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Climate Change and Waste
Reducing  Waste Can
Make a Difference

Climate Change and
Municipal Solid Waste:
Environmental Issues With
an Important Underlying Link
Rising levels of gases in the Earth's
atmosphere have the potential to
cause changes in our climate.
Some of these emission increases
can be traced directly to solid waste.
The manufacture, distribution, and
use of products—as well as management
of the resulting waste—all result in emissions of greenhouse
gases that affect the Earth's climate. Waste prevention and
recycling are real ways to help address climate change.

What Is the Greenhouse Effect?
   The atmosphere that surrounds the Earth contains many types of gases,
        including those known as "greenhouse gases." Greenhouse
          gases (GHG) absorb and retain heat from the sun. They reg-
           ulate the Earth's climate by holding warmth in an atmos-
            pheric blanket around the planets surface. Scientists
             call this phenomenon the "greenhouse effect."
             Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature
             on Earth would be -2 degrees Fahrenheit instead of
             the current 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Excess green-
            house gases in the atmosphere,  however,  can raise
           global temperatures. In the past 100 years, scientists
         have detected an increase of 1 degree Fahrenheit in the
       Earth's average surface temperature.

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                    What Are
             the Effects of
      Climate Change?
Why try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere threaten to disrupt the diversity of habitats and the life dependent on
them. In particular,  our health, agriculture, water resources, forests, wildlife, and coastal
areas are vulnerable to the changes that global warming may bring. A rise of only a few
degrees in  the Earth's average temperature could result in:

    <•  More frequent and intense storms

    •  Flooding of beaches, bay marshes, and other low-lying coastal areas

    <*  More precipitation in some areas and not enough in others

    <•  Wider distribution of certain infectious diseases

Such significant changes could damage  communities and national economies as well as alter
the natural world. Of course, many uncertainties remain. No one can predict the precise tim-
ing, magnitude,  and regional patterns of climate change. Nor can anyone foretell the ability
of mankind and  nature to adapt to such changes.

It is clear,  however,  that climate change will not be easily reversed. Because greenhouse
gases remain in  the  atmosphere for a long time, turning back climate change may take
decades or even centuries.
        What  Is the Link
Between Waste and
      Climate Change?
                         The
                         Earth's
                         atmosphere
                         contains
                       I  greenhouse
                         gases that hold
                         the sun's warmth.
                         In this way,
                       |  greenhouse
                         gases help
                         control global
                         tempera-
                         tures.
                         Certain
                         human
                         activities
                         release addi-
                         tional green-
                         house gases,
                         upsetting the
                         natural atmos-
                         pheric balance.
                         Increasing the
                         concentration of
                         greenhouse
                         gases raises
                         global temp-
                         eratures.
Waste prevention and recycling-jointly referred to as waste reduction-help us better manage the
solid waste we generate. But preventing waste and recycling also are potent strategies for reduc-
ing greenhouse gases. Together, waste prevention and recycling:

    <*   Reduce emissions from energy consumption. Recycling saves energy. Manufacturing
        goods from recycled materials typically requires less energy than producing goods from
        virgin materials. Waste prevention is even more effective. When people reuse things or
        when products are made with less material, less energy is needed to extract, transport,
        and  process raw materials and to manufacture products. The payoff? When energy
        demand decreases, fewer fossil fuels are burned and less carbon dioxide is emitted to
        the atmosphere.

    <*   Reduce emissions from incinerators. Recycling and waste prevention  allow some
        materials to  be diverted from  incinerators and thus reduce greenhouse  gas emissions
        from the combustion of waste.

