&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Off ice of Sol id Waste
Washington, D.C. 20460
January 1989
EPA&30-SW-89-OU
Recycling
Works!
State and Local Solutions
to Solid Waste Management
Problems
This booklet is printed on recycled paper.
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Contents
PAGE
Recycling Works:
An Overview 3
Alabama
Statewide used oil recycling program .. 7
Austin, Texas
Voluntary curbside recycling
program 11
Hamburg, New York
Mandatory curbside recycling
program 15
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Three-phased recycling program 17
New Jersey
Statewide mandatory
recycling program 20
Oregon
Statewide voluntary recycling
program 23
Queens Village (Phila.), Pennsylvania
Voluntary urban "block corner"
recycling program 26
PAGE
San Jose, California
Comprehensive waste reduction
program 29
Santa Monica, California
Multi-faceted program, including
apartment house recycling zones 32
Sauk County, Wisconsin
Rural area, nonprofit, privately-run
recycling program 35
Seattle, Washington
Voluntary private sector recycling
experiment 37
University City, Missouri
Leaf composting program 41
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Drop-off recycling center 44
Wilton, New Hampshire
Mandatory material separation at drop-
off center 47
Information
List of state recycling offices 50
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Recycling Works: An Overview
The average American pro-
duces more than 1,000 pounds
of trash a year! As this prolifer-
ation of waste continues,
places to dispose of it are
dwindling. To avoid a crisis,
everyone needs to accept re-
sponsibility for reducing the
amount of garbage they throw
away. However, it is often the
job of state and local govern-
ments to deal with their citi-
zens' trash.
Every state has at least one au-
thority, agency, commission,
or department responsible for
managing the disposal of re-
fuse generated by its citizens.
Usually, local authorities han-
dle collection and disposal, but
private companies are also fre-
quently utilized to manage
trash.
In some jurisdictions, trash ap-
pears to be a minor problem
and is easily buried in a land-
fill. But for others, trash dis-
posal has become a critical
problem. Landfills are rapidly
filling and closing. Incinerators
are not able to safely handle
enough of the trash that is pro-
duced. To cut down on the
amount of trash needing dis-
posal, many communities are
turning to recycling and dis-
covering that it works!
This booklet provides informa-
tion about successful recycling
programs initiated by state and
local agencies. It also de-
scribes private recycling ef-
forts and joint recycling ven-
tures of government and
businesses. Each success story
is designed to provide basic in-
formation to help you as you
consider various recycling op-
tions in your community.
A NATIONAL PROBLEM
As a nation, we are producing
an ever-increasing amount of
municipal trash. Referred to as
the throwaway society, we
produce almost twice as much
solid waste as other developed
countries. Our current rate of
160 million tons per year could
fill a convoy of 10-ton trash
trucks 145,000 miles long—
enough to circle the equator
nearly six times! To make mat-
ters worse, the amount of re-
fuse generated in the United
States is projected to increase
about 20 percent by the year
2000.
Total United States
Waste Disposal,
in Millions of Tons
192.7
157.7
1960
1986
2000
(projected)
Currently, the most common
form of waste management is
disposal in landfills. We landfill
80 percent of our municipal
waste. We incinerate 10 per-
cent and recycle only another
10 percent. Yet landfills can no
longer be relied upon as our
main waste management alter-
native.
Landfills do not last forever.
Many landfills are nearing or
have already reached capacity;
others are closing or have
closed because they cannot op-
erate within new safety
standards. Furthermore, new
landfill locations are very diffi-
cult to find.
The lack of landfill space and
the growing volume of waste
have created a waste manage-
ment nightmare for some com-
munities. Increased tipping
fees and the need to transport
waste to another county, an-
other municipality, or even an-
other state have caused costs
to soar. Wast.e collection,
transportation, and disposal
costs have risen to over $100 a
ton in some communities.
Morris County, New Jersey,
for instance, pays over $116 a
ton to get its waste to a Penn-
sylvania site.
But does it make sense to land-
fill or burn all of our trash? A
sizeable portion of what we
throw away contains valuable
resources—metals, gjass, pa-
per, wood, and plastic—that
can be reprocessed and used
again.
The garbage barge, Mobro, illus-
trated just how hard it can be to dis-
pose of garbage. The Mobro traveled
on a six-month odyssey of over 6,000
miles, including six states and three
other countries, before it found a
home—in New York, where it came
from!
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INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT
Many states and local govern-
ments are moving to prevent
massive waste handling prob-
lems. Some are just beginning
to evaluate the adequacy of
their current waste manage-
ment programs. Others are
considering or implementing
an integrated solid waste man-
agement approach. A number
of agencies have recognized
the value of including recycling
as part of their solid waste
management programs. In
fact, about 8,000 recycling pro-
grams are working to reduce
the volume of waste in the
United States. Recycling can
play a much larger role in
waste management programs.
An Integrated Waste Mangement Solution
As state and local governments
plan for and implement inte-
grated waste management, they
usually consider a hierarchy of
methods: reduce, recycle, incin-
erate, and landfill. Reducing
waste—preventing it from need-
ing to be dealt with at all—is
generally the most favored man-
agement tool. Recycling—next
in order of preference—helps to
divert wastes from landfills and
incinerators and provides for
the reuse of resources. Inciner-
ating waste is next in the hier-
archy. Incineration reduces vol-
ume and can recover energy,
but may have some risks associ-
ated with it. Landfilling, while
necessary to handle some .
wastes, is the least preferred
waste management method.
Landfills are very eostly and
may involve some risks. In
most communities, locating
landfill and incinerator sites is a
problem as well.
J INCINERATE
refuse, preferably
th energy recovery
REDUCE
the amount of waste
generated
RECYCLE If \\ LANDFILL
as much trash as U )) remaining portions
possible vX^of the waste stream
Why Recycle?
Recycling reduces the amount
of waste that needs to be bur-
ied in a landfill or incinerated.
This reduction in volume may
result in reduced disposal costs
and add to the useful life ex-
pectancy of a landfill. And re-
cycling puts discarded material
to valuable use, cutting down
on litter and conserving natural
resources. In some localities,
recycled materials are sold,
benefiting the recycling pro-
gram.
A Recycling Component
Adding a recycling component
to an existing municipal solid
waste system is a challenging
process. To begin, your state
or community should consider
the following approaches:
• Analyze the contents and
source of your waste.
• Learn about existing waste
disposal and collection sys-
tems, including their costs
and capabilities.
• Determine to what degree
recycling is already being
conducted in your state or
community.
• Identify public attitudes
about recycling.
• Study which recycling op-
tions might best meet your
special needs.
• Explore existing markets for
recovered materials and the
possibility of finding new
ones.
RECYCLING OPTIONS
THAT WORK
Recycling programs come in
many shapes and sizes. The
type of recycling program you
choose should be designed to
meet your community's needs.
For example, consider what
kind of collection system
would be the most expedient,
the most convenient to citi-
zens, and ultimately the most
successful. And does it make
sense in your community to
target specific wastes—office
paper, yard clippings, plastic
soft drink bottles?
Collecting Recyclables
For citizens, the most conveni-
ent kind of collection is curb-
side collection. To make col-
lection even handier, some
communities provide house-
holders with special containers
for separated wastes. Some
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neighborhood pickups are
combined with regular garbage
collection; others use separate
collection systems. A number
of communities offer incen-
tives like cash or gifts to coop-
erating households. While
curbside collection may be
costly, the success rate may
make it worthwhile, especially
in populous areas. In highly ur-
banized areas, apartment
house and office building col-
lection systems can work well,
too. And mandatory systems
may yield more recyclable ma-
terials than voluntary pro-
grams.
In many communities, drop-off
centers work. These centers
range from landfill locations,
where people or machines sort
recyclables, to "theme cen-
ters." For example, the Fort
Seminole Recycling Center in
Tallahassee uses a frontier fort
motif and buys back recycla-
bles. Financial incentives or
contributions to charity en-
courage participation in other
places. A number of communi-
ties locate drop-off centers in
convenient spots like shopping
malls; some centers are even
mobile. Often, centers are run
by private groups or as joint
private-public enterprises.
Obviously, most drop-off cen-
ters are cheaper to operate
than curbside collection sys-
tems. However, drop-off cen-
ters typically yield less waste
for reuse.
Choosing Recyclables
What is in a typical trash can in
your community? If it is any-
thing like the national average,
you can expect the bulk to be
paper and yard waste. News-
papers are easily recycled.
Yard clippings and leaves can
be composted and used for
landscaping. Businesses
around the country are recy-
cling computer paper and other
high-grade paper, cardboard,
and glass. And clean wood
wastes can be processed into
usable lumber. Of course, met-
als, such as aluminum, are val-
uable commodities as well.
What's Recyclable in the Waste Stream?
CONSTRUCTION
WASTE, TIRES
PLASTICS, DRINK
BOTTLES
Reprocessed for Pressed
Board, Roads, and Other
Construction Projects
Reprocessed for Auto
, Fiberfill, Strapping
ALUMINUM CANS
YARD WASTE
Reprocessed for Can
Sheet & Castings
Composted for
Landscaping
OTHER METALS
Cleaned & Reprocessed
as Scrap & Structural
Products
Refilled or Gullet for
Jars, Bottles,
Construction Material
FURNISHINGS AND
CLOTHING
ANIMAL WASTE
Used as Fertilizer
Reused by Another
Person
PAPER
Mixed Paper, High-Grade Paper,
Newspaper. Cardboard
Reprocessed as Newsprint, Paperboard,
Insulation
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Citizen Participation
Encouraging participation to
increase the amount of re-
covered waste can be the
greatest challenge to any recy-
cling program. There are many
ways to increase recovery and
participation rates. Many com-
munities have active promo-
tional campaigns. Providing
special containers for recycla-
bles seems to help, too. Some
places have chosen mandatory
over voluntary programs. Oth-
ers rely on voluntary efforts,
but use creative approaches to
boost participation.
Incentives have been initiated
in a number of com-
munities. For instance,
Rockford, Illinois, has
incorporated a weekly garbage
lottery award of $1,000 to any
resident whose inspected trash
bags are free of newspapers
and aluminum cans. Camden,
New Jersey, hopes that, fol-
lowing the first three years of
its recycling program, profits
can be returned to the public in
the form of improved services
and new community projects.
As recycling programs grow
and ensure a steady volume of
recovered materials, new mar-
kets evolve. For example,
New Jersey's new mandatory
program has spurred develop-
ment of new glass cullet, used
paper, and aluminum plants
within the state.
Marketing Recovered
Material
Identifying and developing
markets for recovered mate-
rials is another major challenge
for state and local recycling
programs. A recycling market
is any source of demand for
waste materials. To find the
most suitable markets, many
communities develop market-
ing plans. A typical plan may
address the availability and lo-
cations of markets and the
types and grades, amounts,
specifications, transportation
requirements, and price-setting
mechanisms for a commu-
nity's recovered materials.
Services, such as storage and
processing, may also be fac-
tors to consider. Many com-
munities enter into contracts
with purchasers, even though
prices usually fluctuate. And
some programs market coop-
eratively with neighboring pro-
grams to cut marketing costs.
In 1987, New Jersey's Office
of Recycling published a guide
to marketing recyclable mate-
rials. The guide is one of sev-
eral available sources of useful
information on marketing re-
covered materials.
Developing markets is a con-
tinuing challenge to EPA,
states, communities, indus-
tries, and consumers. Demand
for recyclables needs to be
stimulated, marketplace gluts
need to be avoided, and indus-
tries, business, and household
consumers need to buy prod-
ucts made with recycled mate-
rials.
RECYCLING WORKS!
All around the country—in
communities such as yours—
recycling is working to reduce
the volume of trash in need of
disposal. Recycling is one key
part of your integrated waste
management system that
makes sense.
Each community has its own
unique waste problems that
call for special solutions. A
number of successful programs
are described on the following
pages to give you some ideas
as you plan your community's
recycling program. Some of
the success stories take place
statewide; most are local. Two
describe efforts of villages and
small towns to join together,
forming regional recycling pro-
grams. While some success
stories highlight curbside col-
lection, others address unique
drop-off systems. Several in-
volve some private sector
sponsorship; while others are
totally run by private enter-
prises. A used oil program and
a leaf composting project are
highlighted here, too. What
they all add up to is—
RECYCLING WORKS!
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Alabama
Type of Program
State Overview
Background
Used oil collection.
PROJECT
Alabama's borders extend
from the Tennessee Valley to
the Gulf of Mexico. With the
exception of Birmingham and
metropolitan areas around
Mobile, Montgomery, and
Huntsville, Alabama is pre-
dominantly rural. About four
million people live in Alabama.
recycled oil saves energy
Only about half of the nation's
used oil was recovered and
reused in 1977. The other half
was usually discarded, often to
the detriment of the environ-
ment.
In 1977, as part of a nationwide
effort to conserve energy,
Project ROSE was created.
ROSE stands for Recycled Oil
Saves Energy. Alabama recog-
nized that its citizens could sal-
vage millions of gallons of used
crankcase oil a year. This oil
would not be haphazardly
dumped. Furthermore, new
developments had made refin-
ing, processing, and reclaiming
used oil a feasible and attrac-
tive idea.
Annually the state generates
more than 17 million gallons of
used automotive oil and 7 mil-
lion gallons of used industrial
oil. Most of the industrial oil is
routinely recovered; however,
in establishing Project ROSE,
recovering used automotive oil
presented a great challenge:
Individuals who changed their
own motor oil needed to be
made aware of the hazards of
dumping it, and garages
needed reliable collection serv-
ices. Project ROSE was de-
signed to collect used oil from
individual, corporate, and mu-
nicipal consumers, garages,
and service stations for treat-
ment by a used oil processor.
Alabamians recycled
8.2 million gallons of
used oil in 1986.
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Program Description
Project ROSE is a nonprofit
conservation program initiated
by Alabama's Science, Tech-
nology and Energy Division,
Department of Economic and
Community Affairs, and spon-
sored by the University of Ala-
bama, The program's goal is to
protect the environment and
conserve a valuable resource.
To accomplish its goal, Project
ROSE officials assist do-it-
yourself used oil changers in
recycling used oil and provide
collection and recycling infor-
mation to used oil generators,
collectors, and recyclers.
To start Project ROSE, pilot
projects were conducted in
Tuscaloosa and Mobile. These
cities were selected because of
their large volumes of available
used oil, the number of volun-
teer collection centers, and the
availability of collectors and
recycling facilities. The chance
of success appeared promis-
ing.
The development of these proj-
ects required the workers to do
the following:
Conduct Surveys. Surveys
were conducted to provide
basic data from individuals
about whether they would re-
cycle; from service stations
about amounts, storage capaci-
ties, and collection services;
and from waste oil handlers
about volumes, incentives,
fees, and processors' availabil-
ity and capacity. The results of
the surveys showed a shortage
of collectors and collection
centers. The surveys pointed
the way for a local govern-
ment-sponsored program in
Tuscaloosa. And, since Mobile
had larger volumes of used oil
and a number of used oil col-
lectors, sponsorship by the pri-
vate sector was proposed.
Identify Sponsors. City,
county, civic groups, private
industry, and joint sponsorship
were explored as project spon-
sors. In Tuscaloosa, the city
sponsored the program; in
Mobile, private industry spon-
sored it.
Select from Alternative Collec-
tion Methods. Curbside collec-
tion, service station collection,
and consumer centers were
considered. In Mobile, collec-
tion centers were to supple-
ment curbside collection and
service station efforts. In Tus-
caloosa, curbside pickup was
selected. One thousand gallons
of used oil a month were col-
lected this way from Tusca-
loosa.
Publicize the Program. News-
paper, radio, and television
ads were used and pamphlets
were distributed to promote
the projects. Pamphlets were
particularly useful to promote
curbside pickup.
Evaluate the Results. In Tusca-
loosa, a gain from 1,000 to
1,200 gallons of used oil a
month was documented during
the oil collection drive. In addi-
tion, more businesses re-
quested drums for collecting
used oil. Mobile's pilot project
resulted in an estimated
750,000 gallons of used oil
being reclaimed, an increase
from 300,000 in the previous
year.
Expand the Program. Project
ROSE expanded its collection
programs for used oil to 12 ad-
ditional areas. Sponsors
ranged from the League of
Women Voters and Alabama
Conservancy to city sanitation
departments and private busi-
nesses.
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What Makes
Alabama's Program
Unique?
From two pilot used oil proj-
ects, Alabama's Project ROSE
has grown to national promi-
nence. Currently, three types
of used oil programs comprise
Project ROSE: curbside col-
lection, collection centers, and
drum placement.
The curbside collection pro-
gram is primarily used and best
suited for metropolitan areas in
which consistent garbage col-
lection is provided. Based on
survey data, 70 percent of all
respondents replied that they
would save their used oil for
recycling if it were picked up at
their homes. The Cities of Bir-
mingham and Tuscaloosa op-
erate a curbside collection pro-
gram for city residents served
by curbside garbage collection.
City garbage trucks, equipped
with metal storage racks cost-
ing $60 each, have been
adapted to transport used oil
deposited along the curbside.
Used oil is stored during route
collection and transferred to a
holding tank at city facilities. A
collector picks up this used oil
and pays the cities at a price
determined by current market
value.
A mass media campaign di-
rected toward the cities' resi-
dents was found to be essential
to the implementation of a
curbside collection program.
The media program helps to
make residents aware of the
service being provided to them
by each city. The campaign also
explains the hazards of im-
proper disposal and outlines
the procedures used and type
of storage container needed for
participation in the program.
Media promotion has been
maintained to ensure success
and maximize program bene-
fits.
The Project ROSE collection
center program consists of
service stations, garages, and
automotive service centers
which voluntarily accept do-it-
yourselfers' used oil for recy-
cling. These businesses rou-
tinely collect used oil and prac-
tice recycling to safely dispose
of used oil while gaining a
small profit from its sale. Once
contacted by Project ROSE,
most service stations and ga-
rages accept used oil. The
news media is informed about
a service station's or garage's
participation as a Project
ROSE collection center.
Service stations that partici-
pate receive information about
used oil collection and about
recycling businesses operating
as the Project ROSE used oil
waste exchange. This informa-
tion and other resources are
available from Project ROSE.
Future plans for Project ROSE
include a statewide effort to
contact all service stations, ga-
rages, and automotive centers
to inform them of the waste ex-
change services the program
provides.
The third type of collection
program is the drum placement
program, in which 55-gallon
drums are provided for do-it-
yourself used oil collection.
This program operates in rural
areas where there are few serv-
ice stations or garages. Drums
are located on the premises of
cooperating businesses and
small government agencies.
Information about collection
center locations is provided to
people who call Project ROSE
on one of two toll-free, in-state
hotlines.
Community awareness and
statewide recognition of Proj-
ect ROSE are essential to a
successful recycling program.
Media—radio, television,
newspapers—are used exten-
sively to disseminate program
information and publicize the
toll-free hotline numbers avail-
able for residents seeking local
collection center information.
Materials describing Project
ROSE and detailing the envi-
ronmental preservation and
energy conservation benefits
of recycling are provided free
upon request. Project ROSE
also provides informational
materials to businesses, civic
groups, environmental organi-
zations, trade associations,
and state agencies to be in-
cluded with business corre-
spondence. A quarterly news-
letter is distributed in Alabama
and nationwide to used oil in-
dustry members, state recy-
cling agencies, and other per-
sons and organizations which
support the program.
In addition, an audiovisual
presentation is available for
statewide distribution. De-
signed for civic groups, envi-
ronmental organizations, trade
and business associations,
schools, conferences, and
workshops, this program pro-
vides essential program infor-
mation and encourages do-it-
yourself recycling. The presen-
tation also assists communities
in organizing collection pro-
grams where none currently
exist.
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10
Obstacles Overcome Program Contact
The chief obstacle overcome
by Alabama's Project ROSE
was getting do-it-yourself oil
changers to recycle. The pro-
gram provides information to
dp-it-your-selfers regarding en-
vironmentally safe used oil dis-
posal and recycling methods.
Moreover, the program makes
sure there is an available oil
collection system for Alabami-
ans' used oil.
While it is not possible to de-
termine the amount of used
crankcase oil collected from
do-it-yourselfers, Alabamians
recycled 8.2 million gallons of
used oil in 1986. Project ROSE
operates with city curbside
collection and 300 collection
centers. And it covers 53 of
Alabama's 67 counties. This
used oil recycling network
works!
For further information about
Alabama's program, contact
Janet Graham at (205) 348-4878
or write to
Janet H. Graham, Coordinator
Project ROSE
University of Alabama
Box 870203
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0203
Janet Graham suggests:
"Project ROSE has shown
that one person can make a
difference in saving energy
and protecting the
environment"
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11
Austin, Texas
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Voluntary curbside recycling
program.
The weekly tonnage of
recyclables picked up
by city crews
increased by 14.5
percent, from 110 to
126 tons per week.
Austin, the capital of Texas,
has an area of over 160 square
miles. It is populated by almost
one-half a million people, who
dispose of almost 300,000 tons
of waste each year. The city
provides garbage collection to
more than 113,000 single-fam-
ily dwellings, while private
haulers collect from 65,000
households in multi-family
units and businesses. Two pri-
vate landfills and a municipal
landfill accept refuse. The mu-
nicipal landfill charge is only
$10 per ton. In addition, there
are two county-operated trans-
fer stations.
