The EPA gives recycling fanatics across the U.S. a reason to fight climate change

The Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the EPA, has been protecting our health and conserving our natural resources since it was created in 1970. One of the coolest things that I’ve seen published by the agency over the past few years is its EPA Fugitives list, which highlights criminals that have committed serious crimes against the environment.

Well, it was the coolest until I came upon the agency’s most recent report: Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Materials and Land Management Practices. The title may be hard to say in a single breathe, but it’s definitely worth your time to read if you care about the environment.

The report, which was published this month by the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, aims to prove that recycling and waste management efforts over the years have dramatically reduced our nation’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is because:

• 42% of GHG emissions are influenced by materials management policies (which includes the manufacturing, transporting and disposal of products).
• 16 -20% of GHG emissions are linked to land management policies (like construction and development).

If you think about how many manufactured materials and products from the land that we recycle and reuse, you could definitely see how the EPA is correct in this report.

One of our biggest goals is to reduce 83% of our current greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and the EPA says that this can be done through concentrated efforts in:

• reducing the use of non-packaging paper products
• increasing municipal recycling
• increasing recycling of construction and demolition debris
• reusing land (including formerly contaminated lands) for renewable energy development
• encouraging smart growth (which is an urban theory that concentrates growth in the center of a city to avoid spread over too much land)

With so much worry over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, it’s certainly great to see that our recycling efforts are having a positive impact on the environment and our lives.

If you want to read more about the EPA’s report, click on the image below: