by Brianna Crandall — June 29, 2015—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released last week the Advancing Sustainable Materials Management (SMM): Facts and Figures report (formerly known as the Municipal Solid Waste [MSW]: Characterization Report) showing progress in consumer electronics recycling in the United States. Consumer electronics recycling went up from 30.6 percent in 2012 to 40.4 percent in 2013, the same year EPA launched the SMM Electronics Challenge to promote responsible donation and recycling of used electronics, which companies of all types can support as well.
Through EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management program, the agency seeks the most productive and sustainable use of materials across their life cycle, minimizing the amounts of materials involved and all associated environmental impacts. Earlier this month, the G7 officially committed to ambitious action for the first time to advance the efficient use of natural resources throughout their life cycle, and EPA is building on this progress to engage the business, government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) sectors to leverage this new report and G7 Declaration to identify and act on opportunities for resource efficiency.
Sustainable materials management is a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles in order to identify opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources, and reduce costs, according to EPA. The Agency is advancing sustainable materials management by convening dialogues with key SMM stakeholders, providing sound science and information to the public, and establishing challenges to specific sectors to achieve shared goals.
In the Annex to the G7 Leaders’ Declaration, it is noted that establishing a G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency will provide a forum to exchange, promote best practices and foster innovation together with business and other stakeholders, including from the public sector, research institutions, academia, consumers and civil society, on a voluntary basis. Unsustainable consumption of natural resources and environmental degradation translates into increasing business risks through higher material costs, as well as supply uncertainties and disruptions, notes EPA.
In contrast, resource efficiency offers opportunities to reduce the burden on the environment while strengthening the sustainability, competitiveness and growth of the economy. The G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency aims to promote an exchange of concepts on how to address the challenges of resource efficiency, to share best practices and experience, and to create information networks.
For every million cell phones recycled, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered, estimates EPA. Through EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge, equipment manufacturers and retailers are promoting responsible electronics recycling. Challenge participants send 100 percent of their used electronics to a recognized third-party certified recycler by the third year of their participation, and publicly report this information.
The EPA Web site has information to help consumers find a location to donate or recycle their electronics.
Also in 2012, EPA launched the Food Recovery Challenge to address the largest waste stream going to landfills. More than 700 participants have joined and committed to preventing wasted food and feeding people.
