Stop Trashing the Climate

FULL REPORT June 2008

A ZERO WASTE APPROACH IS ONE OF THE FASTEST, CHEAPEST, AND MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO PROTECT THE CLIMATE. Significantly decreasing waste disposed in landfills and incinerators will reduce greenhouse gas emissions the equivalent to closing 21% of U.S. coal-fired power plants. This is comparable to leading climate protection proposals such as improving national vehicle fuel efficiency. Indeed, preventing waste and expanding reuse, recycling, and composting are essential to put us on the path to climate stability.

KEY FINDINGS: 1. A zero waste approach is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies we can use to protect the climate and the environment. Significantly decreasing waste disposed in landfills and incinerators will reduce greenhouse gases the equivalent to closing one-fifth of U.S. coal-fired power plants. This is comparable to leading climate protection proposals such as improving vehicle fuel efficiency. Indeed, implementing waste reduction and materials recovery strategies nationally are essential to put us on the path to stabilizing the climate by 2050. 2. Wasting directly impacts climate change because it is directly linked to global resource extraction, transportation, processing, and manufacturing. When we minimize waste, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in sectors that together represent 36.7% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. 3. A zero waste approach is essential. Through the Urban Environmental Accords, 103 city mayors worldwide have committed to sending zero waste to landfills and incinerators by the year 2040 or earlier. 4. Existing waste incinerators should be retired, and no new incinerators or landfills should be constructed. 5. Landfills are the largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions in the U.S., and the impact of landfill emissions in the short term is grossly underestimated — methane is 72 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year time frame. 6. The practice of landfilling and incinerating biodegradable materials such as food scraps, paper products, and yard trimmings should be phased out immediately. Composting these materials is critical to protecting our climate and restoring our soils.

7. Incinerators emit more CO2 per megawatt-hour than coal-fired, natural-gas-fired, or oil-fired power plants. Incinerating materials such as wood, paper, yard debris, and food discards is far from “climate neutral”; rather, incinerating these and other materials is detrimental to the climate. 8. Incinerators, landfill gas capture systems, and landfill “bioreactors” should not be subsidized under state and federal renewable energy and green power incentive programs or carbon trading schemes. In addition, subsidies to extractive industries such as mining, logging, and drilling should be eliminated. 9. New policies are needed to fund and expand climate change mitigation strategies such as waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, and extended producer responsibility. Policy incentives are also needed to create locally- based materials recovery jobs and industries. 10. Improved tools are needed for assessing the true climate implications of the wasting sector.

Stop Trashing the Climate

www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org [email protected]

Brenda Platt Institute for Local Self-Reliance

David Ciplet Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance/Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives

Kate M. Bailey and Eric Lombardi Eco-Cycle

JUNE 2008

ILSR is a nationally recognized organization providing research and technical assistance on recycling and community-based economic development, building deconstruction, zero waste planning, renewable energy, and policies to protect local main streets and other facets of a homegrown economy. Our mission is to provide the conceptual framework and information to aid the creation of ecologically sound and economically equitable communities. ILSR works with citizens, activists, policy makers, and entrepreneurs. Since our inception in 1974, we have actively addressed the burgeoning waste crisis, overdependence on fossil fuels, and other materials efficiency issues. We advocate for better practices that support local economies and healthy communities.

For more information contact: 927 15th Street, NW, 4th Floor Washington, DC 20009 (202)898-1610 • www.ilsr.org • [email protected]

About Eco-Cycle

Founded in 1976, Eco-Cycle is one of the largest non-profit recyclers in the USA and has an international reputation as a pioneer and innovator in resource conservation. We believe in individual and community action to transform society’s throw-away ethic into environmentally-friendly stewardship. Our mission is to provide publicly-accountable recycling, conservation and education services, and to identify, explore and demonstrate the emerging frontiers of sustainable resource management and Zero Waste.

For more information contact: P.O. Box 19006 Boulder, CO 80308 (303)444-6634 • www .ecocycle.org • recy [email protected]

About the Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance/Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives

GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 500 grassroots organizations, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in 81 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. Our goal is clean production and the creation of a closed-loop, materials-efficient economy where all products are reused, repaired or recycled. GAIA’s greatest strength lies in its membership, which includes some of the most active leaders in environmental health and justice struggles internationally. Worldwide, we are proving that it is possible to stop incinerators, take action to protect the climate, and implement zero waste alternatives. GAIA’s members work through a combination of grassroots organizing, strategic alliances, and creative approaches to local economic development. In the United States, GAIA is a project of the Ecology Center (ecologycenter.org).

For more information contact:

Unit 320, Eagle Court Condominium, 1442A Walnut Street, #20 26 Matalino Street, Barangay Central, Berkeley, California 94709, USA Quezon City 1101, Philippines Tel: 1 (510) 883 9490 • Fax: 1 (510) 883-9493 Tel: 63 (2) 929-0376 • Fax: 63 (2) 436-4733

www.no-burn.org • [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables

List of Figures

Preface

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary 1

Key Findings 6

A Call to Action – 12 Priority Policies Needed Now 12

Introduction 14

Wasting = Climate Change 17

Lifecycle Impacts of Wasting: Virgin Material Mining, Processing, and Manufacturing 19

Landfills Are Huge Methane Producers 25

Waste Incinerators Emit Greenhouse Gases and Waste Energy 29

Debunking Common Myths 34

A Zero Waste Approach is One of the Fastest, Cheapest, and Most Effective Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change in the Short Term 43

Zero Waste Approach Versus Business As Usual 49

Composting Is Key to Restoring the Climate and Our Soils 55

New Policies and Tools Are Needed 60

Conclusions 67

Endnotes 72

Stop Trashing The Climate LIST OF TABLES

Table ES-1: Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategies: Waste Reduction Compared to Commonly Considered Options 2

Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential 8

Table ES-3: Major Sources of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2005, 100 Year vs. 20 Year Time Horizon 8

Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions 20

Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions 22

Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituents, % by volume 26

Table 4: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential 26

Table 5: Major Sources of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2005, 100 Year vs. 20 Year Time Horizon 28

Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste Incinerators, 2005 31

Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified 47

Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Options 48

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates 51

Table 10: Source Reduction by Material and Strategy 51

Table 11: Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategies: Waste Reduction Compared to Commonly Considered Options 52

Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste 59

Stop Trashing The Climate LIST OF FIGURES

Figure ES-1: Business As Usual Recycling, Composting, Disposal 4

Figure ES-2: Zero Waste Approach 4

Figure ES-3: Wasting is Linked to 36.7% of Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2005 5

Figure ES-4: Comparison of Total CO2 Emissions Between Incinerators and Fossil-Fuel-Based Power Plants (lbs/megawatt-hour) 9

Figure 1: Conventional View – U.S. EPA Data on Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector, 2005 18

Figure 2: Wasting Is Linked to 36.7% of Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2005 24

Figure 3: U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 25

Figure 4: Comparison of Total CO2 Emissions Between Incinerators and Fossil-Fuel-Based Power Plants (lbs/megawatt-hour) 40

Figure 5: Energy Usage for Virgin vs. Recycled-Content Products (million Btus/ton) 46

Figure 6: Business As Usual Recycling, Composting, Disposal 49

Figure 7: Zero Waste Approach 50

Figure 8: 100-Year Time Frame, Landfill Methane Emissions 69

Figure 9: 20-Year Time Frame, Landfill Methane Emissions 69

Stop Trashing The Climate PREFACE

How beneficial would it be to the climate if we were to shut down one-fifth of the nation’s coal-fired power plants? To say it would be “very beneficial” is probably an understatement. It turns out that we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to shutting down one-fifth of the nation’s coal-fired power plants by making practical and achievable changes to America’s waste management system. Indeed, taking logical steps to reduce the amount that we waste in landfills and incinerators would also have comparable climate benefits to significantly improving national vehicle fuel efficiency standards and other leading climate protection strategies.

The authors of Stop Trashing the Climate are building a dialogue with this report. The world is already in dialogue about energy and climate change, but the discussion of how wasting impacts global warming has only just begun. This report shines the spotlight on the immediate, cost-effective, and momentous gains that are possible through better resource management. Stemming waste is a crucial element to mitigating climate change.

Wasting occurs at every step of our one-way system of resource consumption. From resource extraction to manufacturing to transportation to disposal, each step impacts the state of our climate and our environment. Stop Trashing the Climate presents a bird’s-eye view of this unsustainable system, showing both the cumulative impacts of our choices and the huge potential for change.

While this report focuses only on climate implications, the decisions to cut waste will also reduce human health risks, conserve dwindling resources, protect habitat, improve declining soil quality, address issues of social and environmental justice, and strengthen local economies.

One shocking revelation within the pages that follow is the grossly inaccurate way that the world has been measuring the global warming impact of methane — especially landfill methane. We have documented here that the choice of measuring the impact of methane over a 100-year timeline is the result of a policy decision, and not a scientific one. We have found that the climate crisis necessitates looking at the near-term impact of our actions. Our calculations of greenhouse gas emissions over a 20-year timeline show that the climate impacts of landfill gas have been greatly understated in popular U.S. EPA models.

But that’s far from the end of the story. We also expose incinerators as energy wasters rather than generators, and as significant emitters of carbon dioxide. We describe the absurdity of the current reality in which our agricultural soil is in increasingly desperate need of organic materials while we waste valuable nutrients and space in landfills by simply failing to compost food scraps and yard trimmings. We call attention to the negative impact of misguided subsidies that fund incinerators and landfills as generators of “renewable energy.” We also reveal the many fallacies behind estimated landfill gas capture rates and show how preventing methane generation is the only effective strategy for protecting our climate.

Stop Trashing The Climate We are addressing these critical issues because few others are, and as leading organizations at the forefront of resource conservation, we see how these issues connect many of our environmental challenges — especially climate change. We’ve sought to provide a factual analysis and to fill in the data gaps when we could, but we don’t claim that our analysis is fully conclusive or comprehensive. The authors of this report are concerned people who work at the interface of society, technology, and the environment. We welcome hard data to challenge us and refine our findings! If you disagree with our policy positions and recommendations for action, we welcome that, too! But if you agree with the findings and assertions in this report, then we expect to link arms with you, the reader, and move the discussion forward about how to change the negative impacts of our planetary wasting patterns, reduce reliance on disposal systems, capitalize on the environmental and economic opportunities in sustainable resource use, support environmental justice, and make real change in policy so that we can make real change in the world.

Significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are achieved when we reduce materials consumption in the first place, and when we replace the use of virgin materials with reused and recycled materials in the production process. This is the heart of a zero waste approach. The time to act is now, and this report provides a roadmap for us to address global climate change starting in our own communities.

Eric Lombardi Brenda Platt David Ciplet Eco-Cycle Institute for Local Self-Reliance GAIA

June 2008

Please email us at: [email protected]

Stop Trashing The Climate ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was made possible by the generous support of the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Giles W. and Elise G. Mead Foundation, The Ettinger Foundation, the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Overbrook Foundation. Brenda Platt of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) was the lead author and researcher. She is deeply indebted to her co-authors: David Ciplet at GAIA and Kate M. Bailey and Eric Lombardi at Eco-Cycle. They guided this report at every step – adding, editing, rewriting, checking, and framing content. This report represents a true collaborative effort. ILSR intern Heeral Bhalala deserves special recognition for calculating our business-as-usual wasting scenario and comparing this to a zero waste path using the EPA’s waste characterization data and its WAste Reduction Model (WARM). ILSR’s Sarah Gilberg helped research the paper facts and industrial energy use, while Sarah Pickell was a whiz at formatting the tables. Many thanks to Kelly Heekin for her thorough edits of this document and to Leonardo Bodmer of Bodmer Design for designing the report and its executive summary. Special thanks to the following individuals for reviewing and improving our findings and other parts of this document:

Peter Anderson :: Center for a Competitive Waste Industry, Madison, WI Sally Brown :: University of Washington, WA Wael Hmaiden :: IndyAct-The League of Independent Activists, Beirut, Lebanon Gary Liss :: Gary Liss & Associates, Loomis, CA Marti Matsch :: Eco-Cycle, Boulder, CO David Morris :: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC Jeffrey Morris :: Sound Resource Management, Seattle, WA Neil Seldman :: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC Neil Tangri :: GAIA, Berkeley, CA Alan Watson :: Public Interest Consultants, Wales, UK Monica Wilson :: GAIA, Berkeley, CA

All responsibility for the views expressed in this report or for any errors in it rests with the authoring organizations.

Stop Trashing The Climate

Executive Summary

Stop Trashing the Climate provides compelling evidence that preventing waste and expanding reuse, recycling, and composting programs — that is, aiming for zero waste — is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies available for combating climate change. This report documents the link between climate change and unsustainable patterns of consumption and wasting, dispels myths about the climate benefits of landfill gas recovery and waste incineration, outlines policies needed to effect change, and offers a roadmap for how to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within a short period.

Immediate and comprehensive action by the United By reducing waste creation and disposal, the U.S. States to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas can conservatively decrease greenhouse gas emissions ‡ emissions is desperately needed. Though the U.S. by 406 megatons CO2 eq. per year by 2030. This represents less than 5% of the world’s population, we zero waste approach would reduce greenhouse gas generate 22% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions the equivalent of closing one-fifth of the emissions, use 30% of the world’s resources, and existing 417 coal-fired power plants in the U.S.5 This create 30% of the world’s waste.1 If unchecked, would achieve 7% of the cuts in U.S. greenhouse gas annual greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. will emissions needed to put us on the path to achieving increase to 9.7 gigatons* carbon-dioxide equivalents what many leading scientists say is necessary to 6, 7, 8 (CO2 eq.) by 2030, up from 6.2 gigatons CO2 eq. in stabilize the climate by 2050. Indeed, reducing 1990.2 Those who are most impacted by climate waste has comparable (and sometimes change, both globally and within the U.S., are people complementary) benefits to the leading strategies of color and low-income and indigenous identified for climate protection, such as significantly communities — the same people who are least improving vehicle fuel efficiency and hybridizing responsible for rapidly increasing greenhouse gas vehicles, expanding and enhancing carbon sinks emissions.3 To effectively address global climate (such as forests), and retrofitting lighting and change, the U.S. must dramatically shift its improving electronic equipment. (See Table ES-1.) relationship to natural resources. A zero waste Further, a zero waste approach has greater potential approach is a crucial solution to the climate change for protecting the climate than environmentally problem. harmful strategies proposed to reduce carbon emissions such as the expansion of nuclear energy. Stop Trashing the Climate provides an alternative Moreover, reuse, recycling, and composting facilities scenario to business-as-usual wasting in the U.S. By do not have the severe liability or permitting issues reducing waste generation 1% each year and associated with building nuclear power plants or diverting 90% of our discards from landfills and carbon capture and storage systems.9 incinerators by the year 2030, we could dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the U.S. and The good news is that readily available around the world. This waste reduction scenario cost-competitive and effective strategies would put us solidly on track to achieving the goal of sending zero waste to landfills and incinerators by to reduce, reuse, and recover discarded the year 2040, the target established by the Urban materials can be implemented on a wide Environmental Accords, which 103 city mayors scale within a relatively short time period. worldwide have signed.4

* 1 gigaton = 1 billion metric tons ‡ 1 megaton = 1 million metric tons = 1 Tg (teragram)

2 Stop Trashing The Climate 1 Table ES-1: Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategies: Zero Waste Path Compared to Commonly Considered Options (annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, megatons CO2 eq.)

% of Total Annual Abatement Abatement Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy Needed in 2030 to Potential by Stabilize Climate 2030 by 2050 1

ZERO WASTE PATH Reducing waste through prevention, reuse, recycling and composting 406 7.0%

ABATEMENT STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BY McKINSEY REPORT Increasing fuel efficiency in cars and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% Improved fuel efficiency and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 3.4% Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% Hybridization of cars and light trucks 70 1.2% Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% Afforestation of pastureland and cropland 210 3.6% Forest management 110 1.9% Conservation tillage 80 1.4% Targeting energy-intensive portions of the industrial sector 620 10.7%

Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 4.4% Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 1.1% New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Lighting retrofits 240 4.1% Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% Commercial lighting retrofits 110 1.9% Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Carbon capture and storage 290 5.0% Wind 120 2.1% Nuclear 70 1.2%

The McKinsey Report analyzed more than 250 opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the authors evaluated options for three levels of effort—low-, mid-, and high-range—they only reported greenhouse gas reduction potential for the mid- range case opportunities. The mid-range case involves concerted action across the economy. Values for select mid-range abatement strategies are listed above. The zero waste path abatement potential also represents a mid-range case, due to shortcomings in EPA’s WARM model, which underestimates the reduction in greenhouse gases from source reduction and composting as compared to landfilling and incineration. A high-range zero waste path would also provide a more accelerated approach to reducing waste generation and disposal.

The authors of this report, Stop Trashing the Climate, do not support all of the abatement strategies evaluated in the McKinsey Report. We do not, for instance, support nuclear energy production.

1. In order to stabilize the climate, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 need to be at least 80% below 1990 levels. Based on a straight linear calculation, this means 2030 emissions levels should be 37% lower than the 1990 level, or equal to 3.9 gigatons CO2 eq. Thus, based on increases in U.S. greenhouse gases predicted by experts, 5.8 gigatons CO2 eq. in annual abatement is needed in 2030 to put the U.S. on the path to help stabilize the climate by 2050.

Source: Jon Creyts et al, Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much and at What Cost? U.S. Greenhouse Gas Abatement Mapping Initiative, Executive Report, McKinsey & Company, December 2007. Available online at: http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/greenhousegas.asp. Abatement potential for waste reduction is calculated by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC, June 2008, based on the EPA’s WAste Reduction Model (WARM) to estimate GHGs and based on extrapolating U.S. EPA waste generation and characterization data to 2030, assuming 1% per year source reduction, and achieving a 90% waste diversion by 2030.

2 Stop Trashing The Climate 3 coal-fired power plant

To achieve the remarkable climate protection in 2006. Figure ES-1, Business As Usual, visually potential of waste reduction, we must stem the flow represents the future projection of this trend based of materials to landfills and halt the building and use on our current wasting patterns. Figure ES-2, Zero of incinerator facilities. Landfills and incinerators Waste Approach, illustrates an alternate path based destroy rather than conserve materials. For every on rising recycling and composting rates and the item that is landfilled or incinerated, a new one must source reduction of 1% of waste per year between be extracted, processed, and manufactured from raw 2008 and 2030. Under this zero waste approach, or virgin resources. Americans destroy nearly 170 90% of the municipal solid waste generated in the million tons of paper, metals, plastics, food scraps, U.S. could be diverted from disposal facilities by and other valuable materials in landfills and 2030. Using the U.S. EPA’s WAste Reduction Model incinerators each year. More than two thirds of the (WARM) to estimate greenhouse gas reduction, the materials we use are still burned or buried,10 despite zero waste approach — as compared to the business- the fact that we have the technical capacity to cost- as-usual approach — would reduce greenhouse gases effectively recycle, reuse or compost 90% of what we by an estimated 406 megatons CO2 eq. per year by 11 waste. Millions of tons of valuable resources are also 2030. This reduction of 406 megatons CO2 eq. per needlessly wasted each year because products are year is equivalent to closing 21% of the nation’s 417 increasingly designed to be used only once.12 coal-fired power plants.

If we continue on the same wasting path with rising per capita waste generation rates and stagnating recycling and composting rates, by the year 2030 Americans could generate 301 million tons per year of municipal solid waste, up from 251 million tons

4 Stop Trashing The Climate 3

Current assessments of greenhouse gas Figure ES-1: Business As Usual Recycling, emissions from waste take an overly narrow Composting, Disposal view of the potential for the “waste sector” to mitigate climate change. This is largely a result of inventory methodologies used to account for greenhouse gases from waste. Conventional greenhouse gas inventory data indicate that the waste sector in the U.S. is solely responsible for 2.6% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. This assessment, however, does not include the most significant climate change impact of waste disposal: We must continually extract new resources to replace those buried or burned. For every ton of discarded Source: Brenda Platt and Heeral Bhalala, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC, June 2008, using and extrapolating from U.S. EPA products and materials destroyed by municipal solid waste characterization data. Waste composition in future incinerators and landfills, about 71 tons of assumed the same as 2006. The diversion level through recycling and composting flattens out at 32.5%. Takes into account U.S. Census manufacturing, mining, oil and gas estimated population growth. exploration, agricultural, coal combustion, and other discards are produced.13 More trees must be cut down to make paper. More ore must be mined for metal

Figure ES-2: Zero Waste Approach production. More petroleum must be processed into plastics.

By reusing instead of disposing of materials, we can keep more forests and other ecosystems intact, store or sequester large amounts of carbon, and significantly reduce our global warming footprint. For example, cutting deforestation rates in half globally over the next century would provide 12% of the global emissions reductions needed to prevent significant increases in global temperatures.14

Reusing materials and reducing waste Source: Brenda Platt and Heeral Bhalala, Institute for Local Self- provide measurable environmental and Reliance, Washington, DC, June 2008. Past tonnage based on U.S. EPA municipal solid waste characterization data. Future tonnage based on climate benefits. According to a recent reaching 90% diversion by 2030, and 1% source reduction per year between 2008 and 2030. Waste composition in future assumed the same report to the California Air Resources as 2006. Takes into account U.S. Census estimated population growth. Board, Recommendations of the Economic and Technology Advancement Advisory Committee (ETAAC) Final Report on Technologies and Policies to Consider for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in California:

4 Stop Trashing The Climate 5 “Recycling offers the opportunity to cost-effectively burned or buried in communities. The impact of this decrease GHG emissions from the mining, wasteful system extends far beyond local landfills and manufacturing, forestry, transportation, and incinerators, causing greenhouse gas emissions up to electricity sectors while simultaneously diminishing thousands of miles away from these sources. In this methane emissions from landfills. Recycling is way, U.S. related consumption and disposal are widely accepted. It has a proven economic track closely tied to greenhouse gas emissions from record of spurring more economic growth than any extractive and manufacturing industries in countries other option for the management of waste and other such as China. recyclable materials. Increasing the flow through California’s existing recycling or materials recovery Thus, reducing the amount of materials consumed infrastructures will generate significant climate in the first place is vital for combating climate response and economic benefits.”15 change. In addition, when recovered materials are reused, recycled, and composted within local and In short, unsustainable consumption and waste regional economies, the climate protection benefits disposal drive a climate-changing cycle in which are even greater because significant greenhouse gas resources are continually pulled out of the Earth, emissions associated with the transportation of processed in factories, shipped around the world, and products and materials are avoided.

Figure ES-3: Wasting Is Linked to 36.7% of Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2005

All Other 63.3% Industrial Fossil Fuel Combustion 11.6%

Industrial Electricity Consumption 10.5%

Industrial Non- Energy Processes Manure 4.4% Management 0.7% Industrial Coal Mining Synthetic Fertilizers Truck 0.3% 1.4% Waste Disposal Transportation 2.6% 5.3%

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Based on data presented in the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007. Industrial Electricity Consumption is estimated using Energy Information Administration 2004 data on electricity sales to customers. See Table ES-1, Electric Power Annual Summary Statistics for the United States, released October 22, 2007, and available online at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epates.html. Waste disposal includes landfilling, wastewater treatment, and combustion. Synthetic fertilizers include urea production. All data reflect a 100-year time frame for comparing greenhouse gas emissions.

100 Yr Horizon 20 Yr Horizon 6 Emission Source Stop Trashing The Climate 5 Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total

Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 2 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 Key findings of this report 3. A zero waste approach is essential. Through the Urban Environmental Accords, 103 city mayors worldwide have committed to sending zero waste to 1. A zero waste approach is one of the fastest, landfills and incinerators by the year 2040 or cheapest, and most effective strategies we can use earlier.19 More than two dozen U.S. communities to protect the climate and environment. By and the state of California have also now embraced significantly reducing the amount of waste landfilled zero waste as a goal. These zero waste programs are and incinerated, the U.S can conservatively reduce based on (1) reducing consumption and discards, (2) greenhouse gas emissions by 406 megatons CO2 eq. reusing discards, (3) extended producer per year by 2030, which is the equivalent of taking responsibility and other measures to ensure that 21% of the existing 417 coal-fired power plants off products can safely be recycled into the economy and the grid.16 A zero waste approach has comparable environment,* (4) comprehensive recycling, (5) (and sometimes complementary) benefits to leading comprehensive composting of clean segregated proposals to protect the climate such as significantly organics, and (6) effective policies, regulations, improving vehicle fuel efficiency and hybridizing incentives, and financing structures to support these vehicles, expanding and enhancing carbon sinks systems. The existing 8,659 curbside collection (such as forests), or retrofitting lighting and programs in the U.S. can serve as the foundation for improving electronic equipment (see Table ES-1.) It expanded materials recovery. also has greater potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions than environmentally harmful strategies 4. Existing waste incinerators should be retired, proposed such as the expansion of nuclear energy. and no new incinerators or landfills should be Indeed, a zero waste approach would achieve 7% of constructed. Incinerators are significant sources of the cuts in U.S. emissions needed to put us on the CO2 and also emit nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent path to climate stability by 2050. greenhouse gas that is approximately 300 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the 2. Wasting directly impacts climate change atmosphere.20 By destroying resources rather than because it is directly linked to resource extraction, conserving them, all incinerators — including mass- transportation, processing, and manufacturing. burn, pyrolysis, plasma, and gasification21 — cause Since 1970, we have used up one-third of global significant and unnecessary lifecycle greenhouse gas natural resources.17 Virgin raw materials industries emissions. Pyrolysis, plasma, and gasification are among the world’s largest consumers of energy incinerators may have an even larger climate and are thus significant contributors to climate footprint than conventional mass-burn incinerators change because energy use is directly correlated with because they can require inputs of additional fossil greenhouse gas emissions. Our linear system of fuels or electricity to operate. Incineration is also extraction, processing, transportation, consumption, pollution-ridden and cost prohibitive, and is a direct and disposal is intimately tied to core contributors of obstacle to reducing waste and increasing recycling. global climate change such as industrial energy use, Further, sources of industrial pollution such as transportation, and deforestation. When we incineration also disproportionately impact people of minimize waste, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions color and low-income and indigenous in these and other sectors, which together represent communities.22 36.7% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.18 See Figure ES-3. It is this number that more accurately reflects the impact of the whole system of extraction * Extended producer responsibility requires firms, which manufacture, import or sell products and packaging, to be financially or physically responsible for such products over the entire lifecycle of to disposal on climate change. the product, including after its useful life.

6 Stop Trashing The Climate 7

5. Landfills are the largest source of “Scientifically speaking, using the 20-year anthropogenic methane emissions in the U.S., time horizon to assess methane emissions and the impact of landfill emissions in the short is as equally valid as using the 100-year term is grossly underestimated — methane is 72 time horizon. Since the global warming times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year time potential of methane over 20 years is 72, frame. National data on landfill greenhouse gas reductions in methane emissions will have emissions are based on international accounting a larger short-term effect on temperature protocols that use a 100-year time frame for — 72 times the impact — than equal calculating methane’s global warming potential.‡ reductions of CO2. Added benefits of Because methane only stays in the atmosphere for around 12 years, its impacts are far greater in the reducing methane emissions are that many short term. Over a 100-year time frame, methane is reductions come with little or no cost, 25 times more potent than CO2. However, methane reductions lower ozone concentrations near 23 is 72 times more potent than CO2 over 20 years. Earth’s surface, and methane emissions can (See Table ES-2.) The Intergovernmental Panel on be reduced immediately while it will take Climate Change assesses greenhouse gas emissions time before the world’s carbon-based over three time frames — 20, 100, and 500 years. energy infrastructure can make meaningful The choice of which time frame to use is a policy- reductions in net carbon emissions.” based decision, not one based on science.24 On a 20- year time frame, landfill methane emissions alone – Dr. Ed J. Dlugokencky, Global Methane Expert, NOAA represent 5.2% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Earth System Research Laboratory, March 2008 (See Table ES-3.) Furthermore, landfill gas capture systems are not an effective strategy for preventing Source: “Beyond Kyoto: Why Climate Policy Needs to Adopt the 20-year Impact of Methane,” Eco-Cycle Position Memo, Eco-Cycle, www.ecocycle.org, March 2008. methane emissions to the atmosphere. The portion of methane captured over a landfill’s lifetime may be as low as 20% of total methane emitted.25

6. The practice of landfilling and incinerating biodegradable materials such as food scraps, paper products, and yard trimmings should be phased out immediately. Non-recyclable organic materials should be segregated at the source and composted or anaerobically digested under controlled conditions.** Composting avoids significant methane emissions from landfills, increases carbon storage in soils and improves plant growth, which in turn expands carbon sequestration. Composting is thus vital to restoring the climate and our soils. In addition, compost is a value-added product, while landfills and incinerators present long-term environmental liabilities. Consequently, composting should be front and center in a national ‡ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) developed the concept of global warming potential (GWP) as an index to help policymakers evaluate the impacts of greenhouse gases with strategy to protect the climate in the short term. different atmospheric lifetimes and infrared absorption properties, relative to the chosen baseline of carbon dioxide (CO2).

** Anaerobic digestion systems can complement composting. After energy extraction, nutrient rich materials from digesters make excellent compost feedstocks.

8 Stop Trashing The Climate 7 406 7.0%

Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP)

All Other Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) 63.3% Chemical IndustrialGWP Fossil for Fuel Given Time Horizon Common Name Combustion Formula SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr 11.6% Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 Methane CH 21 72 25 8 4 Industrial Nitrous Oxide N20 310 Electricity 289 298 153 Hydrofluorocarbons Consumption

HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 10.5% 3,830 1,430 435

HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Perfluorinated compounds Industrial Non-

Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 Energy Processes 16,300 22,800 32,600 Manure 2 CF 6,500 4.4% 5,210 7,390 11,200 Management PFC-14 4 2 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 0.7% Industrial Coal 1. IPCC Second Assessment Report (1996). Represents 100-yearMining time horizon. These GWPs are used by the U.S. EPA in its Synthetic Fertilizers Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions andTruck Sinks. 0.3% 1.4% 2. Released during aluminumWaste Disposal production.Transportation PFC-116 has an expected lifetime of 1,000 years. 5.3% Source: Intergovernmental 2.6%Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “Table 2.14,” p. 212, Forster, P., et al, 2007: Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis.

Table ES-3: Major Sources of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Tg CO2 Eq.), 2005, 100 Year vs. 20 Year Time Horizon

1 Emission Source 100 Yr Horizon 20 Yr Horizon Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total

Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% 2 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6%

Natural Gas Systems (CO 2 & CH 4) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7%

Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2%

Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5%

Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4%

Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1%

Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7%

Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6%

Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5%

Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1%

Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 4 Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0%

ODS = Ozone Depleting Substances Tg = Teragram = million metric tons

1. Methane emissions converted to 20-year time frame. Methane’s global warming potential is 72 over a 20-year time horizon, compared to 21 used for the 100- year time frame. N2O emissions along with ODS, perfluorinated compounds, and hydrofluorocarbons have also been converted to the 20-year time horizon. 2. Such as fertilizer application and other cropping practices. 3. Such as for manufacturing plastics, lubricants, waxes, and asphalt. 4. CO2 emissions released from the combustion of biomass materials such as wood, paper, food discards, and yard trimmings are not accounted for under Municipal Solid Waste Combustion in the EPA inventory. Biomass emissions represent 72% of all CO2 emitted from waste incinerators.

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Data for 100-year time horizon is from “Table ES-2: Recent Trends in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks,” Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, p. ES-5 and p. 3-19.

8 Stop Trashing The Climate 9 Figure ES-4: Comparison of Total CO2 Emissions Between Incinerators and Fossil-Fuel-Based Power Plants (lbs/megawatt-hour)

Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP)

Source: U.S. EPA Clean Energy web page, “How Does Electricity Affect the Environment,” http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/air-emissions.html, browsed March 13, 2008.

7. Incinerators emit more CO2 per megawatt-hour and composting feedstocks. This ultimately leads to than coal-fired, natural-gas-fired, or oil-fired a net increase of CO2 concentrations in the power plants (see Figure ES-4). Incinerating atmosphere and contributes to climate change. The materials such as wood, paper, yard debris, and bottom line is that tremendous opportunities for food discards is far from “climate neutral”; rather, greenhouse gas reductions are lost when a material is incinerating these and other materials is incinerated. It is not appropriate to ignore the detrimental to the climate. However, when opportunities for CO2 or other emissions to be comparing incineration with other energy options avoided, sequestered or stored through non- such as coal, natural gas, and oil power plants, the combustion uses of a given material. More climate- Solid Waste Association of North America friendly alternatives to incinerating materials include (SWANA) and the Integrated Waste Services options such as waste avoidance, reuse, recycling and Association (an incinerator industry group), treat the composting. Any climate model comparing the incineration of “biomass” materials such as wood, climate impact of energy generation or waste paper, and food discards as “carbon neutral.” As a management options should take into account result, they ignore CO2 emissions from these lifecycle emissions incurred (or not avoided) by not materials. This is inaccurate. Wood, paper, and utilizing a material for its “highest and best” use. agricultural materials are often produced from These emissions are the opportunity costs of unsustainable forestry and land practices that are incineration. causing the amount of carbon stored in forests and soil to decrease over time. Incinerating these 8. Incinerators, landfill gas capture systems, and materials not only emits CO2 in the process, but also landfill “bioreactors” should not be subsidized destroys their potential for reuse as manufacturing under state and federal renewable energy and

10 Stop Trashing The Climate 9 green power incentive programs or carbon trading are built to last, constructed so that they can be schemes. Far from benefiting the climate, subsidies readily repaired, and are safe and cost-effective to to these systems reinforce a one-way flow of resources recycle back into the economy and environment. on a finite planet and make the task of conserving (See the list of priority policies, page 14.) Taxpayer resources more difficult, not easier. Incineration money should be redirected from supporting costly technologies include mass-burn, pyrolysis, plasma, and polluting disposal technologies to funding zero gasification, and other systems that generate waste strategies. electricity or fuels. All of these are contributors to climate change. Environment America, the Sierra 10. Improved tools are needed for assessing the Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, true climate implications of the wasting sector. Friends of the Earth, and 130 other organizations The U.S. EPA’s WAste Reduction Model (WARM), recognize the inappropriateness of public a tool for assessing greenhouse gases from solid waste subsidization of these technologies and have signed management options, should be revised to more onto a statement calling for no incentives for accurately account for the following: lifetime landfill incinerators.26 Incinerators are not the only problem gas capture rates; avoided synthetic fertilizer, though; planned landfill “bioreactors,” which are pesticide, and fungicide impacts from compost use; being promoted to speed up methane generation, are reduced water irrigation energy needs from compost likely to simply result in increased methane application; increased plant growth from compost emissions in the short term and to directly compete use; and the timing of emissions and sinks. (For with more effective methane mitigation systems such more detail, see the discussion of WARM, page 13.) as composting and anaerobic digestion technologies. New models are also needed to accurately take into Preventing potent methane emissions altogether account the myriad ways that the lifecycle impact of should be prioritized over strategies that offer only local activities contributes to global greenhouse gas limited emissions mitigation. Indeed, all landfill emissions. This would lead to better-informed operators should be required to collect landfill municipal actions to reduce overall greenhouse gas gases; they should not be subsidized to do this. emissions. In addition, lifecycle models are needed to In addition, subsidies to extractive industries such as accurately compare the climate impact of different mining, logging, and drilling should be eliminated. energy generation options. Models that compare These subsidies encourage wasting and economically incineration with other electricity generation options disadvantage resource conservation and reuse should be developed to account for lifecycle industries. greenhouse gas emissions incurred (or not avoided) by not utilizing a material for its “highest and 9. New policies are needed to fund and expand best” use. climate change mitigation strategies such as waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, and extended producer responsibility. Policy incentives are also needed to create locally-based materials recovery jobs and industries. Programs should be developed with the democratic participation of those individuals and communities most adversely impacted by climate change and waste pollution. Regulatory, permitting, financing, market development, and economic incentive policies (such as landfill, incinerator, and waste hauling surcharges) should be implemented to divert biodegradable organic materials from disposal. Policy mechanisms are also needed to ensure that products

10 Stop Trashing The Climate 11 There will always be “discards” in our society, but how much of that becomes “waste” is a matter of choice.

