According to EPA, Americans generate more than 251 million tons of municipal solid waste annually – the equivalent of 4.6 pounds of waste per person, per day based on 2006 population estimates. Of the various MSW strategies available, source reduction clearly has the greatest long-term potential for lowering America’s waste burden.
Source reduction involves altering the design, manufacture, or use of products to reduce the total volume of discarded material. It includes strategies to reduce filter waste, among many other things. Source reduction is often viewed as more compelling than recycling, since it is the only strategy synonymous with preventing waste, rather than managing it once it’s created.
Source reduction is a guiding principle for Camfil Green Filter technology. Camfil 5-star premium filters are engineered specifically to deliver longer filter life and reduce filter waste.
Longer filter life means there’s less frequent change-out, which immediately lowers labor cost, disposal cost, and dunnage. Our 5-Star premium filters last 50-100% longer than economy products. During a 5-year period, a 24,000 cfm HVAC system using Camfil 5-Star premium filters could reduce filter waste – the number of filters added to the landfill – burden by 56%.
Landfills are a visible reminder of why source reduction should be part of US environmental strategy. They consume up to 3,500 additional acres of land each year and emit significant quantities of methane, an explosive greenhouse gas 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
In Canada, landfills generate over 25% of the methane emissions caused by human activity, sending 1.2 million tons of this gas into the atmosphere each year. Because the global warming effect of methane is 21 times greater than carbon dioxide, this is equal to greenhouse gas emissions from more than six million cars. Clearly, there are compelling reasons to reduce filter waste, and to support initiatives that make filter waste reduction an important part of buying decisions.
Camfil 5-Star premium filters offer longer filter life because the design characteristics (low resistance to airflow, etc.) that produce energy savings, also allow the filter to remain in service longer, without compromising filter performance. In addition, our pleating and media surface area configurations ensure the entire filter pack is fully used in the collection of contaminant, eliminating the risk of premature blinding or failure.