The Energy & Climate Benefits of the 3 R’s The Energy & Climate Benefits of the 3 R’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Sara Hartwell U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery October 6, 2009

All materials and products have climate and energy impacts at every stage of the lifecycle  Raw Material Extraction  Processing  Manufacturing  Product Use  Management at End-of-Life

Material Life Cycle

How do we minimize the climate and energy impacts of the materials and products that we use?  Choose Materials Wisely  Use Less(reduce)  Reuse Products(reuse)  Manage Materials at end-of-life(recycle)  Use Recycled Content

Reuse is one way to Reduce  I need a pallet for 3 one-way trips  I can make 3 pallets ….or I can Reuse the same pallet 3 times  I have Reduced the number of pallets that are made by 2/3

One More Important Thing  When you are making decisions based on life-cycle analysis (LCA) – be sure to consider the ENTIRE life-cycle For example, if reusable packaging is used to transport case-ready meat, the energy (and climate!) implications of heating the water to clean the crates between shipments may outweigh the benefits of reuse. For example, if reusable packaging is used to transport case-ready meat, the energy (and climate!) implications of heating the water to clean the crates between shipments may outweigh the benefits of reuse.

Energy Benefits of the 3 R’s  Energy demand is reduced through source reduction & recycling Replacement of discarded materials requires energy to extract, transport, and process raw virgin materials. Replacement of discarded materials requires energy to extract, transport, and process raw virgin materials. Manufacturing products from recycled materials typically requires less energy than manufacturing from virgin materials. Manufacturing products from recycled materials typically requires less energy than manufacturing from virgin materials.

Energy Benefits of the 3 R’s  For most materials, the manufacturing process energy for recycled materials uses a fraction of the energy used to produce virgin materials. For example: producing aluminum with recycled cans requires 92% less energy than using virgin aluminum; producing aluminum with recycled cans requires 92% less energy than using virgin aluminum; recycling newspaper requires 45% less energy for production than using virgin fibers. recycling newspaper requires 45% less energy for production than using virgin fibers.

What’s the impact of recycling on energy conservation?  In 2007, the U.S. recycled 33 % (85 million tons) of MSW 1 Energy benefit of 1.3 quadrillion BTUs Energy benefit of 1.3 quadrillion BTUs Residential site energy consumption is stable at about 10 quadrillion BTUs/year 2Residential site energy consumption is stable at about 10 quadrillion BTUs/year 2 Recycling emissions benefits = 1.3 quadrillion BTUs 3Recycling emissions benefits = 1.3 quadrillion BTUs

Use less energy – produce fewer GHGs  Process energy GHGs comprise the majority of upstream emissions for the manufacture of both virgin and recycled materials – on average, approximately 80 percent* *for materials considered in EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM)

Use less energy – produce fewer GHGs  The transportation energy associated with manufacturing accounts for a small share of upstream emissions – on average less than 20%* *for materials considered in EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM)

More Climate Benefits of the 3 R’s  Production of some raw materials produces GHGs not associated with process energy (aluminum is a good example)  Recycling those materials avoids emission of those non-process energy GHGs, too.

More Climate Benefits of the 3 R’s  Forest carbon sequestration increases when wood products are source reduced & recycled trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, converting CO2 in the atmosphere to carbon in their biomass. trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, converting CO2 in the atmosphere to carbon in their biomass.  Carbon storage increases when organics are composted and added to soil

More Climate Benefits of the 3 R’s  Source Reduction and Recycling Avoids: CH 4 emissions from landfills CH 4 emissions from landfills CO 2 emissions from waste combustion CO 2 emissions from waste combustion

What’s the impact of recycling on GHG emissions?  In 2007, the U.S. recycled 33 % (85 million tons) of MSW 1 Avoided emissions of 193 million MTCO2e Avoided emissions of 193 million MTCO2e Equivalent to the annual GHG emissions of 35 million passenger vehicles (about 14 percent of passenger vehicles registered in the U.S.)Equivalent to the annual GHG emissions of 35 million passenger vehicles (about 14 percent of passenger vehicles registered in the U.S.)