Making sustainability a reality: materials, energy and value CALED 2012 John Davis Administrator, Mojave Desert and Mountain Recycling Authority

sustainability Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations. Source US EPA

Sustainable development Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Source United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/

Earth Resource Demand: 1.5 Global Footprint Network

Sustainability approaches Smart Growth & Sustainable Communities Supporting development and conservation strategies that help protect our natural environment and make our communities more attractive, economically stronger, and more socially diverse. Sustainable Water Helping to manage, protect, and restore water resources and ecosystems through sustainable management of natural resources Air, Climate & Energy Working to reduce atmospheric levels of pollution and greenhouse gases, promote green energy, and adapt to a changing climate. Materials Management & Safe Products Promoting the use of cleaner materials and seeking to reduce material waste and chemical contamination. http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/

sustainable Materials Management An approach to using & reusing resources most productively and sustainably throughout their life cycles: minimizing the amount of materials involved, minimizing associated environmental impacts. There are sources of emissions all along the life cycle of materials. And, along with the multiple sources of emissions, there are also multiple opportunities for emissions reduction.   These opportunities fall within what the EPA calls “Sustainable Materials Management”, which is “an approach to using and reusing resources most productively and sustainably throughout their life cycles; minimizing the amount of materials involved and the associated environmental impacts.” West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum 6

WASTE management vs. MATERIALS management Product Lifecycle Disposal Recovery This is a simple chart that shows the lifecycle of a product: resource extraction, processing, manufacturing, distribution, use, and finally recovery or disposal. All materials follow this lifecycle. Traditionally, programs focused on “waste management” at the end of a material’s lifecycle, which is represented by the small circle in this graphic. Waste management could include recycling, burning for energy recovery, composting, and landfill disposal. WASTE management vs. MATERIALS management

Additional Benefits: Economic Growth and Jobs If just half of all available core recyclables and food scraps were recycled and composted, West Coast states could create more than $3 billion in new economic activity Economic Activity Potential from Recycling and Composting California Total $2,570,897,467 Salaries and Wages $508,142,161 Goods and Services $1,383,55,388 Sales $679,199,918 Oregon Total $163,154,381 $32,247,735 $87,803,238 $43,103,408 Washington Total $361,790,555 $71,508,505 $194,701,375 $95,580,675

More jobs: recycling, composting, reuse JOBS/1000 Tons Recycling and Reuse Disposal Processing Manufacturing Reuse Landfilling Incineration MATERIALS Paper & Paperboard 2 4.16 N/A 0.1 Glass 7.85 7.35 Metals Ferrous 4.12 20 Aluminum 17.63 Other Nonferrous Plastics 10.3 Rubber & Leather 9.24 Textiles 2.5 Wood 2.8 Other Other Wastes Food Scraps 0.5 Yard Trimmings Misc. Inorganic Wastes

California’s AB 341 (adopted 2011) 75% recycling, composting and reduction by 2020 Potentially 60,000 new jobs But 80% to 95% of California’s recycled material now leaves the State, especially to the Pacific Rim Opportunity to building sustainable California recycling infrastructure Section 42649. It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by diverting commercial solid waste to recycling efforts and to expand the opportunity for additional recycling services and recycling manufacturing facilities in California.

Build infrastructure now Regulations Financing Markets Sites

Contact me: John Davis recyclingjpa@gmail.com (909) 797-7717