Waste Minimization / Pollution Prevention

The Waste Management Hierarchy

There are a variety of methods to deal with the challenges of hazardous wastes.

The Waste Management Hierarchy

Most
desirable
Reduce waste production at the source.

Recover and reuse wastes on-site (i.e., recycling).

Recycle off-site.

Treatment.

Dispose of wastes in a manner that protects the air,

water quality, land quality, and human health and
safety.

Least
desirable

The waste management hierarchy above shows methods of dealing with hazardous
waste in order of preference. The most preferable option on the hierarchy is to reduce
the amount of waste that is produced in the first place. This approachknown as
source reductionmeans that no one has to deal with the waste at all. This is the
cornerstone of pollution prevention.

Chemical Purchasing

Effective waste minimization begins with effective purchasing decisions. The idea is
to buy only what you need because if you don't buy it, you don't have to get rid of it.

In many laboratories, unused chemicals have not yet made it into the waste stream.
These laboratories have an inventory of unused chemicals left over by former teachers
or researchers. They may be useless (or even unstable) because their shelf life has
expired. Containers may be in poor condition. They may be poorly labeled or
unlabeled. Unused chemicals can present a safety hazard in the lab and are likely to be
difficult and expensive to dispose.
The Myth Of Buying In Bulk

All researchers estimate the quantity of a chemical that they will need before
purchasing that chemical. Problems arise when these estimates are inaccurate. The
simplest way is to estimate the quantity of a chemical that you will need for a single
experiment. That estimate is likely to be more accurate than an estimate of how much
you will need for an entire year. An important fact to consider, however, is that the
cost savings associated with buying in bulk are frequently offset by the costs of
disposing of the unused chemicals.

Other Purchasing Strategies

In addition to buying chemicals in smaller amounts, there are other purchasing

strategies that can reduce the amount of chemical waste generated, such as:

Select a chemical supplier who will support waste minimization efforts and can deliver small
amounts of chemicals on short notice.

Standardize chemical purchases. If all (or most) experiments are designed to use chemicals from
an approved list, then another researcher may be able to use your surplus chemicals.

Consider passing all orders by one person. A laboratory may be able to take advantage of bulk
pricing because the purchaser will be buying for more experiments at once.

Conducting Experiments

Waste minimization in the laboratory doesn't necessarily require major changes in the
way experiments are performed. Some basic efforts to be more efficient and careful
with experimental procedures can substantially reduce the amount of waste generated.

Implement and Develop Resource Efficient Procedures

A starting point for waste minimization is being efficient in your use of resources.

Have students use solvents and other hazardous materials sparingly.

Monitor experimental reactions closely and add additional chemicals only as necessary.

Emphasize water conservation by reducing rinse times where possible.

Be alert for opportunities to save electricity. For example, don't leave equipment running when it's
not being used.
Scale Down Experiments

Reduce scale of experiment (and associated quantities of chemicals) where possible.

Move to microscale chemistry.

Utilize Less Hazardous Chemicals

Use laboratory detergents rather than hazardous cleaning baths (e.g., substitute detergents for
chromic acid solutions).

Use non-halogenated rather than halogenated solvents (e.g., substitute cyclohexane for carbon
tetrachloride).

Use less toxic/hazardous solvents rather than more toxic/hazardous solvents.

Encourage Waste Minimization

Finally, a good way to get students thinking about waste minimization as they run
experiments is to have them actually research waste minimization techniques. You
might think of including an experiment in your curriculum that actually gets the
students to identify ways to minimize use of hazardous chemicals or generation of
hazardous byproducts.

Document Initiator: Kirk Matin

Rev: 4/04

University of California, Irvine Environmental Health & Safety

4600 Bison Avenue, Irvine, CA 92697-2725 (949) 824-6200, Fax (949) 824-8539
Copyright@2003

https://www.ehs.uci.edu/programs/enviro/wasteminimization.html

New Zealand:
Local Authority Solid Waste Reduction Initiatives
Background
Government policy on solid waste reduction since 1989 has relied on
voluntary measure by 'waste generators' at all levels of the economy, and
within this policy framework local authorities have an important role to
play in the way they manage wastes locally. Accordingly, the Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Environment investigated local authority waste
reduction initiatives, focusing on four case studies. This pamphlet
summarises the findings.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Key recommendations have been italicised, and their recipients underlined.

Integrated waste management

Truly integrated waste management requires attention to five key
components. In order of importance these 'five Rs' are: Reduce, Reuse,
Recover, Recycle, and treat and dispose of Residue.

In the past, local authorities have focused almost exclusively on the residue
disposal end of integrated waste management. Emphasis now needs to be
placed on a total waste reduction programme, and some councils are making
positive efforts in this regard.

Local authorities do not question the need to pay for collection and disposal
of refuse, but regard waste reduction initiatives as 'luxuries' which must 'pay
for themselves' even though the market does not presently value the social
and environmental benefits.

Where efforts have been made to reduce waste, both the public and local
authorities tend to focus on post-consumer recycling. Again, this is only one
aspect of integrated waste management.

Waste production by manufacturers must also be reduced at source. The

Minister for the Environmentneeds to continue and enhance the Cleaner
Production programme, ensuring active industry-wide promotion.

Landfill valuation
Replacement landfills are becoming more expensive and harder to find.
Disposal space needs to be treated as a valuable community asset. Valuing a
landfill only by past expenditure does not value the capacity of the landfill
and hence cannot allow for the increased value of that capacity over time.

Local authority calculation of landfill assets is inadequate, making landfill

disposal look artificially cheap and discouraging waste reduction. Until the
true costs and benefits of disposal to landfill are part of the equation, waste
reduction programmes will appear more expensive than disposal.

Local authorities need to include in landfill valuation:

land values;

the value of landfill space;

the cost of managing environmental effects; and

aftercare for closed landfills (including leachate and methane emission

control).

