Replacing Recycling Rates with Life-Cycle Metrics as Government Materials Management Targets

In Florida, the passing of the Energy, Climate Change, and Economic Security Act of 2008 established a statewide mass-based municipal solid waste recycling rate goal of 75% by 2020. In this study, we describe an alternative approach to tracking performance of materials management systems that incorporates life-cycle thinking. Using both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use as life-cycle indicators, we create two different materials management baselines based on a hypothetical 75% recycling rate in Florida in 2008. GHG emission and energy use footprints resulting from various 2020 materials management strategies are compared to these baselines, with the results normalized to the same mass-based 75% recycling rate. For most scenarios, LCI-normalized recycling rates are greater than mass-based recycling rates. Materials management strategies that include recycling of curbside-collected materials such as metal, paper, and plastic result in the largest GHG- and energy-normalized recycling rates. Waste prevention or increase, determined as the net difference in per-person mass discard rate for individual materials, is a major contributor to the life-cycle-normalized recycling rates. The methodology outlined here provides policy makers with one means of transitioning to life-cycle thinking in state and local waste management goal setting and planning.