Land, Waste and Emergency Management Innovations
Waste Minimization / Recycling / Energy Recovery / Retail
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- Agricultural and Municipal Cooperation in Co-composting Green and Animal Wastes
- Assessment of Gasification Technologies for Wet Wastes
- Assisting Small Businesses in Voluntary Pollution Prevention Efforts: Facility Decontamination in the Wood Preserving Industry
- Automobiles and Product Stewardship: Issues and Opportunities for Material and Toxicity Neutral Personal Transportation
- Biomass Energy Conversion Study
- Building Deconstruction and Reuse
- City of McAllen “Save the Greens” Resource Recycling, Recovery, and Composting Project
- Closing the E-Design – E-Scrap Loop
- Collecting and Recycling Used Computers Via the Reverse Distribution System
- Collaborative Partnership to Improve Environmental Performance in the Healthcare Sector
- Costilla County Biodiesel Waste-to-Energy Demonstration
- Creating an Integrated “Green”Parking Lot and Urban Wetlands on a Former Commercial Site
- Creating a National Reuse Marketplace: A Search Engine Uniting Materials Exchanges
- Decision Analysis Tool for Managing Industrial Byproducts
- Decision-Support Tool and Implementation Action Plans for Municipal Level Waste Management Practices to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
- Deconstruction and Building with Reused Materials Training
- Deconstruction: The Problem with Debris
- Deconstruction for Urban Revitalization
- Design for Disassembly in the Built Environment
- Developing a Policy to Facilitate the Use of Drum Top Crushing Devices for Fluorescent Lamps
- eCommerce Packaging and Shipping Design
- Estimating Greenhouse Gas Reductions from Waste Prevention and Recycling: What to do when it's not covered by WARM
- Effectiveness of Cell Phone Reuse, Refurbishment, and Recycling Programs
- Environmentally Beneficial Behavior Placement in Television
- Expanding Pharmaceutical Waste Management in Hospitals
- Financial Performance Benchmark for Recycling Businesses
- Florida Green Lodging Locator andInformation Service
- Green Gas Stations
- Greening Industrial Design
- Improving Management of Household Prescription Medication Waste
- Industrial Phosphate Sludge Waste as a Raw Material for Iron Phosphate Glass
- Innovative Use of Recycled Materials to Increase Beneficial Use of Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Fines
- Integrated Tribal Environmental Management Center
- Measuring the Environmental Benefits of Federal Electronic Equipment Management Practices
- Municipal Self-Evaluation Process for Leaner-Greener Cities
- National Paint Product Stewardship Dialogue
- Northwest Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) Recycling Program for Rural Hospitals
- Product Stewardship Institute - Research to Support National Dialog for Fluorescent Lighting
- Project PURE: Promoting Understanding of RFID and the Environment
- Potential Recycling of Medium Density Fiberboard
- Promoting Innovative Green Infrastructure Concepts to R5 Stakeholders
- Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tracking of Hazardous Materials across International Borders
- Reducing Production Costs and Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Biodiesel
- Retail Buyer Training on Recycled-Content Products
- Reusing Fly Ash to Produce a New Wastewater Treatment Chemical
- Small Scale Anaerobic Digester
- Sustainable Products Movement: Opportunity to Advance Materials Management Principles for Resource Conservation and GHG benefits
- Sustainable Transit Leadership
- Taking the NEWMOA Beneficial Use Determinations (BUDs) Database Nationwide
- Tear-off Asphalt Shingles Recycling
- Testing the Environmental Results Program for Underground Storage Tank Systems
- Testing Chemical Management Services in Schools
- Testing the Viability of Converting Wood Pallet Waste-to-Flooring
- Urban Waste to Fuel Initiative
- University Food Waste Composting
- Using Auto Shredder Residue as Cement Manufacturing Feedstock
- Voluntary Reductions in Dental Amalgam Mercury
- Waste to Energy Geographic Planning Tool
Agricultural & Municipal Cooperation in Co-composting Green and Animal Wastes - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 137K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partner: Sustainable Conservation
Overview: This project further tested an innovative model of dairy-manure and green-waste management that benefits both the agricultural and municipal sectors.
Assessment of Gasification Technologies for Wet Wastes
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2009
Partner: Maine Department of Environmental Protection, National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), City of Stamford
Overview: This project would identify gasification technologies suitable for processing wet sludge (specifically paper and wastewater sludge) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use, freeing up land and providing financial benefits to the communities/industries. A Gasification Technology Assessment Report will be issued to summarize the anticipated benefits and limitations of each gasification system, screen out systems with limited promise and identify significant information gaps necessary to property evaluate the gasification systems.
