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Partnerships
Forming Partnerships to Meet the Challenge
EPA has partnerships with business and organizations, industries, States and local governments, tribes, and other entities to effectively manage materials and to reduce waste. These partnerships are providing smarter, faster ways to safeguard our environment.
EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program
By examining the entire product life cycle, sustainable materials management (SMM) holds the promise to conserve vital resources, reduce waste, and minimize the environmental footprint of the materials we use. EPA is playing a leadership role in advancing SMM by convening dialogues with key SMM stakeholders, providing sound science and information to the public, and establishing challenges to specific sectors to achieve shared goals.
The Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2)
EPA has suspended active participation in the Coal Combustion Products Partnership program while we are taking and assessing comment on the beneficial use of coal combustion residuals (CCR) through the CCR proposed rulemaking. While the Agency continues to support safe and protective beneficial reuse of coal combustion residues, the C2P2 program web pages have been removed while the program is being re-evaluated. Materials previously posted on the C2P2 web site that are relevant for EPA's proposal to regulate disposal of CCRs are still available to the public.
Plug-In To eCycling aims to increase the safe recycling of consumer electronics by providing information and guidance; increasing recycling opportunities; facilitating partnerships with communities, electronics manufacturers, and retailers to promote shared responsibility for safe electronics recycling; and establishing pilot projects to test innovative approaches to safe electronics recycling.
Product Stewardship Partnerships involve efforts to reduce the life-cycle impacts of products through voluntary product stewardship partnerships with manufacturers, retailers, governments, and non-government organizations. An example of this is Carpet America, 
an industry-led, multi-stakeholder organization that seeks to divert 40% of carpet from landfills by 2012 through recycling, reuse, and other waste recovery and waste minimization activities.
Safe Chemical Management in Schools page has many of the materials from the now ended Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3).
WasteWise is a successful partnership program that seeks to reduce municipal solid waste through innovative waste prevention and recycling techniques. More than 2700 business, government, and institutional members have reported a reduction of 175 million tons of municipal solid waste. Our WasteWise members continue to take on new challenges, such as encouraging the reuse and recycling of construction and demolition debris and the use of recycled products to create new "WasteWise buildings."
Other Links of Interest:
- EPA Partnership Programs - Provides provides information on the array of EPA Partnership Programs.
- Compliance Assistance Centers - Details EPA-sponsored partnerships with industry, academic institutions, environmental groups, and other agencies to launch sector-specific Compliance Assistance Centers. Each Center addresses real world issues in language that speaks to the regulated entities. Through the Internet, telephone assistance lines, fax-back systems, and e-mail discussion groups, the centers are helping businesses, local governments, and federal facilities understand federal environmental requirements and save money through pollution prevention techniques.
- Design for the Environment - The Design for the Environment program helps businesses incorporate environmental considerations into the design of products by integrating cleaner, cheaper, and smarter solutions into everyday business practices.
- ENERGY STAR - Provides businesses and consumers with energy efficient strategies and solutions for facilities and products that save money while protecting the environment for future generations.