WasteWise
Annual Report
FORGING AHEAD
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Wastewise
Annual Report
Contents
Introduction
WasteWise: Helping to Achieve National Recycling Goals
Using Competition to Make Recycling Fun:
The Exciting Success Story of Recycle Mania
Working Toward Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Reductions .
Hall of Fame
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc
South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control
U.S. Postal Service Northeast Area
2OO5 Partners of the Year
2OO5 Gold Achievement Awards . .
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Waste Wise: Helping to Achieve
National Recycling Goals
PA has taken a leadership role in waste management by
setting a national goal to achieve a 35 percent recycling
rate by 2008. WasteWise efforts are vital to achieving this
ambitious goal. In the past 10 years, more than 1,800
WasteWise partners have committed to waste
prevention, recycling, and buying/manufactur-
ing recycled products. WasteWise creates a
strong waste reduction ethic within business,
nonprofit, and government sectors that will
be essential to achieving the 35 percent goal.
EPA has identified several key waste streams to
increase the recycling rate from 31 percent in
20031 to 35 percent in 2008. These materials, which
have been historically targeted by WasteWise partners, include
organic materials, paper, and primary packaging and containers. In
2004, WasteWise partners moved the country closer to a 35 percent
recycling rate by:
• Recycling more than 1.75 million tons of organic materials
• Recycling more than 1 million tons of paper
WHAT CAN YDU
SAVE TODAY?
EPA's Resource Conservation
Challenge: Success Through
Flexibility
EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge
(RCC) is about changing behaviors to
increase the amount of waste material
recycled and reused. This national
effort focuses on finding more flexible,
yet effective ways to conserve natural
resources and energy. It relies on volunteers coming
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
CHALLENGE
economic incentives, RCC programs, including
WasteWise, are moving the nation toward the next
generation of pollution prevention. Participants preserve
and protect the environment by committing to:
• Reduce more waste
• Reuse and recycle more products
• Buy more recycled and recyclable products
• Reduce toxic chemicals in waste
1 U.S. EPA, Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2003 Facts and
Figures, http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/msw99.htm
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Many WasteWise partners go above and beyond the traditional munici-
pal solid waste streams by targeting the beneficial use of secondary
materials—coal combustion products, construction and demolition
debris, and foundry sand—which are also targeted materials for recovery
under the Resource Conservation Challenge. These activities can
include anything from using coal ash as a replacement for cement in
concrete to salvaging building materials during deconstruction for use in
new construction. In 2004, WasteWise partners recycled more than
147,000 tons of construction and demolition debris.
Another waste stream that WasteWise partners
have included in their waste reduction programs
is electronics. Recently, electronics waste, or
e-waste, has emerged as a bigger problem as
new technology rapidly replaces older elec-
tronics. EPA is targeting electronics waste
through programs like the Federal Electronics
Challenge and Plug-In To eCycling to foster a
life-cycle approach including reuse and recycling.
WasteWise partners have heeded to the call to help cap-
ture more old electronics items; through reuse, donation, and recycling
programs, they are giving these electronics a new lease on life. In 2004,
WasteWise partners recycled more than 3.7 million pounds of computers.
Using Competition to Make
Recycling Fun: The Exciting
Success Story of RecycleMania
Among WasteWise's partners are Ohio University and Miami
University of Ohio. Both prominent Ohio universities, the two schools
have a natural rivalry: they compete in recruitment, and each school's
students snicker at the mention of the other school's name. In 2001,
recycling coordinators at the two universities devised a way to tap into
this competitive spirit to increase recycling on the two campuses. They
developed a contest, "RecycleMania," to see which school could recycle
the most materials per capita during a 10-week period. Thus, they used
the energy of competition to reach audiences that might normally turn
a deaf ear to environmental messages and to infuse excitement into
waste reduction.
In the years since, RecycleMania has developed into a phenomenon in
college and university waste reduction initiatives. The competition has
expanded to include schools from
across the country and has proven
to be a remarkably successful vehi-
cle for creating excitement around
recycling. Says Ed Newman, one
of the founders, "Understandably,
college students tend to pay more
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RecycleMania Results
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attention to their social life and academics than their personal solid
waste management. RecycleMania is an attempt to blend these
together and move recycling higher up on the importance hierar-
chy." In 2002, four schools participated, followed by eight the next
year, then 17. RecycleManiacs now include schools of all types and
sizes, from small liberal arts colleges to large state universities.
