How Can the U.S. Tackle Waste?

There’s a reason "reduce" and "reuse" come before "recycle" in the famous environmental slogan. The lowest-impact materials are those that never have to be created to begin with. And for materials that can’t be eliminated, reusing those that already exist can still provide more climate benefits than recycling.

In the United States, only 32 percent of waste is composted or recycled, and then usually down-cycled to lower quality materials. Recycling rates vary by material; plastic recycling rates are a dismal 8.5 percent.

In EESI’s briefing series, Reduce and Reuse: How to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Building Materials, Plastics, and Food, seven experts shared insights into policy mechanisms and resources that can be used to reduce upstream waste and bolster material reuse. This article highlights some of the important takeaways from the series.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Waste

For further reading on greenhouse gas emissions of waste, see:

The New Coal: Plastics and Climate Change, a report discussing the link between plastic production and greenhouse gas emissions.
From Farm-to-Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste, an EPA report detailing scientific findings on food waste impacts at every stage of food production and disposal.

To create new products, raw materials are harvested, transported, and combined, emitting greenhouse gases every step of the way. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to the climate crisis.

U.S. plastic production emitted 232 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in 2018, and is expected to exceed the emissions produced by coal-fired power plants by 2030. This pollution is in addition to the thousands of chemicals that are released when producing plastic, some of which, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are harmful to human health and the environment.

Similarly, food waste and loss is estimated to emit 270 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, with attendant water and energy use on wasted food to be enough to supply 50 million homes.

Buildings account for approximately 623 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually from energy generation. But in addition to the greenhouse gases produced while a building is operational, emissions are also released during construction and end of life. These emissions, known as embodied emissions, come from building materials as they are extracted, processed, manufactured, transported, distributed, and disposed of. Over the next decade, embodied emissions will account for an estimated 74 percent of the emissions from new construction.

And the emissions do not end when an item is thrown away—landfills are responsible for 15 percent of U.S. methane emissions (methane is a potent greenhouse gas over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in a 20-year period).

The further up in the supply chain waste is addressed, the more emissions and environmental impacts can be averted.

Reduce

For further information on waste reduction policies, see:

ReFED Insights Engine, an interactive tool to explore food waste solutions by priority area.
The Food Law and Policy Clinic’s U.S. Food Waste Policy Finder, a database of state policies.
The U.S. Food Loss and Waste Policy Action Plan for Congress and the Administration, a proposal from a coalition of organizations.
Beyond Plastics’ model extended producer responsibility (EPR) bill to reduce the use of Styrofoam as well as plastic bags, straws, and stirrers.
Extended Producer Responsibility Policies Offer a Solution to the Waste Crisis, an EESI article.
Q&A: How Phone “Chasing Arrows” were Run out of California, an EESI article.

In 2018, the United States produced nearly 300 million metric tons of trash—more than one ton per adult. Waste reduction is the first step to tackling the mountains of garbage generated in the United States every year.

Food waste makes up the largest share of landfill materials, according to Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFED. In 2019, 24 percent of food in the United States was uneaten and unsold, and while food is wasted along every step of its production, the largest share of food waste comes from households.

Federal standards for expiration date labels can help reduce food waste, according to Emily Broad Leib, director of the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic. Over 40 states regulate date labels, creating confusion for both producers and consumers, and sometimes preventing producers from implementing best practices such as using “Best if Used By” rather than “Use By” date labels.

Broad Leib also highlighted that state and local governments play a key role in reducing food waste as they are most aware of what will work best. Massachusetts prohibits companies from sending more than half a ton of food to landfills per week, for example. But creating and implementing waste management plans is time and resource intensive, and subnational actors could use more funding to make them work.

Like food waste, a majority of plastic waste ends up in a landfill or in waterways, where it breaks up into microplastics. Policies such as consumer charges, taxes, and fees on single-use plastic products, such as the District of Columbia’s five-cent bag fee, can create economic incentives for consumers to choose reusable alternatives or skip unnecessary bagging.

Another approach is extended producer responsibility (EPR), which holds manufacturers and distributors responsible for the life-cycle of products such as single-use plastics, so producers become less likely to create products they would have to manage after disposal.

For the built environment, zoning controls can be useful for reducing the amount of building materials required for construction. Jordan Palmeri, environmental scientist and policy analyst at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, highlighted that zoning regulations in Portland, Oregon, limit the size of single-family homes so they are not unnecessarily large. Building codes can also help reduce the amount of carbon-intensive materials used during construction. Marin County in California, for instance, has set limits for the carbon emissions of concrete.

Reducing demand for high-emission materials by using alternatives can also reduce emissions. Environmental product declarations—which are often part of “buy clean” policies and are like nutrition fact labels for carbon emissions—can provide insight into the carbon emissions of materials like concrete. This transparency can help developers choose more sustainable products.

Reuse

For further information on reuse policies, see:

Reuse Wins, a report comparing a variety of reusable food packaging materials to single-use materials in terms of sustainability.
The Reuse Policy Playbook, which provides policy ideas on how to reduce the use of single-use products.
The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas, covering major areas of law that impact whether safe surplus food is donated or rescued throughout the world.
How One Iowa University–and the Hawkeye State–Is Handling Waste, an EESI article.

In many cases, waste cannot be fully eliminated, so extending the life of existing materials through reuse is the next best option. Reusable products like steel, glass, and ceramic containers can be used as an alternative to single-use plastics, while also saving businesses money.

Reusables are almost always more environmentally friendly than single-use non-plastic alternatives after just a few uses, noted Miriam Gordon, policy director of Upstream. The production of compostable packaging, for example, produces more greenhouse gas emissions than single-use plastics and many composting facilities do not accept these products.

For building materials, Dr. Fernanda Cruz Rios, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, pointed out that there is a need for a national action plan for a circular economy to reduce waste.

In a circular economy, Dr. Cruz Rios explained, buildings could be designed using modular and prefabricated components with demountable connections like bolts instead of welding or adhesives to easily reuse, replace, or repair materials. Additionally, urban mining—reusing materials from old buildings to create new buildings—could reduce the need for new raw materials.

Unused food can be reallocated to the 50 million Americans who are food insecure. Broad Leib pointed out that the United States has the strongest liability protection for food donation in the world. But companies lack awareness of these protections, which often prevents them from donating, and those protections still have limitations—companies cannot directly donate to those in need, nor can they donate to organizations that would later sell the food products.

Conclusion

Landfills represent much more than the junk that fills them up—each piece of garbage was created with water, energy, and other resources. While useful for downstream waste management, recycling or composting alone will not help solve the waste crisis in the United States. Instead, attention must be shifted to reducing and reusing.

Authors: Amber Todoroff and Savannah Bertrand

For more information, see EESI’s December 2021 briefing series: Reduce and Reuse: How to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Building Materials, Plastics, and Food.