c/EFA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5305W)
EPA530-N-01-004
Fall 2001
www.epa.gov
REUSABLE
NEWS
The Link Between Climate Change
and Waste Management
As the 21st Century begins,
the issue of climate change
is in the public spotlight.
The average surface temperature of
the Earth has been increasing since
the late 19th century, and sea level
has risen 4 to 10 inches over the
past 100 years. Some scientists
believe that these global climate
changes may be happening in large
part because human activities are
altering the chemical composition
of the atmosphere. This issue of
Reusable News focuses on some of
the latest efforts taking place on
the local and national levels to
change paradigms and behaviors in
a way that will help reduce waste,
conserve natural resources, and
decrease greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions.
Greenhouse gases have been
around as long as the Earth has. A
naturally occurring mixture of
greenhouse gases primarily water
vapor, carbon dioxide, methane,
and nitrous oxide comprises 1 to
2 percent of the Earth s atmosphere
and helps keep the planet within a
livable temperature range. But,
since the late 1800s, the amount of
greenhouse gases in the atmos-
phere has increased. This buildup
is changing the atmosphere s deli-
cate balance, which ultimately
could lead to problems on Earth,
ranging from more intense storms
and flooding of coastal areas to
widespread species extinction.
Some of the rising levels of
greenhouse gases can be attributed
to solid waste and its management.
The manufacture, distribution, and
use of products all typically result
in greenhouse gas emissions. The
decomposition of organic solid
waste in landfills and burning of
solid waste in incinerators also cre-
ate greenhouse gas emissions of
methane and carbon dioxide. By
focusing on ways to decrease GHG
emissions throughout the entire
life cycle of a product, from raw
material extraction to the product s
ultimate disposal, manufacturers
and consumers can make decisions
that have a positive impact on the
Earth s climate.
Battling Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
Recycling and waste prevention
activities not only help people bet-
ter manage the solid waste they
generate, but these activities also
provide a means of reducing GHG
emissions. Community and com-
mercial recycling programs provide
a source of recovered materials that
manufacturers use to make new
products. Typically, making goods
from recycled materials takes less
energy than making products from
virgin materials. When manufac-
turers use less energy to make their
products, they emit fewer green-
house gases. For example, when
manufacturers make a recycled-
content aluminum can instead of
using virgin ore such as bauxite,
they will prevent 13 tons of carbon
dioxide from going into the atmos-
phere for every one ton of recov-
ered aluminum used.
Waste prevention is an even
more effective means of reducing
greenhouse gases. When people
reuse items or when products are
made with less material, fewer raw
materials need to be extracted,
transported and processed. More
efficient manufacturing means less
energy is consumed, fewer fossil
fuels are burned, and less carbon
dioxide is emitted into the atmos-
phere. Additionally, fewer materi-
als are generated that then need to
be incinerated or landfilled. This
helps decrease GHG emissions as
well.
Through recycling paper and
using less paper in the first place,
fewer trees will need to be cut
down. Trees and other plants and
soil conserve carbon by holding
and storing it. When trees and
(Continued on page 2)
) Printed on paper that contains at least 30 percent postconsumer fiber.
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Reuse + Recycle = Recognition
Companies that want to reduce greenhouse gases are
recognizing the climate benefits of materials recycling
and reuse. Through the Department of Energy s voluntary
reporting program, more than 230 organizations have
reported cumulative reductions of 969 million metric
tons of carbon since 1994. EPA provided DOE with the
methodology for converting waste activities into green-
house gas benefits. For more information, go to
.
Link Between Climate
New EPA Fact Sheets Address
Don't Waste Your Waste!
The state of New Jersey recognizes the connec-
tion between reducing greenhouse gas emissions
and improved waste management processes and
plans to reduce state emissions by 3.5 percent by
2005. The state has written a greenhouse gas
management plan, then drafted protocols for
landfill gas recovery and plastics recycling, and
has provided incentives for organizations that
take the actions outlined in these policies. Waste
reduction is a significant component of the New
Jersey plan.
