* Saves natural resources. Waste is not just created when consumers throw items away. Throughout the life cycle of a product from extraction of raw materials to transportation to processing and manufacturing facilities to manufacture and use waste is generated. Reusing items or making them with less material decreases waste dramatically. Ultimately, less materials will [...]
Posts from ‘May, 2009’
Source Reduction and Reuse Facts
* More than 55 million tons of MSW were source reduced in the United States in 2000, the latest year for which these figures are available. * Containers and packaging represented approximately 28 percent of the materials source reduced in 2000, in addition to nondurable goods (e.g., newspapers, clothing) at 17 percent, durable goods (e.g., [...]
Managing solid waste – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a three-tiered approach for managing solid waste. Each of these should be practiced to decrease the amount of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), more commonly known as trash or garbage, headed for final disposal. They are in order of importance: Reduce – making something smaller or using less, resulting in a smaller [...]