2000 Annual Report: Waste Prevention

Passage of AB 939 established a hierarchy of material management practices with waste prevention at the top of the hierarchy. Also called “source reduction,” waste prevention focuses on reducing the use of resources. As a result, waste generation can be minimized, resources are used more efficiently, and money can be saved.

The IWMB has developed a broad waste prevention program through the implementation of the 1993 Statewide Waste Prevention Plan (publication #304-93-002). This plan seeks to create awareness, acquire and disseminate information, assist local governments, encourage businesses, and provide incentives to embark on the first steps of sustainability.

Businesses can directly realize the benefits of instituting measures to prevent waste, and several are leading the way, notably in the area of packaging design and use. Xerox, by converting from a system that used many different sized one-way shipping containers to one that relies on nine standardized reusable corrugated package sizes, is diverting a large volume of packaging and wooden pallets from disposal and cutting storage and shipping costs by millions of dollars. Furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, through identifying the 10 parts of an office chair that are used in the greatest number during assembly, and shipping in returnable packaging, saves at least $70,000 a year and avoids unnecessary resource consumption.

The IWMB increasingly provides waste prevention information to Californians for use at home and at work, in an effort to achieve the real benefits available through not generating waste in the first place.

Business Resource Efficiency Program

The engine behind California’s affluence and economic strength is its thriving business community. Providing jobs locally and producing goods for the global community, the approximately one million businesses in California also generate more than half of the state’s solid waste. With no specific mandate to reduce waste generation, the business community must identify, or be shown, other benefits to actively participate in the State’s disposal reduction and buy recycled efforts.

Recognizing that the business community is more interested in saving dollars than diverting tons or conserving landfill capacity, the IWMB has developed and actively operates a variety of programs specifically designed to benefit business while reducing unnecessary disposal of resources.

Business Waste Reduction Assistance
Since 1991 the IWMB has been assembling waste prevention and reduction information and providing it to local governments, consultants, and directly to businesses upon request. In 1994 the IWMB embarked on an education campaign to provide businesses with information on the economic benefits of waste reduction. This effort has grown into a collection of more than 70 fact sheets, case studies, and guides that are customized into kits targeting specific business needs. These “business kits” have been distributed to every local government in the state for use in their outreach efforts, as well as directly to thousands of businesses.

As the business waste reduction program has matured, the IWMB continues to learn more about where and how the most significant cost savings to business can be achieved-namely in reduced procurement and extended material use-the message evolved into one of efficient use of resources. “Resource Efficiency” means doing more with less-achieving both profit and waste reduction interests simultaneously.

At the State level, this information guides efforts to establish partnerships. One notable result was the securing of a grant from the California Bar Association Foundation in 1999 to conduct a paper waste reduction campaign within the legal community. This success was further leveraged in 2000 through the establishment of a Legal Profession Paper Waste Reduction Project targeting both public and private law practices and court operations.

Concurrent with the development of the business kits was the establishment of the Waste Prevention Information Exchange. Tapping into the emerging information management and distribution power of the Internet, the IWMB continues collecting, cataloging, and disseminating the growing body of information available on waste prevention. The exchange is a unique collection of more than 1,000 articles, brochures, reports, videos, posters, and other materials that focus on waste prevention. Responding to between 300 and 500 inquiries monthly, the IWMB operates the exchange to learn from others and to share their successes using a Web-based database.

• Every local government in California and thousands of businesses have received business kits for use in their outreach efforts.
• The Legal Profession Paper Waste Reduction Project will assist both local jurisdictions and State agencies in making gains toward their waste reduction mandates.
• The IWMB pioneered the use of emerging Internet tools to gather and distribute information on waste prevention, and in doing so demonstrated the waste preventing power of this medium.
• The Waste Prevention Information Exchange has achieved national prominence and provides valuable information to between 300 and 500 requesters monthly.

For more information on the IWMB’s business resource efficiency and waste reduction efforts, please see www.ciwmb.ca.gov/BizWaste/.

Waste Reduction Award Program (WRAP)
In 1993, the IWMB established the business Waste Reduction Award Program (WRAP) to encourage and recognize waste reduction accomplishments of California businesses. Successful applicants receive statewide media promotion, an award certificate, and camera-ready WRAP winner logo artwork for use in their own marketing materials.

