g
o
A GUIDE TO
WASTE REDUCTION
AT SHOPPING CENTERS
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
CONTENTS
About This Guide 1
Who Can Benefit From This Guide? 1
What Can I Learn From This Guide? 1
Introduction 3
Section 1: Establishing a Successful Recycling Program 4
Step #1: Obtain management support, determine legal requirements, and identify other incentives
or disinentives 4
Step #2: Identify a recycling coordinator 5
Step #3: Form a "green team" 6
Step #4: Assess your waste stream 7
Step #5: Identify materials to be collected 7
Step #6: Select a recycling service provider 8
Step #7: Determine collection program logistics 9
Step #8: Implement your recycling and management program 11
Step #9: Reap the public relations benefits 13
Step #10: Monitor, evaluate, and refine the program 15
Recycling Materials from Shopping Center Construction and Renovation Projects 16
Section 2: Preventing Waste in the First Place 17
Multiple Approaches 17
Transport Packaging 18
Taking Stock: Reviewing Inventories and Point-of-Sale 18
Reuse, Reuse, Reuse 19
Waste Wise: Preventing Waste, Recycling, and Buying Recycled 20
Section 3: Resource Management:
Finding Resource Efficiency in Solid Waste Contracts 21
The Benefits of Resource Management 22
Are You Ready for Resource Management? 22
Section 4: Closing the Loop 23
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Section 5: Case Studies 24
Mall of America: Bloomington, Minnesota 24
Westfield Shoppingtown Mission Valley: San Diego, California 26
VF Outlet Shopping Village: Reading, Pennsylvania 29
IKEA, Schaumberg: Schaumberg, Illinois 31
Resources 33
General 33
Retail Recycling And Waste Reduction 34
Material Exchange 35
Corrugated Cardboard 35
Paper 35
Glass 35
Plastic 36
Metal 36
Wood 36
Fluorescent Lamps 36
Toner Cartridges 37
Electronics 37
Construction And Demolition Debris 37
Community Outreach And Take-Back Programs 38
Appendix A: Materials Commonly Included in Recycling and Waste Prevention Programs
at Malls and Shopping Centers 39
Appendix B: Products Available with Recycled-Content 44
Appendix C: EPA Programs Relevant to the Retail Industry 46"
The mention of any company, product, or process in this publication does not constitute or imply endorsement by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration
with the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), created
this guide to help shopping centers of all types and sizes assess their
waste management practices and identify opportunities to reduce waste disposal,
increase reuse and recycling, save money, and contribute to their local commu-
nities. This guide also serves as a resource to local and state recycling coordina-
tors to help them work with the shopping centers in their jurisdictions to design
and implement waste prevention and recycling programs.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM
THIS GUIDE?
This guide is intended primarily as
a tool for commercial property own-
ers, property managers, and other
shopping center employees who
might be involved with planning
and implementing recycling and
waste prevention programs at malls
and shopping centers. Because
waste management services at most
shopping centers are controlled by
property management (rather than
by retail tenants), management
companies will likely play a leader-
ship role in any recycling efforts.
Waste prevention on a large scale,
however, is more of a retail-level
activity, and this guide provides
several detailed examples from "big
box" retailers.
Recycling and pollution prevention
officials from states, municipalities,
and nonprofit organizations also
can use this guide as a tool for
working with shopping centers and
retailers.
Waste management companies and
recycling service providers can use
the guide to help shopping centers
and retail clients achieve their
waste reduction objectives.
WHAT CAN I LEARN
FROM THIS GUIDE?
This guide does not attempt to
present a "one size fits all" process
for developing a recycling and
waste prevention program. As the
case studies at the back of the guide
illustrate, each mall and shopping
center encounters different chal-
lenges and circumstances in setting
up and managing a successful pro-
gram.
What this guide does present are
general concepts and factors to con-
sider in planning and launching a
program. Property managers and
recycling coordinators can use the
"how to" information in this guide
to determine the appropriate scope
and design of their own recycling
program, based on the conditions
that exist in their facility and on
other factors, such as the markets
that exist for recyclables in their
area. Retailers can consider the
waste prevention examples when
assessing their own waste genera-
tion practices, but they will find
their own opportunities and hurdles
in reducing those waste streams.
Section 1 presents concrete strate-
gies that malls and shopping centers
can use to develop a well-planned,
cost-effective recycling program.
For facilities that are not currently
recycling, the guide describes the
key steps in planning, launching,
and managing a successful program,
starting from scratch. For facilities
that are already recycling on a lim-
ited basis, the information in this
section can be used to improve or
expand on existing efforts—for
example, by adding new materials
to an ongoing collection program,
or by increasing program efficiency.
This guide features practical, cost-
effective steps that can be imple-
mented over time as resources
allow.
Section 2 discusses waste preven-
tion—also known as source reduc-
tion and reuse—and how shopping
center tenants and "big box" retail-
ers can help reduce the solid waste
stream by creating less waste in the
first place.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Section 3 summarizes an innovative
waste contracting strategy called
Resource Management (RM) that
helps save money, provides better
service, and improves resource effi-
ciencies.
Section 4 talks about "closing the
loop"—purchasing recycled-content
products to ensure the health of
^ recycling in general.
Interspersed throughout the guide
are tips and lessons learned from
malls, shopping centers, and retail-
ers that are leaders in the areas of
recycling and waste prevention. In
addition, Section 5: Case Studies
at the back of the guide provide
detailed information about several
of the most successful shopping
center recycling programs.
Finally, the Resources Section will
point you toward dozens of more
detailed, useful resources on every-
thing from conducting waste assess-
ments to writing contracts with
recycling service providers.
Additional programs that can help
you get started, improve your pro-
gram, or gain recognition for your
efforts also are highlighted.
Appendix A lists the commodities
found most frequently in shopping
center waste streams, and describes
how they are recycled in the cur-
rent marketplace. Appendix B lists
typical recycled-content products
used in retail stores and operations.
Appendix C is a list of other EPA
programs relevant to the retail
industry.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
INTRODUCTION
Shopping centers and other
retail outlets have become
mainstays in American cul-
ture. Each month, more than 200
million adults visit the 46,000 cov-
ered malls, outdoor plazas, and other
shopping venues in the United
States to spend approximately $300
million on goods, services, food, and
other items. More than 10 million
employees help make these purchas-
es possible.
While all these people in shopping
centers contribute to our nation's
economy, they also are generating a
large amount of trash. Each
American generates about 4.5
pounds of trash per day, some portion
of which can be found in a shopping
center's waste streams. From corru-
gated cardboard shipping containers
to leftovers in the food court, solid
waste is an issue for all retail facili-
ties. And since solid waste disposal
costs in the United States have
climbed significantly over the past
decade, how a shopping center man-
ages its wastes can directly affect the
facility's bottom line.
The good news is that many shop-
ping center managers have realized
the benefits of implementing various
types of waste reduction programs in
their facilities. By working with sup-
pliers, hauling contractors, mainte-
nance staff, and customers, shop-
ping centers and other retail outlets
have managed to cut costs through
waste prevention and recycling,
while demonstrating their environ-
mental stewardship to the commu-
nity.
Many shopping centers in the
United States already recycle on a
limited basis—focusing, for exam-
ple, on a single material, such as
cardboard. Others may have con-
sidered recycling but decided
against it, concerned about poten-
tial expense or the difficulty of
implementing something new.
While the economics of recycling
do vary from region to region, the
truth is that, in many areas, recy-
cling can be cost-effective.
Beyond recycling, retailers have
also cut costs through waste pre-
vention by identifying and eliminat-
ing items such as excess packaging at
their source, before they become
waste. Reusing items such as ship-
ping pallets or hangers also has great
potential. And for shopping centers
that decide to involve the public in
their reuse and recycling efforts
through public education and events,
the result can be a positive image
and an increase in shoppers.
As more shopping centers are
learning, a well-planned recycling
program can produce savings:
• Westfield Shoppingtown
Mission Valley, a 1.5-million-
square-foot outdoor shopping
center in San Diego, California,
saw its annual waste disposal
costs drop by more than 40
percent between 1994 and
2002.
9 Plaza Camino Real Shopping
Center, once the largest trash
producer in Carlsbad,
California, shaved more than
$67,000 from its waste disposal
costs in a single year.
• VF Outlet Shopping Village, in
Reading, Pennsylvania, man-
aged to decrease its annual
waste disposal costs by 67 per
cent between 1995 and 2002.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Section 1
ESTABLISHING
A SUCCESSFUL
RECYCLING PROGRAM
w
hether you're starting from scratch or looking to expand your shopping center's recycling efforts,
there are ten critical steps to success in recycling at the commercial level. This section briefly
describes each step.
1. Obtain management support, determine legal requirements, and identify other incentives
or disincentives.
2. Identify a recycling coordinator.
3. Form a "green team."
4. Assess your waste stream.
5. Identify materials to be collected.
6. Select a recycling service provider/work with your existing contractors.
7. Determine collection program logistics.
8. Implement and manage your recycling program.
9. Reap the public relations benefits.
10. Monitor, evaluate, and refine the program.
STEP #1:
Obtain management support,
determine legal require-
ments, and identify other
incentives or disincentives.
If you are considering a new or
expanded recycling program for
your mall or shopping center, sever-
al key planning steps should be
addressed before getting started.
These include obtaining the sup-
port of upper management,
researching legal requirements that
might drive or shape your program,
and identifying incentives or disin-
centives for recycling.
Management support. Obtaining
the support of corporate manage-
ment is critical—not only because a
recycling program will require an
initial investment of time and
money, but also because the new
program will lead to changes (e.g.,
new job responsibilities for some
staff, or new procedures for shop-
ping center employees and tenants).
If corporate management is fully
behind the recycling program,
employees will be more likely to
take the same outlook. For shopping
center managers seeking to justify
recycling to upper management or
recycling coordinators trying to
encourage it, this guide provides
numerous examples of leading shop-
ping center recycling programs that
are generating significant savings for
the property management compa-
nies implementing them.
Legal requirements. Several states
have passed mandates that require
commercial recycling (these include
Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island);
others have laws that encourage
local governments to set such man-
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
dates. Before you begin planning
your program, check with your state,
county, and municipal waste man-
agement agencies to determine the
status of regulations that will affect
your shopping center. Regulations
that set waste diversion requirements
or call for recycling of certain com-
modities not only serve as a powerful
incentive for program development,
but they can drive your program's
structure and timeframe. (Visit
to find your
local recycling coordinator).
Identify incentives/disincentives.
Finally, conduct research to identify
other factors that might influence
the development of your program.
These might include:
• High waste disposal costs.
Some parts of the country, such
as the Northeast and mid-
Atlantic states, have higher
landfill tipping fees, which can
drive up waste disposal costs for
businesses. In these regions,
malls and shopping centers
have a special incentive to
recycle, due to increased poten-
tial for significant cost savings.
Recycling diverts waste from
disposal, thereby reducing dis-
posal costs.
• Adequacy of local recycling
infrastructure. Shopping cen-
ters located in regions where
recycling processors and mar-
kets are few or non-existent
will likely have a harder time
developing a cost-effective
recycling program. At this early
planning stage, initial research
with your state recycling office
may help to ensure markets are
available for your materials.
• Tenant recycling policies.
Many leading retail chains
have corporate policies that
promote recycling in their
stores. Some retailers, when
negotiating leases, try to add
provisions that require proper-
ty management to provide
recycling services. A shopping
center's desire to attract and
retain these leading retailers
as tenants can provide an
added incentive for launching
a shopping center-wide recy-
cling program.
• Opportunities to collaborate.
Look for opportunities to part-
ner with a neighboring retail,
office, or institutional proper-
ty. Adding on to an existing
recycling collection program
could reduce handling fees
and increase the marketability
of recyclables, since more
materials will be collected in a
consolidated program.
STEP #2:
Identify a recycling
coordinator.
Once you have completed the up-
front research and are planning to
pursue a new or expanded recycling
program, the next step is to name a
recycling coordinator who will plan
and manage the program. The
recycling coordinator should be an
enthusiastic person with strong
communication and organizational
skills. This person should have
good rapport with a broad range of
employees within different parts of
your company (e.g., landscaping,
housekeeping, transportation, pro-
curement), as well as with tenants,
recycling service providers, and the
general public. Shopping centers
often look within facility manage-
ment to find their recycling coordi-
nator, who should be someone who
knows the operation inside and
out.
ARE CONDITIONS
CONDUCIVE TO
SUCCESS?
With persistence and determina-
tion, it may be possible to develop
an effective recycling program
under almost any condition.
However, your chances of success
rise significantly if at least three of
the following five conditions are in
place for your facility:
/High waste disposal costs/
potential for significant savings
y Tenants interested in recycling
ESTABLISHING A
CORPORATE
RECYCLING POLICY
Property management companies
should consider establishing a cor-
porate policy that requires recy-
cling at all malls and shopping
centers. Corporate management
should communicate the policy to
facility managers and waste man-
agement contractors and establish
performance expectations. By
making recycling a standard prac-
tice at all facilities, a property
management company can create
a corporate culture where envi-
ronmentally sustainable business
practices are valued and where
recycling leadership and innova-
tion is rewarded.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
At Bloomington, Minnesota's Mall
of America, the largest mall in the
country, the job of recycling super-
visor is a full-time position. At
most other malls and shopping cen-
ters, however, the responsibilities
of the recycling coordinator require
much less time. The coordinator
might spend anywhere from a few
days a week to all of his or her time
for a short period making arrange-
ments to get the program started,
but once it is running smoothly,
the responsibilities may drop to
several hours each week or month.
For this reason, many malls and
shopping centers assign the role of
recycling coordinator to an
employee such as the facility man-
ager or grounds manager. For exam-
ple, at the VF Outlet Shopping
Village in Reading, Pennsylvania,
the recycling program is managed
by the facility's maintenance fore-
man. At Lakeforest Mall in
Gaithersburg, Maryland, the gener-
al manager personally oversees the
recycling program.
The specific responsibilities of the
recycling coordinator differ from
facility to facility. These tasks are
discussed in more detail below but
typically include:
• Conducting a waste audit to
evaluate the recycling opportu-
nities at your shopping center.
Visually inspect the types of
materials being discarded and
talk with your current waste
hauler about the types and
amounts of materials being
generated by your facility on a
regular basis. Determine which
materials are recyclable in your
area. See Step #4 below for
more information on waste
audits and Appendix A for a
list of items typically found in a
shopping center's waste stream.
• Selecting the recycling con-
tractor(s).
• Determining the logistics of
the collection program.
• Communicating with and edu-
cating shopping center staff
and tenants.