The true value to the community of savings in landfill value capacity is the
replacement cost, not the present cost. Local authorities which are within
the planning horizon (five to seven years) of their next landfill should be
reflecting future costs in their present disposal costs.

The Minister for the Environment needs to develop guidelines for

valuation of landfill assets over time, with particular emphasis on means of
including long-term and environmental costs and benefits.

'Generator pays' incentives

A major restraint on waste reduction is low charges which councils levy for
waste management, particularly landfill charges. Most charges are still
subsidised by rates.

Despite fears to the contrary, increased 'generator pays' landfill and

collection fees have not led to significant increases in illegal tipping.

Local authorities should introduce or improve local 'generator pays' waste

management charges, in consultation with the community, making it very
clear to the public:

what services are paid for;

that waste management costings include all collection,

disposal, recycling and composting services, accurate
valuation of landfill space, anticipation of future landfill
replacement and aftercare costs;

that reduction in waste is directly related to reduction in

charges,

that the community has access to effective waste reduction

measures such as convenient recycling stations and
collections, home composting, and municipal composting
schemes; and,

what social and environmental benefits are expected.

Local authorities need to ensure that all waste management service

contracts actively support waste reduction and do not constrain financial
incentives to maintain or increase the amount of waste taken to landfill.

Markets for recycling

A significant barrier to greater waste reduction is the inadequacy of markets
for recyclables. The market for recyclables does not credit long term and
environmental benefits, and this is one reason why recycling cannot be
made to 'pay for itself'.

Government policy has been to encourage industry to voluntarily impose

'generator pays' measures to pay some of the waste management costs they
impose on the community by their production, packaging and distribution
choices. This policy has had little effect to date.
Until such time as government and industry take more effective action to
influence 'macroeconomic' signals, local authorities and consumers can still
promote demand for reusable and recycled products, find alternative uses for
waste, and lobby industry for better consumer choices.

Local authorities need to purchase recycled materials for council services

to help encourage recycling markets, with particular emphasis on paper,
plastic and lubricating oil. Until larger markets are developed through such
action, this will often represent some additional cost.

Effective waste reduction

A significant reduction (15% to 60%) of waste going to local landfills
cannot be achieved without diversion of waste paper and green wastes. At
the present time markets for paper recycling are limited, but green wastes
can be composted (home composting and larger scale shredder/windrow
operations).

Local authorities need to encourage composting of green wastes and

compare set-up costs (such as shredding machinery or home composting
instruction) against long-term landfill space savings.

The Minister for the Environment needs to urgently develop guidelines

for local authorities on siting and consent conditions for large-scale green
waste composting operations, with particular attention to good management
practice and odour and leachate control.

Local authorities need to measure the effects of their waste reduction

programmes, and publicise the results.

Information and public participation

Local authorities need to better inform the public about costs and expected
benefits of waste disposal and waste reduction programmes, and provide
opportunities for the public to be part of decision-making on waste
management programmes.

Local authorities need to better inform the public about local waste
reduction options and explain matters which are out of a council's control
(for example, national recycling markets, industry choices in packaging).

Legislation
Under existing legislation councils have adequate mandate and powers to
encourage waste reduction initiatives at all stages of the waste hierarchy in
their communities. However, for the sake of clarity the Local Government
Act 1974 needs to be updated.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, in consultation with the Minister for

the Environment, needs to update the Local Government Act 1974 to
explicitly refer to the 'five Rs' of integrated waste management.

Source:
Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment,
PO Box 10-241, Wellington, New Zealand
Email: pce@pce.govt.nz

https://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/swm-logov.html

Environment > Air Pollution

One of Earth's most important natural resources is its atmosphere. The

atmosphere contains air without which plants and animals could not survive.
It contains greenhouse gases which keep the planet naturally warmer than it
would be otherwise, maintaining an average global temperature above
freezing that allows water to exist in its liquid state, a necessary condition for
most life. If mankind is to protect and preserve this unique natural resource
for future generations as well as other ecosystems, it must continue to
address the problem of air pollution which affects the atmosphere from the
local to the global scale.

Air Pollution and concern about air quality are not new. Complaints were
recorded in the 13th century when coal was first used in London. Since the
middle of the 19th century, the atmosphere of the major British cities was
regularly polluted by coal smoke in winter, giving rise to an infamous mixture
of fog and smoke known as smog.

In the 1970s the transboundary effects of industrial air pollution become

known as acid rain. Acid rain is a widespread term used to describe all forms
of acid precipitation such as rain and snow. Atmospheric pollutants,
particularly oxides of sulphur and nitrogen react with water in the atmosphere
to form sulphuric and nitric acid, causing precipitation to become more acidic
when converted to sulphuric and nitric acids, hence the term acid rain. Acid
deposition, acid rain and acid precipitation all relate to the chemistry of air
pollution and moisture in the atmosphere. Scientists generally use the term
acid deposition but all three terms relate to the same issue.

Acid rain is particularly harmful to vegetation as the acid in the rain changes
the pH of the soil and leeches away important minerals. The amount of acid
rain that an ecosystem can tolerate is known as its critical load. After the
sulphuric and nitric acids have formed in the atmosphere, they can travel long
distances with the wind before being deposited. In fact, much of the acid rain
found in Scandinavia originated from the UK. In response to these problems,
a number of agreements, including the Convention on Long-Range
Transboundary Air Pollution (Geneva, 1979), have set out to reduce acid rain.

Although acid rain remains an international concern, poor air quality in cities
is now considered to be a more pressing environmental problem. Today poor
air quality can be mainly attributed to the production and consumption of
energy, industrial processes and road transport. The main pollutants
associated with poor air quality are sulphur dioxide (SO 2), nitrogen oxides
(NOx), particulates (PM10), and volatile organic compound (VOCs). These
pollutants can lead to respiratory problems, particularly amongst the young
and elderly.

