United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA530-K-95-002 June 1995 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5305) Spotlight on Waste Prevention EPA's Program To Reduce Solid Waste at the Source ------- Prevent Waste Share This Document Recycled/Recyclable Printed with vegetable oil based inks on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber. ------- The environmental benefits of recycling are well known. Many businesses, governments, and households are collecting discards for recycling, and are recovering more materials than ever before. In fact, over one-fifth of the municipal solid waste generated in our country is currently recycled or composted. Despite progress in recycling, however, Americans are still generating too much waste. Every day, on average, each individual discards about four pounds of material. These discards burden both the environment and our economy. Even recycling, which adds major economic and environmental benefits, creates economic and environmental costs. The best approach to our solid waste challenge is to cut the creation of waste in the first place. Waste that is not created does not have to be managed later. That's why waste prevention (reducing and reusing) is the ideal solid waste solution. Source reduction, also known as waste prevention, is the preferred solid waste tactic, followed by recycling. Waste that cannot be prevented or recycled can be incinerated or placed in a landfill. ------- ETTING AT THE SOURCE Waste prevention involves altering the design, manufacture, purchase, or use of products and materials to reduce the amount and toxicity of what gets thrown away. Waste prevention is sometimes called "source reduction" because it reduces or eliminates pollution at the source. Thus, donating an unwanted computer to a charity (rather than setting it out for disposal or recycling its parts) is waste prevention. So is photocopying on both sides of a sheet of paper. Altering material specifications so that fewer hazardous constituents are used in a manufacturing process also is waste prevention. Waste prevention activities help shift the nation's emphasis from pollution cleanup to pollution avoidance. In particular, waste prevention plays a key role in reducing pollution throughout the life cycle of a product (see chart below). tWaste in the Life Cycle of a Product Raw M Materials I Product I Product Use, Materials ml Processing I Manufacture or Disposal Acquisition V Consumption" Opportunities to reduce waste exist throughout a product's life cycle. ------- ENEFITS OF WASTE PREVENTION Preventing waste has many positive effects on the environment: Conservation of natural resources. By reducing the amount of raw materials that are used in manufacturing, waste prevention conserves resources such as metals, water, and petroleum. Reduced environmental impact from raw material extrac- tion. Reducing the use of raw materials in manufacturing minimizes the environmental impacts associated with mining, drilling, extracting, processing, and transporting these raw materi- als. Reduced energy usage and pollution from manufacturing. Because waste prevention prolongs the lives of materials and products, it reduces the need to manufacture new goods or reprocess materials, thereby saving energy and avoiding pollution. Reduced burden on landfills and combustors. Preventing waste helps extend the lives of existing solid waste disposal facili- ties and helps avoid disputes over siting new facilities. Preventing waste also saves money. The economic benefits of preventing waste include: Reduced waste management costs. Waste prevention saves money by lessening the amount of waste that must be collected and processed. It also reduces the costs associated with siting and operating management facilities such as landfills, combustors, and materials recovery facilities. Savings in material and supply costs. Reusing or prolonging the lives of products means that these items don't need to be pur- chased as frequently. Savings in avoided purchasing costs can be significant, especially for companies and government agencies. Savings from more efficient work practices. Waste-reducing work habits (such as using electronic mail in place of paper) can often save time as well as money. Potential revenues from selling unwanted or reusable materi- als. Through a variety of venues, from waste exchanges to yard sales, it is often possible to earn revenues from the sale of goods that are no longer needed and that would otherwise become waste. 