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Waste Minimization / Recycling / Energy Recovery / Retail

OSWER Innovation
Pilot Projects

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Agricultural & Municipal Cooperation in Co-composting Green and Animal Wastes

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9 Amount: $29,000

Partners: Sustainable Conservation

Overview: This pilot will further test an innovative model of dairy manure and green waste management that benefits both the agricultural and municipal sectors.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 137K)

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Assisting Small Businesses in Voluntary Pollution Prevention Efforts: Facility Decontamination in the Wood Preserving Industry

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 7 and U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste) Amount: $56,255

Project Overview: U.S. EPA Region 7 will develop an equipment cleaning methodology for wood preserving facilities to assist in the conversion from PCP and CCA to less toxic chemicals. Standard operating procedures will be prepared for performing a simple, cost-effective cleaning of the wood treatment facility's process equipment. By facilitating the conversion to other preservatives, the Pilot will enable facilities to eliminate disposal of hazardous wastes at a RCRA permitted facility since the wastes generated following conversion would be nonhazardous. If successful, this project will provide the wood treatment industry with innovative methods to properly clean their facilities at minimal expense.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 360K)

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Biomass Energy Conversion Study

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 7 Amount: $51,736

Partners: Biomass Energy Conversion (BECON )Facility, Iowa Energy Center/Iowa State University

Project Overview: The Iowa Energy Center's Biomass Energy Conversion (BECON) facility, in partnership with U.S. EPA Region 7, will investigate the feasibility of establishing new, bio-based plastic manufacturing processes. BECON represents a multi-million dollar investment by the Iowa Energy Center to produce value-added products from farm crops and wastes and transferring that knowledge to industry. The pilot will obtain the expertise necessary to delineate processes, develop cost estimates for equipment, define operational control strategies, and estimate operating costs for pilot-scale equipment. Most plastics currently are produced by petroleum. These processes produce significant quantities of toxic or hazardous byproducts. To the extent that these plastics can be displaced by products made from cleaner, biological sources, the wastes associated with current plastic production can be minimized. Additionally municipal solid waste streams contain significant amounts of paper, food wastes, scrap wood, yard wastes, etc. (biological materials). These waste streams are potential feedstocks for creating plastics. By diverting biological wastes from the municipal solid waste stream, these materials become valuable products with productive reuse.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 4MB)

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Building Deconstruction and Reuse

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste) and U.S. EPA Region 4 Amount: $37,858

Partners: University of Florida Center for Construction and Environment, Gainesville Regional Utilities, City of Gainesville, FL

Project Overview: University of Florida Center for Construction and Environment, in partnership with EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, EPA Region 4, Gainesville Regional Utilities, the City of Gainesville, and other partners will conduct an innovative research, demonstration, and education project deconstructing a typical wood-framed house in Gainesville, Florida, and designing and reconstructing its constituent materials into new neighborhood building projects. EPA has estimated that 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition (C&D) waste is generated in this country per year, of which 92% is from renovation and demolition. The proposed project is particularly unique in its simultaneous focus on the front end and the back end of the building process. Deconstruction and design for reuse are innovative principles in need of broader demonstration so that they may be adopted by mainstream America. Partnering with a community and a municipal utility, such as GRU, increases incentives and opportunities to spread the message of the energy value of reuse to its customers. The project is expected to recover 60% of the house's materials, resulting in the elimination of 27 tons of C&D waste that would have otherwise gone to a landfill.

FACT SHEET (2 pp, 629K)

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City of McAllen Public Works Department - Recycling Division Full Circle "Save the Greens" Resource Recycling, Recovery, and Composting Pilot Project

focus area: compost/food related
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: government

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 6 Amt: $50,000

Partners: Globe Supermarket, McAllen, TX; Ruben's Grocery, McAllen, TX; Sustainable Agronomics Association, Edinburg, TX; Texas Cooperative Extension, Edinburg, TX; Texas Vegetable Association, Mission, TX

Project Overview: The project will implement an innovative full-circle process for recycling vegetative solid waste that includes: 1) partnering with supermarkets, restaurants, and schools to separate and collect all vetetative solid wastes generated; 2) provide recycling bins and biodegradable plastic bags for collection of vegetative solid wastes; 3) transport the collected waste to the City's composting facility for grinding and mixing the waste into the compost to boost the nitrogen and nutrient levels ; and 4) selling the enriched compost to local organic farmers and agricultural operations for use in growing fruits and vegetables that will then be sold back to supermarkets, restaurants, and schools.

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Closing the E-Design - E-Scrap Loop

focus area: electronics recycling
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: computers and electronics

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 10 Amt: $78,115

Partners: National Center for Electronics Recycling; Resource Recycling, Inc.

Project Overview: The objective of this project is to build a mechanism for the active, two-way exchange of actionable information between the front and back ends of the electronics product life-cycle chain of commerce. The project focuses on computers and monitors because there is the most active end-of-life economy for those products, and because the EPEAT program, which provides a basis for much of this work, has initially focused on that product set.

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Collecting and Recycling Used Computers Via the Reverse Distribution System

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 Amount: $46,541

Partners: Product Stewardship Institute, Staples, Inc., Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection, Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection

Overview: This pilot will test the reverse distribution model for moving used computers from consumers to recyclers rather than to disposal. Reverse distribution will collect the computers through the same infrastructure used to deliver the products to the customer making it convenient for households and businesses.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 132K)

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Collaborative Partnership to Effect Significant Environmental Performance and Compliance Improvements in the Healthcare Sector

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 Amount: $74,040

Partners: American Hospitals Association, American Nurses Association, Healthcare without Harm, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Overview: This pilot will work with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to include environmental compliance and performance information into the JCAHO survey and accreditation process.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 130K)

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Costilla County Biodiesel Waste-to-Energy Demonstration

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 8 Amount: $50,000

Partners: Costilla County Economic Development Council, Costilla County, Colorado

Overview: This pilot will test small-scale biodiesel production using locally grown crops (e.g., canola seed) and used restaurant cooking oil to demonstrate the viability of producing this renewable energy at a local level. Additionally, once in full production, the pilot will be able to recover methanol from the pre-treatment process, which can be reused in the production of biodiesel; produce glycerol as a valuable byproduct; and create jobs by adding value to local agricultural products (e.g., manufacturing canola oil). Benefits include expanding the availability of renewable energy from waste oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing toxicity and associated health risks.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 139K)

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Creating an Integrated "Green" Parking Lot and Urban Wetlands on a Former Commercial Site

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 6 Amount:$50,000

Partners: Heifer International, Arkansas Office of Environmental Quality, Arkansas Economic Development Fund, City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Downtown Partnership of Little Rock

Overview: This pilot will develop an innovative design for converting a former industrial property to an urban wetlands ecosystem with a "green" parking plaza. The parking plaza will encourage environmental stewardship by demonstrating environmentally friendly approaches to construction and designing green development projects.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 137K)

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Creating a National Reuse Marketplace: A Search Engine Uniting Materials Exchanges

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: government

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 and U.S. EPA Region 2 Amt: $61,000

Partners: Center for Ecological Technology (Massachusetts Materials Exchange); Maine Materials Exchange; North Carolina Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (NC Trader); ReCONNstruction Center (Connecticut); Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RI Resource Xchange); Southern Waste Information Exchange (Florida); University of Tennessee (Tennessee Materials Exchange); Vermont Business Materials Exchange; Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection; Steel Recycling Institute.

Project Overview: This pilot is designed to increase reuse by streamlining access to Materials Exchange (Exchange) opportunities and by promoting Exchanges as a viable tool serving homeland security and site remediation concerns in addition to their more traditional roles. The goal is to achieve this through a single Web site that networks the Exchanges. Currently, most Exchanges are not set up in such a way as to be technologically capable of such linkage. This project will provide the groundwork for such capacity by: Developing essential criteria for creating a technologically strong Exchange Web site/database that can support a multi-site query - meta-search engine; Writing a guidebook outlining the details of the above criteria; Providing training to Exchanges on these criteria; Promoting web-based linkages between Exchanges; and Promoting the availability of these resources and the importance of technologically strong Exchanges.

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Decision Analysis Tool for Managing Industrial Byproducts

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: recycling

Sponsor: EPA Region 5 Amt: $58,356

Partners: Univ. of Toledo, Partners: Amer. Coal Ash Assoc., Great Lakes Byproducts Mgmt. Assoc., Ohio EPA

Project Overview: The pilot will develop a tool for state and local regulators, end users, and the public to evaluate the benefits of various beneficial reuse options for managing industrial byproducts. Large volumes of industrial byproducts are being produced everyday. One of the difficulties with evaluating the various management options for byproducts is the ambiguity and lack of data and tools for determining if the particular beneficial use application is indeed ‘beneficial’. The tool developed in this project will produce much needed information on economics, environmental impacts, safety, and risk of beneficial reuse applications