In February 1977, the Austin
Tomorrow Plan directed that
the City of Austin seek envi-
ronmentally sound methods of
solid waste management. Rec-
ognizing the benefits of alter-
native disposal methods, the
plan stated that waste recovery
systems need not be financially
self-sufficient. Program costs
should be weighed against al-
ternate costs of land disposal
plus the environmental and so-
cial costs of additional landfill
capacity.
In June 1981, a 20-year Solid
Waste Management Plan was
adopted by the city that called
forlandfillmg, composting,
transfer stations, resource re-
covery (waste-to-energy), and
recycling.
In February 1982, a pilot curb-
side recycling program was im-
plemented in two neighbor-
hoods including 3,000 homes.
Due to its success, the service
area was expanded in early
1983 to 12,000 homes. During
the second year, over 100 tons
per month of glass, news-
paper, and cans were col-
lected. In the fall of 1983, a
volunteer block leader pro-
gram was established, and five-
gallon plastic buckets were
made available to participants
through fire stations. Both the
dedication of block leaders and
the availability of containers
have contributed to increased
public awareness and partici-
pation in the curbside pro-
gram.
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12
Program Description
What Makes Austin's
Program Unique?
Austin's curbside recycling
program is voluntary. It serves
about 88,000 households, 75
percent of the collection serv-
ice area. Pickup is once a
week.
Participation is approximately
25 percent, and about 4 per-
cent of the recyclable material
is diverted from the landfill.
Color-mixed glass, aluminum
and steel cans, and newspa-
pers are picked up. A major lo-
cal company buys most of the
recyclable material.
Austin's million dollar annual
budget covers its entire waste
reduction program, including
curbside recycling. To offset
this cost, nearly a third of this
amount comes from the sale of
recovered material. The re-
mainder is received from user
and collection fees.
In addition to curbside recy-
cling, Austin sponsors other
recycling services.
Annual Christmas Tree Recy-
cling. About 22,000 trees were
reclaimed and chipped for
mulch and compost in 1987.
Municipal Landfill Recycling.
Approximately 40 tons per
month of appliances, bulky
metals, and other recyclables
are dropped off at the site and
recycled by private groups.
City Office Facility Recycling.
Approximately 10 tons of of-
fice paper is recycled per
month by private groups.
Private Drop-Off Site Recy-
cling. Six private newspaper
drop-off sites are strategically
placed around Austin for citi-
zens who do not receive curb-
side recycling service. At two
of these sites, glass and metal
are dropped off as well.
Buy-Back Recycling. Several
buy-back organizations in the
Austin area buy aluminum
cans, newspapers, cardboard,
glass, and bulky metal items.
Other organizations accept
used building materials,
clothes, appliances, and old
furniture for repair and reuse.
Home Chemical Collection.
This annual event collected
168 barrels of assorted hazard-
ous materials in 1988, recycled
600 auto batteries and 2,600
gallons of used motor oil, and
directed 4,500 gallons of usable
paint to local housing rehabili-
tation projects.
Municipal Sewage Sludge Com-
posting. Presently, Austin's
Wastewater Utility composts
about 40 percent of its de-
watered sewage sludge, adding
wood chips from private tree
trimming companies and water
hyacinths used in the polishing
of wastewater effluent, to pro-
vide carbon for the composting
process. The finished compost
is used on municipal parks and
recreational areas.
One reason for the Austin pro-
gram's success is its block
leaders. The city is divided
into recycling districts of ap-
proximately 1,400 homes each.
A volunteer block leader is as-
signed 20 householders. Each
household is presented with in-
formation and encouraged to
recycle. Block leaders, during
home visits to their neighbors,
distribute recycling and com-
posting literature, recycling
pails, yard signs, and bumper
stickers. These good-will am-
bassadors show how to pre-
pare cans, bottles, and papers
for curbside collection.
Recycling Week is another
unique program. In 1988, the
week of September 11-17 was
selected to call public attention
to new developments in the
city's curbside recycling pro-
gram, and to recognize the in-
volvement of businesses,
schools, and citizen groups in
Austin's waste reduction ef-
forts. The city dropped its re-
quirement for the color-separa-
tion of glass containers
collected at the curb, simplify-
ing the role of the household
recycler. In addition, a new
campaign was launched to re-
cruit more than 1,000 block
leaders.
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13
Obstacles Overcome
A privately sponsored "Cash
for Trash" program went into
effect during Recycling Week,
offering a $100 prize each day
to a randomly selected house-
hold with recyclable materials
set out for curbside pickup.
Private industry and a leading
newspaper will provide contin-
uing sponsorship of "Cash for
Trash" as an ongoing incentive
to encourage curbside recy-
cling participation.
Keep Austin Beautiful pro-
grams involving Austin public
schools and the business com-
munity were also promoted
during Recycling Week. Mid-
dle schools and junior and sen-
ior highs began recycling
school paper and aluminum
cans on their campuses to
benefit their student activity
funds and to help the district
cut down on its disposal costs.
The program, supported by
private and public auspices,
honors the school with the
highest per capita recycling to-
tals at the end of the school
year. The Keep Austin Beauti-
ful Clean Recycler Program
serves to promote recycling
and responsible waste manage-
ment practices on the part of
Austin businesses. In addition,
a recycling forum included an
open discussion of Austin's fu-
ture prospects for alternative
waste reduction programs.
Public awareness and educa-
tion played a major part in the
activities of Recycling Week,
beginning with a press confer-
ence and mayoral proclama-
tion at City Council chambers.
Eleven articles on various as-
pects of recycling appeared in
five local newspapers. All
three major network television
stations added their support to
Recycling Week with coverage
of its highlighted programs and
events. Several local radio sta-
tions ran news items on Recy-
cling Week, using press re-
leases issued by Austin's
Public Information Office.
A public service ad featuring a
local musician was developed
to provide continuing rein-
forcement of the Recycling
Week message. The spot, pro-
moting the ease of curbside re-
cycling and the' 'Cash for
Trash" program, was carried
by four major local radio sta-
tions.
Since Recycling Week, the
Austin Curbside Recycling
Program has recorded daily,
weekly, and monthly highs in
material collections. On an av-
erage, the weekly tonnage of
recyclables picked up by city
crews increased by 14.5 per-
cent, from 110 to 126 tons per
week. Calls to the Waste Re-
duction Programs Recycling
Hotline increased from a daily
average of 25 to 35. Further-
more, 200 block leaders were
added to the program over a
two-week period.
Austin is not facing an immedi-
ate landfill crisis; in fact, land-
filling is still rather cheap.
Therefore, increasing partici-
pation rates and material vol-
umes is considerably more dif-
ficult. Austin's challenge is to
increase recycling to the point
that it is a cost-effective alter-
native to landfilling. Austin is
approaching this challenge,
confident that it will be met.
-------
Program Contact
14
For further information about
Austin's program, contact
Alan Watts at (512) 472-0500 or
write to
Alnn Watts
Austin Recycling Program
Solid Waste Services Division
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, TX 78767-8844
I
RECYCLES
Alan Watts advises other
city recycling program
managers to look ahead.
'There are more than 20,000
households participating in
our curbside program just
because they recognize its
long-term value to our
economy and environment.
It's this kind of commitment
from people taking the
initiative in their homes,
workplaces, and in
community life that we've
got to build on to help us
avoid a garbage crisis
rather than confront one
after it arrives."
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15
Hamburg, New York
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Mandatory curbside pickup of
separated trash.
The Village of Hamburg, a
suburb of Buffalo, has a popu-
lation of 10,500. Its mandatory
program was enacted in 1981.
Hamburg's recycling effort be-
gan as a voluntary program
with citizens taking separated
newspapers, bottles, and cans
to a recycling center. From
there, local firms purchased
the material they recovered.
Through the efforts of a volun-
teer committee, residents were
surveyed and public hearings
were held to determine
whether to make recycling
mandatory. As a result, a law
was passed in 1981 that re-
quired separating and recy-
cling of waste material. Com-
pliance with the law after one
month was 85 percent; since
then, compliance has exceeded
95 percent.
Residents put out recyclables
on regular garbage collection
day. Newspapers are put into a
paper bag, bottles and cans
into another, and cardboard
into a third bag. Garbage
trucks pulling trailers for the
recyclables collect all the trash
on a single run. The trailers
filled with recyclables are
taken to a center operated by
an association for the retarded.
There, the material is sorted
for dealer pickup.
Recyclables represent 25 per-
cent of Hamburg's waste, by
volume. Recycling has re-
duced the need for landfills by
34 percent and saved as much
as $24,000 in tipping fees each
year.
Recycling has reduced
the need for landfills
by 34 percent and
saved as much as
$24,000 in tipping fees
each year.
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16
What Makes
Hamburg's Program
Unique?
Comply or else! While as many
as 98 percent of Hamburg's
residents cooperate, those who
do not are penalized. If a
household fails to separate all
of its recyclables, it gets only
one of its trash cans picked up.
This one empty can is marked
with an orange sticker which
serves as a reminder that gar-
bage must be separated. If the
problem persists, a warning
letter is sent. If the household
still does not comply, their gar-
bage is not picked up for a
week—a rare occurrence. Of-
fenders can be summoned to
court, but garbage cans not
picked up is considered a
greater punishment.
Obstacles Overcome Program Contact
Hamburg has been successful
in finding markets. There is,
however, no assurance these
markets will be steady. Secur-
ing markets is a constant chal-
lenge. For instance, when the
newsprint market fell, the
town continued to pick up the
newspapers, taking what
money they could for them.
Hamburg has an agreement
with a paper company that
stipulates that the town gets
half if the price is more than
$40 a ton; if the price goes be-
low $40, the village receives
$20 a ton less than market
price with a $1 minimum. Even
at $1 a ton, the $10 a ton tip-
ping fee is saved.
For further information about
Hamburg's program, contact
Gerald Knoll at (716) 649-4953
or write to
Gerald E. Knoll
Superintendent of Public Works
100 Main Street
Hamburg, NY 14075
Jerry Knoll offers this
advice to small-scale
programs: "Recycling had
better save money. If not,
it's a tough idea to sell!
Moreover, if you're going to
recycle, make it mandatory.
Mandatory takes no more
time but reduces the waste
by greater amounts."
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17
Mecklenburg County, North CaroSina
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Comprehensive integrated
solid waste management, in-
cluding a three-phased recy-
cling program.
RECYCLE MOW
Mecklenburg County is a
growing area, spurred by the
economic development of its
principal city, Charlotte. Many
more people from other coun-
ties and states commute to
Charlotte for work and shop-
ping as well. By 2006, the cur-
rent population of 460,000 is
expected to increase by nearly 30
percent, with employment
increasing by almost 50
percent.