Assisting Small Businesses in Voluntary Pollution Prevention Efforts: Facility Decontamination in the Wood Preserving Industry - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 360K)
Sponsors: EPA Region 7, EPA Office of Solid Waste - Fiscal Year: 2002
Overview: U.S. EPA Region 7 developed an equipment-cleaning methodology for wood-preserving facilities to assist in the conversion from PCP and CCA to less toxic chemicals. Standard operating procedures were prepared for performing a simple, cost-effective cleaning of the wood-treatment facility's process equipment. By facilitating the conversion to other preservatives, the project enabled facilities to eliminate disposal of hazardous wastes at an RCRA permitted facility since the wastes generated following conversion were nonhazardous. This project provided the wood-treatment industry with innovative methods to clean their facilities properly, at minimal expense.
Automobiles and Product Stewardship: Issues and Opportunities for Material and Toxicity Neutral Personal Transportation
Sponsors: EPA Region 10 - Fiscal Year: 2009
Partners:Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation (OPEI), EPA Region 5, EPA Region 9, Region 10 States, Non-Goverment Organizations (NGO's), Private Businesses, Universities
Overview: Across the U.S., about 450 million tons of vehicle waste is disposed in landfills each year, prompting this project to host discussions with the government to create incentives for material and toxicity neutral modes of personal transportation within the U.S. This project will also research, scope, identify and prioritize the issues and opportunities presented in their proposal by addressing the lifecycle material and toxicity impacts of automobiles on the environment.
Biomass Energy Conversion Study - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 4MB)
Sponsor: EPA Region 7 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partners: Biomass Energy Conversion (BECON) Facility, Iowa Energy Center, Iowa State University
Overview: The Iowa Energy Center's Biomass Energy Conversion (BECON) Facility, in partnership with U.S. EPA Region 7, investigated the feasibility of establishing new, bio-based plastic-manufacturing processes. BECON represents a multi-million dollar investment by the Iowa Energy Center to produce value-added products from farm crops and wastes and transferring that knowledge to industry. The project obtained the expertise necessary to delineate processes, develop cost estimates for equipment, define operational-control strategies, and estimate operating costs for project-scale equipment. Most plastics are produced by petroleum. These processes produce significant quantities of toxic or hazardous byproducts. To the extent that these plastics can be displaced by products made from cleaner, biological sources, the wastes associated with current plastic production can be minimized. Additionally, municipal solid-waste streams contain significant amounts of paper, food wastes, scrap wood, yard wastes, etc. (biological materials). These waste streams are potential feedstocks for creating plastics. By diverting biological wastes from the municipal solid-waste stream, these materials become valuable products with productive reuse.
Building Deconstruction and Reuse - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 629K)
Sponsors: EPA Office of Solid Waste, EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partners: University of Florida Center for Construction and Environment; Gainesville Regional Utilities; City of Gainesville, Florida
Overview: The University of Florida Center for Construction and Environment in partnership with the EPA Office of Solid Waste, EPA Region 4, Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), the City of Gainesville, and other partners conducted an innovative research, demonstration, and education project, deconstructing a typical wood-framed house in Gainesville, Florida, and designing and reconstructing its constituent materials into new neighborhood-building projects. EPA estimated that 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition (C&D) waste is generated in this country per year, of which 92% is from renovation and demolition. The proposed project is particularly unique in its simultaneous focus on the front and back ends of the building process. Deconstruction and design for reuse are innovative principles in need of broader demonstration so that they may be adopted by mainstream America. Partnering with a community and a municipal utility, such as GRU, increases incentives and opportunities to spread the message of the energy value of reuse to its customers. The project expected to recover 60% of the house's materials, resulting in the elimination of 27 tons of C&D waste that otherwise would have gone to a landfill.
City of McAllen Public Works Department - Recycling Division Full Circle "Save the Greens" Resource Recycling, Recovery, and Composting Project
Sponsor: EPA Region 6 - Fiscal Year: 2007
Partners: Globe Supermarket (McAllen, Texas); Ruben's Grocery (McAllen, Texas); Sustainable Agronomics Association (Edinburg, Texas); Texas Cooperative Extension (Edinburg, Texas); Texas Vegetable Association (Mission, Texas)
Overview: The project implemented an innovative, full-circle process for recycling vegetative solid waste that included: 1) partnering with supermarkets, restaurants, and schools to separate and collect all vetetative solid wastes generated; 2) providing recycling bins and biodegradable plastic bags for collection of vegetative solid wastes; 3) transporting the collected waste to the City's composting facility for grinding and mixing into the compost to boost the nitrogen and nutrient levels ; and 4) selling the enriched compost to local organic farmers and agricultural operations for use in growing fruits and vegetables that was then sold back to supermarkets, restaurants, and schools.
Closing the E-Design - E-Scrap Loop
Sponsor: EPA Region 10 - Fiscal Year: 2007
Partners: National Center for Electronics Recycling; Resource Recycling, Inc.
Overview: The objective of this project was to build a mechanism for the active, two-way exchange of actionable information between the front and back ends of the electronics product life-cycle chain of commerce. The project focused on computers and monitors because those products have the most active end-of-life economy and because the EPEAT program, which provided a basis for much of this work, had focused initially on that product set.