Transport in particular is becoming an increasing source of air pollution. The

transport related problems experienced now are likely to worsen according to
the projected increase in traffic. Individually, a vehicle engine is not a
particularly important source of pollution. Collectively however, vehicles
represent a major source of air pollution in the UK and throughout the world.
The best way to reduce the threat of air pollution is to use cleaner fuel and
less of it, and to adopt more sustainable modes of transport like public
transport, walking and cycling.
The UK Government has recognised the problems that air pollution causes for
the environment and for society and in 1997 published the first National Air
Quality Strategy, setting air quality standards for today and making
commitments to achieve new air quality objectives by 2005.

http://www.sustainable-environment.org.uk/Environment/Air_Pollution.php

The Municipal Solid

Waste Initiative
Reducing Short Lived
Climate Pollutants
http://newsroom.unfccc.int/lpaa/cities-subnationals/mitigating-
slcps-from-the-municipal-solid-waste-sector/
Website: http://new.ccacoalition.org/en/initiatives/waste

Contact: Tiy.Chung@unep.org
About

Landfills are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane

(CH4) emissions, accounting for approximately 11% of

estimated global methane emissions. The sector is responsible

for both near and long -term climate impacts and creates

serious air pollution in cities, affecting human health.

Population growth, urbanisation and changing consumption

patterns, means the amount of municipal solid waste will

nearly double worldwide by 2025[1], increasing pressure on

cities to manage this growing economic, environmental, and

social challenge. Reducing Short Lived Climate Pollutants

(SLCPs) through well-managed waste systems will contribute

to overall efforts to mitigate climate change and could have

significant health, environmental, and economic co-benefits,

including improved quality of life for local communities.

Objectives

The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Initiatives goal is to enable

cities to develop robust waste management systems to

achieve real and immediate SLCP reductions and other

development benefits. The initiative provides a comprehensive

package of resources and technical capacity building to

facilitate the design and implementation of locally appropriate

actions. Through a unique city mentoring programme the

initiative helps cities access resources that improve their waste

management practices and reduce SLCP emissions.

There are two different roles that cities play when joining the

Initiative:

Participating cities gain access to resources to improve

their waste management practices and reduce SLCP

emissions.

Mentor cities that are already advanced in waste

management exchange information about improving

practices and reducing SLCP emissions.

By bringing together technical experts and policy-makers at all

levels, the Initiative aims to help 1000 cities develop robust

waste management systems by 2020. Success for the initiative

would mean cities and national governments are able to track

their emissions reductions in a standardized way, can self-fund

or obtain sustainable financing for capital projects that reduce

and prevent emissions, and scale up actions beyond target

cities, ideally fostering north-south and south-south

cooperation.

Current city parings include: Via del Mar, Chile with

Stockholm, Sweden; Cali, Colombia with San Diego, USA;

Cebu City, Philippines with Kitakyushu City, Japan; and Sao

Paolo, Brazil with Copenhagen, Denmark.

What is CCAC doing?

The Initiative supports cities in their efforts to transform the

waste sector and move up the waste hierarchy by capturing

the material and energy value inherent in their waste (through

recycling, composting, digestion, etc.) and implementing

solutions that generate economic, financial, social and climate

benefits.

Specific actions comprise:

preventing and/or reducing waste generation,

strengthening policy planning and scaling up individual city

action to the national level,

banning open burning and open dumping,

 diverting organics from landfills,

optimising waste collection routes and transportation of

waste,

recovering methane from landfills for energy production

before they are emitted.

The MSW Initiative offers the following types of assistance:

Training and capacity building for city officials and waste

management staff;

Direct technical assistance to develop waste management

assessments and feasibility studies, and MSW master plans;

Support in identifying and promoting financing for waste

projects;

Information exchange and networking that encourages

peer-to-peer learning and enables cities to share best

practices and success stories.

Progress highlights

The Waste Initiative is undertaking city baseline assessments

of the waste situation in 6 additional cities and work plans for

additional 4, bringing the total number of city assessments

supported to 30 and work plans for 16.

An Emissions Quantification Tool that enables cities to identify

suitable alternative solutions and define climate friendly waste

management systems has been launched.

A results-based funding mechanism for one pilot city was

tested in Penang/Malaysia where households were incentivised

to separate solid waste at source in order to maximise the

quality and quantity of the source-separated recyclables and

organic waste. It is now being adopted more widely.

[1] Source: World Bank

Photo credit: Bill McChesney (Flickr)

Initiatives for Source Separation and Urban Organic

Waste Reuse

The examples of actions for waste reduction noted here are not presented as
success stories or "best practices," - these non-commercial examples are
mostly very small-scale and dependent on international funds and volunteer
work. They do, however, illustrate attempts to link waste reduction to:
public-private partnerships, enterprise development, income generation,
improved status of waste workers, consumer awareness and child education.
The principles embodied in these efforts hold promise for local action for
the reduction of solid wastes.
Most initiatives involve the separation and sale of common household
materials, since these activities are usually "win-win" ones: householders
make extra cash and waste traders get their raw materials, while
employment is generated and quantities of solid wastes to be collected by
the city authorities are reduced. Relatively little has been done to tackle the
contamination of urban organic wastes, or to enable and improve customary
reuse of decomposed wastes.

NGO-organized neighbourhood collection systems based on source

separation, sometimes including decentralized composting or vermi-
composting.
These are largely projects of NGOs and community groups,
often receiving some international assistance or advice. In the
case of the Clean-Green Project in Metro Manila, households
are asked to separate dry reusables and recyclables and sell
these to registered and supervised buyers working for waste
traders (Comacho 1994; Lapid 1997). This represents a revival
of declining practices of sale from households.

