i t4M^9 §
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
CHALLENGE
A Year of Progress
*- '
) Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, Process Chlorine Free Paper
-------
The Resource Conservation Challenge:
Preserving Tomorrow with Today's Solutions
It has been an exciting, productive year for the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC).The RCC expanded
throughout the nation as more and more private sector partners accepted the challenge,and throughout the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as it was incorporated into other media programs.
The RCC is built on the idea of partnership. Partnership allows those who work day-to-day with products and
processes to sit down with government and the public to forge solutions to everyday issues. Many times,
discussions between partners lead to innovative and flexible solutions to otherwise difficult and complicated
environmental problems. Over the past year, our partners made invaluable contributions to resource conserva-
tion and energy savings—identifying environmentally beneficial solutions to specific problems and then
implementing them. Existing partnerships grew, new ones were formed,and many more are on the horizon.
One existing partnership, WasteWise, grew to over 1,300 members, and new ones—like the National Waste
Minimization Partnership Program, the Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2), Plug-In to eCycling,and
the GreenScapes Alliance—grew from the ground up.
Resource conservation provides a number of benefits beyond minimizing the use of virgin resources. RCC part-
nerships save energy, reduce greenhouse gases, create jobs, and grow the economy, all resulting in better pro-
tection of human health and the environment. Data show that waste trends are headed in the right direction:
down for generation, and up for recycling, reuse, and recovery, but they need a continual"push." The RCC
provides this incentive by setting a direction, bringing together partners, and rewarding progress. Whether our
yardstick is reducing priority chemical releases by an additional 10 percent,for example, or recycling 85 per-
cent of our scrap tires by 2008, the RCC is keeping America moving in a positive direction.The RCC is changing
the nation's strategic thinking about waste management from disposal options to beneficial reuses.
By the year 2020,1 believe our nation will embrace and value resource and energy conservation much more
than today. Reusing waste products will become the norm, and the demand for virgin natural resources will be
reduced dramatically.This transition from disposal to resource recovery will be driven, in part, by what we are
learning today in the RCC.
Over the past year, RCC partnerships—both large and small—led to significant
environmental benefits. But we can do more, so I urge everyone to participate. What
we reuse today will help preserve our environment tomorrow.
Marianne Horinko
Assistant Administrator
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
-------
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
CHALLENGE
A Year oi Progress
n
v(
1
-------
-------
Contents
A Forward-looking Solution 1
A Proactive Approach to Materials Management 5
First-Year Accomplishments 9
The Next Year 21
RCC Resources ...,.,.„...,„.„„.,.„...,„.,.„...,„.„„.,.„...,„.,.„...,„.„„.,.„...,„.„.,...,„.„„.,.„...,„.,.„...,„.,.„...,„.„,....23
-------
-------
A Forward-looking Solution
Today's Resource Concerns
Nearly everything we do leaves behind some
type of waste. Small actions, like drinking a can
of soda, and large ones, like manufacturing
automobiles, all produce waste. In 2001,288
million Americans produced almost 230
million tons of municipal solid waste. Each of
us, through our actions, generated about 4.4
pounds of trash each day. Beyond what we
generated individually, industrial, commercial,
and manufacturing processes produced
around 7.6 billion tons of waste. As Congress
pointed out in the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA),"millions of tons of
recoverable material which could be used are
needlessly buried each year."
At the same time, technological advances are
rapidly making once cutting-edge products
obsolete and creating new kinds of waste. In
the electronics industry alone, an estimated 33
million personal computers were replaced by
businesses and households in 2002.The major-
ity of these were relegated to storage. Most of
the others were disposed of in landfills or
incinerated. Less than 6 percent were recycled.
What's more, predictions indicate that more
than 70 million personal computers will be
retired in 2005.
Buildings also have wide-ranging impacts on
human health and the environment because
they:
• Use approximately 65 percent of all
electricity.
• Account for 60 percent of raw material
consumption.
• Annually generate 136 million tons of
construction and demolition debris, such
as wood, concrete, steel, and drywall.
Through better design, construction, use, oper-
ation, maintenance, and removal, buildings can
be built greener using complete life-cycle
approaches. New"green"or sustainable build-
ings increase efficiency in energy, water, and
materials use, as well as reduce impacts on the
environment.
Industrial waste also is, and will continue to be,
a part of our everyday lives. Many industrial
wastes contain hazardous chemicals. Exposure
to waste that contains hazardous
chemicals presents obvious risks
to people and the environment. In
2001, more than 41 million tons of
hazardous waste was generated,
the majority of which was pro-
duced by 18,000 large quantity
-------
generators. EPA identified particular chemicals
of concern in the waste stream.These chemi-
cals persist in the environment, and when
released, bioaccumulate in the food chain and
ecosystems. Even small amounts of these prior-
ity chemicals can be difficult to remove from
the environment and often result in very costly
clean-up efforts.
Current Waste Management
Currently, America uses a pollution manage-
ment system that focuses on waste and emis-
sion outputs and their safe disposal and
control. As illustrated by the diagram below,
large amounts of raw materials are processed
to make products. Due to inefficiencies in the
current system, large volumes of wastes and
emissions are also produced.This system is
known as a cradle-to-grave approach to waste
management.The cradle is the generation of
waste and the grave is the ultimate safe dis-
posal of waste.This system was designed to
control waste for safe disposal, not to manage
waste as a valuable resource.
In their mission to protect public health and
the environment, EPA and the states have
developed and are implementing a regulatory
system for hazardous and municipal waste.