Cover Up with Compost
Where applicable, landfill operators can reduce
methane emissions by as much as 100 percent
using compost as a landfill cover. Using compost
for landfill cover also could greatly increase the
market for compost. Over the next 10 years, the
demand for compost could even exceed current
supply if small landfills that are closing use com-
post as cover.
The fact sheets are available in Fall 2001. For copies of these fact sheets, download versions from EPAs
Web site at .
(Continued from page 1)
plants grow, they take carbon diox-
ide out of the atmosphere through
photosynthesis. This process,
called carbon sequestration, is an
activity that humans can promote
through recycling and waste pre-
vention.
Recycling and waste prevention
are two powerful examples of
resource sustainability. The goal of
sustainability is to adopt strategies
and activities that meet the needs
of society while protecting, sus-
taining, and enhancing the human
and natural resources that future
generations will need to enjoy a
quality of life equal to or greater
than that which citizens have
today.
In This Issue of Reusable News
The articles in this issue of
Reusable News highlight activities
and programs with a direct impact
on greenhouse gas emission reduc-
tion. An article on General
Motors Resource Management
program (see page 7) reviews the
auto company s strategic alterna-
tive to traditional disposal con-
tracts. Instead of financially
rewarding haulers just for dispos-
ing of waste, waste management
contractors must also work with
GM to look for ways to operate
more efficiently by reducing or
recycling discarded materials.
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and Waste
Several Topics
-
Moving Targe
Greenhouse gas emissions that
come from vehicles that collect
and transport waste and recy-
clables equaled 918,000 metric
tons of carbon equivalent in
2000. These emissions can be
reduced through practices such as
route optimization and switching
from use of diesel fuel to landfill-
derived fuel. The city of San Diego
has successfully reduced emis-
sions using these two practices.
Smart-Waste Structures
Diverting and recovering C&D debris from dis-
posal would both conserve resources and
decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Of the
136 million tons of C&D debris generated in
1996, only 20 to 30 percent was recovered for
recycling. Case studies in California show that
nearly 80 percent of this material is reusable
or recyclable.
:ree Climate
and Waste
Resources
EPAs Climate and Waste Pro-
gram in partnership with sev-
eral national solid waste and
governmental organizations
broadcast a nationwide satel-
lite forum called Why Waste a
Cool Planet: MSW Solutions
for Global Climate Changes, in
December 2000. This interac-
tive program was dedicated to
educating businesses and
state and local governments
about the relationship
between solid waste manage-
ment and climate change.
Request a free video of the
broadcast online at
.
Articles on initiatives to recycle
electronics and carpets (page 4)
show how reaching beyond tradi-
tional recyclables, such as paper
and containers, can have a positive
impact on reducing the waste
stream further, thus leading to
greater reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions.
EPAs series of Climate Change
Fact Sheets (see summary, above)
provides up-to-date information on
specific programs to reduce green-
house gas emissions, including
one that addresses emissions from
waste collection vehicles. Another
fact sheet addresses using compost
for landfill cover to reduce emis-
sions, and a third addresses divert-
ing construction and demolition
debris from disposal.
Two articles on composting, one
addressing composting food waste
at Los Angeles International Air-
port (see page 8), and another on
using compost in roadside land-
scaping applications (see page 6),
focus on the climate change bene-
fits of collecting and reusing
organic materials.
For more information on these
and other greenhouse gas reduc-
tion initiatives covered in this
issue of Reusable News, contact
Jan Canterbury at the U.S. EPA at
703 308-7264, or via e-mail at
Canterbury.Janice@epa.gov.
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Product Stewardship Information Goes Online
EPAs Product Stewardship
Program is responding to a
growing interest in the U.S. in
focusing on products using a life-
cycle approach, which
addresses
environmental aspects of product
design, as well as end-of-life
options. The program s extensive
Web site (www.epa.gov/epr) offers
a wealth of information on product
stewardship (also known as
extended product responsibility)
and the ways manufacturers,
retailers, consumers, and govern-
ments are working together to
lessen the impact of products on
the environment.
