Material Use

Resource Center Links

Facilities can make material use improvements by reducing total materials required in production processes, packaging, and facility operations; minimizing hazardous materials use; and substituting recycled or reused materials for virgin materials where possible. The Performance Track program encourages applicants and members to report on material use improvements in the aspects listed below. Examples of appropriate measures are also provided.

Indicators	Units
Total Materials Used (total or specific)	Tons Pounds
Hazardous Materials Used (total or specific)
Recycled/Reused Materials Used

In order to improve material use, Performance Track members are:

reducing consumption of office paper by converting to electronic systems
closing production loops to enable reuse of waste materials
repairing machinery to prevent leaks of raw materials and products
using alternative, less toxic chemicals during processing
substituting non-hazardous materials in product design
replacing equipment to eliminate the use of hazardous substances
increasing recycled/reused materials content in products and packaging
expanding the use of recycled and reused materials in construction

View a table of common strategies used by Performance Track members to reduce hazardous materials use (PDF) (1 pp, 132K)

Other strategies to improve material use include:

product light-weighting
reducing packaging
increasing the durability of products and manufacturing equipment

Bottom-line benefits of improving material use efficiency can include cost savings for:

Product materials (e.g., product components and chemical formulations)
Packaging (including primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging materials)
Waste disposal fees

EPA and many non-governmental organizations, trade groups, and companies collect and share information on techniques and tools for improving a facility's material use. The links provided below highlight sources of information on the following topics:

Conversion and Contextual Factors for Materials Use
General Resources
Eco-Efficiency
Green Chemistry
Environmentally Preferable Packaging
Recycled Product Purchasing
Green Building Design
Ozone Depleting Substances

Disclaimer: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides this information as a free and open service to the public. EPA does not endorse any company or product identified on this or any subsequent pages listed herein, and makes no claims regarding the accuracy, validity, or effectiveness of this or any other product or service represented by these data.

If you would like to suggest additional resources to feature on this website, please email a description of the site (including what topics the site addresses) and the URL to hamilton.luctrician@epa.gov.

Conversion and Contextual Factors for Material Use

Methods to convert non-standard measurement units into standard units, and methods to convert environmental improvements into commonly understood contexts, can be found in the links below:

Conversion factors (e.g. the weight of a typical 40" x 48" wooden shipping pallet)

To calculate the weight of paper, use information from this table . For example, one ream of paper equals 500 sheets. Letter sized paper has a basis size of 17" x 22" and is cut into 4 pages per sheet. Thus, to determine weight for a package of letter sized paper, divide the "gsm or g/m2" weight by four.

To calculate the weight of mercury in everyday applications: one mercury thermostat contains 3.0 grams of mercury, or 0.01 pounds. See also the Energy Star Report on Mercury Levels in Light Bulbs.

One "typical" 40" by 48" wooden shipping pallet weighs 45 pounds (Source: Protecta-Pack Systems).

One gallon of PERC (perchloroethylene) equals 13.47 pounds (Source: Kansas Department of Health and Environment).
Contextual factors

According to EPA's Office of Solid Waste, approximately 7.6 billion tons of industrial solid waste are produced on average per year from 60,000 facilities. This is approximately 126,700 tons per facility.

According to EPA's Office of Solid Waste, 69.9 million tons of material were recycled in 2000. This 69.9 million tons consisted of: paper and paperboard (39.4 million tons, recycled at 45.4%); metals (6.4 million tons, recycled at 35.4%); and various other wastes (34.1 million tons).

General Resources

EPA's Environmental Accounting Project is designed to help businesses understand the full spectrum of their environmental costs and integrate these costs into decision-making. The website provides links to environmental accounting reports, software tools, and case studies. Among the resources provided is a booklet entitled The Lean and Green Supply Chain: A Practical Guide for Material Managers and Supply Chain Managers to Reduce Costs and Improve Environmental Performance (PDF) (58 pp, 7.7MB) The booklet includes a materials management success story.

