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RCC 2005 Action Plan
Introduction
RCC 2005 Action Plan
In late 2004, following the completion of the Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) Strategic Plan, EPA began a process to discuss and determine how best to implement the RCC at the national level. Where the RCC Strategic Plan sets forth an umbrella for the RCC program as a whole by articulating broad visionary goals, we recognized the need for a practical guide to the RCC. This document would need to translate the Strategic Plan goals to an implementation level, setting measurable targets and commitments and ways to achieve them. This thinking was the genesis of the RCC national areas of focus and action plans.
As mentioned above, the Strategic Plan describes the RCC's direction, focus, vision and broad goals. It is the key path along which the RCC will move forward in the next five to ten years. From this plan, the RCC will continue to grow from a collection of individual, ambitious projects and achievements into a cohesive set of robust programs that can accelerate progress toward the goals of resource conservation and recovery interest in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as well as the pollution prevention (P2) and risk reduction goals of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), respectively. These programs aim to identify opportunities for, and ways to achieve, pollution prevention, recycling, reuse, risk reductions, and energy and materials conservation. Specifically, the Plan will:
- Coordinate Office of Solid Waste (OSW) and Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) waste and toxic chemical reduction programs and projects;
- Better align EPA and state focus to attain effective materials management;
- Build on current partnerships and attract new partners; and
- Illustrate the measures used to track success for future projects.
After completing the Strategic Plan development, the RCC focused on the identification of national areas of focus (a.k.a. National Priority Areas) and development of accompanying action plans. This is a critical step because now that we have identified the National Priority Areas, all regions and EPA RCRA/TSCA/PPA Headquarters offices are expected to commit resources to achieving the stated objectives and targets for each area. We believe that only by coordinating efforts across the country will EPA begin to concretely move forward in achieving effective materials management. To accomplish this, OSW held a series of meetings and discussed possible areas of national focus. These meetings concluded at the fall 2004 RCRA Division Director meeting in San Francisco, with OPPT and regional P2/Toxics participation and input, where four National Priority Areas were selected:
- Achieving the National 35 percent Recycling Rate for Municipal Solid Waste;
- Beneficial Use of Secondary Materials;
- Priority and Toxic Chemical Reductions; and
- Green Initiatives—Electronics.
Once the areas were identified, participants established workgroups to draft an action plan for each area. Each workgroup consisted of a small number of headquarters and regional RCRA and OPPT program experts with a focus on pollution prevention, risk reduction, and resource conservation. For each plan, the groups were asked to identify the scope or breadth of their area, key objectives to be achieved, measurable environmental targets or outcomes, and the means and strategies that would lead to success.
From these drafts, we gathered input from a broad group of RCRA and P2/Toxics managers and staff from EPA and states. This input brought a national perspective to the areas and helped shape the action plans for successful implementation. These plans are consolidated in this document—the RCC 2005 Action Plan. This document is a living document that will be amended as we reach key milestones and identify new objectives and targets that will help to achieve our ultimate RCC goals. Within each section, we have provided the leads who can be contacted for additional information regarding their focus area.
PDF Version of the complete Action Plan (54 pp, 379K, about PDF)