The recently updated site pro-
vides general information on the
concept of product stewardship,
highlights national and interna-
tional programs, and features inno-
vative activities by states,
businesses, and multi-stakeholder
groups. Visitors to the site can
learn about cutting-edge initiatives
such as Sony s electronic takeback
program in Minnesota and the
activities of the Midwestern Work-
ing Group on Carpet (see article,
page 5). The site also contains
detailed profiles on product stew-
ardship programs that specifically
apply to electronics, carpet, pack-
aging, tires, batteries, and vehicles.
In addition, it offers a comprehen-
sive collection of related links and
downloadable resources.
For more information, contact
Gordon Hui of EPA at Hui.
Gordon@epa.gov, or visit the Web
site at
Did You Know?
Recycling Program Lures Kids—
Hook, Line, and Sinker
A new CD-ROM of EPA waste
management publications contains
the text equivalent of 10,000
pieces of paper. With more than
2,000 copies distributed to date,
this single resource has potentially
saved 20 million pieces of paper or
a stack of paper more than 1 mile
high! A Collection of Solid Waste
Resources, Fall 2001 edition, fea-
tures more than 250 publications,
including the Municipal Solid
Waste Factbook, an electronic ref-
erence containing national and
state data on household waste
management practices. Other pub-
lications cover topics of interest to
the general public on both solid
and hazardous waste. To obtain a
free copy of the CD-ROM, call the
RCRA Call Center at 800 424-9346.
Looking beyond recovery of
traditional recyclables,
Catch-All Lures, a fishing lure
manufacturer, has launched a lure
recycling program that benefits the
environment and helps kids fish-
ing programs. The program, Catch-
All Kids , collects used soft
plastic fishing lures, which would
normally be thrown in the water or
garbage, from fishermen, fishing
clubs, tackle shops, and manufac-
turers and remelts them into new
lures. Catch-All Kids then
donates the new recycled lures to
clubs that promote fishing as an
activity that benefits inner city
children, troubled teens, and other
groups, like Get Hooked on Fish-
ing, Not on Drugs.
The program is doing well and
has donated recycled lures to six
fishing tournaments and organiza-
tions this past year, said Shelley
Antuna, vice president of opera-
tions for Catch-All Kids . Our
goal is to supply kids groups and
tournaments with recycled lures
all across the country within the
next 5 years. Catch-All Kids is
currently running its second
annual lure design contest and
will announce the winner in Janu-
ary 2002.
For more information about the
program contact, Shelley Antuna,
vice president of operations at
Catch-All Kids , at 877 944-9558
or shelleyantuna® catchalllures.
com or visit the company s Web
site, which has press releases and
information about the program, at
< www. catchallkids. org>.
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Roll out the Recycled Carpet
EPA estimates that 2.3 million
tons of carpeting and rugs
were discarded in 1996. To
divert this waste from landfills,
industry and government have
joined to establish ongoing com-
munication and cooperation
among those who manufacture,
sell, install, recycle, and dispose
of carpet.
For the past year, state govern-
ments, the carpet industry, and
nonprofit organizations have held
a series of meetings leading to the
formation of
the Carpet
America
Recovery
Effort
(CARE).
CARE sets 10-
year goals for manufac-
turers and government for the
phase-out and elimination of land
ndustry and government hope
to reduce the amount of waste
carpet through product steward-
ship all parties who have a role in
producing, selling, or using carpet
also have a role in managing it at
the end of its useful life.
disposal and incineration of post-
consumer carpet. CARE also estab-
lishes goals to increase recycling
and reuse of carpeting. In addi-
tion, an industry-run third-party
organization will ensure that goals
are achieved, while state govern-
ments develop model procure-
ment guidelines for public
entities. A Memorandum of
Understanding solidifying these
goals will be signed at the
National Recycling Coalition s
Annual Congress in October 2001.
CARE s unique negotiated out-
comes process focuses on main-
taining flexibility in order to
effectively meet the 10-
year goals. Several
factors will be
considered
when setting
goals,
includ-
ing cur-
rent and
planned market
development infrastructure,
planned new product develop-
ment, opportunities for enhancing
collection activities, and solid
waste policies that may impact
carpet.
For more information, visit
, or contact Henry Ferland of
EPA at 703 308-7269 or
Ferland.Henry@epa.gov.