In India, where the sale of superior materials is still extensive,

some source separation projects aim to for wet-dry separation.
Householders are given plastic bags or containers free or at
low cost. Door-to-door collection is organized. Householders
are asked to pay a small fee for this service. Street people or
other unemployed persons are engaged for the collection, and
given the right to sell the dry wastes. Bangalore has several
groups working in this way: Clean Environs, Waste Wise
(Mythri Foundation) and the Centre for Environmental
Education. The Bangalore City Corporation has cooperated in
allocating space in local parks for composting and vermi-
composting. (Furedy 1992a, Shah and Sambaraju 1997). NGO
projects for primary collection are in some cases encouraging
source separation, for instance, some of the Civic Exnora
groups in Madras and Ahmedabad, Rotary clubs in Bombay
(Coad 1997; Ramkumar 1998).

The numerous projects in India have inspired NGOs in places

like Kathmandu. The Women's Environment Preservation
Committee (WEPCO) in Lalitpur has waste reduction as its
main objective. The group has obtained support from
DANIDO for a pilot project on source separation and
composting (Rajbhandari 1997: 115-16). It is already servicing
500 households with primary collection. Another NGO, Unnati
Adhar Kendra, collects wastes from 200 households; the
 sweepers sort out the recyclables and sell them to waste traders
and the organic waste is composted. The organization sells
1200-1500 kg of compost monthly (Rajbhandari 1997: 89).
This is not exactly separation at source; it is, rather, "sorting
near to source."

Private or municipal compost making at or near dump sites

The Cau Dien plant, a government operation, is still
functioning in Hanoi, although only at about 50% capacity
(Gregoire 1996). The Karnataka Compost Development
Corporation operates the only plant still functioning (in an
adapted low-tech manner) in India of those built in the mid-
1970s. It obtains MSW free by an agreement with the
Bangalore City Corporation. There are problems of quality
control and marketing, but the business makes a profit and sells
compost in three south Indian states. Some vermi-composting
is done to produce compost for sale in florists. Two more
plants are planned for the Bangalore urban area. A private
company in Bangalore --Terra Firma Biotechnics - is
successfully marketing vermi-compost (Shah and Sambaraju
1997).

A frequently-cited example of an expanding private enterprise

is Excel Industries, now operating in several Indian cities. The
company has processed compost from MSW obtained from
dump sites without charge, by arrangement with municipal
corporations in several cities. The company, which produces
fertilizer has good marketing expertise (Coad 1997, Selvam
1997).

Assistance to waste dealers and recycling industries to access more

recyclables (NGO-organized, with some government support)
Leonarda Comacho of the Metro Manila Council for the
Women's Balikatan Movement (MMWBM) began working
with waste traders in San Juan, Metro Manila in the 1980s. The
traders (called junk shops) were assisted to form co-operatives
and thus access business loans. MMWBM guided the traders in
registering their buyers with the police, equipping them with
uniforms as 'eco-aides,' and undertook neighbourhood
awareness drives to link the traders with nearby sources of
materials. International recognition of this initiative led to
government support, initially from the President's Office. The
Dept. of Trade and Industry and Dept. of Social Welfare and
Development are preparing soft loans and livelihood assistance
 packages to enhance employment opportunities for eco-aides
(Furedy 1990; Lapid 1997).

The Centre for Advanced Philippine Studies (CAPS), a

consulting firm, created the Waste Management Resource and
Information Centre in Manila in 1992. It has developed a
computerized data base of waste dealers, recyclers, resource
persons and agencies. This systematic information has allowed
dealers and manufacturers to link up for optimal trading. The
data base is also serves educational campaigns (Lapid 1997).

Corporate sector support to source separation initiatives [Bangalore,

Ahmedabad, State Bank of India]
The growing interest of corporations in sponsoring
environmental improvement is providing funds to NGOs
running source separation and primary collection schemes. In
Bangalore, Bombay (Mumbai)and Ahmedabad, branches of
national banks such as the State Bank of India, have provided
collection carts and other equipment to projects of Centre for
Environmental Education, Waste Wise and Civic Exnora
(Furedy 1992a; Coad 1997: G-2.4-2.5; Civic Exnora 1998).

In Java, the Indonesia Plastics Recycling Association

(AIDUPI), formed in 1993, represents itself as "a forum for the
plastics recycling industry and government to come together
and develop joint strategies to deal with the social and
environmental issues caused by plastic waste in Indonesia"
(Listyawan 1997, p. 102). The organization is pressing for the
coding of plastics, the separation of plastic wastes by
generators, and has proposed to assist wastepicker co-
operatives in collecting separated materials from households.

Low-tech sorting plants drawing on neighbourhoods practising source

separation
Western-model sorting plants have not been successful in most
cities, but there are now attempts to operate plants with more
manual sorting and obtaining waste from neighbourhoods
where householders co-operate in more thorough separation of
dry and wet wastes. One such experiment is in Santa Maria,
Philippines (Lardinois 1997).
School separation and composting programs for public education
Many schools hold drives to gather recyclables to raise money
for school programs. Where these are combined with education
on waste problems, there is a potential for lasting impact at the
 household level. Composting of organics generated in schools,
especially residential schools, is often combined with
education. Examples are the Good Shepherd Convent and
Miriam College in Manila (Lapid 1997). Malaysian city
councils are encouraging Parents and Teachers Associations to
form school "recycling societies" (Noor 1997).
Municipal source separation programs in more developed cities
Apart from Japan and Korea, which I count as northern with
respect to urban waste management, the only country where
several local authorities have instituted source separation and
collection programs is Malaysia. The record of successful
extension of pilot projects is uneven, but Taiping Municipal
Council has 10,000 households participating in separating
glass, paper and metals since 1993 and Petaling Jaya has done
extensive research and pilot work for an ambitious programme
which includes school clubs organized by Parents and Teachers
Associations, and separate collection by private contractors
appointed by the municipal council (Noor 1997).
Institutional research and promotion of waste reduction, source
separation and recycling
The Thai Packing Centre of the Thai Institute of Science and
Technology Research is doing research on plastics to facilitate
recycling, specifically on classification and coding systems.
The Institute has produced numerous posters promoting
separation and sale of household materials (Muttamara 1997,
p. 47).
NGO-based public campaigns for awareness of waste problems (with
assistance from aid programs, local government, corporate sector)
The Magic Eyes campaign of the Thai Environment and
Community Development Association in Bangkok has been
very active in school programs related to recycling awareness
(World Media Foundation 1996). It has influenced the
Bangkok Metropolitan Authority to promote recycling. The
TECD approach of extensive corporate sponsorship has been
adopted by environmental campaigns in some Latin American
cities.