Through its College and University Campaign, WasteWise part-
nered with RecycleMania in 2004 to further expand and enhance
the competition. As a result, 47 colleges and universities participat-
ed in RecycleMania 2005 and recycled more than 10.4 million
pounds of materials—equivalent to removing approximately 3,480
passenger cars from the road for one year. By increasing awareness of
waste reduction issues and increasing recycling collection on college
campuses, RecycleMania helps to advance EPA's 35 percent nation-
al recycling goal.
47 colleges and universities participated in
RecycleMania 2005 and recycled more than
10.4 million pounds of materials—equivalent
to removing approximately 3,480 passenger
cars from the road for one year.
WasteWise partners of all types can adapt the model of
RecycleMania to their efforts to create greater awareness of waste
reduction issues and improve recycling collection. Several partners
have already used interdepartmental or interfacility competitions to
enhance their efforts. Although a contest will only last a certain
amount of time, the increased awareness continues throughout
the year.
For more information on RecycleMania, please visit
.
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Working Toward Greenhouse
Gas Emissions Reductions
By participating in the WasteWise program and implementing waste
reduction activities, nearly 1,800 partners have committed to reducing
their impact on global climate change. In 2004, through waste preven-
tion and recycling activities, WasteWise partners reduced greenhouse
gas emissions by more than 8,157,800 metric tons of carbon equivalent.2
That's the equivalent of taking every car in the Washington, B.C.,
metropolitan area off the road for more than an entire year.
The WasteWise program has developed a plethora of tools and resources
to assist partners in communicating the climate-waste message to man-
agement, employees, and the general public. WasteWise produced many
of these tools in response to feedback from partners that they needed
more assistance to understand and communicate the climate-waste link.
Some of these new tools and resources include:
• Climate partner forums. This one-
hour teleconference provides partners
with information about the
WasteWise Climate Campaign, how
to reduce their climate footprint
through waste reduction, and how to
use Climate Campaign tools. In addi-
tion, guest speakers are on the calls to
share stories on climate successes.
Partners can listen to a recording of
the call via the WasteWise Web site.
• Don't "Waste" Your Chance to Do Your Share: How to Reduce
Your Climate Footprint. This document helps partners understand
the climate-waste connection, and educate management, employees,
and the general public.
• Climate Profiles. The Climate Profile is an individualized tool
provided to every partner that reports annual data to WasteWise on
the past year's waste prevention and recycling efforts. It converts
those numbers into green-
house gas emissions reduc-
tions, and in turn presents
those reductions in terms of
6 real-life equivalencies
(e.g., number of cars
removed from the road
annually and number of
tree seedlings planted).
2 This figure represents the amount of carbon equivalent reduced as estimated by
EPA's WAste Reduction Model (WARM) based on annualized data reported by
WasteWise partners in 2004. By publishing this statistic, WasteWise does not claim
credit for this reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. EPA is currently working on a
methodology to better document the results of the WasteWise program and green-
house gas reductions attributable to WasteWise efforts.
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*tm
WasteWisS
2005
Award Winners
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Hall
ame
EPA congratulates the 2005 WasteWise
award winners! In particular, EPA recog-
nizes the three 2005 Hall of Fame
inductees: Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.; South
Carolina Department of Health and Environmental
Control; and United States Postal Service Northeast
Area. These organizations join previous Hall of Fame
inductees including Eastman
Kodak Company; General
Motors; King County,
Washington; Public Service
Enterprise Group; and Virco
Mfg. Corporation.
HALL-OF-FAME
MEMBER
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ANHEUSER-BUSCH
COMPANIES, INC.
ANHIUSIK
Let's raise a toast to the men and women at Anheuser-Busch
who are busy "Brewing a Better Environment," as their envi-
ronmental campaign is called. Since joining Waste Wise as a
charter member in 1994, Anheuser-Busch has achieved a
companywide 97 percent recycling rate and received six
Waste Wise awards for its waste reduction efforts.
As one of the world's largest recyclers of
aluminum beverage containers, the
Anheuser-Busch Recycling
Corporation recycled 804 million
pounds of cans in 2004—more
than 125 percent of the number
of cans that the company's brew-
eries use to package their products.
Anheuser-Busch is reducing its can
lid diameter, which is expected to save 20
million pounds of aluminum when fully implemented by
2006. Anheuser-Busch has also looked beyond its successful
packaging reduction efforts and found innovative uses for
byproducts of the brewing process such as nutrient-rich sludge
and beech wood chips.