Government
Participants:
U.S. EPA
Minnesota
Iowa
California
Massachusetts
Oregon
North Carolina
Maryland
Industry Participants:
Carpet and Rug Institute
Honeywell
DuPont
Lees Carpet
Mohawk Industries, Inc.
Interface
Collins & Aikman Floor Cover-
ing
Milliken Carpet
BASF Corporation
Solutia, Inc.
Shaw Industries
BP Fabrics and Fibers
Nongovernmental
Organizations:
Northeast Recycling Council
Reuse Development Organiza-
tion
Center for Clean Products and
Clean Technologies, University
of Tennessee-Knoxville
Los Alamos Achieves 95 Percent Waste Diversion from the
Cerro Grande Fire
T
I he Cerro Grande Fire in Los
Alamos, New Mexico, in
May 2000 devastated large
portions of the state. The fire
burned 44,000 acres of land,
destroyed more than 250 Los
Alamos residences and parts of
the Los Alamos National Labora-
ory, and forced 25,000 people to
e evacuated from their homes.
The good news is that 95 per-
cent of the 160 million cubic
yards of waste created by the fires
was reported to be diverted from
disposal. Concrete and rubble
were crushed and given to local
contractors. Green waste was
chipped, and scrap metal was
sold to a processing firm in Albu-
querque.
The New Mexico Environment
Department also hired a private
contractor to remove the house-
hold hazardous waste from the
homes that were burnt. In addi-
tion, a substantial amount of
asbestos was delivered to a spe-
cially permitted landfill for dis-
posal.
For more information, contact
Ray Sisneros, solid waste division
manager for Los Alamos County,
at 520 622-8082.
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WasteWise Encourages Partners to
Adopt "Resource Management"
M^ s a partner in EPAs Waste-
k Wise program, General
m mMotors is experiencing
resounding success in conserving
material resources and reducing
cost at its facilities throughout
North America using Resource Man-
agement (RM) contracting. The RM
approach has broad climate change
impacts as well a reduction in
waste generation translates into
reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
RM is a strategic alternative to
traditional disposal contracts
rather than financially rewarding
haulers for handling increased vol-
umes of waste, customers and con-
tractors become allies in search of
mutually beneficial innovations in
waste prevention, recycling and
recovery of materials. RM operates
under the assumption that contrac-
tors will pursue environmentally
preferable options when provided
with proper financial incentives.
Under RM, the scope of services
provided by the contractor moves
upstream to address many of the
internal activities that affect waste
generation and resource efficiency
opportunities.
In a traditional disposal contract,
the contractor has an incentive to
handle ever-increasing volumes of
waste to make the largest profit. But
customers have an incentive to
decrease waste volumes and cost.
These conflicting incentives can hin-
der serious progress in waste pre-
vention recycling and recovery. In
RM contracts, the customer pro-
vides the contractor with a profit
incentive to help manage resources
more efficiently. The customer cal-
culates and caps its total waste man-
agement costs, and if the contractor
reduces costs below this predeter-
mined level, the contractor receives
a portion of the cost savings. Thus,
the value to the customer and prof-
itability to the contractor become
driven by waste prevention, rather
than waste generation.
GM adopted the RM approach in
1997 to help meet its goals of con-
serving plant resources and reduc-
ing costs. Previously, GM s disposal
contracts among its 72 North Amer-
ican facilities had varied from facil-
ity to facility, lacked technological
innovations, and produced limited
and uncoordinated waste reduction
efforts. To date, GM has set up RM
contracts at two-thirds of its North
American facilities, with all
remaining facilities scheduled to
come on line by the end of 2001.
Plants that have had RM in place
for a year or more have realized a
20 percent reduction in overall
waste generation (30,000 tons), a 65
percent increase in recycling (from
50,000 tons to more than 82,000
tons), a 60 percent decrease in dis-
posal, and a 30 percent decrease in
waste management costs.