• Keeping records and evaluating
program success.
STEP #3:
Form a "green team."
Many companies have found that
forming a recycling and waste pre-
vention team (or "green team")
helps to ensure a successful program.
Together with the recycling coordi-
nator, this group will plan, imple-
ment, and manage the program.
Team members can also assist with
tenant education and program eval-
uation activities.
The green team should include
employees from many parts of the
organization, including certain key
employees. For example, housekeep-
ing staff should be integrally
involved in creating the collection
system, since they are involved in
waste management and will likely be
relied on to implement important
aspects of the program. Grounds staff
also should be included.
Depending on the size and scope of
your program, you also might con-
sider inviting the following people
to contribute to the team:
• Tenants. Tenants' input can be
valuable when selecting materi-
als for recycling and designing
the collection system. For your
program to be successful, collec-
tion logistics must be conven-
ient, and tenants are in the best
position to comment on this
issue. If you invite tenants to
participate in the team, consid-
er including a cross-section of
individuals—for example, rep-
resentatives of both small shops
and major chains, along with
one or two representatives from
the food court. These individu-
als are likely to have different
perspectives.
• A recycling service provider.
Once you have selected a ven-
dor (see Step #6 below), you
might want to invite that com-
pany's representative to provide
input to your team. As you plan
program logistics (e.g., where to
store recyclables, how often to
schedule pick-ups), your ven-
dor's input will be critical.
• A recycling or public works
official from your state,
municipal, or county govern-
ment. Environmental officials
often have a wealth of experi-
ence to offer. They understand
the regulations in your jurisdic-
tion, and they are familiar with
local recycling service
providers. These officially can
also be helpful in identifying
markets for your materials or
pilot programs to help you
launch new aspects of your
recycling program.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
STEP #4:
Assess your waste stream.
Before you can decide which materi-
als to collect or add to your recy-
cling program, you first have to find
out what is in your trash. You can do
this by conducting a waste audit for
your mall or shopping center. A
waste audit is a formal, structured
process used to quantify the amount
and types of waste being generated
by a business or facility. A waste
audit can help you:
• Determine which wastes your
shopping center generates in
greatest volume.
• Understand the recycling oppor-
tunities at your shopping center
and help predict revenues from
the sale of recyclables.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of
any existing recycling efforts at
your facility.
• Identify opportunities for waste
prevention and potential sav-
ings from reduced disposal fees.
• Establish baseline data for
measuring the future effective-
ness of any new recycling or
waste prevention program that
you put in place.
There are a number of different ways
to conduct a waste audit. Some
malls and shopping centers might
choose to hire a waste management
company or contractor to perform
the audit. Others might conduct the
audit using in-house staff. Assessing
your waste stream will probably not
require sorting through your refuse
containers, but it may call for inter-
viewing or surveying a representa-
tive sample of tenants. See the
Resources Section on page 33 for
sources of information on waste
assessments, including audit forms
and procedures.
Appendix A outlines the typical
items found in a shopping center's
solid waste stream, as well as the
factors affecting their recyclability.
The appendix provides basic infor-
mation about recycling markets
for each material, along with a
brief summary of typical collection
logistics.
STEP #5:
Identify materials to be
collected.
Once you know what is in your
trash, you will probably have some
initial ideas about what materials
should be collected for recycling.
Common sense says that it is best
to focus on those materials that
appear in your waste stream in
greatest volume. This is, in fact, a
good rule of thumb. But before
leaping to any conclusions, ask
yourself the following questions:
• Are there regulations in your
city or state that require
recycling of certain materi-
als? If so, you will need to
include these materials in your
recycling collection program.
• Do markets exist for the
materials you propose to col-
lect? Markets for recyclables
vary from region to region, com-
munity to community. In decid-
ing which materials to collect
for recycling, check to see if
there are developed markets for
that commodity. Talk to your
local waste hauler, recycling
service providers, and municipal
or state recycling officials. If no
market is readily apparent, you
may be able to identify a home
for some products through a
waste exchange (see the
Resources Section on page 33).
LAKEFOREST MALL:
ENLISTING LOCAL
GOVERNMENT AS A
RECYCLING PARTNER
Montgomery County, Maryland,
where Lakeforest Mall is located,
has been active in commercial
recycling since 1993, when coun-
ty officials voted to make recy-
cling mandatory for all businesses.
Since then, the management at
Lakeforest has worked closely
with the county to develop a
model recycling program for its
164 tenants. The program is
designed to help the tenants meet
their recycling obligations, but it
also has saved mall management
thousand of dollars in solid waste
disposal fees.
The close working relationship
between mall management and
county recycling officials has
been key to Lakeforest's success.
The county has provided recycling
bins for tenants and educated ten-
ants about recycling regulations.
Lakeforest's general manager per-
sonally visits tenants and writes
periodic memos to remind them
of their responsibilities and edu-
cates them about the mall's recy-
cling procedures.
Not all markets will pay for
recyclables. Some will require
you to pay a small fee. However,
you may still find this to be
more cost-effective than paying
for disposal of the material.
Does your facility generate
the materials in sufficient
quantity and quality to make
recycling viable? Recycling
transporters and recovered
materials buyers care about both
the quantity and quality of your
recyclables. These factors will
influence the price the market
will pay. Aggregating sufficient
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
STARTING SMART...
WITH OCC
Shopping center recycling pro-
grams tend to have one thing in
common: an initial focus on old
corrugated cardboard (OCC).
OCC typically contributes 30 to
40 percent of a shopping center's
waste stream. Clean, dry OCC is
relatively easy to recycle, and
there are numerous mills across
the country that use it, so OCC
can generate consistent revenues.
By starting small, with a focus on
OCC from stores, a shopping cen-
ter recycling program can make
an immediate and measurable
dent on the facility's waste stream
and disposal costs, work out any
obstacles in recycling logistics,
then gradually begin to grow to
include other recyclables. In fact,
the revenues generated by OCC
are often used to fund the pro-
gram's expansion.
Pete Homrich, the recycling coor-
dinator at Reading, Pennsylvania's
VF Outlet Shopping Village,
launched the program with a
focus on OCC recycling, then
slowly expanded it over a number
of years to include other materi-
als. Today, VF Outlet Shopping
Village recycles mixed paper, plas-
tic bottles and films, glass, alu-
minum and other metals, and
yard waste; yet OCC still accounts
for over 97 percent of the materi-
al recycled, by weight, and it also
accounts for virtually all of the
cost savings and revenues gener-
ated. In essence, OCC recycling
pays for the facility's collection
program and allows the shopping
center to recycle other materials.
quantities of recyclables is
important, because haulers can-
not always afford to handle and
transport small amounts of
material. You will also have to
meet the vendor's quality
requirements, which dictate the
extent to which the materials
must be clean, consistent, and
contaminant-free. Your program
should stress the importance of
minimizing contamination and
collecting high-quality recy-
clables. The vendors you ulti-
mately contract with will
provide specific quality require-
ments and explain how the
material must be sorted and pre-
pared. Make sure you take into
account how much space you
will need to amass the quanti-
ties they require.
• How do the costs and benefits
of collecting the material for
recycling compare with the
cost of disposal? To answer this
question, you will need to think
about the logistics for collecting
and storing different materials.
Some materials are harder than
others to collect and prepare for
recycling.
STEP #6:
Select a recycling service
provider.
Now that you know what materials
you would like to recycle, you need
to find someone who will handle
your materials at a competitive
price. Recycling service providers are
one or more vendors that will pick
up your recyclables; sort them and
remove contaminants; prepare the
materials for sale (this might include
shredding, crushing, baling, or com-
pacting); transport them; and sell
them for use as feedstock in the
SERVING "GREEN"AT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
Shopping Center food courts can find inspiration for "greening" their opera-
tions by learning from the contractor that runs the food service concession
and gift shop at the Statue of Liberty for the National Park Service. In three
years (2000 through 2003) it has reduced solid waste disposal from 123
cubic yards per 100,000 visitors to 53 cubic yards. The concession is recy-
cling glass, foam, plastics, aluminum, oil, cardboard, and coffee grounds.
Innovative practices to reduce waste include:
• Replacing wax paper used to line food baskets with EarthShell®
compostable packaging. This eliminated 100,000 sheets of waxed paper
from the landfill in 2003.
• Replacing individual relish portion
control packets with bulk dispensers.
Bulk purchasing also reduced condi-
ment costs.
• Recapturing trays and baskets.
• Working with the ferry company that
transports visitors to Liberty Island to
replace paper coffee cups with recy-
clable foam cups, and paper soda
cups with recyclable #1 PET plastic
cups.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
manufacture of recycled-content
products.
There are a number of different
types of companies and organizations
that might provide these services:
• Waste haulers often handle
recyclables as well as trash. Your
first stop might be to check
with your current waste hauler
to see if the company provides
separate recycling collection,
and if you generate enough
recyclable material to make it
economical. If so, the hauler
should be able to offer a billing
structure that will reduce your
monthly waste removal costs.
For example, some haulers
might charge for hauling both
refuse and recyclables, but credit
you a portion of the current
market value of the recyclables.
• Specialty recycling firms will
pick up your recyclables and
find markets for them, either on
a regular basis or as enough
quantities amass to justify the
trip. These companies offer a
variety of arrangements for
billing and crediting customers.
Some may offer "no charge, no
pay" arrangements, where they
do not charge for hauling but
also do not pay for your recy-
clables. Others may pay you,
and still others may charge you
a fee for pickup and hauling.
• Scrap dealers may be willing to
pick up (and perhaps pay you
for) a variety of materials,
including scrap metals.
• Reuse organizations will often
pick up donated items such as
used building materials, fix-
tures, and furniture from store
remodeling.
In many areas of the country, you
should be able to find recycling serv-
ice providers listed in the phone
book. In some cases, more research
might be required. Your local, coun-
ty, or state government recycling
office, the local Chamber of
Commerce, or a local or regional
recycling organization might be
able to help you find vendors or
develop markets for materials you
intend to collect. See also the
Resources Section at the end of
this guide for national organizations
and commercial recycling networks.
Selecting a vendor. Once you have
identified potential vendors, how do
you decide which one is right for
you? Essentially, you are looking for
the best service at the best price.
When assessing pricing, keep in
mind that prices paid for recyclables
vary with the type of material and
can fluctuate dramatically over time.
In practice, your company will prob-
ably realize the greatest economic
benefit from recycling in the form of
reduced disposal costs. Once you
select a vendor and reach an agree-
ment, make sure you capture the
agreement in a written contract. See
the Resource Management heading in
the Resources Section of this guide
for links to Web sites with informa-
tion on contracting for recycling and
solid waste services.
As your recycling program expands,
you may find that a single vendor
may not provide all of the services
you need, especially if you are col-
lecting materials for which recycling
markets are not well established.
Westfield Shoppingtown Mission
Valley in San Diego, California, for
example, uses three vendors (a
hauler/recycler, a specialty recycler,
and a reuse organization) for a recy-
cling and waste prevention program
that diverts 63 percent of the facili-
ty's waste stream.
STEP #7:
Determine collection
program logistics
Once you have decided what materi-
als to collect and you have located a
vendor, then it is time to design a
collection system that suits the spe-
cific needs of your facility. As the
case studies at the end of this guide
illustrate, there is no one "right" way
of designing a collection program—
different shopping centers incorpo-
rate various program aspects with
equal success. For example:
• Minnesota's Mall of America
uses a system of built-in chutes
and rolling carts to move recy-
clables (and trash) through the
interior of the mall to the load-
ing dock.
• At Westfield Shoppingtown
Mission Valley, an outdoor
mall in San Diego, housekeep-
ing staff use motorized carts to
pick up OCC and other recy-
clables from the rear of retail
spaces and transport the mate-
rials to staging areas for storage
or baling.
• Tenants at VF Outlet Shopping
Village in Reading, Pennsyl-
vania, collect recyclables from
their retail operations and self-
haul these materials to one of
eight consolidation areas within
the shopping center (both load-
ing docks and closets). The
facility's maintenance and
grounds staff pick up recyclables
from the consolidation areas
daily, using a box truck.
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10
America's Marketplace Recycles!
"Shopping center recycling programs with the highest
rates of tenant participation are characterized by ease
of participation."
—Benchmark Report: Retail Recycling Project,
Business for Social Responsibility, August 2002.
In determining collection logistics,
try to make the system as simple and
convenient as possible for your ten-
ants and—if relevant—the public.
Inconsistent participation or failure
to follow recycling procedures will
affect the yields of your program—
both in terms of the quantity of the
recyclables recovered and their qual-
ity (the degree to which the recov-
ered material is contaminated with
non-recyclable items). Seek input as
you design the collection system.
Talk to the heads of the housekeep-
ing and grounds staffs. Ask your
recycling service provider for assis-
tance. Appendix A also provides
information on typical collection
logistics for common recyclables.
To simplify the process of designing
the system, break it down into three
components: the collection bins, the
central storage or staging areas, and
the process used to transport the
recyclables from the collection bins
to the storage/staging areas.
Collection bins. Depending on what
materials you will be recycling, you
will probably want to collect recy-
clables from two main sources at
your shopping center: shoppers and
tenants. You can place clearly
marked receptacles in public areas of
the facility (halls and the food
court) to collect recyclables from
visitors (for example, plastic and
glass bottles and aluminum cans).
Make sure these receptacles are in
convenient, heavily frequented loca-
tions. Choose receptacles that look
distinctly different from your shop-
ping center's regular trash contain-
ers, but consider placing a trash con-
tainer next to each recycling recep-
tacle. Based on your waste audit,
order large enough receptacles so
that they do not overflow and so
that housekeeping staff do not need
to constantly empty them.
You should also distribute collection
bins to each tenant (retail tenants
and restaurants in the food court).
Tenants can keep these bins behind
the scenes in locations that are most
convenient to their employees.
Depending on how many materials
you will be recycling and whether or
not they can be commingled, you
may need to provide each tenant
with more than one bin. Contact
your local, county, and/or state gov-
ernment recycling offices to ask
whether they can provide bins for
commercial recycling.
Storage and staging areas. These are
the central locations where you will
consolidate recyclables from
throughout your facility and where
your recycling service provider will
pick them up. You should work
closely with your vendor and your
building or facility manager to iden-
tify the best location(s). Many shop-
ping centers consolidate their recy-
clables in large storage bins located
on loading docks, where the ven-
dor's trucks will have easy access for
pickups. Ask your vendor to provide
these large storage bins.
