... 18OpportunitiestoReduceGreenhouseGasEmissionsthrough Materials and LandManagementPractices September2009SECTION3POTENTIALGHGREDUCTIONSTHROUGH MATERIALS AND LANDMANA GEMENT Materials and landmanagementdirectly and indirectlyimpact58‐62%oftotalU.S.GHGemissions, and, therefore,providemanyopportunitiestoreduceGHGemissions.Thissectionpresentssomeexamplesof materials and landmanagementapproachesthatcouldresultinsignificantemissionreductions.REDUCINGGHGEMISSIONSTHROUGH MATERIALS MANAGEMENTPRACTICES Materials managementisatermthatdescribeshow materials aremanagedastheyflowthroughtheeconomy—fromresourceextractiontoproductdesign and manufacture,transport,use,reuse,recycling, and endoflife(seeFigure6).Takingasystemsviewoftheimpacts materials havethroughouttheirlifecycleallowsforanalysistoanswerquestionssuchas:Whereinthe materials life ... September2009becauseofthelaborrequiredtocollect,sort, and processtherecyclables.30Recycling,reuse,deconstruction, and remanufacturingshiftthevalueaddedintheeconomyfromhighlymechanized,environmentallyharmfulextractionindustries,tolabor‐intensive,localindustries.31,32Landmanagementoptionstoreduceemissionsalsohavemanyco‐benefits.Anumberofstudieshaveshownsubstantialbeneficialeffectsofbrownfieldsredevelopmentforlocalcommunities,includingjobcreation,increasedpropertyvalues,taxrevenuesforlocalgovernments,preservationofgreenspace, and socialbenefits.33,34Otherresearchhasshownthatbrownfieldsredevelopment,asacomponentofurbanredevelopment,reduceslocalvehiclemilestraveled and isassociatedwithlowerbuildingenergyuse,35bothofwhichleadtoimprovementsinurbanairqualityinadditiontoGHGreductions.Theco‐benefitstocommunitiesof materials and landmanagementstrategiesmakethemattractiveasGHGreductionoptions.UnlikemanyGHGmitigationoptions,theyarealsolargelyunderstate and localinfluence.States and communitiescanusethesetoolstoreducetheircarbonfootprints and meetstateorlocalGHGreductiontargets.Thepurposeofthisdocument,OpportunitiestoReduceGreenhouseGasEmissionsthrough Materials and LandManagementPractices,istoincreasetheunderstandingofhow materials and landmanagementpracticesrelatetoGHGemissions and showanewwayofthinkingabout materials and landmanagementaspartofthesolutiontotheclimatechange.ThisdocumentpresentsEPA’sresearchtodate.Aswedevelopprograms and policieswithourpartners,moredetailedstudiesthataccountforeconomic,technical, and institutionallimitations and opportunitieswillbeneeded.Inaddition,wewillshareinformationonthemitigationimpactsofcurrent materials and landmanagementprogramsonGHGemissions and ultimatelydevelopmorespecificapproachestoimplement materials and landmanagementactivitiesthatcouldachieveGHGemissionreductions.Theremainderofthisdocumentisorganizedintothefollowingsections.Section2presentsannualGHGemissionsintheUnitedStatesusingtwoapproaches.Thesector‐basedapproachallocatesemissionstoeconomicorend‐usesectorsincludingtheelectricpowerindustry,transportation,industry,agriculture,commercial, and residentialsectors.Thesystems‐basedapproachreliesonthesamedata,butapportionsemissionsto materials management,landmanagement, and othersystemstodemonstratethepotentialimpact materials and landmanagementhaveontotalU.S.emissions.Section3presentsresearchintothepotentialGHGreductionsthatcouldbeachievedthroughanumberof materials and landmanagementapproaches.Section4summarizesthereport and describesthedirectionthatfutureresearchmaytake.Finally,thedocumentappendix(TechnicalSupportforOpportunitiestoReduceGreenhouseGasEmissionsthrough Materials and LandManagementPractices)presentsthedatasources and methodologyusedtodevelopthisreport. ... September2009growth.75Thisremediationapproachalsoprovidesauseforsomeorganicsoilamendmentssuchasbiosolidswhichmayotherwisebeawasteproduct.LandcleanupactivitiesmayalsoproviderecyclingopportunitiestofurtherbolsterEPA’sapproachesto materials and landmanagement.Forexample,reusing and recyclingconstruction and demolitiondebrisfrombuildingsoncontaminatedlandisanothereffective materials and landmanagementpractice;thispracticenotonlyreusesboth materials and land,butalsopreventsotherlandfrombeingusedforthedisposalofconstruction and demolitiondebris.Aftercleanupiscomplete,sustainablyreusinglandprotectstheland‐basedcarbonsink,byprovidingsitesthatcanbereusedfordevelopment,insteadofdevelopinggreenfields.ReusingtheserestoredpropertiescanalsoreduceGHGemissionsassociatedwiththeinfrastructureexpansionneededtoconnectnewlydevelopedgreenfieldstoalreadydevelopedareas.Policiesthatpromotelandreuseinplaceofnewlanddevelopment and densermixed‐usedevelopment—keyaspectsofsmartgrowth—willavoidthemajorityofinfrastructure and bio‐carbonemissions.Sitescanalsobeecologicallyrestoredtoincreasetheamountofundevelopedland and expandtheland‐basedcarbonsink.Inaddition,severalEPAprogramsfocusonsustainablecleanup and redevelopmentofcontaminatedland,includingenvironmentallyresponsiblelandscaping,energyefficientstructures,greenbuildings, and greenremediation,76whichcanallfurtherreduceGHGemissions.Manycontaminatedpropertiesalsohaverenewableenergydevelopmentpotential and arelocatednearexistingutilityinfrastructure.77 And ofcourse,preventingcontaminationinthefirstplaceavoidstheneedforcleanupactivitiesorgreenfielddevelopment.SeeBox8forexamplesoflandmanagementapproachesthathelpreduceGHGemissions.78Carbon...