As a result of GM s success,
WasteWise now is encouraging all
of its partners to explore RM as an
option for their facilities. Given that
approximately 100 million tons of
municipal solid waste in the United
States are managed through private
contracts, applying GM s results to
this waste stream would result in
50 million tons of additional waste
diverted from landfills through
waste prevention or recycling. With
paper alone, 9 million metric tons
of carbon equivalent of greenhouse
gases could be prevented. Waste-
Wise waste reduction could
increase by 65 percent, with a cor-
responding greenhouse gases reduc-
tion of about one million metric
tons of carbon equivalent.
For more information, contact
Angie Leith at EPA at 703 308-
7253, or Leith.Angie@epa.gov, or
visit the WasteWise Web site at
.
Roadside Landscaping Turns to Compost
Compost is turning up on the
side of the nation s high-
ways. EPAs Office of Solid
Waste has started a program to
promote the use of compost in
roadside landscaping. And divert-
ing compostable materials from
disposal into practical end uses
also helps diminish emissions of
greenhouse gases, such as methane
gas, into the atmosphere.
An outgrowth of larger compost-
ing initiatives, the new program
will focus on increasing compost
use, and the market for compost,
in roadside applications. EPA will
work with federal purchasing vehi-
cles, such as the Comprehensive
Procurement Guidelines, Executive
Orders, and agency environmental
programs, to advance the use of
compost in roadside landscaping.
Construction companies and
landscapers can use compost
alongside highways to stabilize the
soil, prevent erosion, and improve
the growth of roadside vegetation.
Compost not only performs these
functions better than straw, which
is commonly used, but compost
also helps reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Composting diverts
organic materials from landfills
in the average landfill, 50 percent
of waste disposed of is organic,
according to EPA. Organic materi-
als in landfills, left to decompose
without air, are a significant
(Continued on page 7)
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Biobased Products and Energy —
Broadening Our Horizons
Biomass energy is gaining in
popularity as environmental
and economic concerns
about using traditional energy sup-
plies such as fossil fuels
increase. Biomass is organic matter
that can be used to produce prod-
ucts or to provide heat, make fuel,
and generate electricity. Biomass
currently accounts for 76 percent
of renewable electricity generation
and 1.6 percent of total U.S. elec-
tric supply.
The National Energy Plan
recently released by President
George W. Bush, describes biomass
as plants, residue from agriculture
or forestry and the organic compo-
nents of municipal and industrial
wastes. Examples of biomass
energy technologies highlighted in
the National Energy Plan include
landfill gas-to-energy projects, co-
firing of biomass in coal fired
power plants, gasification systems
and biofuels, such as ethanol and
biodiesel.
However, the use of biomass for
energy should be balanced with
the promotion of biobased prod-
ucts. A multi-agency effort known
as the Biomass Initiative is coordi-
nating and promoting federal
biobased products (e.g., fuels,
chemicals, and building materials
from biomass) and biomass energy
research and development. The
effort is guided by two policy ini-
tiatives: The Biomass Research
and Development Act of 2000 and
Executive Order 13134. An accom-
panying executive memorandum
sets the goal of tripling U.S. use of
biobased products and bioenergy
by 2010. The initiative is coordi-
nated through the Biomass Board,
a cabinet level council co-chaired
by the U.S. Department of Energy
and the U.S. Department of Agri-
culture, and the Advisory Commit-
tee a group of 25 individuals
representing farm, forestry, indus-
try, environmental, academic, and
nonprofit sectors.
A comprehensive approach to
expanding the use of biobased
products and energy can be good
for the economy and the environ-
ment by supporting our secondary
materials infrastructure and adding
to the growing list of renewable
energy projects in the U.S.
For more information on the
Biomass Initiative, visit the Web
site at .
(Continued from page 6)
source of methane gas emissions,
one of the most potent greenhouse
gases. The organic materials that
make up compost products,
including grass clippings, leaves
and branches, and food wastes,
can also help in reducing carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere by lock-
ing up, or sequestering the car-
bon in the soil.
EPAs ultimate goal is to increase
the use of compost and thus
reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from organic waste materials.
Where others see waste material,
we see a valuable resource that can
easily be put to use for a myriad of
environmental benefits, said Jean
Schwab, EPAs program director.
