ASTSWMO Mid-Year Meeting May 2010 Betsy Smidinger, Acting Director Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division ORCR/OSWER/U.S. EPA 1
The Big Picture: Sustainable Materials Management What is sustainable materials management? How does recycling fit in? How is EPA making this shift? Zooming in to Recycling What are the national recycling statistics? i What is EPA doing? Measurement Economics Climate Change Connection Specific Focuses 2
Shift of focus from waste to materials management. Sustainable Materials Management: the Road Ahead, September 2009 ECOS and ASTSWMO support ASTSWMO s Sustainability Subcommittee Sustainable materials management considers the human health and environmental impacts associated with the full life cycle of materials: Raw material extraction, through transportation, processing, manufacturing, use, recycling and disposal. The traditional cradle to grave approach to managing waste has evolved into a cradle to cradle approach. 3
Purpose: To reduce the environmental footprint of materials used to serve society's s needs by reducing the overall inputs to, hazardousness of, and releases from the materials system. Renew Recycle Remanufacture Reuse Composting Energy, Water Inputs Energy, Water Inputs Energy, Water Inputs Energy, Water Inputs Energy, Water Inputs Energy, Water Inputs Resource Material Product Extraction Processing Design and Manufacturing Product Use Collection/ Processing Disposal Transportation Emissions to Air, Water, and Land Source:EPA/State Vision 2020 Workgroup 4
Resource Conservation Challenge 2010 Training Workshop The beginning of a national dialogue. www.sustainablematerials2020.com Materials Management Demonstration Products Residential one-unit construction/deconstruction. Packaging Life-cycle Analysis Disclosure Standard d Guidance Green Products 5
Diagram: Adapted from Design Guidelines for Sustainable Packaging, Sustainable Packaging Coalition, Green Blue, 2006 6
MSW Generation (M Tons) MSW Generation and Recycling Rates for the US 300 254.6 249.6 250 239.1 205.2 200 33.1% 33.2% 151.6 150 29.0% 121.1 100 88.1 16.2% 50 9.6% 6.4% 6.6% 0 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2007 2008 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Recycling Ra ate (%) Year MSW Generated (M tons) Recycling Rates (%) 7
Recycling rates vs. waste generation llions of To ons Mi 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Recycled Generated EPA 2008 Facts and Figures 8
1970 1980 1990 2000 2008 Paper and paperboard 15% 21% 28% 43% 55% Glass 1% 5% 20% 23% 24% Metals 4% 8% 24% 35% 35% Plastics Neg. <1% 2% 6% 7% Yard trimmings Neg. Neg. 12% 52% 64% Rubber tires 13% 6% 12% 26% 35% Lead-acid acid batteries 76% 70% 97% 93% 99% Neg. = less than 5,000 tons or 0.05 percent. Recycling rates are increasing but the amount of each of these materials in the waste stream is also increasing! 9
Comparison of 2007 Waste Management Practices in the US vs EU -27 60 50 Percentage 40 30 20 10 0 US EU - 27 Countries Landfill Recovery Incineration Waste generation in pounds per capita per year for 2007: US 1,643 EU -27 1,213 10
Measurement Economics Climate Change Connection Specific Areas of Opportunity Consistent with materials management, recycling needs to continue to be a keystone in expanding sustainability at the local level, however the other 2 R's also need to be seen and heard more: REDUCE..REUSE..Recycle 11
Municipal Solid Waste Characterization Report Provides municipal solid waste generation, recycling and disposal in the United States. ORCR is currently assessing how best to proceed with MSW characterization. Should other wastes be included, e.g C&D? What parts of the story are we missing? How should terms be interpreted and defined? EPA will need state and local government involvement, as well as other stakeholders in this effort. 12
Sustainable Financing for Municipal Recycling A stakeholder dialogue to develop one or more options for sustainable financing of municipal recycling programs, focusing on consumer packaging. Pay as You Throw Estimate 7,000 communities are now using an incentive based trash collection program. Reduce waste generation AND increase recycling. Recycling Market Development Creating more local and regional markets needs to be emphasized. 13
Climate Change is one of EPA Administrator s seven priorities. i i OSWER s materials (and land) management efforts contribute to green house gas reductions. EPA has tools and studies linking Materials Management, Recycling, and Green House Gas emissions: WARM Model Foundation Report 42% of US greenhouse gas emissions are associated with materials management 14
Waste Reduction Model (WARM) provides Quantitative Climate Change Measurement The US recycled 83 million tons of waste in 2008. As a result, Americans avoided 182 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E), comparable to the annual GHG emissions from more than 33 millions passenger vehicles. iwarm individual conversions WasteWise partners receive Climate Profiles. Pay as You Throw SMART BET calculator 15
Organics Food Waste A HUGE area of opportunity 12% of the waste generated with only 2.5% recovered Education Teaching our children good environmental life skills Recyclemania K-12 recycling programs y g p g Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign Making sure Americans understand the benefits of recycing 16
Public Space Recycling / Green Venues Needs to continue to expand. Commercial/Business Recycling Outreach Community Engagement Changing g social behavior through an understanding that recycling matters because materials matter. 17
EPA continues to be committed to recycling programs, as they are important to the core RCRA mission and to the EPA Administrator's priorities. State, tribal and local governments have been, and will continue to be, critical to increasing recycling! EPA relies on you, its state partners, to expand the recycling message to include the bigger picture of sustainable materials management. 18
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