Recycling Life Cycle Approach

The idea of what successful recycling means has evolved significantly in recent years as waste streams have shifted. Where attention was once focused on weight and volume, WM and many other companies, cities, states and academic institutions have turned more attention to the environmental benefits of recycling waste streams — most notably reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — through a life cycle assessment approach. In recent years, WM has aligned with the concept of sustainable materials management (SMM), a framework that encourages everyone in the recycling value chain to explore the impact of materials across their life cycles.

By considering the entire life of products from raw material acquisition and manufacturing through end of life, we can understand the environmental impacts at each point along the way. This helps to quantify materials, energy consumption and emissions associated with those processes. Evaluating GHG emissions with a goal of reducing them can also help ensure resources are optimized across a product’s life cycle. This illustrates how impacts can occur at all stages — from product design and manufacturing to inputs and outputs associated with the product, to how people use and dispose of the product.

Understanding the Recycling Waste Stream

WM closely analyzes the waste stream to improve management of environmental impact and maximize reuse of materials. We take a data driven approach and utilize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM) emission factors to help estimate GHG emission reduction potential for customer solutions. We can then prioritize waste management strategies to maximize environmental benefits. For example, while the GHG reduction benefits of recycling plastic are smaller compared to paper and metal, it is still important to recycle plastics because they have many other potential environmental impacts when not disposed of properly.

While WM constantly seeks to make positive environmental impacts through our wide range of service offerings and renewable energy strategies, several of our most significant contributions are through waste reduction and recycling services. WM continues to focus on responsible management of plastics and other materials, including a focus on creating domestic demand for recycled plastic, designing products for recyclability and developing new technologies that meet the needs of our customers while maximizing environmental benefits. The potential avoided GHG emissions associated with recycling are essential to ensuring our operations have a positive and lasting impact on the environment and our communities.