Source reduction is regarded by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency as the most important tool available for controlling the quantity of disposed solid waste, but remains troublesome to categorize. Source reduction may also include a reduction in the toxicity of a product. In the final analysis, the Task Force grouped source reduction with recycling.
Source reduction has an advantage in that it is the only preventive practice available.
It can offer economic opportunities and savings to the institutions and industries that practice it. Problems with Source Reduction Implementation of a successful source reduction program is not trouble-free. Many states only mandate a recycling rate, not an overall waste reduction rate. Source reduction is also challenging to measure. This would help to avoid undesirable tradeoffs between waste reduction strategies such as source reduction, reusability, recyclability, and use of recycled materials.