If you plan to recycle OCC in large
volumes (as many shopping centers
do), you will probably need one or
more balers or compactors. In some
cases, vendors may automatically
provide balers to clients who collect
OCC at high volumes; ask your ven-
dor about this when you are negoti-
ating your recycling contract. In
other cases, shopping centers may
have to purchase or rent the equip-
ment. A baler or compactor should
be placed in a convenient, easily
accessible location with an appropri-
ate power supply. If you choose to
use a baler, you may also need to
install a trailer or shed for storing
the OCC bales until pickup.
Transporting recyclables from col-
lection bins to storage/staging
areas. There are numerous ways to
transport the materials from the col-
lection points to the pickup spots.
One efficient approach is to incor-
porate recycling collection into your
existing trash collection system.
Housekeeping staff who empty the
shopping center's trash containers
can empty the recycling receptacles
simultaneously into separated bins
(if you have placed the two types of
containers side by side). If house-
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
11
keeping staff pick up waste from
each tenant's space at the end of the
day, they can pick up recyclables as
well and transport them to the stor-
age area. On the other hand, if ten-
ants self-haul waste from their stores
to trash compactors or receptacles,
they can probably be expected to
self-haul their recyclables.
You can explain to shopping center
staff and tenants that they are still
handling the same amount of materi-
al, only now they are putting trash
and recyclables into separate con-
tainers. The key is to keep recy-
clables separate from other trash to
avoid contamination. In the case of
OCC, recycled paper mills accept
clean, dry cardboard, but they will
reject a bale that has been contami-
nated with a large amount of other
material, such as food waste. For
OCC from restaurant tenants, make
sure the employees understand that
food-contaminated cardboard is not
acceptable; shopping center staff may
still be required to inspect OCC for
contamination in the staging area.
If your shopping center uses a con-
tractor for custodial services, involve
the contractor in the design of your
collection system. They can con-
tribute valuable information since
they probably have a general idea of
the amount and type of trash being
generated by your shopping center,
the amount of time it takes for a cus-
todial crew to clean a specified area,
the maximum weight of a collection
container that a custodian can lift
and dump, seasonal fluctuations in
the generation of trash and recy-
clables, and other programmatic con-
siderations. They can also help with
logistical suggestions for aggregating
recyclables at the loading dock since
they already remove trash from that
location. Ask whether the contrac-
tor's staff are trained for recycling,
and if not, make plans for training
sessions. You may need to renegoti-
ate your cleaning services contract
to include recycling services.
STEP #8:
Implement your recycling
and management program.
No matter how much work you put
into recycling planning and logis-
tics, the success of your program
will depend in large part on your
ability to motivate tenants, and in
some cases, the public, to partici-
pate. Before you launch the pro-
gram, you will need to spend some
time promoting your recycling
effort, educating tenants and shop-
ping center staff about recycling
procedures. Once the program has
begun, you'll also need to find ways
to reinforce good habits and keep
tenants and staff interested in the
program.
Choose a "launch date." Once the
pieces of your program are all in
place and you are ready to begin
recycling, choose a date on which to
officially launch the program. Plan
at least a few weeks ahead of time,
and alert tenants and shopping cen-
ter staff about the program well in
advance. Prepare and disseminate a
press release to appropriate media
outlets.
Promote the program. Send a kick-
off memo from shopping center
management to tenants, announcing
the program and requesting partici-
pation. If your program is driven
partly by state or local recycling
requirements, use the memo to
explain tenants' obligations. Make
the memo brief and upbeat.
Highlight the benefits of the recy-
cling program, explain the recycling
procedures, and let tenants know
that you will be providing them with
more information before the official
launch date.
PLANNING FOR
RECYCLING DURING
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW
SHOPPING CENTERS
The best time to think about recy-
cling is when a shopping center is
being built. Architects who plan
recyclables storage, space and
appropriate electrical service for
balers or compactors, and easy
access for vendors. In some cities,
new shopping centers are covered
by building codes that mandate
space for recycling bins in corn-
Minnesota's Mall of America is an
example of a facility designed
with recycling in mind. The inno-
vative chute and cart system that
moves trash and recyclables
through the mall was designed
before construction began. Mall
officials estimate that it saves
$200,000 per year in labor costs.
Also, consider a launch event to
generate some enthusiasm for the
program. While many retail employ-
ees may be too busy to participate,
you could ask one representative
from each tenant to come to a
breakfast or lunch meeting. Provide
stickers that sales staff can wear on
their name badges announcing "I
recycle." If the shoppers are involved
in recycling collection, you can pass
out store coupons in the food court
or hold other in-mail events to draw
public attention. Consider advertis-
ing onscreen in movie theaters
located in or near the center.
Involve local community business
and government leaders with a rib-
bon-cutting ceremony.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Educate shopping center staff.
Organize training sessions and/or
prepare special communication
pieces for housekeepers and other
shopping center staff who will be
involved with implementing the col-
lection program. Make sure they
understand their role in the pro-
gram, and ask for feedback on ways
to improve the program. You may
have to prepare recycling instruc-
tions in languages other than
English.
Educate tenants. Shopping center
recycling coordinators report that
educating and motivating tenants is
one of the greatest challenges to a
successful program. Yet, these activi-
ties are critical to recycling success.
Therefore, you will have to teach
tenants and their employees how to
properly participate in recycling by
providing simple and concise infor-
mation on what to do. You can
deliver this information in different
ways:
• Conduct face-to-face visits.
Coordinators of many leading
shopping center recycling pro-
grams report that they have had
the greatest success by visiting
tenants face-to-face to explain
recycling procedures. At Lake-
forest Mall, in Montgomery
County, Maryland, the general
manager personally visits ten-
ants to explain procedures and
remind them of their obliga-
tions under the county's recy-
cling law. County recycling
officials also stop by the mall
periodically to check on ten-
ants and may give violations to
those not recycling.
In the weeks before the official
launch of your recycling pro-
gram, consider paying a visit to
each tenant in your facility.
This can be a big job—especial-
ly in a shopping center with
100 or more tenants—but the
effort will pay off in the long
run. Use the visit to deliver a
recycling bin to the tenant,
demonstrate procedures (such
as how to break down boxes or
separate recyclables), and
answer questions. Enlist mem-
bers of your green team to help
with the visits.
Develop a recycling handbook,
pamphlet, or poster. Some
shopping centers have devel-
oped brochures or handbooks
that explain their recycling pro-
cedures. A handbook or pam-
phlet provides tenants with
official recycling instructions
that can be referenced again
and again. In practice, however,
the document may end up
buried in a desk drawer. For this
reason, it is probably best to use
a handbook or pamphlet in
combination with another edu-
cational approach, such as face-
to-face visits. At VF Outlet
Shopping Village in Reading,
Pennsylvania, the recycling
manager personally delivers a
handbook to each new tenant
and demonstrates the recycling
procedures, then checks in on
tenants from time to time to
answer questions.
Developing a recycling poster
can be another way to remind
tenants and their staffs about
the "do's and don'ts" of recy-
cling. For example, a poster
might list materials that can
and can't be recycled through
your facility's collection pro-
gram. Distribute the posters to
tenants and ask them to put
them on the walls near their
collection bins.
Anticipate and overcome barriers.
As the launch date for your program
draws near, think about some of the
possible obstacles you may face and
prepare solutions in advance:
• Attitudinal barriers. If your
shopping center is located in a
state or county where commer-
cial recycling is mandated, you
have a head start, as your ten-
ants are effectively obligated by
law to participate. Your local
county or city recycling coordi-
nator can be a valuable
resource and ally. But even if
you are not based in such a
state, there are ways to over-
come tenant disinterest. For
example, you can:
• Include a provision in the leas-
es that tenants sign requiring
participation. (See the publica-
tion entitled WasteWise
Resource Management:
Innovative Solid Waste
Contracting Methods at
, select "Waste Reduction
Resources" from the left-hand
navigation bar, and then select
"Resource Management" and
scroll down to find the publica-
tion.)
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
13
• Audit tenants' waste disposal
and recycling performance and
provide feedback to tenants on
how they can improve.
• Require non-participants to
contract for their own waste
hauling services.
• Economic barriers. In its 2002
report on retail recycling,
Business for Social Respon-
sibility noted that the econom-
ics of shopping center recycling
programs often do not provide
tenants with an incentive to
reduce waste. For example, the
Common Area Management
(CAM) fees charged to tenants
to cover waste management
services are often based on their
square footage rather than on
their waste generation, giving
them no reason to increase
recycling. In general, the eco-
nomic benefits of recycling, in
the form of revenues from recy-
clables and decreased waste dis-
posal costs, are realized by
property management, and are
not necessarily passed on to
tenants. Shopping centers seek-
ing special means to motivate
tenant recycling, however, can
allow tenants to realize some
economic benefit from their
recycling efforts. For instance,
as a facility's waste disposal
costs drop due to increased
recycling, property manage-
ment could agree to pass on
those savings to tenants in the
form of reduced CAM fees.
• Logistical barriers. Logistical
problems can arise in even the
best-planned systems, and you
should be prepared to address
problems as they emerge. For
example, some retailers may
report that they do not have
enough space in their back-
rooms to accumulate recyclables
such as OCC throughout the
course of the day—especially on
days when large deliveries
arrive. Depending on the struc-
ture of your program, you might
be able to solve this problem by
allowing retailers to call house-
keeping staff to schedule extra
pickups on busy days.
Reinforce good habits. As tenants
grow accustomed to recycling and
the procedures you have implement-
ed, you need to reinforce the good
habits they are developing. Monitor
the progress of your program (see
Step #9 below) and report back to
tenants about their recycling accom-
plishments. For example, you might
want to send out a quarterly memo
listing the quantity of recyclables
collected over the past several
months, total waste diverted, rev-
enues from commodities, and dollars
saved. The recycling manager at VF
Outlet Shopping Village, for exam-
ple, posts recycling results at each of
the eight storage areas where tenants
drop off recyclables.
Continue to pay occasional visits to
retailers to remind them of program
procedures. Retailers tend to have
high turnover among employees, so
the work of educating tenants and
their staff is ongoing.
STEP #9:
Reap the public relations
benefits.
Environmental stewardship is one of
the key benefits of a recycling pro-
gram, and your shoppers should
know what you are doing to benefit
their community and the environ-
ment. Additionally, your recycling
effort may depend on the participa-
tion of shoppers to reduce contami-
nation of the recyclables and ensure
the success of the program.
f*BL
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d Co-o
RECYC
Make clear signage: If you are recy-
cling bottles and cans in a food
court, for example, make it perfectly
clear where recyclables should be
placed. Make recycling easy for
shoppers. For example, place a dis-
tinctive recycling bin (preferably
with a round hole in the lid to pre-
vent contamination) right next to a
trash bin, but make the lettering
large and unobstructed to avoid
trash being dumped into recyclables.
If your community includes a large
foreign-speaking population, make
sure to include signs in alternate
languages. This may also be neces-
sary/useful for custodial staff.
Promote your results: Compare
your baseline waste and recycling
streams determined during your
waste assessment with your recycling
rate after implementing your recy-
cling program. Your hauler and/or
recycling contractor should be able
to provide these figures. (See Step
#10 for more information.) In addi-
tion, your municipal or county recy-
cling office may be able to help you
establish a simple but reliable
accounting system to monitor your
recycling program.
Make it mean something: If you are
posting a sign, distributing a
brochure, or writing a press release,
do not just talk about how many
tons were recycled—translate that
figure into something the average
-------
14
America's Marketplace Recycles!
person can understand (e.g., how
many stores that waste would other-
wise fill up in the shopping center
on an annual basis). You can tell
them that almost every corrugated
box collected is recycled—typically
about two-thirds are recycled back
into corrugated boxes and the rest
are used to make other types of recy-
cled paperboard products.
Sponsor Shopper Events: Make
recycling more real to your shoppers
by inviting them to join in the effort
and offering incentives, such as
coupons or gift certificates for the
stores in your shopping center, to
those that participate or recycle
large quantities. One way to increase
foot traffic at your shopping center is
to create a recycling or reuse event.
The following are just a few ideas
that have been used successfully or
could be implemented on a pilot
basis:
BRING 'EM BACK AFTER
THE HOLIDAYS
"Boxing Days" sponsored by the
Corrugated Packaging Council
(CPC) can encourage consumers
to come back to the shopping
center after the holidays and bring
in their corrugated boxes from
home for recycling. CPC provides
a kit with an instruction manual,
video, and promotional materials.
If you're already recycling corru-
gated with a baler at your facility,
this pre-packaged event might be
an easy one to implement. See
the Resources Section for more
information.
Christmas tree recycling: This
popular event, which brings
people back after the holiday
rush, involves giving up some
parking lot space and partner-
ing with a local municipality or
garden center to provide
mulching equipment.
THE BEVERLY CENTER KNOWS How To Dress for
Success
On July 25, 2004, the Beverly Center—Los Angeles' most trendsetting shop-
ping destination for tourists and locals—hosted "Shop Fun In The
Summertime: A Pool-Side Star-Studded Event." The private shopping event
celebrated summer by donating! 00 percent of proceeds to Dress for
Success Los Angeles.
This premier shopping center rolled out the red carpet to raise money for
the not-for-profit organization that helps low-income women transition into
the workforce. Live music, appetizers, and cocktails were available while
guests enjoyed one-night only discounts and plenty of product giveaways.
General admission to the event was $25. For $100, guests received "VIP"
treatment at the rooftop terrace cocktail reception and a film screening.
Dress for Success provides a viable way to reuse old clothes in communi-
ties across America and overseas. The organization relies heavily on finan-
cial contributions to assist in their efforts. "Shop Fun In The Summertime"
not only raised funds through ticket and merchandise sales, but also
encouraged shoppers to donate their worn clothes, thereby benefitting the
environment as well as women in need.
• Plug-In To eCycling. EPA's
electronics take-back campaign
with the National Recycling
Coalition encourages local
events in conjunction with
electronics retailers to return
used electronic equipment for
reuse and recycling. See the
Resources Section.
• Dress for Success. This national
not-for-profit organization helps
low-income women transition
into the workforce. It collects
and distributes used women's
business suits to wear on job
interviews. The program has
helped over 45,000 women in 75
cities across America. Hold a
special event with your women's
apparel retailers, asking cus-
tomers to bring in a good but
used business outfit and then
shop for a new one at a discount.
Visit
for complete information.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
15
Fashion shows: Shopping cen-
ters are great venues for fashion
shows. You can include apparel
and accessories made from recy-
cled materials, such as fleece
jackets and vests made from
plastic soda bottles.
Donation Events: Some retail-
ers have sponsored coat drives.
