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WARM Model Analysis of Impact on Climate <br />10,000 Change <br />8,000 <br />6,000 <br />4,000UN ■ Metric Tons of Carbon <br />■ Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide <br />2,000 <br />0 <br />2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 <br />MTCE (Metric tons of carbon equivalent), and MTCO2E (Metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions) are figures commonly used when <br />discussing greenhouse gas emissions. For more information about the process of measuring the environmental benefits of waste <br />reduction, visit htto: //eua.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/measureghg.html#click <br />What do all these numbers mean? <br />In addition to preventing pollution, an important impact of recycling is that is conserves a <br />huge amount of energy. Making products and packaging from raw materials harvested <br />from nature uses a much larger amount of energy than using recycled materials. <br />Every manufactured item has the energy used to make it "embedded" into it. Recycling <br />takes advantage of that energy, as it is easier and more energy efficient to make a glass <br />bottle from another glass bottle than from raw materials. <br />The WARM model and other calculators measure the difference between recycling all these <br />tons of materials and using them to make new products versus sending them to an <br />incinerator and making replacement products from raw materials. This difference is <br />expressed as the amount of CO2 that was not produced because we did not have to make <br />and use all the energy that would have been needed if we used raw materials. <br />The numbers above help municipalities calculate and track their environmental footprint. <br />For more information about the process of measuring the environmental benefits of waste <br />reduction, visit httl2://el2a.gov/climatechange/wvcd/waste/measureghg.html#click. <br />These numbers, however, don't have much meaning to the average person. To help <br />recyclers understand the significance of their actions, the EPA has also developed tools to <br />translate these numbers into equivalent examples that people can more easily understand. <br />• For example, using the figures above, the EPA estimates that Roseville would have <br />had to remove 1,595 cars from the road for one year to have had the same <br />environmental impact in 2016 as they did by recycling. To achieve this, nearly <br />10.5% of Roseville's households would have had to give up one car for a year. <br />10 <br />