about joining and implementing the program.
      In addition, you will receive business case studies and other
      materials to  assist in planning your waste reduction program
      shortly after joining WasteWise. Although limited resources
      prevent EPA  from visiting your offices to personally conduct a
      waste assessment, you will receive A Business Guide for Re-
      ducing Solid Waste to assist you in conducting a waste
      assessment.  Tip sheets and program updates will be distrib-
      uted periodically and be available through the bulletin board.

(~V  What kind of public recognition does WasteWise
^*  provide to member companies?

 A  •  EPA will provide the press with news stories and program updates on
"^ *  the collective behalf of member companies. Likewise, EPA will at-
      tempt to place notices (such as WasteWise public service
      announcements and special supplements) in trade publications, en-
      vironmental magazines, and business journals. By distributing
      ready-to-use WasteWise materials, EPA will encourage members to
      publicize their participation. Members also may use the WasteWise
      logo in their own advertising. In addition, special recognition will
      be provided for exemplary programs on a regular basis.
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Sign-Up


    Q.  Who signs the WasteWise registration form for my
    *  company, and do a!i company facilities have to
      sign up at once?

 A  .  Any senior company official able to commit all or some of your
"^*  facilities to a waste reduction program can sign the registra-
      tion form. It is also helpful if this person can effect changes
      in company operations like  purchasing and facilities manage-
      ment. The WasteWi$e challenge can be taken by your entire
      company or by individual segments, such as corporate head-
      quarters or a specific region, division, or facility. If your
      initial commitment does not apply to your entire company,
      please specify which divisions or facilities will be participat-
      ing in the program.

    Q»  My  company is a member of another solid waste
      challenge program. JVlay I still join WasteWise?

 A  •  Yes!  EPA applauds and strongly supports existing programs
•*••*••  that promote one or more aspects of waste reduction.
      Such programs include the  Conference of Mayors' National
      Office Paper Recycling Project, the National Recycling Coali-
      tion's Buy Recycled Business Alliance, and the Coalition of
      Northeastern Governors' (CONEG) Challenge to Reduce
      Packaging.  Under these and other programs, many companies
      have taken the initiative to prevent waste, recycle, or buy and
      manufacture recycled products. If you have recently made  a
      commitment under one or more programs, it is very likely  that
      your actions will satisfy the parallel WasteWise component.
      We'll be happy to work with you to build on such efforts.

    Q.  IVIy company has already made significant progress in
    •  reducing waste, recycling, and buying or
      manufacturing recycled. Do our past achievements
      qualify us for WasteWi$e membership?

 A  •  EPA applauds the efforts of those companies that have taken
•^ *  the lead in waste reduction. We would like to hear about
      your earlier progress so that we may publicize exemplary ef-
      forts  and share your successes with other member
      companies. The goal of WasteWise is to  spur additional pro-
      gress in business waste reduction nationwide. Therefore, we
      ask that new or expanded waste reduction initiatives be im-
      plemented for WasteWise membership.

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Implementation
(~~V  How long do I have to achieve my WasteWise
^*  commitments?

 A  •  The amount of time it takes to meet your WasteWise goals is
      up to you. It may take some time to get your waste reduc-
      tion program up and running to the point where you have
      measurable results. Regardless  of where you are in the proc-
      ess of implementing your program, EPA would like to hear
      from you at least once a year. Let us know about the pro-
      gress you've made and obstacles you've encountered in
      implementing your waste reduction program.

      Once your program is established, we would like to  receive,the
      following estimates each year by March 1:

         •  Waste prevented (weight  or volume).           ^

         •  Recyclables collected (weight or volume).

         •  Amount spent on products with increased recycled content or
           the increased amount (in  terms of dollars or weight) of
           postconsumer content in  products that you manufacture.

      We will provide a simple form for you to use to report these
      estimates. Each year, EPA will compile WasteWise results into a
      progress report. Beginning after the first year of the program, EPA
      will provide special recognition on a regular basis for companies that
      have achieved outstanding results and supported this progress with
      numerical estimates.
Waste Prevention
      WasteWise requires companies to undertake three
      "significant" waste prevention actions. What
      qualifies as "significant"?