Collecting and Recycling Used Computers Via the Reverse Distribution System - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 132K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year:
Partners: Product Stewardship Institute; Staples, Inc.; Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection; Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
Overview: This project tested the reverse-distribution model for moving used computers from consumers to recyclers, rather than to disposal. Reverse distribution collects the computers through the same infrastructure used to deliver the products to the customer, making it convenient for households and businesses.
Collaborative Partnership to Effect Significant Environmental Performance and Compliance Improvements in the Healthcare Sector - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 130K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partners: American Hospital Association, American Nurses Association, Health Care Without Harm, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
Overview: This project worked with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to include environmental compliance and performance information into the JCAHO survey and accreditation process.
Costilla County Biodiesel Waste-to-Energy Demonstration - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 139K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 8 - Fiscal Year:
Partners: Costilla County (Colorado) Economic Development Council
Overview: This project tested small-scale biodiesel production using locally grown crops (e.g., canola seed) and used restaurant cooking oil to demonstrate the viability of producing this renewable energy at a local level. Additionally, once in full production, the project recovered methanol from the pre-treatment process, which can be reused in the production of biodiesel, produce glycerol as a valuable byproduct, and create jobs by adding value to local agricultural products (e.g., manufacturing canola oil). Benefits include expanding the availability of renewable energy from waste oil, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, and reducing toxicity and associated health risks.
Creating an Integrated "Green" Parking Lot and Urban Wetlands on a Former Commercial Site - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 137K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 6 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partners: Heifer International, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Arkansas Economic Development Fund, City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Downtown Partnership of Little Rock
Overview: This project developed an innovative design for converting a former industrial property to an urban wetlands ecosystem with a "green" parking plaza. The parking plaza encouraged environmental stewardship by demonstrating environmentally friendly approaches to construction and designing green development projects.
Creating a National Reuse Marketplace: A Search Engine Uniting Materials Exchanges
Sponsors: EPA Region 1, EPA Region 2 - Fiscal Year: 2007
Partners: Massachusetts Materials Exchange (Center for Ecological Technology), Maine Materials Exchange, North Carolina WasteTrader (North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources), The ReCONNstruction Center (Connecticut), ResourceXchange (Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation), Southern Waste Information Exchange (Florida), Tennessee Materials Exchange (The University of Tennessee), Vermont Business Materials eXchange, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Steel Recycling Institute
Overview: This project was designed to increase reuse by streamlining access to Materials Exchange (Exchange) opportunities and by promoting Exchanges as a viable tool serving homeland-security and site-remediation concerns in addition to their more traditional roles. The goal was to achieve this through a single Web site that networked the Exchanges. Most Exchanges were not set up in such a way as to be technologically capable of such linkage. This project provided the groundwork for such capacity by: developing essential criteria for creating a technologically strong Exchange Web site/database that could support a multi-site query - meta-search engine; writing a guidebook outlining the details of the above criteria; providing training to Exchanges on these criteria; promoting Web-based linkages between Exchanges; and promoting the availability of these resources and the importance of technologically strong Exchanges.
Decision Analysis Tool for Managing Industrial Byproducts - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2005, 3 pp, 46K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2005
Partners: University of Toledo, American Coal Ash Association, Great Lakes Byproducts Management Association, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Overview: The project developed a tool for state and local regulators, end users, and the public to evaluate the benefits of various beneficial-reuse options for managing industrial byproducts. Large volumes of industrial byproducts are produced everyday. One of the difficulties with evaluating the various management options for byproducts is the ambiguity and lack of data and tools for determining whether a particular beneficial-use application is indeed ‘beneficial’. The tool developed in this project produced much needed information on the economics, environmental impacts, safety, and risk of beneficial reuse applications.
Decision-Support Tool and Implementation Action Plans for Municipal Level Waste Management Practices to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2009
Partners: City of Tracy, California Department of Conservation, Private Companies
Overview: The purpose of this project is to develop a support tool for a municipality to compare greenhouse gas reductions, economic feasibility, cost effectiveness and job creation associated with community waste management practices to have them meet aggressive sustainability goals. In addition, implementation plans will be developed for a specific set of waste management practices based on the results of the support tool targeting increased rates of recycling, source reduction or composting.
Deconstruction and Building with Reused Materials Training - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2005, 3 pp, 42K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2005
Partners: ReCycle North, Habitat for Humanity, Pennsylvania State University, Building Materials Reuse Association, Yestermorrow Design/Build School
Overview: The project developed a national train-the-trainer program for building deconstruction and the use of reclaimed building materials. Deconstruction and materials reuse provide environmental benefits by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from landfills and reducing energy and resource consumption by extracting resources from old building materials.