This system, which focuses on threats to our
health and environment and works to prevent
new exposures through end-of-pipe controls,
has been very successful for hazardous wastes,
especially in preventing releases of toxic
chemicals into the environment. However, the
current system has not focused sufficiently on
minimizing wastes and reducing the release
of toxic chemicals through product design,
recycling, and reuse.This system also requires
increasing new material inputs to meet
growing population and other demands.
Inefficient Materials Management (How Waste Is Currently Managed)
Design and
Manufacturing
Material
Inputs
Material
Processing
Stocks
Material
Outputs
Safe
Disposal
-------
Efficient Materials
Management-A Better System
Increasing pressures on natural resources, the
impact of new technologies on resource use,
and the need for more sustainable approaches
represent major new challenges.To effectively
meet these challenges, the RCC is champi-
oning a system of efficient materials manage-
ment. By re-examining the current approaches
to waste management, waste that can be safe-
ly recycled and reused as material inputs can
be identified.The RCC also is examining inputs
to processes that create waste in an effort to
eliminate inefficiencies and toxic materials
altogether.
This overall approach to efficient materials
management is an integral piece of the cradle-
to-cradle framework as described in the book
Cmdle-to-Cmdle (2002)
by William McDonough
and Michael Braungart.
The cradle-to-cradle
design is a system that
creates cyclical material
flows (rather than
cradle-to-grave) that
eliminate the concept
of waste. Each material
in a product is designed
to be safe and effective
and provides high
quality resources for
subsequent generations
of products. For the RCC,
efficient materials
management is a critical step in the evolution
of a cradle-to-cradle system.
Efficient Materials Management (The RCC Vision of the System Needed)
Reuse
Pollution
Prevention
Material
Inputs
Waste
Minimization
Material
Processing
Stocks
Material,
Outputs
Safe
Disposal
Recycle
-------
Transforming Waste
Management
Efficient materials management focuses on
pollution prevention, also known as source
reduction and waste minimization, to produce
fewer wastes and less toxic chemicals. It also
diverts material from going to waste through
recycling, composting, and energy recovery.
Wastes become a valuable input, not a lost
resource.To implement this system, our
perspective must shift from "cradle-to-grave"
inefficiencies towards "cradle-to-cradle" sus-
tainability.The RCC is beginning to apply this
new perspective in a materials flow framework
that considers the quantities and types of
materials, how materials are being used,and
the processes that transform materials into
products.
-------
A Proactive Approach to Materials Management
The RCC-A Major National
Effort
In late 2002, EPA created the RCC as a major
national effort to find flexible,yet protective,
ways to conserve our national resources. It
challenges all Americans to:
• Prevent pollution and promote recycling
and reuse of materials.
• Reduce the use of toxic chemicals.
• Conserve energy and materials.
To achieve these goals, the RCC has enlisted
many partners and is always looking for more.
The RCC is comprised of voluntary programs
and projects with a materials management
and resource conservation focus that produce
results.The solutions being advanced by the
RCC may include regulatory approaches, espe-
cially innovative approaches, to allow material
recycling and reuse while still protecting
human health and the environment. In addi-
tion, through education and outreach, the RCC
asks Americans to make smarter purchasing
and disposal decisions that conserve our natu-
ral resources, save energy, and preserve the
environment for our children and future
generations.
Integral to its materials management solution,
the RCC champions and supports six program
elements:
• Product stewardship.
• Priority chemical reduction.
• "Greening" the government.
• Beneficial use of materials.
• Energy conservation.
• Environmentally friendly design.
These program elements reflect the RCC's life-
cycle, multimedia approach to improving our
environment.The six program elements
express the RCC's goals and serve as a frame-
work for the many Agency partnerships and
projects that RCC encompasses.
-------
Key to the RCC-Partnerships
and Collaboration
RCC partnerships address its six program ele-
ments. Partnerships include states, tribes,
industry, academic institutions, other federal
government agencies, and local entities, which
collaborate to break down barriers and find
solutions to specific national environmental
problems.Through partnerships, the RCC aims
to affect decisions on processes, products,
business practices, and consumer choices that
promote envi-
ronmental pro-
tection. The RCC
encourages its
partners to be
ambitious in the
problems they
tackle, and in the
solutions they
develop. RCC also
aims to test
whether a con-
cept can be ele-
vated to a
particular nation-
al focus, and
whether a busi-
ness practice can
be transferred to an entire industry sector.
Some RCC partnerships, such as the Coal
The Organization of
RCC Partnerships
Some RCC partnerships
are organized around
specific focus areas,
such as electronics,
tires, green buildings,
hospitals, industrial
waste, construction and
demolition debris, paper,
schools, targeted chemi-
cals, composting/organ-
ics, and industrial
design.
Combustion Products Partnership
(C2P2), have already become
national forums.
Some RCC partnerships are
formed around beneficial use and
recycling projects that seek to use
waste currently sent to land dis-
posal facilities. Coal combustion
products, electronic equipment,
and used tires are some examples
of these partnerships. Other part-
nerships focus on changes to
industrial or commercial process-
es that eliminate or reduce waste
generation in the first place.
Different types of RCC partnerships exist
between private entities and the government.
Some are purely voluntary while others
present opportunities for private parties to
participate in partnerships as an alternative to
regulatory control.The RCC works across the
spectrum of these possible arrangements.
Some partnerships may be dynamic and seek
continual growth.The WasteWise partnerships
and the National Waste Minimization
Partnership Program are two prominent exam-
ples of dynamic groups. Some partnerships
may revolve around key members, such as
states, trade associations, or businesses, that
work together on solutions to common envi-
ronmental problems.
