Energy and Climate Implications of Sustainable Packaging

Transcription

1 Energy and Climate Implications of Sustainable Packaging Julie Gevrenov U.S. EPA Region 5

2 Outline Why does EPA care about packaging? The waste-climate connection The 4Rs prevent GHGs and save energy What is sustainable packaging? Other ways to improve waste management

3 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Generation Trends million tons Per Capita Generation (lbs/person/day) Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures

4 Packaging Waste Generated Million tons 31% of our waste stream! Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures

5 Packaging Waste Recycled % recovery rate Million tons Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures

6 Packaging Composition 1960 vs Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures

7 Hint: It s not landfill space So What?

8 The Energy & Climate Connection to Waste Products have energy impacts and associated GHG emissions at each stage of their life cycle: acquisition of raw materials production and transport of goods product use by consumers end of life

9 U.S. GHG Emissions Systems-Based View, 2006 Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices, U.S. EPA, September 2009

10 How can we reduce the impact of consumption on GHG emissions and save energy? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Re-buy!

11 The 4Rs conserve energy Recycling reduces demand for raw material When we discard packaging (remove materials from the system), we must use energy to extract, transport, and process more raw materials. Manufacturing with recycled materials typically requires less energy than with virgin materials.

12 The 4Rs decrease GHG emissions Saving energy by reducing material use Saving energy by using recycled material Avoided extraction More efficient processing Reducing methane emissions from landfills Organic wastes decompose and produce methane By reducing process-related GHGs, e.g., HFCs Increasing carbon storage in forest and soil

13 How are we doing?

14 Benefits of Recycled Packaging Recycled in 2007 GHG Emissions Avoided Energy Saved Aluminum 0.73 million tons 10 million MTCO2e 151 trillion BTUs Steel 1.73 million tons 3 million MTCO2e 35 trillion BTUs Glass 3.22 million tons 1 million MTCO2e 8 trillion BTUs Paper 24.9 million tons 95 million MTCO2e 577 trillion BTUs Plastics 1.59 million tons 3 million MTCO2e 84 trillion BTUs Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures WaRM

15 Benefits of Recycled Packaging 112 million MTCO2E avoided is equivalent to: the annual CO 2 emissions from 24.1 coal fired power plants 855 trillion BTUs saved is equivalent to: Over 11 million cars on the road for a year Over 134 million barrels of oil WaRM

16 Can we do better?

17 Reduce! Potential GHG Emissions Reduction Strategies: Reduce packaging use by 25%: Prevent million MTCO2E annually Reduce packaging use by 50%: Prevent million MTCO2E annually Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices, U.S. EPA, September 2009

18 Discarded Packaging = Lost Opportunity Discarded in 2007 Lost Opportunity to Prevent GHG Emissions Energy Wasted Aluminum 1.21 million tons 16 million MTCO2e 236 trillion BTUs Steel 0.87 million tons 2 million MTCO2e 20 trillion BTUs Glass 8.16 million tons 2 million MTCO2e 22 trillion BTUs Paper 16.1 million tons 57 million MTCO2e 347 trillion BTUs Plastics 8.8 million tons 20 million MTCO2e 639 trillion BTUs Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures WaRM

19 Consequences of Discarded Packaging Wasted opportunity to avoid emission of 97 million MTCO2e is equivalent to: the annual CO2 emissions from 20.9 coal fired power plants 1.2 quadrillion BTUs wasted is equivalent to: Over 17 million cars on the road for a year Over 9.5 trillion gallons of gasoline WaRM

20 What is a sustainable package? A. Is beneficial, safe, and healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle B. Is sourced, manufactured, transported and recycled using renewable energy C. Meets market criteria for performance and cost D. Maximizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials E. Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices F. Is made from materials healthy in all probable end-of-life scenarios G. Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy H. Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or cradle-to-cradle (closed loop) cycles Definition from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition

21 Other relevant principles of sustainable packaging Practice source reduction Are there simple changes that could decrease/eliminate the need for packaging, e.g. concentrating the product? Practice green chemistry & green engineering Design products and processes to reduce/eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances Design Guidelines for Sustainable Packaging, December 2006

22 How we design our packaging is important: Protect the product Provide a conduit for information Sell the product 1. Choose materials wisely 2. Use only the material that you need 3. Make packages that can be recovered at end-of-life Refer to Design Guidelines for Sustainable Packaging, December 2006

23 Are there other ways companies can improve waste management?

24 WasteWise Voluntary Program Voluntary program that works with facilities to develop solid waste reduction plan Program requirements: New partners report baseline activities Set waste prevention and recycling goals Annual assessments updating baseline data Climate Profile available after one year GHG emission reductions available at any time

25 Byproduct Synergy (BPS) Relationship-building process that brings businesses and other organizations in a geographic area together to: transform one organization s waste into the input for another organization optimize profitability and the environmentally sound use of resources

26 BPS in Midwest Largest BPS effort in Midwest is the Chicago Waste to Profit Network Managed by the Chicago Manufacturing Center More than 175 organizations participate Diverted over 120,000 tons of waste from disposal to date Over $11 million in economic impact to local companies; 37 jobs created

27 Chicago Waste to Profit Network Some Success Stories 50 tons of heat-treated glass cullet were used by a high-end countertop manufacturer. Plans are in place to divert 900 tons per year 40,000 gallons of industrial bleach from an outdated process was used by another company to clean process water. 15 tons of mixed plastics were recycled into highway sound walls and curb stops

28 Other BPS efforts in Midwest Rockford, Peoria, East St. Louis, IL IMEC (IL MEP center) Central Ohio Ohio State s Center for Resilience Cleveland Entrepreneurs for Sustainability Kansas City Bridging the Gap Missouri Missouri Enterprise (MEP center)

29 Julie Gevrenov U.S. EPA Region 5 (Chicago) Materials Management Branch gevrenov.julie@epa.gov Region 5 WasteWise Contact: Jacob Hassan, hassan.jacob@epa.gov Region 5 Byproduct Synergy Expert: Susan Mooney, mooney.susan@epa.gov

30 Appendix

31 Traditional Representation of U.S. GHG Emissions Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices, U.S. EPA, September 2009