The Green Forum Philippines is advocating "back-to-the-

bayong," bayong being the traditional shopping basket, to
minimize the consumption of plastic shopping bags.

Source: "SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND MUNICIPAL SOLID

WASTE REDUCTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OF ASIA" by
CHRISTINE FUREDY York University, Canada
https://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/initiatives.html

South Carolina Department of Health and

Environmental Control (DHEC) SC

The Recycle Guys encourage everyone to recycle according to the

South Carolina DHEC, which developed the Recycle Guys in 1992, to
promote recycling in South Carolina and nationwide. In 2004, DHEC
recycled more than 541,100 pounds of recyclablesan increase of more
than 80 percent per employee since 2001.

As a WasteWise Endorser, DHEC recruits other organizations to join

WasteWise, offers educational workshops, and provides technical
assistance through its Business Recycling Assistance Program (B-RAP), a
partnership created to promote waste reduction, recycling, recycling
market development, and buying recycled to businesses and industry
statewide. In 2003, South Carolina became the first state to join the
WasteWise States Campaign. DHEC also played an instrumental role in
developing the South Carolina Resource Conservation Challenge to
encourage taxpayer-supported organizations to conserve natural
resources, protect the environment, and save money. Winner of seven
awards since joining WasteWise in 2000, DHEC excels as both a Partner
and an Endorser.

A dual award recipient, the South Carolina DHEC works to educate and
involve its 5,309 employees in waste reduction, and carries the message
beyond its offices to other organizations across the state. DHECs Office of
Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling promotes its efforts in various
publications, including DHECs electronic employee newsletter.
Additionally, it posts the departments WasteWise goals and waste
prevention policies on the Intranet and in copy rooms throughout its
offices. One unique waste prevention activity involved encouraging
employees to bring reusable utensils to its 2003 holiday luncheon and
rewarding those who did with the gift of a reusable travel mug. In
addition, DHEC employees created a throw rug from old T-shirts they
brought into the office.

The winner of the Endorser of the Year award, DHEC spreads the waste
reduction message beyond its walls through its Business Recycling
Assistance Program (B-RAP), a technical assistance partnership that
promotes waste prevention, recycling, environmentally preferable
purchasing, and recycling market development to South Carolina
organizations. As organizations contact B-RAP for technical assistance,
DHEC encourages them to consider becoming WasteWise Partners,
providing them with WasteWise information packets, explaining the
program, and assisting them with the application process. In fact, DHEC
collaborates closely with EPA through the WasteWise States Campaign to
create synergies between federal and state waste reduction outreach.
Additionally, DHEC supported the creation of the South Carolina Resource
Conservation Challenge (SCRCC)modeled after EPAs Resource
Conservation Challengeto help organizations save money by reducing
waste and energy. To launch the initiative, DHEC and other SCRCC
sponsors held a kickoff workshop on energy and waste reduction
strategies attended by 130 people.

It is exciting to encounter an institution as committed to practicing what it

preaches as the South Carolina DHEC. As a WasteWise Partner and
Endorser, the department implements many waste reduction activities
internally as a backdrop to a cadre of outreach activities, workshops, and
presentations. In 2002, DHEC incorporated WasteWise into its Business
Recycling Assistance Program, hosted a WasteWise satellite forum,
recycled 331 tons of materials, and purchased 26 percent of total supplies
and materials with recycled content.

The sign of a well-integrated organization, South Carolina DHEC truly

leads by example. As both a WasteWise Partner and Endorser, SC DHEC
maintains an extensive internal waste reduction program while promoting
WasteWise to organizations across South Carolina. SC DHEC staff
regularly conduct on-site visits and use the opportunity to encourage
organizations to consider joining WasteWise. Additionally, the agency
mailed WasteWise information to recycling coordinators in cities, counties,
and universities across the state, and included an article in its quarterly
magazine highlighting its collaboration with WasteWise. To reach an even
larger audience, the agency developed a WasteWise display that it brings
to trade shows and a WasteWise page on its Web site that includes the
WasteWise logo and information on the benefits of joining WasteWise, the
services offered by the program, and the necessary steps to begin
implementing the program.
While the South Carolina DHEC reduced its own waste and received
recognition for these efforts as a state government Program Champion, it
also focused on helping others reduce waste. DHEC incorporated
WasteWise into South Carolinas newly-formed technical assistance
partnership, the Business Recycling Assistance Program, and linked its
Web site to the WasteWise site. When talking with local businesses, DHEC
often suggests the benefits of becoming a WasteWise Partner. The
department celebrated America Recycles Day and Earth Day and
promoted the ideas of reducing waste and buying recycled at various
conferences and training sessions throughout the past year, as well as
within its own offices at employee meetings. Various publications
distributed throughout South Carolina, such as the DHEC newsletter,
Options newsletter, and the SouthCarolina Recycles magazine, help DHEC
inspire further waste reduction. DHEC continued excellence with the
award-winning Recycle Guys public awareness campaign and Action for
a Cleaner Tomorrow, an interdisciplinary curriculum supplement for
elementary and high school students.