In addition to the program s
efforts, EPA has provided a grant
he Recycled Materials Resource
Center, in partnership with the
U.S. Federal Highway Administra-
tion, is hosting a conference on the
Beneficial Use of Recycled Materials in
Transportation Applications in Wash-
ington, D.C., from Nov. 13 to 15. This
international conference will address
the use of a wide array of recycled
products in road construction. Visit
for more information.
Eliminating
Electronics
Waste
new wave of electronics
recycling and refurbishing
Initiatives intends to
divert obsolete electronics from
disposal while emptying over-
around the country. The National
Electronics Product Stewardship
Initiative (NEPSI) represents one
of the more significant efforts; in
this case, efforts to develop a
national infrastructure for collect-
ing and recycling end-of-life elec-
tronics. With EPAs support, the
electronics industry, state govern-
ments, non-governmental organi-
zations, and others are
negotiating toward a recovery
program for computers, monitors,
peripherals, and televisions.
NEPSI also plans to look at
appropriate incentives to design
products that are easy to reuse
and recycle, are less toxic, and
contain recycled content. Facili-
tated by the University of Ten-
nessee s Center for Clean
Products and Clean Technolo-
gies, the planning process will
involve six meetings over one
year and is expected to end in
Spring 2002.
For more information, contact
Clare Linsday at EPA, at 703 308-
7266 or Lindsay.Clare@epa.gov.
to the U.S. Composting Council to
assess how much compost cur-
rently is used in roadside land-
scaping. Building on the
Composting Council s Seal of Test-
ing Assurance, the study will
quantify the potential applications
of using compost in roadside land-
scaping, and develop boilerplate
language for others to use when
procuring compost products.
For more information on OSW s
compost program, contact Jean
Schwab of EPA at 703 308- 8669 or
schwab.jean@epa.gov.
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LAX Pilot Project Uses Food Waste To Create Energy
In a new project with multiple
environmental benefits, the Los
Angeles International Airport, in
partnership with the City of Los
Angeles Department of Public
Works, has begun a six-month
pilot project to recover food waste
generated at the airport. In addi-
tion to conserving landfill space
and reducing greenhouse gas emis-
sions, the project will supplement
the city s electricity generation.
The ultimate goal of the project
is to divert 8,000 tons of food
waste from disposal each year. Cal-
ifornia law requires all municipali-
ties in the state to divert 50 percent
of solid waste from disposal.
Gate Gourmet, an in-flight cater-
ing company, is a vendor partici-
pating in the project. Gate Gourmet
collects kitchen scraps from food
preparation for the airline flights it
services each day, which are trans-
ported to the nearby Hyperion
Wastewater Treatment Plant. Gate
Gourmet collects and sends about
200 to 250 pounds of food to the
treatment plant each week. At the
facility, food waste is ground into
tiny particles and fed into a
digester. The organic matter breaks
down, creating methane gas. Pro-
ject managers at the Hyperion facil-
ity estimate that food waste from
the airport will produce 12 percent
more methane gas than the sewage
that is currently being processed at
the plant.
The methane gas captured dur-
ing the anaerobic digestion process
is piped to an adjacent power sta-
tion, which generates electricity
This issue of Reusable News is also available on
the Internet. Access this and other EPA publications
through the World Wide Web at .
and sends it back to the treatment
facility at a discounted rate. Ulti-
mately, excess energy generated
through this process will be sent
to the public power grid serving
the greater Los Angeles area.
The remnants from the digestion
process are used to enrich soil.
Water, another byproduct of the
process, is sent to a neighboring
water treatment plant, where it is
treated and sent back to Hyperion
for landscape irrigation and use in
bathroom toilets.
I think this is a very promising
and exciting program, said Jerry
Hernandez, project manager at
Hyperion Treatment Facility. It s
not only saving landfill space, but
also creating energy. If this pro-
gram works out as anticipated, we
will have another renewable
resource for power generation.
For more information, contact
Jerry Hernandez at the Hyperion
Treatment Facility at 310 648-
6200, or by e-mail at
ghernand@eng. ci. la. ca.us.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
(5305W)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
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