Benefits of RCC Partnerships
• Coordination and alignment
to meet challenges.
• Management attention to
specific challenges.
• Assistance in reducing costs
and environmental impacts.
• Recognition for activities
that result in resource
conservation.
-------
Agreeing on Solutions and
Measurable Results
The RCC emphasizes performance and environ-
mental results. Partners agree on the specific
activities they undertake to meet their self-
chosen challenge.They commit to specific
milestones tied to their objectives.
Because many federal regulations are devel-
oped at the national level, they must provide
protection for all possible situations.
Innovations and
tailored solu-
tions are not
readily available.
The RCC may be
a vehicle to
explore new
regulatory
approaches,
especially inno-
vative ones, to
allow material
Measurable Goals Are
Integral to the RCC
The RCC Tires Partnership
has set goals. By 2008, it
is committed to:
Diverting 85 percent of
newly generated scrap
tires to reuse, recycling,
or energy recovery.
Reducing the number of
tires in existing stock-
piles by 55 percent.
recycling and
reuse. Two
examples of
innovative
regulatory approaches are: (1) the comparable
fuels rule that conditionally exempts specific
hazardous waste from regulation when the
waste contains no more toxic constituents than
gasoline or fuel oil; and (2) a proposal to
promote more computer monitor recycling that
will also reduce the release of toxic chemicals,
such as mercury, into the environment.
Multimedia Approach Looks
At the Bigger Picture
The RCC relies on cross-media support for
source reduction, reuse, and recycling pro-
grams. Consequently, it brings together various
EPA offices to support multimedia materials
management solutions.The Multimedia
Pollution Prevention Forum (M2P2) manages
the RCC. M2P2 consists of senior officials from
the Agency's programs. M2P2 also includes
state and tribal representatives to ensure a
broad approach that improves environmental
awareness and anticipates the future.
Promoting Environmental
Understanding through
Education and Outreach
Although governments develop policies, pro-
grams, and procedures, their success depends
on the public's acceptance and endorsement.
Education and outreach to individuals making
critical choices is an essential element of the
RCC.The RCC reiterates positive environmental
messages and supports partners who
educate the public about the benefits of
resource conservation.
RCC launched the "Make a Difference"cam-
paign at a youth environmental symposium in
San Diego, California. Four hundred junior and
senior high school students participated in the
symposium, which was co-sponsored by the
RCC and the City of San Diego Environmental
Services Department. Reducing, reusing,
-------
and recycling waste, and environmental stew-
ardship were the focus of the workshops.
The "Make a Difference" materials and the Planet
Protectors Club kit are examples of how the RCC
helps American youth understand their relation-
ship to the environment.These materials explain
that personal choices in purchasing and dispos-
al are critical to the environmental, social, and
economic health of the United States.
The RCC also targets communities to deliver
resource conservation and environmental
stewardship messages.The bilingual materials in
the RCC "You Dump It, You Drink It," campaign
focus on promoting recycling
and proper management of
used motor oil among
Hispanic consumers and
owners, operators, and
employees in the automotive
service industry.
Additionally, the RCC devel-
oped several public service
announcements (PSAs) for
urban African American
communities in an effort to strengthen neigh-
borhood support for recycling and sound waste
management.The gospel group, Mighty Clouds
of Joy, and Shauntay Hinton, Miss USA of 2002,
recorded the PSAs, which were aired on 100
radio stations across the country.
You
dump it,
you
drink it.
Tools To Achieve Results
The RCC offers tools that have the potential to
help partners achieve RCC goals and conserve
resources. Some tools include technical and
compliance assistance through a variety of vol-
untary programs and through EPA's compliance
assistance centers. Other tools include informa-
tion on pollution prevention techniques, the
availability of emissions trading, and help with
establishing environmental monitoring systems.
RCC partners decide which tools can be of
greatest assistance in achieving their goals.
Generally, all program aspects of the RCC are
expected to establish performance measures
and environmental indicators.
One important RCC tool is the Environmental
Management System (EMS). An EMS is a man-
agement system that promotes a continual
cycle of planning, implementing, and reviewing
actions to be sure they meet business and
environmental goals. Several of the RCC partner-
ships, such as hospitals, schools, and electronics,
use EMS to achieve desired results/'Lean
manufacturing"is similar to EMS in that it is a
business practice that focuses on the systemic
identification and elimination of waste in the
manufacturing process. Both EMS and lean
manufacturing are tools that emphasize
continuous improvement.
-------
First-Year Accomplishments
Moving from Projects to
Programs
When initially introduced, the RCC featured
many projects.The main challenge over the
past year was to organize these projects—
along with other key activities—around the
six key RCC program elements.
Most of the projects pilot new ideas, gather
new information, educate or train a specific
population, or focus on tangible results in a par-
ticular industry. Some of these projects are reg-
ulatory, but most are voluntary. Others form the
basis for full national efforts, and some are now
ready to move to the next higher level.
RCC Program Highlights
All RCC projects and partnerships are notewor-
thy. Only a limited subset of the projects and
partnerships are highlighted because they illus-
trate one or more of the RCC goals, have
achieved results this year, or hold promise for
future development.
Product Stewardship
One of the RCC's goals is for American business-
es and society to shift their orientation away
from waste management processes towards
product stewardship.This goal can be accom-
plished by using strategies to help develop new
markets for recycled, reused, and beneficially
Six Key RCC Elements
Product Stewardship.
Priority Chemical
Reduction.
"Greening" the Government.
Beneficial Use of Materials.
Energy Conservation.
