Climate Change Projects

Each stage of a product’s life cycle – from raw materials extraction to manufacturing, transportation, use, and “end-of-life” management – consumes fossil fuels and results in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While many analyses of greenhouse gases from materials and products focus only on the waste management component, a full life accounting of GHG emissions associated with the production and use of products and materials shows that that they represent roughly 35 to 46 percent of the GHG emissions in the U.S. The NEWMOA-member state programs believe that the serious threat of global warming to the planet’s climate justifies action to minimize these impacts now.

NEWMOA and its partners have worked together to raise awareness of the climate impacts of consumption and develop strategies to mitigate these impacts, including:

• In December 2024, the EPA published Consumption-Based Greenhouse Gas Inventories for Northeastern States, a report describing the first consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories (CBEI) for the eight NEWMOA states. This work was coordinated in part by NEWMOA.

 

• In May 2019, NEWMOA and its partner organization the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) published a brochure and blog post to educate consumers on the climate impacts of consumption and steps individuals can take to limit these impacts. The brochure, “What Can We Do As Consumers About Climate Change?” is available for others to download and customize for their own use and branding.

 

• In June 2018, NEWMOA presented at the A&WMA annual conference on, “Mitigating Climate Change Through Sustainable Materials Management“

 

• In 2007, the Environmental Commissioners and Directors from the New England States challenged NEWMOA and the air and water interstates to identify regional activities to address climate change. As a result of this challenge, the NEWMOA Board of Directors developed a 2009 Climate-Waste Action Plan. The Plan is a strategy for mitigating and adapting to climate change through improving waste prevention and recycling initiatives, increasing renewable energy on contaminated sites, implementing “greener” site remediation, and improving management and recycling of disaster debris.