Zerowastepacific cherylcoleman

National Trends and Projections on Sustainable Materials Management Cheryl T Coleman Acting Director, Resource Conservation & Sustainability Division Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery Environmental Protection Agency May 8, 2014

Overview of Presentation • • • • • • • • • • • •

A little about myself…

ReThink Sustainable Materials Management – What is it?

Beyond Reduce, Reuse Recycle Beneficial Use of Industrial Materials EPA’s Role EPA Focus Areas Recyclables – Hidden Treasures Regulatory Efforts Anaerobic Digestion Landfills Questions 2

EPA Uses the Principles of Sustainability to Accomplish Its Mission

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Sustainable Material Management •EPA is moving from waste management to sustainable materials management • SMM is a systematic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles

•EPA is continuing to emphasize recycling and reuse •Incorporate more life-cycle analysis into decision-making 4

Rethink. Think Beyond Waste doesn’t just mean making good decisions about the end of a product’s life cycle (i.e. The Waste Management Hierarchy).

It refers to Sustainable Materials Management – the use and reuse of materials in the most productive and sustainable way across their entire life cycle.

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What is Sustainable Materials Management?

A systematic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles

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Material/Product Life Cycle Energy, Water Inputs

Energy, Water Inputs

Resource Extraction

Energy, Water Inputs

Air, Water, Land Emissions

End of Life Management

Energy, Water Inputs

Material Processing

Energy, Water Inputs

Air, Water, Land Emissions

End of Life Management Air, Water, Land Emissions

Energy, Water Inputs

Product Design & Manufacturing

Energy, Water Inputs

Distribution

Air, Water, Land Emissions

Energy, Water Inputs

End of Life Management Air, Water, Land Emissions

Energy, Water Inputs

Air, Water, Land Emissions

Air, Water, Land Emissions

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Use

Retail

Energy, Water Inputs

Air, Water, Land Emissions

End of Life Management

End of Life Management Air, Water, Land Emissions

Energy, Water Inputs

Air, Water, Land Emissions

Air, Water, Land Emissions

Energy, Water Inputs

End of Life Management (MSW) Air, Water, Land Emissions

Which is better from a waste perspective?

Recycled Steel Can with Plastic Lid

62% of cans

15% of canisters Plastic Canister

Flexible Pouch

Data sources provided on last slide

Incinerated

Not recyclable

Landfilled 38% of cans

20% of lids

80% of lids

17% of canisters

68% of canisters

20% of lids

80% of lids

20%

80%

Consumer Action Does not necessarily need active consumer action Requires active consumer action

Which is Better From a Life Cycle Perspective?

(Note: Use Phase not included) Coffee Packaging (11.5 oz product)

*Package Wt.

*Product-toPackaging Ratio

*Energy Consumption

**Efficient Use of Space (relevant for

(MJ/11.5 oz.)

*CO2 eq Emissions/11.

5 oz

~ 4 oz.

3:1

4.21

0.33

no

yes

1,305

~3 oz.

5:1

5.18

0.17

no

yes

847

~0.4 oz.

29:1

1.14

0.04

yes

no

176

Data sources provided on last slide

**Recyclable postconsumer

storage and transportation)

***MSW Waste Generated (lbs./ 100,000 oz. of product)

Space Efficiency:

transportation after filling and on store shelves

12 pouches 12 cans or cannisters

Space Efficiency: transportation before filling Empty cans and cannisters, made off-site, trucked to filling plant

Giant roll of flexible laminate shipped to filling plant, pouches made and filled in one operation

What did the SMM approach tell us?

- If we focus on one attribute or one lifecycle stage, we can miss the big picture - If we look at the entire lifecycle, we can make better choices and reduce environmental impacts

Life Cycle Analysis (per 1,000 lbs of food)

Energy

Greenhouse Gas Solid Waste 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 10 oz Flexible Pouch

9 oz Barrier Tray

10 oz Tub w/ Liner

Recycling is an Important Part of SMM • GHG emissions associated with energy production are avoided through recycling & source reduction • Forest carbon sequestration increases when wood products are source reduced & recycled • Recycling & Source Reduction Avoid: • CH4 emissions from landfills • CO2 emissions from waste combustion

How SMM takes us beyond Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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EPA’s role in promoting and supporting the re-use and recycling of materials • Waste must be managed well in order to minimize environmental impacts • Avoid new raw material extraction

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SMM Challenges The Electronics Challenge seeks to increase the recycling of used electronics by certified recyclers The Food Recovery Challenge challenges participants to feed people not landfills The Federal Green Challenge calls on federal agencies to lead by example in reducing the government's environmental impact

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Beneficial Use of Industrial Secondary Materials Examples of industrial secondary materials include coal combustion residuals, foundry sand, construction & demolition materials, iron & steel slag and scrap tires.

• Opportunities to Advance SMM • Economic Benefits • Consider Impacts

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Information & Measurement • Solid Waste Information • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Characterization Report • Tools and Resources for Decision Makers • State Measurement Program

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Recyclables – Hidden Treasures Sandwich Bales – a recycling opportunity easily implemented by retail operations.

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Financial Opportunities PLASTICS (Prices as of May 5, 2014) Milk and juice bottles: HDPE: Natural, Post-consumer pellets - averaging $1580/ton (77-81 cents/pound) Plastic Bags and Strretch Wraps LLDPE:Stretch film pellets - averaging $660/ton (31-35 cents/pound) Water and Soft Drink Bottles PET: Clear Post-Consumer pellets - averaging $1440/ton (68-76 cents/pound)

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Financial Opportunities METALS Aluminum beverage cans, $1680/ton (84 cents/pound) midwest, April 5 2014 Steel scrap, $380/ton - midwest, April 3, 201 FIBER is compostable, and would most likely be more economically composted on the island, rather than shipped offsite for recycling

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Energy Recovery • Energy Recovery is more than just traditional mass burn and refuse derived fuel plants • We’re seeing different types of conversion technologies coming online: • Pyrolysis • Gasification • Anaerobic Digestion

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Anaerobic Digestion •When done correctly, well managed biogas systems can potentially provide both environmental and economic benefits: •Producing revenue from two valuable “green products” - renewable energy & soil amendment/fertilizer and sending nothing to landfills •Offset the use of virgin materials & fossil fuels currently used for energy and fertilizer production •Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and landfills •Creating “green” jobs, improving soil quality, and “closing the loop”

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EPA is implementing a variety of programs to reduce landfill methane emissions

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Reducing Food Waste

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Regulatory Efforts Goal: Promote SMM while ensuring proper management of both solid and hazardous wastes.

• Current Areas of Emphasis  Non-hazardous secondary materials rulemaking  Household pharmaceuticals  Contaminated solvent wipes rulemaking

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ORCR Resources • Sustainable Materials Management • http://www.epa.gov/smm/

• Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials • http://www.epa.gov/solidwaste/nonhaz/define/index.htm

• Energy Recovery from Waste • http://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/wte/index.htm

• State of Practice for Emerging Waste Conversion Technologies • http://nepis.epa.gov/Adobe/PDF/P100FBUS.pdf

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EPA Environmental Purchasing Websites Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) http://www.epa.gov/opt/epp GSA – Environmentally Preferred Products http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/27119 Environmental Preferable Purchasing Guides http://www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/pfs/htm Database of Environmental Information for Products and Services http://yosemite1.epa.gov/opt/eppstan2.nsf

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For Discussion: The Agency would like to hear from you about issues and challenges you are facing in the world of materials management.

Thank You!!!!

Cheryl T Coleman, Acting Director

Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division USEPA coleman.cheryl@epa.gov 703-308-8738