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<br />December 21, 2009 Section 5: Waste Reduction and Recycling <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Page 39 <br />5. Waste Reduction and Recycling <br />While it may not be immediately obvious, reducing the amount of waste deposited into the <br />landfill through material reuse, reduction, and recycling is one of the most important strategies <br />San Leandro residents can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is because the <br />products we use travel along a supply chain - from raw materials extraction, through <br />manufacturing, transportation, and ultimately deposition in a landfill - with each of these stages <br />powered by fossil energy resulting in greenhouse gas emissions. <br />Upstream from the consumer, fossil fuel energy is used to extract the raw materials such as <br />wood, metals, etc. from which products are made. Additional energy, primarily coal-based <br />electricity and natural gas, is needed to manufacture consumer goods in factories. Petroleum is <br />used for the transportation of raw materials to the factory, moving manufactured goods to <br />market, and moving waste from the consumer‘s curbside to landfills. <br />Emissions occur downstream from the consumer as well. When organic material such as food, <br />wood, paper, or other biologically derived material is deposited in landfills, it decays in an <br />oxygen-free environment that produces methane (CH4). Methane is an extremely potent <br />greenhouse gas, such that 1 pound of methane is considered to be as powerful as 21 pounds of <br />carbon dioxide. Often, some of this methane is captured and combusted at the landfill for the <br />generation of electricity. However, much of the methane leaks to the atmosphere. This <br />methane leakage is the primary source of the City of San Leandro‘s greenhouse gas emissions <br />from the waste category. <br />Waste reduction and recycling is a powerful tool for reducing <br />emissions all along the consumer materials lifecycle. Reducing <br />the amount of materials required through re-use, for example <br />using canvas bags instead of plastic and paper bags from the <br />grocery store, represents the best opportunity to reduce GHG <br />emissions in a significant way. The reduction in energy-related <br />CO2 emissions from the raw material acquisition and <br />manufacturing process, and the absence of emissions from <br />waste management, combine to reduce GHG emissions more <br />than any other option. <br />Recycling represents the second best opportunity to reduce GHG emissions. For these <br />materials, recycling reduces energy-related CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process and <br />avoids emissions from waste management. The U.S. EPA estimates that if a city of 100,000