The City of Charlotte and
other municipalities provide
for the collection of waste from
its citizens, while Mecklenburg
County handles waste manage-
ment countywide.
The one remaining county-run
landfill is expected to be full by
1991. It currently handles
about half of the more than
600,000 tons of solid waste
produced annually. The other
half is accepted at a private
landfill. In 1986, only one per-
cent of Mecklenburg County's
waste was recycled.
Locating new landfills has
been difficult because of the
decreasing amount of available
land, unfavorable soil condi-
tions, potential long-term envi-
ronmental concerns, legal bar-
riers, public opposition, and
restrictive new permitting reg-
ulations—not unlike other
areas.
As a result, Mecklenburg
County developed a County
Solid Waste Management
Plan. The plan focuses on re-
cycling, resource recovery,
and landfilling. Since the plan
was initiated, recycling activi-
ties have steadily increased,
two bond issues have been
passed to support waste-to-en-
ergy facilities and other solid
waste management programs,
and additional landfill areas are
being sought.
The predominant avenue of
waste disposal continues to be
landfills. However, when the
resource recovery and recy-
cling programs are fully imple-
mented, landfills will be used
only for disposing of noncom-
bustible and non-recyclable
material, as well as residue
from waste-to-energy facilities.
Over the next five years, a
three-phase recycling program
will be carried out. A 20-year
goal of 30 percent waste recy-
cling has been set by the
county. Phase I of the recy-
cling program is now under
way. It includes multi-mate-
rials curbside collection in se-
lected municipalities and
neighborhoods, a temporary
processing center, and an ex-
pansion of already existing re-
cycling efforts. These existing
efforts include
• Two staffed and six un-
staffed drop-off centers.
• "Metro-mulch," where
clean yard waste is left for
shredding and sale.
The recycling center
took in almost $30,000
last year.
-------
18
» Pilot curbside collection of
glass, aluminum, newspa-
pers, and plastic soft drink
and liquor bottles.
» Cardboard recovery at the
landfill.
» Metal recovery at the land-
nil.
» White office paper collected
from county and city offices.
• Development of efforts to
increase public awareness
and promote recycling.
Phase II will further expand
current recycling programs
and will add new ones.
• New drop-off centers.
« Curbside collection in all
municipalities and construc-
tion of a materials process-
ing facility by 1989.
• Sorting operations for se-
lected recyclables at all dis-
posal sites.
» Separate yard waste collec-
tion and recycling facility.
Phase III will include new pro-
grams, policies, and regula-
tions that are still needed to
achieve the 30 percent recy-
cling goal.
What Makes
Mecklenburg County's
Program Unique?
The county's recycling budget,
funded through landfill user
fees, is over $1 million. This
pays for a staff of 25 to admin-
ister and operate its recycling
program.
The landfill's recycling center
took in almost $30,000 last
year. This revenue came from
* selling the newspaper, three
colors of glass, aluminum
cans, and plastic soft drink and
liquor bottles collected at curb-
side.
To encourage recycling, land-
fill users can dump free if they
bring in a set amount of recycl-
ables. With this incentive, indi-
viduals and businesses bring in
separated recyclables just to
avoid the landfill fee. Further-
more, when it was discovered
that municipal "freeloaders"
were mixing recyclable metals
with their other wastes, these
town collectors agreed to de-
posit metals in separate bins.
This move has increased reve-
nues from recycled metals.
The county's tub grinder, lo-
cated at the landfill, shreds
bush and tree cuttings. The
shredded mulch is sold to the
public for about $4 per yard.
The county and cities use it for
landscaping.
Approximately one-fourth to
one-third of all residential
waste is yard waste—leaves,
grass, and other clippings—the
largest waste stream compo-
nent. A separate collection and
recycling program for yard
waste is just beginning.
The multi-materials curbside
recycling program, begun in
1987, has an average participa-
tion rate of 74 percent. Ap-
proximately 9,100 homes par-
ticipate in the program. In the
selected areas, newspaper,
glass containers, beverage
cans, and plastic soft drink and
liquor bottles are collected.
Residents have a red plastic
container for mixed bottles,
cans, and jars; bundled or
bagged newspapers are placed
on top.
Two types of trucks transport
these materials to a processing
facility. The trucks, operated
by one person, have separated
storage compartments for
three different materials.
Plastic bottles are shredded by
a granulator donated by Coca-
Cola. The company has also
provided free consultations
and a guaranteed market for
the plastic.
An extensive public awareness
and promotion program has in-
cluded widely disseminated
and effective informational
materials, mass media support,
educational conferences, and
public events to spur recycling
participation. A volunteer
speakers' bureau uses an
audiovisual program for public
presentations. Volunteer citi-
zens and service organizations
are working with Mecklenburg
County and its municipalities
to make recycling work. The
public awareness success can
be measured by the high recy-
cling participation levels, the
approval of bonds for waste-
to-energy, and the commit-
ment of elected officials to help
meet Mecklenburg County's
waste reduction goals.
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19
Obstacles Overcome
Program Contact
The most difficult hurdle the
recycling program has had to
clear is one of doubt that recy-
cling really works. It took sev-
eral years to secure start-up
funding for the recycling ex-
periment. With good planning
and public support, the experi-
ment is now successful.
The City of Charlotte is even
taking on more responsibility
for ah expanded recycling
pickup program. Currently,
the pickup program is working
in a group of diverse neighbor-
hoods—rich and poor, young
and elderly, black and white.
Furthermore, the data from
this program have enabled the
managers to project tonnage
that can be expected from a
citywide program in Charlotte.
These data are being used for
accurate planning for a mate-
rials processing facility. Those
kinds of successes have helped
to gain the support of those
who doubted the value of recy-
cling.
The success of curbside recy-
cling has been attributed to
two key efforts: An intensive
public awareness campaign
and the receipt by each partici-
pating household of a red box
for indoor storage of mixed
cans and bottles. In addition to
a $99,000 annual public aware-
ness and education budget, pri-
vate contributions have paid
for printing of brochures and
other publications.
To complement the curbside
collection program, the Meck-
lenburg County recycling pro-
gram stresses the importance
of drop-off centers, commer-
cial recycling efforts, and com-
posting projects. And recy-
cling is only one part of an
even larger integrated waste
management scheme.
For further information about
Mecklenburg County's pro-
gram, contact Mecklenburg
County Recycling, at
(704) 336-2713 or write to
Recycling Division
Mecklenburg County Engineering
Department
700 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
"Don't underestimate the
complexity of a recycling
program," warns Betsy
Dorn, who for five years led
the Mecklenburg County
recycling charge. "Even the
most successful residential
pickup program will need
to be bolstered with an
efficient commercial pickup
program and composting
and drop-off components to
reach a 30 percent
diversion goal."
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20
New Jersey
Type of Program
State Overview
Background
Program Description
Mandatory recycling law.
New Jersey is comprised of 22
solid waste districts with dwin-
dling landfill capacity, particu-
larly in its highly urbanized
northern districts. Over 50 per-
cent of New Jersey's solid
waste is disposed of in Penn-
sylvania, Ohio, or Kentucky.
Several counties pay over $100
per ton to manage their trash.
In New Jersey, there are 567
municipalities with a popula-
tion of more than 7.5 million.
In 1976, as part of the amended
Solid Waste Management Act,
a statewide management plan
was developed. Each of the 22
districts is required to submit a
solid waste plan for state ap-
proval. Plans typically include
recycling programs, waste-to-
energy facilities, and landfills
designed to handle non-recycl-
ables and residual ash from
waste-to-energy plants.
New Jersey started an Office
of Recycling in 1982 under the
Recycling Act passed by the
legislature in 1981. The pro-
gram was funded by a state-
wide landfill surcharge of 12
cents a cubic yard. As of 1986,
about 11 percent of the total
solid waste was being recycled
by 424 of the reporting com-
munities. The recycling office
provides grant money, based
on recycled tonnage, as an in-
centive to communities to par-
ticipate in the program and
document their recycling ef-
forts.
In 1987, New Jersey's manda-
tory recycling law went into ef-
fect. It requires each county to
develop and submit a recycling
plan as part of its solid waste
management plan. Following
approval by the New Jersey
Department of Environmental
Protection, each community
begins a recycling program
that recovers a minimum of 15
percent of recyclable material
in the first year. After one
year, the minimum increases
to 25 percent. According to the
law, at least three materials
must be recycled. Typically
these materials include news-
paper, aluminum cans, and
glass containers. As of Sep-
tember 1988, leaves are
banned from landfills, making
composting a high priority as
well.
In counties with
mandatory recycling
programs, 25 to 30
percent is being
recycled.
-------
21
New Jersey, with its 25 per-
cent recycling goal and limited
landfill capacity, also counts
on waste-to-energy facilities to
manage the largest portion of
its waste stream. At least 11
large scale projects are cur-
rently planned.
Studies have shown that recy-
cling and energy recovery can
be compatible in New Jersey.
Removing recyclables from
burning can increase the heat
content of the remaining waste
and thus reduce the ash resi-
due. Recycling could also cut
capital costs significantly be-
cause the waste-to-energy fa-
cilities could be smaller.
In Warren County, a relatively
rural area, construction of a
400-ton-per-day facility and a
nearby landfill to hold its ash
residue and by-pass waste is
under way. Both projects will
comply with New Jersey
standards. The county has
agreed to accept waste from a
neighboring county as well.
What Makes New
Jersey's Program
Unique?
New Jersey's mandatory recy-
cling law provides for the fund-
ing of state, county, and mu-
nicipal efforts through a $ 1.50
per ton facilities surcharge.
Through this, an annual reve-
nue of $12 million is antici-
pated. This fund supports New
Jersey's Office of Recycling,
which receives 8 percent of the
total amount annually to run
the program. Counties receive
7 percent for program grants
and also receive funding for
education programs. Munici-
palities receive 40 percent of
the fund in tonnage rebates. A
market development study to
focus on recyclables such as
tires, paper, and plastic bever-
age containers was funded at
about $200,000.
NJ Recycling Payouts
40% Tonnage grants to
counties and municipal-
ities
35% Low-interest loans to
businesses; for research
and market develop-
ment
10% Public education and
awareness programs
7% Administration
The law encourages industries
to purchase new recycling
equipment by allowing them to
receive a 50 percent tax credit.
Moreover, a number of the
law's provisions help stimulate
markets for recyclables. For
instance, by 1989, at least 45
percent of the amount of
money spent for paper pur-
chased by the state must be
spent for recycled paper. Fur-
ther, the State Department of
Transportation is encouraged
to use recycled material in its
asphalt. In addition, priority
must be given to using leaf
compost material in maintain-
ing public land.
Each county designates a recy-
cling coordinator and is re-
sponsible for plan develop-
ment. Municipalities have
additional responsibilities.
They must
• Designate a recycling coor-
dinator.
