united states postal service

1

Postal Pollution Prevention (P3) A Snapshot of the Postal Service's Comprehensive Waste Management Sustainability Strategy

Presented by Ron Robbins, Sustainability Performance Mgt. Specialist Office of Sustainability, USPS HeadquartersSept. 19th, 2016

Future Facilities Summit 4, Oct. 17th – 19th, 2016Teaneck, NJ

2

Presentation Overview

2

1)Intro to the Postal Service by Numbers

2)Overview of Waste Mgt. Challenges

3)Waste Mgt. Sustainability Strategies

3

Intro to the US Postal Service by Numbers 8 Areas 73 Districts 32,124 Post Offices 316 Mail Processing Facilities 310 Vehicle Maintenance Facilities 221,000 Vehicles 491,863 Career Employees 667 Million Pieces of Mail

Processed Each Day 155 Million delivery points 0 Tax Dollars to Operate the Postal

Service

Southeast

EasternPacific

Great LakesWestern

Western

Southwest

Northeast

Capital Metro

Southeast

EasternPacific

Great LakesWestern

Western

Southwest

Northeast

Capital Metro

Introduction

USPS AREAS

4

Overview of Today’s Waste Management Challenges Managing the generation, storage and

transport of federal RCRA Hazardous Waste at approximately 761 facilities

Managing Universal (i.e. bulbs, batteries and ballasts) and non-hazardous Solid Waste (i.e. paper, cardboard, plastic and metal, etc.) generated at approximately 33,501 facilities

The USPS handles approximately 581,000 tons of solid waste annually

Waste Management Challenges

5

Waste Mgt. Sustainability Strategies

Pollution Prevention (P2) 1st est. in the federal Pollution

Prevention Act of 1990 Defined by the USEPA Any practice that eliminates or

reduces waste generation or the toxicity of generated waste

Focus is on avoiding the generation of waste at the source – known as “Source Reduction”

Process changes can reduce waste and chemical product changes can reduce the generation of regulated hazardous wastes

If you can eliminate waste, you don’t have to manage it!

6

Pollution Prevention (P2)

P2 and Waste Minimization adopted as USPS corporate environmental policy in early 1990’s

Released the 1st ever Pollution Prevention Guide – USPS Handbook AS-552 Aug, 1996

Facility based approach that focused on Waste Management Hierarchy strategies and solutions


Reduce (i.e. eliminate)

Reuse

Recycle

Energy Recovery

Treatment and Disposal

Waste Management Hierarchy

Most Preferred

Least Preferred

7

Pollution Prevention (P2) Accomplishments Significant reductions in the quantity of

hazardous waste generated and the number of sites that generate any hazardous waste Examples of Success: * Large Quantity Generators reduced to 4 from approx. 78 * Small Quantity Generators reduced to 72 from approx. 396 * Remaining 687 facilities are Conditionally Exempt Small Quantify Generators (CESQG)

Notable increases in the number of sites recycling and quantity of material recycled

$272 Million in annual purchases of Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs)

Reductions in energy use (30% from baseline) and greenhouse gas emissions (12.4% from baseline)

Waste Mgt. Sustainability StrategiesReduce (i.e. eliminate)

Reuse

Recycle

Energy Recovery

Treatment and Disposal

Waste Management Hierarchy

P2 Economic Assessment Tool


Highlights:

• EXCEL based tool with data entry fields

• Contains built in cost assumptions based on past USPS experience

• Cost assumptions can be changed if needed

HOME PAGE

Key Point: To be Sustainable it needs to be economically viable …$ Pollution Prevention Pays $

9

National Green Purchasing Program The concept of Green Purchasing was first

established in the 1996 USPS P2 Handbook as postal policy

Efforts were amplified in Feb. 2007 with the established of a national Safety and Environmental Supply Management (SESM) Task Force and the Green Purchasing Sub-Workgroup

Established the 1st ever national USPS Green Purchasing Plan (GPP)

Plan expired in 2010 and was replaced with our Green Purchasing Guide

USPS Green Purchasing Program was awarded a White House Closing the Circle Award in 2009


10

National Green Purchasing Program Building for Success - Key Points

1) Use of Interdisciplinary Team of Key Stakeholders to develop your program

2) Include external clients that will need to support program in the development of implementation strategies