In the Fall, for example, a
women's apparel retailer held a
"Donate One/Buy One At a
Discount" coat sale, where cus-
tomers who brought in a used
winter coat as a charitable
donation were eligible for a dis-
count upon purchasing a new
winter coat.
STEP #10:
Monitor, evaluate, and
refine the program.
Once your recycling program is up
and running, you should monitor
and evaluate it on a regular basis.
Request that your recycling service
provider send you a monthly ton-
nage report stating the amounts of
recyclables collected, by material.
Trucks hauling recyclables from your
facility are weighed upon entering
and leaving. Landfills also typically
use this weighted system, so see if
your hauler can provide disposal
data (usually in tons or cubic yards)
before and after your program started
to gauge results. See below for more
ways to calculate and promote
results. Other factors to monitor and
evaluate include:
• Percentage of waste diverted
by the recycling program.
Compare the tonnage of recy-
clables collected to the tonnage
of waste generated by your facil-
ity. Set recycling goals and
monitor progress toward those
goals. Generally, recycling rates
are calculated as follows:
Recycling rate =
Total solid waste recycled
Total solid waste disposed + Total solid waste recycled
• Dollars saved. Maintain accu-
rate and up-to-date records
regarding the total price your
facility pays for hauling waste
and recyclables. These figures
should be easily accessible from
your trash and recycling ven-
dors. Calculate the amount
saved each month in the form
of reduced disposal costs.
• Revenues from commodities.
Keep track of the prices paid to
you for commodities. Check
from time to time to determine if
your vendor's rates are competi-
tive with those offered by other
service providers in the area.
Your state or county solid waste
authority can suggest resources
that track this information on a
local or regional basis.
• Participation rates. If shopping
center staff collect recyclables
from tenants, ask them for a
monthly or quarterly report on
which tenants are participating
in the recycling program. Set
participation goals.
• Contamination levels. Your
vendor may report to you on
the level of contamination in
your recyclables. If not, perform
routine visual inspections of
recyclables to determine the
extent of contamination.
You should use all of this informa-
tion, as well as feedback from tenants
and housekeeping and shopping cen-
ter staff, to evaluate your program
and make changes as needed. If con-
tamination levels are high, provide
educational materials to let tenants
know what is and is not recyclable
(e.g., recycling posters or large signs
on collection containers). If your
recycling program is thriving, and
your facility is generating significant-
ly less waste, you may be able to
renegotiate your waste services con-
tract to receive lower rates. This may
also be a time to consider adding
new materials to your program.
SOLID WASTE VOLUME-TO-WEIGHT CONVERSION
FACTORS
Waste and recycling data are usually expressed in terms of weight. If you
know the volume of materials disposed of and recycled, however, you can
convert this data to weight using conversion factors published by EPA in
the Business Guide for Reducing Solid Waste, EPA530-K-92-004, November
1993. A detailed, material-specific guide, the Standard Volume-to-Weight
Conversion Factor table is also accessible online at . The following table
provides general waste conversion factors:
Type of Waste
Uncompacted Waste
Compacted Waste
Construction/Demolition Debris
Tons/Cubic Yards
0.143
0.250
1.000
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16
America's Marketplace Recycles!
RECYCLING MATERIALS FROM SHOPPING CENTER CONSTRUCTION
AND RENOVATION PROJECTS
If you are expanding or renovating a shopping mall, you will be
managing wastes known as construction and demolition (C&D)
debris. C&D debris is a large and varied waste stream. It is not
generally regulated at the federal level, except insofar as solid
waste landfills must follow a few basic standards outlined in
Federal regulations. Various states, however, define and regu-
late the management of C&D debris. While each state's defini-
tion differs, C&D debris is generally considered to be waste
produced when structures, buildings, and roads are built, reno-
vated, or demolished.
Depending on your state's specific definition, C&D debris can
include the following discarded materials:
• Concrete, cinder blocks, drywall (sheetrock, gypsum, or
plaster), masonry, asphalt and wood shingles, slate, and
plaster.
• Forming and framing lumber, plywood, wood laminates,
wood scraps, and pallets.
• Steel, stainless steel, pipes, rebar, flashing, aluminum, cop-
per and brass, framing, structural steel, and steel utility
poles.
• Brick and decorative blocks.
• Doors and windows.
• Plumbing fixtures.
• Electrical wiring.
• Non-asbestos insulation.
• Wood, sawdust, brush, trees, stumps, earth, fill, rock, and
granular materials.
The following are several options for reducing the amount of
C&D debris requiring disposal:
Deconstruction: Deconstruction means the selective disassem-
bly of buildings to facilitate the reuse or recycling of valuable
materials. As opposed to demolition, this practice can involve
the recovery of materials such as wood, structural brick, and
highly functional finished components like windows, doors, and
decorative trim. While traditional demolition is highly mecha-
nized, capital-intensive, and waste-generating, deconstruction is
labor-intensive, low-tech, and environmentally sound. When
combined with demolition or used entirely as an alternative,
deconstruction can produce environmental, economic, and
social benefits. Materials salvaged from buildings can then be
sold, exchanged for other useful materials, or donated for reuse
or recycling.
Reuse/Refurbish: Functional building or architectural compo-
nents, in addition to scrap materials, can often be reused or
refurbished. Some items could be reusable in a renovation
project and many items can be sold to used building materials
stores, high-end salvaged architectural materials exchanges, sal-
vaged wood distributors, scrap recyclers, individual home-
owners, waste exchanges, or other outlets. Consider placing an
ad in the local newspaper for excess salvage materials.
Examples of items you might be able to sell for reuse include:
• Shelving, doors, plumbing, lighting fixtures, tile, carpeting,
door hinges, wall paneling, mirrors, stairway bannisters, con-
struction-grade lumber, ornamental wood trim, clay tiles and
bricks, metals such as copper and aluminum electrical hard-
ware or wire, and some plumbing hardware.
• Aluminum and steel scrap, which is usually accepted at fab-
ricator's shops or as raw material for other industries.
• Clean, uncontaminated concrete waste which is used in
some municipalities as aggregate for soil stabilization or
reprocessed for use in roads, foundation stone, and other
projects. Check with your local licensed landfill operator,
earthmovers, or road construction personnel.
Some items can be reused on the same job site, including the
following examples:
• Joist cut-offs can be cut up and used as stakes for forming
or for headers around openings in the floor.
• Leftover rigid insulation can be used as ventilation baffles.
• Asphalt can be reused on site by heating pavement, inject-
ing petroleum distillates, grinding, mixing, and re-rolling.
• Wood scraps can be used as bridging, splicers, wall compo-
nents, filler, scabs, and spacers.
Recycle or Exchange: Some materials, such as the following
examples, can be sold to scrap recycling businesses or through
material exchanges:
• Metal scrap recycling businesses often take old aluminum
or copper wiring, other wiring fixtures, conduit, iron, cop-
per, brass, steel, lead piping, and appliances.
• Uncontaminated scrap lumber or pallets can be recycled
into furniture or chipped and used for landscape mulch
compost, animal bedding, boiler fuel, or engineered build-
ing products. Treated wood should not be used as mulch.
Sometimes pallets can be returned to the vendors for reuse.
• Gypsum scraps can be recycled in some locations.
• Rubble (concrete, bricks, cinder block, and certain types of
tile) can be crushed and sieved for use as an aggregate.
• Glass can be recycled into fiberglass or used in place of
sand in paving material.
• Asphalt shingles can be used in asphalt highway and road
paving and pothole repair.
Be sure your construction contractors sort materials as they are
generated and prevent hazardous contamination to maximize
their recyclability and reuse. This practice is becoming increas-
ingly cost-efficient as processing and disposal costs rise.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
17
Section 2
PREVENTING WASTE
IN THE FIRST PLACE
While recycling addresses items that have already become trash, waste prevention goes one step fur-
ther in reducing overall disposal, since waste that is never created does not have to be managed
later. Also known as "source reduction," waste prevention is the practice of designing, manufactur-
ing, purchasing, transporting, and using materials in ways that reduce the amount of trash created. Reusing prod-
ucts is a key element of waste prevention, as it delays the entry of items into the solid waste stream.
Similar to recycling, practicing waste
prevention in the retail sector results
in environmental stewardship and
economic benefits. In addition to
reducing the burden on landfills,
waste prevention also helps conserve
natural resources and reduces the
energy and pollution associated with
manufacturing. For shopping center
tenants, waste prevention strategies
can translate into cost savings in a
variety of areas other than waste dis-
posal, including transport and labor,
as evidenced by the examples below.
Your tenants, especially major
national retailers, are in the best
position to execute waste prevention
strategies, but as a shopping center
manager or property owner, you can
encourage your tenants to consider
the approaches below. You can also
support reuse efforts by buying cer-
tain products and sponsoring public
take-back events.
MULTIPLE APPROACHES
With the variety of retailers today,
there is no "one-size-fits-all"
approach to preventing waste. There
are, however, several key areas
SouTnPoiNTE PAVILIONS: TAKING WASTE
REDUCTION SERIOUSLY
SouthPointe Pavilions is a 500,000 square foot outdoor lifestyle center
located in Lincoln, Nebraska. The spacious facility is home to eight restau-
rants, 34 clothing and specialty stores, and a movie theater complex.
Upon its grand opening in 1999, the shopping center joined Wastecap—a
nonprofit, non-regulatory, confidential waste reduction organization—to
ensure that proper environmental initiatives would be instituted from the
start. Together, Wastecap and SouthPointe Pavilions have made recycling
an integral part of the facility's management and practices.
Wastecap first performed a waste assessment at SouthPointe and suggest-
ed ways the shopping center could reduce waste. By purchasing just one
compactor, SouthPointe was able to recycle almost one ton of OCC per
week. The facility soon added a second compactor. In 2003, SouthPointe
recycled an average of 150 tons of OCC per week.
The compacted cardboard is removed two to three times per week. While
it costs $1 7.00 a ton to dispose of OCC in a landfill, SouthPointe avoids
this cost by recycling and is able to save about $2,550.00 each year.
SouthPointe Pavilions also recycles packaging polystyrene foam "peanuts"
which are collected by the individual stores once a week. Neighboring mail
stores and jelly and jam shops pick up the peanuts and reuse them for their
own packaging needs. This process benefits all participants and the environ-
ment by helping reduce waste, especially during the holiday season.
In addition to OCC and packaging materials,
SouthPointe also manages the proper disposal of
fluorescent lamps. The city requires special han-
dling for fluorescent lamps because of the mercury
they contain. A local recycling company picks up the
lamps four times a year for safe recycling.
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18
America's Marketplace Recycles!
where the retail sector has achieved
good results:
• Transport packaging
• Inventory and point of sale
• Material reuse
When a shopping center or mall
decides to initiate waste prevention
practices in any of the target areas
listed above, a methodical approach
is recommended. The most critical
component is a close working rela-
tionship with suppliers, since they
often control the amount of packag-
ing and materials used in the first
place, but can be greatly influenced
by the desires of their retail cus-
tomers. If a retailer plans to initiate
a new waste prevention program
from scratch, it might be more feasi-
ble to start by focusing on one or
two of the areas listed above, then
focus on additional areas as time and
resources allow.
TRANSPORT PACKAGING
To ensure the safety of products dur-
ing transport from distributors to an
TARGET: ACHIEVING
WASTE PREVENTION
THROUGH FLOOR-
READY MERCHANDISE
Target's Floor Ready Program aims
to minimize transport packaging
by shipping "floor-ready" apparel,
preventing waste, and saving
money. Starting with test shipping
runs, the company began eliminat-
ing the individual plastic packag-
ing on its softline merchandise
such as sweaters and other cloth-
ing and instead received them
"floor-ready." In the one year
since the Floor Ready Program's
inception, Target has reduced
transport packaging by 1.5 million
pounds and has saved $4.5 mil-
lion in labor costs associated with
unwrapping packaged apparel.
COALITION TAKES THE WASTE OUT OF PACKAGING
A coalition of retailers and packaging manufacturers have joined together to
promote the development of sustainable packaging. Embracing "cradle-to-
cradle" concepts , the group is working to develop packaging that provides
positive benefits to society and the environment throughout its life cycle
without compromising its functionality. The coalition's founding members
include Cargill Dow, Dow Chemical Company, Estee Lauder/Aveda, EvCo
Research, MeadWestvaco, Nike, Starbucks Coffee Company, Tropicana, and
Unilever. For more information visit .
end market, various types of packag-
ing are used, including pallets,
boxes, wraps, and slip sheets.
Transport packaging can be made of
materials such as corrugated card-
board, fiberboard, metals, plastics,
and wood. Retailers may be reluc-
tant to change transport packaging
that has been used for years, since
their profits are dependent on the
arrival of goods to their store in sell-
able condition. There are, however,
methods that can increase the effi-
ciency of transport packaging while
contributing to significant waste pre-
vention and cost savings. The fol-
lowing are different strategies that
can be employed to prevent package
waste during the transport of goods:
Elimination. Careful evaluation of a
retailer's current transport packaging
system might reveal the potential to
eliminate certain packaging compo-
nents, such as internal inserts or
plastic wrap for individual items.
Lightweighting. This strategy
involves the redesign and remanu-
facturing of transport packaging to
reduce the size of the primary con-
tainer and/or decrease the thickness
of the container walls. These design
changes need to be evaluated to
maintain the safe transport of mer-
chandise to the end market.
Bulk Shipments. When purchasing
products from manufacturers or ship-
ping merchandise from the distribu-
tion center, doing so in bulk reduces
the amount of packaging necessary
per product, thus preventing waste.
Shopping centers and retail stores
must have sufficient storage space
for larger shipments and a larger
onsite inventory. This might involve
initial costs during construction of a
facility or during a renovation to
increase storage space; however, long
term overall savings can be realized
through reduced transport and waste
disposal costs.
Reusable Packaging. This waste
prevention strategy involves the
switching from single-use transport
packaging, such as corrugated card-
board and plastic shrink wrap, to
reusable packaging, such as plastic
totes and reusable strapping.
Retailers interested in switching to
reusable packaging, however, may
require a complete overhaul of cur-
rent shipping logistics, so a pilot/
phase-in process is recommended.
TAKING STOCK:
REVIEWING INVENTORIES
AND POINT-OF-SALE
For retailers, an accurate inventory
of merchandise and/or items
required for routine operations is a
major part of doing business. Poor
inventory management not only
leads to over-purchasing and stock
surplus, but can also result in waste.
Many stores use a retail inventory
control system (RIGS), a software
application that tracks inventory
online. RIGS can also be used to
track and address excess inventory
and waste. Just-in-time ordering can
also help eliminate overpurchasing
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
19
and, in the case of food, spoilage,
which leads to unnecessary waste.
