


Resolution 10-1
Approved March 23, 2010
Sausalito, California

As certified by
R. Steven Brown
Executive Director

                  NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT 

WHEREAS, the use of materials such as wood, minerals, fuels, chemicals, agriculture plants and animals, and soil and rock forms the foundation that underlies both the economy and the environment; and 

WHEREAS, the use of materials is large and increasing, and includes associated energy and water use and consumption; and

WHEREAS, the increasing use of materials and its subsequent waste generation has challenged society's ability to manage both critical natural resources and the environmental issues associated with waste management; and

WHEREAS, for more than 30 years, states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) have implemented the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to manage waste materials to minimize or eliminate the impacts of these waste materials on both the environment and public health; and 

WHEREAS, in 2002 states and U.S. EPA collaborated on a new vision for managing waste materials in "Beyond RCRA: Waste and Materials Management in the Year 2020" to define a future which fundamentally shifts from waste management to materials management; and

WHEREAS, in 2009 states and U.S. EPA collaborated on a roadmap, "Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead," defining a framework in which to implement the vision of sustainable materials management; and

WHEREAS, the current economic and market drivers do not encourage sustainable materials management despite the fact that material use and waste produced continue to grow in the United States, straining limited natural resources and the capacity for managing waste; and

WHEREAS, systematic materials management which evaluates the use and impacts of materials throughout their life-cycle is an approach which can minimize the amount of materials used including energy and water, and all the environmental impacts, and which offers opportunities to consider factors beyond the current systems that oversee materials use and waste management. 

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL OF THE STATES:

Supports the framework outlined in the "Sustainable Materials Management:  The Road Ahead" (2009) and appreciates the opportunity that the states had in working with U.S. EPA on this roadmap;

Requests that U.S. EPA collaborate with states to incorporate materials management as an important strategic approach for addressing environmental challenges; 

Requests that U.S. EPA work together with states to integrate the use of life-cycle materials management into the existing chemical and waste programs building on current core regulatory and partnership programs, to provide needed research on materials and technology, to develop and use data and decision tools that support life-cycle materials management, and to provide funding to assist states in building these into the appropriate programs; and

Urges U.S. EPA to convene a national dialogue involving states, other federal agencies, local governments, business and industry, environmental and public interest groups, academia, and international experts to accelerate sustainable materials management and its impact on economic and environmental health.





