For the past twenty-five years, Americans have embraced recycling as an important measurement of environmental performance. The idea that more recycling must be better has spurred the widespread adoption of zero waste goals, developed with the best intentions. However, a focus on recycling as many tons as possible does not always take into account the whole picture of the environmental impact of waste. Join this session to understand how a lifecycle thinking approach can help you develop waste goals and programs for your company that will achieve the greatest environmental benefits and business results.

1. Measuring Materials
Management
Ron Vance
Chief
Resource Conservation Branch
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2. Evolution of Philosophy
Waste Management
Recycling
Integrated Waste Management
Sustainable Materials Management
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3. While philosophy has evolved, our goals have not
Recycling Rate = 35%
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Goals

4. Measuring SMM
Rank Goods & Services
HHCan
HHNonCan
HHResp
EcoTox
GWrm
OzDepl
Smog
Acid
Eutro
Energy
Land
Water
Matl
Waste
RankValue
1 Electric power generation,transmis... 6.9 3.0 14.3 1.3 15.1 <1 11.7 15.8 1.2 12.8 <1 14.4 2.0 1.5 35.4
2 Residential permanentsitesingle- ... 3.7 3.7 3.5 2.2 3.1 2.0 4.6 2.3 <1 4.1 5.9 1.6 16.1 9.2 22.0
3 Animal (exceptpoultry) slaughterin... <1 <1 2.8 <1 2.3 <1 1.1 3.9 4.3 1.1 15.4 3.2 <1 7.6 18.8
4 Poultry processing <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 1.6 16.2 <1 1.3 1.1 <1 3.7 16.8
5 Wastemanagementand remediation se... 6.0 6.6 <1 12.2 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 15.2
6 Greenhouse,nursery,and floricultu... <1 <1 3.3 <1 <1 14.1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 14.5
7 Food services and drinkingplaces 3.9 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.4 2.1 2.8 3.1 3.9 3.8 4.0 5.6 1.0 6.7 14.2
8 Lighttruck and utility vehicleman... 5.9 9.6 1.2 5.0 2.1 3.1 1.9 1.2 <1 1.7 <1 <1 <1 2.6 13.5
9 Retail trade 4.4 4.5 3.4 4.7 3.9 3.2 3.8 3.3 1.6 4.9 1.7 3.4 <1 3.7 13.4
10 Truck transportation <1 <1 1.3 <1 <1 <1 8.9 3.0 <1 2.9 <1 <1 <1 <1 9.9
U.S. Top Ten Most Impactful Goods and Services
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5. Goal is set at one tier –
Recycling
What about:
• Generation
• Landfilling (Zero
Waste)
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Waste Hierarchy

6. 6
Waste Hierarchy
66,380,000; 26%
33,140,000; 13%
23,020,000; 9%
135,920,000; 52%
258,460,000 Tons of Waste Generated in 2014
Recycling Combustion with Energy Recovery Composting Landfill
Note: Recycling and Composting combined equal
89,400,000 tons (35% of all waste generated)

7. 7
Waste Hierarchy

8. 8
Material vs Product
Glass Packaging ,
2,990,000 , 3% Steel Packaging,
1,580,000 , 2% Aluminum
Packaging,
700,000 , 1%
Corrugated Boxes
, 27,280,000 , 31%
Other Paper and
Paperboard
Packaging,
2,210,000 , 2%
Plastics Packaging,
2,120,000 , 2%
Wood packaging,
2,570,000 , 3%
Durable Goods,
9,750,000 , 11%
Newspapers ,
5,200,000 , 6%
Other Paper
Nondurable
Goods, 9,710,000
, 11%
Clothing and
Footwear,
1,900,000 , 2%
Towels, Sheets
and Pillowcases,
230,000 , 0%
Other Misc.
Nondurables,
140,000 , 0%
Food,
1,940,000 , 2%
Yard Trimmings,
21,080,000 , 24%
PRODUCTSMATERIALS