Another important location for
retailers is the point-of-sale, where
items are displayed for shoppers. This
is also an area where there is signifi-
cant potential for waste prevention.
Major retailers have learned that, by
cutting down on individual product
packaging, they not only save waste
and can ship more items in bulk, but
also save shelf space and stocking
time. The "open bin" concept has
become much more popular at retail
outlets such as hardware and home
improvement stores. In fact, when an
Ace Hardware store in Alexandria,
Minnesota, switched from individual
price stickers to one "bin tag" and
scanning items at the register, the
store realized significant benefits. The
number of employees needed each
week for price ticketing decreased
from two to one, the accuracy of pric-
ing and charges improved, and inven-
tory monitoring efficiency increased.
In the first year, the switch resulted
in more than $5,000 savings, or more
than 90 percent of the original cost
to ticket individual items.
REUSE, REUSE, REUSE...
Reuse is defined as the use of a mate-
rial after its originally intended pur-
pose, without breaking it down into
its raw components. Reuse is funda-
mentally different from recycling,
because when a material is recycled,
it is processed and remanufactured
into a whole new product, requiring
additional resources and energy.
There are numerous opportunities
for the reuse of materials throughout
a shopping center, both as part of
everyday center operations and in
individual stores. You should consid-
er donating any unwanted materials,
such as computer equipment, to
charitable organizations. There are
numerous local and national reuse
organizations across the country
that can help you find reuse oppor-
tunities. See the Resources
Section of this guide for EPA's list
of state materials exchanges and
other sources of information.
The following are typical items from
retail operations that can be reused:
Office paper. Instead of recycling
used office paper, use the back side
of printouts and copies as notepads.
Not only can this reduce your
waste disposal costs, you can also
save the money you would have
spent on purchasing new notepads.
Toner cartridges. Most toner and
ink jet cartridges can be refur-
bished or remanufactured. Many
manufacturers offer closed-loop
collection programs, which accept
used cartridges in the original
packaging and refurbish or remanu-
facture them. Before throwing away
your cartridges, contact the manu-
facturer or vendor and ask if they
will collect them. If not, consider
donating your cartridges to an
organization that offers collection
(see Resources, page 33).
Computers. As you and your ten-
ants upgrade computer equipment,
think before you throw. Consider
contacting area schools to see if they
might be able to use your unwanted
equipment or host an electronics
recycling event (see "Reap the PR
Benefits" on page 13).
Reusable air filters. By replacing
disposable air filters throughout
your shopping center with reusable
ones, you will reduce waste and
save on the cost of new filters.
Clothes hangers. Clothes hangers
are integral to apparel merchandis-
ing. Some retailers prefer to display
merchandise on their own hangers
and discard hangers provided by
suppliers. Other retailers discard
hangers once the item is sold.
FROM PALLETS TO
SLIPSHEETS, HOME
DEPOT SAVES BIG!
In 1995, Home Depot, the world's
largest home improvement retailer,
conducted a thorough assessment
of its transport packaging logistics
and realized that it could signifi-
cantly reduce the amount of
wooden pallets it used. The com-
pany adopted a new corporate
policy requiring its vendors to
switch from the use of wooden
pallets to plastic slipsheets. This
switch has eliminated 36,000 tons
of wood from the wastestream
and saved Home Depot an esti-
mated $2 million in the inaugural
year of the slipsheet program.
Source: "Case Studies in Source Reduced
ACE HARDWARE FILTERS
ITS COSTS WITH REUSE
Henricksens Ace Hardware in
North St. Paul, Minnesota, uses
electrostatic permanent air filters
in the store's heating, ventilation,
and air conditioning equipment to
reduce the cost of replacing air fil-
ters and the associated waste dis-
posal costs. Warranteed for five
years, the permanent filters cost
$18 compared to $0.89 for dis-
posable filters. While this does
represent an initial higher cost,
valuable waste reduction results
can be realized.
As a result of this substitution, in
one year the store avoided 33
pounds of waste and saved $56,
representing a 90 percent reduc-
tion in waste and a 50 percent
cost savings. The payback on the
initial investment is estimated to
be five years.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
MIDWEST-BASED
RETAILER TARGETS
SHOPPING CART REUSE
Target has found a great way to
deal with old and damaged shop-
ping carts. The Minnesota-based
retailer has a vendor that picks up
old carts for both recycling and
reuse. In 2002, Target reused 6,700
carts internally, sold 28,500 nation-
wide, and recycled more than
8,000 (producing 228 tons of plas-
tic and metal for remanufacturinj'
Instead of disposing of unwanted
hangers, tenants can donate them
to thrift shops and homeless shel-
ters. This will not only reduce your
onsite waste generation, but also
strengthen your shopping center's
community relations.
Shopping carts. Several large shop-
ping center "anchors" and "big box"
retailers offer shopping carts to cus-
tomers as a convenience while shop-
ping. While these carts offer shoppers
an easier and more enjoyable experi-
ence, they also represent a source of
waste when carts are damaged.
Shopping carts, however, can be
refurbished for reuse or dismantled
into their plastic and metal compo-
nents for remanufacturing. Retailers
that are interested in reducing cart
waste should work with their suppli-
ers to develop a program.
Wooden pallets. Wooden pallets can
be repaired or rebuilt with wood
from old pallets. Wooden pallets are
often reused many times to transport
merchandise and when they can no
longer be refurbished untreated
wooden pallets can be ground up
and used for such things as play-
ground mulch, animal bedding, and
wood stove pellets. These alterna-
tive end uses can significantly
reduce waste.
Unsold or damaged merchandise.
While unsold or damaged merchan-
dise represents a loss for a retailer,
there are many organizations that can
use clothing and other products. Con-
sider educating your tenants by hold-
ing collection drives with all stores.
Retailers can also set up long-term
commitments with a local charity.
WASTEWISE: PREVENTING
WASTE, RECYCLING, AND
BUYING RECYCLED
For shopping centers and other busi-
nesses that want to formalize their
commitment to waste reduction,
EPA has created a voluntary part-
nership program-Waste Wise-to rec-
ognize organizations who undertake
waste prevention, recycling, and buy
recycled efforts. Understanding that
waste reduction can be effectively
implemented in various ways, the
WasteWise program is flexible,
allowing partners to customize their
waste reduction programs to their
individual needs and goals.
Several large and small retailers are
already WasteWise partners. Your
shopping center or holding company
may want to join this program and
take advantage of the myriad benefits
that WasteWise partners enjoy.
Becoming a WasteWise Partner.
EPA asks that all WasteWise part-
ners sign on for at least a three-year
commitment to developing and
implementing a comprehensive
waste reduction program. Partners
are free to invest as much time as
desired and set individual goals that
are the most cost-effective and feasi-
ble. Upon completing registration,
all WasteWise partners are expected
to complete a Goals Identification
Form, which outlines their specific
waste reduction goals over their
three-year commitment. These goals
cover three specific areas:
1. Waste prevention
2. Recycling collection
3. Buying or manufacturing recy-
cled-content products
Reaping the Benefits. All
WasteWise partners gain valuable
access to free online technical assis-
tance and abundant resources and
tools that help develop, implement,
and measure the success of waste
prevention and recycling initiatives,
including:
• The WasteWise Toolkit, which
includes tips for developing a
successful program, guidance on
measuring program success, an
online reporting system, and
guidance on integrating
WasteWise into an
Environmental Management
System (EMS).
• Outreach materials.
• Resource directory.
• WasteWise Bulletin, a bimonthly
member newsletter.
• Personalized technical assis-
tance from WasteWise repre-
sentatives.
• Public recognition—a major
function of the WasteWise pro-
gram is to generate public
awareness of the benefits of
partners' waste reduction activi-
ties. EPA promotes its partners'
waste reduction accomplish-
ments through an annual
awards program, published case
studies, and features in well
known media outlets, such as
CNN, National Public Radio,
and The Wall Street journal.
For more information about joining
WasteWise, see the Resources
Section on page 33.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Section 3
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:
FINDING RESOURCE
EFFICIENCY IN SOLID
WASTE CONTRACTS
When it seems you have a top-notch waste reduction program in place, do not be fooled into thinking
you cannot possibly recycle or prevent another scrap of waste. You can further maximize your recy-
cling and waste prevention programs by implementing an innovative waste contracting strategy
called Resource Management (RM). Unlike traditional disposal contracting, which compensates contractor serv-
ices based on volume of waste disposed, RM contracts cap disposal costs to encourage a single contractor to work
with you to improve resource efficiency through enhanced source reduction, recycling, and materials recovery.
RM provides financial incentives for your waste contractor to help you find cost-effective opportunities to reduce
waste, boost recycling, and otherwise optimize waste services. This means that by tying incentives to the value of
services that foster prevention, reuse, and recycling—with disposal as the last resort—RM encourages alignment of
the contractors' activities with yours. For example, as your contractors help you identify cost-effective recycling
markets for disposed materials or techniques for preventing waste altogether, they receive a portion of the savings
resulting from the innovation.
The table below summarizes the differences between traditional hauling and disposal contracts and those incorpo-
rating the principles of resource management:
Contractor
Compensation
Traditional Hauling & Disposal Contracts RM Contracts
Unit price based on waste volume or number of
pick-ups.
Capped fee for waste hauling/disposal service.
Performance bonuses (or liquidated damages)
based on value of resource efficiency savings.
Incentive Structure
Contractor has a profit incentive to maximize
waste service and volume.
Contractor seeks profitable resource efficiency
innovation.
Waste Generator-
Contractor Relationship
Minimal generator-contractor interface.
Waste generator and contractor work together
to derive value from resource efficiency.
Scope of Service
Container rental and maintenance,
compactor/baler rental and maintenance; haul-
ing, and disposal or processing. Contractor
responsibilities begin at the dumpster and end at
the landfill or processing site.
Services addressed in hauling and disposal con-
tracts plus services that influence waste genera-
tion (i.e., product/process design, material
purchase, internal storage, material use, material
handling, reporting).
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
THE BENEFITS OF
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
RM is not a new strategy—many
organizations maintain that they
have used similar performance-based
contracts for years. They find that
RM contracting makes good busi-
ness sense because it helps them
save money while receiving better
service and improving resource effi-
ciency. Consider some of these
advantages:
• Streamlined services from a single
contractor. Traditional waste
contracts typically use multiple
contractors to handle separate
waste streams, creating a frag-
mented approach that lacks
emphasis on recycling and
resource efficiency.
• Reduced waste disposal costs. By
capping the contractor's com-
pensation, you not only cut dis-
posal costs, but also encourage
the contractor to find ways to
save.
• Increased quantities of materials
being recycled. Your contractor
will help you increase the
quantities of current materials
being recycled and identify
new materials for recycling.
• Increase waste prevention oppor-
tunities. Better than recycling,
your contractor will also help
you find ways to prevent waste
at the source, such as internal
reuse activities or changes in
purchasing.
• Improved data tracking and
reporting by contractor. By work-
ing closely with one contractor
on all your waste streams, the
contractor can better track and
record your waste reduction
activities and show the result-
ing success of the RM contract.
ARE You READY FOR
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT?
When thinking about potentially
switching your waste disposal con-
tracting arrangements to the per-
formance-based RM approach, there
are some important questions that
you should ask yourself to determine
whether or not the transition is fea-
sible and/or desirable:
• Are you currently in a long-term
disposal contract or do you have
the option of seeking a new one in
the upcoming year?
If you are locked into an exist-
ing contract and will incur
penalties for breaking it, you
should consider postponing the
development of a resource
management plan until the last
six to eight months of your cur-
rent contract.
• How many separate hauling con-
tractors do you currently work
with to handle your waste and
recyclables?
If you are currently working
with multiple contractors, a
transition to a RM contract
can offer you multiple benefits.
By partnering with a single
dedicated and knowledgeable
contractor, your waste-related
activities will be streamlined
and managed consistently and
more efficiently. This partner-
ship encourages innovation
from both parties, which ulti-
mately leads to mutual eco-
nomic benefits.
• Are there opportunities for
improving your current waste
reduction and recycling programs?
The compensation structure of
RM encourages your hauler to
assist you in identifying new
strategies to reduce your waste.
So, whether you are interested
in adding new materials to your
mall's recycling program or
identifying new waste preven-
tion practices, RM can help
you reduce waste and save
money.
For more information, visit EPA's
Resource Management Web site at
.
RM PRINCIPLES AT WORK
IN THE RETAIL SECTOR
Staples, the largest office supply com-
pany in the United States, is always
looking for ways to reduce its waste.
So, in February 2002, the retailer asked
Waste Management a major national
trash hauling and recycling service
provider, to provide a cost-effective and
easy-to-use recycling program for its flu-
orescent tube re-lamping program.
Waste Management worked with
Mercury Waste Solutions to offer
Staples a program that provided each
store with pre-addressed, pre-paid card-
board boxes to ship used fluorescent
bulbs for recycling.
Northern Tool & Equipment is a major
retailer of power tools and equipment
with 40 stores in 10 different U.S. states.
At one point this retailer allowed each
of its individual stores to arrange for its
own collection of OCC for recycling. In
most cases, stores ended up paying to
have their OCC hauled, while receiving
no rebates on the materials sold to recy-
clers. As a result the company as a
whole was losing money trying to recy-
cle OCC. In the spring of 2001, the
retailer asked Waste Management its
recycling contractor, to develop a plan
to integrate all 40 stores into a single
recycling program. This new solution
guaranteed Northern Tool a stable floor
price for its OCC, plus additional
rebates when market prices rose past a
set ceiling. Since the transition to the
new plan, Northern Tool & Equipment
has reduced its waste disposal costs by
approximately 15 percent.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Section 4
CLOSING THE LOOP
Even if your shopping center is already collecting recyclables, there is much more you and your tenants
can do to benefit the environment. Recycling involves more than simply collecting materials—recy-
clables must be used again as raw materials in new products. Opportunities abound for integrating recy-
cled-content products into shopping center and retail store construction, renovation, landscaping, maintenance,
and operations.
Using recycled products not only
saves landfill space by diverting raw
materials from solid waste, but also
reduces mining and processing of
natural resources, reducing energy
use and environmental impacts. At
the same time, buying recycled
products helps foster local and
regional recycling businesses and
manufacturing plants, helping to
create and retain jobs. A healthier
economy means more business for
the retail industry. Furthermore, you
do not have to sacrifice product
integrity or pay premiums to buy
recycled-content items. Buying
recycled simply means adding envi-
ronmental considerations to pur-
chasing decisions.