The South Carolina DHEC has reduced waste so effectively it is paying the
same tipping fees today that it did in 1993! This escape from inflation
results from the states efforts to continuously increase levels of both
waste prevention and recycling collection. DHEC avoids a great deal of
waste through reductions in paper use. The organization stresses the
importance of double-sided printing within the office and has switched to
e-mail for routine communication. DHEC no longer prints important
information, such as phone numbers and directories, instead including it
on the agencys Intranet.

DHEC also achieved success in its recycling and green purchasing efforts.
The department recycled 150 tons of colored paper in 2001 and 34 tons of
other paper products, along with large quantities of plastic, aluminum,
glass, wood, and computers. DHEC purchased $800,000 worth of products
made from recycled material in 2001. It also requested that its vendors
use less packaging for office supplies and established a buy-recycled
policy that gives a 7.5 percent price preference to recycled-content
materials.

https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/smm/wastewise/web/html/state.html
Reduce or Waste
Reduction
Waste reduction is first in the hierarchy of waste

management and focuses on the prevention of solid

waste generation through changes in products,

packaging and purchasing. Waste reduction is the

design, manufacture, purchase or use of materials to

reduce the volume or toxicity before they enter the

waste stream. (Also known as source reduction.)

New York State's First Solid Waste Management

Priority

The reduction of solid waste in New York State is first

in the order of preference in the management of solid

waste under the State Solid Waste Management

Policy established in New York State's Environmental

Conservation Law. Recent DEC waste reduction

efforts have focused on the following general areas:

 promotion and recognition of voluntary initiatives;

conducting an educational outreach program; and

working regionally for toxicity and volume reduction

of packaging.

Public Education and Technical Assistance

Some ongoing DEC program efforts, which have led to

the reduction of solid waste being produced and have

contributed toward waste reduction goals, are:

providing technical assistance on waste reduction

opportunities;

requiring all local planning units to include waste

reduction initiatives in their local programs and

detailing them in their comprehensive recycling

analyses and local solid waste management plans;

encouraging municipalities to adopt quantity-based

user fee disposal (pay per bag or pay per pound)

programs which encourage individuals to dispose of

less waste;

preparing and distributing educational publications

on waste reduction opportunities and initiatives;

and
 educating local officials and the public at

workshops, conferences, meetings and

presentations as to the steps they can take to

prevent waste.

Waste Reduction Educational Materials

Some of the DEC waste reduction educational

materials available are:

Variable Rate Pricing - A Practical Guide for Local

Decision Makers: A workbook designed to assist

local officials, administrators, solid waste

managers and coordinators, recyclers and others

concerned about the management of municipal

solid waste in evaluating, planning and

implementing variable rate pricing

Let's Precycle: A pamphlet for the general public on

waste reduction.

Waste Reduction at the Supermarket: A tipstrip for

consumers on shopping with waste prevention in

mind, developed through our grocery store waste

prevention program.
 Waste Reduction at New York State Supermarkets --

A Resource Guide for Store Managers and Others:

An idea, reference and contact guide book for

supermarket employees to reduce waste at their

business.

Organic Waste Composting as a Waste Reduction

Measure

Composting of organic waste can be an effective

waste reduction measure to prevent organic

materials from entering the waste stream. Yard

waste, and some food wastes, provide some of the

greatest waste reduction opportunities for residents

through backyard composting, as well as leaving

grass clippings on the lawn, or using leaves and grass

clippings for mulch.

According to the USEPA report, Characterization of

Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1996

Update, these materials represent over 20% of the

waste stream. In addition to reducing waste, grass

clippings left on the lawn return nutrients to the soil.

According to the Cornell University Waste

Management Institute, every garbage bag of grass

clippings contains up to one-quarter of a pound of

organic nitrogen enrichment for a lawn.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8502.html

Recycling and Composting

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and
Composting also including
Product Stewardship

At home, work and school, New Yorkers generate a lot

of trash - and it's a mixed bag. We are making too

much trash - over 4.5 pounds per person per day in

NYS! We need to get out of the habit of throwing trash

into one receptacle with cans, bottles, paper,

garbage, banana peels, etc., all mixed together. Many

of the items we are throwing away can be reused,

recycled or composted, such as paper, glass,

aluminum, metals as well as potato and carrot peels.

New York has approximately 30 landfills accepting

approximately 6 million tons per year waste from

across the entire state. We also send 2.5 million tons

to Waste-To-Energy (WTE) facilities and export 6.1

million tons to neighboring states, in 2008.

What Should We Really Do With Our Trash? For

starters... Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost! As

much as possible

It is just a matter of learning new habits. Reduction,

reuse, recycling and composting our trash will benefit

all of us, our communities and our environment.

Besides, it is the law!!!!!!

Solid Waste Management Act of 1988

In the Solid Waste Management Act of 1988, the

Legislature established our State Solid Waste

Management Policy. The following are the solid waste

management priorities in New York State:

(a) first, to reduce the amount of solid waste

generated;

(b) second, to reuse material for the purpose for

which it was originally intended or to recycle material

that cannot be reused;

(c) third, to recover, in an environmentally acceptable

manner, energy from solid waste that can not be

economically and technically reused or recycled; and

(d) fourth, to dispose of solid waste that is not being

reused, recycled or from which energy is not being

recovered, by land burial or other methods approved

by the department (from New York State

Environmental Conservation Law 27-0106.1).

Waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting has

great benefits including:

energy savings;

pollution reduction

reducing the ultimate volume of waste requiring

disposal in landfills and WTE facilities;

fostering an environmental ethic among citizens;

increased carbon sequestration; and

conservation of natural resources.

Product Stewardship, is a new policy program now

available to states and localities to further reduce our

trash and costs related to its management. Product

Stewardship, also known as extended producer

responsibility, extends the role and responsibility of

the manufacturer (also known the producer or brand

owner) of a product or package to cover the entire life

cycle, including ultimate disposition of that product

or package at the end of its useful life.