• Provide for collection.
• Require source separation of
its designated recyclables.
• Develop recycling plans for
new development.
• Submit tonnage grant re-
ports.
• Publicize the recycling pro-
gram at least every six
months.
• Require separate leaf collec-
tion during fall months.
By April 1990, the first report
to the New Jersey Legislature
will document progress under
the law and make recommen-
dations about continuing the
recycling surcharge.
8% Program grants for
counties
-------
22
Obstacles Overcome
Program Contact
New Jersey's main obstacle
has been to get 21 county solid
waste plans submitted and ap-
proved, and then to get 567
municipalities to comply. To
overcome this obstacle, the
state recycling coordinators
meet with the county coordina-
tors at least every other
month. In turn, the county co-
ordinators meet with their mu-
nicipal counterparts. This kind
of network helps to stimulate
activity, encourages interpro-
gram support, and promotes
information exchange. And the
network helps to boost county
and municipal participation.
More and more county and
community programs are join-
ing the recycling effort. Before
the program was mandatory,
the tonnage grants provided a
strong incentive to recycling.
The tonnage grant program has
also paid off as more complete
waste data are collected, help-
ing the state plan ahead.
Some counties have already
enacted mandatory recycling
programs. In these counties,
25 to 30 percent of waste is
being recycled. Large drops in
their waste flows are in evi-
dence, demonstrating that re-
cycling is working.
For further information about
New Jersey's program, con-
tact Aletha Spang, at (609)
292-033 lor write to
Aletha Spang, Administrator
Office of Recycling
New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection
401 East State Street (CN 414)
Trenton, NJ 08625
Aletha Spang advises state
recycling program
managers: "Changing the
behavior of citizens to
comply with recycling laws
is not an impossible task.
The majority of citizens are
willing to comply as long as
they know how the program
works and realize the
importance of participation."
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23
Oregon
Type of Program
State Overview
Background
Law requiring recycling oppor-
tunities, public education, and
promotion.
Oregon's three million people
live in small cities and towns
and one major city, Portland.
The state is divided into 38
wastesheds. Located in the Pa-
cific Northwest, Oregon has a
strong timber industry which
supports the production of pa-
per and other wood products.
Boasting the first bottle recy-
cling law in the nation, Oregon
has been in the forefront of en-
vironmental consciousness. Its
citizenry encourages and re-
sponds well to environmental
conservation and protection.
Oregonians generally'recycle
about 90 percent of their beer
and soft drink containers and
almost 70 percent of their
newspapers.
In 1983, the Recycling Oppor-
tunity Act was passed. It was
designed to make participation
in recycling easy and to re-
claim recyclable items where
they are generated: in homes,
businesses, and industries.
The recycling law added to an
already well-developed recy-
cling system. This system was
comprised of recycling brokers
and markets, nonprofit groups,
recycling depots, independent
collectors, stores collecting
beverage containers, and some
curbside collection programs
with recycling services.
The law, implemented in 1986,
requires not that everyone re-
cycle, but that everyone have
an opportunity to recycle. This
means
• A recycling depot at every
landfill and transfer station.
• Monthly curbside collection
of source-separated mate-
rials in cities of more than
4,000 population and within
a Metropolitan Service Dis-
trict.
• A public education and pro-
motion program to encour-
age recycling.
In addition, the law sets priori-
ties for waste management.
The highest priority is to re-
duce wastes; then to reuse, re-
cycle, and recover energy;
and, as a last resort, to landfill.
Recyclable material is defined
as "any material or group of
materials which can be col-
lected and sold for recycling at
a net cost equal to or less than
the cost of collection and dis-
posal of the same materials."
This definition allows for mar-
ket fluctuations, recognizes
new markets, and acknowl-
edges regional differences in
access to markets. There are
69 Oregon cities for which
curbside service is required
under the law.
Oregonians recycle 90
percent of their beer
and soft drink
containers and 70
percent of their
newspapers.
-------
Program Description
24
Curbside service is provided in
67 cities by garbage haulers.
To encourage participation,
public education and promo-
tion programs are in effect.
They range from ad campaigns
to volunteer-produced pam-
phlets delivered door-to-door
by Cub Scouts. In addition to
curbside service in larger cit-
ies, drop-off depots operate at
almost every public disposal
site in the state.
Local governments, recyclers,
haulers, and landfill operators
have been working together.
They report to the state on
their communities' implemen-
tation programs. The state
then must decide if the pro-
grams are adequate.
In addition, many smaller cit-
ies of under 4,000 people have
chosen, in conjunction with
haulers, to provide for collec-
tions of recyclables. No com-
munity has established manda-
tory recycling.
The state, as part of its effort
to support recycling, has pro-
vided technical assistance to
local government officials and
recyclers. For example, a ge-
neric education and promotion
program was designed for
adaptation by local groups. In-
cluded are flyers, doorhangers,
radio announcements, and
newspaper ads. A bimonthly
newsletter serves as a clearing-
house for informational and
promotional material ex-
change. Workshops have also
been held to promote the ex-
change of technical and educa-
tional tools.
Since 1982, parts of Oregon's
recycling effort have experi-
enced tremendous growth:
from 14 to 104 cities with recy-
cling collection service; from
27 to 130 recycling depots at
disposal sites; and most local
communities with educational
programs in effect. The num-
ber of recycling dealers, non-
disposal-site depots, nonprofit
group recycling drives, and
stores redeeming cans and
bottles has remained fairly
constant.
Prior to passage of the Oregon
Recycling Opportunity Act,
Oregon already had a high par-
ticipation rate. This high level
of participation was exhibited
in the existing recycling pro-
grams promoted by recycling
dealers, nonprofit organiza-
tions like Boy Scouts, recy-
cling depots, and the bottle bill
redemption centers. The new
curbside programs have in-
creased the number of new re-
cyclers, while most Oregoni-
ans continue to recycle with
their same old recycling pro-
grams. For most of the new
curbside programs, participa-
tion rates run between 10 and
20 percent for households
served by curbside pickup.
Two Portland area suburbs,
Gladstone and Oregon City,
have initiated a pickup and re-
cycling program for yard waste
as well, and the entire Portland
metropolitan area is gearing up
for a new yard debris recycling
program. Eugene has a suc-
cessful yard waste composting
facility. West Linn also runs a
yard waste processing facility
that accepts as much as 50 per-
cent of the city's yard debris.
In addition to newspapers, bot-
tles, cans, cardboard, and yard
waste, Oregon has developed
three tax credit programs to
promote recycling. The largest
credit—50 percent—is avail-
able for the purchase of equip-
ment to make recycled plastic
products. The same credit is
allowed for equipment to haul
and refine used oil. Tax credits
for the purchase of any other
equipment solely or principally
used for a recycling activity
are worth 35 percent of the
cost of the equipment. These
are deducted from Oregon
taxes over a five year period.
-------
25
What Makes
Oregon's Program
Unique?
Oregon's wastepaper has
proven to be a valuable substi-
tute for its precious lumber.
Mill and other wood wastes,
combined with waste paper,
have provided raw materials
for the state's paper industry.
The state's steel mills buy
scrap metal, and the products
of these mills are shipped
throughout the West and to
other countries. There are am-
ple markets for glass and alu-
minum, and bottles are sold
and reused as well. In addition,
many of Oregon's communi-
ties have easy access to local
and export markets. While
Oregon has the built-in advan-
tage of good markets, the state
has made sure that it supplies a
steady stream of recovered
materials to maintain these
markets.
Whether Oregonians recycle
through their old systems or
take advantage of the law's
new recycling opportunities,
they do recycle!
Obstacles Overcome Program Contact
Oregon's recycling efforts
have successfully jumped
many hurdles. There are still
obstacles to overcome, how-
ever. There is a lack of equip-
ment specifically designed for
recycling. And many local
haulers have to modify equip-
ment to fit small operations.
Oregon is also limited by the
poor market for plastics.
Furthermore, since the trash
haulers are also the recyclers,
a potential conflict of interest
may exist. Recycling equip-
ment requires sometimes ma-
jor capital expenditures by re-
cyclers. These will need to be
repaid through revenues. If a
hauler discourages recycling,
he could add to the volume of
garbage he hauls, increasing
his garbage hauling revenue. In
other words, he might earn
more by hauling larger vol-
umes headed for disposal than
from recycling.
For further information about
Oregon's program, contact
Peter Spendelow at (503)
229-5253 or write to
Peter H. Spendelow
Hazardous and Solid Waste
Division
Department of Environmental
Quality
811 S.W. Sixth Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
TRASH MENAGERIE
Paper Tiger HootOa
Cardvark
Glasshopper
Cangaroo
Peter Spendelow, an
Oregon recycling specialist,
suggests: "State
governments need to lead
the way for a strong public
education program, but
local communities need to
devote considerable
resources to this effort,
too!"
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26
Queen Village Neighborhood, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Type of Program Community Overview Background Program Description
Urban neighborhood "block
corner pickup" program.
Queen Village is a central Phil-
adelphia neighborhood of over
7,000 people living in a quarter
of a square mile area. The
Queen Village Neighborhood
Association organized the vol-
untary effort to serve this ur-
ban community's dense popu-
lation.
L COWBPitXWHANMOO*!
The Queen Villise Experience In
Surtins in Urbin Recycling Program
n4 Mr CM OM Air CMMir
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The neighborhood uses
the proceeds for block
improvement projects.
Queen Village residents began
to recycle in 1985 by starting a
drop-off center. But the drop-
off center was not convenient
and did not work.
Still convinced of the merits of
recycling, the neighborhood
considered other options. The
neighborhood group ruled out
curbside pickup because of the
expense. The "block corner
pickup" was then initiated as a
compromise between the effi-
ciency of drop-off center col-
lections and the convenience
of curbside pickup. Picking up
at designated street corners in
this Philadelphia neighborhood
also meant short traveling dis-
tances for trucks and reduced
time spent by pickup crews.
Between 9 and 10 a.m. on two
Saturdays a month, neighbors
take their newspapers, glass,
and aluminum cans to their
designated street corners. A
city truck picks up the mate-
rials.
The truck, a driver, and two
additional crew collect from 25
street corners in less than three
hours. Because of the brief
amount of time the trash sits
on the corner, there are no
complaints from neighbors and
no opportunities for vandals.
In addition to pickup time, it
takes about two hours to re-
port to the route, travel to the
repository or buyer, unload,
and report back to the base.
The Queen Village program
serves about 1,200 households
on 46 blocks. Blocks are re-
cruited into the program only if
there is a block coordinator to
hand out reminder leaflets and
encourage participation. Once
the householders get used to
block corner pickup, reminders
are tapered off.
All local organization and pub-
licity is handled by volunteers
on the Queen Village recycling
committee. The neighborhood,
which sells the recyclables,
uses the proceeds for block im-
provement projects.