Environmentally Friendly
Design.
reusable products by
encouraging environ-
mentally beneficial prod-
uct designs that produce
less waste and fewer
chemicals and by sup-
porting greater environ-
mental sustainability.
Product stewardship is
an approach to resource
conservation that calls
on everyone involved in
a product's life cycle—
manufacturers, retailers,
users, and disposers—to share responsibility for
reducing the environmental impacts of prod-
ucts. The RCC has a number of projects and
partnerships that are working to increase man-
ufacturer, retailer, and consumer awareness of,
and responsibility for, product stewardship.
Plug-In to eCycling
The electronics partnership's Plug-In to eCycling
project takes a two-pronged approach to
increase the safe recycling of electronics. Some
partners are committed to advertising and
promoting the
recycling of used
electronic equip-
ment and to provid-
ing increased
opportunities for
people to recycle
-------
these products. A number of partners joined
forces in this effort.These partners include
electronics manufacturers and retailers and
local governments in several states.
Alternatively, some Plug-In partners are pilot-
ing various options for safely recycling old
electronics. One approach is to share responsi-
bility for collecting, transporting, and recycling
old consumer electronics among manufactur-
ers, retailers, government agencies, recyclers,
and non-governmental partners.The first of
these pilots was launched at the consumer
electronics show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on
January 10,2004. Partners include Staples,The
Product Stewardship Institute, Apple, Brother,
Dell, Epson, Intel, Lexmark, Panasonic, Sharp,
and Sony, as well as the recycler Envirocycle.
Staples will take back old electronics in 26
retail stores in New England and will also col-
lect these materials from customers when they
deliver new products to them. Manufacturers
will pay for the
recycling of their
products that
Staples takes
back. Envirocycle
will recycle the
collected materi-
als. By working
together, the
partners will fur-
ther product
stewardship of
electronics.
Electronic Partnership on the Road to Recycling Success
The Plug-In to eCycling partners were responsible for safely
recycling 26.4 million pounds of used electronic equipment in
2QQ3. This equipment was collected through different events
and programs throughout the United States. These partners
made outstanding contributions in collecting and recycling used
electronics equipment during the last year:
AT&T Wireless
Envirocycle
Lexmark
Recycle America
Alliance
Staples
Rest Ruy
Intel
Nbctcycle
Sharp
Dell, Inc.
JVC
Panasonic
Sony
Federal Electronics Challenge
The General Services
Administration, the Department of
Defense, the Federal Network for
Sustainability, the Office of the
Federal Environmental Executive
(OFEE),and EPA jointly launched the
Federal Electronics Challenge.This
program encourages federal agencies to buy
"green" products; to use them more efficiently;
and to manage them better at the end of
their useful lives. In addition, this partnership
created a cohesive national strategy to increase
the demand for "greener" electronic products,
and address their end-of-life management
issues.
Federal
Electronics
Electronics Stewardship One Byte @ A Time
-------
Electronic Product Environmental
Assessment Tool
The Electronic Product Environmental
Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is developing a nation-
al, independently facilitated label or rating
mechanism to ease identification and purchas-
ing of more environmentally friendly electron-
ics.The rating system will be designed for use
by large institutional purchasers of electronics,
including government, private industry, and
universities.The tool is being developed by an
independently facilitated team of industry, gov-
ernment, and nonprofit stakeholders and is
expected to be complete by the end of 2004.
Priority Chemical Reduction
EPA, through its M2P2 Forum, has identified a
core group of priority chemicals as being of
particular concern.The RCC set a goal to
reduce by 50 percent the presence of waste
minimization priority chemicals in hazardous
waste by 2005. Using a baseline that was set in
1991, this goal was met in 2001, when EPA
achieved a 53 percent reduction. For 2008, the
RCC is not only developing a new goal that will
seek to further reduce priority chemicals in haz-
ardous waste, but also expanding the goal to all
solid waste and releases to the environment.
The targeted chemicals partnership will focus
primarily on lead, dioxins, mercury, and
naphthalene.The group will work to gain
commitments from users to reduce these and
other priority chemicals in the environment.
National Waste Minimization Partnership
Program (NWMPP)
The targeted chemi-
cals group was
successful in reduc-
ing priority chemicals
in the waste stream
through the NWMPP.
This voluntary partnership works with industrial
organizations, government agencies, and local
communities to find ways to help companies
reduce the amount of waste they generate,
particularly waste that
contains one or more priority
chemicals.This program
encourages results by publicly
recognizing and showcasing
the source reduction, recycling,
and advanced manufacturing
accomplishments of partners
who commit to reducing
priority chemical waste.
In 2003,17 facilities became
Waste Minimization partners,
with many more pending.
Each partner committed to
reducing different types and
amounts of chemicals, and
each established its own
time line for reaching its
self-established goals.
National Waste Minimization
Partnership Program
(NWMPP)
An NWMPP partner, the South
Houston Site of BP Products of
North America, joined the
NWMPP in July 2DD3. Using
new, patented technology, it set
a goal to reduce polycyclic aro-
matic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in
tank bottom wastes by 32,000
pounds, and benzene by
70,000 pounds. More informa-
tion on NWMPP is available at:
.