Rapid action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, options should consider costs, human health with immediate attention to those gases that pose a impacts, job and business impacts, and other more potent risk over the short term, is nothing environmental effects in addition to climate change. short of essential. Methane is one of only a few gases Published data addressing these other areas indicate with a powerful short-term impact, and methane and that aiming for zero waste is not only good for the carbon dioxide emissions from landfills and climate but also good for the economy, job creation, incinerators are at the top of a short list of sources of the environment, and public health.27 greenhouse gas emissions that may be quickly and cost-effectively reduced or avoided. Resource conservation, reduced consumption, product redesign, careful materials selection, new Stop Trashing the Climate answers important rules and incentives, democratic participation, questions surrounding wasting and climate change, internalizing costs,* and materials reuse, recycling, and recommends key steps to reduce waste that and composting have never been such a necessity as would result in the equivalent of taking 21% of the they are today. Indeed, aiming for a zero waste 417 U.S. coal-fired power plants off the grid by economy by preventing waste and recovering 2030. One strategy highlighted for its critical materials is essential for mitigating climate change. importance is composting. This report explains the The time to act is now. We have to redesign our unique benefits of composting to mitigate production, consumption, and resource greenhouse gases in the short term and calls for management systems so that they can be sustained composting as a core climate and soil revitalization for generations to come. strategy moving forward. * For example, where the price of a product reflects its true environmental and social costs including the cost of disposal. It should be noted that Stop Trashing the Climate does not assess human health impacts or environmental impacts that do not have a direct bearing on climate change. A full assessment of solid waste management

12 Stop Trashing The Climate 11 A Call To Action — 12 Priority Policies Needed Now

In order for a zero waste strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 406 megatons CO2 eq. per year by 2030, the following priority policies are needed:

1. Establish and implement national, incentives, penalties, or bans to prevent statewide, and municipal zero waste organic materials, particularly food targets and plans: Any zero waste discards and yard trimmings, from target or plan must be accompanied by a ending up in landfills and incinerators. shift in funding from supporting waste 5. End state and federal “renewable disposal to supporting zero waste jobs, energy” subsidies to landfills and infrastructure, and local strategies. incinerators: Incentives such as the 2. Retire existing incinerators and halt Renewable Electricity Production Tax construction of new incinerators and Credit and Renewable Portfolio landfills: The use of incinerators and Standards should only benefit truly investments in new disposal facilities — renewable energy and resource including mass-burn, pyrolysis, plasma, conservation strategies such as energy gasification, other incineration efficiency, and the use of wind, solar, and technologies, and landfill “bioreactors” ocean power. Resource conservation — obstruct efforts to reduce waste and should be incentivized as a key strategy increase materials recovery. Eliminating for reducing energy use. In addition, investments in incineration and subsidies to extractive industries such as landfilling is an important step to free up mining, logging, and drilling should be taxpayer money for resource eliminated. Instead, subsidies should conservation, efficiency, and renewable support industries that conserve and energy solutions. safely reuse materials.

3. Levy a per-ton surcharge on 6. Provide policy incentives that landfilled and incinerated materials: create and sustain locally-based Many European nations have adopted reuse, recycling, and composting significant landfilling fees of $20 to $40 jobs: Incentives should be directed to per ton that are used to fund recycling revitalize local economies by supporting programs and decrease greenhouse environmentally just, community-based, gases. Surcharges on both landfills and and green materials recovery jobs and incinerators are an important businesses. counterbalance to the negative 7. Expand adoption of per-volume or environmental and human health costs per-weight fees for the collection of of disposal that are borne by the public. trash: Pay-as-you-throw fees have been 4. Stop organic materials from being proven to increase recycling and reduce sent to landfills and incinerators: the amount of waste disposed.1 Implement local, state, and national

12 Stop Trashing The Climate

8. Make manufacturers and brand 11. Decision-makers and environ- owners responsible for the products mental leaders should reject climate and packaging they produce: protection agreements and strategies Manufactured products and packaging that embrace landfill and incinerator represent 72.5% of all municipal solid disposal: Rather than embrace waste.2 When manufacturers are agreements and blueprints that call for responsible for recycling their products, supporting waste incineration as a they use less toxic materials, consume strategy to combat climate change, such fewer materials, design their products to as the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate San Francisco’s “Fantastic Three” Program. last longer, create better recycling Protection Agreement, decision-makers systems, are motivated to minimize waste and environmental organizations should costs, and no longer pass the cost of adopt climate blueprints that support zero disposal to the government and the waste. One example of an agreement that taxpayer.3 will move cities in the right direction for zero waste is the Urban Environmental 9. Regulate single-use plastic products Accords signed by 103 city mayors and packaging that have low or non- worldwide. existent recycling levels: In less than one generation, the use and disposal of 12. Better assess the true climate single-use plastic packaging has grown implications of the wasting sector: from 120,000 tons in 1960 to 12,720,000 Measuring greenhouse gases over the tons per year today.4 Policies such as 20-year time horizon, as published by the bottle deposit laws, polystyrene food IPCC, is essential to reveal the impact of takeout packaging bans, and regulations methane on the short-term climate targeting single-use water bottles and tipping point. Also needed are updates to shopping bags have successfully been the U.S. EPA’s WAste Reduction Model implemented in several jurisdictions (WARM) as well as new models to around the world and should be replicated accurately account for the impact of local everywhere.5 activities on total global emissions and to compare lifecycle climate impact of 10. Regulate paper packaging and junk different energy generation options. mail and pass policies to significantly increase paper recycling: Of the 170 million tons of municipal solid waste disposed each year in the U.S., 24.3% is paper and paperboard. Reducing and recycling paper will decrease releases of numerous air and water pollutants to the 1 See the U.S. EPA’s “Pay As You Throw” web site at Packaging),” 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables. Available http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/payt/index.htm. online at: http://www.epa.gov/garbage/msw99.htm. environment, and will also conserve 2 See “Table 3: Materials Discarded in Municipal Solid Waste, 5 See, for instance, Californians Against Waste web site, energy and forest resources, thereby 1960-2006,” U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables. “Polystyrene & Fast Food Packaging Waste,” http://www.cawrecycles.org/issues/polystyrene_main. reducing greenhouse gas emissions.6 3 Beverly Thorpe, Iza Kruszewska, Alexandra McPherson, Extended Producer Responsibility: A waste management 6 U.S. EPA, “Table 3: Materials Discarded in the Municipal Waste strategy that cuts waste, creates a cleaner environment, and Stream, 1960 to 2006,” and “Table 4: Paper and Paperboard saves taxpayer money, Clean Production Action, Boston, 2004. Products in MSW, 2006,” 2006 MSW Characterization Data Available online at http://www.cleanproductionaction.org. Tables. For catalog data, see Forest Ethics, Catalog Campaign web page at http://www.catalogcutdown.org/. 4 U.S. EPA, “Table 22: Products Discarded in the Municipal Waste Stream, 1960 to 2006 (with Detail on Containers and

Stop Trashing The Climate 13 Greenhouse Gases and Global Introduction Warming Potential

Gases in the atmosphere contribute to the greenhouse effect The Earth’s climate is changing at an unprecedented both directly and indirectly. Direct effects occur when the gas itself absorbs radiation. Indirect radiative forcing occurs when rate, impacting both physical and biological systems. chemical transformations of the substance produce other Temperature increases have been linked to rising greenhouse gases, when a gas influences the atmospheric tropical hurricane activity and intensity, more lifetimes of other gases, or when a gas affects atmospheric frequent heat waves, drought, and changes in processes that alter the radiative balance of the Earth. The infectious disease vectors. Damage from coastal Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) developed the Global Warming Potential concept to compare the ability of flooding is on the rise. Fires and pests are causing each greenhouse gas to trap heat in the atmosphere relative to more damage to forests. The allergenic pollen season carbon dioxide. starts earlier and lasts longer than before. Plant and Direct greenhouse gases include the following: animal species’ ranges are shifting, and we may be on the brink of the largest mass extinction in history.28 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) — CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas, Those who are most impacted by climate change, representing 83.9% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. Fossil fuel combustion is the largest source of CO2. both globally and within the U.S., are people of color and low-income and indigenous communities – the Methane (CH4) — The largest U.S. sources of CH4 emissions same people who are least responsible for climate- are decomposition of waste in landfills, natural gas systems, 29 and enteric fermentation associated with domestic livestock. changing greenhouse gas emissions. CH4 traps more heat in the atmosphere than CO2. The latest IPCC assessment report revised the Global Warming Potential of Human activities such as transportation, CH4 to 25 times that of CO2 on a 100-year time horizon, and 72 deforestation, industrial processing, agriculture, and times that of CO2 on a 20-year time horizon.

electricity use are now directly linked to climate Nitrous Oxide (N2O) — N2O is produced by biological change. These activities are tied to the production processes that occur in soil and water and by a variety of and consumption of materials, which are increasingly human activities such as fertilizer application, waste designed to be used once and thrown away. The incineration, animal manure management, and wastewater treatment. While total N2O emissions are much lower than CO2 United States in particular contributes a emissions, N2O is 298 times more powerful than CO2 at trapping disproportionate share of the world’s greenhouse heat in the atmosphere (on a 100-year time horizon). gases. While we represent only 4.6% of the global Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulfur population, we generate 22% of its carbon dioxide Hexafluoride (SF6) — HFCs and PFCs are families of synthetic emissions.30 chemicals that are used as alternatives to ozone-depleting substances. These compounds, along with SF6, can be Carbon dioxide emissions are closely related to thousands of times more potent than CO2.SF6 and PFCs have extremely long atmospheric lifetimes, resulting in their energy and resource consumption. Americans are essentially irreversible accumulation in the atmosphere once responsible for 24% of global petroleum emitted. consumption and 22% of world primary energy 31 Indirect greenhouse gases include carbon monoxide (CO), consumption. We use one-third of the Earth’s nitrogen oxide (NOx), non-methane volatile organic 32 timber and paper. Meanwhile, we throw away 170 compounds (NMVOCs), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Fuel million tons of paper, glass, metals, plastics, textiles, combustion accounts for the majority of these emissions. Other and other materials each year. sources are municipal waste combustion and industrial processes (such as the manufacture of chemical and allied products, metals processing, and industrial uses of solvents). A short window of opportunity exists to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize atmospheric CO2 concentrations before our climate Source: U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions reaches a “tipping point.” This tipping point is tied to and Sinks: 1990-2005, (Washington, DC, April 15, 2007), pp. the level of greenhouse gas concentrations in the ES-2-4, ES-8-10, ES-16-17. For GWP,see IPCC, “Table 2.14,” p. 212, Forster, P., et al, 2007: Changes in Atmospheric atmosphere that could lead to widespread and rapid Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: climate change. More than two hundred scientists at The Physical Science Basis.

14 Stop Trashing The Climate

the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali declared that global emissions must peak and decline over the next 10 to 15 years in order to limit global warming to 2.0°C above pre- industrial levels.33 Amplified or uncontrolled climate change will lead to widespread devastation, both economically and environmentally.34

This report, Stop Trashing the Climate, makes the case that working to prevent waste and expand reuse, recycling, and composting — that is, aiming for zero waste — is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies for reducing climate change in the short term.

Stop Trashing the Climate documents the link between climate change and unsustainable human Finished compost. Biodegradable materials are a liability patterns of consumption and wasting. It argues that when landfilled and burned, but an asset when composted. the disposal of everyday materials such as paper, plastics, and food scraps in landfills and incinerators Accords have been signed by 103 city mayors is a core contributor to the climate crisis. In addition worldwide.35 By reducing waste generation 1% each to documenting the significant greenhouse gas year and diverting 90% of our waste from landfills emissions released directly by landfills and and incinerators by the year 2030, Stop Trashing the incinerators, the report details how waste disposal Climate shows that we could dramatically reduce drives a lifecycle climate-changing system that is greenhouse gas emissions within the U.S. and steeped in unsustainable patterns of consumption, beyond. The report provides key recommendations transportation, energy use, and resource extraction. for attaining this waste reduction scenario that This report does not assess human health impacts or would, in turn, avoid 406 megatons* CO2 eq. per environmental impacts from wasting that do not year of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of have a direct bearing on climate change. A full taking 21% of the 417 coal-fired power plants in the assessment of solid waste management options U.S. off the grid by 2030.36 Reducing waste also has would consider economic benefits and costs, human comparable (and sometimes complementary) climate health impacts, and impacts on the environment protection benefits to leading strategies identified to such as resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, reduce greenhouse emissions such as significantly eutrophication, and air pollution. improving vehicle fuel efficiency and hybridizing vehicles, expanding and enhancing carbon sinks (for Stop Trashing the Climate answers important example, enhancing forests), or retrofitting lighting questions surrounding wasting and climate change, and improving the energy efficiency of electronic debunks common myths that perpetuate our linear equipment (see Table 11, p. 52). One strategy cycle of wasting, outlines policies needed to effect highlighted in this report for its critical importance is change, and offers a roadmap for how to significantly composting. Stop Trashing the Climate explains the reduce greenhouse gas emissions within a short unique benefits of composting as a tool to mitigate period. The report provides an alternative scenario to greenhouse gas emissions in the short term and calls business-as-usual wasting in the U.S. that would put for composting as a core climate and soil us solidly on track to achieve the goal of sending zero revitalization strategy moving forward. waste to landfills and incinerators by the year 2040, the target established by the Urban Environmental Accords. Originally drafted as part of the United Nations World Environment Day in 2005, these * 1 megaton = 1 million metric tons = 1 Tg (teragram)

Stop Trashing The Climate 15

Resource conservation, product redesign, thoughtful materials selection, new rules and incentives, democratic participation, cost internalization,* and materials reuse, recycling, and composting have never been such a necessity as they are today. Indeed, aiming for a zero waste economy by preventing waste and recycling our resources is essential for mitigating climate change. The time to act is now. There will always be “discards” in our society, but how much of those become “waste” is a matter of choice.

Global emissions must peak and decline over the next 10 to 15 years in order to limit global warming to 2.0ºC above pre-industrial levels.

There will always be “discards” in our society, but how much of those become “waste” is a matter of choice.

Zero waste station at Boulder’s Farmers Market.

* For example, where the price of a product reflects its true environmental and social costs including the cost of disposal.

16 Stop Trashing The Climate Wasting = Climate Change

We waste an awful lot, and the amount we waste has been steadily increasing. Recycling levels have not been able to keep pace with our consumption habits. From 1960 to 2006, the amount of municipal solid waste generated in the U.S. more than doubled, increasing from 88.1 million to 251.3 million tons per year.37 In 1960, single-use plastic packaging was 0.14% of the waste stream (120,000 tons). In less than one generation, it has grown to 5.7% and 14.2 million tons per year. Today we landfill or incinerate 3.6 million tons of junk mail, 1.2 million tons of paper plates and cups, 870,000 tons of aluminum cans, 870,000 tons of polystyrene plates and cups, 4.3 million tons of plastic bags and wraps, and 12.7 million tons of plastics in containers and other packaging.38 The whole lifecycle of these products (from choice of materials to mining, manufacturing, transportation, consumption, and handling after Despite these findings, the IPCC report concludes intended use) impacts energy consumption and the that “greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from post- release of major greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, consumer waste and wastewater are a small methane, and nitrous oxide – into the atmosphere. contributor (about 3%) to total global anthropogenic GHG emissions.”40 Similarly, in its The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change U.S. inventory report (2007) on greenhouse gas (IPCC) recognizes that changing the types and emissions, the U.S. EPA listed the waste sector — amounts of products we consume, along with landfills and wastewater treatment — as emitting preventing waste and recycling and composting 165.4 Tg CO2 eq.,* only 2.3% of overall greenhouse more, will reduce the upstream lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions in 2005 (or 2.6% including emissions gas impact of materials processing and production. from municipal waste combustors).41 (See Figure 1.) In its Fourth Assessment Report, the IPCC Unfortunately, these assessments are based on an acknowledged “changes in lifestyle and behaviour overly narrow and flawed view of the waste sector’s patterns can contribute to climate change mitigation contribution to climate change. Not only do they across all sectors (high agreement, medium evidence).” Its grossly underestimate landfill gas emissions, but even summary document for policymakers states that more importantly, the international and national “changes in lifestyles and consumption patterns that assessments do not account for the connection emphasize resource conservation can contribute to between wasting and energy consumption, industrial developing a low-carbon economy that is both processing, deforestation, industrial agriculture, and equitable and sustainable.”39 The report also states other core contributors to climate change. that “the waste sector can positively contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation at low cost and promote sustainable development (high agreement, much evidence).” By way of example, it notes that waste minimization and recycling provide important indirect mitigation benefits through the conservation of energy and materials. * A teragram is Tg = 109 kg = 106 metric tons = 1 million metric tons = 1 megaton

Stop Trashing The Climate 17

Figure 1: ConventionalFi gur e 1: ViewConv – U.S.ent EPAion Dataal Vonie Greenhousew – U .S .Gas EPA Emissions Dat a byo nSector,Gr een 2005hous e Gas Em is sions b y

Industrial Processes 4.6% Solvent and Other Product Use 0.1% Agriculture 7.4% Land Use, Land- use Change, and Forestry 0.3% Waste 2.3%

Energy 85.4%

Source: Table ES-4: Recent Trends in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks by Chapter/IPCC Sector, Inventory of U.S. GreenhouseSourc Gas Emissionse: Tab andle Sinks ES , -4:1990-2005 Rece, U.S.nt EPA,Tr e Washington,nd s in U DC,.S April. Gr 15,ee 2007,nhou p. ES-11.se G as Em issi on s and Sink s b y Ch apt er / Inventory of U.S . Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 19 90-2005 , U. S. EPA , Was hington , DC ES -11. Wasting directly impacts climate change in three greenhouse gas emissions despite being grossly core areas: underestimated in the short term. 1. Lifecycle impacts: Materials in products and 3. Waste incineration impacts: We burn 31.4 million packaging represent 72.5% of all municipal solid tons of municipal solid waste annually.45 These waste disposed. In the U.S., we burn and bury 123 incinerators emit more carbon dioxide per megawatt- million tons per year of manufactured commodities hour than coal-fired and other fossil-fuel-fired power such as paper, metals, plastics, and glass.42 This forces plants. Pyrolysis, plasma, and gasification incinerators us to mine and harvest virgin materials in order to may have a larger climate footprint than conventional manufacture new products to take the place of those mass-burn incinerators because they can require we discard. These “lifecycle” activities consume inputs of additional fossil fuels or electricity to tremendousAll Other amounts of energy, and energy operate. In addition, incinerators, as well as landfills, consumption63.3% is the leading source of U.S. encourage a throwaway culture and an unsustainable greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 85% of total one-way linear system from mine to manufacturerIndustrial to Fossil Fuel emissions. In addition, wasting is intricately linked transport to disposal. Incinerators rely on minimumCombustion to deforestation, which accounts for as much as 30% tonnage guarantees through “put or pay” contracts11.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.43 that require communities to pay fees whether their waste is burned or not. These contracts remove any 2. Landfill impacts: Each year we landfill 42.9 incentive to reduce overall consumption levels, avoid million tons per year of biodegradable food scraps and Industrial single-use disposable products or minimize waste. yard trimmings. We also landfill 41.3 million tons of Electricity paper products.44 These materials are directly The following sections discuss each of theseConsumption responsible for methane emissions from landfills, impacts in detail. which is one of the leading contributors to U.S. 10.5%

18 Stop Trashing The Climate Industrial Non- Energy Processes Manure 4.4%

out of the nation's second largest port at Long Beach, Lifecycle Impacts of Wasting: California, is “waste products” such as petroleum Virgin Material Mining, Processing, byproducts, scrap paper, and scrap iron.50 This fact and Manufacturing highlights the reality that America's consumption- driven economy is intimately linked to greenhouse The lifecycle impact of waste disposal is its most gas emissions from extractive, manufacturing, significant effect on climate change. Landfills and transportation, and waste handling industries in incinerators destroy rather than conserve resources. countries around the world. Consequently, for every item that is landfilled or incinerated, a new one must be extracted, processed, The current state of wasting is based on a linear and manufactured from virgin resources. Thus, the system: virgin materials are extracted and made into amount of municipal materials wasted represents products that are increasingly used only once before only the tip of a very big iceberg. We bury or burn being destroyed. This system developed at a time close to 170 million tons of municipal discards every when natural resources seemed limitless, but we now year, but we extract from the environment billions of know that this is not the case. Since 1970, we have tons of raw materials to make these products. For consumed one-third of our global natural resources.51 every ton of municipal discards This alarming trend is clearly wasted, about 71 tons of waste not sustainable, even in the are produced during short term. manufacturing, mining, oil and gas exploration, agricultural, Industry consumes more and coal combustion.46 This energy than any other sector, requires a constant flow of representing more than 50% of resources to be pulled out of the worldwide energy consumption Earth, processed in factories, in 2004. Forecasts indicate that shipped around the world, and it will grow 1.8% per year.52 burned or buried in our Within that sector, virgin raw communities. The destructive materials industries are among impact of this wasteful cycle reaches far beyond local the world's largest consumers of energy. The mining disposal projects. industry alone accounts for 7 to 10 percent of world energy use.53 In the U.S., four primary materials Mining activities alone in the U.S. (excluding coal) industries — paper, metals, plastics, and glass — produce between 1 and 2 billion tons of mine waste consume 30.2% of the energy used for all U.S. annually. More than 130,000 of these non-coal manufacturing.54 This high energy demand is a mines are responsible for polluting over 3,400 miles major contributor to global warming. of streams and over 440,000 acres of land. About seventy of these sites are on the National Priority List Let us take the case of paper as an example. Table 1 for Superfund remediation.47 compares the greenhouse gas emissions related to harvesting and transporting virgin trees to make In addition, many of the materials that we use and paper that is landfilled or burned with the emissions discard are increasingly extracted and manufactured related to making paper from recycled fiber. It shows in other countries with expanding climate footprints. that at every step of papermaking, from harvest to China is now the leading exporter of goods to the mill to end-of-life management, greenhouse gases are U.S., and just recently it surpassed the U.S. to emitted. Making and burning a ton of office paper, become the country with the largest CO2 for instance, releases almost 12,000 pounds of CO2. emissions.48 In the past four years alone, the value of Of this, 89% is emitted upstream during harvesting paper, wood, plastics, and metals imported into the and making the paper, and the remainder is U.S. from China has increased by $10.8 billion.49 produced downstream when the paper is thrown Meanwhile, some of our biggest national exports are away and then burned.55 scrap materials. For example, the number one export

Stop Trashing The Climate 19

Industrial Processes 4.6% Solvent and Other Product Use 0.1% Agriculture 7.4% Land Use, Land- All Other use Change, All Other 94.8% Landfill Methane and Forestry 98.2% 0.3% Emissions Landfill Methane 1.8% Emissions Waste 5.2% 2.3%

Energy 85.4%

Sourc e: Table 8 -1: Em issi on s fro m Was te, Inventory of U.S. Sourc e: Institut e fo r Loc al S elf -Relia nc e, Jun e 2008. Base d on Greenhouse Gas E missions and Sinks, 1990 -2005 , U. S. EP A, con vert ing U.S . EPA data on la ndf ill meth ane emissi on s t o a 20 -yea r Sourc e: Table ES -4: Recent Tr end s in U.S . Gr ee nhou se G as Em issi on s and Sink s b y Ch apt er /IPC C S ector , Was hington, DC , Ap ril 15 , 2007, p. 8 -1. time fr ame. Inventory of U.S . Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 19 90-2005 , U. S. EPA , Was hington , DC , Apr il 15 , 2007, p. ES -11.

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

ZERO WASTE PATH Reducing waste through prevention, reuse, recycling and composting 406 7.0% All Other ABATEMENT STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BY McKINSEY REPORT 63.3% Increasing fuel efficiency in cars and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% Industrial Fossil Fuel 3.4% Improved fuel efficiency and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 Combustion Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% 11.6% Hybridization of cars and light trucks 70 1.2% Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% Afforestation of pastureland and cropland 210 3.6% Industrial Forest management 110 1.9% Electricity Conservation tillage 80 1.4% Consumption Targeting energy-intensive portions of the industrial sector 620 10.7% 10.5% Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 4.4% Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 1.1% Industrial Non- New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Energy Processes Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Manure 4.4% 4.1% Lighting retrofits 240 Management Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% 0.7% Commercial lighting retrofits 110 1.9% Industrial Coal Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Mining Synthetic Fertilizers Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Truck 0.3% 1.4% Carbon capture and storage 290 5.0% Waste Disposal Transportation U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 2.1% Wind 120 2.6% 5.3% Nuclear 70 1.2%

Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Petrochemical Production 1.1 Mobile Combustion 2.6 Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 5.5 Rice Cultivation 6.9 Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Stationary Combustion 6.9 Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% Forest Land Remaining Forest Land 2 11.6 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% Wastewater Treatment 25.4 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) Natural Gas Systems (CO & CH ) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% Petroleum Systems 28.5 2 4

Source of Methane Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Manure Management 41.3 Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5% Coal Mining 52.4 Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% Natural Gas Systems 111.1 Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% Enteric Fermentation 112.1 Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% Landfills 132.0 Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5%

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO 2 Eq.) Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 4 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (lbs of CO2 eq./ton of paper) Hydrofluorocarbons Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (lbs of CO 2 eq./ton of paper) HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 250 HFC-125 CHF CF 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2 3 Office Corrugated CUK SBS Newsprint (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Perfluorinated compounds Paper Boxes Paperboard Paperboard Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 6 Virgin Production & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Process - - 388 1,625 - 2,013 2 Electricity - 58 63 5,801 77 5,999 200 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Collection Vehicle & Landfill 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 Fossil Fuel 16 789 135 133 155 1,228 Products MSW Landfill 1 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 Transport 32 61 8 4 136 241 Ancilliary - 84 255 - - 339 Total 15,515.3 19,853.5 16,566.2 17,432.6 20,489.5 PFC - - - 2,226 - 2,226 Virgin Production & Incineration Total 48 992 849 9,789 368 12,046 150 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 PFC = perfluorocarbons MSW Collection 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 Source: "Appendix C: CO 2 Emission Data," Life Cycle Assessment of Aluminum: Inventory Data Combustion Process 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 for the Worldwide Primary Aluminum Industry , International Aluminum Institute, March 2003, p. 43. Avoided Utility Energy (1,024.8) (896.7) (896.7) (977.2) (977.2) Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Total 7,359.4 11,825.7 8,538.4 9,324.3 12,381.2 Recycled Production & Recycling Recycled Paper Collection 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 50 Residue Landfill Disposal 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 Constituent Gas Transportation to Market 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 Range Average

Recycled Mfg Energy 3,232.0 3,345.0 2,951.0 2,605.0 2,605.0 Methane (CH 4) 35 - 60% 50% Total 3,461.1 3,574.1 3,180.1 2,834.1 2,834.1 Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) 35 - 55% 45% Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) Nitrogen (N 2) 0 - 20% 5% CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste 0 CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste Oxygen (O 2) 0 - 2.5% <1% Hydrogen Sulfide (H S) 1 - 0.017% 0.0021% Material Sample Target Strategies 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. 2 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. Halides NA 0.0132% Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Water Vapor (H O) 1 - 10% NA Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect 2 3rd class mail, single-sided copying, cardboard & other packaging, single- Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 use plates & cups, paper napkins & towels, tissues 20%Envir gasonmental capture (upDefense from 0%).Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to reflect 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Glass 5,010,703 single-use bottles replaced with refillables Source: Energy Information Administration. US Department of Energy. Growth of landfill Metals 7,261,723 single-use containers, packaging, downguage metals in appliances gas industry; 1996. Available online at: Plastics 11,194,365 packaging, single-use water bottles, take-out food containers, retail bags Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/renewable.energy.annual/chap10.html. Wood 5,287,810 reusable pallets, more building deconstruction to supply construction Food Discards 11,862,459 more efficient buying, increased restaurant/foodservice efficiency Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 more backyard composting, xeriscaping, grasscycling (MTCE per ton) For the five grades of paper shown in Table 1, chemical pulp papers. Papers made from mechanical Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 high mileage tires, purchase of more durable products Content Products recycling reducesMaterial greenhouse gas emissionsLandfilled by 4.5 toCombusted 7 pulp includeRecycled newspaper, Composted telephone books,SR magazines, Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Aluminum Cans 0.010 0.017 -3.701 NA -2.245 Incinerators, 2005 Products times more than disposal. In addition, recycling a ton and junk mail; papers made from chemical pulp Carpet 0.010 0.106 -1.959 NA -1.090 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. of virgin paper saves between 12 and 24 trees, which include office paper, corrugated cardboard, and Direct Greenhouse Gases 150 Mixed Metals 0.010 -0.290 -1.434 NA NA CO 20.9 Tg CO eq. Copper Wire 0.010 0.015 -1.342 NA -2.001 2 2 can then continue to absorb carbon dioxide from the textbooks. When paper is source reduced,* the N O 0.4 Tg CO eq. Mixed Paper, Broad 0.095 -0.178 -0.965 NA NA 2 2 100 atmospherMixede. (This Paper, only Resid. reflects recycling 0.069that paper -0.177impacts on -0.965carbon sequestrationNA are evNAen greater. The Indirect Greenhouse Gases once; theMixed fibers Paper, in Officefine paper, for instance,0.127 can be -0.162EPA found-0.932 the incrementalNA forestNA carbon NOx 98 Gg Corrugated Cardboard 0.109 -0.177 -0.849 NA -1.525 CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 56 recycled aTextbooks dozen times, multiplying the 0.530benefits. ) -0.170sequestration-0.848 is 1.04 MTCENA for-2.500 each ton of Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Magazines/third-class2 mail -0.082 -0.128 -0.837 NA -2.360 Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste The amount of CO absorbed by each tree varies, but mechanical pulp paper avoided and 1.98 MTCE for SO 2 23 Gg 0 Mixed Recyclables 0.038 -0.166 -0.795 NA NA Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass is consistentlyOffice Papersignificant over the life 0.530of a tree. -0.170each ton of-0.778 chemical pulp paperNA avoided-2.182 when inputs Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons RecyclingNewspaper one ton of paper saves trees -0.237that could -0.202are considered-0.761 to be 100% NAvirgin,-1.329 and from 0.8 to Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Phonebooks -0.237 -0.202 -0.724 NA -1.724 Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, continue absorbing 600 to 1,200 pounds of CO2 per 1.90 MTCE per ton for various paper grades and a Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne Medium Density Fiberboard -0.133 -0.212 -0.674 NA -0.604 NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Dimensional Lumber -0.133 -0.212 -0.670 NA 58 -0.551 at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for year. The recycling benefits of conserving trees that mix of virgin and recycled inputs. Furthermore, the Personal Computers 0.010 -0.054 -0.616 NA -15.129 Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y can continueTires to absorb carbon dioxide are0.010 not taken 0.049EPA found-0.498 the effect of paperNA recycling-1.086 on carbon exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 into accountSteel in Cans Table 1.57 0.010 -0.418sequestration-0.489 appears to be persistentNA -0.866 — that is, it lasts LDPE 0.010 0.253 -0.462 59 NA -0.618 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, PET 0.010 0.295for several decades.-0.419 NA -0.571 NMVOCs, and SO , Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; The U.S. EPA found increased recycling of paper 2 global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher Mixed Plastics 0.010 0.270 -0.407 NA NA and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. products HDPEresulted in incremental forest0.010 carbon 0.253 -0.380 NA -0.487 p. ES-17. sequestrationFly Ash of about 0.55 metric tons0.010 carbon NA -0.237 NA NA Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Glass 0.010 0.014 -0.076 NA -0.156 Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental equivalentConcrete (MTCE) per ton of paper recovered0.010 for NA -0.002 NA NA Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Food Scraps 0.197 -0.048* Source reduction meansNA preventing the extraction,-0.054 processing, and consumptionNA of a given Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified mechanical pulp papers and 0.83 MTCE per ton for material or product. Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. Yard Trimmings -0.060 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA 5, 2001, p. 700. Grass -0.002 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Leaves -0.048 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Practice Branches -0.133 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 20 Stop Trashing TheMixed Clima Organicste 0.064 -0.054 NA -0.054 NA Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 1 4 Mixed MSW 0.116 -0.033 NA NA NA Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that includes compost use. Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html.

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Paper 69,791,864 6,979,186 47,186,280 15,626,398 67.6% 22.4% 90.0% Glass 10,801,414 1,080,141 9,721,272 90.0% 90.0% Metals 15,653,868 1,565,387 14,088,481 90.0% 90.0% Plastics 24,131,341 2,413,134 16,349,602 5,368,605 67.8% 22.2% 90.0% Wood 11,398,765 1,139,877 10,258,889 90.0% 90.0% Food Discards 25,571,530 2,557,153 23,014,376 90.0% 90.0% Yard Trimmings 26,512,562 2,651,256 23,861,306 90.0% 90.0% Other 21,807,400 2,180,740 19,626,660 90.0% 90.0% Totals 205,668,744 20,566,874 117,231,184 67,870,685 58.0% 33.0% 90.0%

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

For every ton of municipal discards wasted, about 71 tons of waste are produced during manufacturing, mining, oil and gas exploration, agricultural, and coal combustion.

Other commodities have similar high-energy inputs pound of post-consumer waste avoided or reclaimed, and thus high greenhouse gas impacts upstream. many more pounds of upstream industrial waste are Aluminum production is one of the most energy- reduced — the result of less mining, less intensive of these, with many upstream impacts transportation of raw materials to manufacturing involved in bauxite mining, alumina refining, and facilities, less energy consumption and fewer smelting. (See sidebar, Upstream Impacts of greenhouse gas emissions at production plants, less Aluminum Can Production, page 24.) Table 2 shows shipping of products to consumers, and less waste the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from primary collected and transported to often distant disposal aluminum production. For every ton of aluminum facilities. A recent report for the California Air produced, 97% of greenhouse gas emissions take place Resources Board, Recommendations of the Economic before aluminum ingot casting, which is the point at and Technology Advancement Advisory Committee which scrap aluminum would enter the process.60 In (ETAAC): Final Report on Technologies and Policies to addition, for every ton of virgin aluminum recycled, Consider for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2.7 tons of solid waste related to mining, extraction, California, recognized the lifecycle climate benefits of and virgin material manufacturing are avoided.61 Yet in recycling: the U.S., only 21.2% of the 3.26 million tons of 62 aluminum discarded each year is recycled. “Recycling offers the opportunity to cost- Clearly, the impact of waste on global warming is effectively decrease GHG emissions from hardly confined to the small slice of pie shown in the mining, manufacturing, forestry, Figure 1. The industrial sector alone, which makes transportation, and electricity sectors many of the products that we discard, contributes while simultaneously diminishing 28% of all greenhouse gases produced in the U.S.63 methane emissions from landfills. Our ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by Recycling is widely accepted. It has a stemming wasting is significant, and certainly much proven economic track record of spurring larger than the 2.3% reflected in the U.S. EPA more economic growth than any other inventory. option for the management of waste and other recyclable materials. Increasing the Reducing post-consumer waste* is one of the most flow through California’s existing recycling important tactics for reducing global warming quickly, or materials recovery infrastructures will and not just in the U.S. It is worth noting here that generate significant climate response and U.S. consumer products that eventually become economic benefits.”66 municipal solid waste increasingly come from overseas. Because China relies heavily on coal and generally uses energy less efficiently than the U.S.,64 the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture of a material in China may well be higher than for the same material made in this country.65 Source reduction, reuse, and recycling can avoid significant greenhouse gas emissions in many parts of the energy sector, such as in industrial electricity consumption and truck transportation. For every

* Post-consumer waste refers to materials that have been used by consumers and then discarded.

