Waste Reduction and Recycling

Did you know? In 2006, the U.S. EPA estimates that each person generated 4.6 pounds of trash each day…

Definitions and Facts

From the Environmental Protection Agency
Solid Waste: Non-liquid, non-soluble materials ranging from municipal garbage to industrial wastes that contain complex and sometimes hazardous substances. Solid wastes also include sewage sludge, agricultural refuse, demolition wastes, and mining residues. Technically, solid waste also refers to liquids and gases in containers.

Waste Minimization: Measures or techniques that reduce the amount of wastes generated during industrial production processes; term is also applied to recycling and other efforts to reduce the amount of waste going into the waste stream.

Waste Reduction: Using source reduction, recycling, or composting to prevent or reduce waste generation.

Recycle

Graphic by: Charles Kibert, University of Florida, Powell Center for Construction & Environment

Waste Stream: The total flow of solid waste from homes, businesses, institutions, and manufacturing plants that is recycled, burned, or disposed of in landfills, or segments thereof such as the "residential waste stream" or the "recyclable waste stream."
More facts and statistics from the EPA

Downcycle – Defined by William McDonough, FAIA and Michael Braungart, authors of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, as the recycling of a material into a material of a lesser quality. The book also defines upcycling as recycling a material into a material of similar or greater value.

Reduce & Reuse

Reuse Development Organization (ReDo) – A national program that facilitates in-kind material donations from the donor directly to non-profit reuse centers and other non-profits. Their goal is to promote reuse as an environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economical means for managing surplus and discarded materials.

Waste Reduction Resource Center – Website for a center that provides technical Pollution Prevention (P2) information and training to industrial service providers in the Southeast.

Source Reduction & Reuse – Strategies for waste minimization from Keep America Beautiful.

Construction & Demolition Waste

Did you know? According to Florida Department of Environmental Protection, about 25% of the solid waste generated in Florida is from construction and demolition activities.

Characterization of Building-Related Construction and Demolition Debris in the United States – A comprehensive report prepared for the Environmental Protection Agency on the quantity and composition of C&D waste.

FDEP C&D Waste Page – Informational resources from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection including statistics, reporting procedures, links, and laws related to C&D debris.

Construction Waste Management – Field guide for construction waste management programs in the home building sector.

onSITE – Australian website featuring information on “minimizing construction waste to maximize competitiveness.”

Follow the Wrecking Ball: C&D Recovery at Work – A case study from a Portland, Oregon project describing how C&D waste was diverted from the landfill.

Wood Waste Best Management Practices – About half of C&D waste is made up of wood and wood pallets. The Wood Waste Best Management Practices manual was developed by Kessler Consulting and Sumter County, Florida, through a grant from the FDEP.

Recycling & Downcycling

Downcycling of Plastics – Article from Salon.com about recycling plastic bags.

Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers – Industry group of companies that acquire, reprocess and sell the byproduct of more than 90% of the post-consumer plastic processing capacity in the North America.

National Recycling Coalition – Tools and resources on recycling from a national non-profit advocacy group with members that span all aspects of waste reduction, reuse and recycling in North America.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle – Details on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle from the Environmental Protection Agency.

FDEP Recycling Home Page – The Recycling Program is responsible for monitoring and reporting on recycling and waste reduction programs across the state, as well as providing technical assistance.

Local Recycling Resources

City of Tallahassee Recycling Program

Leon Iron & Metal

Newark Recycled Fibers

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