-------
Collaborative Partnership To Improve
Environmental Performance at Healthcare
Facilities
The American Hospitals Association (AHA) and
EPA have a long-standing agreement to reduce
the healthcare sector's large and diverse waste
streams. Progress in achieving the established
goals has been made with implementation
assistance from Hospitals for a Healthy
Environment (H2E). Consequently, it was only
natural that an RCC partnership would evolve
from this agree-
ment. Achieving
additional reduc-
tions in hospital
waste is a pilot
RCC project. The
RCC hospital part-
nership is exploring ways to incorporate waste
reduction goals into the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organization
(JCAHO) standards. Multiple healthcare and reg-
ulatory organizations are working with JCAHO
to improve environmental performance of
healthcare facilities.Through collaboration with
ITALS
for a
EALTHY
VIRONMENT"
hospitals and JCAHO, the RCC pilot expects to
achieve continuous environmental improve-
ment, waste minimization, and elimination of
mercury—one of the priority chemicals.
Recycling Bullets at Firing Ranges
Lead exposure can pose serious health risks.
Lead from lead shot or bullets can contaminate
the environment by migrating lead into soil,
surface water, and ground water. Across the
United States, about 9,000 shooting ranges
deposit over 100 million pounds of lead into
the environment annually.
An RCC partnership of shooting range organiza-
tions, states, and other interested organizations
is leading a national program for enhancing the
recovery and recycling of lead from outdoor
shooting ranges. After creating a Best
Management Practices (BMP) manual with part-
ners and conducting outreach and technical
assistance, RCC recognizes ranges that imple-
ment acceptable Environmental Stewardship
Plans.The BMP for Lead at Outdoor Ranges is
available on the Web at: .The Association of
European Manufacturers of Sporting
Ammunition followed this model for its BMP
manual, stating/The United States serves as a
model for the world."
From the outreach efforts of this partnership,
20 Environmental Stewardship Plans have been
received from shooting ranges around the
United States. An Environmental Stewardship
Plan is a document that explains how lead
shot and bullets will be managed, reclaimed,
and recycled at individual ranges. Ranges
-------
committing to these plans receive RCC
Certificates of Recognition. Based on commit-
ments in these plans, approximately 50,000
pounds of lead will be properly managed and
reclaimed.Outreach and technical assistance
activities continue to encourage new partners
to submit the plans.
In 2003, these RCC partners as a whole agreed
to address 105 ranges depositing over 100,000
pounds of lead into the environment annually.
"Greening" the Government
This RCC program element seeks to promote
the purchase of green products, through both
environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP)
and comprehensive procurement guidelines
(CPG).The RCC looks to reduce solid and haz-
ardous waste, proactively analyze environmen-
tal impacts, and promote environmental
stewardship on federal lands.
Green Purchasing
Environmentally preferable purchasing is a
government-wide program that encourages
and assists federal agencies in the purchase of
environmentally preferable products and
services.Through EPP purchases,agencies can
prevent waste and pollution by considering
environmental impacts along with price,
performance, and other traditional factors
when deciding what products to buy.
Under RCC, the EPP program serves as a clear-
inghouse of information and provides tools to
facilitate the purchase of environmentally
preferable products and services not only
for the federal government, but also for state
and local governments, industry, and small
businesses.The federal EPP program was
established by EPA in response to Executive
Order 13101:Greening the Government
through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and
Federal Acquisition.
The federal government's buy-recycled pro-
gram is another part of the RCC government-
wide waste reduction effort. Its purpose is to
use federal purchasing power to enhance
markets for recovered and recycled materials.
EPA designates items that are made from
recovered materials, which the federal govern-
ment and its contractors can purchase. It also
recommends practices for obtaining the
recycled products.The CPG program has
designated 54 products made with recovered
materials.
During 2003, the CPG
program proposed to
add fertilizers made from
recovered organic mate-
rials and to revise the
compost designation to
include manure and
biosolids as recovered
materials.TheCPG
program also issued a
Recovered Materials Advisory Notice, which
provides recommendations to federal agencies
about buying these products.
-------
Helping National Parks Become Role Models
To protect our National Parks—some of the
most valuable natural areas in the country—
the RCC partnered with the National Park
Service's Intermountain Region to reduce
hazardous and solid waste in 89 parks.
Through national tools, training, and other
assistance, 25 percent of the parks completed
integrated solid waste management plans; 20
percent are hazardous waste free because of
green purchasing programs; and 74 percent of
recommendations in the parks'pollution pre-
vention plans were implemented.
In addition, each park is developing an EMS
and has completed an evaluation highlighting
future needs for the partnership.This year, for
example,Yellowstone National Park began
working to develop sustainability goals. Zero
waste by 2005 and the reduction of petroleum
use in the park are two anticipated goals.
These goals will form a cornerstone of the
EMS. More information about the Parks Role
Model is available at: .
GreenScapes Alliance
This RCC partnership aims to preserve natural
resources and prevent waste by encouraging
government agencies, businesses, and others
to make more holistic decisions about waste
generation and disposal and about the use of
land, water, pesticides, and energy in large-
scale landscaping projects.The Alliance unites
government and industry into a powerful
influence that can prevent pollution and
achieve waste reduc-
tion in large-scale land
use activities.The
activities include 4
million miles of road-
side landscaping, Brownfields land revitaliza-
tion, and the beautification and maintenance
of office complexes, golf courses, and parks.
The Alliance provides information about the
cost savings that can be achieved from reduc-
ing material use and waste, resource conserva-
tion, and on the performance and durability of
environmentally preferable products, such as
recycled-content and biobased products.
Another prime objective is to educate land
managers that environmentally beneficial
landscaping efforts yield water and energy
savings, conserve landfill space, and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Organizations can
participate in GreenScapes as Partners or
Allies. Partners commit
to undertake a mini-
mum of two
GreenScapes activities,
and Allies work to pro-
mote greater use of
GreenScapes practices.