Stop Trashing The Climate 21

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Petrochemical Production 1.1 Mobile Combustion 2.6 Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 5.5 1 Rice Cultivation 6.9 20 Yr Horizon Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Figure 2 shows the greenhouse gas emissions from the Stationary Combustion 6.9 “Composting offers an environmentally Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% wasting sector as well as emissions from other sectors superior alternative to landfilling these Forest Land Remaining Forest Land 11.6 2 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% that are integrally linked to wasting: truck Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) same organics. Composting avoids these 3 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% transportation, industrial consumption of fossil fuels Wastewater Treatment 25.4 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) landfill emissions, offers greater carbon and electricity, non-energy industrial processes, Natural Gas Systems (CO & CH ) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% Petroleum Systems 28.5 2 4 wastewater treatment, livestock manure management, sequestration in crop biomass and soil, a Source of Methane Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% and the production and application of synthetic decrease in the need for GHG emission- Manure Management 41.3 Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5% fertilizers. All in all, these sectors linked to wasting releasing fertilizers and pesticides, and a Coal Mining 52.4 Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% represent 36.7% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. decline in energy-intensive irrigation. These are the sectors that would be impacted if more Natural Gas Systems 111.1 Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% Compost has been proven to provide post-consumer materials were reused, recycled, and Manure Mgt (CH & N O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% effective erosion control and to drastically Enteric Fermentation 4 2 112.1 composted. According to the ETAAC final report, improve the quality of ground water Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% “Development of the appropriate protocols for the Landfills 132.0 aquifers, both of which could be crucial Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5% recycling sector will result in GHG emission elements of mitigating the impacts of 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5% reductions far beyond the limited success available through minimizing fugitive methane emissions from climate change.”68 Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO 2 Eq.) landfills. Recycling itself can truly act as mitigation Petroleum Systems (CH ) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 4 measure to reduce GHG emissions across all sectors of 4 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) the economy.”67 In addition, wastewater and livestock Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% manure could be biologically managed in anaerobic Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% digesters with post-consumer organic materials. SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr Compost could also replace synthetic fertilizers,

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 thereby reducing their impact on climate change. The ETAAC final report noted: Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Hydrofluorocarbons Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (lbs of CO 2 eq./ton of paper) HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg of CO2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) 250 HFC-125 CHF CF 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2 3 SBS Newsprint (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Perfluorinated compounds Paperboard Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 6 Virgin Production & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Process - - 388 1,625 - 2,013 2 Electricity - 58 63 5,801 77 5,999 200 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 Energy Usage Recycled-Content 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 Fossil Fuel 16 789 135 133 155 1,228 Products MSW Landfill 1 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 Transport 32 61 8 4 136 241 Ancilliary - 84 255 - - 339 Total 15,515.3 19,853.5 16,566.2 17,432.6 20,489.5 PFC - - - 2,226 - 2,226 Virgin Production & Incineration Total 48 992 849 9,789 368 12,046 150 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 PFCPFC == perfluorocarbons MSW Collection 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 Source:Source: “Appendix"Appendix C: COC: 2COEmission2 Emission Data,” Lif Data,"e Cycle LifeAssessment Cycle ofAssessment Aluminum: Inv ofentor Aluminum:y Data for the Inventory Worldwide DataPrimary Aluminum Combustion Process 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 forIndustry the Worldwide, International Primary Aluminum Aluminum Institute, March Industry 2003, ,p. International 43. Available online Aluminum at Institute, March 2003, p. 43. http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. Avoided Utility Energy (1,024.8) (896.7) (896.7) (977.2) (977.2) Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Total 7,359.4 11,825.7 8,538.4 9,324.3 12,381.2 Recycled Production & Recycling Recycled Paper Collection 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 Since 1970, we have consumed one-third of our globalConcentration natural resources. in Landfill Gas 50 Residue Landfill Disposal 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 Constituent Gas Transportation to Market 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 Range Average

N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq.

100 NOx 98 Gg CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO,

1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; NMVOCs, and SO 2, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. p. ES-17.

Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 1 4 Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that includes compost use. Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html.

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

Upstream Impacts of Aluminum Can Production

Step 1 - Bauxite Mining: Most bauxite “ore” is mined from open pit or strip mines in Australia, Jamaica, and Brazil (99% of U.S. needs are imported). Bauxite mining results in land clearance, acid mine drainage, pollution of streams, and erosion. Significant fossil fuel energy is consumed in mining and transporting bauxite ore. For each ton of useful ore extracted, many tons of “over-burden” have to be removed in the process. Five tons of mine “tailings” (waste) are produced per ton of bauxite ore removed.

Step 2 - Alumina Refining: Bauxite ore is mixed with caustic soda, lime, and steam to produce a sodium aluminate slurry. “Alumina” is extracted from this slurry, purified, and shipped to smelters. Leftover “slag” waste contains a variety of toxic minerals and chemical compounds. The alumina refining process is also fossil fuel energy- intensive.

Step 3 - Smelting: P owdered alumina is heated (smelted) in order to form aluminum alloy ingots. Aluminum smelting uses massive amounts of electricity (usually from coal). One ton of aluminum production requires the energy equivalent of 5 barrels of oil (210 gallons of gasoline). Aluminum smelting also produces 7.4 tons of air pollutants (particulate matter, sulfur oxides, VOCs) for every 1 ton of aluminum produced. Source: Allegheny College, Dept. of Environmental Science, Step 4 - Tertiary Processing: Aluminum ingots are smelted “Environmental Costs of Linear Societies,” PowerPoint, October 9, (requiring more energy) and are extruded as sheets. The finishing 2006, reading course material for Introduction to Environmental process for rolled sheets involves several chemicals (strong acids Science, ES110, Spring 2007, available online at: and bases) that are toxic. webpub.allegheny.edu/dept/envisci/ESInfo/ES110sp2007/ppts/ES1 Step 5 - Finishing/Assembly: Aluminum sheet is fed into extrusion 10_S07_AlumCan.ppt tubes and cut into shallow cups. Cups are fed into an ironing press where successive rings redraw and iron the cup. This reduces sidewall thickness, making a full-length can. The bottom is “domed” for strength. Cans are necked in at the top and flanged to accept the end. There is little chemical pollution at this stage, just electricity use.

Step 6 - Filling/Distribution: Cans are shipped without the end portion to the beverage company. The end is attached. The beverage is then injected under pressure; outward force strengthens the can. After filling, the can is labeled and packaged. Cardboard and plastic are used, and some toxic waste is generated from making paint and ink that are used for labels. Finally, the product in the can is trucked (using diesel fuel) to a wholesaler/distributor and then to the retailer (this requires multiple trips).

All of these stages use significant amounts of fossil fuel energy. Most of these stages generate large quantities of hazardous and toxic waste products.

Stop Trashing The Climate 23

Sectors linked to wasting represent 36.7% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

% of Total Abatement Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy Needed in 2030 to Stabilize Climate Figure 2: Wasting Is Linked to 36.7% of Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2005 by 2050 1

1 Emission Source 100 Yr Horizon 20 Yr Horizon 24 Stop Trashing The Climate Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total

Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% 2 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6%

Natural Gas Systems (CO 2 & CH 4) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7%

Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2%

Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5%

Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4%

Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1%

Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7%

Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6%

Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5%

Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1%

Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 4 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Hydrofluorocarbons

HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435

HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Perfluorinated compounds

Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 2 PFC-14 CF 4 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 2 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

ZERO WASTE PATH Landfills Are Huge Methane Producers Reducing waste through prevention, reuse, recycling and composting 406 7.0% All Other ABATEMENT STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BY McKINSEY REPORT 63.3% Increasing fuel efficiency in cars and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% Industrial Fossil Fuel 3.4% Improved fuel efficiency and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 Combustion Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% Landfills are the number one source of anthropogenic* methane emissions in the U.S., accounting for 11.6% Hybridization of cars and light trucks 70 1.2% 69 approximately 24% of total U.S. anthropogenic methane emissions. Figure 3 compares landfill emissions to Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% Afforestation of pastureland and cropland 210 3.6% Industrial other major anthropogenic methane emissions in 2005. Landfills are also a large source of overall greenhouse gas Forest management 110 1.9% Electricity Conservation tillage 80 1.4% Consumption emissions, contributing at least 1.8% to the U.S. total in 2005. In its 2005 inventory of U.S. greenhouse gases, Targeting energy-intensive portions of the industrial sector 620 10.7% 10.5% Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 4.4% the U.S. EPA listed landfills as the fifth largest source of all greenhouse gases.70 (See Table 5, page 28.) Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 1.1% Industrial Non- New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Energy Processes Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Manure 4.4% 4.1% Lighting retrofits 240 Management Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% 0.7% Commercial lighting retrofits 110 1.9% Industrial Coal Figure 3: U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Mining Synthetic Fertilizers Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Truck 0.3% 1.4% Carbon capture and storage 290 5.0% Waste Disposal Transportation U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 2.1% Wind 120 2.6% 5.3% Nuclear 70 1.2%

Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Petrochemical Production 1.1 Mobile Combustion 2.6 Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 5.5 Rice Cultivation 6.9 Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Stationary Combustion 6.9 Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% Forest Land Remaining Forest Land 2 11.6 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2 O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% Wastewater Treatment 25.4 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) Natural Gas Systems (CO & CH ) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% Petroleum Systems 28.5 2 4 ce of Methane Source of Methane Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Manure Management 41.3 Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5%

Sour Coal Mining 52.4 Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% Natural Gas Systems 111.1 Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% Enteric Fermentation 112.1 Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% Landfills 132.0 Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5%

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% TeragramsTeragrams Carbon Carbon Dioxide DioxideEquivalent Equivalent (Tg CO 2 Eq.) (Tg CO2 Eq.) Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 4 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% Source: U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005 (Washington, DC: April 15, 2007), p. ES-9. Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Avoided Utility Energy Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. carbon tetrachloride,100 and chloroform. These compounds are dangerous enough to be regulated by the Clean Air Total Act; they interact with nitrous oxides to form ozone, a primary cause of smog; and they are indirect greenhouse Recycled Production & Recycling Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume 72 Recycled Paper Collection gases. Table 3 details the variability of landfill gas constituents. Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting 50 Residue Landfill Disposal Transportation to Market Range Average Recycled Mfg Energy Total Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) * In this report, “anthropogenic” refers to greenhouse gas emissions and removals that are a direct result of human activities or are the result of natural processes that have been affected by human activities. 0 CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste Material Sample Target Strategies 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Halides NA 0.0132% Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Glass 5,010,703 Metals 7,261,723 Plastics 11,194,365 Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) Stop Trashing The Climate 25 Wood 5,287,810 Food Discards 11,862,459 Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 (MTCE per ton) Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 Content Products Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Incinerators, 2005 Products Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. 150 CO 2 20.9 Tg CO 2 eq.

N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq.

100 NOx 98 Gg CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO,

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow. Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.)

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) Iron and Steel Production Industrial 1.0 Processes 4.6% Solvent and Other Petrochemical Production 1.1 Product Use 0.1% Mobile Combustion 2.6 Agriculture 7.4% Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 5.5 Land Use, Land- All Other use Change, All Other 94.8% Landfill Methane Rice Cultivation and Forestry 98.2% 6.9 Emissions Landfill Methane Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total 0.3% Stationary Combustion 1.8% Emissions 6.9 Waste Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% 5.2% 2.3% Forest Land Remaining Forest Land 2 11.6 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% Wastewater Treatment 25.4 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) Energy Natural Gas Systems (CO & CH ) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% 85.4% Petroleum Systems 28.5 2 4

Source of Methane Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Manure Management 41.3 Sourc e: Table 8 -1: Em issi on s fro m Was te, Inventory of U.S. Sourc e: Institut e fo r Loc al S elf -Relia nc e, Jun e 2008. Base d on Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5% Greenhouse Gas E missions and Sinks, 1990 -2005 , U. S. EP A, con vert ing U.S . EPA data on la ndf ill meth ane emissi on s t o a 20 -yea r Coal Mining Sourc e: Table ES -4: Recent Tr end s in U.S . Gr ee nhou se G as Em issi on s and Sink s b y Ch apt er /IPC C S ector , 52.4 Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% Was hington, DC , Ap ril 15 , 2007, p. 8 -1. time fr ame. Inventory of U.S . Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 19 90-2005 , U. S. EPA , Was hington , DC , Apr il 15 , 2007, p. Natural Gas Systems Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% 111.1 ES -11. Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% Enteric Fermentation 112.1 Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% Landfills 132.0 Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5% Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO 2 Eq.) Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% ZERO WASTE PATH Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO & N O) 4 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) 2 2 Reducing waste through prevention, reuse, recycling and composting 406 7.0% Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% All Other Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% ABATEMENT STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BY McKINSEY REPORT 63.3% 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr Increasing fuel efficiency in cars and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% Industrial Fossil Fuel SAR 3.4% Improved fuel efficiency and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 Combustion Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% 11.6% Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8 Hybridization of cars and light trucks 70 1.2% Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% 3.6% Hydrofluorocarbons Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Afforestation of pastureland and cropland 210 Industrial (lbs of CO eq./ton of paper) Forest management 110 1.9% HFC-134a CH FCF 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 2 Electricity 2 3 Conservation tillage 80 1.4% Consumption 250 HFC-125 CHF CF 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2 3 Targeting energy-intensive portions of the industrial sector 620 10.7% 10.5% (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Perfluorinated compounds Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 4.4% Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Virgin Production & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 1.1% 2 Industrial Non- PFC-14 CF 4 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Energy Processes 200 2 C F 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 PFC-116 2 6 Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Manure 4.4% Energy Usage Recycled-Content Fossil Fuel 16 789 135 133 155 1,228 4.1% 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 Lighting retrofits 240 Management Products MSW Landfill 1 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 Transport 32 61 8 4 136 241 Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% Ancilliary - 84 255 - - 339 1.9% 0.7% Total 15,515.3 19,853.5 16,566.2 17,432.6 20,489.5 Commercial lighting retrofits 110 Industrial Coal PFC - - - 2,226 - 2,226 Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Mining Virgin Production & Incineration Total 48 992 849 9,789 368 12,046 Synthetic Fertilizers 150 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Truck 0.3% Carbon capture and storage 290 5.0% 1.4% Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 PFC = perfluorocarbons Waste Disposal Transportation U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 Wind 120 2.1% MSW Collection 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 2.6% 5.3% Source: "Appendix C: CO 2 Emission Data," Life Cycle Assessment of Aluminum: Inventory Data Nuclear 70 1.2% Combustion Process 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 for the Worldwide Primary Aluminum Industry , International Aluminum Institute, March 2003, p. 43. Avoided Utility Energy (1,024.8) (896.7) (896.7) (977.2) (977.2) Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 Total 7,359.4 11,825.7 8,538.4 9,324.3 12,381.2 Recycled Production & Recycling Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Recycled Paper Collection 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Petrochemical Production Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 1.1 Concentration in Landfill Gas Residue Landfill Disposal 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 50 Mobile Combustion Constituent Gas 2.6 Transportation to Market 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 Range Average Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 5.5 Recycled Mfg Energy 3,232.0 3,345.0 2,951.0 2,605.0 2,605.0 Methane (CH 4) 35 - 60% 50% Total 3,461.1 3,574.1 3,180.1 2,834.1 2,834.1 Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) 35 - 55% 45% Rice Cultivation 6.9 Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) Nitrogen (N 2) 0 - 20% 5% CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total 0 Stationary Combustion Oxygen (O 2) 0 - 2.5% <1% 6.9 Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO ) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. Hydrogen Sulfide (H 2S) 1 - 0.017% 0.0021% 2 Forest Land Remaining Forest Land Material Sample Target Strategies 2 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass 11.6 Halides NA 0.0132% Agricultural Soil Mgt (N O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, 2 Water Vapor (H O) 1 - 10% NA 3 Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Wastewater Treatment Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect 2 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO ) 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% 25.4 Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% 2 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Petroleum Systems Paper 32,375,971 Natural Gas Systems (CO 2 & CH 4) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% 28.5 Glass 5,010,703 Source of Methane Source: Energy Information Administration. US Department of Energy. Growth of landfill Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Manure Management Metals 7,261,723 41.3 gas industry; 1996. Available online at: Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF ) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5% Plastics 11,194,365 6 Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) Coal Mining Source: Energyhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/renewable.energy.annual/chap10.html. Information Administration. US Department of Energy. Growth of landfill gas industry; 1996. Available online at: 52.4Wood 5,287,810 http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/renewable.energy.annual/chap10.html. Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% Food Discards 11,862,459 Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option Natural Gas Systems Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% 250 Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 111.1 (MTCE per ton) Manure Mgt (CH & N O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% Enteric Fermentation Other 10,116,305 Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse 4 2 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 112.1 Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Content Products Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% 200 Totals 95,408,332 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Landfills Aluminum Cans 0.010 0.017 -3.701 NA -2.245 Incinerators, 2005 Products 132.0 Cement Manufacture (CO ) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5% Carpet 0.010 0.106 -1.959 NA -1.090 2 Direct Greenhouse Gases Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5% 150 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mixed Metals 0.010 -0.290 -1.434 NA NA CO 2 20.9 Tg CO 2 eq. Copper Wire 0.010 0.015 -1.342 NA -2.001 Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% Table 4: PotentN 2GreenhouseO Gases0.4 andTg COGlobal2 eq. Warming Potential (GWP) Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO 2 Eq.) Mixed Paper, Broad 0.095 -0.178 -0.965 NA NA Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 100 Mixed Paper, Resid. 0.069 -0.177 -0.965 NA NA Indirect Greenhouse Gases 4 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Mixed Paper, Office 0.127 -0.162 -0.932 NA NA Table ES-2:NOx Potent Greenhouse98 Gg Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) Corrugated Cardboard 0.109 -0.177 -0.849 NA -1.525 CO 1,493.00 Gg Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% 50 Textbooks 0.530 -0.170 -0.848 NA -2.500 NMVOCs 245 ChemicalGg GWP for Given Time Horizon Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas Common Name Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% Magazines/third-class mail -0.082 -0.128 -0.837 NA -2.360 SO 1 Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste 2 23 FormulaGg SAR 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr 0 Mixed Recyclables 0.038 -0.166 -0.795 NA NA Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Office Paper 0.530 -0.170 -0.778 NA -2.182 Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Newspaper -0.237 -0.202 -0.761 NA -1.329 MethaneGg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons CH 4 21 72 25 8 Phonebooks -0.237 -0.202 -0.724 NA -1.724 Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Medium Density Fiberboard -0.133 -0.212 -0.674 NA -0.604 Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne HydrofluorocarbonsNMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Dimensional Lumber -0.133 -0.212 -0.670 NA -0.551 at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for (lbs of CO 2 eq./ton of paper) Personal Computers 0.010 -0.054 -0.616 NA -15.129 HFC-134aNote: CO 2 emissions representCH U.S.2FCF EPA3 reported 1,300 data, which 3,830 1,430 435 Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y 250 Tires 0.010 0.049 -0.498 NA -1.086 exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Anaerobic composting 13 Steel Cans 0.010 -0.418 -0.489 NA -0.866 Perfluorinated compounds (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) LDPE 0.010 0.253 -0.462 NA -0.618 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, PET 0.010 0.295 -0.419 NA -0.571 Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total Additional Energy Usage1. Calculated for Virgin- for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; NMVOCs, and SO 2, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Virgin Production & Landfilling 2 Mixed Plastics 0.010 0.270 -0.407 NA NA CF 4 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher PFC-14and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, HDPE 0.010 0.253 -0.380 NA -0.487 2 200 portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. PFC-116p. ES-17. C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Fly Ash 0.010 NA -0.237 NA NA Products Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Glass 0.010 0.014 -0.076 NA -0.156 Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental Concrete 0.010 NA -0.002 NA NA 1. IPCC Second Assessment Report (1996). Represents 100-year time horizon. These GWPs are used by the U.S. EPA in its Total Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Food Scraps 0.197 -0.048 NA -0.054 NA Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified Yard Trimmings -0.060 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. Virgin Production & Incineration 150 Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. Total Grass -0.002 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA 2. Released during aluminum production. PFC-116 has an expectedEmissions lifetime Reduced of 1,000 years. 5, 2001, p. 700. Practice Leaves -0.048 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “Table(Tons 2.14,” CO p. 212,2 eq.) Forster, P., et al, 2007: Changes in Atmospheric Branches -0.133 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Constituents Divert and in1 Radiativeton of food Forcing. scraps In: Climate from landfill Change 2007: The Physical0.25 Science Basis. Mixed Organics 0.064 -0.054 NA -0.054 NA Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 1 4 Mixed MSW 0.116 -0.033 NA NA NA Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Avoided Utility Energy Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Total Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 Recycled Production & Recycling MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction Recycled Paper Collection Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting includes compost use. Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Residue Landfill Disposal 50 Range Average Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Transportation to Market Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern Recycled Mfg Energy California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, Total 26 Stop Trashing The Climaavailablete online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html. Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) 0 CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates Material Sample Target Strategies 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Halides NA 0.0132% Source: Based on data presented in % Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs % Recycled % Diverted Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect Composted Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Paper 69,791,864 6,979,186 47,186,280 15,626,398 67.6% 22.4% 90.0% Glass 5,010,703 Glass 10,801,414 1,080,141 9,721,272 90.0% 90.0% Metals 7,261,723 Metals 15,653,868 1,565,387 14,088,481 90.0% 90.0% Plastics 11,194,365 Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) Plastics 24,131,341 2,413,134 16,349,602 5,368,605 67.8% 22.2% 90.0% Wood 5,287,810 Wood 11,398,765 1,139,877 10,258,889 90.0% 90.0% Food Discards 11,862,459 Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 Food Discards 25,571,530 2,557,153 23,014,376 90.0% 90.0% Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 (MTCE per ton) Yard Trimmings 26,512,562 2,651,256 23,861,306 90.0% 90.0% Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 Content Products Other 21,807,400 2,180,740 19,626,660 90.0% 90.0% Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Totals 205,668,744 20,566,874 117,231,184 67,870,685 58.0% 33.0% 90.0% Incinerators, 2005 Products Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. 150 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een CO 2 20.9 Tg CO 2 eq. introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow. N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq.

100 NOx 98 Gg CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO,

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

However, for two main reasons, these figures greatly “Scientifically speaking, using the 20-year understate the impact of landfilling on climate time horizon to assess methane emissions change, especially in the short term. First, is as equally valid as using the 100-year international greenhouse gas accounting protocols rely time horizon. Since the global warming on a 100-year time horizon to calculate the global warming potential of methane. This timeline masks potential of methane over 20 years is 72 methane’s short-term potency. Over a 100-year time [times greater than that of CO2], reductions frame, methane is a greenhouse gas that is 25 times in methane emissions will have a larger more potent than CO2; on a 20-year time horizon, short-term effect on temperature — 72 however, methane is 72 times more potent than times the impact — than equal reductions 73 CO2. Table 4 compares the global warming potential of CO2. Added benefits of reducing methane of greenhouse gases over different time horizons. emissions are that many reductions come When we convert greenhouse gas emissions to a 20- year analytical time frame, then landfills account for a with little or no cost, reductions lower ozone full 5.2% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. (See concentrations near Earth’s surface, and Table 5.) Second, overall landfill gas capture efficiency methane emissions can be reduced rates may be grossly overestimated. Of the 1,767 immediately while it will take time before landfills in the U.S., only approximately 425 have the world’s carbon-based energy installed systems to recover and utilize landfill gas.74 infrastructure can make meaningful The U.S. EPA assumes that those landfills with gas reductions in net carbon emissions.” capture systems are able to trap 75% of gas emissions over the life of the landfill. However, this is likely a gross overestimation for the reasons explained below. – Dr. Ed J. Dlugokencky, Global Methane Expert, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, March 2008 1. Landfill methane emissions on a 20-year time horizon are almost three times greater than on a Source: “Beyond Kyoto: Why Climate Policy Needs to Adopt the 20-year Impact of Methane,” Eco-Cycle Position Memo, Eco-Cycle, www.ecocycle.org, Boulder, 100-year time horizon. Landfills emit methane, Colorado, March 2008. which is a greenhouse gas with an average lifetime of 12 years. Because different greenhouse gases have Although methane is more damaging in the short different efficiencies in heat adsorption and different term, the U.S. greenhouse gas inventory also uses the lifetimes in the atmosphere, the Intergovernmental 100-year time horizon to calculate the global warming Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) developed the potential of methane and other gases. When viewed concept of global warming potential as a standard from a 20-year time horizon, the global warming methodology to compare greenhouse gases. Carbon potential of methane almost triples to 72 (compared 76 dioxide is used as a baseline and all gases are adjusted to CO2 over the same period of time). On a 100-year to values of CO2. One of the assumptions embedded time horizon, U.S. landfill methane emissions are 132 in the calculated value of a gas’s global warming Tg CO2 eq.; on a 20-year time period, they jump to 77 potential is the choice of time frame. The IPCC 452.6 Tg CO2 eq. As a result, as shown in Table 5, publishes global warming potential values over three when viewed from a 20-year time horizon, landfill time horizons, as seen in Table 4. The decision to use methane emissions represent 5.2% of all U.S. a particular time horizon is a matter of policy, not a greenhouse gases emitted in 2005. matter of science.75 Kyoto Protocol policymakers The use of similar timeline variations in an Israeli chose to evaluate greenhouse gases over the 100-year study resulted in similarly significant differences in time horizon based on their assessments of the short emissions numbers. Using the 100-year time frame, and long-term impacts of climate change. This this study found Israeli landfills and wastewater decision diluted the short-term impact of methane on treatment contributed 13% of the nation’s total CO2 climate change and put less emphasis on its relative eq. emissions. When these waste sector emissions contribution. were calculated on a 20-year time period,

Stop Trashing The Climate 27

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Petrochemical Production 1.1 Table 5: Major Sources of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Tg CO2 Eq.), 2005, 100 Year vs. 20 Year Time Horizon Mobile Combustion 2.6 Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 5.5 1 Rice Cultivation 6.9 Emission Source 100 Yr Horizon 20 Yr Horizon Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Stationary Combustion 6.9 Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% Forest Land Remaining Forest Land 2 11.6 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% Wastewater Treatment 25.4 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) Natural Gas Systems (CO & CH ) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% Petroleum Systems 28.5 2 4

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 ODS = Ozone Depleting Substances Tg = Teragram = million metric tons Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 1. Methane emissions converted to 20-year time frame. Methane’s global warming potential is 72 over a 20-year time horizon, compared to 21 used for the 100- yearTable time frame. 1: NImpact2O emissions of alongPaper with RecyclingODS, perfluorinated on compounds,Greenhouse and hydrofluorocarbons Gas Emissions have also been converted to the 20-year time horizon. Hydrofluorocarbons 2. Such as fertilizer application and other cropping practices. 3. Such(lbs ofas COfor manufacturing2 eq./ton of paper)plastics, lubricants, waxes, and asphalt. HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 4. CO2 emissions released from the combustion of biomass materials such as wood, paper, food discards, and yard trimmings are not accounted for under 250 HFC-125 CHF CF 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2 3 Municipal Solid Waste Combustion in the EPA inventory. Biomass emissions represent 72% Office of all CO 2Corrugatedemitted from waste incinerators. CUK SBS Newsprint (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Perfluorinated compounds Paper Boxes Paperboard Paperboard Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Data for 100-year time horizon is from “Table ES-2: Recent Trends in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 6 Sinks,”VirginInventory Production of U.S. Greenhouse & Landfilling Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, p. ES-5 and p. 3-19. Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Process - - 388 1,625 - 2,013 2 Electricity - 58 63 5,801 77 5,999 200 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Collection Vehicle & Landfill 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 Fossil Fuel 16 789 135 133 155 1,228 Products MSW Landfill 1 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 Transport 32 61 8 4 136 241 Ancilliary - 84 255 - - 339 Total 15,515.3 19,853.5 16,566.2 17,432.6 20,489.5 PFC - - - 2,226 - 2,226 Virgin Production & Incineration Total 48 992 849 9,789 368 12,046 150 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 PFC = perfluorocarbons MSW Collection 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 Source: "Appendix C: CO 2 Emission Data," Life Cycle Assessment of Aluminum: Inventory Data Combustion Process 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 for the Worldwide Primary Aluminum Industry , International Aluminum Institute, March 2003, p. 43. Avoided Utility Energy (1,024.8) (896.7) (896.7) (977.2) (977.2) Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Total 7,359.4 11,825.7 8,538.4 9,324.3 12,381.2 Recycled Production & Recycling With the Recycledrapid state Paper Collectionof climate change and 157.7 the need 157.7 for immediate, 157.7 substantial 157.7 reductions 157.7 to Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume greenhouseRecycling gas Paper emissions Processing/Sorting in the short term, 31.7 the 20-year 31.7 time 31.7horizon for 31.7 greenhouse 31.7 gas 50 Residue Landfill Disposal 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 Constituent Gas emissionsTransportation should be to Marketconsidered in all greenhouse 33.0 gas 33.0 inventories. 33.0 33.0 33.0 Range Average

N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq.

100 NOx 98 Gg CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO,

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

however, the waste sector’s contribution to overall the-art” landfills will eventually leak and pollute greenhouse emissions jumped to more than 25%.78 nearby groundwater.81 Compounding this problem is the fact that regulations protecting groundwater With the rapid state of climate change and the need quality do not adequately or reliably address the wide for immediate, substantial reductions to greenhouse variety of constituents in municipal solid waste gas emissions in the short term, the 20-year time leachate, the liquid that results when moisture enters horizon for greenhouse gas emissions should be landfills. Another important reason is landfill air considered in all greenhouse gas inventories. emissions are toxic and can increase the risk of certain Prioritizing the reduction of methane in the next few types of cancer. Escaping gases will typically carry years will have a substantial effect upon climate change toxic chemicals such as paint thinner, solvents, over the coming decade. Removing one ton of pesticides, and other hazardous volatile organic methane will have the same effect as removing 72 tons compounds. Unsurprisingly, then, studies link living of CO2 in the short term. The immediacy of our near landfills with cancer.82 Women living near solid situation demands we consider both the short- and waste landfills where gas is escaping, for example, have long-term climate impacts of wasting. been found to have a four-fold increased chance of 2. Landfill methane gas capture rates are bladder cancer and leukemia. The negative overestimated, resulting in underreported methane environmental and social impacts of landfill use are emissions released to the atmosphere. I n its WAste minimized when a zero waste path is chosen. Reduction Model (WARM), the U.S. EPA assumes landfills with gas recovery systems capture 75% or more of the methane gas generated. According to one expert, though, this capture rate has no factual basis Waste Incinerators Emit Greenhouse and typical lifetime capture rates for landfills that have Gases and Waste Energy gas recovery systems are closer to 16%, but no greater than 20%.79 For an explanation of why capture rates are low, see the Myth and Fact on this issue, page 34. In terms of their impact on greenhouse gas concentrations, incinerators are worse than The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has alternatives such as waste avoidance, reuse, recycling, now recognized extremely low lifetime landfill gas composting, and anaerobic digestion. The Integrated capture rates: Waste Services Association, an incineration trade group, falsely claims that waste incineration “does the “Some sites may have less efficient or only most to reduce greenhouse gas releases into the partial gas extraction systems, and there are atmosphere” when compared to other waste fugitive emissions from landfilled waste prior management options, and that incineration “plants are to and after the implementation of active gas tremendously valuable contributors in the fight extraction; therefore estimates of ‘lifetime’ against global warming.”83 These statements are based recovery efficiencies may be as low as 20%.”80 on the narrow view that incinerators recycle some Average landfill lifetime capture efficiency rates as low metals, avoid coal combustion, and reduce the as 20% raise questions about the effectiveness of methane released from landfills. They ignore the fact focusing on end-of-pipe solutions to collect landfill that the materials that incinerators destroy could gas as compared to preventing methane emissions otherwise be reduced at the source, reused, recycled, or completely by keeping biodegradable materials from composted, with resulting far superior benefits to the entering landfills in the first place. The increased climate. potency of methane over the short term offers further 1. Incinerators emit significant quantities of direct impetus for preventing, rather than partially greenhouse gases. Not only do incinerators emit toxic mitigating, emissions. chemicals, but the U.S. EPA’s most recent inventory of In addition to preventing methane emissions, there are U.S. greenhouse gas emissions also lists U.S. other important reasons to reduce landfill use. One is incinerators among the top 15 major sources of direct the protection of our water supplies; even “state-of- greenhouse gases to the environment, contributing

Stop Trashing The Climate 29 Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.)

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Avoided Utility Energy Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Total Recycled Production & Recycling Recycled Paper Collection Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting 50 Residue Landfill Disposal Transportation to Market Range Average Recycled Mfg Energy Total Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) 0 CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste Hydrogen Sulfide (H S) 1 - 0.017% 0.0021% Material Sample Target Strategies 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. 2 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Halides NA 0.0132% Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Water Vapor (H O) 1 - 10% NA Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect 2 Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Glass 5,010,703 Source: Energy Information Administration. US Department of Energy. Growth of landfill Metals 7,261,723 gas industry; 1996. Available online at: Plastics 11,194,365 Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/renewable.energy.annual/chap10.html. Wood 5,287,810 21.3 Tg CO2 eq. in 2005. Of this, CO2 emissions Food Discards 11,862,459 Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse represented 20.9 Tg CO2 eq. and N2O emissions, 0.4 250 (MTCE per ton) Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 84 Tg CO2 eq. (See Table 5, page 28.) In the 15-year Incinerators,Table 6: 2005 Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 Content Products Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 period from 1990 to 2005, the EPA reported that Energy Usage Recycled-Content Aluminum Cans 0.010 0.017 -3.701 NA -2.245 Incinerators, 2005 Products incinerator CO2 emissions rose by 10 Tg CO2 eq. Carpet 0.010 0.106 -1.959 NA -1.090 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. (91%), as the amount of plastics and other fossil-fuel- Direct Greenhouse Gases 150 Mixed Metals 0.010 -0.290 -1.434 NA NA CO 20.9 Tg CO eq. Copper Wire 0.010 0.015 -1.342 NA -2.001 85 2 2 based materials in municipal solid waste has grown. N O 0.4 Tg CO eq. Mixed Paper, Broad 0.095 -0.178 -0.965 NA NA 2 2 100 Mixed Paper, Resid. 0.069 -0.1772. Comparisons-0.965 of waste andNA energy optionsNA often Indirect Greenhouse Gases Mixed Paper, Office 0.127 -0.162 -0.932 NA NA NOx 98 Gg wrongly ignore the majority of CO2 emissions Corrugated Cardboard 0.109 -0.177 -0.849 NA -1.525 CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Textbooks 0.530 -0.170released by-0.848 incinerators. In theNA U.S. EPA-2.500 greenhouse Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Magazines/third-class mail -0.082 -0.128gas inventory-0.837 mentioned above,NA CO-2.3602 emissions Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Mixed Recyclables 0.038 -0.166released from-0.795 the combustionNA of biomassNA materials Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Office Paper 0.530 -0.170 -0.778 NA -2.182 Tg = teragramTg = teragram = 1 million = 1 metricmillion tons metric tons Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs such as wood, paper, food scraps, and yard trimmings Newspaper -0.237 -0.202 -0.761 NA -1.329 Gg = gigagramGg = gigagram = 1,000 = metric 1,000 tons metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Phonebooks -0.237 -0.202are not included-0.724 under “municipalNA -1.724 solid waste Medium Density Fiberboard -0.133 -0.212 -0.674 NA -0.604 NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne combustion.” In fact, of the total amount of NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Dimensional Lumber -0.133 -0.212 -0.670 NA -0.551 at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Note: CO2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, Personal Computers 0.010 -0.054incinerator-0.616 emissions, only theNA fossil-based-15.129 carbon Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y which exclude emissions from biomass materials. Tires 0.010 0.049 -0.498 NA -1.086 exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). emissions — those created by burning plastics, Anaerobic composting 13 Steel Cans 0.010 -0.418synthetic rubber/leather,-0.489 and syntheticNA -0.866 textiles — are Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, LDPE 0.010 0.253 -0.462 NA -0.618 NMVOCs,Source: and SO Table2, Inventor ES-2 yand of U.S.Table Greenhouse ES-10: Emissions Gas of NOx, CO, Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, PET 0.010 0.295included under-0.419 “municipal solidNA waste -0.571combustion” in NMVOCs, and SO , Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; April 15, 2007, p. ES-17. 2 global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher Mixed Plastics 0.010 0.270the inventor-0.407y. These emissionsNA account forNA less than and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. HDPE 0.010 0.253one-third -0.380of the overall CONA 2 emissions-0.487 from p. ES-17. Fly Ash 0.010 NA incinerators.-0.237 NA NA Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Glass 0.010 0.014 -0.076 NA -0.156 Concrete 0.010 NA -0.002 NA NA account emissions that are avoided and carbon Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental When all emissions are correctly taken into account, it Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Food Scraps 0.197 -0.048 NA -0.054 NA sequesterTableed when 7: Select materials Resource are reused, Conservation recycled or Practices Quantified Yard Trimmings -0.060 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. becomes clear that on a per megawatt-hour basis, composted as compared to incinerated. Emissions Reduced 5, 2001, p. 700. Grass -0.002 -0.060incinerators emitNA more CO2-0.054than any fossil-fuel-basedNA Leaves -0.048 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Practice 4. Incinerators are large sources of indirect(Tons CO 2 eq.) Branches -0.133 -0.060electricity source.NA (See Figure-0.054 4 on page 40.)NA Coal-fired greenhouse Divert gases. 1 ton ofIndir foodect scraps greenhouse from landfill gases emitted0.25 Mixed Organics 0.064 -0.054power plants, NAfor example, emit-0.054 2,249 poundsNA of CO2 Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 1 4 Mixed MSW 0.116 -0.033per megawatt-hour,NA comparedNA to the 2,899NA pounds by incinerators Reuse 1 ton include of cardboard carbon boxes monoxide (CO), 1.8 Clay Bricks 0.010 NA emitted by wasteNA incinerators.86NAClearly,-0.077 as discussed in nitrogen Recycle oxide 1(NOx), ton of plastic non-methane film volatile organic 2.5 Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reductionfurther detail in the Myth and Fact on this issue, page compounds (NMVOCs), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). 41, simply ignoring CO2 emissions from incinerating (See Table1. Bay-Friendly 6.) According landscaping to the is U.S. a holistic EPA, approach “these to gases gardening and landscaping that biomass materials is inappropriate and leads to flawed do notincludes have composta direct use. global warming effect, but Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and indirectly affect terrestrial absorption by influencing Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. climate impact comparisons with other waste Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the management and energy generation options. the formationAlameda Countyand destruction Climate Action ofProject,” tropospheric StopWaste.Org, and presented at the Northern stratosphericCalifornia ozone, Recycling or, inAssociation’s the case of Recycling SO2, b yUpdate affecting ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, 3. Tremendous opportunities for greenhouse gas the absorptiveavailable onlinecharacteristics at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html. of the atmosphere. In reductions are lost when a material is incinerated. Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates addition, some of these gases may react with other It is wrong to ignore the opportunities for CO2 or chemical compounds in the atmosphere to form Disposed Recycled otherComposted emissions to be avoided, sequestered% or stored 87 % Recycled % Diverted compounds that are greenhouse gases.” These (tons) (tons) (tons) Composted through non-incineration uses of a given material. indirect greenhouse gases are not quantifiable as CO2 Paper 69,791,864 6,979,186 47,186,280 15,626,398 67.6% 22.4% 90.0% More climate-friendly alternatives to incinerating eq. and are not included in CO2 eq. emissions totals Glass 10,801,414 1,080,141 9,721,272 materials often include90.0% source reduction,90.0% reuse, Metals 15,653,868 1,565,387 14,088,481 90.0% 90.0% in inventories. Plastics 24,131,341 2,413,134 16,349,602 recycling,5,368,605 and composting.67.8% When 22.2%calculating90.0% the true Wood 11,398,765 1,139,877 10,258,889 climate impact of incineration90.0% as compared 90.0%to other Food Discards 25,571,530 2,557,153 waste23,014,376 management and energy generation90.0% options,90.0% it Yard Trimmings 26,512,562 2,651,256 23,861,306 90.0% 90.0% is essential that models account for the emissions when viewed from a 20-year time horizon, Other 21,807,400 2,180,740 19,626,660 90.0% 90.0% landfill methane emissions represent 5.2% of Totals 205,668,744 20,566,874 117,231,184 avoided67,870,685 when a given58.0% material is 33.0%used for its90.0% highest and best use. This means, for instance, taking into all U.S. greenhouse gases emitted in 2005. Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

30 Stop Trashing The Climate

5. Incinerators waste energy by destroying materials. The energy sector is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gases, representing 85% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2005.88 Incinerators destroy highly recyclable and compostable materials, thus also destroying the energy-saving potential of recycling or composting those materials. Incinerators also recover few resources (with the exception of ferrous metals) and are net energy losers when the embodied energy of the materials incinerated is taken into account. Recycling is far better for the climate as it saves 3 to 5 times the energy that waste incinerator power plants generate.89 In other words, incinerating trash is akin to spending 3 to 5 units of energy to make 1 unit. When a ton of office paper is incinerated, for example, it generates about 8,200 megajoules; when this same ton is recycled, it saves about 35,200 megajoules. Thus recycling office paper saves four times more energy than the amount generated by burning it.90 Recycling other materials offers similar energy savings. The U.S. EPA found recycling to be more effective at reducing Incinerating trash is akin to spending 3 to 5 greenhouse gas emissions than incineration across all units of energy to make 1 unit. 18 product categories it evaluated.91 While incinerator advocates describe their installations as “resource recovery,” “waste-to-energy” (WTE) facilities, or “conversion technologies,” these facts indicate that incinerators are more aptly labeled “wasted energy” plants or “waste of energy” (WOE) facilities.92

Stop Trashing The Climate 31

Sample Renewable Energy Standards and Tax Credits That Favor Disposal Over Resource Conservation

Federal Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit: Originally enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Production Tax Credit (PTC) provides a highly sought-after tax reward for so-called “renewable” energy generation. The PTC — which originally supported only wind and select bioenergy resources — is now available to several dirty electricity generators including incinerators, landfills, refined coal, “Indian coal,”* and others. Eligible electricity generators receive a tax credit of 1.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity that they generate. The PTC is set to expire on January 1, 2009, and should be extended to support only truly renewable electricity sources such as wind, solar, and ocean power - not incinerators, landfills, and other dirty electricity generators.

