Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP)

Top 10 Questions and Answers

WRAP provides an opportunity for California Businesses to gain public recognition for their outstanding efforts to reduce waste. For general background information on the WRAP program, see WRAP Talk, our recent update on program activities. Find out more below...

1. What are the WRAP awards?
2. Were the businesses randomly chosen for the award?
3. How many businesses have received an award?
4. Can businesses actually help solve California's garbage problem?
5. What are most businesses throwing away?
6. What can businesses do to solve the problem of excess waste?
7. How are businesses actually saving money by reducing waste?
8. How can businesses get started?
9. What about recyclable materials?
10. How can businesses find out more about waste reduction?

1. What are the WRAP awards?

The Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) is an annual program, established in 1993 by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, that recognizes California businesses that have made outstanding efforts to reduce nonhazardous waste and send less garbage to our landfills. Successful applicants receive an award certificate from the State of California along with a camera-ready WRAP WINNER logo and window decal. The logo is suitable for use on products, advertising, and on educational materials to show that the State applauds efforts to reduce waste.

2. Are businesses randomly chosen for the award, or are there specific criteria?

Any California business that has taken effective measures to reduce the amount of waste it generates may apply. Applicants do not compete by type or size of business, but are judged based on individual merit. Businesses are asked to provide information about the steps they are taking to reduce waste in their daily business operations, such as incentives for company or employee recycling programs, the reduction of product packaging, and the reuse and recycling of materials in the manufacturing of their products. Businesses are also asked to give a breakdown of the amount of recycled and post-consumer materials being used in their manufacturing process (materials that were recyclable and those that were made from recycled materials).

3. How many businesses have received an award?

Since 1993, 16,436 awards have been bestowed upon 4,288 separate California businesses, many of them as multiple-year winners. All of them share the common achievement of waste reduction, and most have one or more employees dedicated to overseeing their waste reduction program. Many of the winners have asked their suppliers to reduce the wasteful packaging on products, while others have even found uses for their discards or unwanted materials.

4. Can businesses actually help solve California's garbage problem?

California law requires local governments to reduce waste by 50 percent (from 1990 levels) by the year 2000 and maintain a 50 percent reduction level. There are approximately one million businesses in California and they generate nearly half of all of California's waste. If all California businesses took the kind of lead the WRAP award winners have, there would be a tremendous drop in the amount of waste going to landfills. In fact, WRAP winners in 2000 reported a reduction in landfill deliveries of more than 5.6 million tons! Because of California's shortage of long-term landfill space, many local governments are predicting a 20 to 100 percent increase in disposal costs over the next few years. By reducing waste, businesses are avoiding millions of dollars in disposal costs.

5. What are most businesses throwing away?

Primarily paper, mostly through businesses' daily administrative functions and dealings with customers. But there are other things as well, depending on the size and type of business. It's not unusual for manufacturers and warehousers to have plastics comprise 25 percent of their waste stream. While it is less for retail (8 percent) and offices (6 percent), that is still a tremendous amount of plastic that ends up in our landfills. As another example, in 1991, an estimated 30 million toner cartridges were sold for laser printers and personal computer copiers. Nearly 86 percent of them were used once and thrown away, creating enough plastic waste to stretch halfway around the world. Today, businesses commonly recycle toner cartridges, saving money and reducing waste at the same time.

6. What can businesses do to solve the problem of excess waste? Is it complicated?

There are plenty of things companies can do to reduce waste and, no, it is not complicated. Businesses, large and small, can undertake some very simple measures to reduce and divert the amount of waste they send to the landfill each year, such as reducing office paper waste, purchasing recycled materials, having landscape wastes composted, recycling glass, cardboard, and plastic. Even batteries, tires, and motor oil can be recycled.

7. Are businesses actually saving money by reducing waste?

Yes, many of the WRAP award winners report dramatic savings in their waste disposal costs as a result of waste reduction or waste diversion. For example, Warner Bros. Studios has saved well over $100,000 in garbage hauling fees since instituting a program to donate excess materials and divert others for recycling. And a Torrance-based private label vitamin manufacturer was able to reduce its landfill costs by $30,000 in one year by diverting more than 915,000 pounds of garbage. The Fetzer Vineyards in Mendocino County initiated waste reduction efforts in 1990 and has since reduced the company's waste by 86 percent, saving more than $80,000 in disposal fees.

8. How can businesses get started? What's the first thing they can do?

Conducting waste assessments of their operations is a good first step. A waste assessment involves taking a close look at the waste management system and deciding what could be changed or eliminated in an effort to reduce waste being produced by the business. A very basic assessment, for example, could involve asking these questions:

• What kind of material is produced as waste and how much is going to be thrown away? Is there a way of reducing or eliminating the waste?
• Can some of the materials be reused or recycled instead of throwing them away? Is there another business or individual who has a need for them?
• Is there an employee-incentive program in place to educate employees about waste reduction practices and encourage the employees to apply waste reduction measures to their everyday work routines?

Answering even these basic questions can help any business owner or manager determine a workable solution for establishing an efficient waste management system.

9. What about reusable and recyclable materials? How can businesses locate individuals or businesses that need these kinds of materials?

The California Materials Exchange (CalMAX), is a free online materials exchange program sponsored by the California Integrated Waste Management Board. CalMAX lists materials "available" and "wanted" for reuse and recycling among businesses. Businesses can list their materials and also use it to keep track of where they can obtain and exchange materials necessary for their production or manufacturing process, or even routine daily operation procedures.

10. How can businesses find out more about waste reduction and WRAP?

Phone: (916) 341-6604
Fax: (916) 319-7699
Email: WRAP@ciwmb.ca.gov

Last updated: March 18, 2008