PLT Recycling and Solid Waste Workshop

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There are a number of ways to handle our trash. During this workshop you will learn about most of these and see almost all of them in person. We will visit the Wilkes County landfill. We visited a MRF and you’ll make mini vermicompost bins. - The one item we won’t touch on is Waste-To-Energy. This is where you burn trash to decrease its size and generate energy. There is only one facility like this in NC, in Brunswick County.

I always like to talk about the 3 R’s when opening a presentation. There is a hierarchy to this. We first want to reduce waste, then reuse it and lastly recycle it. We came up with a lot of great ideas for all of these during our ice breaker.

We learned about a lot of these during our first couple of activities but let me draw your attention to a few we like to highlight. Creates jobs – 14,000 jobs in NC depend on recycling. Reduces greenhouse gas emissions due to the recycling of material versus using virgin products thus helping us fight global warming. Provides raw material for industry. Recycling markets depend on supply and demand. They need material as feedstock which helps increase demand.

What do the different icons on the screen mean? Why is one within a circle? Who can define these? Preconsumer vs. Postconsumer Commingled vs. Source Separated Recyclable vs. Recycled

It is often assumed that the 3 arrows refer to reduce, reuse, recycle. In actuality they are a depiction of the recycling cycle – collect, remanufacture, buy new products. It is just like any other cycle (butterfly, water, etc.) if one part doesn’t happen it won’t work. So it is important to be involved in all 3 parts.

We saw a great example of a MRF today.

Here is a map of all the MRFs that support NC’s recycling infrastructure.

As I said, it is important to collect material, remanufacture it but you also have to purchase products made with recycled material. All these items on the screen were made within the Carolina’s from your own recycled material. Plastic bottles, Fleece jackets, Black plastic hangers and flower pots, Paper tissue and boxes.

Recycling is an excellent example of how the global economy works. Up until October of 2008 the majority of our recyclable material was going to China. They have very limited natural resources so our waste was their feedstock. They would make a new product out of our recycled material, send it back here, and we would buy it in the form of toys, boxes, electronic equipment. So what happened when the US economy got tight? We purchased fewer consumer goods. So China created less product. So they quit buying our recycled material feedstock. So the recycling markets are paying much less in revenue than 6 months ago and it is difficult to move some products. This is why the recycling cycle is a cycle! And it is cyclical so the recycling markets will rebound with all other sectors of the economy soon. Items that still have good demand include some plastic and paper used for household products such as laundry detergent bottles and toilet tissue.

This shows the price per ton being paid for recycled material over the last 10 years. It has definitely increased steadily but then it fell with the rest of the economy. Many in the industry feel the downturn was inevitable because the market was paying too much for material. Remember 6 months ago there were news reports of people stealing man-hole covers and selling them at scrap yards. That was when the market was out of control.

Recycling programs: - Create community norms. Young kids look up to older kids and they can be role models for good behavior. - Teach responsibility and environmental stewardship. - Provide hands-on learning experiences. Kids learn best by doing. - Make a difference in waste reduction. You can recycle approximately 2 pounds of material per student per year.

These charts show a waste composition study completed by Wake County in 2003 at 13 schools. You can see that paper and food waste are some low hanging fruit. How many of you recycle cardboard? How many of you recycle mixed paper (white paper, newspaper)? How many recycle aluminum? How many recycle plastic? How many compost material from the cafeteria? Schools can recycle between 2-7 pounds per student.

Sample – Winston Salem

Wake County

Mecklenburg County

Conover

Iredell County

Brunswick and Onslow County

Follow these guidelines, when setting up a recycling program: A. Organize a coordination team. Involve students, parents, teachers, custodial staff, local solid waste/public works departments and community representatives.

B. Determine which recyclables are in your waste stream. Perform a Waste Composition Study and categorize the trash to determine what waste can be minimized or recycled. Use the results of the audit to help create a specific recycling program.

C. Identify a local market for recyclables. Contact local recycling facilities to see what materials they collect and what services they provide. Be sure to find out how recyclables should be separated and what items can be commingled. Find local recycling facilities via the North Carolina Markets Directory web site at www.p2pays.org/DMRM. Contact your current waste hauler to see if they provide recycling services as well. If your local government solid waste office already has a curbside or business-recycling program, see if you can be added to the pick-up schedule.

D. Select the type of recycling program that would be best. Make sure to have all aspects of your program in place before collecting any recyclables to prevent the accumulation of items that you cannot recycle.

E. Work out a budget for the collection program. Obtain money from the existing budget, by fundraising or through partnerships with local businesses/civic groups. Recycling should reduce your waste stream, so look into reducing the frequency of trash pick-ups and allocating those savings towards the pick-up of recyclables.

F. Establish a system for collecting and storing recyclables. Place bins in areas that generate recyclables, such as classrooms, the cafeteria, break rooms and copy rooms. Check with the fire marshal for storage and collection requirements. If a private hauler will be collecting the recyclables make sure to set aside storage space for the containers allowing truck access. Designate a publicly accessible drop-off area if establishing a drop-off facility for the community.

G. Educate your organization and the community about the program. Inform all personnel, students, parents and the community how the program will work. Let everyone know what can and cannot be recycled. Ready-made graphics are available from my Division on the RE3.org and Recycle Guys Web sites for easy printing. Monthly newsletters or e-mails can be an effective way to inform the community and parents of the recycling program’s progress. Integrate environmental lesson plans and recycling education into the curriculum. Add a North Carolina recycling fact to announcements each week, or show the RE3.org or Recycle Guys commercials to students. Watch this example.