Generally, recycled products are
made from materials that otherwise
would be discarded. In addition to
"postconsumer" material recovered
from consumers, recycled products
can also contain "preconsumer"
materials generated by manufactur-
ers, distributors, and converters,
such as trimmings, damaged or
obsolete inventory, and overruns.
Experience shows that it is best to
start with the most widely-available
recycled items to achieve early suc-
cess. For example, if you are reno-
vating the dining area of your food
court, consider purchasing recycled-
content "plastic lumber" tables and
chairs. Renovating the parking lot?
Specify cement and concrete con-
taining fly ash (a recovered material
generated in coal burning electric
utility plants) if it is locally avail-
able. Or call the department of
transportation to find a local source
for recycled asphalt. Mulching the
shopping center's landscaping? Call
the city or county recycling office to
find locally-produced mulch or com-
post. Re-carpeting your business
office? Purchase recycled-content
carpeting. Contracting for
a new roof? Specify recy-
cled-content roofing mate-
rials; they are readily
available nationwide.
Examine the shopping cen-
ter's existing purchasing
specifications and policies.
Let your suppliers know
you want to buy recycled.
Refer to the list of recy-
cled-content products in
Appendix B as a guide and
use it to help direct your
buy-recycled activities.
Visit EPA's Comprehensive
Procurement Guidelines (CPG)
searchable supplier database at
(select the
"Supplier Database" button) to find
recycled product manufacturers and
distributors.
Tenants, employees, and customers
alike will appreciate knowing that
the materials they are sorting and
recycling at home and on the job are
being put to good use. Be sure to
inform them about the shopping cen-
ter's buy-recycled activities. Closing
the recycling loop is something that
people intuitively appreciate.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Section 5
CASE STUDIES
^-*s*-^^—v*.
MALL OF AMERICA
Bloomington, Minnesota
Through a model program, this mega-mall is taking a big bite out of its waste stream.
Overview
For thousands of pigs, life in
Minnesota is hog heaven, thanks to
the biggest mall in the country.
Since 1995, the Mall of America in
Bloomington, Minnesota, has con-
tracted with a local hog farmer to
haul more than 150 tons of food
waste per month from the mall's
restaurants to be used as pig feed.
The mall pays for the gas burned by
the farmer to haul the food waste,
but saves much more on landfill tip-
ping fees. But the biggest beneficiar-
ies of this arrangement are the pigs,
who routinely find morsels of steak,
lobster, and vegetables in their
slops.
This livestock feeding program is
just one component of a far-reach-
ing reuse and recycling program that
is helping the Mall of America
divert 50 to 60 percent of the 800
tons of solid waste generated by the
facility each month. The largest
fully enclosed retail complex in the
United States, Mall of America was
designed with recycling in mind.
The 520 stores and restaurants in
the mall use a system of built-in
chutes and rolling carts to efficient-
ly move trash and recyclables
through the facility to a single, cen-
tralized loading dock. In a busy
month, the facility collects up to
200 tons of OCC, selling it directly
to a local paper mill. Other com-
mon recyclables collected by the
mall include paper, plastics, glass,
and aluminum; electronics, batter-
ies, and fluorescent bulbs are also
recycled.
Because of its ambitious and inno-
vative approach to recycling, Mall
of America is considered a model of
commercial recycling. Developers,
building managers, and recycling
experts from around the world have
visited the mall to learn from its
example.
Operational Details
• Tenants at Mall of America—
including hundreds of retailers,
50 restaurants, eight night-
clubs, and three schools—col-
lect recyclables from their
operations and self-haul the
recyclables to one of several
waste areas where there is one
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
chute for OCC and another
chute or cart for commingled
recyclables such as bottles,
cans, and paper. In addition,
tenants can store some recy-
clables in one of the mall's 21
waste rooms; other materials,
such as packing peanuts, must
be transported directly to the
loading dock in bags or boxes.
• The facility's waste manage-
ment and recycling staff—total-
ing roughly 20 full time
employees—collect recyclables
from the chute system, carts,
and waste storage rooms and
transport the materials to one
centralized loading dock for
sorting and storage. Materials
such as OCC and plastic film
are baled.
• Recyclables are picked up from
the mall and hauled away by
several different vendors and
organizations. The mall's waste
hauler picks up most types of
recyclables, while a local paper
mill hauls the OCC and spe-
cialty recyclers take materials
such as end-of-life electronics
and leftover paint. The mall
donates all aluminum cans to a
local charity, which collects
and sells them.
• The mall's 50 restaurants col-
lect food waste in 33-gallon
containers. Recycling staff pick
up full containers and transport
them to the loading dock,
where the amount of food
waste generated by each restau-
rant is weighed and document-
ed. The containers are then
kept in a storage area, where a
truck from the hog farm picks
them up each morning.
• The recycling program is man-
aged by the facility's environ-
mental supervisor, who spends
roughly 80 percent of his time
overseeing the program and
educating tenants about recy-
cling procedures. The supervi-
sor visits tenants regularly and
also posts recycling reminders
in the mall's monthly tenant
newspaper.
Keys to Program Success
• The recycling program has had
the support of upper manage-
ment from the beginning. The
facility was designed for recy-
cling before construction
began.
• All tenants sign a lease that
requires recycling (the only
exceptions are the anchor
stores, which control their own
waste and recycling services).
Tenants that do not recycle
effectively can face increased
waste management charges.
• The supervisor of the recycling
program is personally commit-
ted to recycling and has devel-
oped innovative ways of
meeting the mall's ambitious
goals for waste diversion. For
example, the mall has pur-
chased a high-density, water-
eradicating extruder to remove
800 tons of water from its waste
stream each year.
• Due to its size, the mall collects
most materials in sufficient vol-
ume to ensure that recycling is
cost effective.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN MISSION VALLEY
San Diego, California
Multi-faceted reuse/recycling program diverts nearly 65 percent of mall's waste.
OVERVIEW
With 1.5 million square feet of
retail space and 130 tenants,
Westfield Shoppingtown Mission
Valley has the potential to generate
a large volume of waste, yet this
outdoor mall has just two trash
compactors on site, when most
facilities of that size would need
between five and eight.
Since getting serious about waste
reduction in 1995, the mall has
gradually expanded its reuse and
recycling efforts to the point where
it now diverts nearly 65 percent of
its waste annually. Today, the pro-
gram is a multi-faceted effort that
includes:
• Routine recycling of materials
such as OCC; paper; plastic
bottles and films; polystyrene
packing "peanuts" and other
foam; glass; aluminum and
other metals; and fluorescent
bulbs. Westfield Mission Valley
also recycled more than
600,000 pounds of broken con-
crete and asphalt during a
recent renovation of one part
of the facility.
• Reuse of fixtures, furniture, car-
peting, and construction mate-
rials from store remodelings.
The materials are either donat-
ed to reuse organizations or
reused within the mall itself.
• Collection of food waste from
the mall's restaurants for use as
livestock feed at area hog
farms.
• Composting of yard waste and
landscape trimmings.
• Recycling Christmas trees
through a program that
Westfield Mission Valley hosts
in its parking lot every holiday
season. Trees brought in by the
public are hauled away by the
City of San Diego, which part-
ners with Westfield in the pro-
gram.
As a result of these efforts, Westfield
Mission Valley's waste disposal costs
have dropped more than 40 percent
since 1994. In recognition of this
success, the California Waste
Integration Board has five times
awarded Westfield with its WRAP
award for outstanding achievement
in waste reduction, recycling, and
resource conservation. In 2002, the
mall was named California's retail
recycler of the year.
OPERATIONAL DETAILS
• Tenants at Westfield collect
recyclables from their retail
operations, including OCC,
plastic wrap, packing peanuts,
paper, and other materials.
Tenants separate these
materials by type and leave
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
them, along with their trash, at
the rear of their space.
• Visitors to the mall can deposit
cans and bottles in bins located
on walkways throughout the
facility.
• The mall's housekeeping staff
uses motorized carts to make
regularly scheduled pickups of
recyclables and trash from the
rear of merchant spaces.
Tenants can call housekeeping
to schedule extra pickups dur-
ing mall hours. Housekeepers
also empty recycling bins locat-
ed on walkways and in other
common areas.
• Housekeeping staff transport all
recyclables to one of five stag-
ing areas located throughout
the mall. Most recyclables are
placed in storage bins by type.
OCC, plastic film, and poly-
styrene foam are baled. Two
different recycling service
providers pick up recyclables
from the mall.
• The mall typically remodels 30
to 40 retail spaces each year.
During remodelings, large roll-
off containers are kept on hand
to collect fixtures, carpeting,
and construction materials for
reuse.
• The facility's operations man-
ager directs the reuse/recycling
program, which is supervised
on a daily basis by the heads of
the housekeeping and land-
scaping departments. More
than 15 staff contribute to the
effort, with several housekeep-
ing staff spending most of their
time on recycling and waste
management.
• During his welcome visit with
new tenants, the operations
manager provides an introduc-
tion to the recycling program.
Mall management visits all
tenants frequently and provide
recycling feedback.
COST-EFFECTIVENESS
Westfield Mission Valley's
reuse/recycling program largely pays
for itself. The primary economic
benefit from the program comes in
the form of reduced waste disposal
costs, which have fallen from an
annual total of $63,600 in 1994 to
$37,600 in 2002—a 40 percent
drop. These savings have easily off-
set any initial capital invested in
the program.
Keys to the program's cost effective-
ness include:
• A "no cost" recycling service
agreement. Westfield's primary
recycling service provider does
not charge a fee for hauling
recyclables from the mall.
Westfield receives a portion of
revenues generated from cer-
tain recyclables (such as OCC)
once the price of those com-
modities exceeds an established
benchmark. However, this por-
tion generally amounts to less
than $1,000 per month.
• Low capital costs for equip-
ment. Westfield's primary recy-
cling service provider furnishes
the mall with balers and com-
pactors at no cost. The motor-
ized carts used for collecting
and transporting recyclables are
also needed for trash collec-
tion, and thus are not an added
expense.
• Combining recyclables collec-
tion with trash collection.
Housekeeping staff collect recy-
clables at the same time they
collect waste from each tenant.
This system limits the amount
of extra labor required to imple-
ment the recycling program.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
KEYS TO PROGRAM
SUCCESS
• The manager of Westfield
Mission Valley's reuse/recycling
program is committed to waste
prevention and had broad
experience from starting a simi-
lar program at another
Westfield mall (Plaza Camino
Real) in the early 1990s.
• The recycling program has the
support of Westfield's upper
management.
Westfield Mission Valley limits
the amount of work required of
tenants by having housekeepers
transport recyclables to staging
areas. This system not only
boosts tenant participation
(currently at 100 percent), but
also reduces the contamination
level of the recyclables.
Mall management are commit-
ted to training and retraining
tenants on the recycling proce-
dures. Management view ten-
ant education as an ongoing
job.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
VF OUTLET SHOPPING VILLAGE
Reading, Pennsylvania
Broad recycling program has reduced solid waste disposal costs by 67 percent.
OVERVIEW
In the early 1990s, VF Outlet
Shopping Village found that its
solid waste disposal costs had sky-
rocketed into the $100,000-per-year
range. For mall management, bring-
ing these costs down was a key
motivation for launching a facility-
wide recycling program.
The program began with a focus on
recycling OCC, which the tenants
generate in large quantities. Over
the years, the program has gradually
expanded to include everything
from plastic films and bottles to
paper, aluminum, glass, and yard
waste (which is composted). The
facility's 80 tenants all participate in
the program—in fact, the terms of
their lease require participation.
The program's success is illustrated
by the fact that, as of 2002, the
facility's annual solid waste disposal
costs had fallen to $32,000—a 67
percent drop. VF Outlet Shopping
Village received Waste Watcher
Awards from the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental
Protection in 1998, 2000, and 2001.
OPERATIONAL DETAILS
• Tenants at VF Outlet Shopping
Village collect recyclables such
as OCC, plastic wrap, and
paper from their retail opera-
tions. The tenants self-haul
these materials to one of eight
consolidation areas within the
mall, loading docks, and
closets.
• Shoppers can deposit cans and
bottles in bins located through-
out the facility and in the food
court. Custodial staff empty
these bins daily and haul the
recyclables to the consolidation
areas.
• The facility's maintenance and
grounds staff pick up recy-
clables from the consolidation
areas daily, using a box truck.
They bail OCC and then store
it in an onsite trailer; other
recyclables are taken to a stag-
ing area. A local recycling
company picks up all recy-
clables on an "as needed" basis.
• The recycling program is man-
aged by the facility's mainte-
nance foreman. Nine
maintenance and grounds staff
contribute part of their time to
the effort, some of them spend-
ing an hour or two each day
collecting materials and baling
OCC.
• Tenants receive a handbook
that provides information
about the recycling program.
The program manager also
meets with new tenants to
explain the program and their
obligations.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Solid Waste Disposal Costs
(in thousands of dollars)
100
50
$97,000
$32,000
1995 2002
I
• To inform tenants of program
accomplishments, the program
manager posts information on
recycling results at each of the
eight consolidation areas.
COST-EFFECTIVENESS
VF Outlet Village's recycling pro-
gram has been cost effective from
the outset due to two factors: the
income generated by recycling
OCC, and the money saved by
reducing waste disposal costs.
VF recycled 499 tons of OCC in
2002, generating over $25,000 in
income. The facility derives little or
no income from its other recy-
clables, but for each ton of material
recycled it avoids a $50-per-ton
waste disposal fee. VF saved approx-
imately $25,500 in avoided disposal
fees in 2002, on a volume of over
510 tons recycled.
Estimated labor costs for the recy-
cling program totaled $26,000 in
2002. Other costs include the capi-
tal invested in recycling equipment
(two bailers for OCC, bins for bot-
tles and cans, and a box truck that
is used for collecting both recy-
clables and solid waste). This equip-
ment has been purchased gradually
over the years.
KEYS TO PROGRAM
SUCCESS
• The recycling program has the
support of upper management.
• The program started small,
with its original focus on OCC
recycling. The program
expanded to include other
recyclables as resources
allowed.
• The program manager educates
tenants on their recycling obli-
gations through distribution of
a handbook and through face-
to-face meetings. VF considers
tenant education the biggest
challenge for its recycling pro-
gram.
VF sought the help of the
county recycling coordinator in
finding markets for recyclables.