-------
27
What Makes Queen
Village's Program
Unique?
The block corner pickup pro-
gram is unique in itself. To
spread the idea to other com-
munities, Queen Village's Re-
cycling Committee chairman,
Robert W. Pierson, Jr., pre-
pared a handbook on how to
start an urban recycling pro-
gram. The handbook is entitled
The Block Comer Pickup
Handbook: The Queen Village
Experience in Starting an Ur-
ban Recycling Program.
The handbook presents eight
steps in developing a block
corner pickup program:
• Form a recycling committee.
• Find a buyer.
• Find a truck to service the
pickup route.
• Create awareness about the
solid waste crisis and the
benefits of recycling.
• Find block coordinators for
block corner pickup.
• Set the program start-up
date.
• Publicize the block corner
pickup program.
• Begin block corner pickup.
The Queen Village program
has been very successful. In
fact, it has recently been com-
pared with a curbside collec-
tion program in another Phila-
delphia neighborhood. The
study concluded that Queen
Village collected nearly twice
the recyclables from each
household served and is nearly
four times more efficient in its
use of collection crews and
trucks than curbside collec-
tion.
Obstacles Overcome
Queen Village takes stock of
its program from time to time
and deems it a success, not
only because of the compari-
sons above, but because of its
growing participation. The
neighbors are even considering
an expanded program, weigh-
ing a number of possibilities
such as
• Expanding pickup to include
other materials.
• Recovering the bottles
thrown away by restaurants
and bars.
• Collecting high-grade office
paper.
• Increasing the frequency of
collection.
• Involving local schools in
solid waste management
projects.
FOR KIDS OWI'MUNDER
WIN PRIZES FOR COLLECIK
THE MOST ALUMINUM CAN
AND GLASS BOTTLES
•""-
The Queen Village block cor-
ner pickup concept does have
some limitations.
• It is difficult to organize
block corner pickup pro-
grams. They require good
local organization and infor-
mation networks.
• The best day for community
participation is Saturday,
even though it is harder to
find a hauler on Saturday.
• Cooperative neighbors' cor-
ner sidewalks are available
for a very limited time only.
Queen Village has been suc-
cessful even with these limita-
tions.
-------
28
Program Contact
For further information about
Queen Village's program, con-
tact Robert Kerson at (215)
563-4220 or write to
Robert W. Pfcrson, Jr.
Rogers, Golden & Halpcrn
1216 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Bob Pierson, volunteer
spokesman for the Queen
Village Recycling
Committee, thinks that the
block corner program can
work in other urban
neighborhoods: "Other
communities, not able to
arrange Saturday pickup,
for example, may need to
make special arrangements
such as placing special
recycling bins at block
corners or exchanging the
value of the recyclables for
free pickup by a private
hauler."
-------
29
San Jose, California
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Comprehensive waste reduc-
tion program includes volun-
tary curbside collection, spe-
cial agreements with landfill
operators, and a recycling zon-
ing ordinance.
San Jose is a large metropoli-
tan area of more than 730,000
people, generating about
635,000 tons of trash annually.
Although the three landfills
serving the area are currently
handling those wastes, the
commitment to recycling was
born out of a strong environ-
mental commitment by the
City Council and the public.
Commitment also grew in re-
sponse to a disposal crisis in
1982, which underscored the
need to diversify the city's dis-
posal strategy beyond complete
reliance on landfills.
In 1983, San Jose adopted a
comprehensive set of goals and
principles for solid waste man-
agement, including reducing its
waste stream by 25 percent by
1990. Recycling and waste re-
duction initiatives have been
aggressively pursued to meet
this goal. A curbside recycling
program was the first major
step of this effort. In 1985, the
city's first waste reduction
strategy to attain the 25 per-
cent goal was adopted. The
strategy focused on a $19 mil-
lion, six-year waste reduction
plan. Since then, a revised
1987 strategy calls for a $25
million effort and a 36 percent
reduction in waste by 1992.
San Jose has acted on evi-
dence that recycling is and will
continue to be less costly than
collecting, hauling, and dispos-
ing of wastes in increasingly
expensive landfills.
San Jose's recycling program
consists of its waste reduction
strategy, the largest weekly
curbside recycling program in
the nation, and support for re-
cycling in contracts, permits,
and ordinances.
The curbside program, averag-
ing 57 percent participation,
was expanded to include
175,000 single-family house-
holds. Because it was demon-
strated in the pilot study that
more households participated
when three special stacking
containers were provided, the
expanded program's resi-
dences all received containers.
San Jose's expanded citywide
effort now is recovering about
22,000 tons each year. To pro-
vide this service, the city has
contracted with a waste com-
pany to provide the service for
$1.9 million annually. .
During the last fiscal year, the
waste collection company re-
ceived about one-third of its
revenues from the sale of re-
covered material. The rest
came from the city. Also, to
bolster participation, the city
has a major ongoing promo-
tional program, with a budget
The curbside program
was expanded to
include 175,000 single-
family households.
-------
30
of $200,000 a year used for
doorhangers, school outreach,
minority outreach, and media
programs. San Jose has saved
over $190,000 in avoided land-
fill tipping fees since the start
of this pilot program.
New initiatives underway in
San Jose include developing a
program to collect yard wastes
at curbside for producing high
quality compost, working to
develop new markets for re-
cyclables, designing a house-
hold hazardous waste pro-
gram, and developing a pilot
program for apartment house
recycling. Another new initia-
tive assists businesses in re-
ducing their wastes and in-
creasing the amount they
recycle. And to discourage
businesses from landfilling, a
business tax of $2 per cubic
yard is levied on all landfill dis-
posal. One landfill operator is
already diverting as much as 25
percent from its waste stream.
Another landfill is developing a
major "Recyclery" to recycle
up to 40 percent of its incoming
commercial waste stream.
What Makes San
Jose's Program
Unique? ,
In addition to recycling initia-
tives, San Jose has included a
variety of requirements in col-
lection and disposal contracts
and landfill permits to help
meet recycling goals. Disposal
and permit agreements address
• Providing for composting.
• Using compost as landfill
cover.
• Salvaging white goods and
bulky wastes.
• Providing recycling informa-
tion and economic incen-
tives to encourage participa-
tion.
• Evaluating the potential of
waste-to-energy on the site.
• Developing methane recov-
ery.
• Maintaining scales and col-
lecting data for use in future
planning.
The State of California has
passed an innovative beverage
container recycling law which
requires new recycling facili-
ties to be established within
one-half mile of every major
supermarket in the state. To
encourage the acceptance of
these new recycling facilities, a
zoning ordinance was enacted
to permit mobile, movable,
and stationary recycling collec-
tion operations in most zoning
districts of the city. These are
subject to appropriate regula-
tions and assume compatibility
with surrounding land uses.
Similar efforts were made to
permit recycling processing
operations in most commercial
and industrial zoning districts,
subject to appropriate regula-
tory control. Furthermore, the
zoning code ensures that recy-
cling containers are built to
prevent litter, to minimize
noise and other nuisances, and
to be attractive and blend in
with their surroundings.
Obstacles Overcome
Through a carefully con-
structed strategy implemented
over several years, San Jose
was able to change its entire
waste system from one that re-
lied solely on landfilling to one
that emphasizes recycling and
waste reduction as primary
goals.
But there are still hurdles to
jump. One may be the prover-
bial price of success. The na-
tional prominence of San
Jose's program has resulted in
an overwhelming demand for
tours, informational materials,
and technical information. Re-
quests come from other cities
around the world, as well as
from private industries. The
amount of staff time needed to
be responsive to these requests
is a problem for the city.
To address this problem, San
Jose is proposing that San Jose
State University be funded to
develop an information trans-
fer program that would eventu-
ally be part of a national inte-
grated waste management
information network. The city
is looking for $100,000 to fund
this university-based system.
A second phase of such a pro-
gram would include curriculum
development and training for
recycling professionals.
-------
31
Program Contact
Another significant hurdle al-
ready cleared has been the
funding of its expanded pro-
gram. A 1985 city windfall
went to support the expanded
recycling effort. This money
resulted from savings realized
through the competition for
garbage business. A revised
business tax of $2 a cubic yard
on trash, adopted in 1987, also
supported program expansion.
With other cities now able to
use San Jose's facilities, addi-
tional revenues from business
taxes will support a further ex-
pansion of recycling services.
The remaining hurdle involves
how to accrue to recycling the
avoided costs of collection and
disposal. Currently, the city
benefits from avoided disposal
costs. The garbage collector
pays the city a recycling rebate
for every ton of waste recycled
as an avoided disposal cost.
The garbage collector, as a re-
sult of recycling, benefits addi-
tionally from needing fewer
trucks on the road. The collec-
tion company does not cur-
rently share this benefit with
the city. San Jose is negotiat-
ing with the garbage company
to share those savings as part
of the development of its yard
waste composting effort.
When the city solicits bids in
1990, garbage companies will
need to reflect avoided collec-
tion costs in order to be com-
petitive. Nevertheless, most
San Jose residents already
benefit from the city's recy-
cling program and its inte-
grated waste management
system.
For further information about
San Jose's program, contact
Gary Liss at (408) 277-4509 or
write to
Gary Brian Liss
Solid Waste Program Manager
Office of Environmental
Management
801 N. First Street, Room 460
San Jose, CA 95110
Gary Liss believes: 'The
real key to accomplishing
integrated waste
management is for
institutions—including
contracts, permits, and rate
structures—to be changed
to foster waste reduction
and recycling."
-------
32
Santa Monica, California
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Multi-faceted voluntary pro-
gram, includes "recycling
zones" for multi-family
dwellings.
Santa Monica is a city of
96,000 people, 83 percent of
whom live in multi-family
housing. The city encompasses
an area of about eight and a
half square miles along Califor-
nia's coastline.
SANTA MONICA
RECYCLE
The Santa Monica recycling ef-
fort was initiated under a 1981-
1982 recycling grants program
sponsored by the California
Waste Management Board. An
initial grant for $30,000 funded
a feasibility study and prelimi-
nary design for the recycling
program. A second grant for
$260,000 was used to purchase
equipment, improve existing
recycling sites, and start a pub-
lic relations campaign.
Santa Monica currently uses a
privately owned landfill lo-
cated 31 miles from the city.
However, this landfill is ex-
pected to close by 1991 if it is
not expanded. An alternative
landfill is further away by 15
miles, but using it would re-
quire increased transportation
costs and possibly increased
tipping fees. In addition to the
shortage and expense of land-
fills, Santa Monica is faced
with another problem shared
by many urbanized areas—the
overwhelming percentage of
people living in apartment
complexes. To combat this po-
tential obstacle, the city re-
sponded with the creation of a
"recycling zone" program.
