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Five Ways Environmental Managers Can Strengthen Facility Recycling
America Recycles Day on Nov. 15 is a good time to look past the bin. Five steps can help facilities cut contamination, recover more material and show measurable results.
Somewhere between a facility’s recycling bin and the sorting line, a small mistake can turn dangerous. A worn-out lithium-ion battery dropped in with the cans and cardboard can be crushed inside a collection truck or a sorting machine and ignite. EPA tracked 245 fires caused, or likely caused, by these batteries at 64 waste facilities in twenty-eight states between 2013 and 2020. Some destroyed entire facilities, caused millions of dollars in damage and injured firefighters. EPA believes many more went unrecorded.
Every Nov. 15, America Recycles Day asks people to think about what they throw away. For environmental managers, it is a good moment to follow materials all the way out the door.
There is ground to make up. According to the EPA, the U.S. recycling rate has climbed from less than 7% in 1960 to 32% today, but the national goal is 50% by 2030. The Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) says nearly 70% of U.S. steel is made in electric arc furnaces that run on recycled steel, and more than 75% of U.S. paper mills use recycled paper. The industry supports more than 603,000 U.S. jobs.
The five steps below follow the order most programs grow in.
1. Know What You Throw Away
A program can only fix what it can see. A waste assessment is a systematic review of a building and its operations that shows how much waste it produces and what that waste is made of.
It might reveal recycling bins full of trash or cardboard still headed for the landfill. Either way, it sets a baseline for measurable goals. Some city and county recycling offices and haulers offer free audits. From there, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a free online tool, can track twenty-nine types of waste and materials, from trash to cooking grease to appliances.
2. Make the Right Bin the Easy Bin
Contamination, or the wrong items in the recycling, is a problem for the whole system. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) named it first among five challenges facing U.S. recycling. At the facility level, it often comes down to convenience and confusion. EPA’s guide for commercial buildings puts it simply: “It should be as easy to recycle as it is to throw something away.”
That means placing trash and recycling bins side by side, labelling them with pictures of accepted items and keeping colors the same across the building, such as blue for recycling and black for trash. EPA’s “Top 10 in the Bin” list, which includes cardboard, paper, cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles, is a good starting point. Plastic bags, electronics and batteries stay out.
Habits matter as much as bins. A kick-off led by a senior leader shows employees the program is a priority, and a green team with people from several departments can keep it going with reminders, challenges and recognition.
3. Give Batteries Their Own Path
According to EPA, most lithium-ion batteries on the market are likely to count as hazardous waste when thrown away, because they are ignitable and reactive. Facilities must determine whether their own batteries are hazardous, and EPA recommends managing them under the federal universal waste rules in 40 CFR part 273, then sending them to certify battery and electronics recyclers. State rules may differ, so check with the state hazardous waste agency.
4. Treat Your Hauler as a Partner
Ask the hauler what services it offers. Local services shape what a facility can realistically recycle, and some haulers provide free audits. In some places, recycling service is also the law. Under California’s mandatory commercial recycling rules, businesses that generate four or more cubic yards of commercial solid waste a week must arrange for recycling. For materials the hauler cannot take, nearby businesses and donation outlets may.
Refuse and recyclable material collectors had the fifth-highest fatality rate of any civilian occupation in 2024, at 37.4 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, according to the Solid Waste Association of North America’s review of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Keeping batteries out of the cart removes one hazard from their route.
5. Prove It Worked
Numbers make the case for a program. Measure progress against the baseline, track cost savings and report the results to management. EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM) can turn recycling totals into greenhouse gas and energy savings.
Review the program once a year with the green team and use days like Earth Day and America Recycles Day to give it a fresh push.
The battery that never reaches a recycling truck is a fire that never starts. America Recycles Day lasts one day, but a well-run facility program pays off all year.
