&EPA Fourth Year WasteWise
Progress Report
&EPA
WVSTE
ISE
Preserving Resources,
Preventing Waste
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WasteWise partners achieved blockbuster waste reduction results, eliminating or recycling more material than ever before. Partners also bought and manufactured millions of tons of recycled-content products last
year. Taken together,, these accomplishments show that WasteWise partners are reversing the growth of waste generation in the United States as they cut costs and streamline their operations.
WASTE PREVENTION
Waste prevention—eliminating waste even before recycling—
remains the cornerstone of the WasteWise program.
Highlights for 1997 include the following:
• Partners reported an 80 percent increase in waste
prevention compared to 1996.
• More than 816,000 tons of waste were prevented in 1997.
• Partners saved an estimated $26 million in avoided disposal
fees in 1997. WasteWise estimates that avoided paper pur-
chasing costs for all reporting partners in 1997 could be as
high as $60 million.
• Transport packaging reduction continued as the top
waste prevention strategy.
WASTEWISE WASTE PREVENTION: 1994 TO 1997
400,000
1994 1995 1996 1997
SAMPLE PARTNER
ACHIEVEMENTS
RUSSELL CORPORATION used cut fiber waste to manufacture
the backing for knit athletic garments, eliminating more than 450
tons of textile waste and saving the company $360,000 in material
costs. Russell also sold an additional 3,000 tons of cut waste for
reuse, for which the company netted $320,000.
BALTIMORE GAS 8e ELECTRIC repaired and reused nearly
2,200 tons of appliances, electric and gas meters, and transformers
and nearly 800 tons of aluminum wire, cable, luminaries, and print-
ing plates. The company also refurbished and reused 1,245 tons of
wooden pallets, poles, and reels.
ALDEN CENTRAL SCHOOL in Alden, New York, reused 1,000
pounds of paper by using both sides of the sheets and by making
notepads out of once-used paper. The school also reduced or
eliminated nearly 300 pounds of polystyrene trays and dishes in
the cafeteria and composted 750 pounds of cafeteria waste.
GUARDIAN INDUSTRIES initiated a program to have used gloves
in good condition laundered and reused. This program prevented
1.5 tons of gloves from going to waste. Instead of using disposable
paper towels, the company laundered and reused more than 3 tons
of wiping cloths.
MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC CORPORATION OF AMERICA pro
vided online promotional information formerly sent as documents
or disks to prospective buyers. This practice conserved more than
17 tons of computer disks and 14 tons of paper.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA AT SARASOTA/
NEW COLLEGE composted more than 2 tons of food waste and
collected 600 pounds of polystyrene packing peanuts and large
packaging pieces for reuse at a local packing and shipping compa-
ny. The university also established an exchange area at the student
center so that useful items can be reused by other students or
donated to a local charity.
RECYCLING COLLECTION
• Partners collected 43 percent more materials in 1997
than in 1996.
• Partners recycled more than 6.8 million tons in 1997.
• Partners saved an estimated $217,587,000 in avoided
disposal fees.
• The most commonly recycled materials include
aluminum, glass, paper, steel, and wood, making up
70 percent of the total.
OVERALL PARTNER RECYCLING: 1994 TO 1997
BUYING AND
MANUFACTURING RECYCLED
To close the recycling loop, partners purchased nearly $3 billion
worth of recycled-content products and more than 900,000
tons of recycled-content products. WasteWise partners reported
using nearly 2 million tons of recovered material in the products
they manufacture.
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WASTEWISE PARTNER GROWTH: 1994 TO 1998
1997 1998
(as of 12/31/97) (as of 6/30/98)
WASTEWISE
MEMBERSHIP MULTIPLIES
WastcWisc membership continued to grow in 1997 and
1998. Highlights include the following:
• Membership grew by 46 percent from July 1, 1997, to
June 30, 1998.
• 114 of the 255 partners that joined in this time period
were government partners.
• WasteWise organizations now employ more than
5.7 million people.
• Total membership as of June 30, 1998, includes
779 partners and 73 endorsers.
WASTEWISE PARTNERS OF THE YEAR
VERY LARGE CORPORATION
(MORE THAN 20,000 EMPLOYEES)
BankAmerica Corporation conducted many out-
standing waste prevention activities, from reducing
the use of shrink-wrap to reconditioning and
reissuing office equipment to paper reduction. For
example, BankAmerica saved 228 tons of paper
and $500,000 by using 15-pound rather than
20-pound paper ATM envelopes.
With close to 25,000 tons of surplus or obsolete
telecommunications equipment, Bell Atlantic
repaired and reused defective equipment and sold
marketable equipment for a total corporate cost
avoidance and revenue of $24 million
In 1997, Target implemented a new paperless system
of making price changes and researching out-of-stock
products. This project eliminated 200 tons of paper.
Target also reused more than 200 million hangers,
thereby eliminating 6,000 tons from the waste stream.
LARGE CORPORATION
(1,000 TO 20,000 EMPLOYEES)
Among its waste prevention achievements, Public
Service Electric and Gas Company reduced paper
waste by nearly 100 tons and saved more than
$320,000 through the use of electronic communica-
tions. PSE&G also donated, sold, and redeployed 48
tons of computer equipment, saving almost $350,000.