FACT SHEET (PDF) (3 pp, 46K)

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Deconstruction and Building with Reused Materials Training

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: construction

Sponsor: EPA Region 1 Amt: $53,451

Partners: ReCycle North, Habitat for Humanity, Penn State Univ., Building Materials Reuse Assoc.,Yestermorrow Design/Build School

Project Overview: The pilot will develop a national train-the-trainer program for building deconstruction and the use of reclaimed building materials. Deconstruction and materials reuse provides environmental benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and reducing energy and resource consumption by extracting resources from old building materials.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (3 pp, 42K)

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Deconstruction for Urban Revitalization

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: construction

Sponsor: EPA Region 3 Amount $73,600

Partner: Institute for Local Self-Reliance; Hamer Center at Penn State University; City of Philadelphia Neighborhood Transformation Initiative

Project Overview: This pilot will evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an innovative approach to dismantle row house buildings. A mechanized and panelized approach to deconstruction will allow for the most efficient reuse of roof and floor structural lumber, enable quicker access to properties by redevelopers, and reduce overall costs by using a “hybrid” of hand and mechanized labor working together.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 72K)

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Design for Disassembly in the Built Environment

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: construction

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 4 Amount $69,030

Partner: Community Housing Resource Center;

Project Overview: More efficient home-design could save enough material for construction of 2/3 of the houses built in the next 50 years. This pilot was developed to reduce waste generated from residential building design and demolition. The pilot will extend the Design for Disassembly (DfD) concept to construction of residential housing by convening an experts group to formulate innovative DfD principles, building a case study house, documenting research and results, and promoting the incorporation of these principles into future housing design.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 72K)

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Developing a Policy to Facilitate the Use of Drum Top Crushing Devices for Fluorescent Lamps

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 3 Amount: $40,000

Partners: DTC device manufacturers, Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

Project Overview: U.S. EPA Region 3, in partnership with the States in Region 3, drum top crushing (DTC) device manufacturers, and the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, will collect data on mercury and other emissions from the use of DTC devices to develop a national policy on the use of DTC devices. The use of DTC devices for managing fluorescent lamps has been subject to inconsistent regulatory determinations, in part, because there isn't a clear national strategy for controlling emissions from these devices. A clear policy directed at protecting human health and the environment should help reduce mercury emissions. The educational component of this project will help minimize human health effects from exposure to mercury due to improper handling and disposal of fluorescent lamps.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 626K)

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eCommerce Packaging and Shipping Design

Sponsor: EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery Amount: $50,000

Partners: McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC

Project Overview: The Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste) and McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, LLC will work with various partners to eliminate waste in eCommerce product packaging. The growth of eCommerce has provided many societal benefits, however, the eCommerce revolution also has contributed to an increase in paper and plastic packaging materials in municipal solid waste systems each year. The Pilot consists of two phases: 1) development of a progressive design framework for eCommerce packaging; and 2) execution of a Design Challenge to solicit innovative designs which meet the framework outlined in phase one. The pilot seeks to transform the current packaging system and will be accomplished through the combined expertise, ingenuity, and commitment of all actors involved in the package delivery system. By establishing a new design framework for shipping packages, the Pilot will lead to reductions in waste and greenhouse gas. It will develop areas of collaboration between industry, the federal government, and advocacy organizations.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 631K)

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Effectiveness of Cell Phone Reuse, Refurbishment, and Recycling Programs

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 2 Amount: $35,000

Partner: INFORM, Inc.

Project Overview: INFORM, Inc., in partnership with U.S. EPA Region 2 will examine the effectiveness of selected cell phone donation and take-back programs and determine how their value is recaptured and how collected phones are ultimately managed at end-of-life. Using this data, the Pilot will assess the environmental benefits of these programs. The research can lead to increasing both the quantity and effectiveness of successful donation and take-back programs as a means of diverting cell phones from landfills and incinerators and possibly encouraging environmentally preferable product redesign. The pilot is designed to be a first step towards forging the link between product design and end-of-life management.

