1. Broward County Climate Change Task ForceRecycling in Broward County: An Update & Review of its Potential Role in Reducing Greenhouse Gas EmissionsBy Phil Bresee, Recycling Program Manager, Broward CountyFebruary 19, 2009 1

2. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Contributions to GHG Emissions* 2 Source: Governor’s Climate Action Team, 2008 * = Sector based…

3. What’s in Broward County’s MSW? 3 Source: Broward County Waste and Recycling Services, 2008.

4. How Should MSW be Managed? 4 US EPA developed solid waste management hierarchy in late 1980s. Source, or waste reduction means minimizing or not creating waste in the first place. Recycling is preferred way to manage materials. WTE with energy recovery for non-recyclable trash offers benefits through less reliance on fossil fuels.

5. Recent MSW and Recycling Trends in Broward County 5 Sources: Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection & Broward County Waste and Recycling Services, 2008.

6. Recycling in Broward County: Background 1988 Florida Solid Waste Management Act established county recycling goals, including 30% recycling goal by end of 1994. State also established Recycling & Education grants to counties. First Broward County curbside recycling program began 1988-89 in unincorporated areas collecting aluminum cans and newspaper through “curb-sorting”. City recyclables delivered to various local Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs, pronounced “Murph”); County’s Resource Recovery System elected to pursue system-wide MRF in 1991. All but two of Broward County’s cities provide curbside recycling. Some cities also provide or facilitate recycling at multi-family complexes (condos and apartments). 6

7. Recycling in Broward County: Background County provides other recycling services including: Recycling collections at Broward County Public Schools Recycling at County agencies Electronics recycling Household hazardous waste recycling Recycling at County Parks 7

9. State consideration of renewable energy sources, including WTE biomass and landfill gas diversion credits in achieving goals. (part of 2008 Energy Bill – HB 7135)

10. Reporting requirements and what can be counted towards recycling credit.

11. State financial support for recycling efforts.

12. Public place recycling – including recycling at FLL & “green lodging.”

13. Reduce landfill disposal of “high volume recyclables” including construction & demolition debris , yard waste and paper.

14. Focus on multi-family (50% ~ of Broward’s households) through more on-site recycling, drop-off centers, etc.

15. City solid waste contracts that include green waste recycling (“1-1-1”) and commercial recycling.

18. Currently about 600 single-stream curbside recycling programs operating (out of about 8,600+ total in the U.S.) and the number keeps growing.

19. Single-stream recycling began to take root in Florida in 2004 and current list of participants includes:

20. Collier County

21. Martin County

22. Stuart

23. Orlando

24. Miami-Dade County

25. Parkland10

27. One-person crews

28. Bi-weekly collections

29. Fewer injuriesCart collections can also help facilitate recycling incentive programs (RecycleBank). Single-stream recycling can also better facilitate business and institutional recycling. County / RRB staff working with cities on transition to single-stream; will most likely utilize system-wide combination of bins and carts, at least initially. 11

31. “New” program concept.

32. Increased participation through resident convenience.

33. Improved MRF processing systems and technology.

34. Movement towards automated MSW and recycling collections.12

36. Strong correlation between aggressive outreach, recyclables yield, increased participation and low contamination.

37. County and RRS system-wide promotional plan to include:

38. Major media

39. Events

40. Brochures

41. Web-based promotions

42. Cities also have individual means to promote or supplement County efforts including:

43. Cable TV channels

44. City newsletters

45. Utility bill inserts

46. City special events

47. Web-based promotions13

48. Single-Stream Recycling Results 14 * = Most data reported year-over-year after full transition to single-stream.

50. Reducing emissions from energy consumption during manufacturing.

51. Increases carbon sequestration (paper recycling).

52. Reducing methane emissions from landfills.Illustration courtesy of U.S. EPA

54. Removing 35 million cars from the road

55. 930,000 railcars of coal burned.

56. Annual electricity usage by about 23.5 million households.

57. Saving the use of 240 million barrels of oil.Source: US EPA; E. Dorn, RW Beck, 2008.

59. 56,000+ recycling & reuse establishments.

61. 3,700 recycling and reuse establishments.

62. Employment base of 32,000 with payroll of $765 million.Recyclables are commodities. (commodity prices have been impacted by global recession) Illustration courtesy of US EPA.

63. Conclusions Recycling is a demonstrated environmental protection success story with environmental and economic benefits. Environmental goals can seem abstract – recycling allows for hands-on and visible opportunity for citizens and businesses to help their environment. Is a “low-hanging fruit” for cities and counties to use to help reduce their carbon footprints. Uses infrastructure already in place. Recycling can be a “gateway” to other positive environmental behaviors. 18