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In Your Community
Schools, businesses, local governments and other parts of a community can reduce and better manage their waste by working together. Resources designed to help citizens and community leaders better manage materials and waste at the local level can be found under the following categories:
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Community Programs and Community Service/Volunteering
Resource Conservation Challenge
Describes EPA's national effort to find flexible, yet more protective ways to conserve resources through waste reduction and energy recovery activities, including beneficial uses for wastes.
Environmental Protection Begins with You: A Guide to Environmental Community Service (PDF) (24 pp, 517K)
Serves as a follow-on resource to Volunteer for Change: A Guide to Environmental Community Service (below)-providing examples of volunteer projects for recycling, reuse, compost, and household hazardous waste.
Volunteer for Change: A Guide to Environmental Community Service (PDF) (24 pp, 571K)
Offers suggestions and examples of volunteer opportunities and projects related to material and waste management.
Working Together for a Healthy Environment: A Guide for Multi-Cultural Community Groups (PDF) (32 pp, 8.9MB)
Designed to help community leaders and activists plan and execute community events that promote the 3Rs of solid waste management: reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Composting Options: Lessons from 30 Communities
Analyzes the actual operating experience of 30 diverse communities, some with high materials recovery rates and others with model waste reduction initiatives. Offers lessons for communities wanting to strengthen their own programs.
Recycling Works! State and Local Solutions to Solid Waste Management Problems (PDF) (52 pp, 2.1MB)
Examines the economic and environmental necessity for recovering, reusing, and recycling materials from municipal solid waste. Provides examples of successful recycling programs.
How to Set Up a Local Program to Recycle Used Oil (PDF) (38 pp, 747K)
Explains the organization, design, implementation, and promotion of a used oil program. Appendices include sample brochures and letters.
Household Hazardous Waste Management: A Manual for One-Day Community Collection Programs
Helps communities plan for one-day, household hazardous waste (HHW) drop-off/collection programs. Provides community leaders with guidance on all aspects of planning, organizing, and publicizing a HHW collection program.
Pay-As-You-Throw: Throw Away Less and Save
Discusses the benefits and potential barriers of pay-as-you-throw programs in which households are charged based on the amount of waste thrown away.
Joining Forces on Solid Waste Management: Regionalization Is Working in Rural and Small Communities
Presents an introduction to regionalization-the process whereby neighboring cities, towns, and counties pool resources to address local municipal solid waste challenges.
It's Easy Being Green: A Guide to Planning and Conducting Environmentally Aware Meetings and Events
Provides an outline for planning environmentally aware events such as meetings, workshops, festivals, picnics, and sporting events. Includes profiles of successful events that have been held, and step by step procedures for coordinating events using a planning checklist.
Tribal Communities
Recycling Guide for Native American Nations
Provides useful information for tribes interested in establishing or enhancing recycling programs (e.g., collecting materials, staffing, educating the community, and reducing waste), creating recycling jobs, and buying recycled products.
Waste Management in Indian Country
Provides information on tribal waste programs, including municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, construction and demolition debris, and industrial waste (e.g., mining waste, military munitions waste). Also provides guidance for opening a new landfill or transfer station and cleaning up old dump sites.
Schools
Service-Learning: Education Beyond the Classroom (PDF) (32 pp, 942)
Describes how K-12 students across the country are serving communities while gaining hands-on awareness of safe material management, waste reduction, recycling, and composting through solid waste service-learning-an educational experience that combines knowledge with service and personal reflection.
Reuse + Recycling = Waste Reduction: A Guide for Schools and Groups (PDF) (32 pp, 676K)| en Español (PDF) (32 pp, 6.8MB)
Describes various waste reduction options for schools and school-related groups such as Girl and Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, or Future Farmers. Provides information on how to conduct a reuse or recycling drive, develop a waste reduction program, receive credit accounts at local recycling/material collection centers, and more.
Wastes: Tips for a Waste-Less School Year
Provides information on using recycled-content products and reusing supplies to save money and reduce waste.
Composting
Composting
Discusses what composting is, what compost can be used for, and other related topics.
Note: See Where You Live for regional and state composting programs
Food Recovery
Donating Surplus Food to the Needy (PDF) (4 pp, 121K)
Addresses the donation of surplus food as part of a waste reduction program. Discusses traditional food banks; prepared and perishable food programs; food program services; donor responsibilities; and common concerns.
Don't Throw Away That Food: Strategies for Record-Setting Waste Reduction
Provides case studies from several communities for recovery of food discards.
Putting Surplus Food to Good Use: A How-To Guide for Food Service Providers (PDF) (2 pp, 1.1MB)
Provides guidance for food service providers-supermarkets, hospitals, universities, restaurants, and food preparation companies-about what to do with leftover food.
Waste Not, Want Not: Feeding the Hungry and Reducing Solid Waste Through Food Recovery (PDF) (59 pp, 1.5MB)
Explains how any state, municipality, or private business that deals with food, can reduce its solid waste by facilitating the donation of wholesome surplus food according to the food hierarchy. Also lists ways you can join the growing food recovery movement, and provides a framework to help you protect the environment while making a difference in the daily lives and futures of hungry families across our nation.
Recycling
Recycling
Provides an overview of the recycling process and recycling facts and figures. Also provides information on recycling opportunities and suggestions for businesses, local businesses, and individual citizens.
