Just one light bulb Make a difference Save a buck So does a can!

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Just one light bulbMake a differenceSave a buck
So does a can!
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Key Messages

• Key Messages
• Recycling strengthens the environment through
  natural resource conservation, energy savings and
  greenhouse gas reduction
• Recycling strengthens the economy by creating
  jobs, using vendors and manufacturing products
• Recycling strengthens communities

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Recycling Is Big Business In the Southeast EPA
Region 4 Factsheet

• EPA Headquarters
• EPA Region 4 (SE)
• States
• Industry

Fundamental changes to how we view commodities
Walmart Sustainable Driver Realization by 2015
it will not be a matter of price but of
availability
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Recycling Is Big Business In the Southeast

• In 2005, South Carolina's recycling industry
• Directly and indirectly supported 37,440 jobs
  resulting in 1.5 billion in personal income
  impact.
• Produced 69 million in state tax revenue.
• Generated a total economic impact of 6.5
  billion.
• - South Carolina Department of Commerce, August
  2006

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Georgias Recycling Industry Worth Billions

• During the summer of 2006, The Georgia Recycling
  Coalition and Department of Community Affairs
  conducted a study to determine the substantial
  economic impact of recycling in Georgia.
• The plastic industry in the Georgia accounts for
  9 billion in annual sales and employs 75,000
  Georgians with an annual payroll of almost 1.8
  billion.
• The recycling plastic industry in the state
  accounts for 1.5 billion in annual sales and
  employs 36,000 Georgians with an annual payroll
  of almost 875 million.

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Reclaimers Searching for Material

• There are enough plastic bottles going into the
  landfills of the Carolinas to run our plastic
  recycling plant 24 hours per day, 7 days per
  week. But due to low recycling rates, we must
  ship plastic from all over the US including the
  West Coast, the Upper Midwest, and New England,
  as well as Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
  Although we are located in Southeastern US, less
  than 50 of our supply comes from this region.
• -Dwight Ensley President, Ensley Corporation
• Reidsville, North Carolina

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Climate Connection

• "It's time for all of us to work together to
  protect our environment." - Mayor Rebecca A.
  Tooley, Coconut Creek, FL
• "This is not only an Environmental Protection
  Issue, but also an Economic Development and
  Sustainability issue. Protecting our environment,
  we are protecting our resources and preserving
  them for future generations to come." - Mayor
  Joy Cooper, Hallandale Beach, FL
• "We only get one chance to save our environment.
  Today is the time!" - Mayor Tom Truex, Davie, FL

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Climate Connection

• Not widely recognized by the public and policy
  makers the significance and role waste management
  can play as source of GHG emissions
• Waste-related actions can result in emission
  reduction benefits
• Upstream Benefits
• Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy use
  in the material acquisition and manufacturing
  stages
• Increase carbon storage in forests
• Increase carbon storage in soils when organics
  are composted and applied to the soil
• Downstream Benefits
• Avoid landfill methane emissions
• Avoid carbon dioxide emissions from combustion

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Can Create the Local Solutions

• Local governments (bases) influence all major
  sources of global warming pollution

Energy
Solid Waste
Transportation
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Life-Cycle Approach
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Energy Benefits

• Decrease the demand for raw materials (e.g.,
  trees, bauxite)
• Reduce energy associated with raw material
  extraction
• Reduce the amount of energy needed for
  manufacturing and transportation
• Energy production from landfill gas WTE

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Recycling Energy Savings
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GHG vs. Energy Savings
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Benefits of MSW Recycling(2005 recycling rate of
32)

• Avoided Greenhouse Gas emissions of 183 million
  metric tons of CO2e
• (49 million metric tons of Carbon equivalent)
• http//epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculator
  s/Warm_home.html
• equivalent to the emissions from
• 930,000 railcars of coal burned, or
• annual electricity use by 23.5 million households
  
• http//www.usctcgateway.net/tool/
• equivalent to the annual carbon storage of more
  than 152 million acres of pine or fir forest.
• http//www.usctcgateway.net/tool/

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Benefits of MSW Recycling(2005 recycling rate of
32)

• Energy benefit of about 1.4 quadrillion BTUs
• http//epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculator
  s/Warm_home.html
• equivalent to the energy used by
• more than 17 million cars on the road for a year
• approximately 240 million barrels of oil
• 1.4 quadrillion BTUs represents 56 power plants
  that we didnt have to build
• Air emissions particulates, Hg, childhood
  asthma
• Water impacts intake impacts, thermal effluents
• Consequences of coal mining - acid mine drainage,
  flooding, transportation issues
• Coal combustion by-products (fly ash)
• Construction money we could have spent on
  something else

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Climate Connection KCMO Protection Plan
GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS MUNICIPAL MUNICIPAL COMMUNITY
ENERGY
5 renewable energy for city facilities 13,450 13,450 13,450
Reduce municipal energy use by 10 26,900 26,900 26,900
Collaborate with utilities on energy consv. 46,200 46,200
Expand Home Weatherization Program 2,900 2,900
Expand Million Lights Campaign 40,400 40,400
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Internal Recycling 4,500 4,500 4,500
Increase residential recycling 66,000 66,000
Construction waste recycling 41,725 41,725
TRANSPORTATION
Reduce City employee commutes by 10 1,785 1,785 1,785
Reduce business commute 10 Million miles 5,290 5,290
Increase biodiesel, by 10 Million gallons 7,600 7,600
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WasteWise Communities Umbrella

• RCC Goal Increase national recycling rate of MSW
  to 35.
• To meet this goal, EPA is working with Partners
  Stakeholders through existing and new projects.

PAYT
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Tools WARM

• Waste Reduction Model
• Assess GHG and energy impacts of waste
  reductionactivities
• Accepts user-specific inputs and provides
  individualized results
• Available online http//epa.gov/climatechange/wycd
  /waste/index.html
• (under TOOLS)

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Tools WARM

• Emission factors developed for
• Source reduction, recycling, composting,
  combustion, and landfilling
• 26 material types and 6 categories of mixed
  materials (paper, metals, plastics, organics,
  MSW, and recyclables) Potential to develop more
  packaging types

• New
• Brick
• Carpet
• Concrete
• Copper
• Fly Ash
• PCs
• Tires

• Aluminum Cans
• Branches
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Dimensional Lumber
• Food Scraps
• Glass
• Grass
• HDPE
• LDPE
• Leaves

• Magazines
• Medium Density Fiberboard
• Newspaper
• Office Paper
• PET
• Phonebooks
• Steel Cans
• Textbooks
• Yard Trimmings

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Tools ReCon

• Recycled Content Tool (ReCon)
• Available online
• http//epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/tools.html

• Estimates GHG and energy benefits of increasing
  recycled content
• Accepts user-specific inputs and provides
  individualized results

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Tools Durable Goods Calculator

• Assess GHG emissions benefits of different
  disposal methods for 14 durable goods (i.e.,
  refrigerators, washers, dryers, PCs, autos, TVs,
  etc.)
• Accepts user-specific inputs and provides
  individualized results
• Available in Microsoft Excel version
• Available online http//epa.gov/climatechange/wycd
  /waste/index.html
• (under TOOLS)

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Summary

• Recycling offers significant Energy and GHG
  benefits
• The EPA suite of tools can help quantify and
  communicate these benefits
• Incorporate GHG and energy impacts into
  decision-making processes
• Communicate GHG emission reductions and energy
  savings to the public
• Use GHG and energy impacts to help sell
  recycling programs in new and important ways
• Incorporate improved materials management into
  climate action plans at the municipal and state
  level energy and energy efficiency policy

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Recycling makes a real, quantifiable and
sustainable impact.