Deconstruction: The Problem with Debris - Fact Sheet (PDF) (2009, 4 pp, 780K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 1, EPA Region 3, EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2009
Overview: Construction activities, including demolition, produce a substantial environmental footprint-consuming significant amounts of natural resources, over-burdening landfills, and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
Deconstruction for Urban Revitalization - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 72K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 3 - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partners: Institute for Local Self-Reliance; Hamer Center (Pennsylvania State University); City of Philadelphia Neighborhood Transformation Initiative
Overview: This project evaluated the cost-effectiveness of an innovative approach to dismantle row-house buildings. A mechanized and panelized approach to deconstruction allowed for the most efficient reuse of roof and floor structural lumber, enabled quicker access to properties by redevelopers, and reduced overall costs by using a “hybrid” of hand and mechanized labor working together.
Design for Disassembly in the Built Environment - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 72K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partner: Community Housing Resource Center
Overview: More efficient home design could save enough material for construction of 2/3 of the houses built in the next 50 years. This project was developed to reduce waste generated from residential building design and demolition. The project extended the Design for Disassembly (DfD) concept to construction of residential housing by convening an expert group to formulate innovative DfD principles, building a case-study house, documenting research and results, and promoting the incorporation of these principles into future housing design.
Developing a Policy to Facilitate the Use of Drum Top Crushing Devices for Fluorescent Lamps - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 626K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 3 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partners: Drum Top Crushing (DTC) device manufacturers; Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers; the States of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Overview: U.S. EPA Region 3, in partnership with the States in Region 3, drum top crushing (DTC) device manufacturers, and the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, collected data on mercury and other emissions from the use of DTC devices to develop a national policy on the use of DTC devices. The use of DTC devices for managing fluorescent lamps has been subject to inconsistent regulatory determinations, in part because there isn't a clear national strategy for controlling emissions from these devices. A clear policy directed at protecting human health and the environment should help reduce mercury emissions. The educational component of this project helped minimize human-health effects from exposure to mercury due to improper handling and disposal of fluorescent lamps.
eCommerce Packaging and Shipping Design - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 631K)
Sponsor: EPA Office of Solid Waste - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partner: McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC
Overview: The Office of Solid Waste and McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC worked with various partners to eliminate waste in eCommerce product packaging. The growth of eCommerce has provided many societal benefits, however, the eCommerce revolution also has contributed to an increase in paper and plastic packaging materials in municipal solid-waste systems each year. The project consisted of two phases: 1) development of a progressive design framework for eCommerce packaging; and 2) execution of a Design Challenge (PDF) (1 pg, 27K) to solicit innovative designs that met the framework outlined in phase one. The project sought to transform the current packaging system and was accomplished through the combined expertise, ingenuity, and commitment of all actors involved in the package-delivery system. By establishing a new design framework for shipping packages, the project led to reductions in waste and greenhouse gas. It developed areas of collaboration between industry, the federal government, and advocacy organizations.
Estimating Greenhouse Gas Reductions from Waste Prevention and Recycling: What to do when it’s not covered by WARM
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2009
Partner: EPA Region 9, States and Universities, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR), Local Government
Overview: While EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM) helps to estimate the amount of greenhouse gas emission reductions in a waste reduction project, there are many materials and/or applications that are not included. This project seeks to find additional surrogate materials, develop clear lifecycle procedures for estimating GHG benefits for materials not included in WARM, host webinars to inform stakeholders of results and implement a process for identifying future materials and applications not included.
Effectiveness of Cell Phone Reuse, Refurbishment, and Recycling Programs - FACT SHEET (2002, 2 pp, 627K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 2 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partner: INFORM Inc.
Overview: INFORM Inc., in partnership with EPA Region 2, examined the effectiveness of selected cell phone donation and take-back programs and determined how their value was recaptured and how collected phones were ultimately managed at the end of life. Using these data, the project assessed the environmental benefits of these programs. The research led to increasing both the quantity and effectiveness of successful donation and take-back programs as a means of diverting cell phones from landfills and incinerators and possibly encouraging environmentally preferable product redesign. The project was designed to be a first step towards forging the link between product design and end-of-life management.
Environmental Behavior Placement on TV - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 137K)
Sponsors: EPA Region 9, and HQ Innovation, Partnership, & Communication Office - Fiscal Year: 2003
Overview: This project developed a public-information campaign and guide modeled on the private-sector concept of "product placement" to place environmentally beneficial behavior (EBB) in TV shows.
Expanding Pharmaceutical Waste Management in Hospitals - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 140K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partners: Health Care Without Harm, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, H2E Champion PharmEcology Associates, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, New Hampshire Hospital Association
Overview: This project broke new ground by taking a systematic approach to looking at how pharmaceutical wastes in hospitals are generated, how they can be minimized, and how they should be managed in order to develop best-management practices for healthcare organizations and to improve regulatory compliance. The approach was expected to be readily transferable to the entire healthcare sector. Reducing pharmaceutical generation and implementing proper waste-management systems benefit patients, staff, visitors, and the surrounding communities by improving environmental performance in the healthcare sector.
