LEVERAGE CLIMATE CHANGE TO INCREASE RECYCLING

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IRA Annual Conference 2014 June 03, 2014

LEVERAGE CLIMATE CHANGE TO INCREASE RECYCLING !

The connection between Global Warming and Waste

1. Why do we care about Global Warming?

2. The connection between Waste and Global Warming

3. The potential in textiles

4. Diverting 90% of Textiles - Zero Waste

WASTING CLOTHES WARMS THE GLOBE

How Much is Too Much?April 2014

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Observed Change in Very Heavy Precipitation 1958-2012.

Billion Dollar Weather/Climate Disasters 1980-2012.

Projected temperatures 2071-2099. The National Climate Assessment, May 2014.

Hey deniers, stop stalling our progress!

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Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest tropical storm to ever make landfall: 6,000 lives lost and 6 million people displaced.

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Hurricane Katrina in 2005, caused more than 1,800 deaths and $81 billion in property damage.

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An estimated 400,000 people die each year due to major diseases and health disorders related to climate change.





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'OUR EMJRI'1XI5LY PRODOCTIVE ECONOMY ... DEHAND5 71/AT Wf I'!Akl CONSUMPTION OUR WAY OF liFE. "TIJAT \.J[ CONVEH T»£ 811YI~& AND USE OF 600DS INTO RITUAl~. THAT W£ sm OUR SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION, OU~ E&O SATISFACTION . W CONSUMPTION ... ~If NEED j)jJW65 CONSUMED, BURNlD UP. REPLACED AND ~Sf~~DED AT AN fVER-AfCHfRATII/6 Rnf."

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Extraction Production Distribution Consumption Disposal

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1%

1%

3%

5%

0%

4%10%

12%63%

All Other Industrial Fossil Fuel Combustion Industrial Electricity ConsumptionIndustrial Non-Energy Processes Industrial Coal Mining Truck TransportationWaste Disposal Synthetic Fertilizers Manure Management

Waste is Linked to 36.7% of Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

(All Other)





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The Impact from Textiles

Source: Textile Exchange 2010 Global Market Report on Sustainable Textiles

One trillion kilowatt hours are used every year by the global textile industry.

That’s 10% of global carbon impact.

Fiber Contents Cotton Polyester Blended

Portion of textiles ¹ 42% 58% 100%

CO2 saved ² 16.3 lbs 15.3 lbs 15.7 lbs

CO2 photosynthesis ³ -1.7 lbs -0 lbs -0.7 lbs

CO2 emitted 4 -0.4 lbs -0.3 lbs -0.3 lbs

Net CO2 saved 14.2 lbs 15.0 lbs 14.7 lbs

CO2 Savings from Reusing Textiles

¹ Cotton here represents the portion of textiles that is natural fiber and polyester the man-made fibers. ² The savings are achieved by offsetting new clothing and includes material, production and transport. ³ Through photosynthesis cotton plants would bind 1.65 lbs of CO2 which is deducted from net savings. 4 The dropping off, collection, processing and shipping of reusable clothing emits CO2 which is deducted.

Greenhouse Gas Savings from Textile Recycling

Tons of greenhouse gas emissions prevented per ton of material reused or recycled.

For every pound reused or recycled, textiles account for more greenhouse gas savings than paper, plastics and glass combined.

Cotton T-Shirt Environmental Impact

Material, Production and Transport Lifecycle Phases for a cotton T-shirt weighing 0.25 kg (0.55 pound)

Metric US Per PoundWater 5,000 liters 1,320 gal 2,400 gal

Fertilizers 134 grams 0.3 lbs 0.55 lbsPesticides 5 grams 0.01 lbs 0.02 lbs

Fossil fuels 0.55 kg 1.2 lbs 2.2 lbsCO2 4.1 kg 9.0 lbs 16.3 lbs

Other gases 71 grams 0.16 lbs 0.28 lbs

Since 1980APPARELCONSUMPTIONhas increased

Diversion is only 15%, although most textiles are reusable or recyclable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce

SOURCE: U.S. EPA

Textiles make up 9.4% of Illinois MSW* *According to the Illinois Commodity/Waste Generation and Characterization Study.

Beverage Household Containers Hazardous

lnorganics 3.0l _o_.2_% __ waste O.S%

:------- Organics 25.7%

Textiles 9.4%

Paper 23.6%

Plastic 15.2%/

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www.usagain.com

Textile Consumption Grows

Diverted Generated

Textile Waste Generated and Diverted in the U.S.

By 2015 annual textile waste generation will increase to almost 14 million tons. Diversion is stagnant at 15%.

Source: 2011 EPA Waste Characterization Study

Tons





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How do we achieve Zero Waste for textiles?

1. Increase convenience2. Increase awareness

How Important is Convenience?

Not Important Less ImportantSomewhat Important Very ImportantMost Imporant

84% of respondents felt the convenience of location and access is important when diverting clothes for recycling and reuse.