DHEC
PROMOTE PROTECT PROSPER
SOUTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONTROL
The "Recycle Guys" encourage everyone to recycle—
according to the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (DHEC), which developed the
"Recycle Guys" in 1992, to promote recycling in South
Carolina and nationwide. In 2004, DHEC recycled more
than 541,100 pounds of recyclables—an increase of more
than 80 percent per employee since 2001.
As a Waste Wise endorser, DHEC recruits other organizations to
join Waste Wise, offers educational workshops, and provides
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technical assistance through its Business Recycling Assistance
Program (B-RAP), a partnership created to promote waste
reduction, recycling, recycling market development, and buying
recycled to businesses and industry statewide. In 2003, South
Carolina became the first state to join the Waste Wise States
Campaign. DHEC also played an instrumental role in develop-
ing the South Carolina Resource Conservation Challenge to
encourage taxpayer-supported organizations to conserve natural
resources, protect the environment, and save money. Winner of
seven awards since joining Waste Wise in 2000, DHEC excels as
both a partner and an endorser.
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
NORTHEAST AREA
POSTAL SERVICE*
The U.S. Postal Service Northeast Area is delivering a message:
waste reduction is everyone's responsibility. By educating its
postmasters and facility managers, the Northeast Area has
reduced waste in its own facilities. It also sends this message
every day to its customers through lobby recycling programs
used by more than 20 million people who visit Northeast area
post offices. The Northeast Area joined Waste Wise in 1997,
and has since achieved many waste reduction goals, winning six
consecutive Waste Wise awards for its efforts.
With 3,200 participating post offices, the production of
waste paper is inevitable. The Northeast Area is continually
making strides to reduce paper waste through waste preven-
tion and recycling. In 2004, for example, internal change-of-
address procedures were updated, preventing more than
3,000 tons of undeliverable mail, and discarded mail was col-
lected in post office lobbies for recycling.
The Northeast Area recycled nearly 39,000 tons of materials
in 2004, including mixed paper, cardboard, wood, plastics,
and tires. In one year, the Northeast Area realized more than
$14 million in revenue from recycling and avoided purchas-
ing costs of electronics and saved another $2.6 million
through avoided disposal costs.
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2005 Partners of the Year
ENDORSER OF THE YEAR
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is
spreading the WasteWise message through the New Jersey Waste Wise
Business Network, a public-private partnership devoted to helping the
state's businesses and organizations reduce waste, recycle, and procure
more recycled products. The New Jersey WasteWise Bulletin, a newsletter
published several times per year, highlights key WasteWise messages,
including the economic benefits of recycling, sustainability, and the
climate-waste link. NJDEP also sponsored networking meetings, devel-
oped a recycled products directory CD that was distributed to more
than 8,000 businesses and organizations, and provided targeted outreach
to new businesses. See for sources of recycled
products in New Jersey.
PARTNER OF THE YEAR
Col lege/U n i versity:
University of Oregon Campus Recycling Program
With approximately 23,500 people on campus, the University of
Oregon generates significant quantities of waste. Hence the student-
founded Campus Recycling Program, which strives to make recycling
and waste prevention a priority. Organized in 1989, the program began
with 160 paper collection sites. Today, it has greatly expanded—
currently employing 45 students and five full-time staff members—to
collect numerous materials at more than 1,500 sites throughout the
campus. During the 2003-2004 school year, the campus diverted 48
percent of its waste through recycling.
Federal Government:
U.S. Postal Service—Dallas District
A new partner in 2004, the U.S. Postal Service—Dallas District quickly
joined the ranks of WasteWise's most impressive partners. In fiscal year
2004, the Dallas District collected nearly 7,500 tons of mixed paper and
another 360 tons of cardboard. Undeliverable mail and mixed office
waste paper were transported—using existing transportation routes
—to central hubs for recycling. These efforts alone generated more
than $319,000 in revenue and saved the Dallas District an additional
$245,000 in trash hauling costs.
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Large Business: Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon begins to analyze the environmental impact of products at the
beginning of the product cycle. Programs include energy-efficient manu-
facturing processes, developing energy-efficient products, using a greater
amount of recycled materials, creating a copier toner cartridge collection
and return program, and eliminating hazardous substances. At Canon
U.S.A., the company extends the life of products through its remanufac-
turing and recycling programs. In 2004, more than 230,000 products
were refurbished, remanufactured, resold, or reused internally.