Since its inception, 15
Partners and Allies,
from small and large
organizations, have
joined GreenScapes.To
learn more about the Alliance, visit the Web at:
.
Environmentally Beneficial Landscaping
-------
COAL COMBUSTION
PRODUCTS PARTNERSHIP
Beneficial Use of Materials
Efficient materials management is a principle
RCC goal. It seeks to have the entities that pro-
duce the waste manage it in such a way so as
to reduce it at its source. It also promotes recy-
cling of the waste and its beneficial reuse in an
environmentally sound manner.
Industrial Waste Partnership and Coal
Combustion Products Partnership
The industrial
waste partnership
is a very important
effort to achieve
the RCC goal of
beneficial reuse of waste. It has a broad focus
that includes beneficial reuse of both haz-
ardous and nonhazardous waste. Primarily, this
partnership has concentrated on coal combus-
tion products, but it is looking at other waste
byproducts for the future.
A notable partnership that has evolved from
this RCC focus area is the Coal Combustion
Products Partnership (C2P2).The American
Coal Ash Association (ACAA),the Utility Solid
Waste Activities Group (USWAG), the
Department of Energy, and EPA sponsor this
RCC "Challenge Program."C2P2 encourages
generators and users of coal combustion prod-
ucts to increase the use of coal ash in highway
and building construction products.
Businesses, states, and professional and indus-
trial associations that voluntarily commit to
using these products receive recognition.
During the past year, over 100 companies
signed up for the C2P2 Challenge Program.
Industry set two goals for increasing the use of
coal combustion products (CCPs):
• To increase the environmentally safe use
of coal in concrete from 14 million metric
tons in 2001 to 20 million metric tons by
2010—a 43 percent increase.
• To increase the environmentally safe ben-
eficial use of CCPs to 45 percent by
2008—about a 30 percent increase.
Not only can the use of coal ash reduce the
amount disposed of in landfills, but also can
reduce the amount of carbon emitted in the
manufacturing process, when used in lieu of
Portland cement. Roughly 0.89 tons of carbon
emissions are reduced for every ton of coal ash
used as a replacement for Portland cement in
concrete. More information on C2P2 is on the
Internet at: .
Keeping Jobs Close to Home
The California Department of Commerce, the
Alameda County Source Reduction and
Recycling Board, and EPA partnered to support
the Recycling Marketplace Project in Alameda
County, California.This RCC partnership
encourages recycling companies to locate near
Alameda County's materials recovery facility.
Local markets for the area's recyclables, such as
organics, paper,construction and demolition
debris, and tires, are dramatically expanding.
This expansion is reducing the amount of
waste exported from Alameda County, cutting
transportation costs and creating more region-
al jobs. Major strides were made in reducing
scrap tires and other waste, creating nine
-------
recycling businesses, 60 jobs, and diverting
more than 37,000 tons of waste per year from
landfills.
Energy Conservation
Saving energy is a major goal of the RCC. Using
natural resources more efficiently and reusing
waste more beneficially conserves and pro-
duces energy and prevents waste.
WasteWise
The WasteWise program is an RCC partnership
that achieves, among other things, energy con-
servation, as well as effective materials man-
agement, waste
prevention, and recy-
cling. WasteWise part-
ners conserve energy
by using fewer raw
materials to make new
products, and they
recycle materials in
their manufacturing processes.These com-
bined efforts not only reduce the amount of
energy businesses use, but also the amount of
greenhouse gases they generate.
WasteWise solicits organizations; businesses;
institutions; nonprofit organizations; and state,
local, and tribal governments to commit to
eliminate or reduce their municipal solid waste
AEPA
MflYSTE
WISE
Preserving Resources,
Preventing Waste
streams, such as paper,
computers, and food
waste.The program
allows partners to
design their own waste
reduction program,
using source reduc-
tion, recycling, and
reuse techniques.
WasteWise programs
consist of four activi-
ties: Waste Assessment,
Employee Education,
Measurement and
Reporting, and Program
WasteWise Partners Reduce
Waste and Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
In 2DD2, WasteWise partners
identified 3.5 million tons of their
waste reduction efforts as directly
attributable to their WasteWise
membership. This level of waste
reduction translates into a reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions by 2.4
million tons of carbon equivalent.
Maintenance.
Now in its ninth year, over 1,300 WasteWise
partners have committed to reducing their
solid waste through waste prevention and
recycling. Nearly 200 endorsers committed to
promoting the program. In 2003, Waste Wise
welcomed more than 100 new partners and 69
new endorsers. Since WasteWise began in
1994, partners collectively reduced their waste
streams by tens of millions of tons. Waste Wise
partners are recognized annually through an
awards program and through the use of the
WasteWise logo in partners'advertising and
newspaper articles, among others. More infor-
mation on WasteWise is available online at:
.
-------
Tires Partnership
The RCC created a unique and diverse partner-
ship to address used tire waste.The partner-
ship established five groups:
• The Goals Group
• Tire-Derived Fuel Group
• Rubber-Modified Asphalt Group
• The Civil Engineering Applications Group
• Ground Rubber Group
The groups are developing recommendations
that will be used as a framework for implemen-
tation options. By 2008, the Goals Group is
committed to:
• Diverting 85 percent of newly generated
scrap tires to reuse, recycling, and energy
recovery.
• Reducing the number of existing tire
stockpiles by 55 percent.
