WasteWise
Conserving Resources, Preventing Waste
"/ attended the 2008
WasteWise Conference
and walked away with
several exciting ideas
for waste reduction
from our networking
and conversations at the
conference."
- Mariah Title
snior Environmen
ogram Coordina
Genzyr
hievements converted
greenhouse gases is
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WasteWise
Offers a
Full Service
Helpline
Why Does Waste Reduction
Makes Sense?
Waste reduction makes good business sense because it
helps your organization promote environmental stewardship,
reduce its climate footprint, and save money.
Promotes environmental stewardship. In today's world,
consumers are increasingly interested in organizations'
environmental profiles. By joining WasteWise, you can show
your employees, shareholders, customers, and communities
that your organization cares about conserving resources,
preventing waste, and saving money.
Reduces climate footprint. Through waste prevention
and recycling, you can greatly reduce your greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions by conserving raw materials and the energy
needed to retrieve and process those materials for use in
manufacturing new products.
Saves money. Waste reduction saves your organization
money through reduced purchasing and disposal costs and
improved operating efficiency.
"By participating in EPA's WasteWise
Program, we have been able to enhance
our commitment to reduce, reuse,
and recycle by utilizing the program's
experience, expertise, and support"
-Todd Johnson, Recycling/Environmental Coordinator,
NEC Electronics America, Inc.
How Does WasteWise Help?
As a WasteWise partner, you can access a wealth of free
technical assistance that will help you design and implement
effective waste reduction activities. Through our network
of experts and peers, you will learn cost-cutting waste
reduction strategies and gain valuable insight from other
partners. Key benefits include access to:
WasteWise Technical Assistance Team helps you design
and implement your unique WasteWise program.
WasteWise Helpline offers toll-free access to information
specialists trained to answer programmatic as well as
technical questions about WasteWise.
WasteWise Web site contains a variety of resources,
including publications, program news, and links to
additional waste reduction Web sites.
WasteWise Re-TRAC, our free data management and
reporting system, allows you to track your organization's
waste generation and reduction activities. Through this
automated, secure system, you can input data, track
waste reduction activities, and generate customized
reports whenever the need arises. You can also calculate
your GHG emission reductions and their environmental
impacts.
Educational webinars provide information and training on
technical topics.
WasteWise Awards Program offers special recognition fo
partners that demonstrate outstanding efforts in all areas
of the program.
Meetings and mentoring opportunities allow you to
exchange information with and learn directly from other
partners.
Personalized Climate Profiles provide you with
information on your organization's GHG emission
reduction efforts.
Publications guide you in developing and implementing
your WasteWise program through partner case studies,
discussions of specialized topics, and coverage of specific
business sectors.
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How Can I Become a Successful
WasteWise Partner?
Joining WasteWise is easy! To join, register online at
www.epa.gov/wastewise. Once you sign up, just follow
these steps:
1. Identify your waste reduction opportunities. One
of the first steps in designing a successful waste
reduction program is identifying areas where waste
can be reduced. A waste audit is not expensive or time
consuming and will likely save you money in the long run.
WasteWise can provide tips for conducting a successful
waste audit.
2. Plan your program. The WasteWise Technical
Assistance Team will help you identify waste reduction
opportunities in three key areas:
Waste prevention
Recycling and composting
Buying/manufacturing recycled-content products
3. Educate your employees. An employee education
campaign can boost program success through increased
awareness and participation.
4. Track and measure your progress. Knowing how far
you've come will help you assess your current efforts
and plan your next steps. With the WasteWise Re-TRAC
data management system, you can easily manage waste
reduction activities at multiple facilities and run real-time
reports to determine the environmental and economic
benefits of your program.
5. Report your progress. As a WasteWise partner,
you will be required to report baseline and annual data.
With WasteWise Re-TRAC, you can submit these data
with a click.
"The Helpline is great for networking
opportunities with other WasteWise
partners. They inform me of what other
partners are doing, so I can model our
waste reduction efforts after them."
- Ed Abrams,
Environmental Programs Coordinator,
U.S. Postal Service-Alabama District
What Is a WasteWise
Endorser?
EPA launched the WasteWise endorser program to help
spread the WasteWise message to more organizations.
Endorsers are state and local government agencies, trade
associations, nonprofit organizations, and businesses that
help their members, constituents, or customers realize
that reducing solid waste makes good business sense.
WasteWise endorsers commit to recruiting organizations to
become WasteWise partners and providing members with
ongoing promotional or technical information.
Where Can I Get
More Information?
ion is available
online at www.epa.gov/wastewise and through the
WasteWise Helpline at 1-800-EPA-WISE (372-9473).
WasteWise - Conserving Resources, Preventing Waste
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WasteWise Success Stories
Lawyers Go Electronic - Through its Law Office Climate
Challenge, the American Bar Association is challenging
law offices across the country to prevent paper waste by
instituting electronic document and double-sided printing
and copying policies.
Furniture Giant Strives for Zero Waste - Merman Miller,
Inc., is looking to send zero waste to the landfill by 2020.
The company has already reduced its waste to landfill by
more than 88 percent, or from 12,500 to 1,500 tons per
year, from its 1994 baseline, and generated $3.3 million in
recycling income in one year. This performance is part of
Herman Miller's overall sustainability goals for 2020.
Subaru Reduces GHG Emissions - Subaru of Indiana
Automotive has implemented extensive waste prevention
and recycling initiatives. Subaru is now able to recycle 99.9
percent of waste generated from its manufacturing process,
reducing its GHG emissions by approximately 46,000 metric
tons of carbon equivalents.
Waste Reduction Saves Verizon $31 Million - In 2009,
Verizon Wireless' HopeLineฎ program collected, refurbished,
or recycled nearly 1.1 million used cell phones. Other Verizon
programs have allowed the company to realize more than $31
million in waste prevention savings and recycling revenues.
Book Reseller Generates $22 Million - In 2008, Better
World Books generated more than $22.5 million in revenues
and avoided $192,585 in disposal costs from the resale/
reuse of 5,255 tons of books and other materials. In addition
to benefiting the environment, a portion of the proceeds
from every book sold helps fund literacy programs around
the world.
College Food Feeds Livestock - Each year, Rutgers
University sends more than 3,800 tons of food waste to a
local farm for cattle feed, saving the university more than
$200,000 a year in operational, maintenance, storage, and
hauling costs.
Webcor Tackles Construction Wastes - Webcor Builders
has demonstrated innovation and commitment to waste
reduction in the construction industry by diverting 75 to
95 percent of wastes generated during its construction
and demolition projects. The builder frequently reuses
materials from its demolition projects as raw materials for its
construction projects, and often donates reusable materials
to local charities.
Steelcase Offers 100 Percent Recycled - Steelcase offers
furniture with environmentally friendly options including
fabric made with 100 percent recycled beverage bottles,
components made from biobased materials, and particleboard
made with 100 percent pre-consumer recycled wood fiber.
Massachusetts Spreads the Word - The Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection has expanded its
WasteWise program to the state's 351 cities and towns.
Every year, this endorser reaches out to organizations
through forums, municipal workshops, business
associations, and its own WasteWise Web site.
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