The Materials Accounting Project (MAP) of the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) is a pilot project to conduct case studies of industry experience with materials accounting and demonstrate where materials accounting is most and least effective in promoting pollution prevention.

INFORM is an independent research organization that has evaluated greener alternatives to PBTs (persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances) and conventional cleaning chemicals, in addition to other material substitutes.

Eco-Efficiency

Measuring Eco-Efficiency: A Guide to Reporting Company Performance (PDF, 442KB, 38 pp, About PDF) by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development provides suggestions for how to measure materials consumption, including potential data sources.

Understanding a Process with Process Mapping (PDF, 652KB, 11 pp, About PDF) explores and explains process mapping, a tool to understand and assess facility processes as a first step towards pollution prevention. A process map offers a convenient way to keep track of materials use and loss.

EPA's Design for the Environment Program (DfE) is a voluntary, partnership program that works directly with industries and other partners to incorporate environmental considerations into the design and redesign of products, processes, and technical and management systems. This page includes links to sector-specific resources.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development's Eco-Efficiency Case Study Collection describes corporate case studies that illustrate how eco-efficiency leads to three core business opportunities: cost savings, risk management, and business expansion.

The Journal of Industrial Ecology addresses a series of related topics: material and energy flows studies; dematerialization and decarbonization; life-cycle planning, design and assessment; design for the environment; extended producer responsibility; eco-industrial parks; product-oriented environmental policy; and eco-efficiency.

The Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies maintains a variety of projects (primarily focusing on the automobile manufacturing, electronics, printing, and chemical industries) that encourage waste prevention through design and manufacturing changes. This web page also explores the topics of extended product responsibility, environmental evaluation, and environmental labeling.

Green Chemistry

EPA's Green Engineering Program provides software tools, case studies, and workshops to help educators, industry, and chemical engineers incorporate risk prevention concepts into the design of chemical processes and products.

EPA's Green Chemistry Program promotes innovative technologies that reduce the use or generation of toxic chemicals in the design, manufacture, and use of chemical products.

SAGE, The Solvent Alternative Guide , provides an interactive form through which users can evaluate their degreasing and part cleaning processes and identify alternative processes and solvents that are less environmentally damaging.

Environmentally Preferable Packaging

EPA's Packaging Website contains descriptions of and links to numerous initiatives for reducing packing waste.

The Alliance for Environmental Innovation reports on its partnerships with industry to develop and encourage environmentally preferably packaging, which can increase transportation efficiency. Especially noteworthy are the documents detailing packaging research the Alliance performed in cooperation with the overnight shipping industry.

NYC WasteLe$$, a comprehensive citywide waste prevention and environmental public awareness program, provides Pursuing Preferable Packaging tips to help businesses devise strategies for improving product packaging, preventing packaging waste, and reducing product sales costs.

Recycled Product Purchasing

The Model Procurement Plan developed by King County, Washington serves as a prototype procurement plan for organizations wishing to support markets for recycled and other environmentally preferred products.

Pennsylvania Resources Council's Listings of Recycled Products Directories includes contact information for recycled material suppliers.

Buy Recycled Business Alliance provides a 16-page list identifying suppliers of a large array of building products with recycled content.

The non-profit Alliance for Environmental Innovation and Businesses for Social Responsibility provide guidance on purchasing recycled paper in the report Make that Recycled: A Buyers Guide to Recycled Coated Freesheet Paper (PDF, 44KB, 6pp, About PDF) .

Green Building Design

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network(EREN) demonstrates green building practices related to improving materials use, including principles, programs, rating systems, success stories, educational material, and contacts for further information.

The Smart Growth Network provides links to information resources on green building, including materials use and reuse, deconstruction, and construction waste management.

Ozone Depleting Substances

Annexes A-E of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer list controlled Ozone Depleting Substances as well as quantifications of their ozone-depleting potential.

" Twenty Questions and Answers About the Ozone Layer" (PDF, 2.1MB, 39 pp, About PDF) , Answer 11, presents a list of the ozone depleting potential of common Ozone Depleting Substances.

Material Use

Resource Center Links

Local Navigation