Financial Benchmark for Recycling Businesses - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 131K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partners: Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, North Carolina Department of Environmental Protection, Minnesota Bankers Association, AMPros Corporation
Overview: This project collected and analyzed financial data from recycling companies to provide industry-specific financial-benchmark information. The benchmark provided a financial risk-management tool and provided useful data to make informed decisions about recycling investments.
Florida Green Lodging Certification Program's Web Locator and Green Information Service - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 129K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partner: Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Overview: This project enhanced the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Green Lodging Program with the addition of a Green Lodging Locator, identifying Florida's green-certified hotel/motel properties.
Green Building Transit Leadership Project - BART District
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2008
Partners: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) worked with EPA, local government, transit agencies, and the wider transit community (through publications, presentations, and meetings) to publicize and share the results of the demonstration project.
Overview: The U.S. Green Building Council and others established guidelines for the design of environmentally preferable buildings, but transit-specific green-building guidelines had not been fully developed. This project leveraged a completed EPA Region 9 / Innovations Work Group Project with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 626K) that developed draft green-building standards specifically for use by transit authorities, with input from major U.S. and Canadian transit authorities. This project demonstrated and documented the application of the green-building transit guidelines to support widespread adoption of green-building construction, operations, and maintenance in the transit industry.
Green Gas Stations
Sponsor: EPA Region 7 - Fiscal Year: 2008
Partners: EPA Region 6, EPA Region 7, EPA Region 9, Petroleum Marketers Association, U.S. Department of Energy, Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas, Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels
Overview: EPA Region 7 participated in a "Green Gas Station" project at Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels in Lawrence, KS. In partnership with the station owner, state offices, commodity groups, renewable-energy consultants, and the University of Kansas, EPA tested the application of environmental stewardship and innovation in energy to the gas-station sector. This project further developed the framework of the gas-station program, piloted the concept in other regions, and measured the environmental and economic results of the projects.
Greening Industrial Design - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 131K)
Sponsor: EPA Office of Solid Waste - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partner: Industrial Designers Society of America
Overview: This project conducted workshops, targeted outreach, and developed a Web site to improve awareness among engineers and designers of the highly credible and easy-to-use methods for reducing the environmental impacts of products.
Improving Management of Household Prescription Medication Waste - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 72K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partners: Northeast Recycling Council, American Plastics Council, CVS Corporation, Capital Returns, National Expired and Unused Medication Drive, PharmEcology Associates, Dillon Environmental Associates, Clean Harbors; Franklin County Solid Waste Management District (MA); Pemi-Baker Solid Waste District (NH); Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, Strong Pharmaceutical Services
Overview: Through partnerships with private- and public-sector businesses and organizations, this project developed and implemented collection programs for household prescription-medication waste (HPW) and bulk compounding chemicals. There were no widely available solutions for proper management of HPW. In conjunction with retail-based, senior-center, and other household hazardous-waste programs, this project developed practical strategies for collecting HPW and ensuring their proper end-of-life management. Additionally, the project developed best-management practices for plastic medication-associated containers.
Industrial Phosphate Sludge Waste as a Raw Material for Iron Phosphate Glass - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 134K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partners: Mo-Sci Corporation, University of Illinois, Illinois Waste Management Resource Center, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Overview: This project investigated the feasibility of using non-hazardous industrial phosphate sludge waste as a raw material for iron phosphate glass.
Innovative Use of Recycled Materials to Increase Beneficial Use of Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Fines
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2007
Partners: Waste Management of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Overview: This project entailed exploring whether coal ash, wood ash, and/or crushed concrete could be utilized economically as an amendment for C&D debris fines to attenuate the production of hydrogen sulfide in a beneficial-use application.
Integrated Tribal Environmental Management Center - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 6MB)
Sponsor: EPA Region 7 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partner: Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
Overview: The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, in partnership with EPA Region 7, expedited the development of an Integrated Tribal Environmental Management Center. The Center brings together many different environmental-management disciplines, with an emphasis on waste minimization, recycling, energy recovery, and water quality. It established a comprehensive program that includes education, materials management, economic/business-opportunity development, and land stewardship. The project demonstrated the feasibility of melding solid-waste management, recycling, water-quality protection, and entrepreneurship on a Native American Reservation. It created a model for environmental management that is directly transferable to other rural, agricultural, and tribal populations.
Measuring the Environmental Benefits of Federal Electronic Equipment Management Practices - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 142K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 10 - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partners: EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, EPA Office of Administration and Resources Management, EPA Region 5, EPA Region 9, Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, Federal Network for Sustainability
Overview: This project developed tools to measure the impact on the environment and economy from environmentally sound management of electronic equipment. No assessment tool existed to determine the environmental benefits of purchasing, operating, reusing, and recycling electronics. This project allowed the federal government to measure and promote the environmental and financial benefits of proactive electronics management.