Facing no other mandate than the rules of a competitive economy, California businesses that enact waste reduction and recycled-content procurement practices deserve-and appreciate-recognition for their contribution to the state’s overall effort. And, whether they are proudly displaying the WRAP-winner logo on the door of their business, embossing it on invoice stationary (Dole Fresh Vegetables), screening it onto corrugated packaging (Fender Musical Instruments) or the bottom of a six-pack holder (Mad River Brewing), or even printing it on the back of the phone book (Pacific Bell), WRAP winners use the recognition to inform their customers of their achievements and commitment to waste reduction.

Participation in the program has grown steadily, from 149 winners in 1993 to a record 1,898 in 2000. The winners are further evaluated and the top 10 exemplary applicants are designated as “WRAP of the Year” winners. These “best-of-the-best” winners are presented with an award made of recycled-content materials and further publicized within their respective industries. In 2000, these outstanding businesses included:

• Albertsons Inc. (all California stores).
• Apple Computer (Elk Grove).
• The Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel (Millbrae).
• Yosemite Concession Services (Yosemite National Park).
• Bentley Mills, Inc. (City of Industry).
• Direct Relief International (Santa Barbara).
• I.M. David Furniture (Gardena).
• North Coast Cooperative, Inc. (Arcata).
• Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Market (San Diego).
• Allergan, Inc. (Irvine).

With WRAP, everyone wins. From the qualifying WRAP applications, the IWMB has developed models and case studies to share with other IWMB programs, local governments, and the business sector. However, solid waste is just one manifestation of the impacts of squandered resources. As pollution prevention becomes more widely recognized as a form of waste minimization, a broader cross-media review of waste reduction activities may be warranted in the WRAP program. This would serve to stem the growing number of individual “awards” programs by merging a range of environmental considerations under one banner. It would also encourage business to take a more holistic view of the impacts of their operations, both regulated areas and otherwise, as well as enhance integration within and between governmental agencies.

Future issues to be faced by WRAP in recognizing and publicizing business resource efficiency potentially include:

• Proliferation of “award” programs, thereby diluting the meaning of the recognition.
• Continual “raising of the bar” to encourage continuous improvement in environmental performance.
• Incorporation of industry-specific benchmarks for best management practices.
• Expansion to a multimedia assessment to fully integrate other environmental considerations.

As the program continues to grow in breadth and complexity, additional resources will be required to fully manage emerging issues and implement recommended improvements.

• In 2000, WRAP bestowed 1,898 awards on waste-reducing California businesses-more than three times the number in 1999-proving resource efficiency makes good business sense.
• In 1998 alone, the 400 WRAP winning businesses collectively reported savings of more than $50 million through resource efficient practices. Furthermore, these businesses reduced disposal tonnage by more than 1.5 million tons.

For more information on WRAP, please see www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WRAP/.

CalMAX and Reuse
Reuse, the second of the “three Rs” (reduce, reuse, and recycle), is a vital component of the IWMB’s waste prevention efforts. Extending the life of a material or product through reuse conserves resources and saves money. The IWMB continues to take steps to promote reuse in concept and practice.

In 1991 the IWMB established the California Materials Exchange program (CalMAX) to help businesses find new outlets to reuse materials, reduce disposal costs, and create business opportunities. The CalMAX quarterly catalog and its Web-based service provide listings of available and wanted materials. Through CalMAX “connections,” businesses, schools, nonprofits, and other groups can access inexpensive materials and learn about multiple ways to reuse those materials.

Use of the online service has grown dramatically (from 13,000 database queries in 1996 when the Web site was established to nearly 50,000 in 2000). The online service has enabled continued growth of the program while at the same time resulting in a 25 percent decrease in catalog subscriptions, reducing publication and mailing costs over the last two years (that’s waste prevention). At any given time in 2000, CalMAX hosted more than 1,200 active listings and attracted an average of almost 10,000 “hits” per month to its Web site, consistently the most popular area of the IWMB’s web presence.

The trash-to-treasure concept of CalMAX creates business and resource conservation opportunities for a wide range of endeavors. Whether it’s an agricultural concern converting hundreds of thousands of tons of organic residue into soil nutrients, an electronics entrepreneur refurbishing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment, or a local park district finding new uses for old bricks, CalMAX makes reuse work.