Renewable Portfolio Standard: A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) — also called a renewable electricity standard (RES) — is a law that requires a certain amount of electricity to be generated by what are deemed to be “renewable” resources by a particular year. For example, the state of New Jersey requires that 22.5% of its electricity comes from electricity sources such as solar, wind, landfills, biomass, and tidal by the year 2020. To date, twenty-seven states have passed some version of an RPS law. These laws vary greatly in terms of how much electricity is required and what qualifies as a “renewable” source of electricity. While some states such as Oregon have passed relatively strict requirements for what qualifies as a renewable resource, other states, such as Pennsylvania, have passed RPS laws that qualify electricity sources including coal, incinerators, and landfills as “renewable.” All state RPS laws (including Oregon’s) qualify landfills as sources of renewable electricity. Approximately half of state RPS laws qualify municipal solid waste incinerators as a source of renewable electricity.

Alternative Fuels Mandate: This measure was included as part of the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6). It mandates the generation of 36 billion gallons of fuel from so-called “renewable” biomass by the year 2022. As part of this mandate, several dirty fuel sources may qualify as “advanced renewable biofuels” and “biomass-based diesel,” including municipal solid waste incineration, wastewater sludge incineration, and landfill gas.

* “Indian coal” is coal produced from coal reserves owned by an Indian tribe, or held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or its members. Source: Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, available online at http://www.dsireusa.org/; and David Ciplet, Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance/Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, March 2008.

6. Incinerators exacerbate global warming by options such as recycling and composting programs. competing with more climate-friendly systems for State renewable portfolio standards provide eligible public financing. Federal and state public financing industries with access to favorable markets in which to programs, such as the Federal Renewable Energy sell their electricity at competitive prices. These laws Production Tax Credit and several state renewable thus provide electricity generators with tangible energy portfolio standards, reward incinerators and economic rewards, favorable electricity contracts, and landfills for generating electricity. As a result, these the long-term stability necessary to attract capital programs encourage increased levels of waste disposal, investment. Qualifying incinerators for renewable pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. They also energy incentives contributes to greenhouse gas have the negative effect of subsidizing these dirty waste emissions and ensures that less funding is available for management systems, thereby giving them a distinct real solutions to climate change such as conservation, competitive advantage over more climate-friendly efficiency, and wind, solar and ocean power.

32 Stop Trashing The Climate

In addition to its negative impact on the climate, the body through inhalation, consumption or skin contact, use of incinerators has several other negative and can penetrate cells and tissues causing biochemical environmental, social, and health consequences. For damage in humans or animals. Toxic pollutants in one, incinerators are disproportionately cited in nanoparticle size can be lethal to humans in many ways, communities of color, tribal communities, and poor or causing cancer, heart attacks, strokes, asthma, and rural communities, which are often areas of least pulmonary disease, among others.96 [For additional political resistance. Incinerators are also prohibitively information on the public health impacts of expensive, compete with recycling and composting for incinerators, see Incineration and Public Health: State of financing and materials, sustain only 1 job for every 10 Knowledge of the Impacts of Waste Incineration on at a recycling facility,93 produce toxic solid and liquid Human Health.97] discharges, and cause significant emissions of dioxin and other chlorinated organic compounds that have well known toxic impacts on human health and the environment. Emissions from incinerators are transported long distances and have been positively identified to cause cancer.94 Moreover, incinerators are inadequately regulated. For example, the U.S. EPA does not effectively regulate toxins in solid and liquid discharges from incinerators. Emissions of nanoparticles, for instance, are completely unregulated. Nanoparticles are particles that range in size between 1 and 100 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). Nanoparticles emitted by incinerators include dioxins and other toxins. They are too small to measure, and are difficult to capture in pollution control devices. Studies of nanoparticles or ultra-fines reveal increased cause for concern about incinerator emissions of dioxin, heavy metals, and other toxins.95 Due to their small size, nanoparticles from incinerators and other sources may be able to enter the

Stop Trashing The Climate 33

least 25 times more effective in reducing greenhouse Debunking Common Myths gas emissions than landfill gas-to-energy schemes.99 These uncontrolled emissions are even more important when evaluating the global warming Despite claims to the contrary, waste incinerators, impact of methane over the short term, rather than landfill gas recovery systems, and wet landfill designs diluting it over 100 years, as is current practice. (labeled as “bioreactors” by their proponents) will not solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions from The U.S. EPA overestimates the capture rates from wasting. The following eight common myths stand in landfill gas recovery systems due to the following the way of effective solutions to address our factors: unsustainable rate of resource consumption and rising ¥ There are no field measurements of the efficiency greenhouse gas emissions. of landfill gas collection systems over the lifetime of MYTH: Landfill gas capture recovery systems are an the landfill.100 In order to do this, a giant “bubble,” effective way to address methane emissions from similar to an indoor tennis court bubble, would landfills. have to be installed over the entire landfill to capture and measure all of the gas created over an FACT: Landfill gas capture systems do a poor job of indefinite period of time. In addition, such a recovering methane emissions. system would have to account for emissions released before the gas collection system is installed. It would also have to account for fugitive emissions The best way to mitigate landfill methane emissions is that escape through cracks in the landfill liner and to prevent biodegradable materials such as food other pathways. Such an installation is not discards, yard trimmings, and paper products from technically or economically feasible. entering landfills, as methane gas recovery systems actually do a poor job of capturing landfill gas. In fact, ¥ The U.S. EPA’s estimated 75% capture rate is an most gases generated in landfills escape uncontrolled. assumption based on what the best gas collection Lifetime landfill capture efficiency rates may be closer systems might achieve rather than what the average to 20% than the 75% rate assumed by the U.S. EPA systems actually experience.101 One study estimated in its WAste Reduction Model (WARM).98 One study that the average capture rate for 25 landfills in indicates that keeping organics out of landfills is at California was 35%.102

34 Stop Trashing The Climate

The best way to mitigate landfill methane emissions is to prevent biodegradable materials such as food discards, yard trimmings, and paper products from entering landfills. Most gases generated in landfills escape uncontrolled.

¥ The U.S. EPA’s estimated 75% capture rate is based ¥ Landfill gas recovery systems are not generally on instantaneous collection efficiency estimates of a operational during peak methane releases. system running at peak efficiency rather than on Theoretically, at least 50% of the “latent” methane the system’s performance over the entire lifetime in municipal solid waste can be generated within that the landfill generates gas. One expert reports one year of residence time in a landfill.107 However, that correcting this alone would lower the regulations in EPA’s landfill air rule do not require estimated capture rate from 75% to 27%.103 gas collection for the first five years of a landfill’s life.108 This means that any food discards and other New landfill gas recovery systems currently space ¥ biodegradable materials that decompose within collection wells 350 feet apart, instead of the those five years will have emitted methane directly previous industry practice of 150 feet between into the atmosphere. wells. This practice results in fewer wells and less 104 landfill gas collected. ¥ EPA landfill rules allow the removal of gas collection systems from service approximately 20 Gas generated inside landfills escapes all day, every ¥ years after the landfill closes. Landfill barriers will day from every landfill in America. No one actually ultimately fail at some point during the post- knows how much is escaping since landfills are not closure period when the landfill is no longer fully contained or monitored systems. We do know actively managed. Once the barriers fail, that gas escapes through a variety of routes, and precipitation will re-enter the landfill, and, in time, that it is not stored but instead seeks the path of accumulating moisture will cause a second wave of least resistance to release into the atmosphere. decomposition and gas generation without any Through ruptures in the final cover, or before the controls.109 cap is installed, gas escapes directly into the atmosphere from the top and sides of a landfill. Gas also escapes indirectly through subsurface routes, including via the landfills’ own leachate collection system and through ruptures in the bottom liner and its seals, sometimes reaching into adjoining structures through underground utility lines.105

¥ Landfill gas managers often “throttle back” on the wells where low methane concentrations are recorded in order to give that surrounding field time to recharge. When this happens, more landfill gases escape uncontrolled into the atmosphere. While there is no reporting of how often throttling is utilized, anecdotal evidence suggests that about 15% of the fields at a landfill with a gas recovery system will be throttled back or turned down at any point in time. This may reduce lifetime capture rates further to 16%.106

* Throttle back = The operator controls how much negative pressure to apply to each gas well. If there is more than 5% oxygen in the gas collected in a well, he or she will reduce the vacuum forces in order to avoid sucking in so much air.

Recharge = When a gas field has its wells throttled back for the related purpose of recharging moisture levels, the landfill operator is reacting to the fact that 50% of the gas withdrawn is moisture, and methanogenic microbes need more than 40% moisture levels to optimize methane production. The vacuum forces are reduced or the well is completely turned off for a while to provide time for new rainfall to infiltrate cells that have not had final covers installed and thereby recoup sufficient moisture to keep the future gas methane rich above 50% and as close to 60% as feasible.

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MYTH: Wet landfills or “bioreactor” designs will improve landfill gas capture rates and help reduce methane emissions from landfills. FACT: Wet landfills are schemes to speed methane generation, but because lifetime gas capture efficiency rates may approximate 20%, actual methane emissions may be greater with the reactor design than without. The idea behind wet landfill designs, called “bioreactors” by their proponents, is to compress the time period during which gas is actively produced in the landfill and to thereby implement early gas extraction.110 Instead of preventing water from entering landfills, these systems re-circulate and redistribute liquids — called leachate — throughout the landfill.111 This moisture aids decomposition, which then leads to methane generation. Landfill operators prefer these systems because they encourage materials to settle and thus boost landfill capacity, which in turn raises profits. By adding and circulating liquid to speed anaerobic conditions, however, these systems may actually increase rather than decrease overall methane emissions. The U.S. EPA acknowledges that bioreactors in the early years may MYTH: Landfills and incinerators are sources of increase methane generation 2 to 10 times.112 And renewable energy. because gas recovery systems do a poor job of FACT: Landfills and incinerators waste valuable recovering methane, these increased emissions will resources and are not generators of “renewable” energy. largely escape uncontrolled. See previous myth for They inefficiently capture a small amount of energy by more on the flaws of landfill gas recovery systems. Wet destroying a large number of the Earth’s diminishing landfill systems will likely further reduce the efficiency resources that could be conserved, reused, or recycled. of landfill gas capture because the pipes used for re- circulating leachate are the same as those used for Some federal renewable energy rules and many state extracting gas. This makes gas collection challenging. green energy programs qualify municipal solid waste Furthermore, in order to let in more precipitation, as a source of renewable energy, thus allowing landfills bioreactor systems involve delaying the installation of and often waste incinerators to receive public a final cover on the landfill for years — yet it is the financing and tax credits. However, waste is not a cover, the impermeable cap, that is essential for the source of renewable energy. It is created using proper functioning of gas collection systems.113 exhaustible resources such as fossil fuels and Investing millions of dollars in systems that add to diminishing forests. Since 1970, one-third of global methane generation in the short term is thus ill- natural resources have been depleted.114 This pattern of advised and counterproductive to climate protection production, consumption, and wasting is hardly part efforts, as such technologies will only hasten the onset of a sustainable or “renewable” system. The fact is that of climate change by releasing potent emissions over a incinerators and landfills promote wasteful behavior short time period. and the continued depletion of finite material resources. This is entirely contrary to any conception of renewable energy.

36 Stop Trashing The Climate

MYTH: Subsidizing landfill gas capture recovery systems generation without any pollution controls.120 The through renewable portfolio standards, alternative fuels bottom line is that no landfill design is effective in mandates, and green power incentives is good for the preventing greenhouse gas emissions or eliminating climate. the other health and environmental risks of landfilling. This is one principal reason that the FACT: Subsidies to landfills encourage waste disposal at European Union committed to reducing the amount the expense of waste reduction and materials recovery of biodegradable waste sent to landfills in its Landfill options that are far better for the climate. Directive, and why the German government outlawed Renewable energy or tax credits for landfill gas capture the landfilling of untreated mixed waste. In the U.S., systems represent subsidies that distort the the current trend to weaken landfill bans on yard marketplace and force recycling, composting, and trimmings is the complete opposite of what is needed anaerobic digestion programs to compete with landfill to reverse climate change, and is contrary to growing disposal systems on an uneven economic playing field. international sentiment.121 The same holds true for financial incentives offered to It is extremely important to our climate protection waste incinerators. efforts that we dramatically reduce methane emissions The critical point to remember when evaluating the from landfills. However, the current strategy in the eligibility of these systems for “green” incentives is that U.S. of providing subsidies to landfills for gas capture it is our use of landfills that creates the methane and energy generation leads to increased, not problem in the first place. There is no methane in the decreased, greenhouse gas emissions. This is because materials we discard. It is the decision to landfill these subsidies provide perverse incentives to landfill biodegradable materials that generates methane, more organic materials and to mismanage landfills for because lined landfills create the unique oxygen- increased gas production. This means we are providing starved conditions that lead to anaerobic incentives to create the potent greenhouse gases we so decomposition and its resulting methane production. critically need to eliminate. These subsidies also Normally, decomposition of organic matter would unfairly disadvantage far more climate-friendly occur aerobically through a process that does not solutions, such as source separation and the produce significant methane.115 Landfill operators composting and anaerobic digestion of organic should indeed be required to capture methane, but materials. Rather than providing subsidies for landfill these gas recovery systems should not qualify as gas capture and energy production, we should, at a renewable energy in portfolios, renewable tax credits, minimum, undertake the following: (1) immediately emission offset trading programs, or other renewable phase out the landfilling and incinerating of organic energy incentives. That’s like giving oil companies tax materials; (2) strengthen landfill gas capture rules and credits for agreeing to partially clean up their oil spills. regulations; and (3) provide incentives to expand and strengthen our organics collection infrastructure, In addition, gas capture systems are highly ineffective including support for the creation of composting and and poorly regulated. Current landfill regulations anaerobic digestion facility jobs. requiring gas recovery only apply to 5% of landfills, and for those to which the regulations do apply, collection systems only need to be in place beginning The bottom line is that no landfill design is five years after waste is disposed.116 The rules also allow effective in preventing greenhouse gas the removal of collection systems approximately 20 emissions or eliminating the other health years after the site’s closure.117 Yet, according to the and environmental risks of landfilling. U.S. EPA, methane emissions can continue for up to 60 years.118 At some point, all landfill liners and barriers will ultimately fail and leak; EPA has acknowledged this fact.119 Once barriers fail, precipitation will re-enter the landfill. In time, accumulating moisture during the post-closure period when landfills are no longer actively managed may cause a second wave of decomposition and gas

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MYTH: Subsidizing waste incinerators through minimum tonnage guarantees through “put or pay” renewable electricity portfolio standards, alternative contracts, which require communities to pay fees fuels mandates, and other green power incentives is whether their waste is burned or not. This directly good for the climate. hinders waste prevention, reuse, composting, recycling, and their associated community economic FACT: Subsidies to incinerators encourage waste development benefits. disposal at the expense of waste reduction and materials recovery options that are far better for the climate. The undermining of recycling by incineration has also been noted in countries with more reliance on Subsidies to incinerators — including mass-burn, incineration than the U.S. Germany’s top pyrolysis, plasma, gasification, and other incineration environmental and waste official acknowledged in technologies that generate electricity or fuels — 2007 that paper recycling is threatened because of squander taxpayer money intended for truly incinerators’ “thirst” for combustible materials, and he renewable energy, waste reduction, and climate called for policies to ensure that paper recycling is a solutions. Environment America, the Sierra Club, the priority.123 Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of the Earth, and 130 other organizations have recognized Subsidies for incineration also encourage the this fact and endorsed a statement calling for no expansion of existing incinerators and the incentives to be awarded to incinerators.122 Subsidies construction of a new generation of disposal projects to incinerators at the local and national level are that are harmful to the climate. These subsidies erode encouraging proposals for the construction and community efforts to protect health, reduce waste, expansion of expensive, pollution-ridden, and and stop global warming, and reverse decades of greenhouse-gas-intensive disposal projects. With progress achieved by the environmental justice and limited resources available to fix the colossal climate health movements. By investing public money in problem, not a dime of taxpayer money should be recycling and composting infrastructure, jobs, and misused to subsidize incinerators. other zero waste strategies — rather than incineration — we could reuse a far greater percentage of these and Because of the capital-intensive nature of incinerators, other materials and significantly reduce our climate their construction locks communities into long-term footprint. energy and waste contracts that obstruct efforts to conserve resources, as recyclers and incinerators compete for the same materials. Incinerator operators covet high-Btu materials such as cardboard, other paper, and plastics for generating electricity. For every ton of paper or plastics incinerated, one less ton can be recycled, and the far greater energy saving benefits of recycling are squandered. Waste incinerators rely on

Environment America, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of the Earth, and 130 other organizations have recognized this fact and endorsed a statement calling for no incentives to be awarded to incinerators.

38 Stop Trashing The Climate

MYTH: Incinerating “biomass” materials such as wood, The rationale for ignoring CO2 emissions from paper, yard trimmings, and food discards is “climate biomass materials when comparing waste neutral.” CO2 emissions from these materials should be management and energy generation options often ignored when comparing energy generation options. derives from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology recommended for FACT: Incinerating materials such as wood, paper, yard accounting for national CO2 emissions. In 2006, the trimmings, and food discards is far from “climate IPCC wrote: neutral.” Rather, incinerating these and other materials is detrimental to the climate. Any model comparing the climate impacts of energy generation options should “Consistent with the 1996 Guidelines (IPCC, take into account additional lifecycle emissions incurred 1997), only CO2 emissions resulting from (or not avoided) by not utilizing a material for its “highest oxidation, during incineration and open and best” use. In addition, calculations should take into burning of carbon in waste of fossil origin account the timing of releases of CO2. (e.g., plastics, certain textiles, rubber, liquid solvents, and waste oil) are considered net Incinerators emit more CO2 per megawatt-hour than emissions and should be included in the coal-fired, natural-gas-fired, or oil-fired power plants national CO2 emissions estimate. The CO2 (see Figure 4, page 40). However, when comparing emissions from combustion of biomass incineration with other energy options such as coal, materials (e.g., paper, food, and wood waste) natural gas, and oil power plants, the Solid Waste contained in the waste are biogenic Association of North America (SWANA) and the emissions and should not be included in Integrated Waste Services Association (an incinerator national total emission estimates. However, industry group) treat the incineration of materials if incineration of waste is used for energy such as wood, paper, yard trimmings, and food purposes, both fossil and biogenic CO2 discards as “carbon neutral.” SWANA ignores CO2 emissions should be estimated. Only fossil emissions from these materials, concluding that CO2 should be included in national “WTE power plants [incinerators] emit significantly emissions under Energy Sector while less carbon dioxide than any of the fossil fuel power biogenic CO2 should be reported as an 124 plants.” This is simply inaccurate. information item also in the Energy Sector. Wood, paper, and agricultural materials are often Moreover, if combustion, or any other factor, produced from unsustainable forestry and land is causing long term decline in the total management practices that are causing the amount of carbon embodied in living biomass (e.g., carbon stored in forests and soil to decrease over time. forests), this net release of carbon should be Incinerating these materials not only emits CO2 in the evident in the calculation of CO2 emissions process, but also destroys their potential for reuse or described in the Agriculture, Forestry and use as manufacturing and composting feedstocks. This Other Land Use (AFOLU) Volume of the ultimately leads to a net increase of CO2 2006 Guidelines.”127 [emphasis added] concentrations in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. The U.S. is the largest global importer of paper and wood products,125 and these products are often imported from regions around the world that have unsustainable resource management practices resulting in deforestation, forest degradation, and soil erosion. Deforestation alone accounts for as much as 30% of global carbon emissions.126 A comprehensive lifecycle analysis is necessary to assess the overall climate impact of any material used as a fuel source, and would include CO2 emissions from wood, paper, food discards, and other “biomass materials.”

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Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

ZERO WASTE PATH There is no indication that the IPCC ever intended for When wood and paper are recycled or source reduced, Reducing waste through prevention, reuse, recycling and composting 406 7.0% its national inventory accounting protocols to be used as rather than incinerated, forests sequester more carbon. All Other ABATEMENT STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BY McKINSEY REPORT 63.3% Increasing fuel efficiency in cars and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% Industrial Fossil Fuel a rationale to ignore emissions from biomass materials In other words, when we reduce the amount of 3.4% Improved fuel efficiency and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 Combustion Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% when comparing energy or waste management options materials made from trees, or when we reuse or recycle 11.6% Hybridization of cars and light trucks 70 1.2% outside of a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory. those materials, fewer trees are cut down to create new Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% Afforestation of pastureland and cropland 210 3.6% Industrial Rather, the guidelines state “…if incineration of waste is products. This leads to increased amounts of carbon Forest management 110 1.9% Electricity Conservation tillage 80 1.4% used for energy purposes both fossil and biogenic CO2 stored in trees and soil rather than released to the Consumption Targeting energy-intensive portions of the industrial sector 620 10.7% 10.5% 4.4% emissions should be estimated.” atmosphere. As the EPA writes in its 2006 report Solid Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases, “… forest 1.1% The bottom line is that tremendous opportunities for Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 Industrial Non- carbon sequestration increases as a result of source New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Energy Processes Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Manure 4.4% greenhouse gas reductions are lost when a material is 4.1% reduction or recycling of paper products because both Lighting retrofits 240 Management Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% incinerated. When calculating the true climate impact 0.7% source reduction and recycling cause annual tree Commercial lighting retrofits 110 1.9% Industrial Coal of incineration as compared to other waste Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Mining Synthetic Fertilizers harvests to drop below otherwise anticipated levels Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Truck 0.3% management and energy generation options, it is 1.4% Carbon capture and storage 290 5.0% Waste Disposal Transportation (resulting in additional accumulation of carbon in 2.1% essential that models account for the emissions Wind 120 2.6% 5.3% forests).”128 Nuclear 70 1.2% avoided when a given material is used for its highest and best use. This means, for instance, taking into When wood, paper or food materials are reused, account emissions that are avoided and carbon recycled or composted rather than incinerated, the sequestered when materials are reused, recycled or release of the CO2 from these materials into the composted as compared to incinerated. More climate- atmosphere can be delayed by many years. Materials friendly alternatives to incinerating materials often such as paper and wood can be recycled several times, include options such as source reduction, waste dramatically increasing the climate protection avoidance, reuse, recycling, and composting. benefits. Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% 2 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6%

Natural Gas Systems (CO 2 & CH 4) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% Figure 4: Comparison of Total CO2 Emissions Between Incinerators and Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Fossil-Fuel-Based Power Plants (lbs CO2/megawatt-hour) Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5%

Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4%

Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1%

Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7%

Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6%

Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5%

Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1%

Common Name Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Hydrofluorocarbons

HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435

HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Perfluorinated compounds

Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 2 PFC-14 CF 4 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 2 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Based on data reported on the U.S. EPA Clean Energy web page, “How Does Electricity Affect the Environment,” http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/air- emissions.html, browsed March 13, 2008.

40 Stop Trashing The Climate

Storing CO2 in materials over time does not have the Any model comparing the climate impacts of energy same impact on climate change as releasing CO2 into generation options should take into account the atmosphere instantaneously through incineration. additional lifecycle emissions incurred (or not avoided) by failing to recover a material for its “highest A recent editorial in the International Journal of and best” use. These emissions are the opportunity LifeCycle Assessment emphasizes the importance of cost of incineration. timing in “How to Account for CO2 Emissions from Biomass in an LCA”: MYTH: Incinerators are tremendously valuable contributors in the fight against global warming. For “The time dimension is crucial for systems with every megawatt of electricity generated through the a long delay between removal and emission of combustion of solid waste, a megawatt of electricity CO2, for example, the use of wood for from coal-fired or oil-fired power plants is avoided, buildings, furniture and wood-based materials. creating a net savings of emissions of carbon dioxide Such CO2 is sequestered for decades or and other greenhouse gases.131 centuries, but eventually much or all of it will be re-emitted to the atmosphere. Different FACT: Incinerators increase — not reduce — processes for the re-emission may have very greenhouse gas emissions. Municipal solid waste different time scales. It is not appropriate to incinerators produce more carbon dioxide per unit of neglect such delays…”129 electricity generated than either coal-fired or oil-fired power plants.132 Similarly, in their paper, “The Potential Role of Compost in Reducing Greenhouse Gases,” researchers The Integrated Waste Services Association, an Enzo Favoino and Dominic Hogg argue that one incinerator industry group, makes the above claim shortcoming of some lifecycle assessments is the that waste incinerators that produce electricity reduce following: greenhouse gases. The reality is quite different. First of all, incinerators emit significant quantities of CO2 and “their failure to take into account the dynamics N2O, which are direct greenhouse gases. Second, the — or dimension of time — in the assessment majority of CO2 emissions from incinerators are often of environmental outcomes. In waste ignored when incineration is compared with other management systems, this is of particular energy generation options. As discussed above, often significance when comparing biological only CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel-based plastics, processes with thermal ones. This is because tires, synthetic rubber/leather, and synthetic textiles the degradation of biomass tends to occur over are counted. These materials represent only one- an extended period of time (over 100 years), quarter of all waste combusted133 and only 28% of whereas thermal processes effectively lead to CO2 emitted by incinerators in the U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide instantaneously.”130

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Figure 4 shows all CO2 emissions from incinerators, Anaerobic digestion is an effective treatment for not just fossil-based carbon. Third, incinerators also managing source-separated biodegradable materials emit substantial quantities of indirect greenhouse such as food scraps, grass clippings, other garden gases: carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), trimmings, food-contaminated paper, sewage, and non-methane volatile organic compounds animal manures. “Anaerobic” literally means “in the (NMVOCs), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). These indirect absence of oxygen.” Anaerobic digesters are contained greenhouse gases are not quantifiable as CO2 eq. and systems, commonly used at wastewater treatment are not included in CO2 eq. emission totals in plants, that use bacteria to decompose organic inventories. Fourth, incinerators waste energy by materials into smaller molecule chains. The biogas 135 burning discarded products with high-embodied that results is about 60% methane and 40% CO2. energy, thus preventing recycling and the extensive After the main period of gas generation is over, the greenhouse gas reduction benefits associated with remaining digestate can be composted and used as soil remanufacturing and avoided resource extraction. The amendment. One benefit of anaerobic digestion is bottom line is that by destroying resources rather than that it can operate alongside and prior to composting; conserving or recycling them, incinerators cause in this way, organic materials that cannot be easily significant and unnecessary lifecycle greenhouse gas digested can exit the system for composting. emissions. While these enclosed systems are generally more Thus, because incinerators emit direct and indirect expensive than composting, they are far cheaper than greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and because they landfill gas capture systems and incinerators. In fact, burn materials that could be reused or recycled in ways thousands of inexpensive small-scale systems have that conserve far more energy and realize far greater been successfully operating in China, Thailand, and greenhouse gas reduction benefits, incinerators should India for decades,136 and anaerobic digestion is widely never be considered “valuable contributors in the fight used across Europe. Denmark, for example, has farm against global warming.” In fact, the opposite is true. cooperatives that utilize anaerobic digesters to produce electricity and district heating for local villages. In MYTH: Anaerobic digestion technologies have less Sweden, biogas plants produce vehicle fuel for fleets of potential than landfill methane recovery and incineration town buses. Germany and Austria have several systems to mitigate greenhouse gases and offset fossil- thousand on-farm digesters treating mixtures of fuel-generated energy sources.134 manure, energy crops, and restaurant scraps; the FACT: Anaerobic digestion systems that process biogas is used to produce electricity. In England, a new segregated and clean biodegradable materials produce Waste Strategy strongly supports using anaerobic a biogas under controlled conditions. Due to highly digestion to treat food discards and recommends efficient capture rates, these systems can offset fossil- separate weekly food scrap collection service for fuel-generated energy. The “digestate” byproduct can be households.137 Many other countries can benefit from composted, further sequestering carbon. Anaerobic similar projects. digestion is much better for protecting the climate than landfill gas recovery projects or waste incineration.

The bottom line is that by destroying resources rather than conserving or recycling them, incinerators cause significant and unnecessary lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.

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A Zero Waste Approach is One of the Fastest, Cheapest, and Most Effective Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change in the Short and Long-Term

Zero waste goals or plans have now been adopted by dozens of communities and businesses in the U.S. and by the entire state of California.138 In addition, in 2005, mayors representing 103 cities worldwide signed onto the Urban Environmental Accords, which call for sending zero waste to landfills and incinerators by the year 2040, and for reducing per capita solid waste disposed in landfills and incinerators by 20% within seven years.139 According to the California state government’s web page, Zero Waste California, “Zero waste is based on the concept that wasting resources is inefficient and that efficient use of our natural resources is what we should work to achieve. It requires that we maximize our existing recycling and reuse efforts, while ensuring that products are designed for the environment and have the potential to be repaired, reused, or recycled. The success of zero waste requires that we redefine the concept of ‘waste’ in our society. In the past, waste was considered a natural by-product of our culture. Now, Workers for Second Chance, a building material it is time to recognize that proper resource reuse and deconstruction company management, not waste management, is at the heart of reducing waste…”140 Indeed, embracing a zero waste goal means investing “Zero waste is based on the concept that in the workforce, infrastructure, and local strategies wasting resources is inefficient and that needed to significantly reduce the amount of materials efficient use of our natural resources is what that we waste in incinerators and landfills. It means we should work to achieve.” ending taxpayer subsidization of waste projects that contaminate environments and the people who live within them. It means investing public money in – California State Government Zero Waste California proven waste reduction, reuse, and recycling web page, www.zerowaste.ca.gov programs, and requiring that products be made and handled in ways that are healthy for people and the environment. In short, zero waste reduces costs, creates healthy jobs and businesses, and improves the environment and public health in myriad ways.

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When a pound of municipal discards is recycled, it Communities Embracing Zero Waste eliminates the need to produce many more pounds of mining and manufacturing wastes that are the California byproducts of the extraction and processing of virgin Del Norte County materials into finished goods. Using recycled materials San Luis Obispo County to make new products saves energy and resources, Santa Cruz County which in turn has the ripple effects of reducing City of Oakland greenhouse gas emissions and industrial pollution, and San Francisco City and County stemming deforestation and ecosystem damage. Berkeley Palo Alto Similarly, when organic discards — such as food State of California scraps, leaves, grass clippings, and brush — are Marin County, CA Joint Powers Authority composted, landfill methane emissions are avoided. Fairfax By using the resulting product to substitute for Novato synthetic fertilizers, compost can reduce some of the Fresno energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with El Cajon producing synthetic fertilizers. Moreover, compost Culver City (in Sustainable Community Plan) sequesters carbon in soil, and by adding carbon and Ocean Beach organic matter to agricultural soils, their quality can be Rancho Cucamonga improved and restored. Anaerobic digestion San Jose complements composting and offers the added benefit Apple Valley of generating energy. San Juan Capistrano In summary, a zero waste approach — based on waste prevention, reuse, recycling, composting, and Other USA anaerobic digestion — reduces greenhouse gas Boulder County, CO emissions in all of the following ways: City of Boulder, CO Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District reducing energy consumption associated with ¥ King County, WA manufacturing, transporting, and using the Seattle, WA product or material; Summit County, CO ¥ reducing non-energy-related manufacturing Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK emissions, such as the CO2 released when Logan County,OH limestone is converted to the lime that is needed for aluminum and steel production; Other North America Halifax, Nova Scotia reducing methane emissions from landfills; ¥ Regional District Nelson, British Columbia ¥ reducing CO2 and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions Regional District Kootenay Boundary, British Columbia from incinerators; Regional District Central Kootenay, British Columbia Smithers, British Columbia ¥ increasing carbon uptake by forests, which absorb Regional District Cowichan Valley, British Columbia 2 CO from the atmosphere and store it as carbon for Nanaimo, British Columbia long periods (thus rendering the carbon Toronto, Ontario unavailable to contribute to greenhouse gases); Sunshine Coast Regional District, British Columbia ¥ increasing carbon storage in products and materials; and

¥ increasing carbon storage in soils by restoring depleted stocks of organic matter.141 Source: “List of Zero Waste Communities,” Zero Waste International web site at http://www.zwia.org/zwc.html, updated May 14, 2008.

44 Stop Trashing The Climate

Within the zero waste approach, the most beneficial four to five times lower when materials are produced strategy for combating climate change is reducing the from recycled steel, copper, glass, and paper. For overall amount of materials consumed and discarded, aluminum, they are 40 times lower.145 followed by materials reuse, then materials recycling. It should be noted that none of these figures account Energy consumption represents 85.4% of all for the significant greenhouse gas emissions that result greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. (2005 data). from transporting materials from mine to Fossil fuel consumption alone represents 79.2%, and manufacturer to distributor to consumer and then to of this, almost one-third is associated with industrial disposal facility. Truck transportation alone, for material processing and manufacturing.142 Reducing instance, accounts for 5.3% of total annual U.S. consumption avoids energy use and emissions, while greenhouse gas emissions. Accordingly, there are extensive lifecycle analyses show that using recycled significant climate benefits to be realized by ensuring materials to make new products decreases energy use, that reuse and recycling industries become more and subsequently greenhouse gases. locally based, thereby reducing greenhouse gas Mining and smelting aluminum into cans is an emissions associated with the transportation of especially energy-intensive process that demonstrates products and materials. the energy-savings potential of using recycled Thus, the real greenhouse gas reduction potential is materials. Manufacturing a ton of aluminum cans reached when we reduce materials consumption in the from its virgin source, bauxite, uses 229 million Btus. first place, and when we replace the use of virgin In contrast, producing cans from recycled aluminum materials with reused and recycled materials in the uses only 8 million Btus per ton, resulting in an energy production process. This is the heart of a zero waste savings of 96%.143 Likewise, extracting and processing approach. Aiming for zero waste entails minimizing petroleum into common plastic containers waste, reducing consumption, maximizing recycling (polyethylene terephthalate, PET (#1), and high- and composting, keeping industries local, and density polyethylene, (HDPE (#2)) takes four to eight ensuring that products are made to be reused, repaired times more energy than making plastics from recycled or recycled back into nature or the marketplace. plastics.144 (See Figure 5.) Net carbon emissions are

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Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8 Figure 5: Energy Usage for Virgin vs. Recycled-Content Products (million Btus/ton) Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Hydrofluorocarbons Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (lbs of CO 2 eq./ton of paper) HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 250 HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg of CO eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Perfluorinated compounds 2 Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 6 Virgin Production & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 2 200 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Products Total Virgin Production & Incineration 150 Total

Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 1 46 Stop Trashing The Climate Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 4 Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that includes compost use. Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html.

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq.

100 NOx 98 Gg CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Office Paper 0.530 -0.170 -0.778 NA -2.182 Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Newspaper -0.237 -0.202 -0.761 NA -1.329 Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Phonebooks -0.237 -0.202 -0.724 NA -1.724 Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne Medium Density Fiberboard -0.133 -0.212 -0.674 NA -0.604 NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Dimensional Lumber -0.133 -0.212 -0.670 NA -0.551 at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Personal Computers 0.010 -0.054 -0.616 NA -15.129 Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y Tires 0.010 0.049 -0.498 NA -1.086 exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Steel Cans 0.010 -0.418 -0.489 NA -0.866 LDPE 0.010 0.253 -0.462 NA -0.618 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, PET 0.010 0.295 -0.419 NA -0.571 NMVOCs, and SO , Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; On the national level, the U.S. EPA’s WAste 2 Mixed Plastics 0.010 0.270 -0.407 NA NA , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher Tableand Sinks, 7: Select1990-2005 Resource Conservation portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. HDPE 0.010 Reduction0.253 Model-0.380 (WARM) is a NApopular-0.487 tool designed p. ES-17. Fly Ash 0.010 for wasteNA managers-0.237 to weigh theNA greenhouseNA gas and Practices Quantified Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Glass 0.010 0.014 -0.076 NA -0.156 Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental Concrete 0.010 energyNA impacts -0.002of their waste managementNA NA practices. Food Scraps 0.197 -0.048 NA -0.054 NA Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and WARM focuses exclusively on waste sector greenhouse Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. Yard Trimmings -0.060 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Grass -0.002 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Emissions Reduced 5, 2001, p. 700. gas emissions. Unfortunately, the model falls short of Practice Leaves -0.048 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA (Tons CO 2 eq.) Branches -0.133 its -0.060goal to allow adequateNA comparison-0.054 amongNA available Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 Mixed Organics 0.064 solid-0.054 waste managementNA options.-0.054 For a listNA of the tool’s Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 1 4 Mixed MSW 0.116 -0.033 NA NA NA Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Clay Bricks 0.010 shortcomings,NA seeNA sidebar, p.NA 62. -0.077Despite these Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Sourceweaknesses, Reduction the data on which WARM is based indicate recycling better protects the climate than the 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that includes compost use. 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouseuse Gases:of landfills A Life-Cycle and Assessment incinerators of Emissions for andall materials Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source:gardening Debra and Kaufman, landscaping “Climate Change that includes and Composting: compost Lessons use. Learned from the examined. (See Table 8.) For composting, however, Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern the model falsely shows that composting yard California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, availableSource: online Debra at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html.Kaufman, “Climate Change and trimmings, grass or branches produces a smaller Composting: Lessons Learned from the Alameda County Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates greenhouse gas reduction than incinerating these Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at Disposed Recycledmaterials. Composted This flawed comparison% leads to the the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling % Recycled % Diverted (tons) inaccurate(tons) conclusion(tons) that incinerationComposted fares better Update ‘07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online Paper 69,791,864 6,979,186 47,186,280 15,626,398 67.6% 22.4% 90.0% than composting in managing organic materials. One at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html. Glass 10,801,414 1,080,141 9,721,272 90.0% 90.0% Metals 15,653,868 1,565,387 14,088,481reason for this error is the90.0% model does not 90.0%fully take Plastics 24,131,341 2,413,134 16,349,602 5,368,605 67.8% 22.2% 90.0% Wood 11,398,765 1,139,877 10,258,889into account the benefits90.0% associated with compost90.0% use. Food Discards 25,571,530 2,557,153 WARM 23,014,376relies on data that use 90.0%very low 90.0%compost Yard Trimmings 26,512,562 2,651,256 23,861,306 90.0% 90.0% Other 21,807,400 2,180,740 19,626,660application rates in unrealistic90.0% scenarios, for90.0% instance, Totals 205,668,744 20,566,874 117,231,184in applications67,870,685 to field corn58.0% rather 33.0%than to high-value90.0% crops or to home gardens and lawns, which Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow. undervalue the climate protection benefits of composting.147 The following section compares the greenhouse gas impact of a business-as-usual wasting scenario with a zero waste approach. Despite its shortcomings, the authors of this report used the WARM tool to estimate the difference in emissions of greenhouse gases between the two scenarios because it is the best model available to date. Accordingly, the comparative results should be considered to be a conservative estimate of the greenhouse gas reduction potential of a national zero waste strategy.

We need better tools, studies, policies, and funding to adequately assess and understand the climate protection benefits of reducing waste, recycling, and composting.

Stop Trashing The Climate 47

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Recycled Mfg Energy 3,232.0 3,345.0 2,951.0 2,605.0 2,605.0 Methane (CH 4) 35 - 60% 50% Total 3,461.1 3,574.1 3,180.1 2,834.1 2,834.1 Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) 35 - 55% 45% Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) Nitrogen (N 2) 0 - 20% 5% CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste 0 Oxygen (O 2) 0 - 2.5% <1% Hydrogen Sulfide (H S) 1 - 0.017% 0.0021% Material Sample Target Strategies 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. 2 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Halides NA 0.0132% Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Water Vapor (H O) 1 - 10% NA Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect 2 3rd class mail, single-sided copying, cardboard & other packaging, single- Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 use plates & cups, paper napkins & towels, tissues 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Glass 5,010,703 single-use bottles replaced with refillables Source: Energy Information Administration. US Department of Energy. Growth of landfill Metals 7,261,723 single-use containers, packaging, downguage metals in appliances gas industry; 1996. Available online at: Plastics 11,194,365 packaging, single-use water bottles, take-out food containers, retail bags Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/renewable.energy.annual/chap10.html. Wood 5,287,810 reusable pallets, more building deconstruction to supply construction Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option (MTCE per ton) Food Discards 11,862,459 more efficient buying, increased restaurant/foodservice efficiency Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 more backyard composting, xeriscaping, grasscycling (MTCE per ton) Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 high mileage tires, purchase of more durable products Content Products Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Aluminum Cans 0.010 0.017 -3.701 NA -2.245 Incinerators, 2005 Products Carpet 0.010 0.106 -1.959 NA -1.090 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Direct Greenhouse Gases 150 Mixed Metals 0.010 -0.290 -1.434 NA NA CO 20.9 Tg CO eq. Copper Wire 0.010 0.015 -1.342 NA -2.001 2 2 N O 0.4 Tg CO eq. Mixed Paper, Broad 0.095 -0.178 -0.965 NA NA 2 2 100 Mixed Paper, Resid. 0.069 -0.177 -0.965 NA NA Indirect Greenhouse Gases Mixed Paper, Office 0.127 -0.162 -0.932 NA NA NOx 98 Gg Corrugated Cardboard 0.109 -0.177 -0.849 NA -1.525 CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Textbooks 0.530 -0.170 -0.848 NA -2.500 NMVOCs 245 Gg Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas Magazines/third-class mail -0.082 -0.128 -0.837 NA -2.360 Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Mixed Recyclables 0.038 -0.166 -0.795 NA NA Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Office Paper 0.530 -0.170 -0.778 NA -2.182 Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Newspaper -0.237 -0.202 -0.761 NA -1.329 Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Phonebooks -0.237 -0.202 -0.724 NA -1.724 Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne Medium Density Fiberboard -0.133 -0.212 -0.674 NA -0.604 NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Dimensional Lumber -0.133 -0.212 -0.670 NA -0.551 at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Personal Computers 0.010 -0.054 -0.616 NA -15.129 Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y Tires 0.010 0.049 -0.498 NA -1.086 exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Steel Cans 0.010 -0.418 -0.489 NA -0.866 LDPE 0.010 0.253 -0.462 NA -0.618 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, PET 0.010 0.295 -0.419 NA -0.571 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; NMVOCs, and SO 2, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher Mixed Plastics 0.010 0.270 -0.407 NA NA and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. HDPE 0.010 0.253 -0.380 NA -0.487 p. ES-17. Fly Ash 0.010 NA -0.237 NA NA Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Glass 0.010 0.014 -0.076 NA -0.156 Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental Concrete 0.010 NA -0.002 NA NA Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Food Scraps 0.197 -0.048 NA -0.054 NA Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. Yard Trimmings -0.060 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA 5, 2001, p. 700. Grass -0.002 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Leaves -0.048 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Practice Branches -0.133 -0.060 NA -0.054 NA Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 Mixed Organics 0.064 -0.054 NA -0.054 NA Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 1 4 Mixed MSW 0.116 -0.033 NA NA NA Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metricMTCE tons = metric of carbon tons of carbonequivalent equivalent SR SR = = Source Source ReductionReduction 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks, includes compost use. EPA 530-R-06-004,Source: U.S. September EPA, Solid 2006,Waste Managementp. ES-14. and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html.

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Generated Disposed Recycled Composted % % Recycled % Diverted (tons) (tons) (tons) (tons) Composted Paper 69,791,864 6,979,186 47,186,280 15,626,398 67.6% 22.4% 90.0% Glass 10,801,414 1,080,141 9,721,272 90.0% 90.0% Metals 15,653,868 1,565,387 14,088,481 90.0% 90.0% Plastics 24,131,341 2,413,134 16,349,602 5,368,605 67.8% 22.2% 90.0% Wood 11,398,765 1,139,877 10,258,889The real greenhouse90.0% gas reduction90.0% potential Food Discards 25,571,530 2,557,153 23,014,376 90.0% 90.0% Yard Trimmings 26,512,562 2,651,256 is reached23,861,306 when we90.0% reduce90.0% materials Other 21,807,400 2,180,740 19,626,660consumption in90.0% the first place,90.0% and when we Totals 205,668,744 20,566,874 117,231,184 67,870,685 58.0% 33.0% 90.0% replace the use of virgin materials with Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow. reused and recycled materials in the production process. This is the heart of a zero waste approach.

48 Stop Trashing The Climate

Zero Waste Approach Figure 6: Business As Usual Recycling, Composting, Disposal Versus Business As Usual

If we continue on the same wasting path, with rising per capita waste generation rates and stagnating recycling and composting rates, by the year 2030 Americans could generate 301 million tons per year of municipal solid waste — up from 251 million tons in 2006. Figure 6, Business As Usual, visually demonstrates the results of our current wasting patterns on the future. Source: Brenda Platt and Heeral Bhalala, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC, June 2008, using and extrapolating from U.S. EPA municipal solid waste characterization data. Waste composition in future assumed the same as 2006. The diversion level through recycling and composting flattens out at 32.5%. Takes into account U.S. Census estimated population growth.

Figure 7: Zero Waste Approach

Source: Brenda Platt and Heeral Bhalala, Institute for Local Self- Reliance, Washington, DC, June 2008. Past tonnage based on U.S. EPA municipal solid waste characterization data. Future tonnage based on reaching 90% diversion by 2030, and 1% source reduction per year between 2008 and 2030. Waste composition in future assumed the same as 2006. Takes into account U.S. Census estimated population growth.

Stop Trashing The Climate 49

Figure 7 illustrates the impact of one zero waste approach that is based on rising reuse, recycling and composting rates, and source reducing waste by 1% per year between now and 2030. In addition to expanded curbside collection programs and processing infrastructure, product redesign and policies spurring such design will be needed. Under the zero waste approach, by 2030, 90% of the municipal solid waste generated would be diverted from disposal facilities. To achieve this target, cities and states should set interim diversion goals, such as 75% by 2020. This scenario is in line with the Urban Environmental Accords, which call for sending zero waste to landfills and incinerators by the year 2040, and for reducing per capita solid waste disposed in landfills and incinerators by 20% within seven years. San Francisco is one large city that has embraced a zero waste goal by 2020 and an interim 75% diversion goal by 2010. Its zero waste manager estimates that 90% of the city’s municipal solid waste could be recycled and composted today under its existing infrastructure and programs.148 Table 9 summarizes the materials recovered and the recovery rates needed to reach this 90% diversion level by the year 2030. (Waste composition is based on 2006 data.) Table 10 summarizes the materials and tonnages that are source reduced — that is, avoided in the first place — over the 23-year period 2008-2030. It also lists some suggested techniques for achieving this source reduction. According to calculations performed using the U.S. EPA’s WARM model, the zero waste approach would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 5,083 Tg CO2 eq. over this 23-year period. By the year 2030, annual greenhouse abatement would reach 406 Tg CO2 eq. This translates to the equivalent of taking 21% of the 417 coal-fired power plants operating in the U.S. completely off the grid.149 This would also achieve 7% of the cuts in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions needed to put us on the path to achieving what many leading scientists say is necessary to stabilize the climate by 2050.150, 151, 152 See Table 11.

50 Stop Trashing The Climate Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.)

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO 2 Eq.) Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions 4 Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO eq.) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% 2 100.0% 100.0% Industrial Total 7,260.4 8,754.2 Processes 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr 4.6% Solvent and Other SAR Product Use Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 0.1%

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8 Agriculture Nitrous Oxide N 0 310 289 298 153 7.4% 2 Land Use, Land- All Other Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions use Change, All Other 94.8% Hydrofluorocarbons Landfill Methane and Forestry 98.2% (lbs of CO 2 eq./ton of paper) Emissions Landfill Methane HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 0.3% 250 1.8% Emissions HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production,Waste Greenhouse Gas Emissions 5.2% (kg of CO eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Perfluorinated compounds 2 2.3%

Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Virgin Production & Landfilling Energy Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 85.4% 2 200 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Sourc e: Table 8 -1: Em issi on s fro m Was te, Inventory of U.S. Products Sourc e: Institut e fo r Loc al S elf -Relia nc e, Jun e 2008. Base d on Greenhouse Gas E missions and Sinks, 1990 -2005 , U. S. EP A, con vert ing U.S . EPA data on la ndf ill meth ane emissi on s t o a 20 -yea r Sourc e: Table ES -4: Recent Tr end s in U.S . Gr ee nhou se G as Em issi on s and Sink s b y Ch apt er /IPC C S ector , Total Was hington, DC , Ap ril 15 , 2007, p. 8 -1. time fr ame. Virgin Production & Incineration Inventory of U.S . Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 19 90-2005 , U. S. EPA , Was hington , DC , Apr il 15 , 2007, p. 150 TotalES -11.

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy Avoided Utility Energy Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Total Recycled Production & Recycling Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume ZERO WASTE PATHRecycled Paper Collection Reducing wasteRecycling through prevention,Paper Processing/Sorting reuse, recycling and composting 406 7.0% Residue Landfill Disposal 50 All Other Range Average ABATEMENT STRATEGIESTransportation CONSIDERED to Market BY McKINSEY REPORT 63.3% Increasing fuel efficiencyRecycled Mfgin cars Energy and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% Industrial Fossil Fuel 3.4% Improved fuel efficiencyTotal and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 Combustion Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) 11.6% HybridizationCUK = ofcoated cars unbleachedand light trucks kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing 70 MSW = municipal1.2% solid waste 0 Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% Material Sample Target Strategies Afforestation1. Based of pastureland on 20% landfill and gascropland captured. 210 3.6% Industrial Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Halides NA 0.0132% Forest managementSource: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing 110 and Using Environmentally1.9% Friendly Paper, Electricity Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs ConservationEnvironmental tillage Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill 80 greenhouse gas1.4% emissions reduced to refl ect Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27%Consumption Paper 32,375,971 Targeting energy-intensive20% gas capture (up portions from 0%). of the industrial sector 620 10.7% 10.5% Glass 5,010,703 Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 4.4% Metals 7,261,723 Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% Plastics 11,194,365 Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 1.1% Industrial Non- Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Wood 5,287,810 Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option Energy Processes Food Discards 11,862,459 Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Manure 4.4% 250 4.1% Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 Lighting retrofits(MTCE per ton) 240 Management Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 0.7% Content Products CommercialMaterial lighting retrofits Landfilled Combusted Recycled 110 Composted1.9% SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste Industrial Coal 200 Totals 95,408,332 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Incinerators, 2005 Mining Products Synthetic Fertilizers Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Truck 0.3% Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. 5.0% 1.4% 150 Carbon capture and storage 290 Waste Disposal Transportation U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 2.1% CO 2 20.9 Tg CO 2 eq. Wind 120 2.6% 5.3% Nuclear 70 1.2% N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq. 100 NOx 98 Gg Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Petrochemical Production 1.1 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Mobile Combustion 2.6 Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 5.5 Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Rice Cultivation 6.9 Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Stationary Combustion exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). 6.9 Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO ) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% Anaerobic composting 13 2 Forest Land Remaining Forest Land 2 11.6 Source: AgriculturalTable ES-2 and Soil Table Mgt ES-10: (N 2O ) Emissions of NOx, CO, 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% 3 NMVOCs, and SO 2, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% Wastewater Treatment 25.4 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, Petroleum Systems Natural Gas Systems (CO 2 & CH 4) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% 28.5 portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. p. ES-17. Source of Methane Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Manure Management 41.3 Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5% Coal Mining 52.4 Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified Natural Gas Systems Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% 111.1 Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. 5, 2001, p. 700. Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% Enteric Fermentation 112.1 Practice Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% Landfills Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 132.0 Cement Manufacture (CO )1 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5% Mixed Organics 0.064 -0.054 NA -0.054 NA Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape2 4 Mixed MSW 0.116 -0.033 NA NA NA 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Reuse 1 tonMobile of cardboard Combustion boxes (N 2O & CH 4) 1.8 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5% Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO 2 Eq.) Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction Petroleum Systems (CH 4) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and4 landscaping that Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) includes compost use. Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: DebraTotal Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html. Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8 Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates Hydrofluorocarbons Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (lbs of CO eq./ton of paper) HFC-134a CH FCF 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 Generated Disposed Recycled Composted % 2 2 3 % Recycled % Diverted 250 (tons) (tons) (tons) (tons) Composted HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg of CO eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Perfluorinated compounds Paper 69,791,864 6,979,186 47,186,280 15,626,398 67.6% 22.4% 90.0% Newsprint 2 Glass 10,801,414 1,080,141 9,721,272 90.0% 90.0% Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 6 Metals 15,653,868 1,565,387 14,088,481 90.0% 90.0% Virgin Production & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 Plastics 24,131,341 2,413,134 16,349,602 5,368,605 67.8% 22.2% 90.0% Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 2 200 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Wood 11,398,765 1,139,877 10,258,889 90.0% 90.0% Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Food Discards 25,571,530 2,557,153 23,014,376 90.0% 90.0% Collection Vehicle & Landfill 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 84.1 Products Yard Trimmings 26,512,562 2,651,256 23,861,306 90.0% 90.0% MSW Landfill 1 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 9,301.4 Other 21,807,400 2,180,740 19,626,660 90.0% 90.0% Total 15,515.3 19,853.5 16,566.2 17,432.6 20,489.5 Totals 205,668,744 20,566,874 117,231,184 67,870,685 58.0% 33.0% 90.0% Virgin Production & Incineration Total 150 Tree Harvesting/Transport 183.8 305.0 262.5 290.1 305.0 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een Virgin Mfg Energy 5,946.0 10,163.0 6,918.2 7,757.0 10,799.0 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow. MSW Collection 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 already been introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow. Combustion Process 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 2,207.1 Avoided Utility Energy (1,024.8) (896.7) (896.7) (977.2) (977.2) Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Total 7,359.4 11,825.7 8,538.4 9,324.3 12,381.2 Recycled Production & Recycling Recycled Paper Collection 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 157.7 Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 31.7 50 Residue Landfill Disposal 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 Transportation to Market 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 Range Average Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) Recycled Mfg Energy 3,232.0 3,345.0 2,951.0 2,605.0 2,605.0 Total 3,461.1 3,574.1 3,180.1 2,834.1 2,834.1 Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) 0 CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste Tons Source Material Sample Target Strategies 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Reduced Halides NA 0.0132% Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect 3rd class mail, single-sided copying, cardboard & other packaging, single- Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 use plates & cups, paper napkins & towels, tissues 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Glass 5,010,703 single-use bottles replaced with refillables Metals 7,261,723 single-use containers, packaging, downguage metals in appliances Plastics 11,194,365 packaging, single-use water bottles, take-out food containers, retail bags Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) Wood 5,287,810 reusable pallets, more building deconstruction to supply construction Food Discards 11,862,459 more efficient buying, increased restaurant/foodservice efficiency Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 more backyard composting, xeriscaping, grasscycling (MTCE per ton) Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 high mileage tires, purchase of more durable products Content Products Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Incinerators, 2005 Products Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. 150 Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. CO 2 20.9 Tg CO 2 eq.

N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq.

100 NOx 98 Gg CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass 1 Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Investment costs of reduction Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons (US$/ton CO 2 eq.) Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Landfilling with landfill gas flare 6 Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Landfilling with energy recovery 16 at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Incineration 67 Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y Aerobic composting 3 exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO,

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

Table 11: Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategies: Zero Waste Path Compared to Commonly Considered Options (annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, megatons CO2 eq.)

% of Total Annual Abatement Abatement Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy Needed in 2030 to Potential by Stabilize Climate 2030 by 2050 1

The authors of this report, Stop Trashing the Climate, do not support all of the abatement strategies evaluated in the McKinsey Report. We do not, for instance, support nuclear energy production.

1. In order to stabilize the climate, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 need to be at least 80% below 1990 levels. Based on a Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total

straight linear calculation, this means 2030 emissions levels should be 37% lower than the 1990 level, or equal to 3.9 gigatons Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% CO2 eq. Thus, based on increases in U.S. greenhouse gases predicted by experts, 5.8 gigatons CO2 eq. in annual abatement is 2 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% needed in 2030 to put the U.S. on the path to help stabilize the climate by 2050. Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 3 Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% Source: Jon Creyts et al, Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much and at What Cost? U.S. Greenhouse Gas Natural Gas Systems (CO & CH ) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% Abatement Mapping Initiative, Executive Report, McKinsey & Company, December 2007. Available online at: 2 4 http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/greenhousegas.asp. Abatement potential for waste reduction is calculated by the Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC, June 2008, based on the EPA’s WAste Reduction Model (WARM) to estimate Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF 6) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5% GHGs and based on extrapolating U.S. EPA waste generation and characterization data to 2030, assuming 1% per year source reduction, and achieving a 90% waste diversion by 2030. Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4%

Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1%

Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7%

Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6%

Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5%

Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1%

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8 52 Stop Trashing The Climate Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Hydrofluorocarbons

HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435

HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Perfluorinated compounds

Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 2 PFC-14 CF 4 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 2 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200

Scientific experts are now in general agreement that developed nations such as the U.S. need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 in order to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. However, it is important to note that emissions cuts by developed nations such as the U.S. may have to be even greater than this target. Achieving this target may leave us vulnerable to a 17-36% chance of exceeding a 2°C increase in average global temperatures. In addition, there is ample evidence that climate change is already negatively impacting the lives of many individuals and communities throughout the world. To prevent climate-related disasters, the U.S. should and must take immediate and comprehensive action relative to its full contribution to climate change.

Zero waste strategies also mitigate other negative disposal industries that disproportionately have a effects of landfilling and incinerating materials. For negative impact on marginalized communities, it can landfills, these effects include groundwater pollution, be an important strategy toward achieving economic hazardous air pollutants, and monitoring and and environmental justice. remediation costs that will likely span centuries. The The emerging trend of zero waste community use of incinerators may even be worse, as pollution is planning involves the process of creating local borne directly to the air through smokestacks as well strategies for achieving high recycling and composting as to the land as ash, and the amount of energy wasted rates. Many communities across America are actively by failing to recycle the materials that are burned is far seeking ways to increase their discard recovery rates, greater than the amount of energy produced via and a growing number of groups across the country incineration. Polluting industries such as landfills and and around the world are turning to the strategic incinerators are also disproportionately sited in low- planning option of zero waste as the most cost- income communities of color, a practice that effective and financially sustainable waste perpetuates environmental injustice. management system. In fact, after achieving high Zero waste is much bigger than merely a set of policies recycling and composting rates, it is difficult to keep or technologies; it is a model that is integrally tied to using the term “waste” to describe the materials that democratic participation in fostering sustainable Americans routinely throw away. There is a market for community-based economic development that is both 90% of these materials, and their associated economic just and healthy. Zero waste requires that those who value can lead to a significant local economic are most adversely impacted by waste disposal and development addition to any community. climate change — often people of color and tribal and low-income communities both at home and abroad — have decision-making power in determining what There is a market for 90% of discarded is best for their communities. Zero waste strategies are materials, and their associated economic less capital-intensive and harmful than waste disposal, and they provide critical opportunities for the value can lead to a significant local economic development of green jobs, businesses, and industries development addition to any community. that benefit all community members. Further, because zero waste necessitates the elimination of polluting

Stop Trashing The Climate 53

The short timeline needed for moving away from “take-back” laws that require industries to take back or landfills and incinerators is one of the most attractive be financially responsible for hard-to-recycle products elements that make the zero waste approach one of the — such as electronics, batteries, and even entire best near-term programs for reducing greenhouse gas vehicles — at the end of their useful lives, rather than emissions. A ten-year “bridge strategy” toward placing this burden on taxpayers. When industry, achieving zero waste involves several essential rather than the public, is held accountable for the costs components. The first is democratic public of dealing with these products at the end of their life, participation in the development of policies and the industry will design products that are more cost- adoption of technologies that support communities in effective to recycle.153 These take-back laws can also getting to a 70% landfill and incinerator diversion rate benefit industries by providing them with within five years. Many communities are well on their opportunities to recover valuable materials. way to reaching this goal, and the largest obstacle in Regulations and oversight are then needed to ensure other areas is the political will to implement the that industries reuse or recycle these materials in ways necessary changes. that are safe for the public and planet. Further reducing waste by another 20% will require Once we have established a 70% landfill and new regulations and the full participation of industry incinerator diversion rate and a system of extended and business through what is known as “extended producer responsibility that will further reduce the producer responsibility” (EPR). The EPR approach, amount we collectively waste by an estimated 20%, which has been embraced in several ways in the the opportunities to solve the last 10% of the waste European Union and Canada, requires the redesign of stream may present themselves in the future in ways products and packaging to be non-toxic and either that we may not imagine today. However, one likely reusable, recyclable or compostable. EPR also includes result of achieving 90% diversion is that America may

Zero Waste Planning Resources

Community groups, consultants, government planners, and many others who are working on zero waste issues are active around the world. The following links provide additional information about their efforts:

¥ The GrassRoots Recycling Network (www.grrn.org) is the nation’s leading voice for a zero waste future;

¥ Eco-Cycle Inc. (www.ecocycle.org) is the nation’s largest comprehensive zero waste non-profit corporation, located in Boulder, Colorado, with a staff of 60 and annual revenues over $4 million;

¥ Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (www.no-burn.org) is a global network with members in 81 countries that are working for a just and toxic-free world without incinerators. Information about GAIA’s Zero Waste for Zero Warming campaign is at www.zerowarming.org;

¥ Zero Waste International Alliance (www.zwia.org) is a global networking hub for practitioners around the world;

¥ Zero Waste California (www.zerowaste.ca.gov) is the largest state agency with a policy and goal of zero waste;

¥ Oakland Public Works (www.zerowasteoakland.com) is a large city department at the cutting edge of creating the zero waste systems of the future;

¥ Sound Resource Management (www.zerowaste.com) offers economic and lifecycle assessments to track environmental impacts; and

¥ Institute for Local Self-Reliance (www.ilsr.org/recycling) provides research, technical assistance, and information on zero waste planning, recycling-related economic development, and model recycling and composting practices and policies.

54 Stop Trashing The Climate

never need to build another new landfill or incinerator Composting reduces our impact on climate change in again. all of the following ways:

One serious issue to address in this “bridge strategy” ¥ Avoiding landfill methane emissions: While the concerns the question of what to do with all the mixed composting process produces CO2, just like natural waste that is not being source-separated for recycling decomposition, this gas is far less potent than the or composting along the ten-year journey to 90% or methane that is emitted from landfills. Methane is beyond. The answer is to process this material in as 72 times more potent than CO2 over the short safe, inexpensive, and flexible manner as possible, so term. The amount of avoided landfill methane that, as recovery rates rise above 70%, the mixed waste emissions provides the greatest climate protection system can be shut down in favor of more sustainable benefit of composting, greatly outweighing any of solutions. Incineration of any kind is never the most the following benefits.155 safe, inexpensive or flexible way to process this ¥ Decreasing emissions of carbon from soils: While material. much attention is paid to the carbon sequestration benefits of trees and other biomass, soil is actually the biggest carbon store in the world, holding an Composting Is Key to Restoring the estimated 1,500 gigatons.156 However, reserves of carbon in agricultural and nonagricultural soils Climate and Our Soils have been depleted over time; one European study indicated that most agricultural soils will have lost Composting may be one of the most vital strategies for about half of their organic content after 20 years of 157 curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It is an age-old tillage. On over half of America’s best cropland, process whose success has been well demonstrated in the erosion rate is more than 27 times the natural 158 the U.S. and elsewhere. Composting facilities are far rate. In fact, a large portion of the CO2 currently cheaper than landfills and incinerators, and also take found in the atmosphere originated from the far less time to site and build; widespread mineralization of soil organic carbon. Factors implementation could take place within 2 to 8 years. responsible for this include urbanization, land use Adopting this approach would provide a rapid and changes, conventional agricultural practices, open pit mining, and other activities that degrade soils. cost-effective means to reduce methane and CO2 emissions, increase carbon storage in soils, and could As a result of these factors, more carbon entered the atmosphere from soils than from fossil fuel have a substantial short-term impact on global combustion from the 1860s until the 1970s.159 warming. Storing carbon in soils: Proper soil management, in Organic discards — food scraps, leaves, brush, grass ¥ combination with the addition of organic matter, clippings, and other yard trimmings — comprise one- increases the carbon inputs into the soil while quarter of all municipal solid waste generated. Of this reducing the amount of carbon that is mineralized amount, 38% of yard trimmings end up in landfills into the atmosphere. Approximately half of the and incinerators; for food scraps, the wasting rate is carbon in composted organic materials is initially 97.8%.154 Paper products comprise one-third of all stored in the humus product, making it unavailable municipal solid waste generated. While 52% of paper to the atmosphere for a period of time.160 This helps products are recovered, paper is still the number one reduce atmospheric emissions of CO2. The material sent to landfills and incinerators. This waste European Commission’s Working Group on represents a tremendous opportunity to prevent Organic Matter has in part concluded: “Applying methane emissions from landfills through expanded composted EOM [exogeneous organic matter] to recycling, composting, and anaerobic digestion soils should be recommended because it is one of programs. At the same time, compost can also restore the effective ways to divert carbon dioxide from the depleted soils with nutrient-rich humus and organic atmosphere and convert it to organic carbon in matter, providing ancillary benefits that are not soils, contributing to combating greenhouse gas realized when systems of incineration and landfilling effect.”161 The addition of compost to soil also are used. improves soil health, which increases plant yield

Stop Trashing The Climate 55

and decreases our dependence on synthetic atmospheric N is fixed and processed into fertilizers. One study found that organic matter commercial fertilizers using the Haber-Bosch content in a loam soil continued to increase even process — an energy-intensive process that after 50 years of compost application; for sandy consumes a great deal of fossil fuel. In fact, soils, organic matter levels reached equilibrium producing the chemical equivalent of one unit of after about 25 years. This increase in soil organic nitrogen requires 1.4 units of carbon. Expressed on carbon represents stored carbon that is not the same basis as nitrogen and taking into account contributing to greenhouse gases in the transportation costs, about 3 units of carbon are atmosphere.162 While that original molecule of required to manufacture, transport and apply 1 168 carbon contained in the first compost application unit of phosphorus as P2O5 fertilizer.” Another may not persist for 100 years, it will foster soil study estimated that a single application of 10 retention of many more molecules of carbon over metric tons of dry compost per hectare, which has that time frame.163 a potential displacing power of some 190 kg of nitrogen, might save 160 to 1,590 kWh of energy, Displacing chemical fertilizers and other chemical ¥ not accounting for either the displacement of plant/soil additives: Compost can have similar phosphorus and potassium or the CO2 eq. related benefits to soil properties as those provided by 169 to other emissions such as N2O. fertilizers, herbicides, some pesticides, lime, and gypsum. Its use in agricultural applications ¥ Improving soil properties and related plant growth: decreases the need to produce and apply these Plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere during chemicals to the land, resulting in the avoidance of photosynthesis. If plants are healthier, the amount greenhouse gas emissions related to those activities. of CO2 removed increases. One study indicated Synthetic fertilizers, for instance, are huge emitters that applying 10 tons of compost to each hectare of of N2O emissions; in the U.S., these emissions farmland raised soil fertility and increased crop represented 88.6 Tg CO2 eq. or 1.2% of all yield 10-20%. These figures translate to an greenhouse gas emissions in 2005.164 As a recent increased carbon fixation on the order of 2 tons 170 report to the California Air Resources Board stated, CO2/ton of dry compost. “Greater agricultural use of compost has been Rehabilitating marginal land and mitigating land proven to reduce the demand for irrigation and ¥ degradation and erosion: Compost applications fertilizers and pesticides, while increasing crop increase soil organic matter, thereby reducing soil yields. This is a cost-effective way to reduce erosion, water logging, nutrient loss, surface agricultural GHG emissions while sustaining crusting, siltation of waterways, and more. California’s agricultural industry by returning Mitigating these environmental problems by other organic nutrients to the soil.”165 methods requires the use of machinery. Avoiding ¥ Energy savings from displaced chemical additives: these problems reduces the need for engineering In addition to direct greenhouse gas avoidance, work, infrastructure development and using compost instead of chemical fertilizers maintenance, and equipment use, and avoids their reduces energy consumption. Synthetic chemical associated greenhouse gas emissions.171 fertilizers consume large amounts of energy; in fact, Using compost as a peat substitute in horticulture: the energy used to manufacture fertilizer represents ¥ The use of peat results in the mineralization of the 28% of the energy used in U.S. agriculture.166 For carbon kept in peat bogs. Peatlands are estimated to example, the production of ammonia and urea, a contain between 329 and 528 billion metric tons of nitrogenous fertilizer containing carbon and carbon (more than 160 to 260 times annual U.S. nitrogen, is highly energy-intensive. As a result, emissions). Much of this carbon can remain these processes are also significant emitters of CO2; sequestered for near-geological timescales as long as in 2005 these processes added an additional 16.3 167 these bogs are left undisturbed. Increased use of Tg CO2 eq. to the atmosphere. According to soil compost as a peat substitute will help conserve and scientist Dr. Sally Brown of the University of preserve peat bogs.172 Washington, “With nitrogen fertilizer production,

56 Stop Trashing The Climate

The Benefits of Compost Are Many

¥ Composting reduces greenhouse gases by preventing methane generation in landfills, storing carbon in the compost product, reducing energy use for water pumping, substituting for energy-intensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides, improving the soil's ability to store carbon, and improving plant growth and thus carbon sequestration.

¥ Compost encourages the production of beneficial micro- organisms, which break down organic matter to create a rich nutrient-filled material called humus.

¥ Compost is a value-added product with many markets, including land reclamation, silviculture, horticulture, landscaping, and soil erosion control.