Municipal Self-Evaluation Process for Leaner-Greener Cities
Sponsor: EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2008
Partners: A local Atlanta municipality (as the pilot), a private architectural firm, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (Georgia Department of Natural Resources), Sustainable Atlanta, Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, Atlanta Regional Council
Overview: Municipalities in Region 4 asked EPA for guidance and assistance on the best ways to revamp permits, codes, and ordinances to provide for greener building and for recommendations on ways that local governments can use regulations to encourage green building. This project developed a comprehensive self-evaluation methodology for municipalities to review their codes and ordinances to identify multi-media opportunities and barriers to municipal, commercial, and residential green building. The second component of the project provided recommendations to improve permit/process efficiencies in government by working with a municipality and the State on a "Leaning in Government" (or value-stream mapping) kaizen event specifically focused on green-construction permits.
National Paint Product Stewardship Dialogue - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 130K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partners: Product Stewardship Institute, numerous major paint manufacturers, retailers, and various state and local government
Overview: This project established a dialogue among numerous stakeholders to reach an agreement to reduce paint waste; developed efficient programs to collect, reuse, and recycle surplus paint; and developed sustainable financing systems to cover management costs.
Northwest Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) Recycling Program for Rural Hospitals - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2005, 3 pp, 48K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 10 - Fiscal Year: 2005
Partners: Oregon Center for Environmental Health, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Good Shepherd Health Care, Legacy Health System, Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E)
Overview: The project created and replicated a plastics-recycling program to increase the recycling efforts of rural hospitals. While all hospitals face barriers to recycling plastics, rural hospitals are confronted with the added disadvantage of being isolated from many recycling services and resources.
Product Stewardship Institute - Research to Support National Dialog for Fluorescent Lighting
Sponsor: EPA Region 8 - Fiscal Year: 2008
Partners (all contributed funds): EPA Region 5, EPA Region 8, EPA Region 10, Washington Department of Ecology
Overview: This was a request for supplemental funding to the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) for a current grant on fluorescent lighting. The goal of this effort was to promote the use of energy-efficient lighting while eliminating or reducing the amount of mercury entering the environment during the lifecycle of fluorescent lamps. PSI conducted stakeholder interviews and drafted a Product Stewardship Action Plan for Fluorescent Lighting (PDF) (41 pp, 497K). The Action Plan set the stage for a series of multi-stakeholder meetings to explore collaborative strategies for fully addressing the priority issues.
Project Pure: Promoting Understanding of RFID and the Environment
Sponsor: EPA Office of Solid Waste - Fiscal Year: 2007
Partners: National Center for Electronics Recycling; Resource Recycling, Inc.
Overview: Triggered by the increasing problem of e-waste, the project sought to develop an innovative way to encourage a cradle-to-cradle approach in the handling of electronics products in the U.S. Specifically, the project aimed to identify ways in which the use of RFID tags within the production and distribution system for electronics products could reduce the environmental footprint of said products by minimizing the need for materials, facilitating reuse, and improving the efficiency of recycling while providing economic and operational benefits for those involved in the life cycle of electronics.
Potential Recycling of Medium Density Fiberboard - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 129K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partner: University of Tennessee
Overview: This project determined what happens to the formaldehyde portion of the urea formaldehyde (UF) resin from ground-up fiberboard and whether it poses a risk to human health or can be safely reclassified and eligible for recycling.
Promoting Innovative Green Infrastructure Concepts to R5 Stakeholders
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2008
Partners: EPA Region 5 states; local public-works programs; university researchers; Federal Highway Administration; EPA Region 3; EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response; EPA Office of Water; and representatives of composters, industrial byproduct generators, end users, and contractors
Overview: EPA Region 5 proposed to increase the use of recycled materials by developing two different, in-depth series of collaborative and informational Web-based meetings. These meetings brought innovative sustainable-development concepts to key Region 5 stakeholders, sought their input on the concepts, and/or sought agreement to implement these concepts. Region 5 committed to documenting the results—including proposed action items, comments, and demonstration plans—and sharing them with others working to accomplish similar goals. The first series was called "Green Highway" and focused on use of recycled materials in highway construction. The second series was called "Compost Use for Stormwater and Erosion Control" and focused on the environmental benefits of using compost to control erosion and stormwater.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tracking of Hazardous Materials across International Borders
Sponsor: EPA Region 6 - Fiscal Year: 2008
Partners: EPA Border Coordination partnerships included the Office of International Affairs, Office of Solid Waste, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Office of Air and Radiation, EPA Region 6, U.S.-Mexico Border Program Outreach, EPA Region 9, and Waste Management Division. Interested federal agencies included the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Santa Teresa, New Mexico Port of Entry). Participating agencies included the New Mexico Border Authority and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - Border Affairs. New Mexico State University provided field personnel as well as graduate students to write verification reports.
Overview: This project tested the ability of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to track the fate of hazardous waste crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, insuring EPA was notified when hazardous waste entered the United States and when it reached the approved receiving facility. The project was in support of EPA's bilateral and trilateral trade agreements relating to the international shipment of hazardous materials. The RFID technology evaluation was conducted under EPA's Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program, through the Advanced Monitoring Systems Center.
