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Beyond Waste: It's About More than Just Waste

Implementing the Beyond Waste Plan will not only help reduce waste; it will also bring us closer to meeting many other environmental goals. These goals include mitigating climate change, protecting Washington waters, reducing toxic threats, and creating a green economy.

Beyond Waste and Climate Change
Landfills create methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Most of this methane comes from organic materials. Keeping organic materials out of landfills reduces methane emissions and creates feedstock for soil amendments, bioenergy, biofuels and other products. Some recycled organic products, such as biofuels and bioenergy, further reduce greenhouse gases by reducing fossil fuel use.

Recycling also helps mitigate climate change. Product manufacture contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. However, manufacturing with recycled feedstock typically uses far less energy than using virgin materials, thus leading to reduced emissions. This is true even with transportation of recycled commodities. Product stewardship can lead to the creation of less wasteful products, with a smaller carbon footprint.

Buildings account for 72 percent of electricity use and 39 percent of energy use in the United States, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. They are responsible for 38 percent of annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Green buildings are more energy-efficient than conventional buildings. Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings helps mitigate climate change. Choosing locally manufactured, recycled-content, and salvaged building materials, and recycling construction and demolition debris, additional components of green building, also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Beyond Waste Plan was adopted as part of the state Climate Change implementation strategy. Ecology Climate Change website.
Beyond Waste, Puget Sound and other Washington Waters
Much of the risk posed to Puget Sound and other Washington waters comes from toxic pollution in stormwater. Initiatives in the Beyond Waste Plan call for reducing toxic substances, which will help Puget Sound and all waters of the state. When manufacturers, governments, and consumers reduce their use of toxic chemicals and products, they reduce potential toxic releases to the state's waters.

Adding recycled organic materials, such as compost, to soils protects Washington's waters by reducing runoff and binding excess nutrients, heavy metals, and other pollutants. Compost can also reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, both of which can contaminate our water sources.

Development is another threat to our waters, but green building can help reduce the threat. Green buildings are more water-efficient than conventional buildings, conserving this valuable resource. Strategies that manage stormwater on-site are encouraged. Green roofs, pervious paving, rain gardens, and careful site selection can all reduce stormwater run-off.

Manufacturing with recycled materials typically uses less water than virgin manufacturing, saving water and reducing the amount discharged. And safe solid and hazardous waste management helps protect water quality.

Related Ecology websites:
Washington Waters
Saving Puget Sound

Beyond Waste and Toxic Threats
Managing hazardous waste involves pollution prevention (P2) planning, compliance with dangerous waste regulations, and permitting and corrective action for Treatment, Storage, and Disposal facilities for hazardous waste. By preventing toxics in the first place, we emphasize safer alternatives to toxic materials, green chemistry, environmentally preferred purchasing, and product stewardship. Many toxics are found in products. When producers take responsibility for the full life-cycle of their products, including end-of life, they have greater incentive to create less toxic products.

Organics management also has a role in reducing toxics. Using compost reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Natural yard care stresses the use of non-toxic means to control pests while building a healthy landscape.

Green building standards offer credits for materials that are less toxic than common building materials, driving demand for healthier products. As green building become more common, toxics in building materials will decrease.

Ecology's Reducing Toxic Threats website

Beyond Waste and the Green Economy
Reducing wastes and toxics will not just protect the environment but will also increase economic and social vitality. Supporting the creation of the green economy is one way to do this.

The green economy is defined as "greening" our existing economy by developing new products, techniques, and services that promote environmental protection or energy security. Four major green-industry groupings are clean energy, green building, green transportation, and environmental protection.

Beyond Waste initiatives fit into at least three of these four categories. Of course green building is addressed in the Plan. The Organics initiative includes focus on using waste organic materials to create clean bio-energy. And reducing wastes and hazardous materials, as well as proper waste management, helps to protect our environment.

A green economy will create more and new kinds of jobs. According to EPA, recycling is estimated to create five times as many jobs as disposal. In 2008, Washington State firms employed at least 4,456 people in green jobs involving collection, hauling, transport, processing, or remanufacture of recyclable materials. Similarly, energy efficiency programs can create many new jobs.

Related Ecology websites:
Washington's Green Economy
Economy and the Environment