Cedar Grove, a compost facility, in Everett, WA, ¥ Compost increases the nutrient content in soils. demonstrates the use of compost in top soil products. ¥ Compost helps soils retain moisture.

¥ Compost reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, Better and more comprehensive data documenting pesticides, and fungicides. these and other greenhouse gas benefits of composting ¥ Compost suppresses plant diseases and pests. are lacking. Models used to compare composting to other resource management strategies commonly fail ¥ Compost promotes higher yields of agricultural crops. to quantify these benefits. This should be a priority for ¥ Compost helps regenerate poor soils. investigation by the U.S. EPA and state agencies. ¥ Compost has the ability to clean up (remediate) In addition to the benefits of reduced greenhouse gas contaminated soil. emissions related to composting, applying compost to soils can improve the soils’ ability to retain water, ¥ Compost can help prevent pollution and manage erosion thereby cutting water use related to irrigation as well problems. as storm water runoff (depending on where the ¥ Composting extends municipal landfill life by diverting compost is applied). For example, compost can reduce organic materials from landfills. the water used for growing corn by 10%.173 ¥ Composting sustains at least four times more jobs than landfill or incinerator disposal on a per-ton basis.

¥ Composting is a proven technology.

¥ Composting is far cheaper than waste incineration.

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008.

Stop Trashing The Climate 57 Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.)

Energy 85.4%

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1

Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8

Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Hydrofluorocarbons Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (lbs of CO 2 eq./ton of paper) HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 250 HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Perfluorinated compounds (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 6 Virgin Production & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 2 200 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Energy Usage Recycled-Content Compost has another important and related benefit as The study concluded that constructing composting Products well, aside from its climate mitigation benefits. plants was the lowest-cost option for mitigating the Adding carbon and organic matter to agricultural soils greenhouse gas emissions from Israel’s waste sector. Total can improve and restore soil quality. Organic matter According to the study’s authors, “The composting Virgin Production & Incineration Total 150 improves soil fertility, stability and structure, as well as option does not require high investments, produces a the capacity of soils to retain moisture. The European product that can be readily utilized by the agricultural Commission, as part of its strategy to protect soil, sector, and seems to be an available interim solution to recently established a goal to promote the use of high- mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by most countries . Avoided Utility Energy Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 quality composted products for such purposes as . . The time needed for implementation is short and 176 Total fighting desertification and erosion, avoiding floods, the effect is significant.” Recycled Production & Recycling and promoting the build-up of carbon in soil.174 The Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Current programs and facilities can serve as the Recycled Paper Collection Commission has highlighted compost’s unique ability Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting foundation for expanding collection beyond yard 50 to increase soil carbon levels: “Concerning measures Residue Landfill Disposal trimmings to other organic materials such as food Range Average for combating the decline in soil organic matter, not Transportation to Market discards and soiled paper. In the U.S., 8,659 Recycled Mfg Energy all types of organic matter have the potential to communities have curbside recycling programs, and Total address this threat. Stable organic matter is present in Table 10: Source Reduction by Material,many Total of Over these 23-Year include Period the collection(2008-2030) of yard compost and manure and, to a much lesser extent, in CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste 0 trimmings.177 There are 3,474 compost facilities sewage sludge and animal slurry, and itTons is this Source stable Material Sample Target Strategies 178 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Reduced handling yard trimmings in the U.S., and in 2006, Halides NA 0.0132% fraction which contributes to the humus pool in the Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, 175 62% of the 32.4 million tons of yard trimmings Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs soil, thereby improving soil properties.” Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect 3rd generatedclass mail, wassingle-sided composted. copying,179 In cardboard addition, & more other thanpackaging, single- Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 use plates & cups, paper napkins & towels, tissues 20% gas capture (up from 0%). In all of theseGlass ways, composting represents 5,010,703a win-win single-use30 communities bottles replaced have alreadywith refillables instituted programs for opportunity Metalsto protect soils and mitigate7,261,723 climate single-usediverting containers, source-separated packaging, organics downguage that metalsinclude in food appliances Plastics 11,194,365 packaging, single-use water bottles, take-out food containers, retail bags Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) change, while providing a cost-effective discard scraps. Half of these are in California; Washington, management system.Wood Composting systems also5,287,810 benefit reusableMinnesota, pallets, and more M buildingichigan deconstruction also have programs, to supply180 constructionand Food Discards 11,862,459 more efficient buying, increased restaurant/foodservice efficiency Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 from relativelyYard short Trimmings set-up-to-implementation12,298,997 time moreCanada backyard has composting, many more. xeriscaping, Approximately grasscycling 120 compost (MTCE per ton) periods. Perhaps most importantly, though, facilities in the U.S. accept food discards.181 Although Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 high mileage tires, purchase of more durable products Content Products Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 composting canTotals significantly reduce greenhouse95,408,332 gas compost can be used in many ways and markets are Energy Usage Recycled-Content Incinerators, 2005 Products emissions quickly and at a low cost. An Israeli study growing,182 regulatory, financing, and institutional Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. 150 evaluated the investment cost required to abate 1 ton hurdles still exist for siting and building additional CO 2 20.9 Tg CO 2 eq. of CO2 eq. from landfills. (See Table 12, in which composting facilities. New rules are needed to N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq. calculations are based on a time horizon of 20 years.) facilitate expanded infrastructure development. 100 NOx 98 Gg CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 Table 12: InvestmentTable Cost 12: Estimates Investment for Greenhouse Cost Estimates Gas Mitigation for from Greenhouse Municipal Solid Gas Waste NMVOCs 245 Gg Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg 0 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass 1 Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Investment costs of reduction Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons (US$/ton CO 2 eq.) Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Landfilling with landfill gas flare 6 Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds Landfilling with energy recovery 16 at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Incineration 67 Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y Aerobic composting 3 exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Anaerobic composting 13 Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; global warming potential 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; NMVOCs, and SO 2, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. p. ES-17. Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and NaturalSource: Resources Ofira Ayalon, & Environmental Yoram Avnimelech Research (Technion, Center, Israel University Institute of Haifa,of Technology) Israel), “Solid and Waste Treatment as a High-PriorityMordechai and Shechter Low-Cost (Department Alternative offor Economics Greenhouse and Gas Natural Mitigation,” Resources Envir &onmental Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. 5, 2001, p. 700.Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. 5, 2001, p. 700. Practice

58 Stop Trashing The Climate Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 1 4 Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that includes compost use. Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html.

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

Green bins filled with organics await collection for composting on a San Francisco street.

The composting option does not require high investments, produces a product that can be readily utilized by the agricultural sector, and seems to be an available interim solution to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by most countries . . . The time needed for implementation is short and the effect is significant. Organic materials collected for composting in Boulder.

Source: Ofira Ayalon, et al, “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Low- Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. 5, 2001, p. 701.

Stop Trashing The Climate 59

Only when policies and funding are redirected New Policies and Tools Are Needed toward reducing waste rather than managing and disposing of it, will greenhouse gas Wasting and resource extraction are so firmly emissions related to the waste sector begin entrenched in our economy and lifestyle that they to decline. receive unfair competitive advantage over Other governments are acting, however. Nova Scotia conservation and waste minimization in myriad ways. banned organics from landfill disposal in 1995. The The most critical of these is that wasting and resource European Union has also taken a firm approach to extraction receive billions of dollars in taxpayer reducing the amount of organics destined for landfills. subsidies, which create perverse economic incentives Its Landfill Directive calls for reducing biodegradable that encourage the extraction and destruction of waste disposed in landfills to 50% of 1995 levels by natural resources.183 As a result of these subsidies, reuse 2009 and 35% by 2016. (Biodegradable waste is businesses, recyclers, and composters can find it defined as “any waste that is capable of undergoing challenging to compete economically with disposal aerobic or anaerobic decomposition, such as food and and extractive industries. garden waste, and paper and paperboard.”) The The amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by Directive also requires improvements in the the waste sector is driven upward by the numerous environmental standards of landfills, in particular by policy and regulatory strategies that encourage gas requiring greater use of landfill gas collection and recovery from landfills and burning waste for its Btu energy recovery systems for the methane emitted, in value, as well as the policies that wrongly promote order to reduce the greenhouse gas impact of this these disposal systems as renewable. In contrast, few waste management option.186 For the EU-15, landfill national policies and fewer research and development methane emissions decreased by almost 30% between dollars are invested in promoting waste minimization, 1990 and 2002 due to their early implementation of reuse, recycling, composting, and extended producer the Directive. By 2010, waste-related greenhouse gas responsibility. Only when policies and funding are emissions in the EU are projected to be more than redirected toward reducing waste rather than 50% below 1990 levels.187 It is crucial that similar state managing and disposing of it, will greenhouse gas and federal rules put into place in the U.S. also keep emissions related to the waste sector begin to decline. organic materials out of incinerators and direct these materials toward composting and anaerobic digestion In addition, local and national policymakers tend to facilities. narrowly focus on continued landfilling and incineration as the only viable waste management In the U.S., subsidies that qualify waste disposal as a options. For example, to address significant methane renewable energy source, such as renewable portfolio emissions from landfills, policy efforts and subsidies standards, the alternative fuels mandate, and the are centered on landfill gas capture systems. Because renewable energy production tax credits, skew the these systems may only capture about 20% of emitted economics to unfairly favor disposal over the methane and because methane is such a powerful conservation of resources. Qualifying waste greenhouse gas, these policies only serve to barely limit incinerators of any kind for renewable power subsidies the damage, not fix the problem.184 Yet there are no makes even less sense, as incinerators represent the plans to tighten federal landfill gas emissions most expensive and polluting solid waste management regulations. A cheaper, faster, and more-effective option available, and require huge amounts of waste in method for reducing landfill methane emissions is to order to operate. Environment America, the Sierra stop the disposal of organic materials, particularly Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends putrescibles such as food discards. There are currently of the Earth, and 130 other organizations have no federal rules in place to keep organic materials out endorsed a statement calling for no financial of landfills, and only 22 states ban yard trimmings incentives to be built into legislation for incinerators. from landfills.185 These groups concur that policies qualifying mass- burn, gasification, pyrolysis, plasma, refuse-derived

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fuel, and other incinerator technologies for renewable emissions that relate to municipal activities. This energy credits, tax credits, subsidies, and other would lead to better-informed actions to reduce incentives present a renewed threat to environmental overall greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. and economic justice in U.S. communities.188 Indeed, Deep flaws in both current modes of thinking and incineration is a direct obstacle to reducing waste, analytical tools are driving policymakers to publicly which is far from renewable or inevitable; rather, waste finance disposal projects to the detriment of resource is a clear sign of inefficiency. conservation, energy efficiency, and successful The purported benefits of waste disposal rest heavily renewable energy strategies. When examining on the idea that waste is inevitable. For example, when strategies to combat greenhouse gas emissions from incinerators and landfills generate electricity, we are waste, it is imperative that we look beyond waste told that this electricity is displacing power that would disposal for answers. otherwise need to be generated from coal-burning power plants. This argument overlooks the significant and avoidable lifecycle global warming impacts of our We must realize waste is a sign of a systemic one-way flow of materials from manufacturer to user failure and adopt solutions to address the to landfill/incinerator. (More on this fallacy is entire lifecycle impacts of our wasting in discussed under the Myths section.) This one-way order to reach sustainable resource linear system is clearly unsustainable over the long management. term on a planet with a finite supply of both space and natural resources. We must realize waste is a sign of a systemic failure and adopt solutions to address the entire lifecycle impacts of our wasting in order to reach sustainable resource management. A further challenge to implementing sustainable solutions and policies is the inability of our current models to fairly and accurately assess greenhouse gas emissions from waste management options. See the sidebar on the U.S. EPA’s WAste Reduction Model (WARM) for a further discussion of this topic. Municipalities looking to reduce their overall climate footprint often base their actions on inventories that only take into account greenhouse gas emissions directly released within their geographical territory. Ignored are the myriad ways that local activities contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. In the case of waste, these inventories only conservatively account for some of the emissions released directly from landfills and incinerators within the municipality; ignored are the lifecycle emissions that are incurred prior to the disposal of these materials. These are directly linked to greenhouse gases from industrial energy use, land use, and transportation. As a result, cities can underestimate the positive impacts of reducing waste and increasing recycling and composting on the climate, while hiding the negative impact that waste disposal has on the climate. New models are needed for municipalities to more accurately account for lifecycle greenhouse gas

Stop Trashing The Climate 7161

EPA WAste Reduction Model (WARM) — Room for Improvement Ten years ago, the U.S. EPA released the first version of a tool to help solid waste managers weigh the greenhouse gas and energy impacts of waste management practices — its WAste Reduction Model, or WARM. Since then, EPA has improved and updated WARM numerous times. WARM focuses exclusively on the waste sector and allows users to calculate and compare greenhouse gas emissions for 26 categories of materials landfilled, incinerated, composted or recycled. The model takes into account upstream benefits of recycling, the carbon sequestration benefits from composting, and the energy grid offsets from combusting landfill gases and municipal solid waste materials. The methodology used to estimate emissions is largely consistent with international and domestic accounting guidelines. The latest version, Version 8, was released in 2006, but may already be outdated based on new information learned in recent years. As a result, the model now falls short of its goal to allow for an adequate comparison among available solid waste management options. Serious shortcomings that could be addressed in future releases include the following:

¥ Incorrect assumptions related to the capture rate of landfill ¥ No reporting of biogenic emissions from incinerators as gas recovery systems that are installed to control methane recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emissions. The model relies on instantaneous landfill gas guidelines: “if incineration of waste is used for energy purposes, collection efficiency rates of 75% and uses a 44% capture rate as both fossil and biogenic should be estimated… biogenic CO2 the national average for all landfills. However, capture rates over should be reported as an information item…”2 For incinerators, the lifetime of a landfill may be as low as 20%.1 biogenic materials represent three-quarters of all waste combusted and 72% of all CO2 being emitted.3 ¥ Lack of credit for the ability of compost to displace synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides, which collectively have ¥ A failure to adequately take into account the timing of CO2 an enormous greenhouse gas profile. Composting also has emissions and sinks. Incinerators, for instance, release CO2 additional benefits that are not considered, such as its ability to instantaneously, while composting may store carbon for decades. increase soil water retention that could lead to reduced energy Paper reuse and recycling also store carbon for many years. It is use related to irrigation practices, or its ability to increase plant not appropriate to neglect such delays in the release of CO2 into growth, which leads to improved carbon sequestration. the atmosphere.4 The EPA acknowledges that its model treats the (Recognized as a shortcoming in EPA’s 2006 report, Solid Waste timing of these releases the same: “Note that this approach does Management and Greenhouse Gases.) not distinguish between the timing of CO2 emissions, provided that they occur in a reasonably short time scale relative to the A failure to consider the full range of soil conservation and ¥ speed of the processes that affect global climate change. In other management practices that could be used in combination with words, as long as the biogenic carbon would eventually be compost application and the impacts of those practices on carbon released as CO2, whether it is released virtually instantaneously storage. (Recognized as a shortcoming in EPA’s 2006 report, Solid (e.g., from combustion) or over a period of a few decades (e.g., Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases.) decomposition on the forest floor), it is treated the same.”5 We ¥ Lack of data on materials in the waste stream that are now know that the timing of such releases is especially critical noncompostable or recycled at a paltry level such as given the 10-15 year climate tipping point agreed upon by leading polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride. global scientists.6 The U.K. Atropos© model is one example of a new modeling approach for evaluating solid waste management ¥ Inability to calculate the benefits of product or material options that includes all biogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and reuse. also accounts for the timing of these emissions.7

1 Bogner, J., et al, Waste Management, In Climate Change 2007: based on data reported on the U.S. EPA Clean Energy web page, 5 U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth “How Does Electricity Affect the Environment,” Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks, EPA 530-R-06- Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/air- 004, September 2006, p. 13. Change (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United emissions.html, browsed March 13, 2008; and in Jeremy K. Kingdom and New York, NY, USA), p. 600. O’Brien, P.E., SWANA, “Comparison of Air Emissions from 6 Climate Change Research Centre, 2007. “2007 Bali Climate Waste-to-Energy Facilities to Fossil Fuel Power Plants” Declaration by Scientists.” Available online at 2 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2006, “Chapter 5: (undated), available online at: http://www.wte.org/environment, http://www.climate.unsw.edu.au/bali/ on December 19, 2007. Incineration and Open Burning of Waste,” 2006 IPCC Guidelines browsed March 13, 2008. for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, p. 5.5. 7 Dominic Hogg et al, Eunomia, Greenhouse Gas Balances of 4 Ari Rabl, Anthony Benoist, Dominque Dron, Bruno Peuportier, Waste Management Scenarios, Report to the Greater London 3 Based on U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables, Joseph V. Spadaro and Assad Zoughaib, Ecole des Minesm Authority, Bristol, United Kingdom, January 2008, pp. i-ii. “Table 3, Materials Discarded in the Municipal Waste Stream, Paris, France, “Editorials: How to Account for CO2 Emissions 1960 to 2006,” and “Table 29, Generation, Materials Recovery, from Biomass in an LCA,” The International Journal of LifeCycle Composting, Combustion, and Discards of Municipal Solid Assessment 12 (5) 281 (2007), p. 281. Waste, 1960 to 2006.” The 72% biogenic emission figure is

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Fortunately, within reach are more cost-effective and experience of and lessons learned from these early environmentally-friendly zero waste solutions. These adopters can readily be adapted to other communities include: substituting durable for single-use products, throughout the country. (See the list of communities redesigning products, reducing product toxicity, on page 44.) setting up material exchanges, expanding recycling There are numerous strategies for moving toward a and composting programs, banning unsustainable zero waste economy, such as shifting back to the use of products, purchasing environmentally preferable refillable containers or using compostable plastics products, instituting per-volume or per-weight trash made from crops and plants.189 The guiding principles fees, developing recycling-based markets, building of these strategies are to conserve resources, reduce resource recovery parks and industrial composting consumption, minimize pollution and greenhouse gas facilities, hiring and training a national zero waste emissions, transform the byproducts of one process workforce, implementing policies and programs into the feedstocks for another, maximize employment promoting extended producer responsibility, and opportunities, and provide the greatest degree of local establishing innovative collection systems. Rather than economic self-reliance. continuing to pour taxpayer money into expensive and harmful disposal projects or into exporting our If we are to mitigate climate change, the following discards to other countries, lawmakers should enact priority policies need serious and immediate responsible and forward-thinking public policies that consideration: provide incentives to create and sustain locally-based reuse, recycling, and composting jobs. 1. Establish and implement national, statewide, and municipal zero waste targets and plans: Taking The success of many of these strategies is well immediate action to establish zero waste targets and documented across the U.S.; San Francisco provides plans is one of the most important strategies that can an excellent example. This city declared a 75% landfill be adopted to address climate change. Any zero waste diversion goal by the year 2010, and a zero waste goal target or plan must be accompanied by a shift in by 2020. This diverse metropolis of 800,000 residents funding from supporting waste disposal to supporting reported a 69% recycling/composting level in 2006. zero waste jobs, infrastructure, and local strategies. Key elements of its zero waste program include the Zero waste programs should be developed with the following: providing green bins for mixed food full democratic participation of individuals and discards and yard trimmings and blue bins for mixed communities that are most adversely impacted by recyclables; instituting volume-based trash fees; climate change and waste pollution. targeting both the commercial and residential sectors; enacting bans on polystyrene take-out containers, plastic bags, and the use of water bottles at publicly- sponsored events; and working in partnership with a waste hauler that is committed to the city’s zero waste goal. This city’s example provides a practical blueprint for reducing its negative impact on the global climate and environment that others can and should follow. Twenty years ago, many solid waste professionals believed that communities could recycle and compost no more than 15 to 20% of their waste. Today, the national recycling/composting level is 32.5% and hundreds of cities and businesses have reached 50% San Francisco collection vehicle for organics. and higher diversion levels. These “record-setters” are demonstrating that waste reduction levels much higher than the national average can be achieved. Indeed, at least two dozen U.S. communities have embraced zero waste planning or goals. The

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2. Retire existing incinerators and halt construction of accelerated the EU schedule through more stringent new incinerators or landfills: The use of incinerators national bans on landfilling organic materials.191 and investments in new disposal facilities — including Furthermore, composting, the preferred alternative mass-burn, pyrolysis, plasma, gasification, other treatment method for these materials, has the added incineration technologies, and landfill “bioreactors” benefit of protecting and revitalizing soils and — obstruct efforts to reduce waste and increase agricultural farmland. As such, compost represents a materials recovery. Eliminating investments in value-added product while landfilling and incinerators incineration and landfilling is an important step to represent long-term liabilities. free up taxpayer money for resource conservation, 5. End state and federal “renewable energy” subsidies efficiency, and renewable energy solutions. to landfills and incinerators: Incentives such as the 3. Levy a per-ton surcharge on landfilled and federal Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit and incinerated materials: Many European nations have state Renewable Portfolio Standards should only adopted significant fees on landfills of $20 to $40 per benefit truly renewable energy and resource ton that are used to fund recycling programs and conservation strategies, such as energy efficiency and decrease greenhouse gases. Surcharges on both the use of wind, solar, and ocean power. Resource landfills and incinerators are an important conservation should be incentivized as a key strategy counterbalance to the negative environmental and for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. human health costs of disposal that are borne by the In addition, the billions of dollars in subsidies to public. Instead of pouring money into incinerator and extractive industries such as mining, logging, and landfill disposal, public money should be used to drilling should be eliminated. Instead, subsidies strengthen resource conservation, efficiency, reuse, should support industries that conserve and safely recycling, and composting strategies. Public funding reuse materials. should support the infrastructure, jobs, and research 6. Provide policy incentives that create and sustain needed for effective resource recovery and clean locally-based reuse, recycling, and composting jobs: production. It should also support initiatives to reduce Rather than continue to pour taxpayer money into waste generation and implement extended producer expensive and harmful disposal projects or export our responsibility. Based on 2006 disposal levels, a $20 to discards to other countries, public policies should $40 per ton surcharge would generate $3.4 billion to revitalize local economies by supporting $6.8 billion in the U.S. to advance these initiatives. environmentally just, community-based, and green 4. Stop organic materials from being sent to landfills jobs and businesses in materials recovery. This and incinerators: Local, state, and national incentives, investment would result in the creation of more local penalties or bans are needed to prevent organic jobs, since incinerators and landfills sustain only 1 job materials, particularly food discards and yard for every 10 positions at a recycling facility.192 trimmings, from being sent to landfills and 7. Expand adoption of per-volume or per-weight fees incinerators. All organic materials should instead be for the collection of trash: Pay-as-you-throw fees have source-reduced, followed by source-segregation for been proven to increase recycling levels and reduce the reuse, composting, or anaerobic digestion in amount of waste disposed. controlled facilities. If the landfilling of biodegradable materials were ceased, the problem of methane 8. Make manufacturers and brand owners responsible generation from waste would be largely eliminated. for the products and packaging they produce:: Because methane is so potent over the short term — Manufactured products and packaging represent 72 times more potent than CO2 — eliminating 72.5% of all municipal solid waste disposed. When landfill methane should be an immediate priority. manufacturers accept responsibility for recycling their The European community has made progress toward products, they have been shown to use less toxic achieving this goal since 1999 when its Landfill materials, consume fewer materials, design their Directive required the phase-out of landfilling products to last longer, create better recycling systems, organics.190 Several countries — Germany, Austria, be motivated to minimize waste costs, and no longer Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden - have pass the cost of disposal to the government and the

64 Stop Trashing The Climate

taxpayer.193 Effective extended producer responsibility beverage container deposit laws are effective tools for (EPR) programs include robust regulations, individual recovering beverage bottles. These deposit laws should responsibility, government-mandated participation, be expanded to other states and to cover all beverage reuse and recycling requirements, and financing drinks. More than two dozen jurisdictions have passed elements. With its German Packaging Ordinance some form of ban on nonrecyclable foamed passed in 1990, Germany has one of the longest track polystyrene takeout food containers as well.196 In records for a broad-based EPR program for packaging. addition, San Francisco and New York City have This ordinance has increased the use of reusable banned the use of single-use water bottles for publicly packaging, reduced the use of composite and plastic sponsored events; other cities may follow suit.197 San packaging, facilitated significant design changes in Francisco also recently banned single-use plastic packaging, fostered the development of new shopping bags that are not compostable. In 2002, technologies for recycling packaging materials, and Ireland enacted the most effective policy to address reduced the burden of waste management on single-use shopping bags, whether plastic or paper. Its municipalities.194 steep per-bag fee, the equivalent of 33¢, reduced the consumption of single-use bags by 94% within a 9. Regulate single-use plastic products and packaging matter of weeks.198 These sorts of policies have proven that have low or non-existent recycling levels: Plastic is to be successful and can be replicated elsewhere. the fastest-growing part of the waste stream and is among the most expensive discarded materials to 10. Regulate paper packaging and junk mail and pass manage. Its recycling rate of 6.9% is the lowest of all policies to significantly increase paper recycling: Of major material commodities. In less than one the 170 million tons of municipal solid waste disposed generation, the use and disposal of single-use plastic each year in the U.S., 24.3% is paper and paperboard. packaging, which is largely unrecyclable (despite the The largest contributors include paper plates and cups deceptive use of recycling arrow emblems), has grown (1.18 million tons), telephone directories (550,000 from 120,000 tons in 1960 to 12,720,000 tons per tons), and junk mail (3.61 million tons).199 An year today.195 Many communities are considering or estimated 20 billion catalogs are mailed each year, but have already passed policies to reverse this trend. State only 6 out of 42 catalog makers use any

San Francisco’s organics are composted at this facility in Jepson Prairie

Stop Trashing The Climate 7565

significant recycled content.200 Reducing and recycling greenhouse gas emissions that relate to all municipal paper decrease releases of numerous air and water activities, including those that impact emissions pollutants to the environment and conserve energy outside of a municipality’s geographical territory. New and forest resources. When paper mills increase their models that accurately take into account the myriad use of recovered paper fiber, they lower their ways that local activities contribute to lifecycle requirements for pulpwood, which extends the fiber greenhouse gas emissions globally would allow base and conserves forest resources. Moreover, the municipalities to take better-informed actions to reduced demand for virgin paper fiber will generally reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. reduce the overall intensity of forest management required to meet the current level of demand for paper. This helps to foster environmentally beneficial changes in forest management practices. For example, pressure may be reduced to convert natural forests and sensitive ecological areas such as wetlands into intensively managed pine plantations, and more trees may be managed on longer rotations to meet the demand for solid wood products rather than paper fiber.201 11. Decision makers and environmental leaders should reject climate protection agreements and strategies that embrace landfill or incinerator disposal: Rather than embrace agreements and blueprints like the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement that call for supporting “waste to energy” as a strategy to combat climate change, decision makers and environmental organizations should adopt climate blueprints that support zero waste. One example of an agreement that will move cities in the right direction for zero waste is the Urban Environmental Accords. Signed by 103 major in cities around the world, the accords call for achieving zero Pile of junk mail waste to landfills and incinerators by 2040 and reducing per capita solid waste disposal by 20% within seven years.202 12. Better assess the true climate implications of the wasting sector: Measuring greenhouse gases over the 20-year time horizon is essential to reveal the impact of methane on the short-term climate tipping point. The IPCC publishes global warming potential figures for methane and other greenhouse gases over the 20- year time frame. Also needed are updates to the U.S. EPA’s WAste Reduction Model (WARM), a tool for assessing the greenhouse gases emitted by solid waste management options. WARM should be updated to better account for lifetime landfill gas capture rates, and to report carbon emissions from both fossil-based and biogenic materials. In addition, municipalities need better tools to accurately account for lifecycle

66 Stop Trashing The Climate

Conclusions

Key findings of this report: because energy use is directly correlated with greenhouse gas emissions. Our linear system of 1. A zero waste approach is one of the fastest, extraction, processing, transportation, consumption, cheapest, and most effective strategies we can use to and disposal is intimately tied to core contributors of protect the climate and environment. By reducing global climate change, such as industrial energy use, waste generation 1% each year and diverting 90% of transportation, and deforestation. When we minimize our waste from landfills and incinerators by the year waste, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions in these 2030, we could dramatically reduce greenhouse gas and other sectors, which together represent 36.7% of emissions within the United States and elsewhere. all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.205 It is this number Achieving this waste reduction would conservatively that more accurately reflects the impact of the whole reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 406 system of extraction to disposal on climate change. megatons CO2 eq. per year by 2030. This is the (See Figure 2 on page 24.) equivalent of taking 21% of the existing 417 coal-fired power plants off the grid.203 A zero waste approach has 3. A zero waste approach is essential. Through the comparable (and sometimes complementary) benefits Urban Environmental Accords, 103 city mayors to leading proposals to protect the climate, such as worldwide have committed to sending zero waste to significantly improving vehicle fuel efficiency and landfills and incinerators by the year 2040 or earlier.206 hybridizing vehicles, expanding and enhancing carbon More than two dozen U.S. communities and the state sinks (such as forests), or retrofitting lighting and of California have also now embraced zero waste as a improving electronic equipment. It also has greater goal. These zero waste programs are based on (1) potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions than reducing consumption and discards, (2) reusing environmentally harmful strategies proposed such as materials, (3) extended producer responsibility and the expansion of nuclear energy. See Table 11 on page other measures to ensure that products can be safely 52.) Indeed, a zero waste approach is essential to put recycled into the economy and environment,* (4) us on the path to climate stability by 2050. comprehensive recycling, (5) comprehensive composting of clean segregated organics, and (6) 2. Wasting directly impacts climate change because effective policies, regulations, incentives, and it is directly linked to resource extraction, financing structures to support these systems. The transportation, processing, and manufacturing. existing 8,659 curbside collection programs in the Since 1970, we have used up one-third of global U.S. can serve as the foundation for expanded natural resources.204 Virgin raw materials industries are materials recovery. among the world’s largest consumers of energy and are thus significant contributors to climate change

* Extended producer responsibility requires firms that manufacture, import or sell products and packaging, to be financially or physically responsible for such products over the entire lifecycle of the product, including after its useful life.

Stop Trashing The Climate 67

4. Existing waste incinerators should be retired, preventing methane generation. Furthermore, landfill and no new incinerators or landfills should be gas capture systems are not an effective strategy for constructed. Incinerators are significant sources of preventing methane emissions to the atmosphere. The CO2 and also emit nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent portion of methane captured over a landfill’s lifetime greenhouse gas that is approximately 300 times more may be as low as 20% of total methane emitted.212 effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the 6. The practice of landfilling and incinerating atmosphere.207 By destroying resources rather than biodegradable materials such as food scraps, paper conserving them, all incinerators — including mass- products, and yard trimmings should be phased burn, pyrolysis, plasma, and gasification208 — cause out immediately. Non-recyclable organic materials significant and unnecessary lifecycle greenhouse gas should be segregated at the source and composted or emissions. Pyrolysis, plasma, and gasification anaerobically digested under controlled conditions.# incinerators may have an even larger climate footprint Composting avoids significant methane emissions than conventional mass-burn incinerators because from landfills, increases carbon storage in soils and they can require inputs of additional fossil fuels or improves plant growth, which in turn expands carbon electricity to operate. Incineration is also pollution- sequestration. Composting is thus vital to restoring ridden and cost prohibitive, and is a direct obstacle to the climate and our soils. In addition, compost is a reducing waste and increasing recycling. Further, value-added product, while landfills and incinerators sources of industrial pollution such as incineration are long-term environmental liabilities. Consequently, also disproportionately impact people of color and composting should be front and center in a national low-income and indigenous communities.209 strategy to protect the climate. 5. Landfills are the largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions in the U.S., and the impact of Composting avoids significant methane landfill emissions in the short term is grossly emissions from landfills, increases carbon underestimated - methane is 72 times more potent storage in soils and improves plant growth, than CO2 over a 20-year time frame. National data on landfill greenhouse gas emissions are based on which in turn expands carbon sequestration. international accounting protocols that use a 100-year Composting is thus vital to restoring the time frame for calculating methane’s global warming climate and our soils. potential.* Because methane only stays in the atmosphere for around 12 years, its impacts are far 7. Incinerators emit more CO2 per megawatt-hour greater in the short term. Over a 100-year time frame, than coal-fired, natural-gas-fired, or oil-fired power methane is 25 times more potent than CO2. plants. Incinerating materials such as wood, paper, However, methane is 72 times more potent than CO2 yard debris, and food discards is far from “climate over 20 years.210 The Intergovernmental Panel on neutral”; rather, incinerating these and other Climate Change assesses greenhouse gas emissions materials is detrimental to the climate., However over three time frames — 20, 100, and 500 years. The when comparing incineration with other energy choice of which time frame to use is a policy-based options such as coal, natural gas, and oil power plants, decision, not one based on science.211 On a 20-year the Solid Waste Association of North America time frame, landfill methane emissions alone represent (SWANA) and the Integrated Waste Services 5.2% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Figures 8 Association (an incinerator industry group), treat the and 9 illustrate the difference in the impact of landfill incineration of “biomass” materials such as wood, methane emissions on the national inventory when a paper, and food discards as “carbon neutral.” 20-year time horizon is used. With the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the correct new * The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) developed the concept of policy is to measure greenhouse gases over the 20-year global warming potential (GWP) as an index to help policymakers evaluate the impacts time horizon. This policy change will reveal the of greenhouse gases with different atmospheric lifetimes and infrared absorption significant greenhouse gas reduction potential properties, relative to the chosen baseline of carbon dioxide (CO2). available from keeping organics out of the landfill and # Anaerobic digestion systems can complement composting. After energy extraction, nutrient rich materials from digesters make excellent compost feedstocks.

68 Stop Trashing The Climate

Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) Figure 8: 100-Year Time Frame, Landfill Methane Emissions (% of total U.S. emissions in 2005, CO2 eq.) Industrial Processes 4.6% Solvent and Other Product Use 0.1% Agriculture 7.4% Land Use, Land- All Other use Change, All Other 94.8% Landfill Methane and Forestry 98.2% 0.3% Emissions Landfill Methane 1.8% Emissions Waste 5.2% 2.3%

Energy 85.4%

Source: Table 8-1: Emissions from Waste, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, U.S. EPA, Washington,Sourc DC, Aprile: 15, Tab 2007,le p. 8-1.8 -1: Em issi on s fro m Was te, Inventory of U.S. Sourc e: Institut e fo r Loc al S elf -Relia nc e, Jun e 2008. Base d on Greenhouse Gas E missions and Sinks, 1990 -2005 , U. S. EP A, con vert ing U.S . EPA data on la ndf ill meth ane emissi on s t o a 20 -yea r Sourc e: Table ES -4: Recent Tr end s in U.S . Gr ee nhou se G as Em issi on s and Sink s b y Ch apt er /IPC C S ector , Was hington, DC , Ap ril 15 , 2007, p. 8 -1. time fr ame. Inventory of U.S . Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 19 90-2005 , U. S. EPA , Was hington , DC , Apr il 15 , 2007, p. ES -11. Fi gur e 8: 100-Year T im e Fr ame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em is sio ns Fi gur e 9: 20 -Ye ar T ime Frame, La ndf ill Meth ane Em iss ions Fi gur e 1: Conv ent ion al Vie w – U .S . EPA Dat a o n Gr een hous e Gas Em is sions b y S ecto r, 2005 (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) (% of tot al U. S. emission s i n 200 5, CO2 eq.) Figure 9: 20-Year Time Frame, Landfill Methane Emissions (% of total U.S. emissions in 2005, CO2 eq.)