Local Government: Kitsap County, Washington
It was another successful year for Kitsap
County, a WasteWise award winner for the
past five years. Kitsap's unique waste reduc-
tion program collected more than 3,300
tons of material for recycling and saved
more than $260,000 in avoided disposal
costs. Kitsap's success stems from several
key program features, including a county-
wide directive to annually identify and
report on departmental activities to reduce
waste and attend annual waste reduction train-
ings. Employees used the paperless Wa$te Exchange to swap office sur-
plus, rather than buying new products, and saved $ 1,400 in the process.
Midsize Business: NEC Electronics America, Inc.
Manufacturing Facility in Roseville, California
The test wafer is a key component of the waste reduction efforts at NEC
Electronics America's manufacturing plant in Roseville. Composed of
more than 99 percent silicon, test wafers are used to verify process
parameters in the production of semiconductors. In 2004, the company
saved more than $360,000 by reusing wafers, eliminating the need to
purchase approximately 36,000 new wafers and
^•BT preventing the use of more than 4,000 pounds
of virgin material. The company recycled
another 1,115 pounds of wafers and purchased
new wafers containing 100 percent recycled
content. Overall, NEC Electronics America's
manufacturing plant in Roseville has an impres-
sive 78 percent waste diversion rate.
Nonprofit: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation operates a 301-acre "living
history museum" that recreates 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia,
and invites visitors to improve the future by learning from the past.
A WasteWise partner since 1998, the foundation's 2004 efforts
focused on increasing collection of recyclable materials including
phone books, rags, batteries, paper, PET, and aluminum cans. In
addition, the foundation recycled cardboard, wood, food scraps, and
yard trimmings and thereby avoided nearly $16,000 in disposal costs
through its recycling program.
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School/School District: Los Angeles Unified School District
Incorporating nearly 1,000 sites, the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) generates a wide variety of materials, including
paper, food scraps, and electronics. To discuss new technologies and
waste reduction ideas, LAUSD set up quarterly meetings with the city
of Los Angeles and other nearby cities, the California Integrated Waste
Management Board, and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. In 2004,
LAUSD recycled nearly 4,230 tons of textbooks and other mixed paper,
plus 45 tons of computer equipment.
Small Business: Guardian Automotive—Ligonier Plant
Guardian Automotive-Ligonier Plant is proactively reducing waste in
its facilities and has been honored by Waste Wise for its outstanding
efforts for each of the last six years. In 2004, the Ligonier Plant contin-
ued its program to recycle or reuse all glass not used in an end product.
As a result, 714 tons of glass cullet were reused in plate glass, and
another 11,326 tons were recycled. Another program that's rather
unique to the Ligonier Plant is the razor blade collection—the company
recycled more than 21,000 pounds of them in 2004.
State Government: Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation
Through the State Employee
Recycling Program (SERF), the
Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation edu-
cates the more than 24,000 state
employees about waste reduction and
recycling. SERF is active at 132 facil-
ities in eight cities across the state,
collecting about 10 materials for
recycling at each site. The state's Green for Good Program collects
some more unusual items for recycling or reuse, including eyeglasses,
hangers, cell phones, and greeting cards.
Very Large Business: Verizon
As a leading provider of broadband and communication services,
Verizon takes its environmental responsibility to its customers and
communities seriously. The company's corporate policies ensure the
highest standard of actions that minimize waste, conserve natural
resources, and protect the environment. Last year, Verizon's commit-
ment to waste reduction impacted the more than 128 million phone
books it distributes worldwide. The company offered businesses the
option of receiving directories on CD, which resulted in Verizon print-
ing 482,000 fewer directories in 2004, and reducing paper use by 888
tons. Verizon's nationwide recycling programs have helped to recycle
more than 104,000 tons of material.
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Z005 Gold I
Achievement Awards
Beneficial Use: Constellation Energy
In 2004, Constellation Energy's Generation Group maintained an ash reuse
program at its Brandon Shores coal-fired power plant in Baltimore, Maryland.
Through a partnership with Separation Technologies, LLC, a separator removes
carbon from the fly ash to make it usable in concrete. The partnership has been
so successful that, in 2004, storage space was increased by 35,000 tons and a sec-
ond separator was added—allowing Separation Technologies to process and use
most of the fly ash produced by the plant, some 140,000 tons in 2004.
Community Involvement, Organic Material Reduction, and
Climate Change: The Walt Disney Company
Outstanding achievements in the areas of community involvement, organic
material reduction, and climate change have earned The Walt Disney
Company three Gold Achievement Awards.
