http://www.plantops.umich.edu/grounds/recycle/climate_change.html Recycling and Climate Change [image, tree] Many of us recycle and most of us are also aware that the climate is changing due to human activities. But are the two related? In fact, yes! Recycling and waste reduction are actually very much related to climate change. The energy used in the industrial processing of virgin materials and in their transportation, involves burning fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and coal, all major sources of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. While manufacturing goods from recycled materials still requires energy, it is much less than extracting, processing, and transporting virgin raw materials. Recycling and waste reduction also avoid emissions caused by incinerators and landfills which produce large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane (21 times more potent than carbon dioxide). Waste reduction and recycling also slow the harvesting of forests, which act as carbon sinks, meaning they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. [image, factory] Check out this page for an illustration of the energy consumed in manufacturing. So how do your individual recycling efforts affect greenhouse gas emissions? Check out the EPA's Personal Emissions Calculator to see how many pounds of carbon dioxide your household emits per year. Did you know?... * The U.S. recycles approximately 32 percent of its waste which saves an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases to removing 39,618 cars from the road. * Increasing the recycling rate to 35 percent would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 5.2 Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. * Net carbon emissions are four to five times lower when materials are produced from recycled steel, copper, glass, and paper. They are 40 times lower for aluminum. * Just one person recycling their newspaper, magazines, plastic, glass, and metal for one year is enough to save 471 pounds of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere. If all 62,000 UM students, faculty, and staff recycled this amount for a year this would be equivalent to taking 2,413 cars off the road. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/lifecycle.html The image above illustrates the four main stages of product life-cycles, all of which provide opportunities for GHG emissions and/or offsets. These stages are: raw material acquisition, manufacturing, recycling, and waste management. Raw Material Acquisition. All products use inputs of raw materials, such as metal ore, petroleum, trees, etc. Extracting and transporting these materials entails the combustion of fossil fuels for energy, which results in emissions of carbon dioxide. These fossil fuels must be extracted themselves, which requires additional energy use. Manufacture. The processes that transform raw materials into products require the combustion of fossil fuels for energy. Again, energy use produces GHG emissions both directly from the combustion of fossil fuels (mainly in the form of carbon dioxide) and from the upstream energy used to obtain and transport those fossil fuels. In addition, some manufacturing processes release other GHGs, although the type and amount of these emissions are specific to the manufacturing processes for each material. Recycling. Once a product has been used, it can be recycled into new products. While manufacturing products from recycled inputs still requires energy, fewer raw materials are necessary. GHG emissions are therefore offset by the avoided fossil fuel use for raw material acquisition. In addition, for products that require wood or paper inputs, recycling reduces the need to cut down trees, increasing carbon sequestration in forests. Waste Management. If a product is not recycled at the end of its useful life, it goes through one of three waste management options: composting, combustion, and landfilling. All three use energy for transporting and managing the waste, but they produce additional GHGs to varying degrees. Composting – an option for organic materials such as food scraps and yard waste – releases some non-biogenic carbon dioxide associated with transporting and turning the compost. However, some of the carbon contained in organic materials is returned and stored in the soil and therefore not released into the atmosphere. Combustion releases both carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide (a GHG that is 310 times more potent that carbon dioxide). However, some of the energy released during combustion can be harnessed and used to power other processes, which results in offset GHG emissions from avoided fossil fuel use. Landfilling, the most common waste management practice, results in the release of methane from the anaerobic decomposition of organic materials. Methane is 21 times more potent a GHG than carbon dioxide. However, landfill methane is also a source of energy, and some landfills capture and use it for energy. In addition, many materials in landfills do not decompose fully, and the carbon that remains is sequestered in the landfill and not released into the atmosphere. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html Household Emissions Calculator You can use the following online calculator to get a rough “ballpark” estimate of your personal or family’s greenhouse gas emissions and explore the impact of taking various actions to reduce your emissions. The calculator is broken into three sections: Section 1: Estimate your current total household emissions. Section 2: Explore actions you can take to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and waste disposal costs. Section 3: See how much you can save (in dollars and emissions) by taking the actions you chose in Section 2. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using the new version of Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 8) and cannot get the calculator to load, go to the "Tools" menu in Internet Explorer and choose "Compatibility View." The calculator should now load correctly. http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator Did you ever wonder what reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 1 million metric tons means in everyday terms? The greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator can help you understand just that, translating abstract measurements into concrete terms you can understand, such as "equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of 183,000 cars annually." This calculator may be useful in communicating your greenhouse gas reduction strategy, reduction targets, or other initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Enter Your Data Below There are two options for entering reduction data into this calculator. Option 1: If You Don’t Have Emissions Data 1. If you are starting with data in units of "gallons of gasoline consumed," "kilowatt-hours of electricity," "therms of natural gas," or "passenger vehicles per year" instead of a quantity of emissions of specific greenhouse gases, use this option. 2. Enter a quantity and pick the desired unit below; and 3. Click on the "Calculate Equivalent" button to convert your value to Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. 4. If you are entering kilowatt-hours of electricity, please be sure to read the caveats and explanations on the Calculations and Reference page. 5. Please note that these estimates are approximate and should not be used for emission inventory or formal carbon footprinting exercises. Option 2: If You Already Know the Quantity of Emissions If you have already estimated the quantity of emissions (e.g., metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent), you can input the amount of emissions and select the appropriate units for the corresponding greenhouse gas type. Amount Unit Gas CO2 - Carbon Dioxide or CO2 Equivalent* Carbon or Carbon Equivalent CH4 - Methane N2O - Nitrous Oxide - Hydrofluorocarbon gases - Perfluorocarbon gases SF6 - Sulfur Hexafluoride *If your estimated emissions of methane, nitrous oxide, or other non-CO2 gases are already expressed in CO2 equivalent or carbon equivalent, please enter your figures in the row for CO2 or carbon equivalent. The sum of the greenhouse gas emissions you entered above is of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. This is equivalent to one of the following: Equivalency Results Click on the question mark ? link to read the explanation of that particular calculation. Read about all calculations. The information you entered above is equivalent to one of the following statements: Annual greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles ? (click to read more about this calculation) CO2 emissions from gallons of gasoline consumed ? CO2 emissions from barrels of oil consumed ? CO2 emissions from tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline ? CO2 emissions from the electricity use of homes for one year ? CO2 emissions from the energy use of homes for one year ? Carbon sequestered by tree seedlings grown for 10 years ? Carbon sequestered annually by acres of pine or fir forests ? Carbon sequestered annually by acres of forest preserved from deforestation ? CO2 emissions from propane cylinders used for home barbeques ? CO2 emissions from burning railcars’ worth of coal ? Greenhouse gas emissions avoided by recycling tons of waste instead of sending it to the landfill ? Annual CO2 emissions of coal fired power plants ?