Sustainability is being able to continue certain habits without having long-term, adverse effects on the environment. It is taking aspects of those habits and making them more environmentally friendly. These changes don’t need to be complicated and do not just mean recycling, it can also include carpooling or even buying locally produced goods.

Because our actions can influence the environment, it is important that our decisions have minimal effects on the Earth wherever possible. The growing problem of waste can be tackled with recycling, which would reduce the amount of garbage going to the landfill, it will also reduce the need to find materials to replace what is being thrown away.

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Other Sources

EPA. “Learn About Sustainability.” EPA. February 26, 2016. https://www.epa.gov/sustainability/learn-about-sustainability#what. Accessed May 12, 2016.

UCLA. “What is Sustainability.” UCLA Sustainability. http://www.sustain.ucla.edu/about-us/what-is-sustainability/. Accessed May 12, 2016.

Single-stream recycling collection, also known as commingled recycling collection, is a system where all recyclable materials are collected in one location and are not separated based on their materials. The collected material is usually then taken to a Municipal Recycling Facility (MRF) where the recyclables are separated and processed before being sold to manufacturers who will use the materials to make new products.

The advantage of this system is that it spares people from having to separate their recyclables and is more cost effective; however, this also poses a problem when the recyclables are brought for processing. The materials brought through the system run the risk of contamination, which means that there is a chance that not all of the recyclables brought to the MRF avoid the landfill.

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Other Sources

Lacapra, Veronique. “With ‘Single-Stream” Recycling, Convenience comes at a Cost.” http://www.npr.org/2015/03/31/396319000/with-single-stream-recycling-convenience-comes-at-a-cost. March 31, 2015. Accessed May 4, 2016

Source reduction is the process of reducing waste from a product before it is created through the product design, purchase of materials, and production. Businesses try to accomplish these factors through reducing the number or amount of materials needed, using recycled materials, avoid using certain materials, or designing the product so there is little to no waste once the product’s use is over. This allows for business to produce less waste not only in production but also after the product has been sold to the customer.

The need to reduce waste comes from both a concern for the environment and the need to reduce waste going into landfills. While policies have been created by federal governments to promote source reduction (such as China’s plans to introduce a national carbon trading market by 2017), companies need to adapt to the change by finding ways to balance profit with sustainability. A company that produces books, for example, may decide to print on recycled paper that would reduce the amount of trees needed to produce paper or even find a paper source that is closer to lessen the amount of carbon being emitted due to transport. This allows for companies to continue providing a service while being sustainable.

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Other Sources

Braucher, Keith and Clifford Kraus. “Climate Deal Is Signal to Industry: The Era of Carbon Reduction Is Here.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/business/climate-accord-draws-mixed-reaction-from-business-leaders.html?_r=0. December 15, 2015. Accessed May 3, 2016.

EPA. “Source Reduction.” https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/downloads/source-reduction10-28-10.pdf. Accessed May 3, 2016.

A Stream is what is used to divide types of recyclable refuse. Depending on the recycling program being applied in a community or business, recyclables can be divided into single or multi-stream systems for collection. While a single-stream system has all types of recycling placed in one container without the need to separate, a multi-stream system separates recyclables into different Streams of two or more. Usually, the recyclables are collected and then taken to a Municipal Recycling Facility (MRF) for processing.

Both types of Streams have their advantages and disadvantages. While a single-stream does provide the convenience of not having to separate paper, plastic and metal from each other, it has the risk of being easily contaminated by some of the contents not being properly sorted when at the MRF. A multi-stream system, though having to separate the bin contents into different Streams for collection, has the advantage of not having as much of a risk of contamination due to the contents having to be separated into different Streams.

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Other Sources

Lacapra, Veronique. “With ‘Single-Stream” Recycling, Convenience comes at a Cost.” http://www.npr.org/2015/03/31/396319000/with-single-stream-recycling-convenience-comes-at-a-cost. March 31, 2015. Accessed May 4, 2016

Container Recycling Institute. “Single Stream Recycling.” http://www.container-recycling.org/index.php/issues/single-stream-recycling. Accessed May 3, 2016.