In 2000, CalMAX stepped up its cooperative partnership efforts to assist local jurisdictions in their regional materials exchange activities by offering mini-grants to support the local promotion of material exchange service. While collaboration continues with the handful of autonomous local material exchanges or “MiniMAXes,” these grants allow CalMAX to fulfill the theme: “Let CalMAX be your MiniMAX.” With technological advances, CalMAX can offer database management assistance, promotional materials, and general assistance to jurisdictions as they develop their local reuse programs.

KidMAX is the CalMAX school donations program that provides the opportunity for businesses to list materials and target them specifically to California schools. With a new “free” listing option, materials designated by a “free” icon can be easily located throughout the catalog. This feature increases the usability of the CalMAX catalog for California teachers and schools.

To further expand the practice of reuse, particularly among the schools community, the Governor’s 2000/2001 Budget established a local reuse assistance grant program. This grant program enables the IWMB to partner with other State and local agencies to strengthen the state’s reuse infrastructure and provide both the incentive and opportunity to the business community to share its surplus with needy causes.

2000 CalMAX Connection of the Year. City Farmers Nursery of San Diego was named the Eighth Annual CalMAX "Connection of the Year." The company collects and reuses wood, cardboard, metal, plastic, tires and other salvageable items. Since 1997, the nursery has run "wanted" listings in the CalMAX catalog for crushed rocks and gravel, 15-gallon nursery pots, and used tires.

In 2000 alone, the locally owned and operated nursery diverted more than 24 tons of crushed rocks and gravel from the landfill, saving thousands of dollars. City Farmers has used crushed rock and gravel from a local roofing company and tires from a neighboring tire store.

Owners Bill and Patty Tall use much of the crushed rocks and gravel to pave walkways, stairways, and driveways at the nursery. They've used tires for decorative purposes and in the construction of a small retaining wall, and burlap coffee bags for bagging and decor. Fifteen-gallon nursery pots from local landscape companies are reused in the nursery and given to local schools for special arts and crafts projects.

For more information on the IWMB’s materials exchange and reuse efforts, please see www.ciwmb.ca.gov/CalMAX/ and www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/.

• The IWMB continues to nurture an infrastructure allowing local material exchanges to thrive.
• Through the KidMAX feature, CalMAX participates in California’s quest to make resources available to schools.
• CalMAX introduced the CalMAX Partnership Mini-Grants to jurisdictions, offering the opportunity to promote the material exchange service locally, along with the bulk purchase of catalogs at the time of publication for the marginal cost of printing.
• The IWMB initiated the Reuse Assistance Grants (RAGs) program to provide the initiative and incentives for local public agencies to promote and apply the concept of reuse. All local public agencies in California are eligible to apply for funding and may partner with a California nonprofit or commercial business.
• Since its inception, CalMAX has helped California businesses exchange more than 650,000 tons of materials, saving more than $5.5 million in purchase and disposal costs.

Emerging Issue: Sustainable Practices

Participation by business in local waste reduction and recycling efforts is critical because businesses generate more than half of California’s municipal solid waste. The question communities are grappling with is “What will motivate the private sector?” Reductions in disposal by California residents are dependent on recycling services, consumer education, and personal behavior choices associated as much with convenience as with environmental concerns. Nonhazardous waste issues from the business sector, however, will be driven primarily by economic concerns and, to a lesser extent, regulatory programs.

As a start, California and the rest of the country must move their view of waste issues beyond the current confines of municipal solid waste diversion and into the realm of a greater materials management perspective. Business, with its focus on the bottom line, must cease to view the material filling its dumpsters as simply garbage and instead view it as wasted resources, representing lost opportunity-unnecessary procurement that is returning nothing on the initial investment. This will only occur if there are economic implications for wasteful or ineffective material use.

The State must be willing to consider policies that focus on multilevel resource flows, from extraction through processing and manufacturing to product use and reuse, and their multi-media environmental impacts. Government and business must work collaboratively to demonstrate the effectiveness of product design for the environment, and that short-term economic interests can be balanced with lifecycle considerations. Bold consideration by the State of extended producer responsibility initiatives, as already undertaken by the European Union, may be in order.