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

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

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”

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

Georgia’s 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.

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

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

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 Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from energy use in the material acquisition and manufacturing stages Increase carbon storage in forests Increase carbon storage in forests Increase carbon storage in soils when organics are composted and applied to the soil Increase carbon storage in soils when organics are composted and applied to the soil  Downstream Benefits Avoid landfill methane emissions Avoid landfill methane emissions Avoid carbon dioxide emissions from combustion Avoid carbon dioxide emissions from combustion

Local governments (bases) influence all major sources of global warming pollution Transportation EnergySolid Waste Can Create the Local Solutions

Life-Cycle Approach

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

Recycling Energy Savings

GHG vs. Energy Savings Recycling GHG Benefits Attributable to Energy Savings (Recycling vs. Landfilling) -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Office Paper Dim Lumber MDF Textbooks Corr. Cardboard Mag/3rd Cl. Mail Phonebooks Newspaper Fly Ash Glass PCs Carpet Aluminum Cans HDPE LDPE PET Steel Cans Copper Wire Aggregate

Benefits of MSW Recycling (2005 recycling rate of 32%)  Avoided Greenhouse Gas emissions of 183 million metric tons of CO 2 e (49 million metric tons of Carbon equivalent) equivalent to the emissions from: equivalent to the emissions from: 930,000 railcars of coal burned, or930,000 railcars of coal burned, or annual electricity use by 23.5 million householdsannual electricity use by 23.5 million householdshttp:// equivalent to the annual carbon storage of more than 152 million acres of pine or fir forest. equivalent to the annual carbon storage of more than 152 million acres of pine or fir forest.

Benefits of MSW Recycling (2005 recycling rate of 32%)  Energy benefit of about 1.4 quadrillion BTUs equivalent to the energy used by: equivalent to the energy used by: more than 17 million cars on the road for a yearmore than 17 million cars on the road for a year approximately 240 million barrels of oilapproximately 240 million barrels of oil  1.4 quadrillion BTUs represents 56 power plants that we didn’t have to build: Air emissions – particulates, Hg, childhood asthma Air emissions – particulates, Hg, childhood asthma Water impacts – intake impacts, thermal effluents Water impacts – intake impacts, thermal effluents Consequences of coal mining - acid mine drainage, flooding, transportation issues Consequences of coal mining - acid mine drainage, flooding, transportation issues Coal combustion by-products (fly ash) Coal combustion by-products (fly ash) Construction money we could have spent on something else Construction money we could have spent on something else

Climate Connection KCMO Protection Plan GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS MUNICIPALCOMMUNITY ENERGY 5% renewable energy for city facilities 13,45013,450 Reduce municipal energy use by 10% 26,90026,900 Collaborate with utilities on energy consv. 46,200 Expand Home Weatherization Program 2,900 Expand Million Lights Campaign 40,400 WASTE MANAGEMENT Internal Recycling 4,5004,500 Increase residential recycling 66,000 Construction waste recycling 41,725 TRANSPORTATION Reduce City employee commutes by 10% 1,7851,785 Reduce business commute 10 Million miles 5,290 Increase biodiesel, by 10 Million gallons 7,600

WasteWise Communities Umbrella 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

Tools: WARM Waste Reduction Model  Assess GHG and energy impacts of waste reduction activities  Accepts user-specific inputs and provides individualized results  Available online ycd/waste/index.html ycd/waste/index.html ycd/waste/index.html (under “TOOLS”) (under “TOOLS”)

Tools: WARM Aluminum CansAluminum Cans BranchesBranches Corrugated CardboardCorrugated Cardboard Dimensional LumberDimensional Lumber Food ScrapsFood Scraps GlassGlass GrassGrass –HDPE –LDPE –Leaves – Magazines – Medium Density Fiberboard – Newspaper – Office Paper – PET – Phonebooks – Steel Cans – Textbooks – Yard Trimmings 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 Brick Carpet Carpet Concrete Concrete Copper Copper Fly Ash Fly Ash PCs PCs Tires Tires

Tools: ReCon Recycled Content Tool (ReCon)  Available online  Estimates GHG and energy benefits of increasing recycled content  Accepts user-specific inputs and provides individualized results

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 (under “TOOLS”) (under “TOOLS”)

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 Incorporate GHG and energy impacts into decision-making processes Communicate GHG emission reductions and energy savings to the public 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 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 Incorporate improved materials management into climate action plans at the municipal and state level – energy and energy efficiency policy

Recycling makes a real, quantifiable and sustainable impact.