MID -SIZE CORPORATION
(5oo TO 999 EMPLOYEES)
By reusing plastic pallets, reels, and containers for
interdepartmental use, Schlegel eliminated 16 tons of
waste and saved $15,000. Schlegel also eliminated
paper container waste by switching to plastic contain-
ers for storing tools and buckets for cleaning, saving
$1,500 and removing 1 ton from the waste stream.
Southern Mills is constantly changing product specifi-
cations and improving procedures to reduce the
amount of inferior- quality yarn and disposal of fabric.
These actions decreased the purchase of raw materials
by more than 17 tons. By improving packaging for
able
yams and reusing boxes, Southern Mills also
The combined efforts of reducing textile and packag-
ing waste saved the company $13,000.
SMALL BUSINESS
(i TO 499 EMPLOYEES)
Applied Specialties started a returnable tote pro-
gram with suppliers and bought bulk materials,
also saved Applied specialties a
:d paper waste by 500 pounds.
UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE/SCHOOL
<-£/.•«. *=*Jlb..~.*i,f ^-£~L~*.I
Sligo Adventist School implemented several innovative
waste prevention activities in 1997. For example, the
school switched to bulk juice dispensers so reusable
plastic cups could be used in the cafeteria. This project
eliminated more than 1 ton of drink boxes. In addi-
tion, the school used a vermicomposting system to
dispose of cafeteria food waste, removing 500 pounds
of food scraps from the waste stream.
KV/GRAM
AMPIONS
Battelle Memorial Institute K Bethlehem Steel
Corporation K California State University,
Sacramento K CITGO Corporation K Crown
Cork & Seal Company, Inc. K Eastman Kodak
Company X Florida Power & Light X GPU
Energy K Herman Miller, Inc. K Ingersoll-
Rand Company K McDonald's Corporation K
Pitney Bowes Inc. %Z Resource Strategies %Z
Russell Corporation %Z Seattle University %Z
Synthetic Industries, Inc. %Z The Clorox
Company %Z The Lubrizol Corporation—
Wickliffe, Ohio Headquarters K
VircoMjg. Corporation %Z
Wilmot & Associates, Inc.
WASTEWISE
LAUNCHED
INAUGURAL
SATELLITE FORUM
IN 1998
In June 1998, WasteWise presented "Waste
Prevention Pays: Businesses Cut Costs by
Cutting Waste," its first national satellite forum
for businesses. This live WasteWise conference
provided a forum for partners to share their
money-saving waste prevention strategies with
peers and learn from others' experiences. Viewers
posed their questions and related their own suc-
cesses during the call-in portion of the program.
• Nearly 570 downlink sites broadcast the
forum to more than 6,000 viewers.
• Forty-three percent of attendees were from
businesses and 37 percent were from state
or local government agencies.
• More than half of the attendees came from
smaller businesses or organizations (less than
500 employees).
Attendees of the forum responded enthusiasti-
cally to the program, with most reporting that
it provided useful information for evaluating
and improving waste reduction activities. One
attendee summed it up as an "outstanding pro-
gram. It was very instructive, especially in
thinking about looking 'upstream' for waste
prevention." Another attendee noted, "I am
surprised at the benefits in cost savings as well
as environmental benefits. Knowing that many
companies are involved identifies the need for
this subject to be discussed locally, nationally,
and globally." WasteWise hopes to conduct
additional satellite forums in the future.
WASTEWISE MESSAGE TRAVELS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY
TRADE SHOWS
PARTNER NETWORK MEETINGS
REGIONAL FORUMS
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GLOBAL WARMING POSES A GLOBAL THREAT
In addition to other dangers, many scientists believe that global warming will cause a rise in sea level.
human health threats from increased range and incidence of disease, and damage to both ecosystems
and biodiversity. Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse
gases are at their highest levels in more than 200,000 years.
As waste reduction leaders, WasteWise partners are helping to
curb this threat. Waste prevention can greatly reduce the emis-
sion of greenhouse gases by conserving raw materials and the
energy expended to extract, process, and manufacture them into
products. Waste prevention and recycling keep materials out of
landfills and incinerators that generate greenhouse gases as they
degrade or burn. Keeping paper products out of landfills cuts
methane emissions, saves energy, and preserves forests, which
remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
By diverting more than 7.5 million tons of material from land-
fills in 1997, WasteWise partners prevented the emission of an
estimated 5 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (the basic
unit of measure for greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere.
This achievement is equal to preventing the average annual emissions from electric power consumption
of roughly 3 million households.
For more information on global warming, see www.epa.gov/globalwarming. To learn more about the
WasteWise program, see www.epa.gov/wastewise or call our helpline at 800 EPA-WISE.
IN 1997, WASTEWISE
PARTNERS PREVENTED THE
EMISSION OF AN ESTIMATED
5 MILLION METRIC TONS OF
CARBON EQUIVALENT-
EQUAL TO PREVENTING THE
AVERAGE ANNUAL EMIS-
SIONS FROM ELECTRIC
POWER CONSUMPTION OF
ROUGHLY 3 MILLION
HOUSEHOLDS.
&EPA
WasteWise Program (5306W)
U.S. Environmental Protection /
401 M Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
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