FACT SHEET (2 pp, 627K)

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Environmental Behavior Placement on TV

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9, and HQ Innovation, Partnership, & Communication Office Amount: $30,000

Overview: This pilot will develop a public information campaign and guide modeled on the private sector concept of "product placement" to place environmentally beneficial behavior (EBB) in TV shows.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 137K)

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Expanding Pharmaceutical Waste Management in Hospitals

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 Amount: $60,000

Partners: Health Care Without Harm, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, H2E Champions PharmEcology Associates, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and the New Hampshire Hospital Association
O verview: This pilot breaks new ground by taking a systematic approach to looking at on how pharmaceutical wastes in hospitals are generated, how they can be minimized, and how they should be managed in order to develop best management practices for healthcare organizations and improve regulatory compliance. The approach is expected to be readily transferable to the entire healthcare sector. Reducing pharmaceutical generation and implementing proper waste management system will benefit patients, staff, visitors, and the surrounding communities by improving environmental performance in the healthcare sector.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 140K)

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Financial Benchmark for Recycling Businesses

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 5 Amount: $65,000

Partners: Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, North Carolina Department of Environmental Protection, Minnesota Bankers Association, AMPros Corporation

Overview: This pilot will collect and analyze financial data from recycling companies to provide industry-specific financial benchmark information. The benchmark will provide a financial risk management tool and provide useful data to make informed d ecisions about recycling investments.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 131K)

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Florida Green Lodging Certification Program's Web Locator and Green Information Service

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 4 Amount : $30,000

Partners: Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Overview: This pilot will enhance Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Green Lodging Certification Program (GLC) with the addition of a Green Lodging Locator identifying Florida's certified green hotel/motel properties.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 129K)

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Green Building Transit Leadership Project - BART District

focus area: green buildings
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: public transit

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9 Amount: $50,000

Partners: BART will work with EPA, local government, transit agencies, and the wider transit community (though publications, presentations, and meetings) to publicize and share the results of the demonstration project.

Overview: The U.S. Green Building Council and others have established guidelines for the design of environmentally preferable buildings, but transit-specific green building guidelines have not been fully developed. This project leverages a completed EPA Region 9 Sustainable Transit Leadership Innovations Work Group Project with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) that developed draft green building standards specifically for use by transit authorities with input from major U.S. and Canadian transit authorities (a 2002 innovations pilot). This project would demonstrate and document the application of the green building transit guidelines to support widespread adoption of green building construction, operations, and maintenance in the transit industry. Avg. Score: 87

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Green Gas Stations

focus area: green buildings
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: petroleum industry

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 7 Amount: $55,000

Partners: Regions 6, 7 and 9, Petroleum Marketers Association, DOE, Petroleum, Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas; and Zarco, Inc.

Overview: Region 7 is currently participating in a "Green Gas Station" pilot project at Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels in Lawrence, KS. In partnership with the station owner, state offices, commodity groups, renewable energy consultants, and the University of Kansas, EPA is testing the application of environmental stewardship and innovation in energy to the gas station sector. This proposal is to further develop the framework of the gas station program, pilot the concept in other regions, and measure the environmental and economic results of the projects. Avg. Score: 83

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Greening Industrial Design

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste) Amount: $50,000

Partners: Industrial Design Society of America

Overview. This pilot will conduct workshops, target outreach, and develop a web site to improve awareness among engineers and designers of the highly credible and easy to use methods for reducing the environmental impacts of products.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 131K)

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Improving Management of Household Prescription Medication Waste

focus area: hospital/medical
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: healthcare

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 Amount $48,750

Partner: Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.;American Plastics Council, CVS Corporation; Capital Returns, Inc.; National Expired and Unused Medication Drive; PharmEcology Associates, LLC; Dillon Environmental Associates; Clean Harbors, Inc.; Franklin County Solid Waste Management District (MA); Pemi-Baker Solid Waste District (NH); Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation; Strong Pharmaceutical Services.

Project Overview: Through partnerships with private and public sector businesses and organizations, this pilot will develop and implement collection programs for household prescription medication waste (HPW) and bulk compounding chemicals. At present there are no widely available solutions for proper management of HPW. In conjunction with retail-based, senior center, and other household hazardous waste programs, this project will develop practical strategies for collecting HPW and ensuring their proper end-of-life management. Additionally, the pilot will develop best management practices for plastic medication associated containers.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 72K)

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Industrial Phosphate Sludge Waste as a Raw Material for Iron Phosphate Glass

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 5 Amount: $43,000

Partners: Mo-Sci Corp., University of Illinois, Illinois Waste Management Resource Center, Illinois EPA, Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Overview: This pilot will investigate the feasibility of using non-hazardous industrial phosphate sludge waste as a raw material for iron phosphate glass.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 134K)

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Innovative Use of Recycled Materials to Increase Beneficial Use of Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Fines

focus area: green buildings
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: construction

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 Amt: $75,500

Partners: Waste Management of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Projection

Project Overview: This project entails exploring whether coal ash, wood ash, and/or crushed concrete could be economically utilized as an amendment for C&D debris fines to attenuate the production of hydrogen sulfide in a beneficial use application.

