BACKGROUND ON
MATERIALS GREENHOUSE
GAS EMISSIONS
John Davis
High Desert RMDZ
April 10, 2014
300,000 feet view
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/
Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming
Potentials
Important GHG Terms
Anthropogenic Emissions:
 Man-made emissions (e.g., fossil fuels combustion)
 Add new CO2 (and other GHGs) to atmosphere; not
part of natural carbon cycle
Biogenic Emissions:
 CO2 emissions only
 Part of natural closed loop carbon cycle
 Not considered new emissions to atmosphere
Lifecycle Assessment: Principles and Practice
USEPA, 2006
GHG Emission Sources And Sinks
WASTE management vs. MATERIALS management
Product Lifecycle http://www.epa.gov/smm/vision.htm
WASTE management vs. MATERIALS management
Product Lifecycle http://www.epa.gov/smm/vision.htm
Recycling rate impact
1 ton
bottles
1 ton
paper
1 ton
food
1 ton
wood
1 ton
cans
1 ton
carpet
1 ton
grass
= 1 ton
diverted
Greenhouse Gas emission impact
1 ton
bottles
1 ton
paper
1 ton
food
1 ton
wood
1 ton
cans
1 ton
carpet
1 ton
grass
= ? mmt
CO2e
Waste Reduction Model (WARM)
• WARM can quantify and communicate GHG Benefits
• Metric tons of Carbon Equivalent (MTCE)
• Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent
• (MTCO2E)
• Energy benefits – British Thermal Units
(BTU)
www.epa.gov/warm
WARM Background
• The primary application of WARM is to support
materials-related decision-making in the context of
climate change.
• WARM compares the emissions and offsets resulting
from a material in a baseline and an alternative
management pathway in order to provide decisionmakers with comparative emission results.
• WARM does not include emissions from the use phase
of a product’s life, since use does not have an effect on
the waste management emissions of a product.
WARM Formula
• The general formula for net GHG emissions for each scenario
modeled in WARM:
Net GHG emissions = Gross manufacturing GHG emissions
(Increase in carbon stocks + Avoided utility GHG emissions)
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Materials Management Decisions
Affecting GHG Reduction:
• Energy consumption (specifically combustion of fossil
fuels) and the resulting GHG emissions associated with
material extraction, manufacturing, transporting, and
end-of-life management of the material or product .
• Non-energy-related manufacturing emissions, such as
the carbon dioxide (CO2) released when limestone
used in steel manufacturing is converted to lime, or the
perfluorocarbons (PFCs) generated during the
aluminum smelting process.
Materials Management Decisions
Affecting GHG Reduction:
• Methane (CH4) emissions from decomposition of
organic materials in landfills.
• CO2 and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from waste
combustion.
• Carbon sequestration and storage, which refer to
natural or manmade processes that remove carbon
from the atmosphere and store it for long periods or
permanently.
Streamlined Life Cycle Methodology
• Begins at a “waste generation” reference point
• Focus on GHGs emitted, carbon stored, or utility energy
displaced at following stages:
• Raw material acquisition (upstream)
• Manufacturing (upstream)
• Waste management (downstream)
• Transportation of raw material and waste
Emission Factors Developed for:
• Source reduction
• Recycling
• Composting
• Combustion
• Landfilling
• 26 material types and 6 categories of mixed materials
(paper, metals, plastics, organics, MSW, and recyclables)
• Documentation explains the calculation of emission
factors by material type, or group of materials, arranged
into individual chapters
• Chapter-based, material-focused formats provide detailed
and up-to-date information about the WARM emission
factors
• Several Background Documents are available that
provide additional useful information pertaining to the
WARM emission factors
http://epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/tools/warm/SWMGHGreport.html
Documentation for WARM Greenhouse
Gas Emission and Energy Factors
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Asphalt Concrete
Asphalt Shingles
Carpet
Clay Bricks
Concrete
Drywall
Fiberglass Insulation
Fly Ash
Glass
Metals
Organics
Paper Products
Personal Computers
Polylactide (PLA) Biopolymers
Plastics
Tires
Vinyl Flooring
Wood Flooring
Wood Products
Lifecycle of Carpet in WARM
Detailed Recycling Flows for Carpet in WARM