The Philadelphia Tire Round Up Program is one
example of federal and local governments
working together to clean up tires and pro-
duce energy. Under the auspices of the RCC,
the Philadelphia Streets Department and EPA
teamed up with 20 neighborhood block cap-
tains and 17 community and civic groups to
collect illegally dumped tires.The Round Up
collected over 10,000 tires and sent them to
the American Ref-Fuel plant in Chester,
Pennsylvania, where they were burned for
electricity. Subject to limits, the neighborhood
groups were reimbursed one dollar for every
two tires collected.This partnership is using
lessons learned from the Round Up to develop
programs to reduce the number of scrap tires
that are disposed of nationally.
-------
Using Landfill Gases for Energy
A new and innovative RCC effort out of Rutgers
University's New Jersey Eco-Complex proves that
energy can be produced from landfill gases.
Methane gas is captured from landfills and used
as a fuel source in closed loop aquaponic fish and
plant production.
Specifically, the methane is used to power micro-
turbines that provide energy for a light source for
tomato plants and pumps for the fish farm.The
waste heat from the micro-turbines is also recov-
ered and run through a desalinization unit to pro-
duce potable water for the greenhouse. One BTU
of methane not flared at the landfill was used to
produce two high-profit crops—tomatoes and
tilapia.This low maintenance, easily replicated sys-
tem produced high quality fish and vegetables
without the pollution associated with using diesel
fuel.The use of pesticides and antibiotics also is
almost completely eliminated by the closed loop
process.
Environmentally Friendly Design
Designing buildings and products so that they
use and produce fewer chemicals, are more ener-
gy efficient, and more sustainable is another
aspect of the RCC.Through concerted efforts, the
federal government promotes the application of
green building standards.The RCC green build-
ings partnership is developing a baseline that
promotes and measures the results from use of
the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green
Building Rating System (see
for more information). LEED currently captures
more than 5 percent of all commercial and public
building space, and is being used by many feder-
al, state, and local governments, as well as private
businesses to promote high standards for multi-
media green building issues. It includes detailed
requirements in the areas of:
• Sustainable sites.
• Energy and atmosphere.
• Materials and resources.
• Indoor environmental quality.
• Innovation and design process.
The partnership identified over 70 ongoing RCC
green building related projects, and is working on
more. Following are highlights.
EPA's Green Buildings Lead by Example
To serve as models of healthy workplaces that
minimize environmental impacts, EPA strives to
make its buildings as
energy-efficient and
sustainable as possi-
ble. In doing so, EPA
simultaneously pro-
motes the RCC's key
element of "green-
ing" the government
and environmentally
friendly design.The
Agency opened two
state-of-the-art labo-
ratories in 2003, both
-------
of which received a LEED Gold Rating from the
U.S. Green Building Council:
• The Science and Technology Center in
Kansas City, Kansas ()
• The New England Regional Laboratory in
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
()
Green Buildings in Public Trust
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit
(BART) District partnered with RCC to develop
a sustainability project that piloted lighting
control power reduction technology.The pilot
saved 97,090 kilowatts per hour per year with
payback in less than 2 years. BART is one of the
largest parking lot owners in California, and
plans to require the use of this technology in
all of its garages.The estimated environmental
result from the pilot garage alone is a 130,198
pound reduction in carbon dioxide emissions
annually. More information is available at:
.
Construction and Demolition (C&D) Program
The construction and demolition program
recently completed an Innovation Pilot on
building deconstruction and reuse, adopting
a unique approach to reuse called "grave-to-
cradle."The project demonstrates how to
overcome barriers to deconstruction through
an integrated process.The process links the
deconstruction of old building materials to
new building construction and renovation
projects.
An RCC program at the University of Florida
planned and executed the deconstruction of
an old house—the Wesley House—on a local
utility's property. A planned expansion of a
local facility for at-risk youth—the Reichert
House—used 8,000 pounds of materials sal-
vaged from the deconstructed Wesley House.
These materials were reused in numerous
ways.They were either reused for their original
purpose, such as beadboard or flooring, or for
creative, new purposes, such as siding from
baseboard trim and wainscoting from bricks.
The project demonstrated an innovative and
rewarding way to give back to the community.
It soundly illustrates the environmental bene-
fits of reusing materials from deconstruction
rather than losing the resources by demolition.
-------
Pollution Prevention Partnerships
The RCC is working with EPA's Office of
Pollution and Prevention and Toxics'(OPPT)
Design for the Environment (DfE) program on
two partnerships. One is investigating lead-free
alternatives for solder used in electronic equip-
ment.The other is identifying opportunities for
greening the manufacture of flat screen and
cathode ray tube computer monitors.The RCC
also is partnering with the Green Blue Institute
to challenge electronics manufacturers to
develop greener electronic products.This
eDesign Challenge promotes cradle-to-cradle
design of sustainable electronics and end-of-
life management systems. Awards for eDesign
will be announced this year.
Industrial Design Partnership
The Industrial Design Partnership works with
the DfE and Green Chemistry programs.The
Industrial Designers Society of America and the
RCC are working to make commercial products
use greener materials that are more easily dis-
assembled for recycling and reuse. Industrial
designers drive choices for product materials,
finishes, colors, functions, and assembly.These
choices in turn drive demand for chemicals that
end up in the waste stream. About 15,000 small
businesses and industrial designers create
products marketed by large businesses.The
partnership's goal is to educate commercial
product designers about the risks associated
with the chemicals and materials they design,
and to educate and train designers to use envi-
ronmental information in product design deci-
sions.This RCC partnership rewards individuals
within the Industrial Designers Society of
America who design high-volume products
that are environmentally friendly.
-------
The Next Year
More Key Partnerships/ Solid
Environmental Benefits
The RCC will continue to work with existing
partners as well as new ones. Environmental
goals will be further refined; progress will be
documented;and successes will be rewarded.
Environmental benefits resulting from RCC
partnerships will be announced as they are
achieved. Specific RCC targets will be selected
for inclusion in EPA's 2005 strategic plan. We
will continue to respond to requests for RCC
partnerships.
By studying the types of waste the United
States produces, the RCC will work to identify
important areas on which to focus next. From
this collection of government, industry, and
public data, RCC will share information with
our partners and others, and discuss areas
where efforts can make the biggest contribu-
tions toward resource conservation. Areas of
greatest risk that need to be addressed also
will be identified. As illustrated by the waste
graphic at right, the RCC uses broad categories
of information that typically are based on legal
definitions.The RCC will make an effort to dig
deeper to better understand the opportunities
that each part of the graph provides.
Through the M2P2 Forum, the RCC will
continue to work across EPA to ensure that
RCC partnerships and programs receive senior
management attention.The RCC will use
Agency expertise, tools, and resources to ana-
lyze and respond to critical issues.
The RCC will continue to communicate with
the public, providing education and informa-
tion on vital programs.We will continue to pro-
mote the RCC's key elements through outreach
at conferences and other avenues. Finally, we
will continue to better inform Americans about
the impact of their purchasing decisions on
the environment. By working together in the
RCC, materials and resource conservation will
be the norm, rather than the exception.
Total Quantity of RCRA Wastes
(2.6 billion tons, excluding wastewater)
Construction &
Demolition (350)
Other (6)
-------
WHAT CAN YOU
SAVE TODAY?
S M T \N T
n- \
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
CHALLENGE
-------
RCC Resources
RCC Contact Information:
For questions about this report or the RCC,
please contact:
David Hockey
Director, Resource Conservation Challenge
phone: (703) 308-8846
e-mail: hockey.david@epa.gov
Resource Conservation Challenge
Web site:
This resource contains all the information
about the RCC, as well as links to partners'Web
sites.The site features all RCC publications,fact
sheets, news stories, press releases, meeting
notes, and speeches about the RCC.
• An Update: What Can You Save Today?
EPA530-F-02-031
This fact sheet updates the reader on
businesses that have taken the RCC
challenge, how the RCC has engaged con-
sumers, and partnerships that have been
formed to meet the RCC challenge.
• Guide to a Resource Conservation
Challenge Partnership
EPA530-F-03-055
This guide provides information to poten-
tial partners on the important elements of
forming a partnership;defining a chal-
lenge; developing solutions and measure-
ments; establishing and reaching goals;
and promoting successes.
The National Waste Minimization
Partnership Program and Priority
Chemicals
EPA530-F-02-035
The National Waste Minimization Partnership
Program is a partnership within the RCC with
the goal of reducing the use of toxic chemicals.
This fact sheet explains the details of this
partnership program. It is available at:
The Coal Combustion Products
Partnership
The Coal Combustion Products Partnership
(C2P2) Program is a cooperative effort of EPA
and the coal combustion products (CCPs)
industry to help promote the beneficial use of
CCPs.This fact sheet explains the details of this
new partnership program. It is available at:
.
-------
Program Information: WasteWise
WasteWise is a free, voluntary, EPA program
through which organizations eliminate costly
municipal solid waste, benefiting their bottom
line and the environment. WasteWise is a
flexible program that allows partners to design
their own solid waste reduction programs
tailored to their needs. Program information
can be found on the Web at:
.
Program Information: GreenScapes
GreenScapes provides cost-efficient and envi-
ronmentally friendly solutions for large-scale
landscaping. Designed to help preserve natural
resources and prevent waste and pollution,
GreenScapes encourages government
agencies, companies,and other entities to
make more holistic decisions regarding waste
generation and disposal and the associated
impacts on land, water,air,and energy use.
Program information can be found on the Web
at: .
Program Information: Plug-In to
eCycling
EPA and partners have launched a campaign to
get the word out about opportunities to reuse
and recycle old computers,TVs, and cell
phones. For more information on the Plug-In
to eCycling program, please visit the Web at:
or
.
RCC publications may be ordered online
from the National Service Center for
Environmental Publications (NSCEP).
For quick and easy electronic ordering,
please visit .
If ordering by mail, indicate the
document title and number and mail
your request to:
U.S. EPA/NSCEP
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242-0419
By Fax, dial (513)489-8695
By E-mail: ncepimal@one.net
By Phone: Call 1-800-490-9198 or
(513) 489-8190. (Speak to an operator
Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM -
5:30 PM, E.S.T.) Leave an order 24
hours a day.
-------
Limits on EPA and Partner Participation in the Resource Conservation Challenge
Please note that EPA does not endorse the purchase of products or services of any company or organization men-
tioned in this report.
EPA is authorized to cooperate with private and public efforts to reduce the adverse effects of releasing solid wastes into
the environment and to encourage recycling of industrial and commercial materials.The Resource Conservation Challenge
(RCC) program is open to all companies and organizations that wish to join the Agency in this endeavor. Press releases and
promotional materials may advise the public of the partners' participation in the RCC program and identify any recognition
awards that EPA provides to the partner. However, EPA is prohibited from endorsing the purchase or sale of specific com-
mercial products or services.Our partners cannot create advertising that expressly or implicitly violates this prohibition and
remain a partner with EPA.
All commitments that EPA makes in this program are subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Neither the Agency
nor its partners are under legally binding obligations to continue participation in the program.
-------
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW .
(5305W)
Washington, DC 20460
EPA530-R-04-001
February 2004
------- |