Recycle, Reuse, and Waste
Below are resources concerning recycling, reuse, and waste. Resources are presented in no particular order.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a US government organization founded in 1970 that is responsible for protecting human health and the environment. The EPA’s website has volumes of resources concerning recycling, reuse, and waste: o EPA’s waste resources: http://epa.gov/osw/ o EPA’s reuse resources: http://epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/reduce.htm
o EPA’s recycling resources: http://epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm
o EPA’s municipal solid waste resources: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index.htm#5
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The EPA produces an annual report on the generation and disposal of waste in the US. This report tracks waste over time, allowing the EPA to monitor the progress of environmental efforts, and follow waste trends. o U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010. Available online: http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf
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Carson, Rachel. (1962). Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Rachel Carson’s well-researched book, Silent Spring, is a work of social criticism that warms of the drastic environmental impact of DDT, a pesticide that causes harm to both humans and wildlife. This book turned attention to the environmental impact of human behavior.
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IBIS World is a market research organization that analyzes a variety of industries. IBIS World’s report on waste collection services in the US provides detailed analysis of the industry’s performance, competitive landscape, and operating conditions. “The current recycling rate is estimated to be about 35.2%, displaying tremendous growth in recycling from all sources of waste production. Recycling varies considerably from state to state, with numerous states having rates above 40.0%. The rate of recycling is expected to continue to increase over the next five years.” o IBIS World. (2012). Waste Collection Services in the US.
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This article provides a brief history of recycling, current global trends (such as “single stream,” or co-mingled, collection), and the future of recycling. o The truth about recycling. (2007). Economist, 383(8532), 22-m26. Available online: http://www.economist.com/node/9249262

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Edward Humes’ book, Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, examines the current trash situation in the US. Humes suggests that our trash represents the “greatest untapped opportunity of the century.” o Humes, E. (2012). Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash. New York: Avery. o Levinson, M. (2012). “At the top of the heap.” Wall Street Journal, pp. A.15-A.15.
Available online: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304356604577341771357432332.html
o Humes, E. (2012). "Grappling With A Garbage Glut." Wall Street Journal. April 18, 2012.
Available online: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304444604577337702024537204.html
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Zero Waste is a concept modeled after nature’s design that encourages product redesign to enable reuse. The term was popularized by the Zero International Waste Alliance (ZWIA) in
2004: o Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all
discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use. o Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and
recover all resources, and not burn or bury them. o Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a
threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health. o Businesses and communities that achieve over 90% diversion of waste from landfills and
incinerators are considered to be successful in achieving Zero Waste, or darn close.
 Source: The Planning Group of the Zero Waste International Alliance. (2004).
Available online: http://zwia.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Ite mid=6
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Cradle to Cradle design concept pioneered by William McDonough argues that “human systems designed to operate by the same rules that govern the natural world can approach the effectiveness of the earth's diverse living systems, in which there is no waste at all” o McDonough, W. et al. (2003). "Applying the Principles of Green Engineering to Cradleto-Cradle Design." Environmental Science and Technology, 37 (23), pp 434A–441A o http://www.mcdonough.com/writings/c2c_design.htm
o http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es0326322
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A good overview for recycling across a variety of materials is provided by Earth911.com. The site’s resources educate consumers on how to recycle goods. A graphic produced by
Earth911.com illustrates the history of recycling. o http://earth911.com/recycling/ o http://earth911.com/news/2011/11/15/infographic-the-history-of-recycling/

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Reuse Alliance is a “national nonprofit that is working to increase awareness of reuse by educating the public about its social, environmental and economic benefits.” o Source: http://www.reusealliance.org/
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This article discusses techniques of storage and removal, fragmentation and sorting, bulk reduction, conversion, reclamation, mining and mineral processing, and disposal. This article is widely cited and referred to as a seminal article in the field of waste management. o Hershaft, A. (1972). Solid Waste: Treatment Technology. Environmental Science and
Technology, 6(5), 412-421. Retrieved from www.scopus.com
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National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international non-profit environmental advocacy group, summarizes the recycling milestones, ways to work towards zero waste, strategies to boost recycling rates. o National Resources Defense Council. “The Past, Present and Future of Recycling:
Recycling's up, but so is trash.” Available online: http://www.nrdc.org/cities/recycling/fover.asp
o NRDC’s Recycling 101: http://www.nrdc.org/recycling/
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China is the world’ largest importer of waste. Electronic waste (E-waste) is a growing component of the waste stream. This article “aims to enhance the rate of E-waste recycling, treatment and the rate of recycled metal, and reduce the extraction of primary metals by introducing an E-waste recycling tax in China.” o Li, Y. et al. (2012). The Impact of Introducing Recycling Taxes on China’s Environmental
Policy: Case Study on E-waste Recycling. Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol. 5, No.
4, April 2012. Available online: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jsd/article/view/14493/10720
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This article examines consumer’s attitude towards reuse, recycle, and disposal of shopping bags in China, Hong Kong and India. o Li, Y et al. (2010). Eco-Impact of Shopping Bags Consumer Attitude and Governmental
Policies. Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol. 3, No. 2, June 2010. Available online: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jsd/article/view/5478/5052
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E-Waste is a growing problem since electronics are produced with a planned obsolescence mentality. The EPA estimates that the US disposed of 2.37 million tons of e-waste in 2009. This issue is addressed by Maureen O’Donnell in the EHS Journal. O’Donnell argues that “today’s paradigm is one of disposable electronics, and as a result we now stand at the forefront of a growing environmental catastrophe.”

 o O’Donnell. (2012). “E-Waste: A Growing Problem.” Available online: http://ehsjournal.org/http:/ehsjournal.org/maureen-odonnell/e-waste-a-growingproblem-electronic-waste/2012/
Waste-to-energy: “The United States has about 872 operational MSW-fired power generation plants, generating approximately 2,500 megawatts, or about 0.3 percent of total national power generation.” MSW is often considered a renewable power source. o http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/municipal-sw.html