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Industrial Materials Recycling
Promoting Efficient Materials Management
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Industrial Materials Recycling
Press Release: Structure to be World's Largest Built with Recycled Industrial Materials
Efficient management of materials is a key Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC) priority. Specifically, the goals are for entities that produce waste to:
- Reduce the waste at its source;
- Promote recycling of the waste; and
- Encourage its beneficial reuse in an environmentally sound manner.
Recycling and reuse of industrial non-hazardous wastes are crucial to a successful resource conservation program. Though typically not seen by the general public or part of their daily lives, these wastes:
Key Documents
Building for the Future by Recycling Industrial Materials (PDF) (2 pp, 416K, about PDF)
Industrial Materials Recycling: Managing Resources for Tomorrow (2 pp, 1.4MB, about PDF)
- Are generated in large volumes;
- Composed of lower risk materials; and
- Have single industry generation points.
Beneficial use of these materials includes their safe storage, handling, and use in products, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions; energy savings; and fewer land disposal units.
The Industrial Materials Recycling Program within the RCC is focusing on increasing the beneficial use of three industrial non-hazardous wastes:
Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2): program developed to increase the safe use of coal ash combustion products as a building and manufacturing material.
Construction and Demolition Materials (C&D): Usable materials generated every time a building, road, or bridge is constructed, remodeled, or demolished.
Foundry Sand: Foundry sand is used by the metal-casting industry to make molds into which molten metal is poured. After multiple uses, the sand becomes spent. The recycling of spent foundry sand can save energy, reduce the need to mine virgin materials, and reduce costs for both producers and end users.
Tires: Proper disposal of tires improves public health and the environment. The Scrap Tire Workgroup of the RCC is a collaborative effort to facilitate the recovery and reuse of scrap tire.