Challenged by the number of
citizens living in multi-family
dwellings and the need to recy-
cle their wastes, Santa Monica.
developed its "recycling
zone" initiative. As a result,
alleyways behind apartment
houses are dotted with three
specially designed, two-cubic-
yard bins for mixed glass,
mixed cans, and newspapers.
Currently, no resident needs to
travel farther than one-third of
a mile to recycle. There are 61
drop-off zones serving 35,000
multi-family units. In 1988 and
1989, the program will be add-
ing 30 new zones.
The recycling zone concept
has also been expanded to
nearly 25 bars and restaurants.
Recycling bins received about
three tons of material a month
from bars and restaurants at
the start of the program. Eight
to ten tons a month are now
collected in these bins.
In single-family residential
areas, residents receive two
five-gallon storing buckets for
mixed glass and mixed metal.
Overall recycling
participation in Santa
Monica is at 27
percent.
-------
33
A recycling crew picks these
up biweekly, along with news-
paper in bundles and used mo-
tor oil in sealed, non-breakable
containers.
The recycling program has a
contract to sell all collected
materials to a private recycler,
who leases property from the
city. The private recycler also
has a buy-back and drop-off
center at this site, where glass,
metal, and newspaper are pur-
chased. In addition, the center
buys scrap metals, various
grades of paper, plastic bever-
age bottles, magazines, and
phone books. Used motor oil
and cardboard are accepted,
but customers are not paid for
these materials.
To encourage the proper dis-
posal of used motor oil, a net-
work of eight automotive serv-
ice businesses was created to
accept used oil from residents.
By agreeing to participate, the
businesses get their oil picked
up free of charge by a private
hauler.
Other recycling services of-
fered to residents include a
paint exchange and a house-
hold hazardous waste collec-
tion center. Santa Monica resi-
dents may bring their unused
household paints to a special
center at the recycling office.
Residents may also pick up
this donated paint, free of
charge. Paint not taken by resi-
dents is recycled and used by
the city for graffiti removal.
A household hazardous waste
collection center is now open
for Santa Monica residents
only. Materials collected in-
clude solvents, paint thinners,
pesticides, batteries, pool
acids, household cleaners and
other similar types of waste.
The center expects to collect
30,000 pounds of household
hazardous wastes annually.
In addition to these services,
the city is also involved in col-
lecting and recycling non-resi-
dential waste. A private com-
pany leases city-owned land
and operates a "debris yard"
where concrete, asphalt, and
other demolition rubble are re-
cycled into aggregate for con-
struction uses. Scrap metal
generated at city yards is col-
lected and sold for recycling,
and office paper generated at
most city facilities is also col-
lected for recycling.
What have all these efforts
yielded? Total tonnage recy-
cled includes the following:
TONS IN
ITEM 1986 1987-88
Newspapers... 1,312 1,210
Glass 569 565
Aluminum cans 3.25 4.01
Steel cans .... 64 42
High-grade
paper 11 n
(from city
offices only)
Scrap
metals 161 154
(generated at
city yards)
Used motor
oil 4.44 5.16
(1,269 (1,474
gallons) gallons)
What Makes Santa
Monica's Program
Unique?
The city has a very successful
participation rate of 22 percent
for apartment dwellers. In fact,
Santa Monica's recycling pro-
gram was recognized in 1983
by the National Recycling Co-
alition as the "Best Multi-
Family Program." The success
of this program is attributed
primarily to the convenient
placement of recycling con-
tainers near apartment build-
ings. Overall recycling partici-
pation in Santa Monica is at 27
percent, with some single-fam-
ily residential areas as high as
60 percent.
Santa Monica's special wastes
collection is also unique. A
new household hazardous col-
lection center receives small
quantities of hazardous chemi-
cal products as a free service
to residents. These leftover
products include corrosives
like drain and oven cleaners
and pool acids; solvents such
as polishes, spot removers,
and mothballs; paint products;
aerosol sprays; pesticides; and
automotive fluids. Further-
more, a guide to safe substi-
tutes and alternatives to using
hazardous substances has been
prepared and distributed to
households.
-------
34
Obstacles Overcome Program Contact
Santa Monica's recycling pro-
gram has overcome a few ob-
stacles. One obstacle, scav-
enging, has hampered the
program since it reduces the
amount of material collected.
An insufficient market for
products using recycled yard
wastes led to the demise of the
yard waste collection pro-
gram—another minor setback.
The city is also facing the chal-
lenge of recycling plastic con-
tainers. The original program
was not designed to include
plastics collection and recy-
cling. Therefore, the current
system would require modifi-
cation and increased opera-
tional expenses in order to ac-
commodate the additional
volumes and special needs cre-
ated by plastic bottles.
In spite of these setbacks and
challenges, Santa Monica's re-
cycling program seems to be
thriving!
For further information about
Santa Monica's program, con-
tact Deborah Baine at (213)
458-8526 or 458-8527, or
write to
Deborah Baine, Coordinator
Santa Monica Recycle
2500 Michigan Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Deborah Baine, Coordinator
of Santa Monica's recycling
program, suggests, 'To
reduce scavenging, avoid
placing bins under building
balconies, near gas or
water meters, or across
from carports or garage
entrances with turnaround
areas."
-------
35
Sauk County, Wisconsin
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Private, nonprofit, regional re-
cycling enterprise.
Located in rural Wisconsin,
Sauk County is the site of the
Wisconsin Intercounty Non-
profit Recycling Company
(WINR). The 43,000 residents
of Sauk County and two
towns in Dane County are
served by WINR.
Rural communities are
jointly served by this
regional, nonprofit
enterprise.
In 1978, Mildred Zantow spent
six weeks in Japan. There she
saw that garbage is separated
and that different items are col-
lected each day. She returned
to Baraboo, Sauk County, a
firm advocate for recycling.
Ms. Zantow observed the large
amount of plastics at the
county landfill, mostly because
there are many plastic manu-
facturers located in the area.
One of those plastic companies
agreed to purchase her recy-
cled plastic if she bought a
grinder at her own expense.
Determined to make recycled
plastic a reality, she cashed in
her life insurance policy and
bought a grinder. With a part-
ner, she then established E-Z
Recycling. The partners soon
expanded the business, taking
in aluminum, glass, newsprint,
cardboard, grease, and oil. As-
sisted by two helpers, they col-
lected the materials, baled
cardboard, and cleaned plastic
milk jugs. They made the proj-
ect work!
In 1982, E-Z was sold to
WINR, where Ms. Zantow
now serves as volunteer man-
ager. Baraboo, Sauk City,
Prairie du Sac, and other com-
munities are served by this re-
gional endeavor.
Today, the nonprofit company
receives recyclable materials
from
• Two mandatory, curbside,
source-separation programs,
in which there is 95 percent
participation.
• Two towns with voluntary,
curbside pickup. Recycled
materials from the towns are
delivered to WINR.
• Five drop-off satellite cen-
ters, which are staffed twice
a week. The recyclables are
sorted and put into trailers.
Then the trailers are hauled
to. WINR to be processed
and marketed.
• Two Dane County town gar-
bage haulers, who bring re-
covered materials to WINR.
Each participating town is rep-
resented on a governing Board
of Directors that oversees the
operation. Six people are on
the payroll; 35 people are vol-
unteers, working six at a time.
The Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources helps the
program by developing educa-
tional materials. And in 1985,
Sauk County gave a grant to
the nonprofit, independent
company.
-------
36
WINR recycled over 12,000
tons of material in 1988. This is
more than 200 tons above the
recycling figures for 1987. In
the mandatory collection pro-
grams, over 30 percent of all
household, commercial, and
industrial recyclable materials
are being recycled.
What Makes Sauk
County's Program
Unique?
This privately operated, non-
profit enterprise is recycling a
lot of material. And the pro-
gram relies mostly on volun-
teers—primarily retired friends
in the community.
The company does not pay for
any recovered materials. The
citizens of Sauk County do not
expect to be paid. Further-
more, there is no charge for
leaving recyclables. In the fu-
ture, however, a small tipping
fee may be established.
WINR is about to embark on a
unique, new project to help lo-
cal drought-stricken farmers.
Working closely with the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin and the
Extension Service, the com-
pany will shred newsprint for
use as animal bedding in barns.
The university is designing a
shredder/baler unit for this pur-
pose. Shredded and baled
newspaper will be picked up
by farmers, free of charge. To
enhance this and its other
operations, the recycling
enterprise is moving to larger
quarters.
Obstacles Overcome Program Contact
Two of the company's most
serious obstacles have been
public apathy and low market
prices. To overcome apathy,
educational programs are pre-
sented to schools and civic
groups. This seems to work
well in Wisconsin small towns
and rural areas, where people
are easily informed about the
problems caused by excessive
waste and want to be good
neighbors. Finding new mar-
kets, on the other hand, takes a
lot of hard work!
For further information about
Sauk County's program, con-
tact Mildred Zantow at
(608) 643-2274 or write to
Mildred Zantow
Wisconsin Intercounty Nonprofit
Recycling Company, Inc.
S7691 U.S. Highway 12
North Freedom, WI53591
Milly Zantow confidently
states, "Recycling is the
only way to go in the future.
There's just no alternative."
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37
Seattle, Washington
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Curbside collection and drop-
off centers.
A city surrounded by the Cas-
cade and Olympic mountain
ranges and Puget Sound,
Seattle is blessed with a myr-
iad of recreational opportuni-
ties. Its port is also central to a
large international shipping in-
dustry. Seattle is home to
about 470,000 people.
The City Council
established a goal of
recycling 40 percent of
all commercial and
residential waste by
1991.
Seattle's citizens support
many private recycling enter-
prises. About 25 percent of the
city's waste stream has been
diverted from landfills by these
operations, a combination of
volunteer group recycling
drives and drop-off and buy-
back centers.
Still, in 1988, the City Council
established a goal of recycling
40 percent of all commercial
and residential waste gener-
ated within the city by 1991.
This goal will increase to 50
percent by 1993 and 60 percent
by 1998. Seattle's residential
solid waste is managed by a
city utility and financed
through an enterprise fund.
Rates are the source of reve-
nue. For years, Seattle man-
aged all parts of the garbage
system, from collection con-
tracts to transfer stations to
long-haul transfer to city
owned and operated landfills.
But by 1986, both of the city's
landfills had to be closed be-
cause of explosive levels of
methane gas migrating off site
and their subsequent listing as
Superfund sites. So the city
had no choice but to contract
with surrounding King County
for landfill disposal. Disposal
rates rose from $ 11 a ton to
$31.50 a ton. In addition, clo-
sure of two old landfills would
cost $76 million. These sky-
rocketing costs were the bane
of the old-style solid waste
management system, but a
boon to a system which incor-
porates waste reduction, recy-
cling, and composting. Thus,
the ground was laid for Seattle
to begin its plan for recycling.