• Community involvement. Environmentality is a key part of Disney's
outlook toward business growth and natural resource conservation. Disney
employees help make guests, customers, local groups, and surrounding
neighbors environmentally aware through educational outreach. For
example, the Jiminy Cricket Environmentality Challenge educates 5th
grade students, and Disney VoluntEARS support local environmental
organizations.
• Organic material reduction. In an effort to take responsibility for its own
waste, Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, diverted
more than 5,600 tons of food scraps from its hotels and restaurants in 2004
to make compost for use both on and off site. Additionally, Disney pro-
motes the reuse and recycling of grass and other yard trimmings. More
than 13,500 tons of grass clippings were left to fertilize 10,000 acres of
property at the resort.
• Climate. In 2004, the company reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more
than 12,000 metric tons of carbon equivalent, which is equivalent to tak-
ing more than 9,700 cars off the road for one year.
Employee Education: Amgen
Amgen knows that educated employees are
the backbone of a good waste reduction pro-
gram. In honor of its 25th anniversary,
Amgen published "25 Ways That You Can
Make Every Day Earth Day at Amgen!"
This fact sheet offers employees tips on pre-
venting waste, recycling, buying recycled,
and other environmentally friendly activities.
With the company collecting more than 13,500
tons of material to recycle and preventing an addi-
tional 101 tons from entering the waste stream at the
source, it's easy to see that Amgen's employee education program is a success.
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Green Buildings: Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories is building green—and "Silver." A new building
at Sandia is registered with the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and has received "Silver" certifica-
tion, the first such in New Mexico. To ensure diversion of construction waste,
Sandia opened the Construction and Demolition Recycle Center to recycle
surplus building materials from onsite construction projects. To promote green
buildings, contractors are required to report waste prevention, recycling ton-
nage, and recycled content usage. Additionally, all new buildings at Sandia are
required to be composed of more than 50 percent recycled content materials.
Green Purchasing: Lexmark International, Inc.
Lexmark International knows that for recycling to truly work, there must be a
market for the recycled-content products. Lexmark contributes to the market
for recycled goods by purchasing recycled-content materials in new construc-
tion and renovation projects, including wall, flooring, ceiling tiles, restroom
partitions, and carpet. In addition, Lexmark uses recycled-content paper prod-
ucts at its headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky.
New Partner and Packaging Reduction: Limited Brands, Inc.
A dual award winner, Limited Brands has its priorities straight with its clear com-
mitment to reducing waste. The company quickly became active in Waste Wise
and is being recognized for its efforts as a new partner. One of Limited Brands'
most successful waste reduction activities is its packaging reduction program. In
2004, Limited Brands established new design standards for cardboard boxes used
for apparel merchandise, allowing multiple uses from a single box. This effort pre-
vented 87 tons of cardboard from being discarded as waste and saved the compa-
ny approximately $215,000 in avoided purchasing costs. In another effort,
Limited Brands changed the material used in product return kits from stores and
prevented the need for 20,000 pounds of virgin material.
Paper Reduction: U.S. Government Printing Office
Charged with printing, binding, and disseminating information for the entire
federal community, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) sees a lot of
paper in a year. However, GPO also has a 144-year history in reducing paper
waste. Recycling paper waste since opening its doors in 1861, GPO recycled
more than 4,500 tons in 2004. Continuing GPO's waste prevention efforts, the
Goal Sharing Program—a new program introduced in 2004 to encourage
employees to make a positive difference at GPO through personal incentives—
has set a goal to reduce paper waste by 15 percent. Within three months,
employees saved more than $28,000 by reducing production paper waste.
Product Stewardship: Herman Miller
Herman Miller's Design for the Environment team is responsible for developing
environmentally sensitive design standards for new and existing products. Each
new product is evaluated on material chemistry, disassembly, and recyclability.
The team's star product is the Mirra task chair, first introduced in 2003.
Following the "cradle to cradle" design protocol, the Mirra chair is made of 42
percent recycled material, contains no poly vinyl chloride (PVC), and is up to
96 percent recyclable.
Product Stewardship: Steelcase Inc.
Steelcase practices "life-cycle thinking" in its product design and development,
considering the potential impact of all stages in a product's life. To help cus-
tomers determine what to do with unused furniture in an environmentally
friendly manner, Steelcase created the Environmental Partnership Program.
Working on a case-by-case basis with a national network of dealers, recyclers,
resellers, and nonprofit agencies, Steelcase offers options for customers to reuse,
recycle, or refurbish their surplus Steelcase furniture.
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