9. 9
Normalizing
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2010 2012 2013 2014
1,000Tons
Gross Recycling Tons
0.0
100.0
200.0
300.0
400.0
500.0
600.0
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2010 2012 2013 2014
Pounds
Annual Per Capita Recycling
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2010 2012 2013 2014
%RecyclingofGeneration
Percentage Recycled of Waste Generation
Comparability between rates between gross tons, per capita pounds, and
percentage of generation:
R2 for lines of best fit = 0.928, 0.927, 0.921

10. 10
Measurement Focus: Tons
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
1,000Tons
Material Landfilled

11. Measurement Focus: Recycling Rates
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Paper and
Paperboard
Glass Ferrous
Metals
Aluminum Other
Nonferrous
Metals
Plastics Rubber and
Leather
Textiles Wood Food Yard
Trimmings
Material Recycling Rate

12. 12
Measurement Focus: Value ($)
$874.00
$390.00
$122.00
$1,526.00
$51.00
$106.00
$56.00
$21.00
$-
$200.00
$400.00
$600.00
$800.00
$1,000.00
$1,200.00
$1,400.00
$1,600.00
$1,800.00
HDPE PET Steel Aluminum Newspapers Corrugated
Cardboard
Mixed paper Glass
Price/ton Material Commodity Values/Ton

13. 13
Measurement Focus: GHGs
3.12
0.28
1.81
9.11
4.34
1.00
0.38
2.36 2.46
0.18 0.15
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
MMTCO2E/ton
GHG emissions/ton recycled

14. There is no one right way to measure.
There is no perfect singular measure.
Measure needs to be tailored to the program and
what is being evaluated.
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Closing Thoughts

15. Thank you!
Visit us at:
http://www.epa.gov/smm

20. 78% 90%
COMPANY A—Office COMPANY B—Distribution Center
Cardboard
Mixed Paper
Cans and Bottles
Compost
Cardboard
Mixed Paper
Cans and Bottles
Compost
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21. 78% 90%
COMPANY A—Office COMPANY B—Distribution Center
Cardboard
Mixed Paper
Cans and Bottles
Compost
Cardboard
Mixed Paper
Cans and Bottles
Compost
“There is no one perfect singular measure
and no one right way to measure”
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23. INITIAL GOAL: 90% DIVERSION RATE
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Recycling Rate 51% 55% 65% 74% 79% 78%
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26. 0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
Organics
Recycling
Disposal
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Recycling Rate 51% 55% 65% 74% 79% 78%
Per Capita Generation
(TPEPY)
0.46 0.39 0.40 0.44 0.43 0.39
REVISED GOAL: Decrease per capita generation 10% per year
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“Set the right goals and prioritize programs”
“Focus on reduction first”

30. SCENARIO ANALYSIS
Start recycling other materials
75% of material to landfill could be
easily recycled
Potential to divert 42 tons of
material from landfill
GHG emission reductions of 93
metric tons
Capital investment of $10,000
Reduce total waste bills by $12,000
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31. SCENARIO ANALYSIS
Start recycling other materials
75% of material to landfill could be
easily recycled
Potential to divert 42 tons of
material from landfill
GHG emission reductions of 93
metric tons
Capital investment of $10,000
Reduce total waste bills by $12,000
Increase cardboard reuse
Boxes would have to be redesigned
in collaboration with manufacturer
and customers in order to increase
reuse rate
Potential to reuse 800 tons of
cardboard
GHG emission reductions of 763
metric tons
Avoided box purchase costs of
$700,000
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32. NEW GOALS: FIRST PRIORITY
Increase cardboard reuse
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85%box reuse rate

33. NEW GOALS: SECOND PRIORITY
Start recycling other materials Increase cardboard reuse
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75%reduction in waste to landfill
85%box reuse rate

34. NEW GOALS
Start recycling other materials Increase cardboard reuse
75% 85%reduction in waste to landfill box reuse rate
“Set the right goals and prioritize programs”
“Focus on reduction first”
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