Source: USAgain News That You Can Use Again Survey

Increase Convenience

Provide Recycling Choices:• Outdoor recycling bins

• In-store collection points

• Multi-family units

• Transfer stations

• Public facilities - parks, libraries, fire stations

• Schools and Universities

• Curbside collection

• Events

Examples of Communities Tackling the Issue

Algonquin Township, ILThe Algonquin Township Highway Department in Crystal Lake, IL hosts eight USAgain bins and has collected 4.2 million pounds of textiles for recycling since 2001.

Examples of Communities Tackling the IssueWill County Forest Preserve District & West Deerfield TownshipWill County Forest Preserve District provides 22 textile recycling bins at 19 preserves around the county.

West Deerfield Township has a program to support a local charity though a textile recycling fundraiser.

“We’re pleased

that so many

county residents

take the time

and effort to

recycle their

clothing” !!

Joe Babich,President, Forest

Preserve Board of

Commissioners

Examples of Cities Tackling the Issue

Santa Monica, CAThe City of Santa Monica hosts one day textile recycling events, workshops and hosts textile recycling bins in partnership with USAgain.


Queen Creek, AZ A town of 26,000 residents near Phoenix launched a pilot curbside textile recycling program in August 2012 in partnership with United Fibers and Right Away Disposal. Bonded Logic processes collected items into thermal and acoustical insulation made and used in the local community. United Fibers pays the town and the local Boys & Girls Club each 10 cents per pound of textiles collected.

“We’re the first municipality in the

country to do curbside textile

recycling.” Ramona SimpsonProject Administrator for Queen Creek’s trash and recycling department


New York, NYThe textile recycling program re-fashioNYC, sponsored by the NY Department of Sanitation, has collected one million pounds of clothing since its launch in 2011.


St. Paul, MNUSAgain has partnered with Eureka Recycling to collect clothes, shoes and other textiles directly from residents.

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Increase Awareness

Government, non-profit and private enterprise partnerships can help educate the public on textile recycling.

Significant Benefits from Diverting 90% of Textiles

» Environmental Benefits

» Economical Benefits

» Social Benefits

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Saved

188 million tons of CO2 would be saved every year. That’s equivalent to taking 40 million cars off the roads.

Environmental

Benefits

Water Saved

31 trillion gallons of water would be saved every year. That’s enough to supply 210 million households.

Environmental

Benefits

Landfill Space Saved

146 million cubic yards of landfill space will be saved. That could fill the Empire State building 113 times!

Environmental

Benefits

Green Jobs Created

Increasing textile diversion to 90% would create 108,800 green jobs in the U.S.

Economical

Benefits

Waste Disposal Fees Saved

CITY Population Textile Waste Disposed Annually

Cost of Textile Waste Disposal

Chicago, IL 2.71 M people 92,140 tons $921,400

Naperville, IL 143,684 people 4,885 tons $488,500

Lisle, IL 22,647 people 770 tons $7,700

!1. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/us/13cncgarbage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 2. Population multiplied by 68/pounds per person (average according to EPA)

Economical

Benefits

Social Impact

70% of the world’s population wears secondhand clothing.

Economical &

Social Benefits

The land no longer used to grow cotton can be replanted with trees!

Planting 5.4 billion trees on 5.4 million hectares!would remove 128 million tons of CO2 annually.





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Global Warming is linked to our wasteful economy

Global Warming is linked to our wasteful economy

We need to reuse and

recycle more!

Tons of greenhouse gas emissions prevented per ton of material reused or recycled.

Textiles contribute more greenhouse gases than most commonly recycled materials…

…and are easily reused and recycled.

Increasing Diversion from 15% to 90%…

…is possible by 2030.

Diverted Generated

Textile Waste Generated and Diverted in the U.S.

Increasing diversion of textiles from 15% to 90%…

…will save carbon emissions equivalent to taking 40 million cars off the roads.

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Sources

A spatially explicit life cycle inventory of the global textile chainJulia K. Steinberger & Damien Friot & Olivier Jolliet & Suren ErkmanReceived: 19 June 2008 / Accepted: 29 March 2009 / Published online: 13 May 2009 # Springer-Verlag 2009

EJF, 2007, The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton, Environmental Justice Foundation in collaboration with Pesticide Action Network UK, London, UK. ISBN No. 1-904523-10-2

Well dressed? The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom. First published in Great Britain 2006 by: University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RX, UKJulian M Allwood, Søren Ellebæk Laursen, Cecilia Malvido de Rodríguez, Nancy M P Bocken

AUTEX Research Journal Vol 1, No.1, 1999, © AUTEXLife Cycle Assessment ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE OF COTTON AND POLYESTER-COTTON FABRICSEija M.Kalliala, and Pertti Nousiainen, Tampere University of Technology, PO Box 527, 33101 Tampere, Finland, Europe

qu ons? Mattias Wallander

CEO, USAgain [email protected]

• (usaga1n ~ use 1t ag01n

[email protected] I www.us.again.com 1800,604.9533

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LEVERAGE CLIMATE CHANGE TO INCREASE RECYCLING