Industrial Processes Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy 4.6% Solvent and Other Product Use 0.1% Agriculture 7.4% ZERO WASTE PATH Land Use, Land- All Other use Change, All Other 94.8% Reducing waste through prevention, reuse, recycling and composting 406 7.0% Landfill Methane and Forestry 98.2% 0.3% All Other Emissions Landfill Methane ABATEMENT STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BY McKINSEY REPORT 1.8% Emissions Waste 63.3% 5.2% Increasing fuel efficiency in cars and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% 2.3% Industrial Fossil Fuel 3.4% Improved fuel efficiency and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 Combustion Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% Energy 1.2% 11.6% Hybridization of cars and light trucks 85.4% 70 Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% Afforestation of pastureland and cropland 210 3.6% Industrial Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Based on converting U.S. EPA data on landfill methane emissions to a 20-year time frame. Forest management 110 1.9% Sourc e: Table 8 -1: Em issi on s fro m WasElectricityte, Inventory of U.S. Sourc e: Institut e fo r Loc al S elf -Relia nc e, Jun e 2008. Base d on Conservation tillage 80 1.4% Greenhouse Gas E missions and Sinks, 1990 -2005 , U. S. EP A, con vert ing U.S . EPA data on la ndf ill meth ane emissi on s t o a 20 -yea r Sourc e: Table ES -4: Recent Tr end s in U.S . Gr ee nhou se G as Em issi on s and Sink s b y Ch apt er /IPC C S ector , Consumption Targeting energy-intensive portions of the industrial sector 620 10.7% Was hington, DC , Ap ril 15 , 2007, p. 8 -1. time fr ame. Inventory of U.S . Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 19 90-2005 , U. S. EPA , Was hington , DC , Apr il 15 , 2007, p. 10.5% Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 4.4% ES -11. Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% Stop Trashing The Climate 69 Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 1.1% Industrial Non- New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Energy Processes Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Manure 4.4% Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy 4.1% Lighting retrofits 240 Management Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% 0.7% Commercial lighting retrofits 110 1.9% Industrial Coal Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Mining Synthetic Fertilizers ZERO WASTE PATH Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Truck 0.3% 1.4% Reducing waste through prevention, reuse, recycling and composting Carbon 406 capture and storage7.0% 290 5.0% Waste Disposal Transportation U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 2.1% Wind All Other 120 2.6% 5.3% ABATEMENT STRATEGIES CONSIDERED BY McKINSEY REPORT Nuclear 63.3% 70 1.2% Increasing fuel efficiency in cars and reducing fuel carbon intensity 340 5.9% Industrial Fossil Fuel 3.4% Improved fuel efficiency and dieselization in various vehicle classes 195 Combustion Field Burning of Agricultural Residues Lower carbon fuels (cellulosic biofuels) 100 1.7% 0.9 11.6% Hybridization of cars and light trucks 70 1.2% Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Expanding & enhancing carbon sinks 440 7.6% Afforestation of pastureland and cropland 210 3.6% Industrial Petrochemical Production 1.1 Forest management 110 1.9% Electricity Mobile Combustion 2.6 Conservation tillage 80 1.4% Consumption Targeting energy-intensive portions of the industrial sector 620 10.7% Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 10.5% 5.5 Recovery and destruction of non-CO 2 GHGs 255 4.4% Rice Cultivation Carbon capture and storage 95 1.6% 6.9 1.1% Landfill abatement (focused on methane capture) 65 Industrial Non- Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Stationary Combustion 6.9 New processes and product innovation (includes recycling) 70 1.2% Energy Processes Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% Improving energy efficiency in buildings and appliances 710 12.2% Manure 4.4% Forest Land Remaining Forest Land 11.6 Lighting retrofits 240 4.1% 2 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% Management Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) Residential lighting retrofits 130 2.2% 3 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% Wastewater Treatment 0.7% Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) 25.4 Commercial lighting retrofits 110 1.9% Industrial Coal Natural Gas Systems (CO Petroleum Systems Electronic equipment improvements 120 2.1% Mining 2 & CH 4) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% 28.5 Synthetic Fertilizers Source of Methane Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production 800 13.8% Truck 0.3% Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 1.8% 452.6 5.2% Manure Management 1.4% 41.3 Carbon capture and storage 290 5.0% Waste Disposal Transportation Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF ) 123.3 1.7% 305.7 3.5% U.S. Methane Emissions by Source, 2005 2.1% 6 Coal Mining Wind 120 2.6% 5.3% 52.4 Nuclear 70 1.2% Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% Natural Gas Systems 111.1 Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% Field Burning of Agricultural Residues 0.9 Enteric Fermentation 112.1 Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% Iron and Steel Production 1.0 Landfills 132.0 Cement Manufacture (CO 2) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5% Petrochemical Production 1.1 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5%

Mobile Combustion Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% 2.6 Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO Eq.) 2 Petroleum Systems (CH ) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% Abandoned Underground Coal Mines 4 5.5 4 Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Rice Cultivation Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) 6.9 Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% Emissions % of Total Emissions % of Total Stationary Combustion 6.9 Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% Fossil Fuel Combustion (CO 2) 5,751.2 79.2% 5,751.2 65.7% 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr Forest Land Remaining Forest Land SAR 2 11.6 Agricultural Soil Mgt (N 2O) 365.1 5.0% 340.4 3.9% Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 3 Wastewater Treatment Non-Energy Use of Fuels (CO 2) 142.4 2.0% 142.4 1.6% 25.4 Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8 Natural Gas Systems (CO 2 & CH 4) 139.3 1.9% 409.1 4.7% Petroleum Systems 28.5 Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Source of Methane Hydrofluorocarbons Landfills (CH 4) 132.0 Table1.8% 1: Impact of 452.6 Paper Recycling5.2% on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Manure Management 41.3 Substitution of ODS (HFCs, PFCs, SF ) 123.3 (lbs1.7% of CO 2 eq./ton of paper)305.7 3.5% HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 6 Coal Mining 250 52.4 HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Enteric Fermentation (CH 4) 112.1 1.5% 384.3 4.4% Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Natural Gas Systems 111.1 Perfluorinated compounds Coal Mining (CH 4) 52.4 0.7% 179.7 2.1% Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 6 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Manure Mgt (CH 4 & N 2O) 50.8 0.7% 150.5 1.7% Enteric Fermentation 112.1 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Virgin Production & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products PFC-14 4 Iron & Steel Production (CO 2 & CH 4) 46.2 0.6% 48.6 0.6% Landfills 2 200 132.0 PFC-116 C2F6 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 Cement Manufacture (CO ) 45.9 0.6% 45.9 0.5% Energy Usage Recycled-Content 2 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0Products 140.0 Mobile Combustion (N 2O & CH 4) 40.6 0.6% 44.3 0.5% Wastewater Treatment (CH 4 & N 2O) 33.4 0.5% 94.5 1.1% Teragrams Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (Tg CO Eq.) Total 2 Petroleum Systems (CH ) 28.5 0.4% 97.7 1.1% 4 Virgin Production & Incineration Total 150 4 21.3 0.3% 21.3 0.2% Table ES-2: Potent Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming Potential (GWP) Municipal Solid Waste Combustion (CO 2 & N 2O) Other (28 gas source categories combined) 175.9 2.4% 286.0 3.3% Total 7,260.4 100.0% 8,754.2 100.0% SAR 1 20 yr 100 yr 500 yr Avoided Utility Energy Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Carbon Dioxide CO 2 1 1 1 1 Total Methane CH 4 21 72 25 8 Recycled Production & Recycling Nitrous Oxide N20 310 289 298 153 Recycled Paper Collection Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Hydrofluorocarbons Table 1: Impact of Paper Recycling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting (lbs of CO 2 eq./ton of paper) Residue Landfill Disposal 50 HFC-134a CH 2FCF 3 1,300 3,830 1,430 435 250 Transportation to Market Range Average HFC-125 CHF 2CF 3 2,800 6,350 3,500 1,100 Table 2: Primary Aluminum Production, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Recycled Mfg Energy Perfluorinated compounds (kg of CO 2 eq. per 1000 kg of aluminum output) Total Sulfur Hexafluoride SF 23,900 16,300 22,800 32,600 Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- 6 Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-YearVirgin Period Production (2008-2030) & Landfilling Bauxite Refining Anode Smelting Casting Total 2 CF 6,500 5,210 7,390 11,200 Content Products 0 PFC-14 4 CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste 200 2 C F 9,200 8,630 12,200 18,200 PFC-116 2 6 Material Sample Target Strategies 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. Energy Usage Recycled-Content Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Halides NA 0.0132% Products Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Paper 32,375,971 Total 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Virgin Production & Incineration 150 Glass 5,010,703 Total Metals 7,261,723 Plastics 11,194,365 Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) Wood 5,287,810 Food Discards 11,862,459 Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 Avoided Utility Energy (MTCE per ton) Available online at http://www.world-aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. 100 Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 Total Content Products Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 Recycled Production & Recycling Energy Usage Recycled-Content Incinerators, 2005 Products Recycled Paper Collection Table 3: Landfill Gas Constituent Gases, % by volume Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Recycling Paper Processing/Sorting 150 CO 20.9 Tg CO eq. 50 Residue Landfill Disposal 2 2 Transportation to Market Range Average N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq. 100 Recycled Mfg Energy Total NOx 98 Gg Table 10: Source Reduction by Material, Total Over 23-Year Period (2008-2030) CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 CUK = coated unbleached kraft SBS = solid bleached sulfate Mfg = manufacturing MSW = municipal solid waste 0 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas NMVOCs 245 Gg Material Sample Target Strategies Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste 1. Based on 20% landfill gas captured. SO 2 23 Gg Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass 0 Halides NA 0.0132% Source: Based on data presented in Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Friendly Paper, Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Environmental Defense Fund, 1995, pp. 108-112. Available at www.edf.org. MSW Landfill greenhouse gas emissions reduced to refl ect Nonmethane Organic Compounds (NMOCs) 0.0237 - 1.43% 0.27% Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons 20% gas capture (up from 0%). Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, Paper 32,375,971 Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne Glass 5,010,703 NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for Metals 7,261,723 Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y Plastics 11,194,365 Fi gur e 5: En erg y Us age for Virgin vs. Rec ycl ed-Content P roduct s (m illio n Btus /ton) exclude emissions from biomass materials. Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Wood 5,287,810 Food Discards 11,862,459 Anaerobic composting 13 Table 8: U.S. EPA WARM GHG Emissions by Solid Waste Management Option 250 Yard Trimmings 12,298,997 (MTCE per ton) Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, Table 6: Direct and Indirect U.S. Greenhouse NMVOCs, and SO , Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Additional Energy Usage for Virgin- Other 10,116,305 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; 2 Content Products Material Landfilled Combusted Recycled Composted SR Gas Emissions from Municipal Waste 200 Totals 95,408,332 global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, Energy Usage Recycled-Content Incinerators, 2005 Products portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. p. ES-17. Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. 150 Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and CO 2 20.9 Tg CO 2 eq.

Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental N2O 0.4 Tg CO 2 eq. Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Table 7: Select Resource Conservation Practices Quantified 100 Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. NOx 98 Gg 5, 2001, p. 700. Practice CO 1,493.00 Gg 50 NMVOCs 245 Gg Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 Table 12: Investment Cost Estimates for Greenhouse Gas 1 Mitigation from Municipal Solid Waste SO 2 23 Gg Every acre of Bay-Friendly landscape 4 0 Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Alum PET HDPE Newsprint Crdbrd Tin Cans Glass Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Cans Bottles Bottles Boxes Contrs Tg = teragram = 1 million metric tons Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Gg = gigagram = 1,000 metric tons Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 Sourc e: J eff Mo rris, Sound Res ourc e M anagement, Seat tle, MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction Was hington , p erson al commun icati on, Janu ary 8 , 2008, avai lable on li ne NMVOCs = nonmethane volatile organic compounds 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that at www. ze row as te.com ; and Jef f Morris , “Comp arati ve LCA s for includes compost use. Note: CO 2 emissions represent U.S. EPA reported data, which Curb si de R ecycli ng Versus E ith er L andf illi ng or Inc ineration wi th En erg y Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and exclude emissions from biomass materials. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Reco very,” Int ernational Journa l o f LifeCycle Assess ment (J une 2004). Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Anaerobic composting 13 Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern Source: Table ES-2 and Table ES-10: Emissions of NOx, CO, California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html. 1. Calculated for a representative Israeli city producing 3,000 tons of MSW per day for 20 years; NMVOCs, and SO 2, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions global warming potential of methane of 56 was used. Note: compostables comprise a higher and Sinks, 1990-2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007, portion of waste in Israel than in the U.S. Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversionp. Tonnages ES-17. and Rates

Source: Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) and Mordechai Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Resources & Environmental Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High-Priority and Paper 69,791,864 6,979,186 47,186,280Table 7: Select15,626,398 Resource67.6% Conservation22.4% Practices90.0% Quantified Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. 27, No. Glass 10,801,414 1,080,141 9,721,272 90.0% 90.0% 5, 2001, p. 700. Metals 15,653,868 1,565,387 14,088,481 Practice 90.0% 90.0% Plastics 24,131,341 2,413,134 16,349,602 5,368,605 67.8% 22.2% 90.0% Divert 1 ton of food scraps from landfill 0.25 Wood 11,398,765 1,139,877 10,258,889 90.0% 1 90.0% Food Discards 25,571,530 2,557,153 Every acre of23,014,376 Bay-Friendly landscape 90.0% 4 90.0% Reuse 1 ton of cardboard boxes 1.8 Yard Trimmings 26,512,562 2,651,256 23,861,306 90.0% 90.0% Clay Bricks 0.010 NA NA NA -0.077 Recycle 1 ton of plastic film 2.5 Other 21,807,400 2,180,740 19,626,660 90.0% 90.0% Recycle 1 ton of mixed paper 1 MTCE = metric tons of carbon equivalent SR = Source Reduction Totals 205,668,744 20,566,874 117,231,184 67,870,685 58.0% 33.0% 90.0% 1. Bay-Friendly landscaping is a holistic approach to gardening and landscaping that includes compost use. Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een Source: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow. Sinks , EPA 530-R-06-004, September 2006, p. ES-14. Source: Debra Kaufman, “Climate Change and Composting: Lessons Learned from the Alameda County Climate Action Project,” StopWaste.Org, presented at the Northern California Recycling Association’s Recycling Update ’07 Conference, March 27, 2007, available online at: http://www.ncrarecycles.org/ru/ru07.html.

Table 9: Zero Waste by 2030, Materials Diversion Tonnages and Rates

Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Plastics composted represent compostable plastics, which have already b een introduced into the marketplace and are expected to grow.

As a result, they ignore CO2 emissions from these composting and anaerobic digestion technologies. materials. This is inaccurate. Wood, paper, and Preventing potent methane emissions altogether agricultural materials are often produced from should be prioritized over strategies that offer only unsustainable forestry and land practices that are limited emissions mitigation. Indeed, all landfill causing the amount of carbon stored in forests and soil operators should be required to collect landfill gases; to decrease over time. Incinerating these materials not they should not be subsidized to do this. In addition, only emits CO2 in the process, but also destroys their subsidies to extractive industries such as mining, potential for reuse as manufacturing and composting logging, and drilling should be eliminated. These feedstocks. This ultimately leads to a net increase of subsidies encourage wasting and economically CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and disadvantage resource conservation and reuse contributes to climate change. The bottom line is that industries. tremendous opportunities for greenhouse gas 9. New policies are needed to fund and expand reductions are lost when a material is incinerated. It is climate change mitigation strategies such as waste not appropriate to ignore the opportunities for CO2 or reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, and other emissions to be avoided, sequestered or stored extended producer responsibility. Policy incentives through non-combustion uses of a given material. are also needed to create locally-based materials More climate-friendly alternatives to incinerating recovery jobs and industries. Programs should be materials include options such as waste avoidance, developed with the democratic participation of those reuse, recycling, and composting. Any climate model individuals and communities most adversely impacted comparing the impact of energy generation or waste by climate change and waste pollution. Regulatory, management options should take into account permitting, financing, market development, and lifecycle emissions incurred (or not avoided) by not economic incentive policies (such as landfill, utilizing a material for its “highest and best” use. incinerator, and waste hauling surcharges) should be These emissions are the opportunity costs of implemented to divert biodegradable organic incineration. materials from disposal. Policy mechanisms are also 8. Incinerators, landfill gas capture systems, and needed to ensure that products are built to last, landfill “bioreactors” should not be subsidized constructed so that they can be readily repaired, and under state and federal renewable energy and green are safe and cost-effective to recycle back into the power incentive programs or carbon trading economy and environment. Taxpayer money should schemes. Far from benefiting the climate, subsidies to be redirected from supporting costly and polluting these systems reinforce a one-way flow of resources on disposal technologies to funding zero waste strategies. a finite planet and make the task of conserving 10. Improved tools are needed to assess the true resources more difficult, not easier. Incineration climate implications of the wasting sector. With the technologies include mass-burn, pyrolysis, plasma, urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the gasification, and other systems that generate electricity correct new policy is to measure greenhouse gases over or fuels. All of these technologies contribute to, not the 20-year time horizon. This policy change will protect against, climate change. Environment reveal the significant greenhouse gas reduction America, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources potential available from preventing methane Defense Council, Friends of the Earth, and 130 other generation by keeping organics out of landfills. The organizations recognize the inappropriateness of U.S. EPA’s WAste Reduction Model (WARM), a tool public subsidization of these technologies and have for assessing greenhouse gas emissions from solid signed onto a statement calling for no incentives for waste management options, should be revised to more incinerators.213 Incinerators are not the only problem accurately account for the following: lifetime landfill though; planned landfill “bioreactors,” which are gas capture rates; avoided synthetic fertilizer, pesticide, being promoted to speed up methane generation, are and fungicide impacts from compost use; reduced likely to simply result in increased methane emissions water irrigation energy needs from compost in the short term and to directly compete with more application; the benefits of product and material reuse; effective climate protection systems such as

70 Stop Trashing The Climate

increased plant growth from compost use; and the Stop Trashing the Climate clearly establishes that in the timing of emissions and sinks. (For more detail, see face of climate change, waste disposal is neither the discussion of WARM, page 62.) New models are inevitable nor sustainable. The playing field must be also needed to accurately take into account the myriad leveled to increase resource conservation, efficiency ways that the lifecycle impact of local activities and sustainability. By adopting a zero waste approach contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. This to manage our resources, we would not only better would lead to better-informed municipal actions to protect the planet’s climate — we would also double reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, or triple the life of existing landfills, eliminate the need lifecycle models are needed to accurately compare the to build new incinerators and landfills, create jobs, climate impact of different energy generation options. build healthier and more equitable communities, Models that compare incineration with other restore the country’s topsoil, conserve valuable electricity generation options should be developed to resources, and reduce our reliance on imported goods account for lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and fuels. The time to act is now. incurred (or not avoided) by not utilizing a material for its “highest and best” use. By adopting a zero waste approach to Rapid action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with immediate attention to those gases that pose a more manage our resources, we would not only potent risk over the short term, is nothing short of better protect the planet’s climate — we essential. Methane is one of only a few gases with a would also double or triple the life of existing powerful short-term impact, and methane and carbon landfills, eliminate the need to build new dioxide emissions from landfills and incinerators are at incinerators and landfills, create jobs, build the top of a short list of sources of greenhouse gas healthier and more equitable communities, emissions that may be quickly and cost-effectively restore the country’s topsoil, conserve reduced or avoided altogether. valuable resources, and reduce our reliance Today we need a paradigm shift in how we approach on imported goods and fuels. The time to act waste. We need to redesign products and packaging to is now. minimize and more efficiently utilize materials. We need to begin using the least amount of packaging and materials to deliver a product or service. We need to significantly decrease the volume of resources that we consume and dispose in landfills and incinerators. We need to develop just and sustainable solutions with the democratic participation of individuals and communities most adversely impacted by climate change and waste pollution. In sum, we need to aim for a zero-waste economy. Now is the time to integrate the best features of the best programs, technologies, policies, and other practices that are currently in place around the country and around the world. It is time to remove antiquated incentives for wasting, such as government subsidies, untaxed and under-regulated pollution, and the system in which producers lack cradle-to-grave responsibility for their products and packaging. We need fundamental economic reforms that make products’ prices reflect their true long-term costs, including production and end-of-life recovery, so that waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting can out-compete wasting every time.

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ENDNOTES:

1 Chris Hails et al., Living Planet Report 2006 (Gland, 7 In order to reduce the 1990 U.S. greenhouse gas Switzerland: World Wildlife Fund International, emissions by 80% by 2050, greenhouse gas levels 2006), available online at in 2030 should decrease to 3.9 gigatons CO2 eq., http://assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_rep which is approximately 37% of the 1990 level. This ort.pdf; Energy Information Administration, Emission is based on a straight linear calculation. Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006 in 2005 were 7.2 gigatons CO2 eq. Emissions in (Washington, DC, November 2007), available online 2050 would need to drop to 1.24 gigatons CO2 eq. at to reflect an 80% reduction of the 1990 level of 6.2 http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html; gigatons. Between 2005 and 2050, this represents U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base, an annual reduction of 132.44 megatons CO2 eq., available online at resulting in a 3.9 gigaton CO2 eq. emission level for http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/; and John L. 2030. U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are on a Seitz: Global Issues: An Introduction, (2001). “The trajectory to increase to 9.7 gigatons CO2 eq. by U.S. produced approximately 33% of the world’s 2030. See Jon Creyts et al, Reducing U.S. waste with 4.6% of the world’s population” (Miller Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much and at What 1998) quoted in Global Environmental Issues by Cost? p. 9. This means that annual greenhouse gas Francis Harris (2004). emissions by 2030 need to be reduced by 5.8 gigatons CO2 eq. to put the U.S. on the path to help 2 Jon Creyts, Anton Derkach, Scott Nyquist, Ken stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas Ostrowski, Jack Stephenson, Reducing U.S. concentrations. A zero waste approach could Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much and at What achieve an estimated 406 megatons CO2 eq., or 7% Cost? U.S. Greenhouse Gas Abatement Mapping of the annual abatement needed in 2030. Initiative, Executive Report (McKinsey & Company, December 2007). Available online at: 8 It is important to note that emissions cuts by http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/greenh developed nations such as the U.S. may have to be ousegas.asp. even greater than the target of 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Achieving this target may leave us 3 Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the vulnerable to a 17-36% chance of exceeding a 2°C Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, quoted increase in average global temperatures. See Paul in “UN Climate Change Impact Report: Poor Will Baer, et. al, The Right to Development in a Climate Suffer Most,” Environmental News Service,April 6, Constrained World, p. 20 (2007). In addition, there is 2007 (available online at: http://www.ens- ample evidence that climate change is already newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007-04-06-01.asp); negatively impacting the lives of many individuals Office of the Attorney General, State of California, and communities throughout the world. To prevent “Global Warming’s Unequal Impact” (available online climate-related disasters, the U.S. should and must at take immediate and comprehensive action relative http://ag.ca.gov/globalwarming/unequal.php#notes_ to its full contribution to climate change. As Al Gore 1); and African Americans and Climate Change: An has pointed out, countries (including the U.S.), will Unequal Burden, July 1, 2004, Congressional Black have to meet different requirements based on their Caucus Foundation and Redefining Progress, p. 2 historical share or contribution to the climate (available online at problem and their relative ability to carry the burden www.rprogress.org/publications/2004/CBCF_REPOR of change. He concludes that there is no other way. T_F.pdf). See Al Gore, “Moving Beyond Kyoto,” The New York Times (July 1, 2007). Available online at 4 The Urban Environmental Accords were drafted as http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/opinion/01gor part of the United Nations World Environment Day in e.html?pagewanted=all 2005. 9 Jon Creyts et al, Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas 5 Each coal-fired power plant emits 4.644 megatons Emissions: How Much and at What Cost?, pp. xvii, CO2 equivalent. In 2005, there were 417 coal-fired 60-62, 71. power plants in the U.S. See U.S. EPA’s web page on Climate Change at 10 U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables, http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy- “Table 29, Generation, Materials Recovery, resources/refs.html#coalplant. Removing 87 plants Composting, Combustion, and Discards of from the grid in 2030, represents 21% of the coal- Municipal Solid Waste, 1960 to 2006,” Franklin fired plants operating in 2005. Associates, A Division of ERG. Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/garbage/msw99.htm. 6 Scientific experts are now in general agreement that developed nations such as the U.S. need to reduce 11 Gary Liss, Gary Liss & Associations, personal greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels communication, March 2008; and Robert Haley, by 2050 in order to stabilize atmospheric Zero Waste Manager, City and County of San greenhouse gas concentrations between 450 and Francisco, Department of the Environment, 550 ppm of CO2 eq. See for instance, Susan Joy personal communication, May 1, 2008. Hassol, “Questions and Answers Emissions Reductions Needed to Stabilize Climate,” for the 12 In 1960, for example, single-use plastic packaging Presidential Climate Action Project (2007). Available was 0.14% of the waste stream (120,000 tons). In online at less than one generation, it has grown to 5.7% and climatecommunication.org/PDFs/HassolPCAP.pdf. 14.2 million tons per year. See U.S. EPA, 2006

72 Stop Trashing The Climate

MSW Characterization Data Tables, “Table 18, Products Generated in the Municipal Solid Waste 20 On a 20-year time horizon, N2O has a 289 global 27 See for instance Clarissa Morawski, Measuring the Stream, 1960 to 2006 (with Detail on Containers warming potential. On a 100-year time horizon, its Benefits of Composting Source Separated Organics and Packaging).” global warming potential is 310. in the Region of Niagara, CM Consulting for The Region of Niagara, Canada (December 2007); 13 Brenda Platt and Neil Seldman, Institute for Local 21 The EPA defines incineration as the following: Jeffrey Morris, Sound Resource Management Self-Reliance, Wasting and Recycling in the U.S. “Incinerator means any enclosed device that: (1) Group, Comparison of Environmental Burdens: 2000, GrassRoots Recycling Network, 2000, p. 13. Uses controlled flame combustion and neither Recycling, Disposal with Energy Recovery from Based on data reported in Office of Technology meets the criteria for classification as a boiler, Landfill Gases, and Disposal via Hypothetical Assessment, Managing Industrial Solid Wastes sludge dryer, or carbon regeneration unit, nor is Waste-to-Energy Incineration, prepared for San from manufacturing, mining, oil, and gas listed as an industrial furnace; or (2) Meets the Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management production, and utility coal combustion (OTA-BP-O- definition of infrared incinerator or plasma arc Authority, San Luis Obispo, California (February 82), February 1992, pp. 7, 10. incinerator. Infrared incinerator means any 2004); Jeffrey Morris, “Comparative LCAs for enclosed device that uses electric powered Curbside Recycling Versus Either Landfilling or 14 Toni Johnson, Council on Foreign Relations, resistance heaters as a source of radiant heat Incineration with Energy Recovery, International “Deforestation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” followed by an afterburner using controlled flame Journal of LCA (2004); Brenda Platt and David web site at www.cfr.org/publication/14919/ combustion and which is not listed as an industrial Morris, The Economic Benefits of Recycling, (updated January 7, 2008). furnace. Plasma arc incinerator means any Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC enclosed device using a high intensity electrical (1993); and Michael Lewis, Recycling Economic 15 Recommendations of the Economic and discharge or arc as a source of heat followed by Development through Scrap-Based Manufacturing, Technology Advancement Advisory Committee an afterburner using controlled flame combustion Institute for Local Self-Reliance (1994) (ETAAC): Final Report on Technologies and Policies and which is not listed as an industrial furnace.” to Consider for Reducing Greenhouse Gas See U.S. EPA, Title 40: Protection of Environment, 28 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Emissions in California, A Report to the California Hazardous Waste Management System: General, Assessment Report, Climate Change 2007: Air Resources Board (February 14, 2008), pp. 4- subpart B-definitions, 260.10, current as of Synthesis Report, Topic 1 - Observed Changes in 15, 4-16. Available online at February 5, 2008. Climate and Their Effects, pp. 1-4. Available online www.arb.ca.gov/cc/etaac/ETAACFinalReport2-11- at: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.htm. 08.pdf. 22 Pace, David, “More Blacks Live with Pollution,” Also see Janet Larson, “The Sixth Great Extinction: Associated Press (2005), available online at: A Status Report,” Earth Policy Institute, March 2, 16 Each coal-fired power plant emits 4.644 megatons http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/archive/p 2004, available online at http://www.earth- CO2 equivalent. In 2005, there were 417 coal-fired ollution/part1.html; and Bullard, Robert D., Paul policy.org/Updates/Update35.htm. power plants in the US. See U.S. EPA’s web page Mohai, Robin Saha, Beverly Wright, Toxic Waste on Climate Change at and Race at 20: 1987-2007 (March 2007). 29 Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, resources/refs.html#coalplant. Removing 87 plants 23 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change quoted in “UN Climate Change Impact Report: Poor from the grid in 2030, represents 21% of the coal- has revised the global warming potential of Will Suffer Most,” Environmental News Service, fired plants operating in 2005. methane compared to carbon dioxide several April 6, 2007 (available online at: http://www.ens- times. For the 100 year planning horizon, methane newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007-04-06-01.asp); 17 Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, was previously calculated to have 21 times the Office of the Attorney General, State of California, Natural Capitalism, Little Brown and Company, global warming potential of CO2. In 2007, the IPCC “Global Warming’s Unequal Impact” (available (1999), p. 4; and Worldwide Fund for Nature revised the figure to 25 times over 100 years and online at (Europe), “A third of world’s natural resources to 72 times over 20 years. See IPCC, “Table 2.14,” http://ag.ca.gov/globalwarming/unequal.php#notes consumed since 1970: Report,” Agence-France p. 212, Forster, P., et al, 2007: Changes in _1); and African Americans and Climate Change: Presse (October 1998). Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. An Unequal Burden, July 1, 2004, Congressional In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Black Caucus Foundation and Redefining Progress, 18 Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. Basis. p. 2 (available online at Industrial emissions alone represent 26.8%. Truck www.rprogress.org/publications/2004/CBCF_REPO transportation is another 5.3%. Manure 24 “Beyond Kyoto: Why Climate Policy Needs to Adopt RT_F.pdf). management is 0.7% and waste disposal of 2.6% the 20-year Impact of Methane,” Eco-Cycle includes landfilling, wastewater treatment, and Position Memo, Eco-Cycle, www.ecocycle.org, 30 Chris Hails et al., Living Planet Report 2006 combustion. Synthetic fertilizers represent 1.4% March 2008. (Gland, Switzerland: World Wildlife Fund and include urea production. Figures have not International, 2006), available online at been adjusted to 20-year time frame. Based on 25 Bogner, J., M. Abdelrafie Ahmed, C. Diaz, A. Faaij, http://assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_r data presented in the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Q. Gao, S. Hashimoto, K. Mareckova, R. Pipatti, T. eport.pdf; Energy Information Administration, Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, U.S. EPA, Zhang, Waste Management, In Climate Change Emission of Greenhouse Gases in the United States Washington, DC, April 15, 2007. Industrial 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III 2006 (Washington, DC, November 2007), available Electricity Consumption is estimated using Energy to the Fourth Assessment Report of the online at Information Administration 2004 data on electricity Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html; sales to customers. See Table ES-1, Electric Power [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base, Annual Summary Statistics for the United States, Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, available online at released October 22, 2007, and available online at: Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/. http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epate USA, p. 600. Available online at: s.html. http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg3.htm. 31 2005 data. Energy Information Administration, “International Energy Annual 2005” (Washington, 19 See City of San Francisco web site, Urban 26 No Incentives for Incinerators Sign-on Statement, DC, September 2007). Available online at Environmental Accords, at 2007. Available online at http://www.eia.doe.gov/iea. http://www.sfenvironment.org/our_policies/overvie http://www.zerowarming.org/campaign_signon.ht w.html?ssi=15. Browsed May 1, 2008. ml. 32 Chris Hails et al., Living Planet Report 2006.

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33 Climate Change Research Centre, 2007. “2007 Bali 45 “Table 29, Generation, Materials Recovery, Climate Declaration by Scientists.” Available online Composting, Combustion, and Discards of at http://www.climate.unsw.edu.au/bali/ on Municipal Solid Waste, 1960 to 2006,” U.S. EPA, December 19, 2007. Also at 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables. http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.php/cs w/details/bali_climate_declaration/ 46 Brenda Platt and Neil Seldman, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Wasting and Recycling in the U.S. 34 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2000, GrassRoots Recycling Network, 2000, p. 13. “Research Finds That Earth’s Climate Is Based on data reported in Office of Technology Approaching a ‘Dangerous’ Point,” 2007. Available Assessment, Managing Industrial Solid Wastes online at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ from manufacturing, mining, oil, and gas news/topstory/2007/danger_point.html. production, and utility coal combustion (OTA-BP-O- 82), February 1992, pp. 7, 10. The 11 billion ton 35 See City of San Francisco web site, Urban figure includes wastewater. Environmental Accords, at http://www.sfenvironment.org/our_policies/overvie 47 Mine Waste Technology, U.S. EPA web site, w.html?ssi=15. Browsed May 1, 2008. http://www.epa.gov/hardrockmining, browsed March 16, 2008. 36 Each coal-fired power plant emits 4.644 megatons CO2 eq. In 2005, there were 417 coal-fired power 48 Mark Drajem, “China Passes Canada, Becomes Top plants in the U.S. See U.S. EPA’s web page on U.S. Import Source (Update1),” Bloomberg.com Climate Change at news, February 14, 2008. Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energyhttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601 resources/refs.html#coalplant. Removing 87 plants 080&sid=aqWbjT7reAIE&refer=asia. In 2006, from the grid in 2030, represents 21% of the coal- China’s total fossil CO2 emissions increased by fired plants operating in 2005. 8.7%. See “Global fossil CO2 emissions for 2006,” Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 37 U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables, June 21, 2007. Available online at: “Table 29, Generation, Materials Recovery, http://www.mnp.nl/en/dossiers/Climatechange/mor Composting, Combustion, and Discards of einfo/Chinanowno1inCO2emissionsUSAinsecondpos Municipal Solid Waste, 1960 to 2006,” Franklin ition.html. Associates, A Division of ERG. Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/garbage/msw99.htm. 49 Based on data reported in “U.S. Imports from China from 2003 to 2007 by 5-digit End-Use Code,” 38 Ibid. See “Table 4: Paper and Paperboard Products FTDWebMaster,Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census in MSW, 2006,” “Table 6: Metals in MSW, 2006,” Bureau, Washington, DC, February 29, 2008. “Table 7: Plastics in Products in MSW, 2006.” Available online at http://www.census.gov/foreign- trade/statistics/product/enduse/imports/c5700.html 39 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth #questions. Assessment Report, Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, Topic 1 — Observed Changes in 50 Beckie Loewenstein, “Southern California Ports Climate and Their Effects, pp. 17. Available online Handle the Bulk of U.S.-China Trade,” U.S. China at: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.htm. Today Web site of the University of Southern California U.S.-China Institute, March 7, 2008. 40 Jean Bogner et al, “Mitigation of global greenhouse Available online at http://www.uschina.usc.edu/ gas emissions from waste: conclusions and ShowFeature.aspx?articleID=1494. strategies from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. 51 Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, Working Group III (Mitigation). Waste Management Natural Capitalism, Little Brown and Company, Research 2008; 26l 11, p. 11, available online at (1999), p. 4; and Worldwide Fund for Nature http://wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/ (Europe), “A third of world’s natural resources abstract/26/1/11. consumed since 1970: Report,” Agence-France Presse (October 1998). 41 See Table ES-4: Recent Trends in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks by Chapter/IPCC Sector, 52 See “International Energy Consumption By End-Use U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Sector Analysis to 2030,” Energy Information Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005, p. ES-11, Administration, available online at: available online at: http://www.epa.gov/ http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/energyc climatechange/emissions/usgginv_archive.html. onsumption.html.

42 See “Table 3: Materials Discarded in Municipal 53 “Global Mining Snapshot,” Mineral Policy Institute, Solid Waste, 1960-2006,” U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Washington, DC (October 1, 2003). Available online Characterization Data Tables. at http://www.earthworksaction.org/ publications.cfm?pubID=63. This fact sheet cites 43 Toni Johnson, Council on Foreign Relations, the WorldWatch Institute, State of the World 2003 “Deforestation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” as the source for this figure. web site at www.cfr.org/publication/14919/ (updated January 7, 2008). 54 Energy Information Administration, 2002 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) 44 “Table 3: Materials Discarded in Municipal Solid (Washington, DC, 2002), available online at Waste, 1960-2006,” U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mecs/mecs2002/dat Characterization Data Tables. a02/shelltables.html.