Secondary Materials are materials that have been used, recycled and sold for use in manufacturing. These products allow for less reliance on the search for new raw resources for items such as paper, aluminum and plastic. It is advantageous in the sustainable use of resources so that these materials can be maintained for longer periods.

The use of secondary materials is not a new concept. Society has used secondary materials as early as 2000 B.C., where bronze was repeatedly reused for weapons, armor and tools. As civilization began to develop, the independent collectors, known as “cartmen,” collected rags, bones and coal dust for reuse in the process of paper, glue and bricks respectively. The practice of using secondary materials became necessary during the First and Second World Wars when resources became strained due to the war effort. Today, the reuse of materials continues to play a significant role in manufacturing and the conservation of our resources by allowing us to enjoy the everyday products that we take for granted.

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Other Sources

“For Education.” Began with the Bin. http://beginwiththebin.org/resources/for-education. Accessed May 3, 2016.

“Recycling – secondary material price indicator.” Eurostat. April 4, 2016. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Recycling_%E2%80%93_secondary_material_price_indicator#Development_of_prices_for_low_and_high_quality_secondary_materials. Accessed May 9, 2016.

Stream contamination is when a recycling stream is compromised in some form. This can range from unemptied packaging to the entry of non-recyclable materials like plastic bags. It occurs most often in single-stream programs because all types of recyclable materials are collected together, meaning that broken glass or unclean aluminum can compromise the collected recyclables.

Contamination can be a major problem when it comes to recycling. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials by reusing the materials found in the used product. As the collected materials become contaminated, they can no longer be used by manufacturers in the production of goods. This leads to more resources being cut and mined to replenish supplies.

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Other Sources

“Dirty Dozen Recycling Contaminants.” Eco-cycle. http://www.ecocycle.org/dirtydozen. Accessed May 16, 2016.

A Station Audit is an analysis of the centralized Recycling & Waste stations within your facility’s Refuse Streams.

A Waste Audit can identify what types of Recyclable materials and Waste your facility generates and how much of each category is recovered for Recycling or discarded. A Station Audit goes a step further by determining the types of Recyclable materials and Refuse for each station. This will allow your organization to take a deeper look at the problem areas within your facility that are causing inefficiencies, costing more money, etc.

Stream Composition is the makeup of the materials within a specific Stream.

For example, the default Stream Composition of the Mixed Recyclables Stream in the Resource Center is broken down as follows:

• 5% Cans
• 25% Cardboard
• 1% Glass Bottles
• 59% Paper
• 10% Plastic Packaging

Due to lack of standardization in the Recycling industry and the variability of materials used across North America, Stream Compositions can vary wildly from state to state and even from county to county. To edit your Stream Compositions to better match your county:

Go to Settings > Stream Compositions and make your preferred changes.

Definition

A station is a group of collection containers in the same immediate area. Each station can include multiple streams. For example, a station can be composed of waste, recycling, and organic containers.

Want to know more?

Providing information about your stations, such as bin size and the various streams you collect, will allow the Resource Center to calculate and display the amount of material in each container.

Definition

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 interlinked goals that create an agenda for all countries to work towards to achieve a more sustainable world. This agenda created by the United Nations works towards ending poverty, fighting climate change and ensuring equal opportunities for all while making sure not a single person is left behind.

What to know more?

The SDGs were adopted in 2016 and are the successor of the Millennium Development Goals. The SDGs are the next steps until 2030 on how all nations can come together to create prosperity for all countries while protecting the planet for current and future generations. They combine social justice, environmental sustainability, and economic growth into an actionable plan. Some examples of the SDGs include Responsible Consumption & Production, Quality Education and Climate Action.

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United Nations. “The Sustainable Development Agenda.” The Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/. Accessed August 13, 2019

Definition

According to the Our Common Future Report, also known as the Brundtland Report, Sustainable Development is “meeting the needs of current generations without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It is the ideas of using today’s resources in a sustainable manner so our children and our children’s children have the same opportunities as we do today.

Want to know more?

Recycling and waste diversion play a role in Sustainable Development because it gives an opportunity to reuse resources while limiting the amount of new resources must be used in the future.

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“Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future.” Http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf .Accessed August 13, 2019