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Integrated Tribal Environmental Management Center

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 7 Amount: $30,000

Partners: Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation

Project Overview: The Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, in partnership with U.S. EPA Region 7, will expedite the development of an Integrated Tribal Environmental Management Center. The Center will bring together many different environmental management disciplines, with an emphasis on waste minimization, recycling, energy recovery, and water quality. It will establish a comprehensive program that includes education, materials management, economic/business opportunity development, and land stewardship. The Pilot will demonstrate the feasibility of melding solid waste management, recycling, water quality protection, and entrepreneurship on a Native American Reservation. It will create a model for environmental management that will be directly transferable to other rural, agricultural, and tribal populations.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 6MB)

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Measuring the Environmental Benefits of Federal Electronic Equipment Management Practices

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 10 Amount: $60,000

Partners: U.S. EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, U.S. EPA Office of Administration and Resources Management, U.S. EPA Regions 5 and 9, Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and the Federal Network for Sustainability

Overview: This pilot will develop tools to measure the impact on the environment and economy from environmentally sound management of electronic equipment. Currently, no assessment tool exists to determine the environmental benefits of purchasing, operating, reusing and recycling electronics. This pilot will allow the federal government to measure and promote the environmental and financial benefits of proactive electronics management.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 142K)

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Municipal Self-Evaluation Process for Leaner-Greener Cities

focus area: green buildings
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: government

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 4 Amount: $50,000

Partners: A local Atlanta municipality (as the pilot), a private architectural firm, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Pollution Prevention Assistance Division, Sustainable Atlanta, the North Georgia Metropolitan Water District and the Atlanta Regional Council.

Overview: Municipalities in Region 4 have asked EPA for guidance and assistance on the best ways to revamp permits, codes and ordinances to provide for greener building and for recommendations for ways that local governments can use regulations to encourage green building. This project will develop a comprehensive self-evaluation methodology for municipalities to review their codes and ordinances to identify multi-media opportunities and barriers to municipal, commercial and residential green building. The second component of the project will provide recommendations to improve permit/process efficiencies in government by working with a municipality and the State on a "Leaning in Government" kaizen (or value stream mapping) event specifically focused on green construction permits. Avg. Score: 83

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National Paint Product Stewardship Dialogue

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9 Amount: $43,804

Partners: Product Stewardship Institute, numerous major paint manufacturers, retailers, and various state and local government

Overview: This pilot establishes a dialogue among numerous stakeholders to reach an agreement to reduce paint waste; develop efficient programs to collect, reuse, and recycle surplus paint; and develop sustainable financing systems to cover management costs.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 130K)

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Northwest Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) Recycling Pilot Program for Rural Hospitals

focus area: hospital
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: hospital/medical

Sponsor: EPA Region 10 Amt: $26,820

Partners: Oregon Center for Environmental Health, ID Dept. Of Env. Quality, Good Shepherd Health Care, Legacy Health System, Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E)

Project Overview: The pilot will create and replicate a pilot plastics recycling program to increase the recycling efforts of rural hospitals. While all hospitals face barriers to recycling plastics, rural hospitals are confronted with the added disadvantage of being isolated from many recycling services and resources.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (3 pp, 48K)

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Product Stewardship Institute - Research to Support National Dialog for Fluorescent Lighting

focus area: product stewardship
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: manufacturing

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 8 Amount: $15,000

Partners: (all contributed funds) Region 5, 8, and 10, Washington Department of Ecology.

Overview: This is a request for supplemental funding to the Product Sustainability Institute (PSI) for a current grant on fluorescent lighting. The goal of this effort is to promote the use of energy efficient lighting while eliminating or reducing the amount of mercury entering the environment during the lifecycle of fluorescent lamps. PSI has conducted stakeholder interviews and drafted a Product Stewardship Action Plan for Fluorescent Lamps. The Action Plan sets the stage for a series of multi-stakeholder meetings that explore collaborative strategies for fully addressing the priority issues. Avg. Score: 80

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Project Pure: Promoting Understanding of RFID and the Environment

focus area: electronics recycling
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: computers and electronics

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste) Amt: $55,000

Partners: National Center for Electronics Recycling; Resource Recycling, Inc.

