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Waste Reduction as a Method to Meet Conservation Goals

Waste Reduction as a Method to Meet Conservation Goals PDF Author: Dana M. Griffith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Plastics industry and trade
Languages : en
Pages : 134

Book Description
Plastics have become a staple of the urbanized human environment. Production and distribution of plastic resins became widespread during World War II. Nations at that time were not aware of the consequences of the use of plastics would impose on the environment. In the 1960s it was determined that plastics and had become a threat to wildlife and that their design for durability had also caused them to become a persistent pollution problem. By the 1980s, it was recognized that plastics had also become a threat to human health. In the past two decades it has been determined that plastics contribute to many more environmental threats and have also been recognized as a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, attributed to global climate change. While efforts have continued in the United States to recover plastic materials for recycling, a large percentage of waste that is disposed of is composed of plastic material. Federal legislation in regards to plastics is soft law that is aimed at encouraging use of the three "Rs": Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. There are no specific regulations regarding their reduction, reuse, or recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, has introduced through their Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), a goal to increase the national recycling rate to 35 percent. Local efforts at the municipal, county, or state level have been attempted through various types of legislation to address increasing the recovery of plastics only, as well. This study examined the threats that plastics pose to the natural and human environment, the effectiveness of policy to address those issues, and the contribution of plastic production, use, and disposal in the United States to the emission of greenhouse gases. This study focused on polyethylene, the plastic that is most widely produced, used, and disposed of plastic material in the United States. Waste management strategies applied to polyethylene plastics that are currently in place and their overall contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been examined, as well. Source reduction as a policy instrument was compared to the nation reaching the EPA's 35 percent recycling goal to determine which would be more effective at addressing the cumulative threats of plastics. In examining these aspects in regards to polyethylene plastics this study has determined that a 25 percent source reduction of virgin plastic material as a policy instrument will more effectively reduce the amount of plastics bound for release in the environment and that are available to create hazards to human health, and will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the production, use, and disposal of plastics more effectively than meeting the national recycling goal of 35 percent.

Waste Reduction as a Method to Meet Conservation Goals

Waste Reduction as a Method to Meet Conservation Goals PDF Author: Dana M. Griffith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Plastics industry and trade
Languages : en
Pages : 134

Book Description
Plastics have become a staple of the urbanized human environment. Production and distribution of plastic resins became widespread during World War II. Nations at that time were not aware of the consequences of the use of plastics would impose on the environment. In the 1960s it was determined that plastics and had become a threat to wildlife and that their design for durability had also caused them to become a persistent pollution problem. By the 1980s, it was recognized that plastics had also become a threat to human health. In the past two decades it has been determined that plastics contribute to many more environmental threats and have also been recognized as a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, attributed to global climate change. While efforts have continued in the United States to recover plastic materials for recycling, a large percentage of waste that is disposed of is composed of plastic material. Federal legislation in regards to plastics is soft law that is aimed at encouraging use of the three "Rs": Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. There are no specific regulations regarding their reduction, reuse, or recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, has introduced through their Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), a goal to increase the national recycling rate to 35 percent. Local efforts at the municipal, county, or state level have been attempted through various types of legislation to address increasing the recovery of plastics only, as well. This study examined the threats that plastics pose to the natural and human environment, the effectiveness of policy to address those issues, and the contribution of plastic production, use, and disposal in the United States to the emission of greenhouse gases. This study focused on polyethylene, the plastic that is most widely produced, used, and disposed of plastic material in the United States. Waste management strategies applied to polyethylene plastics that are currently in place and their overall contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been examined, as well. Source reduction as a policy instrument was compared to the nation reaching the EPA's 35 percent recycling goal to determine which would be more effective at addressing the cumulative threats of plastics. In examining these aspects in regards to polyethylene plastics this study has determined that a 25 percent source reduction of virgin plastic material as a policy instrument will more effectively reduce the amount of plastics bound for release in the environment and that are available to create hazards to human health, and will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the production, use, and disposal of plastics more effectively than meeting the national recycling goal of 35 percent.

Drawdown

Drawdown PDF Author: Paul Hawken
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524704652
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.