2002 RECYCLING TOTALS
OCC: 499 tons
Mixed paper: 15 tons
Plastics: 8.5 tons
Glass: 1.25 tons
Aluminum: 0.50 tons
Total recycled: 524.25 tons
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
31
IKEA SCHAUMBURG
Schaumburg, Illinois
OVERVIEW
Since the 1990's, IKEA has proac-
tively sought ways to minimize
waste and materials. IKEA
Schaumburg recycles their five main
waste materials—cardboard, wood,
metal, plastic, and glass. Today,
IKEA's recycling rate is more than
70 percent.
IKEA Schaumburg has been a
leader in environmental work. For
example, they have an environmen-
tal education program for IKEA
Schaumburg's 600 employees. The
training includes general environ-
mental knowledge, an overview of
IKEA's environmental policy, what
IKEA has done so far, and how the
company will continue to improve
environmental and recycling initia-
tives.
IKEA Schaumburg also recycles
fluorescent bulbs and restaurant
oils—substances that are
reprocessed and reused to serve
other functions. Their latest effort
allows consumers to deposit house-
hold batteries and light bulbs—even
those not purchased at IKEA—in
customized, in-store containers and
IKEA pays for the recycling. IKEA
Schaumburg is also planning to
install a vermicomposting system to
handle the food waste from the
restaurant.
OPERATIONAL DETAILS
Employees attend training where
they learn how to separate and dis-
pose of materials properly.
Cardboard, wood, metal, film plas-
tic, hard plastic, paper, ceramic, and
glass are recycled. Plant waste is
turned into compost.
An environmental coordinator is
assigned to promote IKEA's environ-
mental efforts and ensure material
that cannot be recovered and recy-
cled is handled and disposed of in
the safest possible manner.
New recycle stations were built for
IKEA customers and other members
of the Schaumburg community.
They serve as both a collection sta-
tion and a communication kiosk.
Containers designed to separately
store "flashlight type" batteries and
low-energy use light bulbs are
mounted on a post between the
checkout stations and the customer
service/merchandise pickup entrance
near the front of the store. Various
types of batteries, including: A, AA,
AAA, C, D, transistor radio, and
rechargeables may be dropped off
anytime the store is open.
COST EFFECTIVENESS
Implementing a new storewide recy-
cling effort has reduced waste cost
per pallet of merchandise sold at the
facility by over 40 percent.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
KEYS TO PROGRAM
SUCCESS
• IKEA Sweden has an environ-
mental plan that is communi-
cated and carried out at the
individual stores.
• IKEA Schaumburg distributes
communications to its cus-
tomers explaining programs,
such as the drop-off for bulbs
and batteries, so customers
have ease of use while con-
tributing to the effort.
• IKEA reports that it is always
looking for ways incorporate
the purchase of recycled prod-
ucts, including the purchase of
30 percent postconsumer office
paper and computer paper for
their store.
2003 RECYCLING TOTALS
Cardboard: 770 tons
Paper/Plastic/Glass: 49 tons
Metal: 56.5 tons
Fluorescent Tubes: 0.3 tons
Wood: 558 tons
Waste: 956 tons
Total recycled: 1,436 tons
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
33
RESOURCES
GENERAL
• International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 100204099
(646) 728-3800
(212) 589-5555 (fax)
ICSC is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its 45,000 members in the United States,
Canada, and more than 70 other countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing
specialists, investors, lenders, retailers, academics, public officials, and other professionals. ICSC and EPA have
teamed up to form the America's Marketplace Recycles! initiative and have established an awards program rec-
ognizing significant recycling and waste prevention efforts. ICSC also has published a brochure explaining the
recycling initiative.
• EPA's America's Marketplace Recycles! Program
EPA's Web site to support waste reduction and recycling at shopping centers.
• EPA's Waste Wise Program
EPA's free, voluntary program designed to help organizations eliminate costly solid waste offers a host of free
tools and resources.
• Measuring Waste Reduction
• The Measure of Success—Calculating Waste Reduction
• Waste Wise Tip Sheet—Facility Waste Assessments
• Waste Wise's Resource Management Page
• From Waste to Resource Management: Reinventing Waste Contracts and Services (A discussion paper pre-
pared for EPA)
• Model Language for Resource Management Request for Proposal
• EPA's Jobs Through Recycling (JTR) Program
EPA's program that helps connect recycling market development efforts nationwide.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
• EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) Supplier Database
Searchable online database of products in a variety of categories containing recycled-content materials.
, then select the "Supplier Database" button on the left.
• EPA's Database on Environmental Information for Products and Services
Searchable online database containing environmental standards, contract language, and additional information
about a wealth of products and services that have environmentally preferable attributes, including recycled
content.
• EPA's State-Specific Universal Waste Regulations
Comprehensive list of state-specific regulations regarding management of universal wastes such as batteries,
agricultural pesticides, and thermostats.
• Weight-to-Volume Conversion Factors
Standard weight to volume conversion factors.
• National Recycling Coalition
Homepage of the nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement and improvement of recycling, source
reduction, and reuse.
• Reuse Development Organization, Inc. (ReDO)
Nonprofit organization that promotes reuse as an environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economical
means for managing surplus and discarded materials.
• U.S. State Recycling Organizations
Comprehensive list of state recycling organizations provided by the GrassRoots Recycling Network.
• WasteCap
This nonprofit partnership works with businesses and communities to implement cost-effective recycling and
waste reduction programs. The organization has active programs in Massachusetts ,
Nebraska , and Wisconsin .
• Earth 911
Web-based environmental clearinghouse manages a national hotline (1-800-CLEANUP) and Web site to pro-
vide community-specific resources to encourage citizen involvement in environmental protection activities.
Visit the Web site for a listing of state and local recycling coordinators and other relevant information.
RETAIL RECYCLING AND WASTE REDUCTION
• Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
A 2002 benchmark report on retail recycling practices.
• California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)
• Waste Reduction at Retail Stores
Additional tips for reducing waste in the retail sector.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
35
• Retail Packaging
Information on reduced packaging waste in the retail industry.
• EPA's Business Guide for Reducing Solid Waste
Comprehensive waste reduction guide with helpful information about first steps, conducting a waste assess-
ment, and selecting, implementing, and monitoring waste reduction options.
• EPA's Resource Management: Innovative Solid Waste Contracting Methods
This manual, also available on the Internet, is designed to help guide businesses and other organizations
through an innovative contracting strategy.
• National Soft Drink Association
The association's recycling page, offering information and helpful resources about recycling soft drink bottles
and cans.
• "Retail Hardware Best Practices for Waste Management"
Manual offering guidance and success stories about waste reduction in hardware stores.
• Reusable Transport Packaging Directory
Information and vendor contacts for various types of reusable transport packaging.
MATERIAL EXCHANGE
• EPA's List of Materials Exchange Programs
Comprehensive list of state-by-state programs with contact information.
CORRUGATED CARDBOARD
• Corrugated Packaging Council's Recycling Center
Trade association's information and guidance on recycling OCC.
• Recycling Today - Online Baler Guide
February 1997 online issue highlighting information about OCC balers.
PAPER
• American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) - Recycling Information
The official paper manufacturer trade association's information on paper recycling.
GLASS
• Glass Packaging Institute - Recycling Information
The glass container industry's information and guidance on recycling glass.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
PLASTIC
• Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers
A wealth of information about recycling expanded polystyrene (EPS).
• The American Plastics Council
Information on plastics and the environment.
or
• The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers
National trade association representing companies who acquire, reprocess, and sell the output of more than 90
percent of the postconsumer plastic processing capacity in North America.
• Plastic Loose Fill Council
Promotes the recovery, reuse, and recycling of packaging "peanuts." Call the Peanut Hotline at (800) 828-2214
or visit .
METAL
• Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
The national trade association of the scrap processing and recycling industry.
• Steel Recycling Institute
The industry association that promotes and sustains the recycling of all steel products.
• The Aluminum Association, Inc.
The official trade association of aluminum producers, recyclers, and suppliers.
< www. alum inum. org >
WOOD
• National Wooden Pallet & Container Association
Information for being an environmentally responsible wooden pallet user.
FLUORESCENT LAMPS
• Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers
The nonprofit organization representing members of the mercury recycling industry.
• State Lamp Recycling Contact Information
A state-by-list of contacts for recycling lamps.
• EPA's Environmental Fact Sheet on Used Lamps
Background information about used lamps being added to EPA's list of universal waste.
• National Electrical Manufacturers Association
Lamprecycle.org is a Web resource sponsored by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
to encourage the recycling of spent mercury-containing lamps.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
37
TONER CARTRIDGES
• Canon
The manufacturer's cartridge return program.
• The Green Fund Network
This organization collects used cartridges to raise money for a variety of charitable programs around the world.
• Hewlett Packard
The manufacturer's product recycling page.
• Lexmark
The manufacturer's equipment collection program.
• Xerox
The manufacturer's printer supplies recycling program.
ELECTRONICS
• International Association of Electronic Recyclers
The official trade association of the electronic recycling industry.
• National Recycling Coalition's National Database of Electronics Recyclers, Reuse Organizations, and
Municipal Programs
A searchable online database of recyclers, reuse organizations, and municipal programs that accept used elec-
tronic equipment.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION DEBRIS
• EPA's Construction and Demolition Debris Web Page
Defines construction and demolition debris, provides background information, and provides a link to EPA's
report, entitled "Characterization of Building-Related Construction and Demolition Debris in the United States."
• Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association
Provides information on using reclaimed asphalt.
• Construction Materials Recycling Association
Association of the North American construction waste and demolition debris processing and recycling
industry.
< www. cdre cycling.org >
• King County, Washington's Construction Recycling Program
Valuable guidance on implementing a successful construction recycling program.
• Triangle J Council of Governments
Model specifications for construction waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND TAKE-BACK PROGRAMS
• EPA's Plug-In to eCycling Program
Information about EPA's electronic recycling program and how to become a partner organization.
• Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe Program
Information about Nike's shoe collection program and how to become a program partner.
< www.nikereuseashoe .com >
• The Corrugated Packaging Council's Boxing Days
Information about the Council's corrugated cardboard collection program and how to become a program
partner.
• America Recycles Day
The official Web site of the nonprofit organization that sponsors the annual national recycling campaign.
• California Integrated Waste Management Board
A list of public education campaign ideas that promote waste reduction.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
39
APPENDIX A:
Materials Commonly Included in Recycling and Waste Prevention Programs at Malls
and Shopping Centers
The following table is intended to provide you with information that is useful when deciding what materials to
potentially add to your mall's recycling program. In addition to general recycling information about each commodi-
ty, there is also helpful information regarding the collection of these recyclables. This information is by no means
"the recipe" for your program's success. Instead, it is merely a summary of what has generally been practiced in retail
settings. You should use this information as a general guide, realizing, however, that you might need to tailor it to
the particular needs and impediments of your mall's unique logistics. There is also information about the economic
market for your recyclables. This information can play a crucial role when deciding which material(s) to add to
your program, as a stable market will ensure that you receive economic benefits from your recycling efforts. The
table is organized by the commodities with the most stable markets to those with the least, top-to-bottom. This will
allow you to work your way down the list, adding the most economically feasible commodities one at a time as
resources and time allow.
Old corrugated
cardboard (OCC)
Retailers generate a high volume of OCC.
Recycling experts estimate that OCC typically
constitutes 30 to 40 percent of a mall's waste
stream. OCC is a great candidate for recycling
because it is easily separated from other materi-
als, it is bulky, and it is the most consistent rev-
enue generator among materials in a mall's waste
stream.
Malls that generate large volumes
of OCC typically bale or compact
the material. Retail tenants flatten
boxes and store them in back of
retail space. Boxes are transported
to the baler or compactor by the
tenant or by mall staff (house-
keeping or grounds). Vendor picks
up OCC as needed or according to
a routine schedule.
Excellent.
Paper
Waste paper may be generated by retailers and
in mall management offices. Office paper is usu-
ally collected in two grades: high-grade and
mixed paper. High-grade paper typically consists
of white copier paper, white computer paper,
white office stationery, and white note paper.
Mixed office paper includes nearly all paper gen-
erated in an office, including both white and
colored paper, file folders, manila envelopes, etc.
Newspapers and magazines may be collected sep-
arately, as they are a different type of fiber.
Mixed paper is considered low quality and gen-
erally yields low market prices. The highest
prices are paid for high-grade paper with little
contamination.
Retail tenants and mall offices
collect paper in plastic bins or
cardboard boxes. Paper is trans-
ported to a consolidation or stor-
age area by the tenant or by mall
housekeeping staff. The vendor
picks up paper as needed or
according to a routine schedule.
High grade-
Excellent.
Mixed paper-
Good.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
Material
Bottles and cans
RSiKiS^^Mra
Glass
Glass is readily recyclable. Depending upon the
vendor and the quantity of material, glass bottles
may have to be whole or crushed, separated from
other containers, or separated by color. Non-
bottle glass, such as window glass or light bulbs,
should not be mixed in a bottle recycling pro-
gram.
Plastics
The most easily recycled plastics are soda, milk,
and other beverage containers; these containers
are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) — primari-
ly soft drink bottles — and high density polyeth-
ylene (HOPE) — usually milk and water bottles.
PET bottles are marked number 1; HOPE bottles
are marked number 2. Some vendors accept
plastics commingled with other recyclables
(glass, aluminum, steel); others require that plas-
tics be separated.
Aluminum Cans
Most vendors accept aluminum cans for recy-
cling. Some vendors accept cans commingled
with other recyclables (glass, plastic, steel); oth-
ers may require that cans be separated. Cans can
be crushed to save space; however, storing them
outside may attract bees and other pests.
Other Metals
Tin/steel cans and other scrap metals are readily
recyclable. They can usually be commingled
with aluminum because they are easily extracted
from the recycling stream with magnets. Vendor
requirements vary with the metal type and the
local market situation.
Typical Collection Logistics Stable Market
Many malls place clearly marked
receptacles in public areas of the
facility (halls and food court) to
collect plastic and glass bottles and
aluminum or steel cans. House-
keeping staff empty these recepta-
cles and transport recyclables to
consolidation or storage areas for
pickup by vendor.
Retail tenants and food court
restaurants may also collect plastic
bottles and containers, glass, and
aluminum cans generated by their
business practice or by employees.
Many vendors will collect com-
mingled bottles and cans and sort
them at materials recovery facili-
ties. Plastics and cans help to
cushion the glass. However, you
should not expect high prices for
commingled materials; in some
markets, the high value of the alu-
minum offsets the lower market
prices of the plastics and glass.
If you are required to separate bot-
tles and cans, make sure you have
enough space in your staging area
to sort and store the separated
containers for transport.
^^^^^^^^^_^^_^^^^^^^^^^^_
Glass-Good.