H. Set overall and individual goals. Convey the goals of the recycling program to all participants and give specific examples of how each person/group can help reach these goals. To the extent possible, keep track of how many pounds or tons of material are collected over time to evaluate the program’s performance and to set benchmarks for improvement. Tally the totals and track progress for all to see. For example, put posters in the hallways with fun facts: “Last month the paper recycled from our organization saved four trees.”

I. Reward the doers. Let students know that a cleaner environment is a prize they can all enjoy. Other incentives can be given to students and classes who participate, such as field trips to a MRF or a landfill and RE3.org and/or Recycle Guys t-shirts/stickers/posters.

Our office has many resources available for starting a recycling program: - Grants for bins. If you partner with your local solid waste office you can apply for grant funding to purchase bins. Promotional Items. You will all get to take home some of our promotional items today. Lesson Plan Kits. We have a recycled product, landfill and recycling relay kit. This can be checked out and returned to our office. -Trainings. We can provide many different types of trainings in cooperation with your local solid waste office. Recycle Guy costumes. The costumes are large but they do travel across the state to make special appearances. It is your responsibility to find someone to wear the costume and pick it up and return it to our office in Raleigh. Clipart. We have lots of clipart on our Flickr pages. They can be reached via our web pages. Decals. We have various container decals for you. If we don’t have the decal you need we can create the artwork for you. Posters. We have a number of posters that can be hung around your school to motivate people to recycle.

Portions of our material is provided to us through various partnerships. I’s like to take a minute to thank those folks on the screen.

Setting up a recycling program takes planning. Relying solely on one motivated staff member to handle the collection does not always lead to a consistent program from one year to the next. However, motivating those in-house allies to help the program run smoothly is an excellent partnership!

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PLT Recycling and Solid Waste Workshop - Presentation Transcript

RECYCLING IN SCHOOLS
Landfill Transfer Station Waste-to-Energy Recycling Composting SOLID WASTE OPTIONS
REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE THE 3 R’S
- Saves limited natural resources
- Prevents air and water pollution
- Saves energy
- Provides raw materials for industry
- Creates jobs
- Saves landfill space
- Improves our nations ability to compete
- Keeps habitats intact
- Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
WHY RECYCLE? WHY RECYCLE?
- Preconsumer vs. Postconsumer
- Commingled vs. Source Separated
- Recyclable vs. Recycled
DEFINITIONS
- Collection of Recyclables
- Manufacturing of the Material
- Buy Recycled Products
THE 3 ARROWS - CYCLE
MRF SEPARATION PROCESS
MRFs IN NC
BUYING RECYCLED
GLOBAL ECONOMY
RECYCLING MARKETS
NC Landfill Bans
- Take a guess: Which of the following are (or will be soon) banned from landfills?
- Motor Oil (Used) Aseptic Packaging Oyster Shells
- Glass Containers Scrap Tires Newspaper
- Yard Trash Aluminum Cans Styrofoam
- Plastic Bottles Antifreeze Appliances
- Food Waste Lead-Acid Batteries Televisions
- Wooden Pallets Motor Oil Filters Phone Books
- Rechargeable Batteries Computer Equipment
- Hard Bound Books
- Beverage Containers from ABC Permitted Facilities
NC Landfill Bans
- Take a guess: Which of the following are (or will be soon) banned from landfills?
- Motor Oil (Used) Oyster Shells
- Scrap Tires
- Yard Trash Aluminum Cans
- Plastic Bottles Antifreeze Appliances
- Lead-Acid Batteries Televisions
- Wooden Pallets Motor Oil Filters
- Computer Equipment
- Beverage Containers from ABC Permitted Facilities
Why Recycle With Kids?
- Recycling programs:
- Create community norms
- Teach responsibility and environmental stewardship
- Provide hands-on learning experiences
- Make a difference in waste reduction
Wake County School’s Waste Composition Assessments By Volume: By Weight: WASTE COMPOSITION Data from Wake County, 2003
BINS
BINS
BINS
BINS
BINS
BINS
TIPS FOR SUCCESS A. Organize a coordination team
TIPS FOR SUCCESS B. Determine which recyclables are in your waste stream
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- C. Identify a local market for recyclables
TIPS FOR SUCCESS D. Select the type of recycling program
TIPS FOR SUCCESS E. Work out a budget for the collection program
TIPS FOR SUCCESS F. Establish a system for collecting and storing recyclables
TIPS FOR SUCCESS G. Educate the organization & the community
TIPS FOR SUCCESS H. Set overall and individual goals
TIPS FOR SUCCESS I. Reward the doers
RESOURCES Grants for bins Promotional Items Lesson Plan Kits Trainings Recycle Guy costumes Clip Art Decals Posters
Thank you to our sponsors Iredell County Johnston County Lee County Mecklenburg County NC Beverage Association NC Friends of Museum of Natural Sciences NC State NC SWANA New Hanover County Orange County Pasquotank County Raleigh Wake County Waste Management/Recycle America Wayne County Asheboro Recycling Brunswick County Burlington Cary Catawba County Charlotte Chatham County Clayton Container Recycling Alliance Dare County Davidson County Durham County [email_address] Envision Plastics
Questions?