Reducing Production Costs and Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Biodiesel - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 73K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partners: University of Nevada at Reno (UNR); Washoe County District Health Department (Nevada); Applied Research Initiative; Nevada State Department of Agriculture
Overview: Recognizing that biodiesel provides numerous environmental advantages over petroleum diesel, the project produced a more cost-effective biodiesel formulation that reduced the amount of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emitted during the biodiesel- production process. The University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) utilized a large-scale mobile continuous process unit, using ethanol for the production of biodiesel to meet all of UNR’s diesel-energy needs.
Retail Buyer Training on Recycled-Content Products - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 133K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partners: Recycling Association of Minnesota, Ecosource, Illinois Recycling Association, Waste Cap
Overview: This project innovatively linked vendors of recycled-content products with buyers from major retailers to promote the use of recycled-content products.
Reusing Fly Ash to Produce a New Wastewater Treatment Chemical - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2005, 2 pp, 33K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 7 - Fiscal Year: 2005
Partners: Iowa State University, City of Ames Electric Services, Ames Water Pollution Control Facility
Overview: The project tested a new flue gas wet-scrubbing process using power-plant fly ash to produce a new wastewater-treatment chemical. The project not only produced a useful chemical from solid and gas wastes, but it also saved land resources.
Small Scale Anaerobic Digester - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 134K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 2 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partners: Council on the Environment New York, Columbia University, EcoCorp, Earth Pledge
Overview: This project developed, tested, and replicated an innovative, small-scale anaerobic-digestion facility for on-site installation at concentrated urban food-waste sources and explored emerging renewable-energy applications for food-waste methane.
Sustainable Products Movement: Opportunity to Advance Materials Management Principles for Resource Conservation and GHG benefits
Sponsor: Office of Resource Conservation and Recover - Fiscal Year: 2008, 2009
Partners: Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT)
Overview: Initiated with 2008 Innovation funds, this project will continue to take next steps to develop green product standards by developing a national guidance on the environmental attributes to be addressed by "sustainable products standards", creating a U.S. Sustainable Products Council and organizing an educational meeting for EPA leadership with key stakeholders.
Sustainable Transit Leadership: FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 626K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partner: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
Overview: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), in partnership with EPA Region 9, researched and demonstrated specific green practices that transit authorities could implement to reduce waste, increase recycling, and use recycled content in building materials. Although green highway and building initiatives were well underway, little had been done to green transit agencies beyond establishing standard recycling programs. Examples of potential projects included revising BART's facilities standards to include RCRA Comprehensive Procurement Guideline construction and landscaping items, increasing energy-efficiency standards for new systems or upgrades, increasing station recycling capacity and outreach, and specifying building materials to reduce indoor-air emissions at transit facilities.
Taking the NEWMOA Beneficial Use Determinations (BUDs) Database Nationwide
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2008
Partners: Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association, EPA Region 1, EPA Region 5, EPA Office of Solid Waste, States
Overview: The NEWMOA Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) Database was completed in the Spring of 2008 and is an online searchable database of more than 600 BUDs issued by the 13 participating states. It can be searched by waste, use, state, type of BUD, company name, and SIC code and provides information on which states have approved that waste/use, state contacts, issuance dates, applicant companies, quantities of materials, whether the BUDs are ongoing reuse or a one-time reuse, analytical-test requirements, and limitations on use. Additional financial support facilitates the establishment of the database as a central repository for information about state-issued BUDs by fully populating the BUDs Database for the 13 participating states and making the database national.
Tear-off Asphalt Shingles Recycling - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2005, 3 pp, 40K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 5 - Fiscal Year: 2005
Partners: Construction Materials Recycling Association, Solid Waste Management Board, Bituminous Roadways, Johnson Farms, Mississippi Office of Environmental Affairs, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Department of Transportation
Overview: An estimated 11 million tons of waste shingles are generated every year in the United States. The overwhelming majority of them are post-consumer, mostly from tear-offs generated during re-roof construction projects. The project addressed all key barriers to full-scale implementation of tear-off shingle recycling technology, including environmental, engineering, operations, and economic barriers. The private sector worked collaboratively with state regulators to develop best-practice guidelines to protect worker health and the environment while addressing the viability of full commercialization of tear-off shingle recycling technology.
Testing the Environmental Results Program for Underground Storage Tanks - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 3 pp, 138K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 1 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partner: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
Overview: This project tested the Environmental Results Program model on the Underground Storage Tank Systems to determine whether it can be used to enhance environmental performance and compliance in this sector.
Testing Chemical Management Services in Universities: A Market-Based Approach to Reducing Chemical Use and Waste - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2003, 2 pp, 133K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2003
Partner: Chemical Strategies Partnership
Overview: This program tested a new approach to the way chemical providers do business by making it financially feasible for colleges to purchase chemicals by need rather than volume.