Plastics-Good (for
PET and HOPE).
Aluminum-Good.
Other metals-
Good.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
41
Plastic film
lat You Should Know
Most of the retail industry's plastic film waste,
which can be made of various types of plastic
resins, is generated during the transport of mer-
chandise from central warehouses to individual
retail outlets. Plastic film waste includes plastic
bags, pallet wrap, and packaging on individual
items such as clothing, known as "soft goods."
Once recycled, plastic film can be used to manu-
facture a variety of new products, including
stretch wrap, trash bags, construction film, gro-
cery sacks, and retail bags. There are three basic
processes for reprocessing plastic film for use in
manufacturing of new products. The process that
is utilized by a recycling facility ultimately
depends on (1) the type and source of film being
recycled, (2) the level of contamination, and (3)
the application for which the film is being used.
It is important to note that film recycling pro-
grams tend to be most successful and cost-effec-
tive when large volumes of like film and low
rates of contamination are generated. Consult
with a plastics recycling specialist before under-
taking a plastic film recycling project.
Source: The American Plastic Council's
"Understanding Plastic Film: Its Uses, Benefits,
and Waste Management Options," December
1996. Visit .
lypical Collection Logistics
Similar to logistics for OCC. A
standard baler, like one used for
OCC applications can be used for
plastic film, however there are
specialized balers that are made
explicitly to compact film. This
specialized baler will yield more
dense bales, and help improve
efficiencies and reduce transporta-
tion costs. If the same baler is
used for OCC and plastic film,
care should be taken to clean the
baler between materials to reduce
the potential for cross-contamina-
tion, which reduces the value of
the recyclables.
Probability
Stable Market
Depends; market
prices can vary
widely and are
based on the type
of film, current
commodity prices,
and contamination
level.
Food waste
There are several options for developing a food
waste recycling program: (1) donate unwanted
food to food banks, shelters, and/or other needy
organizations; (2) donate food scraps to local
farms to be used as feed; (3) set up a contract to
have food waste picked up by a composting com-
pany; (4) initiate a composting program on or off
site. An internal composting program will
require proper staffing and time to collect and
process the food waste. Additionally, if compost-
ing, source separated food scrap is more valuable
in the marketplace because of higher nutritional
values. The selected option will depend on avail-
able resources (i.e., staff, time, money, storage
space).
Several municipalities have ordinances pertain-
ing to food waste recycling and composting.
Make sure to check with your state, county,
and/or local department of waste management
before developing a food waste recycling pro-
gram.
Source: University of Georgia, College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Visit
.
Food waste in shopping centers
can be categorized into three main
sources: (1) preconsumer food
scraps, resulting from the prepara-
tion of food; (2) preconsumer food
waste-food that has not been pur-
chased and is no longer safe to
sell; and (3) postconsumer food
waste. The primary collection of
these wastes can be staged in two
locations-clearly marked recepta-
cles in the food preparation area
for preconsumer food waste, and
clearly marked receptacles in the
cleanup areas for postconsumer
food waste. Postconsumer waste
typically comes from the plates of
diners once they have been
retrieved, rather than from indi-
viduals disposing of their food
court waste. Waste should be col-
lected in a central location for
composting or daily pickup by a
contractor.
Good, depending
on the local infra-
structure.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
What You Should Know
Landscaping
waste
Commercial organic landscaping waste, such as
grass clippings, leaves, branches, and shrubbery
can be readily added to an existing municipal or
commercial composting program. In addition to
reducing waste disposal fees and the amount of
solid waste that enters landfills, the resulting
compost can be used to improve the health and
appearance of landscapes. Switching from a tra-
ditional mower to a mulching mower can also
significantly reduce waste disposal costs while
offering landscapes a protective layer of natural
mulch.
Typical Collection Logistics
Logistics vary depending on land-
scaping contractor. Contact your
contractor to learn your options.
Probability
Stable Market
Good-material can
be sold or given
away. Consider
hosting an event at
your mall to dis-
tribute compost in
the spring.
Construction and
demolition
(C&D) waste
Construction, demolition, and/or renovation of a
structure can produce an enormous amount of
waste known as construction and demolition
(C&D) debris. Much of this material can be
reused or recycled. There are three types of waste
created on a project site: (1) nonhazardous waste;
(2) hazardous waste as regulated by the U.S. EPA
or a state; and (3) items that contain hazardous
components, but are not regulated as hazardous.
It is important that all contractors are aware of
any local and/or state regulations that impact the
generation, storage, transport, and disposal of
hazardous waste items, such as lead-based paint,
mercury, tires, and oil. These regulations vary by
state (see Resources Section, page 33).
In addition to making sure your contractor is
knowledgeable about any pertinent environmen-
tal regulations, you should also consider a con-
tractor who has proven experience in
construction recycling. Ask to see a list of previ-
ous projects and onsite recycling rates achieved.
Finally, to ensure that C&D waste is minimized
on your project site, include specific language in
your contract that requires contractors to meet
various waste reduction and recycling goals (see
Resources Section, page 33).
Logistics will depend on the con-
tractor selected. Make sure to
include specifications in your con-
tract that require collection logis-
tics to maximize C&D waste
recovery and reuse.
Cement-Good.
Asphalt-Fair.
Drywall or Gypsum
board-Fair.
Carpet-Good.
Untreated Wood*-
Good. The largest
market is boiler
fuel.
* Treated wood
should be segregat-
ed from untreated
wood. For treated
wood, contact your
local or state solid
waste agency for
the most appropri-
ate recycling
and/or disposal
options.
Fluorescent lamps
Used mercury-containing lighting, such as fluo-
rescent lamps, is regulated by U.S. EPA under
the Universal Waste Rule. Check with your state
to confirm regulations, as some states' regula-
tions are more stringent than Federal regula-
tions. Spent lamps have no intrinsic value and
the recovered mercury has minimal value.
Broken lamps must be carefully cleaned up—use
disposable articles for clean up (i.e., paper tow-
els, disposable wipes) and place all recovered
material and wipes in a sealed plastic bag for dis-
posal. Never use a vacuum cleaner, as this can
distribute mercury widely in the air. Ventilate
the room thoroughly after clean up.
Used fluorescent bulbs need to be
stored in a manner which will
help prevent breakage, such as in
the original lamp boxes or boxes
supplied by lamp recyclers. Due to
the mercury in fluorescent bulbs,
used lamps should be stored in a
marked area. Arrange with a lamp
transporter (conforming to EPA
universal waste regulations and
state regulations) to pick them up
for recycling.
Good, although
mercury use is
decreasing. You
must pay to have
fluorescent lamps
recycled. The typi-
cal cost can be up
to $ 1.00 per lamp
for very small vol-
umes; prices go
down with larger
volume recycling.
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
43
Pallets
lat You Should Know
Wood pallets are used at malls for material trans-
port. When an untreated wooden pallet can no
longer be reused or repaired, it can be managed
as any other clean wood waste. As long as it is
not chemically treated wood, it can be ground up
for use as landscape mulch, animal bedding,
compost, soil amendment, boiler fuel or core
material for particleboard. Pallet users can avoid
end-of-life issues by opting to lease their pallets,
using a pallet management company, or switch-
ing to reusable plastic totes or slip sheets as an
alternative. Any treated wooden pallets should
be segregated from untreated pallets. For treated
wooden pallets, contact your local or state solid
waste agency for the most appropriate recycling
and/or disposal options.
Typical Collection Logistics
Each facility and/or individual
retailer will have different collec-
tion methods. Since pallet reuse
can save businesses money, there
may not be a collective pallet
storage area. Pallet recyclers may
require a minimum number of pal-
lets for pick-up.
ability of
Stable Markef
Good. According
to the National
Wooden Pallet
and Container
Association, the
market for pallet
recycling has
increased slightly
over the last few
years.
Expanded poly-
styrene (EPS)
loosefill
EPS loosefill—often called packing peanuts—
can be reused for outgoing shipments. If reuse is
not an option, EPS loosefill can be recycled
where programs exist. The EPS must be clean,
uncontaminated and separated from other mate-
rials.
Storage of EPS can be a chal-
lenge, as the facility needs to col-
lect enough of this lightweight
material to make recycling eco-
nomical. Transporting loose EPS
by truck is cost-effective within a
100-mile radius.
Good, where local
markets exist.
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44
America's Marketplace Recycles!
APPENDIX B:
Products Available with Recycled-Content
The following list is intended to demonstrate the range of currently available recycled-content products. As a mall
manager, please share this information with existing and prospective tenants, and encourage the use of recycled-
content products as you implement a recycling collection program in your mall.
RECYCLED-CONTENT PRODUCTS FOR RETAIL OPERATIONS
FUNCTIONAL
CATEGORY
Advertising & Promotion
Brochures
Coupons, Flyers, Newspaper
Inserts
Posters, Banners, Shelf
Talkers
Signage
Building & Construction
Carpeting
Ceilings (acoustical)
Ceiling Grid Supports
Cement & Concrete
Ceramic Tile
Concrete and Brick
Doors, Frames
Downspout Splash Blocks
Drain Covers
Fencing
Film Sheeting
Flooring
Framing
Insulation
Lighting Housings
RECOVERED
MATERIAL
Paper
Paper
Paper, Plastic
Plastic, Aluminum,
Paper
Plastic
Paper, Slag, Fiberglass
Plastic (PVC)
Coal Ash
Glass
Coal Ash
Wood, Aluminum,
Steel
Plastic
Iron
Wood, Metal
Wood, Metal
Marble, Glass, Rubber,
Plastic
Steel
Paper, Fiberglass,
Plastic, Slag
Aluminum, Steel,
Plastic
FUNCTIONAL
CATEGORY
Lumber
Nails.Studs
Paint
Paneling
Parking Bumpers
Paving Materials
Pipe Fittings
Retaining Walls
Roofing Shingles
Roofing Membranes
Safety Netting
Siding
Subdrainage
Wallboard
Wall Coverings
Windows
Business Office
Binders
Bulletin Boards
Carpeting
Desk Accessories
File Folders
Furniture
Labels, Paper, Envelopes
Ribbons
Toner Cartridges
RECOVERED
MATERIAL
Plastic-Wood
Steel
Recovered Paint
Plastic, Wood
Plastic, Rubber
Asphalt, Glass, Rubber
Plastic, Copper
Concrete
Paper, Slag, Plastic,
Aluminum
Rubber
Plastic
Aluminum, Plastic,
Steel
Rubber, Glass
Paper
Plastic, Paper
Aluminum
Paper, Plastic
Rubber
Plastic
Plastic
Paper
Plastic, Steel
Paper
Re inked
Refurbished
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America's Marketplace Recycles!
45
FUNCTIONAL
CATEGORY
Food Courts/Restaurants
Buckets
Containers and Packaging
Drink Carriers
Egg Cartons
Fatigue Mats
Labels
Milk Crates
Napkins
Racks and Shelves
Refrigeration Units
Serving Dishes
Tables, Chairs
Trays
Front End
Bags
Gift Boxes
Gift Wrap
Checkout Stations
Coin Rolls
Bike Racks
Cash Register Tape
Fatigue Mats
Cash Register Ribbons
Janitorial
Bottles for Cleaning
Solutions
Cleansing Pads
Recycling/Trash Receptacles
Sanitary Tissue
Trash Bags
Wipers
RECOVERED
MATERIAL
Plastic, Steel
Plastic (PET), Paper
Paper
Paper (molded pulp),
Plastic (polystyrene
foam)
Rubber
Paper
Plastic
Paper
Steel
Steel
Glass, Plastic
Plastic-Wood, Steel
Plastic
Paper, Plastic, Reusable
Fabric
Paperboard
Paper
Steel, Rubber, Plastic
Paper
Steel
Paper
Rubber
Reinked, Refurbished
Plastic
Steel, Plastic
Plastic, Steel
Paper
Plastic
Paper, Plastic, Textiles
FUNCTIONAL
CATEGORY
Landscaping
Barricades
Benches, Picnic Tables
Drain Covers
Fencing
Film Sheeting
Hose
Landscaping Timbers
Lawn Edging
Mulch
Paving
Soil Amendments
Subdrainage
Transportation
Antifreeze
Lubricating Oil
Mud Flaps
Retreads
Truck Bed Liners
Wheel Chocks
Warehouse/Loading Dock
Bale Wrap
Bins
Conveyor Belts
Dollies/rolling flats, Ramps
Dumpsters
Loading Dock Bumpers
Pallets
Pallet Wrap
Shelving
RECOVERED
MATERIAL
Plastic, Concrete (Coal
Ash)
Plastic-Wood
Iron
Plastic
Plastic
Rubber
Plastic-Wood
Plastic
Compost, Paper,
Untreated Wood
Asphalt, Glass, Rubber
Compost
Rubber, Glass
Re-Refined Antifreeze
Re-Refined Oil
Rubber
Used Tires
Plastic
Rubber
Paperboard, Steel
Plastic
Rubber
Steel
Steel
Plastic
Plastic, Wood
Plastic
Steel
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46
America's Marketplace Recycles!
APPENDIX C:
EPA Programs Relevant to the Retail Industry
EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge
America's Marketplace Recycles! is a component of EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), a national
effort to find flexible, yet more protective ways to conserve natural resources through waste reduction, recy-
cling, and energy recovery.
EPA's Waste Wise Program
EPA's free, voluntary program designed to help organizations eliminate costly solid waste offers a host of free
tools and resources.
EPA's Jobs Through Recycling (JTR) Program
EPA's program that helps connect nationwide recycling market development efforts.
EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) Supplier Database
Searchable online database of products in a variety of categories containing recycled-content materials.
, then select the "Supplier Database" button on the left.
EPA's Database on Environmental Information for Products and Services
Searchable online database containing environmental standards, contract language, and additional information
about a wealth of products and services that have environmentally preferable attributes, including recycled con-
tent.
EPA's GreenScapes Alliance
Designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution, GreenScapes is a partnership pro-
gram focusing on large land use applications such as roadside landscaping, Brownfields land revitalization, and
the beautification and maintenance of office complexes, shopping centers, golf courses, and parks.
EPA's Plug-In to eCycling Program
Information about EPA's electronic recycling program and how to become a partner organization.
EPA and DOE's ENERGY STAR* Program
ENERGY STAR is a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment
through superior energy efficiency.
< www. energystar.gov >
-------
-------
&EFK
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (5305W)
Washington, DC 20460
EPA530-R-04-031
December 2004
www.epa.gov/rcc/amr.htm
Recycled/Recyclable—Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% (minimum 50% postconsumer) Recycled Paper.
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