Project Overview: Triggered by the increasing problem of e-waste, the project seeks to develop an innovative way to encourage a cradle to cradle approach in the handling of electronics products in the U.S. Specifically, the project aims to identify ways in which the use of RFID tags within the production and distribution system for electronics products could reduce the environmental footprint of electronic products by minimizing the need for materials, facilitating reuse and improving the efficiency of recycling while providing economic and operational benefits for those involved in the life cycle of electronics.

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Potential Recycling of Medium Density Fiberboard

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 4 Amount: $27,225

Partners: University of Tennessee

Overview: This pilot will determine what happens to the formaldehyde portion of the urea formaldehyde (UF) resin from ground up fiberboard and whether it poses a risk to human health or can be safely reclassified and eligible for recycling.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 129K)

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Promoting Innovative Green Infrastructure Concepts to R5 Stakeholders

focus area: green buildings, product stewardship
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: government, manufacturing, recycling industry

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 5 Amount: $50,000

Partners: R5 states, local public works programs, university researchers, FHWA, Region 3, OSWER, and OW and representatives of composters, industrial byproduct generators, end users, and contractors.

Overview: Region 5 proposes to increase the use of recycled materials by developing two different in-depth series of collaborative and informational web-based meetings. These meetings would bring innovative, sustainable development concepts to key R5 stakeholders, seek their input on the concepts and/or seek agreement to implement these concepts. Region 5 commits to documenting the results, including proposed action items, comments, and demonstration plans and sharing them with others that are working to accomplish similar goals. The first series will be called "Green Highway Series," focusing on use of recycled materials in highway construction. The second series will be called "Compost Use for Stormwater and Erosion Control Series," focusing on environmental benefits of using compost to control erosion and stormwater. Avg. Score: 82

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Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tracking of Hazardous Materials across International Borders

focus area: product stewardship
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: government, waste management industry

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 6 Amount: $50,000

Partners: U.S./EPA Border Coordination partnerships include: Office of International Affairs, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Office of Air and Radiation, Region VI, U.S.-Mexico Border Program Outreach, Region IX, Waste Management Division. Interested Federal agencies include Federal Highway Administration and Customs and Border Protection at Santa Teresa, NM Port of Entry. Participating agencies include New Mexico Border Authority and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality-Border Affairs. New Mexico State University is providing field personnel as well as graduate students to write verification reports.

Overview: This project tests the ability of radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology to track the fate of hazardous waste crossing the US-Mexico border, insuring EPA is notified when hazardous waste enters the United States and when it reaches the approved receiving facility. The project is in support of EPA's bilateral and trilateral trade agreements relating to the international shipment of hazardous materials. The RFID technology evaluation will be conducted under EPA's Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program, through the ORD Advanced Monitoring Systems Center. Avg. Score: 82

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Reducing Production Costs and Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Biodiesel

focus area: waste to energy
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: colleges/universities

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9 Amount $69,110

Partner: University of Nevada at Reno (UNR); Washoe County District Health Department, NV; Applied Research Initiative; Nevada State Department of Agriculture

Project Overview: Recognizing that biodiesel provides numerous environmental advantages over petroleum diesel, the pilot will produce a more cost-effective biodiesel formulation that should reduce the amount of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emitted during the biodiesel production process. The University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) will utilize a large-scale mobile continuous process unit using ethanol for the production of biodiesel to meet all of UNR’s diesel energy needs.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 73K)

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Retail Buyer Training on Recycled-Content Products

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 5 Amount: $20,000

Partners: Recycling Association of Minnesota, Ecosource, Illinois Recycling Association, Waste Cap,

Overview: This pilot will innovatively link vendors of recycled-content products with buyers from major retailers to promote the use of recycled-content products.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 133K)

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Reusing Fly Ash to Produce a New Wastewater Treatment Chemical

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: environmental technology

Sponsor: EPA Region 7 Amt: $73,000

Partners: Iowa State University, City of Ames Electric Services, Ames Water Pollution Control Facility

Project Overview: The pilot will test a new flue gas wet scrubbing process using power plant fly ash to produce a new wastewater treatment chemical. The project will not only produce a useful chemical from solid and gas wastes but also saves land resources.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 33K)

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Small Scale Anaerobic Digester

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 2 Amount: $65,000

Partners: Council on the Environment New York, Columbia University, EcoCorp, Earth Pledge

Overview: This pilot will develop, test, and replicate an innovative small-scale anaerobic digestion facility for on-site installation at concentrated urban food waste sources and explore emerging renewable energy applications for food waste methane.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 134K)

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Sustainable Products Movement: Opportunity to Advance Materials Management Principles for Resource Conservation and GHG benefits

focus area: product stewardship
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: manufacturing, recycling industry

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste) Amount: $50,000

Partners: The partnership would be jointly convened by EPA and others, and facilitated by the Keystone Center, with financial contibutions from manfacturers, retailers, standards development organizations, NGOS and state/Federal government.