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55 The Environmental Defense Fund, “Paper Task Air Resources Board, February 14, 2008, pp. 4-15, Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using 4-16. Available online at www.arb.ca.gov/cc/ Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Environmentally Friendly Paper” (1995), p. 47. etaac/ETAACFinalReport2-11-08.pdf. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Available online at http://www.edf.org. [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. 67 Ibid, p. 4-14. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller 56 See Conservatree web site, “Common Myths About (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Recycled Paper,” at 68 Ibid, p. 4-17. United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Available http://www.conservatree.org/paper/PaperTypes/Re online at http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1- cyMyths.shtml, browsed March 25, 2008. 69 U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas report.html. Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005, (Washington, 57 One ton of uncoated virgin (non-recycled) printing DC, April 15, 2007), p. 8-1, 8-2. Available online at 77 Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reliance and office paper uses 24 trees; 1 ton of 100% http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventor calculations, based on Inventory of U.S. virgin (non-recycled) newsprint uses 12 trees. See yreport.html. Emissions from municipal solid waste Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, “How much paper can be made from a tree?” web landfill, accounted for about 89% of total landfill U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007. page at http://www.conservatree.com/ emissions, with industrial landfills accounting for learn/EnviroIssues/TreeStats.shtml, Conservatree, the remainder. 78 Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel San Francisco, browsed March 14, 2008. Institute of Technology) and Mordechai Shechter According to Trees for the Future, each tree 70 Table ES-2: Recent Trends in U.S. Greenhouse Gas (Department of Economics and Natural Resources planted in the humid tropics absorbs 50 pounds Emissions and Sinks, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse & Environmental Research Center, University of (22 kg) of carbon dioxide every year for at least 40 Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005. Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High- years, translating to each tree absorbing 1 ton of Priority and Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse CO2 over its lifetime. See its web site, “About Us: 71 U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. Global Cooling™ Center,” at Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005, p. 8-2. 27, No. 5, 2001, pp. 697. http://www.treesftf.org/about/cooling.htm, browsed March 14, 2008. Also see “How to 72 Ibid; and p. ES-15, 17. These compounds indirectly 79 Peter Anderson, Center for a Competitive Waste calculate the amount of CO2 sequestered in a tree affect terrestrial radiation absorption by influencing Industry, “Comments to the California Air per year,” Trees for the Future, available online at: the formation and destruction of ozone. In addition, Resources Board on Landfills’ Responsibility for http://www.plant-trees.org/resources/ they may react with other chemical compounds in Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and the Calculating%20CO2%20Sequestration%20by%20T the atmosphere to form new compounds that are Appropriate Response to Those Facts,” 2007. rees.pdf, browsed March 15, 2008. greenhouse gases. Available online at: http://www.competitivewaste.org/publications.htm. 58 U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and 73 “Table 2.14, Lifetime, radiative efficiencies, and Greenhouse Gases, EPA530-R-06-004 direct (except for CH4) GWPs relative to CO2,” p. 80 Bogner, J., M. Abdelrafie Ahmed, C. Diaz, A. Faaij, (Washington, DC: U.S. EPA, September 2006), p. 212. Forster, P.,V. Ramaswamy, P.Artaxo, T. Q. Gao, S. Hashimoto, K. Mareckova, R. Pipatti, T. 39. Berntsen, R. Betts, D.W. Fahey, J. Haywood, J. Zhang, Waste Management, In Climate Change Lean, D.C. Lowe, G. Myhre, J. Nganga, R. Prinn, G. 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III 59 Ibid, p. 41. Raga, M. Schulz and R. Van Dorland, 2007: to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. 60 See Lifecycle Assessment of Aluminum: Inventory Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Data for the Worldwide Primary Aluminum Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Industry, International Aluminum Institute, March Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, 2003, p. 23. Available online at http://www.world- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change USA, p. 600. Available online at: aluminum.org/environment/lifecycle/lifecycle3.html. [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg3.htm. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller 61 Ibid., p. 18. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 81 U.S. EPA, “Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria; United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Available Proposed Rule,” Federal Register 53(168), 40 CFR 62 See “Table 4: Materials Recovered in Municipal online at http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1- Parts 257 and 258 (Washington, DC: U.S. EPA, Solid Waste, 1960-2006,” and “Table 5: Materials report.html. August 30, 1988), pp. 33314- 33422; and U.S. Generated in Municipal Solid Waste,” U.S. EPA, EPA, “Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills,” 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables. In 2006, 74 Nickolas J. Themelis and Priscill A. Ulloa, “Methane U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, July 1988. 45.1% of the 1.44 million tons of beer and soft Generation in Landfills,” Renewable Energy 32 drink cans discarded were recycled. See “Table 6: (2007) 1243-1257, p. 1245. Available online from 82 G. Fred Lee, PhD, PE, DEE, and Anne Jones-Lere, Metal Products in MSW, 2006.” ScienceDirect at http://www.sciencedirect.com; PhD, Three R’s Managed Garbage Protects and U.S. EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program Groundwater Quality, (El Macero, California: G. Fred 63 Industrial electricity consumption, industrial fossil web site at & Associates, May 1997); “Landfills are fuel consumption, and non-energy industrial http://www.epa.gov/lmop/proj/index.htm, browsed Dangerous,” Rachel’s Environment & Health processes contribute 26.6% of all U.S. greenhouse March 12, 2008. Number of landfill recovery Weekly #617 (September 24, 1998); Lynton Baker, gas emissions. We also allocated 30% of truck projects as of December 2006. Renne Capouya, Carole Cenci, Renaldo Crooks, transportation greenhouse gases to the industrial and Roland Hwang, The Landfill Testing Program: sector to arrive at the 28.2%. 75 “Beyond Kyoto: Why Climate Policy Needs to Adopt Data Analysis and Evaluation Guidelines the 20-year Impact of Methane,” Eco-Cycle (Sacramento, California: California Air Resources 64 U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Position Memo, Eco-Cycle, www.ecocycle.org, Board, September 1990) as cited in “Landfills are Greenhouse Gases, EPA530-R-06-004 Boulder, Colorado, March 2008. Dangerous,” Rachel’s Environment & Health (Washington, DC: U.S. EPA, September 2006), p. 11. Weekly; State of New York Department of Health, 76 “Table 2.14, Lifetime, radiative efficiencies, and Investigation of Cancer Incidence and Residence 65 Ibid. direct (except for CH4) GWPs relative to CO2,” p. Near 38 Landfills with Soil Gas Migration 212. Forster, P.,V. Ramaswamy, P.Artaxo, T. Conditions, New York State, 1980-1989 (Atlanta, 66 Recommendations of the Economic and Berntsen, R. Betts, D.W. Fahey, J. Haywood, J. Georgia: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Technology Advancement Advisory Committee Lean, D.C. Lowe, G. Myhre, J. Nganga, R. Prinn, G. Registry, June 1998) as cited in “Landfills are (ETAAC): Final Report on Technologies and Policies Raga, M. Schulz and R. Van Dorland, 2007: Dangerous,” Rachel’s Environment & Health to Consider for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Weekly #617 (September 24, 1998). The New York Emissions in California, A Report to the California Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The landfills were tested for VOCs in the escaping

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gases. Dry cleaning fluid (tetrachloroethylene or December 1, 2006, available online at PERC), trichloroethylene (TCE), toluene, l,l,l- http://www.endseuropedaily.com (browsed trichloroethane, benzene, vinyl chloride, 1,2- February 8, 2008); and P. Elliott, et al, “Cancer dichloroethylene, and chloroform were found. M.S. incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators Goldberg and others, “Incidence of cancer among in Great Britain,” British Journal of Cancer Vol. 73 persons living near a municipal solid waste landfill (1996), pp. 702-710. site in Montreal, Quebec,” Archives of Environmental Health Vol. 50, No. 6 (November 95 Cormier, S. A., Lomnicki, S., Backes, W., and 1995), pp. 416-424 as cited in “Landfills are Dellinger, B. (June 2006). “Origin and Health Dangerous,” Rachel’s Environment & Health Impacts of Emissions of Toxic By-Products and Fine Weekly; J. Griffith and others, “Cancer mortality in Particles from Combustion and Thermal Treatment U.S. counties with hazardous waste sites and of Hazardous Wastes and Materials.” ground water pollution,” Archives of Environmental Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(6): 810- Health Vol. 48, No. 2 (March 1989), pp. 69- 74 as 817. Article. cited in “Landfills are Dangerous,” Rachel’s Environment & Health Weekly. 96 Oberdorster, Gunter, et al. “Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of 83 “Waste-to-Energy Reduces Greenhouse Gas Ultrafine Particles.” Environmental Health Emissions,” Integrated Waste Services Association Perspectives Vol. 113, No. 7 (July 2005), pp. 823- web site, at http://www.wte.org/environment/ 839. Available online at http://tinyurl.com/2vkvbr. greenhouse_gas.html, browsed March 12, 2008. 97 Michelle Allsopp, Pat Costner, and Paul Johnson, 84 Table ES-2: Recent Trends in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Incineration & Public Health: State of Knowledge of Emissions and Sinks, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse the Impacts of Waste Incineration on Human Health Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005. (Greenpeace, Exeter, UK: March 2001). Available online at http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/ 85 Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and media/reports/incineration-and-human-health. Sinks, 1990-2005 , p. 2-3. 98 Peter Anderson, Center for a Competitive Waste 86 U.S. EPA Clean Energy web page, “How Does Industry, “Comments to the California Air Electricity Affect the Environment,” Resources Board on Landfills’ Responsibility for http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and- Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and the you/affect/air-emissions.html, browsed March 13, Appropriate Response to Those Facts,” 2007. 2008. Available online at: http://www.competitivewaste.org/publications.htm. 87 Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2005, p. ES-17. 99 Ibid., p. 5.

88 Table ES-4: Recent Trends in U.S. Greenhouse Gas 100 Peter Anderson, The Center for a Competitive Emissions and Sinks by Chapter/IPCC Sector, Waste Industry, “Memorandum on Climate Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Change Action Plans - Landfills Critical Role,” Sinks, 1990-2005, p. ES-11. Madison, Wisconsin, October 18, 2007.

89 Jeff Morris, Sound Resource Management, Seattle, 101 Ibid. Washington, personal communication, January 8, 2008. 102 Nickolas J. Themelis and Priscill A. Ulloa, “Methane Generation in Landfills,” Renewable 90 Jeffrey Morris and Diana Canzoneri, Recycling Energy 32 (2007) 1243-1257, p. 1250. Available Versus Incineration: An Energy Conservation online from ScienceDirect at Analysis (Seattle: Sound Resource Management http://www.sciencedirect.com. Group, 1992). 103 Peter Anderson, The Center for a Competitive 91 U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Waste Industry, “Memorandum on Climate Greenhouse Gases, EPA530-R-06-004 Change Action Plans - Landfills Critical Role,” (Washington, DC: U.S. EPA, September 2006), pp. Madison, Wisconsin, October 18, 2007. ES-14. While the EPA presents emission data for 31 categories, only 18 represent individual product 104 Ibid., p. 6. categories for which recycling data was presented. 105 Peter Anderson, Center for a Competitive Waste 92 “Waste of Energy” (WOE) facilities was coined by Industry, “Comments to the California Air Frederick County, Maryland, anti-incinerator citizen Resources Board on Landfills’ Responsibility for activist Caroline Eader to replace the industry Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and the “Waste to Energy” (WTE) terminology. Appropriate Response to Those Facts,” 2007. Available online at: 93 See Brenda Platt and Neil Seldman, Institute for http://www.competitivewaste.org/ Local Self-Reliance, Wasting and Recycling in the publications.htm. U.S. 2000, GrassRoots Recycling Network, 2000, p. 27. 106 Ibid., p. 7.

94 See for instance, Ends Europe Daily (European 107 Nickolas J. Themelis and Priscill A. Ulloa, Environmental News Service), “Study reignites “Methane Generation in Landfills,” Renewable French incinerator health row,” Issue 2217, Energy 32 (2007) 1243-1257, p. 1250. Available

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online from ScienceDirect at EPA, “Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste 130 Enzo Favoino (Suola Agraria del Parco di Monza, http://www.sciencedirect.com. Landfills,” U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, July 1988. Monza, Italy) and Dominic Hogg (Eunomia Research & Consulting, Bristol, UK), “The 108 Peter Anderson, Center for a Competitive Waste 120 Peter Anderson, Center for a Competitive Waste potential role of compost in reducing greenhouse Industry, “Comments to the California Air Industry, “Comments to the California Air gases,” Waste Management & Research, 2008: Resources Board on Landfills’ Responsibility for Resources Board on Landfills’ Responsibility for 26: 61-69. See pages 63-64. Also see Dr. Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and the Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and the Dominic Hogg, Eunomia Research & Consulting, Appropriate Response to Those Facts,” 2007, p. 3. Appropriate Response to Those Facts,” 2007. “Should We Include Biogenic Emissions of CO2?” in his report, A Changing Climate for Energy from 109 Ibid. 121 The Nebraska and Missouri bills banning landfill Waste?, final report to Friends of the Earth, disposal of yard trimmings were altered to United Kingdom (March 2006), pp. 67-70. 110 Jean Bogner et al, “Mitigation of global exempt bioreactors or landfill gas-to-energy from Available online at: www.foe.co.uk/ greenhouse gas emissions from waste: the state’s bans. For more information on EU resource/reports/changing_climate.pdf. conclusions and strategies from the landfill policies, visit Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l21208.htm 131 Integrated Waste Services Association web page (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. Working Group and “Waste-to-Energy Reduces Greenhouse Gas III (Mitigation). Waste Management Research http://www.bmu.de/english/waste_management/ Emissions,” 2008; 26l 11, p. 19, available online at http:// reports/doc/35870.php. http://www.wte.org/environment/greenhouse_gas wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/1/11. .html, browsed March 13, 2008. 122 No Incentives for Incinerators Sign-on Statement, 111 Nickolas J. Themelis and Priscill A. Ulloa, 2007. Available online at 132 Municipal incinerators emit 2,988 lbs of CO2 per “Methane Generation in Landfills,” Renewable http://www.zerowarming.org/ megawatt-hr of power generated. In contrast, Energy 32 (2007) 1243-1257, p. 1246. campaign_signon.html. coal-fired power plants emit 2,249 lbs. See U.S. EPA Clean Energy web page, “How Does 112 67 Federal Register 36463 (May 22, 2002). 123 Letsrecycle.com, London, “Germany to push Electricity Affect the Environment,” recycling ahead of “thirsty” EfW plants,” March http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and- 113 Peter Anderson, The Center for a Competitive 19, 2007. Available online at you/affect/air-emissions.html, browsed March 13, Waste Industry, “Memorandum on Climate http://www.letsrecycle.com/materials/paper/news 2008. Change Action Plans - Landfills Critical Role,” .jsp?story=6638. Madison, Wisconsin, October 18, 2007, p. 9. 133 Based on U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Characterization 124 Jeremy K. O’Brien, P.E., Solid Waste Association Data Tables, “Table 3, Materials Discarded in the 114 Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, of North America (SWANA), “Comparison of Air Municipal Waste Stream, 1960 To 2006,” and Natural Capitalism, Little Brown and Company, Emissions from Waste-to-Energy Facilities to “Table 29, Generation, Materials Recovery, (1999), p. 4; and Worldwide Fund for Nature Fossil Fuel Power Plants” (undated), p. 7. Composting, Combustion, and Discards of (Europe), “A third of world’s natural resources Available online on the Integrated Waste Services Municipal Solid Waste, 1960 to 2006.” Available consumed since 1970: Report,” Agence-France Association web page at online at: Presse (October 1998). http://www.wte.org/environment/emissions.html. http://www.epa.gov/garbage/msw99.htm.

115 Peter Anderson, Center for a Competitive Waste 125 “Wood and Paper Imports,” Map No. 74, World 134 Jean Bogner et al, “Mitigation of global Industry, “Comments to the California Air Mapper, available online at greenhouse gas emissions from waste: Resources Board on Landfills’ Responsibility for http://www.worldmapper.org (browsed May 5, conclusions and strategies from the Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and the 2008). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Appropriate Response to Those Facts,” 2007. (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. Working Group 126 Council on Foreign Relations, Deforestation and III (Mitigation). Waste Management Research 116 In its final 1996 regulation under the Clean Air Greenhouse Gas Emissions. 2008; 26l 11, p. 27, available online at Act for establishing standards for new and www.cfr.org/publication/14919/ (browsed http://wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/ guidelines for existing large municipal solid February 7, 2008). 1/11. waste landfills, the U.S. EPA required landfills that emit in excess of 50 Mg per year to control 127 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 135 “Briefing: Anaerobic Digestion,” Friends of the emissions. New and existing landfills designed to 2006, “Chapter 5: Incineration and Open Burning Earth, London, September 2007, p. 2. Available hold at least 2.5 million Mg of MSW were also of Waste,” 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National online at: www.foe.co.uk/resource/ required to install gas collection systems. About Greenhouse Gas Inventories, p. 5.5, prepared by briefings/anaerobic_digestion.pdf. 280 landfills were affected. See “Growth of the the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Landfill Gas Industry,” Renewable Energy Annual Programme, Eggleston H.S., Buendia L., Miwa K., 136 Jean Bogner et al, “Mitigation of global 1996, Energy Information Administration, Ngara T. and Tanabe K. (eds). Published: IGES, greenhouse gas emissions from waste: available online at Japan. Available online at www.ipcc- conclusions and strategies from the http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/re nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/pdf/5_Volume5/V5 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change newable.energy.annual/chap10.html. _5_Ch5_IOB.pdf. (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report,” p. 29; and “Briefing: Anaerobic Digestion,” Friends of the 117 Peter Anderson, Center for a Competitive Waste 128 U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and Earth, p. 2. Industry, “Comments to the California Air Greenhouse Gases, EPA530-R-06-004 Resources Board on Landfills’ Responsibility for (Washington, DC: U.S. EPA, September 2006), p. 137 “Briefing: Anaerobic Digestion,” Friends of the Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases and the 6. Earth, pp. 2-4. The May 2007 English Waste Appropriate Response to Those Facts,” 2007. Strategy is available at: 129 Ari Rabl, Anthony Benoist, Dominque Dron, Bruno http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/strat 118 U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Peuportier, Joseph V. Spadaro and Assad egy. Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005, p. 8-2. Zoughaib, Ecole des Minesm Paris, France, “Editorials: How to Account for CO2 Emissions 138 See for instance “List of Zero Waste 119 U.S. EPA, “Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria; from Biomass in an LCA,” The International Communities,” Zero Waste International web site Proposed Rule,” Federal Register 53(168), 40 CFR Journal of LifeCycle Assessment 12 (5) 281 at http://www.zwia.org/zwc.html, browsed March Parts 257 and 258 (Washington, DC: U.S. EPA, (2007), p. 281. 2008; and “Zero Waste Businesses” by Gary Liss August 30, 1988), pp. 33314- 33422; and U.S. for the GrassRoots Recycling Network, available

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online at http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/business/profiles.p 149 Each coal-fired power plant emits 4.644 hp. Businesses that divert 90% or better waste megatons CO2 eq. In 2005, there were 417 coal- from landfill and incineration disposal qualify. fired power plants in the U.S. See U.S. EPA’s web Zero waste is also a practical tool for industries, page on Climate Change at such as RICOH, which has adopted and reportedly http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy- met its zero waste to landfill goal. The company resources/refs.html#coalplant. Removing 87 now requires that its suppliers also adopt this plants from the grid in 2030, represents 21% of goal. The Zero Emissions Research Institute, led the coal-fired plants operating in 2005. by Gunther Pauli, has many corporate members who have already reached zero waste to landfill 150 Scientific experts are now in general agreement goals. Personal communication, Neil Seldman, that developed nations such as the U.S. need to Institute for Local Self-Reliance, March 11, 2008. reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 in order to stabilize 139 See City of San Francisco web site, Urban atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations Environmental Accords, at between 450 and 550 ppm of CO2 eq. See for http://www.sfenvironment.org/our_policies/overvi instance, Susan Joy Hassol, “Questions and ew.html?ssi=15. Browsed May 1, 2008. Answers Emissions Reductions Needed to Stabilize Climate,” for the Presidential Climate 140 “What is a Zero Waste California?” Zero Waste Action Project (2007). Available online at California Web site at climatecommunication.org/PDFs/HassolPCAP.pdf. http://www.zerowaste.ca.gov/WhatIs.htm, Integrated Waste Management Board, browsed 151 In order to reduce the 1990 U.S. greenhouse gas March 10, 2008. emissions by 80% by 2050, greenhouse gas levels in 2030 should decrease to 3.9 gigatons 141 U.S. EPA, Solid Waste Management and CO2 eq., which is approximately 37% of the 1990 Greenhouse Gases, pp. ES-4. level. This is based on a straight linear calculation. Emissions in 2005 were 7.2 gigatons 142 Industrial fossil fuel combustion contributes 840.1 CO2 eq. Emissions in 2050 would need to drop to CO2 equiv. (EPA ghg inventory figure) and 1.24 gigatons CO2 eq. to reflect an 80% reduction industrial electricity consumption generates an of the 1990 level of 6.2 gigatons. Between 2005 estimated 759.5 CO2 equiv. (based on EPA ghg and 2050, this represents an annual reduction of inventory figure for electricity generation of 132.44 megatons CO2 eq., resulting in a 3.9 1958.4 CO2 equiv. and Energy Information gigaton CO2 eq. emission level for 2030. U.S. Administration data that industrial electricity sales greenhouse gas emissions are on a trajectory to represents 31.9% of total sales. Energy increase to 9.7 gigatons CO2 eq. by 2030. See Information Administration, “Summary Statistics Jon Creyts et al, Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas for the United States: Electric Power Annual,” Emissions: How Much and at What Cost? p. 9. Table ES1, released October 22, 2007, available This means that annual greenhouse gas at http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/ emissions by 2030 need to be reduced by 5.8 epa/epates.html. gigatons CO2 eq. to put the U.S. on the path to help stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas 143 Jeffrey Morris, “Recycling Versus Incineration: An concentrations. A zero waste approach could Energy Conservation Analysis” Journal of achieve an estimated 406 megatons CO2 eq., or Hazardous Materials 47 (1996), pp. 227-293. 7% of the annual abatement needed in 2030.

144 Ibid. 152 It is important to note that emissions cuts by developed nations such as the U.S. may have to 145 Recycling for the future... Consider the benefits, be even greater than the target of 80% below prepared by the White House Task Force on 1990 levels by 2050. Achieving this target may Recycling (Washington, DC: Office of the leave us vulnerable to a 17-36% chance of Environmental Executive, 1998). exceeding a 2∞C increase in average global temperatures. See Paul Baer, et. al, The Right to 146 Jean Bogner et al, “Mitigation of global Development in a Climate Constrained World,p. greenhouse gas emissions from waste: 20 (2007). In addition, there is ample evidence conclusions and strategies from the that climate change is already negatively Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change impacting the lives of many individuals and (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. Working Group communities throughout the world. To prevent III (Mitigation). Waste Management Research climate-related disasters, the U.S. should and 2008; 26l 11, p. 28, available online at must take immediate and comprehensive action http://wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/ relative to its full contribution to climate change. 1/11 As Al Gore has pointed out, countries (including the U.S.), will have to meet different requirements 147 Sally Brown, Soil Scientist, University of based on their historical share or contribution to Washington, personal communication, March the climate problem and their relative ability to 2008. Home use accounts for a significant portion carry the burden of change. He concludes that of fertilizer and pesticide sales. there is no other way. See Al Gore, “Moving Beyond Kyoto,” The New York Times (July 1, 148 Robert Haley, Zero Waste Manager, City and 2007). Available online at County of San Francisco, Department of the http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/opinion/01g Environment, personal communication, May 1, ore.html?pagewanted=all 2008.

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153 Beverly Thorpe, Iza Kruszewska, Alexandra Organic Matter, European Commission and 172 Enzo Favoino (Suola Agraria del Parco di Monza, McPherson, Extended Producer Responsibility: A European Environmental Agency, EUR 21319 Monza, Italy) and Dominic Hogg (Eunomia waste management strategy that cuts waste, EN/3, 2004. Available online at Research & Consulting, Bristol, UK), “The creates a cleaner environment, and saves http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/publications potential role of compost in reducing greenhouse taxpayer money, Clean Production Action, Boston, _en.htm. gases,” Waste Management & Research, 2008: 2004. Available online at 26: 61-69. See page 68. http://www.cleanproductionaction.org. 162 Recycled Organic Unit, Life Cycle Inventory and Life Cycle Assessment for Windrow Composting 173 Sally Brown, University of Washington, “What 154 “2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables,” Systems, 2nd Edition, University of New South Compost Can Do for the World: GHG and Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2006 Wales, Sydney, Australia (2007), p. 88. Available Sustainability,” U.S. Composting Council Facts & Figures , U.S. EPA, 2007, available online online at: http://www.recycledorganics.com/ Conference, Oakland, California, February 11, at http://www.epa.gov/garbage/msw99.htm. See publications/reports/lca/lca.htm. 2008. Tables 1-3. 163 Sally Brown, Soil Scientist, University of 174 Enzo Favoino (Suola Agraria del Parco di Monza, 155 Sally Brown, University of Washington, “What Washington, personal communication, March Monza, Italy) and Dominic Hogg (Eunomia Compost Can Do for the World: GHG and 2008. Research & Consulting, Bristol, UK), “The Sustainability,” U.S. Composting Council potential role of compost in reducing greenhouse Conference, Oakland, California, February 11, 164 See “Table 6-15: Direct N2O Emissions from gases,” Waste Management & Research, 2008: 2008. Agricultural Soils by Land Use and N Input,” U.S. 26: 61-69. See page 63. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 156 Commission of the European Communities, and Sinks: 1990-2005 , p. 6-18. 175 Commission of the European Communities, “Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection: “Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection: Communication from the Commission to the 165 Recommendations of the Economic and Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Technology Advancement Advisory Committee Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the (ETAAC): Final Report on Technologies and Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions,” Brussels, September Policies to Consider for Reducing Greenhouse Committee of the Regions,” Brussels, September 22, 2006, available online at Gas Emissions in California, A Report to the 22, 2006, available online at http://ec.europa.eu/ http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/three_en.ht California Air Resources Board, February 14, environment/soil/three_en.htm. m. 2008, p. 4-19. Available online at www.arb.ca.gov/cc/etaac/ETAACFinalReport2-11- 176 Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, Israel 157 European Conservation Agriculture Federation, 08.pdf. Institute of Technology) and Mordechai Shechter Conservation Agriculture in Europe: (Department of Economics and Natural Resources Environmental, Economic and EU Policy 166 Danielle Murray, “Oil and Food: A Rising Security & Environmental Research Center, University of Perspectives, Brussels (undated), as cited in Enzo Challenge,” Earth Policy Institute, May 9, 2005. Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment as a High- Favoino (Suola Agraria del Parco di Monza, Available online at http://www.earth- Priority and Low-Cost Alternative for Greenhouse Monza, Italy) and Dominic Hogg (Eunomia policy.org/Updates/2005/Update48.htm. Gas Mitigation,” Environmental Management Vol. Research & Consulting, Bristol, UK), “The 27, No. 5, 2001, p. 701. potential role of compost in reducing greenhouse 167 See “Table 4-11: CO2 Emissions from Ammonia gases,” Waste Management & Research, 2008: Manufacture and Urea Application,” U.S. EPA, 177 See “Table 25, Number and Population Served by 26: 61-69. See page 63. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Curbside Recyclables Collection Programs,” Sinks: 1990-2005, p. 4-11 and see p. 4-10. 2006, U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Characterization Data 158 NCRS 2006. Conservation Resource Brief. Tables, available online at: February 2006. Soil Erosion. United States 168 Sally Brown and Peggy Leonard, “Biosolids and http://www.epa.gov/garbage/msw99.htm. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Global Warming: Evaluating the Management Conservation Service. Land use. Impacts,” BioCycle (August 2004), pp. 54-61. 178 Nora Goldstein, BioCycle, State of Organics Available online at: http://faculty.washington.edu/ Recycling in the United States, U.S. 159 Sally Brown and Peggy Leonard, “Building Carbon slb/sally/biocycle%20carbon1%20%20copy.pdf Environmental Protection Agency, Resource Credits with Biosolids Recycling,” BioCycle Conservation Challenge, Web Academy, October (September 2004), pp. 25-30. Available online at: 169 Enzo Favoino (Suola Agraria del Parco di Monza, 18, 2007, available online at http://faculty.washington.edu/slb/sally/biocycle% Monza, Italy) and Dominic Hogg (Eunomia www.epa.gov/region1/RCCedu/presentations/Oct 20carbon2.pdf Research & Consulting, Bristol, UK), “The 18_2007_Organic_Recycling.pdf potential role of compost in reducing greenhouse 160 “Estimating a precise lifetime for soil organic gases,” Waste Management & Research, 2008: 179 U.S. EPA, 2006 MSW Characterization Data matter derived from compost is very difficult, 26: 61-69. See page 67. Tables, available online at: because of the large number of inter-converting http://www.epa.gov/garbage/msw99.htm. pools of carbon involved, each with its own 170 See Ofira Ayalon, Yoram Avnimelech (Technion, turnover rate, which is in turn determined by Israel Institute of Technology) and Mordechai 180 Nora Goldstein, BioCycle, State of Organics local factors such as soil type, temperature and Shechter (Department of Economics and Natural Recycling in the United States, U.S. Environ- moisture.” Enzo Favoino (Suola Agraria del Parco Resources & Environmental Research Center, mental Protection Agency, Resource Conservation di Monza, Monza, Italy) and Dominic Hogg University of Haifa, Israel), “Solid Waste Treatment Challenge, Web Academy, October 18, 2007, (Eunomia Research & Consulting, Bristol, UK), as a High-Priority and Low-Cost Alternative for available online at www.epa.gov/region1/RCCedu “The potential role of compost in reducing Greenhouse Gas Mitigation,” Environmental /presentations/Oct18_2007_Organic_Recycling.pdf greenhouse gases,” Waste Management & Management Vol. 27, No. 5, 2001, pp. 702-703. Research, 2008: 26: 61-69. See page 64. For half 181 Matt Cotton, Integrated Waste Management the carbon remaining in the compost, see 171 Frank Valzano, Mark Jackson, and Angus Consulting, Nevada City, CA, “Ten organics Epstein, E., The Science of Composting, Campbell, Greenhouse Gas Emissions from diversion programs you can implement to help Technomic Publishing, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Composting Facilities, The Recycled Organics you reduce GHG’s,” presentation at the U.S. 1997, pp. 487. Unit, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Composting Conference, Oakland, California, Australia, 2nd Edition, 2007, pp. 6, 22-23. February 12, 2008. 161 Lieve Van-Camp, et al, editor, Reports of the Available online at Technical Working Groups Established under the http://www.recycledorganics.com. 182 One growing market is the use of compost to Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection, Volume III, control soil erosion (this is a potential $4 billion

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market). U.S. 2000, GrassRoots Recycling Network,2000, 183 A 1999 report by the GrassRoots Recycling p. 27. Network and three other organizations identified more than a dozen federal taxpayer subsidies 193 Beverly Thorpe, Iza Kruszewska, Alexandra worth $2.6 billion dollars a year for resource McPherson, Extended Producer Responsibility: A extractive and waste disposal industries. See waste management strategy that cuts waste, Welfare for Waste: How Federal Taxpayer creates a cleaner environment, and saves Subsidies Waste Resources and Discourage taxpayer money, Clean Production Action, Boston, Recycling, GrassRoots Recycling Network (April 2004. Available online at 1999), p. vii. http://www.cleanproductionaction.org

184 Bogner, J., M. Abdelrafie Ahmed, C. Diaz, A. Faaij, 194 Ibid. Q. Gao, S. Hashimoto, K. Mareckova, R. Pipatti, T. Zhang, Waste Management, In Climate Change 195 U.S. EPA, “Table 22: Products Discarded in the 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III Municipal Waste Stream, 1960 to 2006 (with to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Detail on Containers and Packaging),” 2006 MSW Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Characterization Data Tables. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, 196 For a list of communities, see Californians Against Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, Waste web site, “Polystyrene & Fast Food USA, p. 600. Available online at: Packaging Waste,” http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg3.htm. http://www.cawrecycles.org/issues/polystyrene_ main. 185 The Nebraska and Missouri bills were altered to exempt bioreactors or landfill gas-to-energy from 197 Salt Lake City, Chicago, Charlottesville (VA), and these states’ bans. San Jose (CA) have considered similar bans.

186 Alison Smith et al., DG Environment, Waste 198 See Derek Speirs, “Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Management Options and Climate Change, Plastic Bags,” The International Herald Tribune, European Commission, Final Report February 2, 2008. ED21158R4.1, Luxembourg, 2001, p. 59, available online at: ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/ 199 U.S. EPA, “Table 3: Materials Discarded in the studies/pdf/climate_change.pdf. Municipal Waste Stream, 1960 to 2006,” and “Table 4: Paper and Paperboard Products in MSW, 187 Bogner, Jean, et al, “Mitigation of global 2006,” 2006 MSW Characterization Data Tables. greenhouse gas emissions from waste: conclusions and strategies from the 200 See Forest Ethics, Catalog Campaign web page at Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change http://www.catalogcutdown.org/. (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. Working Group III (Mitigation). Waste Management Research 201 The Environmental Defense Fund, “Paper Task 2008; 26l 11, pp. 3, 22, available online at Force Recommendations for Purchasing and http://wmr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/ Using Environmentally Friendly Paper” (1995), pp. 1/11 66, 80. Available online at http://www.edf.org.

188 See “Sign-On Statement: No Incentives for 202 See City of San Francisco web site, Urban Incineration,” Global Alliance for Incinerator Environmental Accords, at Alternatives/Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance web http://www.sfenvironment.org/our_policies/overvi site at ew.html?ssi=15. Browsed May 1, 2008. http://zerowarming.org/campaign_signon.html. 203 Each coal-fired power plant emits 4.644 189 The Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative is one megatons CO2 eq. In 2005, there were 417 coal- new network of organizations working to bring fired power plants in the U.S. See U.S. EPA’s web sustainable bioproducts to the marketplace. For page on Climate Change at more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy- www.sustainablebiomaterials.org. resources/refs.html#coalplant. Removing 87 plants from the grid in 2030 represents 21% of 190 Bogner, J., M. Abdelrafie Ahmed, C. Diaz, A. Faaij, the coal-fired plants operating in 2005. Q. Gao, S. Hashimoto, K. Mareckova, R. Pipatti, T. Zhang, Waste Management, In Climate Change 204 Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III Natural Capitalism, Little Brown and Company, to the Fourth Assessment Report of the (1999), p. 4; and Worldwide Fund for Nature Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. (Europe), “A third of world’s natural resources Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. consumed since 1970: Report,” Agence-France Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Presse (October 1998). Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Available online at: 205 Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 2008. http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg3.htm Industrial emissions alone represent 26.8%. Truck transportation is another 5.3%. Manure 191 Ibid. management is 0.7% and waste disposal of 2.6% includes landfilling, wastewater treatment, and 192 See Brenda Platt and Neil Seldman, Institute for combustion. Synthetic fertilizers represent 1.4% Local Self-Reliance, Wasting and Recycling in the and include urea production. Figures have not

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been adjusted to 20-year time frame. Based on any enclosed device using a high intensity data presented in the Inventory of U.S. electrical discharge or arc as a source of heat 212 Bogner, J., M. Abdelrafie Ahmed, C. Diaz, A. Faaij, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990- followed by an afterburner using controlled flame Q. Gao, S. Hashimoto, K. Mareckova, R. Pipatti, T. 2005 , U.S. EPA, Washington, DC, April 15, 2007. combustion and which is not listed as an Zhang, W aste Management, In Climate Change Industrial Electricity Consumption is estimated industrial furnace.” See U.S. EPA, Title 40: 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group using Energy Information Administration 2004 Protection of Environment, Hazardous Waste III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the data on electricity sales to customers. See Table Management System: General, subpart B- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. ES-1, Electric Power Annual Summary Statistics definitions, 260.10, current as of February 5, Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. for the United States, released October 22, 2007, 2008. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, and available online at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/ Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, cneaf/electricity/epa/epates.html. 209 Pace, David, “More Blacks Live with Pollution,” USA, p. 600. Available online at: Associated Press (2005), available online at: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg3.htm. 206 See City of San Francisco web site, Urban http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/archive/ Environmental Accords, at pollution/part1.html; and Bullard, Robert D., Paul 213 No Incentives for Incinerators Sign-on Statement, http://www.sfenvironment.org/our_policies/overvi Mohai, Robin Saha, Beverly Wright, Toxic Waste 2007. Available online at ew.html?ssi=15. Browsed May 1, 2008. and Race at 20: 1987-2007 (March 2007). http://www.zerowarming.org/campaign_signon.ht ml. 207 On a 20-year time horizon, N2O has a 289 global 210 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warming potential. On a 100-year time horizon, has revised the global warming potential of its global warming potential is 310. methane compared to carbon dioxide several times. For the 100 year planning horizon, 208 The EPA defines incineration as the following: methane was previously calculated to have 21 “Incinerator means any enclosed device that: (1) times the global warming potential of CO2.In Uses controlled flame combustion and neither 2007, the IPCC revised the figure to 25 times meets the criteria for classification as a boiler, over 100 years and to 72 times over 20 years. sludge dryer, or carbon regeneration unit, nor is See IPCC, “Table 2.14,” p. 212, Forster, P., et al, listed as an industrial furnace; or (2) Meets the 2007: Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and definition of infrared incinerator or plasma arc in Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: incinerator. Infrared incinerator means any The Physical Science Basis. enclosed device that uses electric powered resistance heaters as a source of radiant heat 211 “Beyond Kyoto: Why Climate Policy Needs to followed by an afterburner using controlled flame Adopt the 20-year Impact of Methane,” Eco-Cycle combustion and which is not listed as an Position Memo, Eco-Cycle, www.ecocycle.org, industrial furnace. Plasma arc incinerator means March 2008.

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