3 ------- AYS TO PREVENT WASTE PACKAGING REDUCTION. Many kinds of organizations are reducing the packaging they use to transport and contain products and materials, as well as the packaging they receive through shipments. For example, some companies are "lightweighting" packaging by reducing its thickness or shipping merchandise in reusable or returnable containers. Businesses, agencies, organizations, and individuals alike can practice waste preven- tion by purchasing products in bulk and those with reusable or minimal packaging. PAPER REDUCTION. Paper is still the most abundant material in the municipal solid waste stream, but people everywhere are reducing paper through activities such as copying on both sides of a piece of paper, using electronic and old-fashioned bulletin boards to distribute information, and paring down mailing lists. PRODUCT AND SUPPLY REUSE. Replacing disposable items with long-lasting, reusable products can break the frequently expensive cycle of discarding and reordering. Hundreds of items, from file folders to air filters, can be reused. EXCHANGE, SALE, OR DONATION OF UNNEEDED GOODS. Through waste exchanges, organizations can trade, sell, or give away goods or materials that would otherwise become waste. Unwanted materials and surplus inventory also can be donated to educational and charitable organizations. ------- HAZARDOUS CONSTITUENT REDUCTION. Many products are available with few or no hazardous constituents, including inks, glues, paints, solvents, and cleaning products. USE AND MAINTENANCE OF DURABLE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES. High-quality, long-lasting supplies and easily repairable equipment stay out of the waste stream longer. Although such items can cost more initially, these expenses can be justified by lower maintenance, disposal, and replacement costs. "ONSITE" COMPOSTING OF YARD TRIMMINGS. "Grasscycling" (leaving grass clippings on the lawn) and onsite or backyard composting keeps yard trimmings out of the waste stream. Using compost also returns valuable nutrients to the soil. ------- Waste prevention ties in nicely with the economic climate of the 1990s. Businesses are reviewing their operations with a sharp eye towards cutting costs in purchasing and operations, while maintaining or improving the level of service they provide. These changes, in turn, can increase competitiveness and profitability. Waste prevention serves all of these goals. A company that practices waste prevention also can improve customer relations by demonstrating its concern about the environment. In addition, a waste prevention ethic can enhance employee relations by involving staff in an organization's environ-mental program. The following are just a few of many note- worthy examples of pollution prevention successes being achieved by some of America's largest companies: In 1992, DuPont and its customers reused 180 million pounds of wood pallets, boxes, and other packaging materialsnearly 25 percent of the total amount of packaging used by the company that year. This program saved DuPont approximately $3 million in 1992. Over the past four years, Martin Marietta has saved 13 million sheets of computer printout paper and over $4 million in supply costs by encouraging employees to edit documents electronically. The company has also eliminated paper timecards and travel expense forms at several Northeast facilities. Johnson & Johnson, a large healthcare products company, has saved an estimated $2.8 million since it instituted a program in 1988 to reduce packaging waste. The program helped the company reduce solid waste generation by over 2,600 tons annually. Sprint, the long distance telephone company, has launched an innovative customer billing system that prints two-sided telephone bills. Sprint expects to reduce paper consumption by more than 450 tons annually when the new system becomes fully implemented. ------- Photo courtesy of Pallet Enterprise magazine. In 1993, Quebecor Printing's 506,000-square-foot printing plant in Mount Morris, Illinois, saved $14,000 by repairing and reusing ship- ping pallets. A refurbished pallet is only 20 percent of the cost of a new one. The company also ships unused and scrap plastic wrap back to vendors for reuse. Many small- and medium-sized businesses are also finding ways to prevent waste: Boston's Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, one of several properties owned by the Saunders Hotel Group, eliminated over two million plastic bot- tles from its trash by switching to the use of liquid pump dispensers for shampoo and soap in guest rooms. The hotel was able to upgrade the amenities it provides to guests with the money saved by this waste prevention tactic. The com- pany's other hotels also switched to reusable dispensers based on the Park Plaza's success. In another innovative waste prevention move, the hotel's housekeeping staff came up with the idea of making kitchen aprons from stained linen tablecloths that otherwise would have been discarded. Asbury Park Press, a New Jersey multi- media print and broadcast communi- cations company, has realized annual savings of over $38,000 by switching to cloth rags supplied by a laundry service instead of using disposable ones. Using about 120,000 cloth rags each year, the company is also avoiding the costs to dispose of single-use rags. 7 ------- Larry's Markets, a grocery chain in the Seattle, Washington, area, encourages customers to reuse grocery bags. The company buys approximately five million large-size grocery bags per year. If all of these bags were discarded, they