 A  •  Although you will be the ultimate judge of which actions are sig-
      nificant and feasible for your company, significant waste
      prevention  actions generally will result in a substantial reduc-
      tion in the  material being targeted.

      For example, office paper is one of the largest components
      of many companies' waste. A significant effort to reduce
      paper usage probably would be composed of several smaller
      efforts such as double-sided copying, posting memos rather
      than routing to individuals,  and reducing the number of "all
      employee"  memos. Companies have found that these paper

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      reduction activities can dramatically reduce paper
      consumption, sometimes by hundreds of tons per year.

      EPA will share examples of waste prevention programs that other
      companies have implemented and view as significant for their
      operations. Based on these examples and your firm's waste
      assessment, you can then decide what actions are significant for you.
Recycling
      My company already has a great recycling program.
      We collect office paper, metal cans, glass, and
      plastic. What can I do to expand or improve my
      program?

 A •  EPA recognizes that some companies already have well-developed
      collection programs. There are several potential ways to im^
      prove even the most comprehensive  collection  programs. First,
      check your operations to see what additional materials could
      possibly be collected (e.g., corrugated cardboard) and see if lo-
      cal markets make collection of these materials  cost-effective. If
      collecting additional materials is not  feasible, you could make
      sure that your collection program has been expanded to all pos-
      sible facilities and offices, try to increase the proportion of
      each material you are already collecting, or decrease contami-
      nants (e.g., colored paper in the white paper bin) through
      more employee education. For example, if your company has
      an orientation course for new employees, you could incorpo-
      rate information  on recycling. Where in-house recycling is well
      developed, you might also consider providing community edu-
      cation and outreach on recycling.


Buying or  Manufacturing Recycled

Products
      When buying recycled products, does both the
      preconsumer and postconsumer content of the
      products count as recycled content?

 A •  Yes, ERA's goal is to increase the total amount of recycled content
      in purchased goods, both preconsumer and postconsumer ma-
      terial.  In order to provide additional incentive to manufacturers
      to use materials collected from business and community recy-
      cling programs in their products, WasteWise does encourage
      increases in recycled content to consist of postconsumer material.

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 A
•^•
 A
•^^
       For manufacturing purposes, what is a
       postconsumer recovered material?

       A postconsumer recovered  material is a finished product or
       other material that has served its intended use and has
       been discarded for disposal or recovery, having completed
       its life as a consumer item. Postconsumer materials do not
       include those materials and by-products generated from,
       and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing
       process.

       What would my company do if it chooses the
       "manufacturing  recycled" option?

       Identify the product or product lines that you believe can ac-
       commodate increased  postconsumer material and each
       year report your progress in achieving this increase.  When
       you have achieved your goal, report the increased percent-
       age of postconsumer content and the total  increase irf"
       postconsumer material (in dollars or weight) attributable
       to the increased percentage.  For example, if your com-
       pany increased a product's  postconsumer content from 10
       to  15 percent,  you would report the 5 percent increase
       and the dollars spent on  acquiring the additional postcon-
       sumer material for all units  of the product (or if this
       information is  confidential,  the weight of the additional
       postconsumer material).
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           Registration  Form
         D My company is ready to become a WasteWise
           member. (Please complete both Sections A and B.)

         D I would like more information about the
           program. (Please complete Section A.)
Section A
   Company
     Name
   Company
   SIC Code
    Principal
    Contact

      Title

    Address
      City
     Phone
    Number
State
Zip
Fax
Section 8
           My company is ready to become a WasteWise
           member! Please send a membership packet.

           Facilities to be included in initial waste reduction efforts
           (e.g., corporate headquarters only, regional facilities, all plants)
  Signature of
Senior Official

  Print Name

      Title

      Date
           Approximate number of employees in these facilities
           Please cut and mail to the WasteWi$e program at the address
           indicated. Or, fax to WasteWi$e at

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                                                      PLEASE
                                                       PUT
                                                      STAMP
                                                       HERE
                   WasteWi$e (5306W)
                   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                   401 M Street, SW
                   Washington, DC 20460
fold and seal

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