Testing the Viability of Converting Wood Pallet Waste-to-Flooring - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2002, 2 pp, 629K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 4 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partners: North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention, North Carolina State University (NCSU), U.S. Forest Service, and Land-of-Sky Regional Council
Overview: The North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention, North Carolina State University (NCSU), U.S. Forest Service, Land-of-Sky Regional Council, and EPA Region 4 tested the feasibility of converting wood pallets at the end of their useful life into value-added flooring products. Pallet manufacturing uses the largest amount of hardwoods of any industry in the country. The cost of disposing a standard pallet is between $.50 and $1.25, plus transportation and handling. However, when the pallet is recycled, it can be turned into finished material with a value of $4-5 per square foot. The funds supported the actual start-up of the new pallet flooring product line by providing technical expertise, developing partnerships with retail building suppliers, and monitoring the supply chain and customer feedback. The funds also were used for public education and information dissemination via case studies, Web publishing, and professional journal articles to assist in project replication in other regions. Benefits included conserving valuable public landfill capacity, reducing methane gas releases from pallet-wood decomposition in the landfill, and reducing demand for hardwoods from regional forests and thus achieving more carbon-dioxide sequestration.
Urban Waste to Fuel Initiative - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2005, 2 pp, 40K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 9 - Fiscal Year: 2005
Partners: Santa Cruz Public Works, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transportation District, Pioneer Liquid Transport, Bio-Energy Systems, California Restaurant Association, Pacific Biofuel, Inc.
Overview: The project demonstrated the economic viability of a community-based biodiesel collection, production, and distribution chain in urban locations. It focused on places without ready access to an affordable agricultural crop as the primary feedstock. The project collected local waste oil and processed it into biodiesel for distribution and sale to local public-sector fleets. Waste minimization was achieved by recycling waste cooking oil. Air quality was enhanced with the widespread use of biodiesel by reducing particulate and carbon-dioxide and carbon-monoxide emissions. Water quality was improved because the increased market value of waste cooking oil decreased the likelihood of its improper disposal into sewers, storm drains, and waterways, reducing watershed and storm-runoff pollution.
University Food Waste Composting - FACT SHEET (2002, 2 pp, 624K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 8 - Fiscal Year: 2002
Partners: The University of Colorado at Boulder, City of Boulder Office of Environmental Affairs
Overview: The University of Colorado, in partnership with the City of Boulder's Office of Environmental Affairs, and the U.S. EPA, addressed the waste-diversion challenge faced by university housing and other food generators by determining the cost-effectiveness and practicality of on-site, in-vessel composting technology. The total annual food waste from the University of Colorado Deptartment of Housing's eight commercial kitchens is approximately 650 tons, which represent about 32% of Housing's total waste stream. The project tested a composting technology that reclaimed nutrients that would have been cast away as trash. The City of Boulder was interested in testing the in-vessel composting technology as a potential component to its planned municipal composting operation. The project had great potential to lead to a large-scale municipal food-collection program that could set a precedent for other urban food-waste-diversion programs
Using Auto Shredder Residue as Cement Manufacturing Feedstock - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 72K)
Sponsor:: EPA Office of Solid Waste - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partners: California Department of Toxic Substances Control; University of California at Berkeley; Mitsubishi Cement Corporation; Hugo Neu-Proler Company
Overview: Finding alternatives to landfilling auto shredder residue (ASR)—which consists of glass, rubber, plastics, and textiles that remain after metals have been removed from discarded automobiles—could reduce landfill waste by over 4 million tons annually. This project examined the value of ASR as a fuel and mineral supplement in cement kilns by identifying the parameters and mechanical means necessary to process ASR into material appropriate for substitution of coal and mineral feedstocks. Generated ASR could provide 8% of the cement industry's energy needs as supplemental fuel, conserving over 2 million tons of coal and minerals each year in the United States.
Voluntary Reductions in Dental Amalgam Mercury - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2005, 2 pp, 39K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 7 - Fisal Year: 2005
Partners: University of Missouri, Missouri Dental Association, American Dental Association, City of Springfield Public Works, Greater Springfield Dental Association
Overview: The project measured the effects of training, technical assistance, and recognition on amalgam-management practices in dental offices and the resulting impact on mercury levels in influent, effluent, and sludge. The project demonstrated whether significant reductions in mercury could be achieved through the rigorous implementation of voluntary best-management practices in dental offices. The project promoted a better understanding of the impact of BMPs and amalgam separators. The results provided data on effective reduction opportunities that could be replicated across the country.
Waste to Energy Geographic Planning Tool - FACT SHEET (PDF) (2004, 2 pp, 71K)
Sponsor: EPA Region 6 - Fiscal Year: 2004
Partners: N/A
Overview: This project collected data from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), solid-waste landfills (SWLFs), and publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping tool. The GIS tool, along with the development of a Web site, enabled a user to identify single/clusters of facilities that could be prime candidates to use waste directly or indirectly to generate electricity. This innovative Waste to Energy (WTE) project brought together information on biomass quantities and energy-distribution systems.