A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level

A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030968076X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 323

Book Description
Approximately 30 percent of the edible food produced in the United States is wasted and a significant portion of this waste occurs at the consumer level. Despite food's essential role as a source of nutrients and energy and its emotional and cultural importance, U.S. consumers waste an estimated average of 1 pound of food per person per day at home and in places where they buy and consume food away from home. Many factors contribute to this wasteâ€"consumers behaviors are shaped not only by individual and interpersonal factors but also by influences within the food system, such as policies, food marketing and the media. Some food waste is unavoidable, and there is substantial variation in how food waste and its impacts are defined and measured. But there is no doubt that the consequences of food waste are severe: the wasting of food is costly to consumers, depletes natural resources, and degrades the environment. In addition, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has severely strained the U.S. economy and sharply increased food insecurity, it is predicted that food waste will worsen in the short term because of both supply chain disruptions and the closures of food businesses that affect the way people eat and the types of food they can afford. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level identifies strategies for changing consumer behavior, considering interactions and feedbacks within the food system. It explores the reasons food is wasted in the United States, including the characteristics of the complex systems through which food is produced, marketed, and sold, as well as the many other interconnected influences on consumers' conscious and unconscious choices about purchasing, preparing, consuming, storing, and discarding food. This report presents a strategy for addressing the challenge of reducing food waste at the consumer level from a holistic, systems perspective.

Resource Conservation Challenge

Resource Conservation Challenge PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Energy conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 4

Book Description


Cradle to Cradle

Cradle to Cradle PDF Author: William McDonough
Publisher: North Point Press
ISBN: 1429973846
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 207

Book Description
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism "Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. But as this provocative, visionary book argues, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world? In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are). Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, William McDonough and Michael Braungart make an exciting and viable case for change.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Amendments of 1991

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Amendments of 1991 PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Environmental Protection
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Excise tax
Languages : en
Pages : 884

Book Description


Waste Management

Waste Management PDF Author: A. K. Haghi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781621001799
Category : Recycling (Waste, etc.)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it. Waste management can involve solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive substances, with different methods and fields of expertise for each. This new book outlines the various options available to meet the twin goals of environmental conservation and sustainable development and brings to light the various ways of converting waste to wealth.

Estrategia mundial para la conservación

Estrategia mundial para la conservación PDF Author: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Publisher: IUCN
ISBN: 2880321042
Category : Conservation of natural resources
Languages : en
Pages : 76

Book Description


Handbook of Research on Waste Management Techniques for Sustainability

Handbook of Research on Waste Management Techniques for Sustainability PDF Author: Akkucuk, Ulas
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1466697245
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 465

Book Description
Sustainability is a growing area of research in ecology, economics, environmental science, business, and cultural studies. Specifically, sustainable waste disposal and management is a growing concern as both solid and liquid wastes are rapidly expanding in direct correlation with population growth and improved economic conditions across regions. The Handbook of Research on Waste Management Techniques for Sustainability explores the topic of sustainable development in an era where domestic and municipal waste is becoming a concern for both human and environmental health. Highlighting a number of topics relating to pollution, green initiatives, and waste reduction in both the public and private sector, this research-based publication is designed for use by environmental scientists, business executives, researchers, graduate-level students, and policymakers seeking the latest information on sustainability in business, medicine, agriculture, and society.

Zero Waste

Zero Waste PDF Author: Ashok K. Rathoure
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429602340
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
Zero Waste: Management Practices for Environmental Sustainability presents approaches for resource management centered on reducing waste and reusing and recycling materials. It aims to save energy by reducing energy consumption associated with extracting, processing, and transporting raw materials and waste, and also to reduce and eventually eliminate the need for landfills and incinerators. This book presents the various principles, methods, and tools that can be used to address different issues in the areas of industrial waste reduction and sustainability. It examines how to eliminate waste at the source and at all points of a supply chain, and how to shift from the current one-way linear resource model to a sustainable "closed-loop" system. Proposes strategies for businesses to reduce and reuse waste with a goal of reaching a zero waste status. Focuses on how mitigating waste and promoting recycling can save vast amounts of energy. Explains how the zero waste approach would be a key measure to ensure environmental sustainability and help to offset global climate change.