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What Would I Do as a WasteWi$ e Member?

For this part of the WasteWi$ e program, nonmanufacturing firms would commit to increase the recycled content in purchased products, either by purchasing recycled products instead of virgin products or by increasing the recycled content in those recycled products that you already buy.
If you are a manufacturer, you have two options for meeting this part of the program: increase the recycled content in products purchased as described above or increase the percentage of postconsumer recovered material in your products. Some of the many products that contain recycled content:

Office/Printing

• Office paper
• Computer paper
• Newsprint

Fleet Management

• Lubricating oil
• Retread tires

Construction Products

• Dry wall
• Insulation
• Carpets
• Paving materials

Janitorial

• Tissue products
• Trash can liners

Shipping and Receiving

• Containers and packaging
• Pallets

How Does the Project Work?

There are four basic steps to setting and achieving your WasteWi$ e goals.

1. Sign Up
To join the WasteWi$ e program, fill out the registration form at the end of this brochure and mail or fax the form to EPA. Be sure to complete sections A and B. Before completing the form, you’ll need to determine:

• The facilities that initially will be included in the program. The challenge can be taken by your entire company or by individual segments, such as corporate headquarters or a specific region, division, or facility. if you start with a segment of your firm, you can always expand to other facilities in a year or two.
• The senior official who will commit your company to the program. joining WasteWise requires the signature of a senior official who can commit company resources to the waste reduction program. It is also helpful if this person can effect changes in company operations such as purchasing and facilities management.

2. Get Started
To get started in WasteWi$ e, it’s important to understand your company’s waste and how it is generated and handled.
EPA will provide WasteWi$ e members with A Business Guide for Reducing Solid Waste to get you started. The guide will help you take a look at your operations and make educated decisions about waste prevention, recycling, and buying recycled. EPA will provide case studies of businesses that have achieved cost savings and improved operations through waste reduction. We’ll also provide “tip sheets” that provide information on waste prevention, recycling, and buying recycled materials.

3. Choose Your Goals and Take Action
Based on your review of company operations, you’ll choose the waste prevention, recycling, and buying or manufacturing actions that make the most sense for your firm. Using a one-page form that EPA will provide, let us know what your plans are, so that we can develop and provide targeted technical information to assist your waste reduction program. We’ll also be available via telephone and electronic bulletin board to answer questions.

4. Share Your Results
After your program is underway, we’ll ask you to share your results with EPA so that we can highlight waste reduction opportunities for others and gauge the program’s progress. Using a simple form that EPA will provide, let us know each year how your ,waste reduction initiatives are progressing and estimate your firm’s achievements in terms of:

• Waste prevented (weight or volume).
• Recyclables collected (weight or volume).
• Amount spent on products with increased recycled content or the increased amount (in terms of dollars or weight) of postconsumer content in products that you manufacture.

We’d also like to hear about any cost savings or other successes resulting from your waste reduction program.

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