Hello P2Techers:
Sara in Iowa asks some interesting questions about
estimating carbon emissions when creating virgin and recycled content
products. I'm sure she will get some useful information from our
forum.
I am writing to ask the prevention corrolaries of her
questions...
What are the carbon emissions that are prevented
when a ton of paper, aluminum, plastic, glass or steel products are
not generated in the first place?
The questions would go something like
this...
- What
are the carbon emissions
prevented when new paper (broken down by any weight so
it is consistent through it all) is not
generated in the first place?
- What are the carbon emissions prevented when new products from
recycled paper are not created in the first
place?
- What are the carbon emissions prevented when new (virgin aluminum) aluminum
products not created in the first
place?
- What are the carbon
emission prevented
when recycled aluminum
products are not created in the first place?
- Ditto
questions for plastic, glass and steel.
We have an opportunity here in Minnesota to inject
much-needed resources energy into our solid waste source reduction efforts by
providing quantifyable estimates of carbon emissions PREVENTED when a ton of
solid waste is not generated in the first place. Our Governor-appointed
"Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group" -- see http://www.mnclimatechange.us/ for
more information -- is wanting from us concrete information about the role solid
waste source reduction can and should play in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.
We have a pretty good handle on the composition (e.g.,
fiber, plastic, metals, glass and other) of our solid waste steam. What we
do not have a handle on is the estimate of the carbon emissions that are
prevented when a ton of solid waste is not generated in the first place.
Surely, the reductions resulting from prevention far outpace those from
recycling or other waste management methods. We need real estimates to
back this up.
Any help out there would be much
appreciated,
Kevin McDonald
State of MN
651-297-1282
- What are the carbon emissions
when creating new paper (broken down by any weight so it is
consistent through it all)
- What are the carbon emissions
when processing and creating new products from recycled paper