would generate approximately 500,000 pounds of waste. Larry's Markets reduced bag waste by approximately 15 percent in 1993 by giving free reusable bags to customers who signed a bag reuse pledge. Rosenberger's Dairies of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, supplies over 220 schools with refillable eight-ounce plastic milk bottles for use in their lunchrooms. The bottles can be refilled up to 100 times before being recycled and prevent 90,000 milk bottles from becoming waste each day. 8 ------- Waste Prevention Pays for Government Agencies at all levels of government across America are making waste prevention a top priority. In addition to saving on purchasing and waste disposal costs, municipalities can use waste prevention activities to help reduce the cost burdens associated with collecting, hauling, and processing waste. They also can avoid or postpone the need to expand existing disposal or recycling facilities, or to site new ones. One way governments can encourage waste prevention is through "unit pricing" or "pay-as-you-throw" programs. In the 1,600 com- munities with unit pricing in the United States, residents pay for trash service based on the volume or weight of waste they put out for collection, thus providing an economic incentive to reduce. Some communities that have implemented unit pricing have sig- nificantly reduced waste generation. Specific examples of government waste prevention efforts include: Memorial Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, has slashed its costs for batteries used in specialized portable cardiac monitor- ing equipment by 25 percent thanks to a longer-lasting substitute battery. By switching from mercury-containing batter- ies to a zinc-air replacement, the hospital also reduced the volume of batteries requiring disposal (and the amount of haz- ardous constituents entering the waste stream). Environmental officials estimate that during its first year alone, this program eliminated 342 pounds of mercury from the county's waste stream. The Village of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, cut waste by 30 percent after the township adopted a "pay-as-you-throw" pro- gram for trash collection. ------- In Seattle, Washington, residents cut waste generation from an average of 3.5 waste cans to 1.7 cans per household per week after unit pricing was launched. In rural Itasca County, Minnesota, the county's road and bridge department started using reusable air filters instead of disposable fil- ters in its garages. The county is saving $4,700 in purchasing costs annually and has virtually eliminated air filters as a component of the county's waste stream. While more labor is required to clean the reusable filters, money is saved by avoiding the costs to purchase, store, and dispose of the single-use type. Through New York City's Partnership for Waste Prevention, the city's Department of Sanitation is helping hundreds of dry cleaners, grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels in the city prevent waste. Dry cleaners are accepting used clothes hangers for reuse, thereby divert- ing an estimated 750,000 hangers from landfills. Another partner, NYNEX, the regional telephone company, reduced the Manhattan white pages by 100 pages through reformatting and prevented the unnecessary use of 107 tons of paper. Break the Paper Chain is the slogan for EPA's own waste prevention campaign. Through the Paper-Less Office Campaign, in 1994 EPA employees reduced waste at photocopiers by 16 percent and adopted waste prevention activities such as purging mailing lists, maintaining centralized files, and disseminating memoranda and publications electronically. One of the ways the Agency has implemented this effort is to make many publications available electronically through the Internet. BfflK'HE PAP0LCHAIN 10 ------- The U.S. Department of Defense prevents waste by selling sur- plus items that are not reused or recycled by the various branches of the military. Tents, computers, furniture, shoes, and cooking utensils are but a few of the many items that are routinely sold to the general public. These surplus sales not only prevent waste, but they also generate revenues. In 1993 alone, the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office saved taxpayers almost $3 billion through these surplus auctions. The hospital at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, among the 10 largest in the United States, runs a monthly reuse store where used office supplies such as file folders, paper clips, and rubber bands are redistributed from offices with excess supplies to those that need them. A "New Products Committee" is also considering a variety of source-reduced products, such as mat- tresses with built-in rather than disposable foam pads, and reusable rather than disposable bed pans. The U.S. Department of Energy's Grand Junction Project Office (GJPO) in Colorado has significantly reduced its paper waste by using electronic mail. For many years, lengthy paper copies of administrative bulletins were distributed to nearly 800 employees on a weekly basis. Now these documents are issued to approximately 50 office support personnel elec- tronically, saving nearly 154,000 sheets of paper annually. In addi- tion, GJPO's printing costs have dropped over $9,000 to just $624 annually. Estimated labor costs for distribution have also dropped substantially, from approximately $1,900 to $120 annually. 