Overview: The purpose of this project is to provide seed funding to launch a nationally coordinated sustainable products strategy and partnership on the development of green product standards. The project would provide leadership and direction to the green products movement in order to preserve its credibility with consumers and make sure that green standards are driving significant measurable improvements in the environmental footprint of products. This project links to OSWER's Climate Change Strategy and OSWER/OPPTS Vision project to identify implementation strategies for shifting to "materials management" policies. Avg. Score: 80

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Sustainable Transit Leadership

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9 Amount $35,000

Partner: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

Project Overview: The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), in partnership with U.S. EPA Region 9 will research and demonstrate specific green practices that transit authorities can implement to directly reduce waste, increase recycling, and use recycled content in building materials. Although green highway and building initiatives are well underway, little has been done to green transit agencies beyond establishing standard recycling programs. Examples of potential projects include revising BART's facilities standards to include RCRA Comprehensive Procurement Guideline construction and landscaping items, increasing energy efficiency standards for new systems or upgrades, increasing station recycling capacity and outreach, and specifying building materials to reduce indoor air emissions at transit facilities.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 626K)

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Taking the NEWMOA Beneficial Use Determinations (BUDs) Database Nationwide

focus area: green building, product stewardship
priority area: waste minimization/recycling/energy recovery/retail (resource conversation challenge)
sector served: government, recycling industry

EPA Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 Amount: $50,000

Partners: NEWMOA, Region 1 and 5, U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste), states

Overview: The NEWMOA Beneficial Use Determination (BUDs) Database was completed in the Spring of 2008 and is an on-line searchable database of more than 600 BUDs issued by the 13 participating states. It can be searched by waste, use, state, type of BUD, company name, and SIC code and provides information on which states have approved that waste/use, state contacts, issuance dates, applicant companies, quantities of materials, whether the BUDs are ongoing reuse or a one-time reuse, analytical test requirements, and limitations on use. Additional financial support would facilitate the establishment of the database as a central repository for information about state-issued BUDs by fully populating the BUDs Database for the 13 participating states and making the database national. Avg. Score: 76

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Tear-off Asphalt Shingles Recycling

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: construction

Sponsor: EPA Region 5 Amt: $74,625

Partners: Construction Materials Recycling Association, Solid Waste Management Board, Bituminous Roadways, Johnson Farms, Mississippi Office of Environmental Affairs, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Department of Transportation

Project Overview: An estimated 11 million tons of waste shingles are generated every year in the United States. The overwhelming majority of them are post-consumer, mostly from tear-offs generated during re-roof construction projects. The pilot will address all key barriers to full-scale implementation of tear-off shingle recycling technology, including environmental, engineering, operations, and economic barriers. The private sector will work collaboratively with state regulators to develop best practices guidelines to protect worker health and the environment while addressing the viability of full commercialization of tear-off shingle recycling technology.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (3 pp, 40K)

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Testing the Environmental Results Program for Underground Storage Tanks

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 1 Amount: $20,000

Partners: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Overview: This pilot will test the Environmental Result Program model on the Underground Storage Tank Systems to determine whether it can be used to enhance environmental performance and compliance in this sector.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (3 pp, 138K)

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Testing Chemical Management Services in Universities: A Market-Based Approach to Reducing Chemical Use and Waste

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9 Amount: $45,000

Partners: Chemical Strategies Partnership

Overview: This pilot tests a new approach to the way chemical providers do business by making it financially feasible for colleges to purchase chemicals by need rather than volume.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 133K)

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Testing the Viability of Converting Wood Pallet Waste-to-Flooring

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 4 Amount: $29,000

Partners: North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention, North Carolina State University (NCSU), U.S. Forest Service, and Land-of-Sky Regional Council

Project Overview: North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention, North Carolina State University (NCSU), U.S. Forest Service, and Land-of-Sky Regional Council and U.S. EPA Region 4 will test the feasibility of converting wood pallets at the end of their useful life into value-added flooring products. Pallet manufacturing uses the largest amount of hardwoods of any industry in the country. The cost of disposing of a standard pallet is between $.50 and $1.25, plus transportation and handling. However, when the pallet is recycled it can be turned into a finished material with a $4 -5 per square foot value. The funds will support the actual start-up of the new pallet flooring product line by providing technical expertise, developing partnerships with retail building suppliers, and monitoring the supply chain and customer feedback. The funds also will be used for public education and information dissemination via case studies, web publishing, and professional journal articles to assist in project replication in other regions. Benefits include conserving valuable public landfill capacity, reducing methane gas releases from pallet wood decomposition in the landfill, and reducing demand for hardwoods from regional forests and thus achieving more carbon dioxide sequestration.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 629K)