    &   Reduce methane emissions from landfills. Waste prevention and recycling (includ-
        ing composting)  divert organic wastes from landfills, reducing the methane released
        when these materials  decompose.

    it   Increase storage of carbon in trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmos-
        phere and store it in wood, in a process called "carbon sequestration." Waste pre-
        vention and  recycling of paper products allow more trees to remain standing in the
        forest, where they can continue to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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                Measuring the
                       Benefits of
          Waste Reduction
                     To help measure the climate change benefits of waste reduction,  EPA conducted a comprehen-
                     sive study of greenhouse gas emissions and waste management. The study estimated the
                     greenhouse gas emissions associated with managing 16 types of waste materials: office
                     paper, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, aluminum cans, steel cans, glass, plastic (HOPE,
                     LDPE, and PET), magazines/third-class mail, phone books, textbooks, dimensional lumber,
                     medium-density Fiberboard,  food scraps, and yard trimmings.  Management options analyzed
                     in the study included waste  prevention,  recycling, composting, incineration, and landfilling.

                     The  research indicates that,  in terms of  climate benefits, waste prevention is generally the
                     best management option. Recycling is the next best approach. The  research enables waste
                     managers to analyze their potential to reduce GHG emissions  based on the characteristics of
                     their community's waste  stream and the management options available to them.

                     Waste prevention can make an important difference in reducing emissions. By cutting the
                     amount of waste we generate back to 1990 levels, we could reduce greenhouse  gas emissions
                     by 18 million metric tons of carbon  equivalent (MMTCE), the basic unit of measure for green-
                     house gases. EPA estimates that increasing our national recycling rate from 30 percent in
                     2000 to 35 percent would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by another 10 MMTCE, compared
                     to landfilling the same material. Together, these levels of waste  prevention  and  recycling
                     would be comparable to annual emissions from the electricity consumption  of nearly 4.9 mil-
                     lion households.

                     Every little bit helps! For example, by  recycling  all of its office paper waste  for one year,
                     an  office building of 7,000 workers could reduce greenhouse gas emissions  by 570 metric
                     tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE),  when compared to landfilling. This is the  equivalent to
                     taking about 370 cars off the road that year. If an average family of four were to recycle
                     all  of its mixed plastic waste,  nearly 340 pounds of carbon equivalent emissions could be
                     reduced each year.
                                        You  Can Make  a  Difference!
              By choosing to prevent waste and recycle, you can help curb climate change. Assume your office, for example, throws
                away 100 tons of white office paper each year. If you recycle just half that amount of paper, look what happens:
Scenario 1
Throwing away
100 tons
of office paper
Waste
Management
Impact:
62 MTCE
Scenario 2
Recycling 50 tons
of that paper
Waste
Management
Impact:
-3 MTCE

Net GHG
Emission
Savings:
-65 MTCE
 Fewer trees
are harvested.
 Fewer logs are
transported to a
paper manufacter.
  Less paper is
manufactued from
 virgin material.
Workers use and
 recycle paper.
Paper is collected and
  transported to a
  recycling facility.
The recovered paper is
  remanufactured.
                                                                                                                             75
                                                                                   Trash is collected and
                                                                                  transported to a landfill
            Logs are transported to
             a paper manufacter.

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      What  Are
Greenhouse
         Gases?
Some greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, while others result from
human activities.

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain  human activities, however, add to the levels of most
of these naturally occurring gases.

Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels
(oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned.

Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil;
the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills; and the raising
of livestock.

Nitrous  oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during
the combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels.

Several classes of halogenated substances are also greenhouse gases.
Hydrofluorocarbons (MFCs),  perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
are potent greenhouse gases that primarily result from industrial activities. Sources of
HFC emissions include foams, refrigeration, air-conditioning, solvents,  aerosols, and
fire extinguishing sectors. PFCs and SF6 are predominantly emitted from industrial
processes,  including magnesium casting, aluminum smelting, semiconductor manufac-
turing, and electric power transmission and distribution systems.

Each  greenhouse gas differs in its ability to trap heat in the atmosphere. SF6 is the
most heat  absorbent, trapping 23,900 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Methane
traps over  21 times more heat than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide absorbs 310
times more than carbon dioxide.
                                   Find these materials  online at
                                      JFor more information
                                      For an online copy of EPA's report "Solid Waste Management
                                      And Greenhouse Gases" (EPA 530-R-02-006) and for additional
                                    '  educational materials on climate change and waste, access
                                                          .  EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program
                                   (LMOP) also demonstrates how to put waste to good use. As organic
                               waste in landfills decomposes, it produces methane gas, which contributes
                         to global warming. LMOP works with companies, energy suppliers and users, and
                         communities on how to  capture landfill gas and convert it to energy. Access the
                         LMOP Web site at

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   The Link Between Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases
  Greenhouse gases
 are emitted during the
 harvesting of trees, and
the extraction and trans-
 port of raw materials.