11 ------- Waste Prevention Pays for Consumers . ^^^ At the consumer level, smart shoppers know that saving money and protecting the environment can go hand in hand. Examples of potential savings for consumers include the following: Consumers living in communities where unit pricing is practiced quickly discover that waste prevention can reduce their trash bills. They only pay for the trash they create, which can lower their monthly bills from a flat fee pricing structure. Consumers can save money and reduce waste on ordinary house- hold products when they buy reusable, refillable, or rechargeable products, or purchase items in bulk quantities. Items such as reusable utensils and dishes, laundry detergent concentrates, and rechargeable batteries can save money through avoided purchases, packaging, and trash disposal costs. Borrowing rarely used items from a friend or renting them can save consumers the cost of purchasing these goods and, eventually, prevent their disposal in a landfill or combustor. In one year, 300 households in Madison, Wisconsin, prevented 184,000 pounds of yard trimmings (about 620 pounds per house- hold) from entering their city's waste stream by practicing backyard composting. They avoided the need to purchase lawn refuse bags and produced a valuable compost product for use on their lawns and gardens. 12 ------- EPA Is Helping the Waste Prevention Effort e EPA encourages waste prevention by making it the very top priority in its hierarchy of solid waste options. To help demonstrate both the environmental and economic opportunities inherent in waste prevention, EPA has launched a new initiative called Waste Prevention Pays. The initia- tive has five key goals: Help companies prevent waste. Prevent waste in federal agencies. Help communities prevent waste. Bring the waste prevention message home to citizens and consumers. Make waste prevention a better understood and more tangible environmental tactic. EPA has taken a number of steps to achieve these goals, as described below. To help businesses and industry prevent waste and cut costs for a better bottom line, EPA developed a voluntary, nonregulatory initiative called the WasteWi$e Challenge. In addi- tion to helping companies generate less waste, the program asks businesses to collect materi- als for recycling and to buy or manufacture recycled-content products. More than 350 compa- & ^H nies representing America's leading businesses signed on to WasteWi$e as members in the program's first year. WasteWi$e companies commit to identifying and implementing three 13 ------- significant waste prevention actions, among other requirements. In addition, several EPA documents on business waste prevention are available. (See the reference section on pages 16-17 of this booklet.) To encourage waste prevention in federal agencies, EPA is help- ing these agencies implement the President's Executive Order to establish waste prevention programs and to buy environmentally preferable products and services. EPAs own in-house waste prevention effort, the Paper-Less Office Campaign, is dramatically reducing the Agency's use of paper. EPA also participated in an environmental audit of the White House that identified opportunities to prevent waste as part of the President's commitment to make the White House a national environmental showcase. To help local communities prevent waste, EPA has a developed a variety of technical assistance programs and tools. One such tool is a comprehensive guidebook on unit pricing that helps communities decide if an incentive-based waste management program is right for them. In addition, EPA is developing tools to help communities learn more about waste exchanges, which collect and repair such items as office furniture, equipment, building supplies, and surplus business materials for reuse. EPA also is helping to document the benefits and costs of backyard composting, develop educational materials, and train composting experts to conduct workshops for communities interested in establishing such programs. To bring the waste prevention message to consumers, EPA is providing outreach tools including handbooks, newsletters, museum 14 ------- exhibits, and public service announcements. (See the reference section at the end of this brochure.) EPA also assisted the Federal Trade Commission in developing guidelines for manufacturers to provide consumers with accurate information about the environmental impacts of their purchasing decisions. The guidelines help con- sumers determine if environmental claims on packages are valid. To make waste prevention a more tangible tactic, EPA is work- ing with a group of experts to make progress on ways to