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Urban Waste to Fuel Initiative

focus area: waste to energy
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: government

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 9 Amt: $75,000

Partners: Santa Cruz Public Works, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transportation District, Pioneer Liquid Transport, Bio-Energy Systems, CA Restaurant Assoc.,Pacific Biofuel, Inc.,

Project Overview: The pilot will demonstrate the economic viability of a community-based biodiesel collection, production, and distribution chain in urban locations. It focuses on places without ready access to an affordable agricultural crop as the primary feedstock. The pilot will collect local waste oil and process it into biodiesel for distribution and sale to local public sector fleets. Waste minimization will be achieved by recycling waste cooking oil. Air quality will be enhanced by the widespread use of biodiesel by reducing particulate, and carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions. Water quality will be improved because the increased market value of waste cooking oil decreases the likelihood of its improper disposal into sewers, storm drains and waterways, reducing watershed and storm runoff pollution.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 40K)

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University Food Waste Composting

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Region 8 Amount: $45,000

Partners: University of Colorado at Boulder, City of Boulder Office of Environmental Affairs

Project Overview: The University of Colorado, in partnership with the City of Boulder and the U.S. EPA, will address the waste diversion challenge faced by university housing and other food generators by determining the cost-effectiveness and practicality of on-site, in-vessel composting technology. The total annual food waste from the University of Colorado Dept. of Housing's eight commercial kitchens is approximately 650 tons, which represents about 32% of Housing's total waste stream The Pilot will test a composting technology that reclaims nutrients that would have been cast away as trash. The City of Boulder is interested in testing the in-vessel composting technology as a potential component to its planned municipal composting operation. The Pilot has great potential to lead to a large-scale municipal food collection program that could set a precedent for other urban food waste diversion programs

FACT SHEET (2 pp, 624K)

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Using Auto Shredder Residue as Cement Manufacturing Feedstock

focus area: material reuse
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: manufacturing

Sponsor: U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste) Amount $43,000

Partner: California Department of Toxic Substances Control; University of California at Berkeley; Mitsubishi Cement Corporation; Hugo Neu-Proler Company

Project Overview: Finding alternatives to landfilling auto shredder residue (ASR), which consists of glass, rubber, plastics, and textiles that remain after metals have been removed from discarded automobiles, could reduce landfill waste by over 4 million tons annually. This pilot will examine the value of ASR as a fuel and mineral supplement in cement kilns by identifying the parameters and mechanical means necessary to process ASR into material appropriate for substitution of coal and mineral feedstocks. Generated ASR could provide 8% of the cement industry energy needs as supplemental fuel, conserving over 2 million tons of coal and minerals each year in the United States.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 72K)

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Voluntary Reductions in Dental Amalgam Mercury

focus area: other
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: hospital/medical

Sponsor: EPA Region 7 Amt: $34,197

Partners: Univ. of Missouri, MO Dental Assoc., Amer. Dental Assoc., City of Springfield Public Works, Greater Springfield Dental Assoc.

Project Overview: The pilot will measure the effects of training, technical assistance and recognition on amalgam management practices in dentist offices, and the resulting impact on mercury levels in influent, effluent, and sludge. The pilot will demonstrate whether significant reductions in mercury can be achieved through the rigorous implementation of voluntary dental office best management practices. The project will promote a better understanding of the impact of BMPs and amalgam separators. The results should provide data on effective reduction opportunities that can be replicated across the country.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 39K)

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Waste to Energy Geographic Planning Tool

focus area: waste to energy
priority area: waste min/energyrecovery/recycling
sector served: government

Sponsor: EPA Region 6 Amount $65,000

Partner: N/A

Project Overview: This pilot will collect data from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), solid waste landfills (SWLFs), and publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping tool. The GIS tool, along with the development of an internet website, will enable a user to identify single/clusters of facilities that could be prime candidates to use waste directly or indirectly to generate electricity. This innovative Waste to Energy (WTE) project will bring together information on biomass quantities and energy distribution systems.

FACT SHEET (PDF) (2 pp, 71K)

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