3) Define what green is and what exactly will be accepted as an Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP)

4) Train in-house purchasing staff and key suppliers


Green Purchasing Training at the Annual Postal Supplier Council Conference

11

National Green Purchasing Program Building for Success - Key Points (continued)

5) Create a tracking system and measure and monitor success

6) Integrate Sustainability into your corporate contract clauses and procurement practices

7) Continuously look for ways to make improvements

Most Recent Results In FY 15, the Postal Service purchased …

$262.9 million on environmentally preferable products made of Recycled Content/Recovered Materials

$9.3 million in EP products that were eco-label certified by a reputable organization

$527 thousand in EP products that were designated USDA Bio-Preferred or Certified Bio-Based

$467.3 thousand in EP products certified as energy efficient (e.g. USEPA EnergyStar, etc.)

$42.9 thousand in products certified as water efficient (i.e. USEPA WaterSense)


12

The objectives of the USPS National Recycling Operation are:

■ Increase USPS revenue through the sale of recyclable materials

■ Divert solid waste from landfills■ Decrease USPS solid waste disposal costs

through reduced volumes attributed to increased recycling

■ Enhance the public image of the USPS and increase Corporate Social Responsibility performance

Objectives

National Recycling Operation (NRO) Waste Mgt. Sustainability Strategies

13

National Recycling Operation (NRO) Key Strategies

The primary key strategies utilized as part of the USPS National Recycling Operation are:

Backhaul Recycling Concept using the existing USPS transportation network to consolidate recyclables at hub sites

Install New or Replace Old Recycling Hub Site Compactors using standard designed equipment with Universal Hamper Dumpers


Results■ Recycled more than 240,000 tons of solid waste in

FY15 (i.e. 41% landfill diversion rate)

■ Generated millions of dollars in revenue and avoided trash disposal costs

14

Federal Recycling Program (FRP)

Providing Solutions for Federal Agencies A comprehensive Mail-Back Recycling Program for Federal Agencies

Supplements Existing Recycling Programs

Includes All Domestic Sites, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, & Guam

Includes Agency and Employee

Small Electronics and Printer Cartridges

At No Cost for U.S. Federal Agencies

Simple to Launch and Easy to Use

Provides agencies with a report to use as documented proof of recycling


15

What Items Qualify?

15

Recycled Items are Limited to the Above

Media Games & Games Systems

DVD & Blu-ray Players


16

Large mailers send mail that is processed at USPS® facilities prior to being sent out for delivery. Secure Destruction eliminates UAA Return to Sender mail at the USPS® facility.

Secure Destruction was created in response to mailers asking to reduce handling costs for “Return to Sender” mail with Privacy Protected Information (PPI)

Applies only to letter-sized First-Class Mail®

Performed by USPS® employees in USPS® facilities

An opt-in service for mailers provided at no additional fee

Each year USPS® returns over 1.2 billion pieces of Undeliverable-As-Addressed (UAA) First-Class Mail® to mailers

Secure Destruction Mail Service

Secure Destruction Mail ServiceWaste Mgt. Sustainability Strategies

17

USPS® CIOSS Undeliverable Mail Processing (PARS)Letter-size First-Class Mail® enters the USPS® Combined Input-Output Sub System (CIOSS) processing facility.

Label and Sort MailpiecesUAA RTS mail is labeled and sorted for Secure Destruction.

Verify MailpiecesAll SD mail is verified by USPS® employees prior to destruction.

Shred MailpiecesAll verified SD mail is fed into an industrial cross-cut shredder at the USPS® facility.

Recycle Shredded PaperUSPS® facilities recycle shredded SD mail.

Existing and new equipment used to complete the SD process3

4

21

5


18

$

Securely destroying mail within USPS® processing facilities provides three types of benefits:

Security - Strengthens mailers’ information security programs, processes, and procedures

Economic - Reduces the costs for mailers for handling and destroying RTS mail in-house or through third party contactors

Environmental - Reduces the carbon footprint of UAA mail through recycling and eliminating unnecessary reverse logistics associated with returning mailpieces to the sender


19

Green Questions?


“We are turning Trash into Cash & engineering out our mail processing & delivery function wastes”

united states postal service

Business