Product Stewardship has many benefits including

saving to local government. Financial benefits take

two forms: direct cost savings and no-cost expanded

service.

The Empire State Development (ESD) serves as the

repository for recycling market information for the

State. They maintain an interactive, on-line database

to help users locate outlets for materials that can be

reused, recycled or composted. The database also

provides exposure to recycling and reuse businesses

and helps end markets for recovered materials in and

around New York State access the raw materials they

need for production. Link to database is located on

the right under offsite links.

More about Recycling and

Composting:
Buy Recycled! - When you buy recycled, you help

Close the Recycling Loop.

Composting and Organic Materials Management -

Organic materials come from living plants and

animals and are best managed as a resource rather

than a waste. From animal manure and crop residue,

to leaves and grass, to the uneaten food generated

daily in cafeterias, restaurants and homes, to food

processing waste, organic materials are a part of

life.

Electronic Waste Recycling - The NYS Electronic

Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act was signed into

law on May 28, 2010. The law will ensure that every

New Yorker will have the opportunity to recycle their

electronic waste in an environmentally responsible

manner. The following page provides detailed

information about the Law, as well as the

responsibilities of those affected by the Law.

Lead-Acid Batteries - The improper disposal of lead

acid batteries is a direct threat to the health and

safety of the citizens of this state.

Lead Wheel Weights - A new law was passed which

established the prohibition of both the sale and use

of wheel weights containing lead in New York State.

Local Material Exchanges - A list of organizations

which may want your possessions. All items should

be in working order and in resalable conditions.

Local Recycling Coordinator & DEC Recycling

Contacts - List of local recycling coordinators and

Statewide recycling organizations.

Materials Exchanges - Materials exchanges facilitate

the exchange of materials or wastes from one party,

which has no use for that material, to another party

that views the materials as a valuable commodity.

New York's Bottle Bill - Also known as the

Returnable Container Act

NYS Plastic Bag and Film Plastic Reduction - It is a

new statewide law that requires certain retail and

grocery stores to set up a recycling program for

customers to return plastic bags for recycling.

Other Recyclables - Information on how to recycle

more items such as cell phones and batteries.

Product Stewardship - Product Stewardship, also

known as extended producer responsibility (EPR),

extends the role and responsibility of a manufacturer

(also known as the producer or brand owner) of a

product or package to cover the entire life cycle of

the product.

Rechargeable Battery Recycling - The NYS

Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act was signed into

law on December 10, 2010 and requires

manufacturers of covered rechargeable batteries to

collect and recycle the batteries statewide in a

manufacturer-funded program at no cost to

consumers.

Recycling for Businesses - Information on how

businesses can help the environment and save

money.

Recycling Outreach and Education - Recycling and

composting public outreach and education.

Reduce or Waste Reduction - Focus on the

prevention of solid waste generation through

 changes in products, packaging and purchasing.

Reuse and Recycling - Reuse and recycling of solid

waste is second in the order of preference in

managing waste materials under our State Solid

Waste Management Policy.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/294.html
Reduce Solid Waste Source: EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/osw/wycd/catbook/the12.htm
When evaluating the types of strategies to incorporate in order to reduce the amount solid waste
disposed of; the major waste reduction strategies are source reduction, reuse, recycling, and
composting. Source reduction involves businesses designing and manufacturing products to
reduce waste and toxicity of their products. Source reduction is practiced when individuals &
businesses deliberately purchase or use materials (such as products and packaging) in ways that
reduce the volume of trash created and/or to reduce the toxicity of trash created. A products
packaging serves many purposes. Its primary purpose is to protect and contain a product. It also
can prevent tampering, provide information, and preserve hygienic integrity and freshness. Some
packaging, however, is designed largely to enhance a product's attractiveness or prominence on
the store shelf. Since packaging materials account for a large volume of the trash we generate,
they provide a good opportunity for reducing waste. In addition, keep in mind that as the amount
of product in a container increases, the packaging waste per serving or use usually decreases.
Reducing Product Packaging: Source: EPA website When choosing between two similar products,
select the one with the least unnecessary packaging. Remember that wrenches, screwdrivers,
nails, and other hardware are often available in loose( bins. At the grocery, consider whether it is
necessary to purchase items such as tomatoes, garlic, and mushrooms in prepackaged containers
when they can be bought unpackaged. When appropriate, use products you already have on hand
to do household chores Using these( products can save on the packaging associated with
additional products. Recognize and support store managers when they stock products with no
packaging or reduced( packaging. Let clerks know when it's not necessary to double wrap a
purchase. Consider large or economy-sized items for household products that are used frequently,
such as( laundry soap, shampoo, baking soda, pet foods, and cat litter. These sizes usually have
less packaging per unit of product. For food items, choose the largest size that can be used before
spoiling. Consider whether concentrated products are appropriate for your needs. They often
require less( packaging and less energy to transport to the store, saving money as well as natural
resources. Whenever possible, select grocery, hardware, and household items that is available in
bulk. Bulk( merchandise also may be shared with friends or neighbors. It is important to choose
food services that are appropriate to your needs. One alternative to single( food services is to
choose the next largest serving and store any leftovers in a reusable container. Reducing Product
Waste Toxicity: Source: EPA website In addition to reducing the amount of materials in the solid
waste stream, reducing waste toxicity is another important component of source reduction. Some
jobs around the home may require the use of products containing hazardous components.
Nevertheless, toxicity reduction can be achieved by following some simple guidelines. Take
actions that use nonhazardous or less hazardous components to accomplish the task at hand.
( Instead of using pesticides, for example, plant marigolds in your garden to ward off certain pests.
In some cases, you may be using less toxic chemicals to do a job, and in others, you may use some
physical method, such as sandpaper, scouring pads, or just a little more elbow grease, to achieve
the same results. Learn about alternatives to household items containing hazardous substances. In
some cases,( products that you have around the house can be used to do the same job as products
with hazardous components. Source Reduction Alternatives Around the Home, If you do need to
use products with hazardous components, use only the amounts needed.( Leftover materials can be
shared with neighbors or donated to a business, charity, or government agency, or, in the case of
used motor oil, recycled at a participating service station. Never put leftover products with
hazardous components in food or beverage containers. For products containing hazardous
components, read and follow all directions on product labels.( Make sure the containers are always
labeled properly and stored safely away from children and pets. When you are finished with
containers that are partially full, follow local community policy on household hazardous waste
disposal. If at any time you have any questions about potentially hazardous ingredients in products
and their impacts on human health, do not hesitate to call your local poison control center.
Reducing Paper Consumption: Elect to opt out of junk mail, yellow pages, magazines, etc.( 1.
https://www.catalogchoice.org/?gclid=CPCu9rb-h6cCFUS5Kgod6zajfA 2.
http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/homepage 3. https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t Pay
bills on-line and receive your monthly statements on-line.( Print drafts on blank used paper or
better yet develop work from your computer only.( Print and make copies on front and back of
paper.( Reduce font sizes and expand margins to decrease volume of documents.( Store files
electronically and not a paper copy.( Communicate through voice or by electronic methods.
( Reducing Tree, Yard and Food Waste: Consider composting yard waste and food waste.
( http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/composting/index.htm Practice grass-cycling which leaves
grass clippings on our yards.( http://www.kansasgreenyards.org/p.aspx?tabid=32 Consider
mulching your tree limbs.(
http://www.wycokck.org/uploadedFiles/Departments/NRC/Documents/Reduce%20Solid
%20Waste%20web%20page.pdf
Regional Coordination

