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Many cities around the country work with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to quantify and now register the climate change impacts of their city. It is also important to calculate the carbon impact of waste reduction as the global effort continues to enact a carbon "cap and trade" system. In addition to climate change mitigation, there are other environmental benefits to recycling, including saving energy and protecting air quality, water quality, natural resources, natural beauty, habitat and human health. Some of these human health benefits are quantified in the Jeffrey Morris Calculator below. The benefits of recycling and composting In 2008, Eureka Recycling completed the report Recycling, Composting and Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Minnesota to calculate and explain the significant reductions in greenhouse gases through a zero waste approach. (The report can be downloaded from Eureka Recycling's website.) `Recycling, composting, and producer responsibility are powerful tools to reduce waste and therefore, ourgreenhousegas emissions. Specifically in Minnesota, reducing our waste has a greenhouse gas reduction impact equivalent to shutting down 20% of our state's coal power plants, or reducing every car usage in the state by two-thirds, or using 75% less electricity in our own homes. " Page 2. These calculations were added to the Minnesota Energy Challenge, a website designed for people to calculate their carbon footprint and learn how to save money and energy at home. Now, residents can calculate and see just how beneficial their household waste reduction activities are in addressing climate change. These same calculations can be applied to Roseville's citywide program to demonstrate the programs benefits to the environment in terms of climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WARM Calculator The equations used in environmental calculations try to take into account the "full life cycle" of each material... everything from off-setting the demand for more virgin materials (tree harvesting, mining, etc.) to preventing the pollution that would have occurred if that material were disposed of (burned or buried). Different calculators may include some or all of the many factors that contribute to the "full life cycle," so results from calculator to calculator will vary. While there are many models emerging to calculate greenhouse gas reductions, the most recognized and standard model is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WARM model. The Waste Reduction Model (WARM) was designed to help solid waste planners and organizations track and voluntarily report greenhouse gas emissions reductions from several different waste management practices. The WARM model was last updated in November of 2009 and recognizes 34 material types. 10