Measuring Recycling: A Guide for State and Local Governments (PDF) (164 pp, 2.4MB)
Provides information to help state and local agencies measure municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling. Includes instructions, definitions, case studies, tips, forms, and worksheets to help calculate an MSW recycling rate. Information is also provided to help track broad categories of recycled materials and commodity-specific categories, if desired.
Puzzled About Recycling's Value? Look Beyond the Bin (PDF) (16 pp, 800K)
Educates municipal solid waste managers, state solid waste officials, elected officials, and the waste management industry about the benefits of recycling.
Waste Prevention
Defines and lists benefits of and approaches to waste prevention.
Spotlight on Waste Prevention: EPA's Program to Reduce Solid Waste at the Source (PDF) (20 pp, 395K)
Describes EPA's initiatives to reduce and prevent municipal solid waste. Focuses on examples of how source reduction efforts benefit business and industry, governments, and consumers.
Landfills
MSW Disposal: Landfilling
Provides an overview of the Federal landfill standards, as well as information on landfill air emissions regulations and EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP).
Safer Disposal for Solid Waste: The Federal Regulations for Landfills (PDF) (18 pp, 624K, About PDF)
Summarizes the Federal regulations covering landfill location, operation, design, groundwater monitoring and corrective action, closure and post-closure care, and financial assurance.
Public Participation/Citizen Action
Enhancing Facility-Community Relations: Strengthening the Bridge Between Hazardous Waste Facilities and Their Neighbors (PDF) (7 pp, 186K)
Describes how hazardous waste facilities can play an integral role in improving quality of life for the community, and offers guidance for community relations and interaction.
RCRA Expanded Public Participation Rule | en Español
Describes how EPA's empowering communities to become more actively involved in local hazardous waste management by involving the public earlier in the permitting process; providing more opportunities for public participation; expanding public access to information; and offering guidance on how facilities can improve public participation.
Sensitive Environments and the Siting of Hazardous Waste (PDF) (12 pp, 66K) | en Español (PDF) (13 pp, 66K)
Discusses sensitive types of environments that pose special challenges to the siting, expansion, and operation of RCRA hazardous waste management facilities. Defines floodplains, wetlands, ground water, earthquake zones, karst soils, unstable terrain, unfavorable weather locations, and incompatible land use.
Social Aspects of Siting Hazardous Waste Facilities (PDF) (16 pp, 7.4MB)
Addresses the interaction of industries and government agencies with communities when hazardous waste facilities are sited.
Sites for Our Solid Waste: A Guidebook for Effective Public Involvement (PDF) (5 pp, 45K)
Provides information for public officials, citizens, and industry professionals to help them find waste sites that are both technically sound and socially acceptable. Encourages public involvement.
Social Aspects of Siting Hazardous Waste Facilities (PDF) (16 pp, 7.4MB)
Addresses the interaction of industries and government agencies with communities when hazardous waste facilities are sited.
Municipal Solid Waste
Planning
for Disaster Debris
Describes the steps a community can take to prepare for managing the waste created by natural disasters and to speed recovery after such disasters. Discusses ways communities can reduce the burden on their municipal solid waste management systems in the event of a natural disaster. Presents Federal, state, and local resources available to help.
Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle
Describes the "3 Rs" to eliminate waste—reduce the amount
and toxicity of trash you discard; reuse containers and products; repair
what is broken or give it to someone who can repair it; and recycle as
much as possible (including buying products with recycled content).
Reporting
on Municipal Solid Waste: A Local Issue
Presents background information to assist print and broadcast media in understanding municipal solid waste (MSW) issues. Examines the role of Federal, state, and local governments in MSW management; options for solid waste management (source reduction, recycling, incineration, and landfilling); and regulations for solid waste landfills.
Hazardous Wastes
Managing Hazardous Waste in Your Community
Provides education and outreach about EPA's hazardous waste management program under RCRA. Includes a basic overview of EPA's hazardous waste regulations and information about state hazardous waste contacts.
Universal Waste
Universal Waste
Describes the universal waste regulations, provides guidance on recycling universal wastes, and frequently asked questions about technical issues related to universal waste.
Waste-Derived Fertilizers
Environmental Fact Sheet: Waste-Derived Fertilizers (PDF) (3 pp, 12K)
Addresses concerns raised in the American Pacific Northwest regarding waste-derived fertilizers. Reviews current uses of hazardous waste in fertilizers; summarizes current Federal and state regulations on hazardous waste used in fertilizers; and discusses current actions being taken by EPA.
Environmental Fact Sheet: Regulations to be Revised for Zinc Fertilizer (2 pp, 18K)
Discusses EPA's proposal to modify existing regulations for zinc fertilizers made from recycled industrial wastes. The provisions are expected to improve and increase legitimate zinc recycling, and reduce contaminant levels in these types of fertilizers.
Other Resources
A Collection of Solid Waste Resources on CD-ROM
Contains numerous publications developed by the EPA's Office of Solid Waste (renamed Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery on January 18, 2009). Contains approximately 300 publications, in addition to games and activities for kids.
RCRA: Reducing Risk from Waste || en Español (PDF) (48 pp, 1.9MB)
Provides a brief overview of the national RCRA program and the role of the states. Defines RCRA hazardous waste, municipal and industrial solid waste, and the waste minimization program. Contains a section on environmental laws, a glossary, and a guide to the RCRA section of the Code of Federal Regulations.