  Extraction
  Waste prevention and
recycling delay the need to
extract some raw materials,
lowering greenhouse gases
emitted during extraction.
                                   Manufacturing
                                  products releases
                               greenhouse gases during
                               processing and as energy is
                               expended during product use.
                              Manufacturing
 Waste prevention means
more efficient resource use,
and making products from
recycled materials requires
 less energy. Both lower
greenhouse gases emitted
 during manufacturing.
                                 Burning some kinds
                               of waste in an incinerator
                                increases greenhouse
                                   gas emissions.

                                Combustion

                                                               Waste prevention and
                                                               recycling reduce the
                                                              amount of waste sent to
                                                             incinerators, lowering the
                                                             greenhouse gases emitted
                                                               during combustion.
   Greenhouse gases
  are emitted as waste
 decomposes in landfills.

   Landfilling
                                                                                                 <*£.
 Waste prevention and
  recycling reduce the
 amount of waste sent
to landfills, lowering the
greenhouse gases emitted
 during decomposition.
                                                                                    Increased
                                                                                       GHG
                                                                                    Emissions
                                                                                                                  Decreased
                                                                                                                      GHG
                                                                                                                   Emissions
           How Are EPA
  Programs Slowing
    Climate Change?
         The United States is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 1992,
         the United States joined 160 other countries as a signatory to the United Nations Framework
         Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which calls on countries to reduce their greenhouse  gas
         emissions. Since 1994, the United States has been implementing a series of voluntary initiatives
         to achieve reductions in  greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors of our economy. There are  cur-
         rently more than 50 separate initiatives, including one that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emis-
         sions through waste reduction and recycling.
         Waste prevention and recycling can make a significant contribution to reducing our nation's
         greenhouse gas emissions. By 2010, the U.S. expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
         5.6 MMTCE through waste prevention and  recycling.  These reductions are the  carbon equiva-
         lent to taking more than 4 million cars off the road  for one year. To help achieve these
         reductions,  EPA supports a number of programs, including:
             *  WasteWise. WasteWise is a voluntary partnership between EPA and U.S. businesses,
                 Federal, tribal, state and local governments, and institutions to prevent waste, recy-
                 cle, and buy and manufacture products made with recycled materials. Presently, more
                 than 1,200 organizations are participating in the WasteWise program.
             it  Pay-As-You-Throw Programs. EPA provides technical and outreach  assistance to
                 encourage communities to implement pay-as-you-throw systems for managing solid
                 waste.  Under pay-as-you-throw,  residents are charged based on the amount  of trash
                 they discard. This creates an incentive for them to generate less trash and recycle
                 more.  Currently, there are over 5,000 pay-as-you-throw communities in the U.S. On
                 average, communities with  pay-as-you-throw see waste reductions of 14 to 27 percent.
         EPA's voluntary partnership programs for climate protection have already achieved substantial
         environmental results. In 2000 alone, these programs reduced GHG emissions by 35 MMTCE, the
         equivalent of eliminating the emissions of approximately 24 million cars. In addition, an
         increasing number of states have been instituting their own voluntary actions to reduce emis-
         sions. Twenty-five states and  Puerto Rico have completed or initiated state  action plans, which
         list steps to  reduce emissions. At least six of these states have  incorporated the reduction of
         waste into their GHG mitigation strategies.
         Taking climate change mitigation efforts one step further, in February 2002 President Bush
         committed the nation to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent over the next
         decade—equivalent to a 4.5  percent reduction from  forecast emissions in  2012. These reduc-
         tions will be reached through a combination of voluntary, incentive-based, and existing
         mandatory measures.

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United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(5306 W)
Washington, D.C. 20460

Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA 530-E-03-002

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