measure reductions in waste and determine the effect of waste prevention ini- tiatives. By arriving at more consistent ways to measure these factors, it will be easier for everyone to determine the success of waste prevention efforts. "Reuse stuff today. ..Reduce garbage tomorrow" is the theme of a National Audubon Society public service campaign promoting waste prevention. :«^« jfck 15 ------- EPA Information on Waste Prevention To order the following free EPA documents on waste prevention, call the RCRA Hotline at 800 424-9346 or TDD 800 553-7672 for the hearing impaired. In Washington, DC, and outside the United States, call 703 412-9810 or TDD 703412-3323: ' Business Guide for Reducing Solid Waste (EPA530-K-92-004). This comprehensive, practical guide is designed to help busi- nesses assess the types and amounts of solid waste they gen- erate and identify cost-effective waste prevention strategies. 1 W&ste Prevention Pays Off: Companies Cut Waste in the WorkPlace (EPA530-K-92-005). This collection of brief case stud- ies describes how companies and municipalities have cut costs by preventing waste. 1 W&ste PreventionIt Makes Good Business Sense! (EPA530- F-93-008). This brochure summarizes the benefits of pre- venting waste in business and industry. WasteWi$e: EPA's Voluntary Program for Reducing Business Solid Waste (EPA530-F-93-018). This booklet explains the goals, structure, and benefits of WasteWi$e, an EPA voluntary program that assists businesses take cost-effective actions to reduce solid waste. It also explains what the membership requirements are and how com- panies can join the program. The WasteWi$e program also offers other helpful information. 1 Consumer's Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste (EPA530- K-92-003). This booklet suggests simple steps that people can take to reduce the amount and toxici- ty of trash. It offers practical waste prevention tips, including reusing products and packaging, choosing nontoxic products, and maintaining and repairing durable products. 1 Pay-As-You-Throw: Lessons Learned About Unit Pricing (EPA530-R-94-004). This com- prehensive guidance manual explains unit pricing, helps solid waste managers decide whether unit pricing is right for their communities, and provides detailed information on design- ing and launching such a program. 1 Household Hazardous Waste: StepsTo Save Management (EPA530-F-92-031).This brochure summarizes steps that people can take to reduce the amount of household hazardous waste they generate. It also briefly reviews how to safely store, han- dle, and dispose of such waste. 16 ------- 1 Household Hazardous Waste: A Manual for One-Day Community Collection Programs (EPA530-R-92-026). This hand- book for community leaders explains how to plan and operate a successful household hazardous waste collection program. "Green " Advertising Claims (EPA530-F-92-024). This brochure help consumers under- stand environmental claims such as "recyclable," "environmentally friendly," and "degradable," based on guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission in cooperation with EPA. 1 Environmental Fact Sheet: Recycling Grass Clippings (EPA530-F-92-012). This fact sheet explains the practice of "grasscycling," or leaving grass clippings on lawns to improve the condition of a lawn and to reduce the amount of yard debris that must be managed. 1 Environmental Fact Sheet: Municipal Solid Waste Prevention in Federal Agencies (EPA530-F-92-016). This fact sheet outlines efforts under way by federal agencies to reduce waste and briefly explains how to start a waste prevention program. Paper-Less Office Campaign: An Agencywide Waste Prevention Program (EPA530-F-94-012). This brochure outlines EPAs campaign to reduce the amount of paper used throughout the Agency by a variety of methods, including duplex copying and electronic communication. 1 Characterization of Products Containing Lead & Cadmium in Municipal Solid Waste in the United States, 1970 to 2000, Executive Summary (EPA530- SW-89-015C). This document summarizes the investigation of sources of lead and cadmium products disposed of in MSW between 1970 and 1986, with projections to the year 2000. Lead and cadmium products include lead-acid and household batter- ies, consumer electronics, glass, ceramics, plastics, soldered cans, and pigments. The following publication is avail- able for a small charge from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, 703 487-4650: Promoting Source Reduction and Readability in the Marketplace (PB90-163 122). This report relates the effectiveness of con- sumer-oriented education programs promoting source reduction and recyclability in the marketplace. Designed to assist solid waste officials, consumer interest groups, manufacturers, and marketing consultants, it describes successful source reduction campaigns and research. 17 ------- w 00 o o £ ° CD =ft g o: 03 ^ °i. -i, CO 0 c ~" (/) -o 5' 3- CD < ) Si (/) CD c in CD CB (/) ^~ ^' CQ O ^ D O r\j o [^ O5 O a^ S| (/) w CD m ^ < s' ^ CD 1 T) O CD n o' ^ > Id CD o l< m ------- |