Tribes Continue to Work to Improve Waste

Management Practices after Major Solid and
Hazardous Waste Clean-Ups

Abandoned vehicles and scattered debris at Tully Creek. (Photo courtesy of CIWMB, 2008)

U.S. EPA Region 9 recently awarded $86,350 in Resource Conservation Fund

(RCF) grants to the Yurok and Karuk Tribes in Northern California. The Tribes

will use the grant funds to increase material reuse and recycling, and

improve solid waste management practices on their lands.

These awards follow large, multi-organization, solid and hazardous waste

clean-up efforts that included the Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk Tribes, California

Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), U.S. EPA, Indian Health

Services (IHS), United Indian Health Services (UIHS), California Rural Indian

Health Board (CRIHB) and Humboldt Waste Management Authority.

Efforts to clean up major illegal dumps in the region gained significant

momentum in August 2008, when the CIWMB approved $800,000 in funding

to clean up three large illegal dump sites on the Yurok Reservation. The

dumps posed significant threats to residents of the Yurok Reservation, other

Humboldt County citizens and to the Klamath River. The CIWMB approved the

project based on commitments from the Yurok Tribe, U.S. EPA and IHS to
commit staff time to the project. IHS also contributed an additional $30,000

to fund associated educational outreach efforts and training of a tribal

workforce for the project.

Clean-up activities are delayed until late September when the spotted owl breeding
cycle ends. The northern spotted owl was listed as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act in 1990. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, 2009)

In September 2008, 18 Yurok members were HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste

Operations and Emergency Response) certified to work on sites with

hazardous materials. Phase 1 of the dump clean-ups began in October 2008.

The sites first addressed were at the end of Tully Creek Road and near Roach

Creek within the Klamath Watershed. Challenging terrain required the use of

heavy equipment including a Sikorsky helicopter to remove illegally dumped

waste from the steep Klamath River gorge.

Over 200 tons of solid and hazardous waste were removed from Tully and

Roach Creeks, including tires, appliances, batteries, flammable and toxic

solids, and electronic wastes.

During the spring of 2009, a northern spotted owl pair was discovered

nesting within 500 feet of the Johnsons Road illegal dump, the site where

the Phase 2 dump clean-ups are scheduled. The clean-up has been delayed

until September 2009, after the spotted owl nesting season ends. The

Johnsons Road Dump threatens Mettah Creek. This creek flows directly into
the Klamath River which is a federally designated wild and scenic river and

is critical to salmon habitat.

Debris bins were brought in to collect the waste for the helicopter to airlift-out.
(Roach Creek, Photo courtesy of CIWMB, 2008)

While waiting to begin the second phase of the dump cleanups, the Yurok

Tribe and CIWMB teamed with the Hoopa and Karuk Tribes, U.S. EPA, IHS and

Humboldt Waste Management Authority to plan and implement several

ancillary projects. In June 2009, the three Tribes coordinated efforts to

remove abandoned vehicles from their respective lands. As a result, over 400

vehicles were removed from the Klamath River Watershed. The three Tribes

are also planning concurrent household hazardous waste collection events in

October 2009. Those projects will be supported through funds provided by

the Humboldt Waste Management Authority and U.S. EPA, along with staff

support from IHS.

As these clean-up efforts in the region continue, UIHS and CRIHB will assist

in coordinating educational and outreach efforts. Residents of the area will

be informed of the human health and environmental dangers of illegal

dumping as well as safer ways to dispose of and manage their solid waste.

The Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk Tribes have worked for over a decade to

address their solid waste issues. Whether working on their own or

collaborating with each other, they have been able to acquire funds and

services from federal, state, county and Native American organizations. Their

efforts over the past few years have significantly reduced the human health

and environmental threats caused by illegal dumping of solid and hazardous

wastes along the Klamath and Trinity Rivers.

The latest U.S. EPA Region 9 Resource Conservation Fund grants awarded to

the Yurok and Karuk Tribes will compliment their recent solid and hazardous

waste removal projects by supporting these Tribes efforts to reduce illegal

dumping, improve solid and hazardous waste management practices and

move these communities back toward sustainable waste management

practices.

https://www3.epa.gov/region9/waste/features/yurok-karuk/index.html