What Is an Environmental Impact Report—and How Can It Help Your Municipality?
Municipal recycling programs do far more than keep materials out of the trash—they conserve natural resources, save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect soil and water. But these benefits can be hard to quantify and even harder to communicate clearly to residents and decision-makers.
That’s where an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) comes in.
An Environmental Impact Report translates everyday recycling and waste diversion activities into clear, measurable environmental outcomes. It answers the question many communities ask: What difference does our recycling program actually make?
Each January, municipal members of NH Recycles receive a customized Environmental Impact Report for their town, highlighting the positive environmental impacts of their recycling efforts over the past calendar year. Many members proudly include this eye-catching report in their Annual Town Report, helping residents see the real value of their local recycling program.
What Does an Environmental Impact Report Show?
An Environmental Impact Report compiles recycling data and converts it into tangible, real-world benefits—such as energy savings, natural resources conserved, and greenhouse gas emissions avoided.
Rather than listing tons or pounds alone, an EIR connects those numbers to outcomes people understand:
- Energy saved
- Trees conserved
- Fuel and raw materials avoided
- Climate pollution reduced
This makes the report a powerful communication and accountability tool for municipalities.
Inside the NH Recycles Environmental Impact Report
The NH Recycles Environmental Impact Report is based on the materials that NH Recycles helps member communities manage and move to market during the reporting period. Because the report is built using this available data, it may not represent all materials handled at a community’s recycling center or transfer station. Many municipalities market additional materials independently or manage certain items through other programs, and those materials are not captured in the NH Recycles report.
For that reason, the Environmental Impact Report should be viewed as a conservative snapshot of a community’s recycling impact. In reality, the total environmental benefits of local recycling efforts may be even greater.
The data included in the report is analyzed using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM), a nationally recognized tool that estimates the environmental benefits of recycling compared to manufacturing products from virgin resources.
What the Report Tells Your Community
Let's walk through the NH Recycles 2025 Environmental Impact Report which details the collective impact of all municipal member's recycling and diversion efforts to better understand this powerful educational tool!
Materials Recycled
The report begins by listing common recyclable materials marketed through NH Recycles, which may include:
- Aluminum
- Plastics
- Electronics
- Glass
- Scrap metal
- Paper and cardboard
- Steel cans
- Tires
For each material, the report shows the total pounds recycled, clearly illustrating how much material was diverted from disposal.
Environmental Benefits by Material
Next, the report highlights one key environmental benefit of recycling each material instead of producing new products from virgin resources. Examples include:
- Aluminum recycling saving enough energy to power televisions for tens of millions of hours
- Paper and cardboard recycling conserving thousands of trees
- Scrap metal recycling reducing the need for iron ore extraction
- Tire and plastic recycling saving oil and gasoline
These comparisons help residents quickly understand the real-world value of proper recycling.
Avoided Greenhouse Gas Emissions
One of the most impactful sections of the Environmental Impact Report focuses on avoided greenhouse gas emissions.
Because recycling uses significantly less energy than manufacturing products from raw materials, it results in fewer emissions entering the atmosphere. The report calculates the total pounds of carbon dioxide emissions avoided due to recycling and translates that number into an easy-to-understand comparison—such as removing thousands of passenger cars from the road for an entire year.
Why Municipalities Use the NH Recycles Environmental Impact Report
Municipal officials and staff use the Environmental Impact Report to:
- Share clear, accessible data in Annual Town Reports
- Strengthen public education and recycling outreach
- Support budget discussions and policy decisions
- Demonstrate environmental leadership and accountability
- Celebrate residents as active recyclers contributing to measurable results
By turning technical data into meaningful outcomes, the report helps build transparency, trust, and long-term community support for recycling programs.
Tip for Municipal Staff: Many communities choose to include their Environmental Impact Report in their Annual Town Report. To make this easy, NH Recycles has provided a ready-to-use sample introduction below.
Sample Language for Annual Town Reports
Environmental Impact Report
Each year, NH Recycles provides our community with a customized Environmental Impact Report that highlights the positive environmental benefits of our local recycling efforts over the past calendar year. Using verified recycling data and nationally recognized calculations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this report translates everyday recycling into real-world outcomes such as energy savings, natural resources conserved, and greenhouse gas emissions avoided. The report reflects the materials NH Recycles helps our community manage and move to market and may not include all materials handled at our recycling center—meaning the full environmental impact of our recycling program may be even greater. Together, these results show how resident participation in recycling makes a measurable difference for our town and the environment.
Turning Recycling Into Results
Recycling isn’t just about managing waste—it’s about conserving resources, reducing emissions, and protecting local environments.
The NH Recycles Environmental Impact Report provides municipalities with a clear, credible way to show how everyday recycling efforts translate into real environmental benefits. Even as a snapshot of the materials NH Recycles helps manage, the report demonstrates the significant impact communities are already making—and highlights the even greater value of their full recycling programs.
When municipalities include their Environmental Impact Report in their Annual Town Report, they are doing more than sharing numbers. They are telling a story of stewardship, participation, and progress—one that shows how local actions truly add up.