News and trends about dumpster rental, PODS like storage container, and construction waste recycling around Appleton, Green Bay, and Oshkosh Wisconsin.
Each year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts research on waste disposal and recycling. In 2012 alone, the EPA reported that the United States generated about 251 million tons of household waste. Of this 251 million tons, paper products made up 27.4%, food waste was 14.5%, yard trimmings were 13.5%, plastics were 12.7%, metals were 8.9%, rubber/leather/textiles were 8.7%, wood was 6.3%, and glass was 4.6%. Everything else falls into the “other” category, making up the remaining 3.4% of the 251 million tons.
Thankfully, we recycled or composted almost 87 million tons of this waste. Even better, our nation’s recycling efforts have increased significantly – up from only about 15 million tons in 1980 – but like anything, there’s always room for improvement. To help continue this recycling trend, the waste management industry has come up with a number of programs to help keep our landfills manageable.
For example, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy that was intended to incorporate environmental costs for a product’s entire lifecycle into its market price, forcing manufacturers to think beyond the product and it’s packaging, all the way through its “end of life”. The idea is that, because the manufacturers have control over the packaging and product design, they also have the greatest ability to reduce the amount of solid waste that gets disposed of or recycled. Some companies have focused their efforts on using fewer materials to create the product itself, some strive to use 100% recyclable packaging, and some are even working towards designing products that will ultimately last longer. Many companies are choosing to take it another step further and implement a “take-back” program, which means the manufacturers accept responsibility for taking back their products from consumers at the end of the product’s life. All of these examples of EPR strategies help to incentivize manufacturers to design their products and packaging in a more environmentally-friendly way.
Other than being conscious about our household garbage, we, along with the customers we serve, have a HUGE opportunity to contribute to the protection of our environment by being conscious of the construction and demolition (C&D) materials we dispose of in our landfills. C&D materials are the debris generated during demolition, renovation, or new construction projects. The most common C&D materials include bulky things like wood, glass, metal, concrete, and reclaimed building parts. While it’s easy to just chuck everything into one container and ship it off to the landfill when it’s full, think about the impact our industry can have on the environment… Less waste can lead to fewer disposal facilities in general, helping to reduce methane gas emissions (which have been proven to contribute to global climate change.) To help protect our natural resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, here are just a few simple ways to reduce, reuse, or recycle C&D materials:
If you’re planning a remodeling or new construction project, consider checking with local salvagers or non-profit retail outlets before purchasing all new products... Many of these organizations, like Restore, offer good quality reclaimed building materials for a much cheaper cost than buying it brand new. (Plus there’s nothing wrong with supporting your local business owners!)
If using reclaimed materials for your project isn’t your thing, that’s okay… There are still some ways you can make an environmental impact! Rather than conducting a full-blown demolition, consider using deconstruction techniques and donating the salvaged materials and/or any unused/gently used materials to a local non-profit organization like Restore. And if protecting the environment, helping out local business owners, and contributing to a good cause isn’t enough incentive already, if you donate to a qualified 501(c)(3) charity, you’ll also receive a tax benefit for your organization.
If nothing else, please do your part and recycle all of the C&D materials that you can! At City Disposal Services, we care about the environment and partner very closely with local recyclers to minimize landfilling… We’ll talk more about some of the amazing recycling efforts in Northeast Wisconsin in next month’s blog!
So next time you’re about to throw something in a garbage can at home or a dumpster on a jobsite, think about the impact that may have on the environment and evaluate your alternatives!