In addition, the city recently
completed a comprehensive
planning initiative which in-
cluded a ten-volume environ-
mental impact statement on
waste reduction, recycling,
and disposal alternatives.
-------
38
Program Description
What Makes Seattle's
Program Unique?
Early in 1988, Seattle began
residential curbside collection,
servicing 147,000 house-
holds—all single-unit through
four-unit residences in the city.
Two different collection strate-
gies are being tested. North of
the ship canal, residents re-
ceive three stackable house-
hold containers for newspaper,
mixed bottles and cans, and
other mixed paper. The con-
tainers are picked up weekly.
In the southern half of the city,
residents mix all their recycla-
bles in a 60- or 90-gallon con-
tainer for monthly pickup.
Seattle has an active house-
hold hazardous waste collec-
tion program. There is a per-
manently staffed drop-site
open 35 hours a week at one of
its transfer stations. Drop-off is
$4 for unlimited quantities.
Also, the utility is sponsoring
research into paint recycling.
The city now requires manda-
tory yard waste separation
from household trash. Yard
wastes represent 30 percent of
the residential waste stream.
The city wiU pick it up at the
curb or alley for $2 a month
and take it to a composting fa-
cility. Grass clippings, leaves,
branches, brush, and sod are
accepted. At transfer stations,
the utility accepts clean yard
waste in a program called
Clean Green. The brush, grass,
and leaves are transferred to a
private composting facility for
processing. The utility also
funds a backyard composting
education program run by
Seattle Tilth, a local nonprofit
organization of urban garden-
ers. In 1989 the program will
be expanded to include "yard
waste auditors," who will
make house calls and distrib-
ute free composting bins.
The utility also provides recy-
cling drop boxes at its two
transfer stations, receiving all
the traditional materials: from
aluminum cans to cardboard to
used motor oil to white goods
to some not-so-traditional ma-
terials, such as mattresses.
Seattle's experiment with two
different collection systems for
recyclables should provide
some interesting information
and lessons for other cities.
Both programs are voluntary.
Citizens are asked to recycle
through church and school
drives, at drop-off sites, or
buy-back centers—whatever
works best for them. Or they
can participate in the city recy-
cling program.
In the south, they can recycle
mixed paper, tin and aluminum
cans, glass jars and bottles,
cardboard, and aluminum foil
with the curbside and alley
program just by signing up.
Participating households re-
ceive a sturdy plastic container
on wheels that has a lid and is
suitable for outdoor storage. A
free calendar tells them which
day to wheel their carts to the
curb or alley for emptying.
The program, serving 82,000
households, is run by Recycle
Seattle, a subsidiary of Ra-
banco, Inc., a large, locally
owned waste management
company. Recyclables are col-
lected in old rear-loading
trucks, then processed in a
new recycling facility. This
80,000 square foot facility
processes both commercial
waste with a high percentage
of recyclables and the commin-
gled material collected from
curbside. The city pays Recy-
cle Seattle $47.75 a ton. Their
contract does not require a
minimum payment, but does
have an agreement that the city
and the company share risks of
changes in the recycled mate-
rials market.
North of the ship canal, Recy-
cle America, a subsidiary of
Waste Management, Inc.,
serves 65,000 households.
Three stacking containers are
provided: one for glass con-
tainers and aluminum and tin
cans; a second for mixed scrap
paper; and a third for newspa-
per. Cardboard is set out next
to the containers. A compart-
mentalized recycling truck col-
lects the material. Recycle
America separates the glass,
aluminum, and tin with a com-
bination of hand and mechani-
cal sorting. Seattle pays the
company $48.15 a ton, with a
minimum payment of $2.8 mil-
lion over the five-year con-
tract. Recycle America ab-
sorbs total market risk.
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39
Obstacles Overcome
Successful implementation of
such a large program in such a
short time has required both
extensive promotion and re-
sponsive customer service rep-
resentatives in the city's solid
waste utility. The utility man-
ages all promotional efforts,
but carries them out in con-
junction with the two contrac-
tors and a consultant.
Two all-city mailings kicked
off the program. Customers
were asked to sign up to re-
ceive a recycling container.
Public service announcements
were also ran on television.
Once the initial rush of sign-
ups was over, there was a con-
tinuing effort to advertise and
promote the program to en-
courage more participation.
The utility staffs booths at
street fairs, works crowds at
festivals, and will soon have
bus placards around the city.
The utility regularly creates
media events to get coverage,
and Recycle America has de-
veloped a newsletter for the
north end of the city. A Cash
for Trash program, complete
with its own costumed recy-
cling superheroine called
Major Recycler, has been
started by the solid waste util-
ity. Next year, it plans to begin
neighborhood blitzes and a
block leader program.
The two-zone program began
in February 1988. By August,
2,600 tons of material were
being collected each month, a
significant amount of material
for such a new program. By
the end of October, 72.1 per-
cent of the eligible households
had signed up in the north end;
48.7 percent had signed up in
the south end. The city-wide
signup rate is 59 percent. Re-
cycle Seattle in October aver-
aged 29.2 pounds per eligible
household. Recycle America
averaged 45.8 pounds per eligi-
ble household. The city-wide
average was 36.6 pounds per
eligible household.
In addition to the two-zone re-
cycling program, the city funds
research and development of
waste reduction and recycling
techniques through a unique
program called the Environ-
mental Allowance Program.
This allows both nonprofit or-
ganizations and for-profit firms
to propose to the utility their
best ideas. Projects currently
in progress under the Environ-
mental Allowance Program in-
clude these:
• Paper Fibres, Inc., collects
mixed wastepaper from
small businesses and apart-
ment buildings.
• Washington Energy Exten-
sion Service has developed
dial tapes, slide shows and
information tapes on waste
reduction.
• King County Nurses Asso-
ciation will educate the com-
munity on the hazards and
proper disposal of disposa-
ble diapers.
• R.W. Beck will do waste re-
duction audits for fifty busi-
nesses and educate other
commercial generators at
waste reduction workshops.
A new six-month pilot plastic
recycling program is under
way in Seattle as well. Seven
collection routes serving 4,500
households participate. People
not on these routes can take
their rinsed and flattened plas-
tics to one of four locations:
two stores and two transfer
stations.
The material will be purchased
by a Thai plastic company. It
will be shipped to Thailand
where it wiU be recycled into
new products or sold as a
raw material to other Asian
markets.
Seattle is very pleased with the
results of its program so far.
The city has had a few set-
backs, too, from which it has
learned:
• The city fire code had to be
changed to allow plastic gar-
bage containers.
• The number of needed recy-
cling trucks was underesti-
mated at nine; eighteen will
soon be utilized.
• The processing facility was
not yet operational at the
time collection began. Recy-
cle America began its proc-
essing operation in an open
parking lot!
• Customer service had to be
upgraded to respond to over
10,000 calls a month. Be-
cause the staff wasn't avail-
able, about half of these
calls were lost during start-
up operations.
• Signing up for service turned
out to be a problem. Seattle
might not require sign-ups if
they had to begin again. The
city might just supply con-
tainers to every eligible
household.
-------
Program Contact
40
For further information about
Seattle's program, contact
Timothy Croll at (206)
684-7640 or write to
Timothy Croll
Program Development Director
Seattle Solid Waste Utility
710 2nd Avenue, Suite SOS
Seattle, W'A 98104
Tim Croll suggests that
recycling be viewed as a
solid waste management
tool. "Be willing to fund
recycling with the cost
savings from the refuse side
of the operation, and
structure garbage rates to
provide an incentive for
recycling."
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41
University City, Missouri
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Leaf collection and compost-
ing.
University City, outside of St.
Louis, is a middle-class com-
munity with an abundance of
leaf-bearing trees. The popula-
tion of University City is about
43,000.
For many years, University
City had been collecting leaves
raked to the gutter line by resi-
dents. In the late 1960s, when
leaf burning was banned, the
city took the leaves to a land-
fill. By 1970, a refuse transfer
station started operating, re-
ducing travel costs to the land-
fill. Soon, however, landfill
disposal costs began to rise.
The city, as part of its effort to
reduce landfill costs, began to
recycle newspaper and metals.
When it was discovered that
leaves represented over 15 per-
cent of University City's an-
nual waste stream, leaves be-
came the next target for waste
reduction.
The University City leaf com-
posting program began in 1983
on less than an acre of unim-
proved park land. Using city
collection equipment, approxi-
mately 20 truck and sweeper
loads are brought in daily for
two months in the fall.
Now University City collects
approximately 9,200 cubic
yards of mulched leaves an-
nually with the help of vacuum
loaders and street sweepers.
This material is turned several
times during the winter and
early spring, utilizing an aera-
tor/pulverizer which further
mulches the material. Total
processing time is approxi-
mately six months, after which
the compost is reduced to 20 to
25 percent of the volume origi-
nally deposited. The estimated
weight is between 1,000 and
1,200 pounds per cubic yard.
University City currently sells
the finished leaf compost for $4
a cubic yard, returning at least
a portion of the costs of pro-
University City collects
approximately 9,200
cubic yards of mulched
leaves annually.
-------
42
cessing and loading into the
purchaser's trucks or trailers.
Users include tree and plant
nurseries, landscaping compa-
nies, and many individuals and
companies using one or two
truckloads.
University City Leaf
Composting Cost Analysis
Landfill Cost
Avoidance $39,250
Land Haul Cost
Avoidance 41,559
Revenue from
Sale of Mulch .... 4,592
Cost of Processing
{Estimate)....... ( 4.281)
Net Annual
Value Gained ....$81,120
What Makes
University City's
Program Unique?
University City has turned 15
percent of its waste stream into
a useful commodity. This is
particularly unique in an area
where other community pro-
grams have fallen victim to
costs and labor needs of collec-
tion, coupled with difficulties
of handling and disposal.
Stock piles of leaf compost are
provided for the use of resi-
dents for their lawns and gar-
dens at no cost. For commer-
cial use, the charge of $4 per
cubic yard includes loading
trucks—a real bargain. One
landscape company worked
three or four inches of compost
into several acres in which
young trees were planted. The
company had done this several
years before and experienced
phenomenal growth. It was
also used to heal or protect the
balls on larger tree stock. An-
other landscaper added sand
and leaf compost to her own
lawn, where she is doing an ex-
perimental project with a very
deep-rooted grass that should
be resistant to drought and
cold. Although it had been too
wet to plant the grass seed, she
was amazed to find no washing
of the relatively steep lawn af-
ter heavy rains.
A new shopping center used
leaf compost in all of its out-
side planting beds, working it
into fill soil. Here wood chips
were used for top dressing. Al-
though the leaf compost could
have been used for the same
purpose, it would decompose
more rapidly than the wood
chips. The city park depart-
ment used leaf compost to im-
prove the soil in its planting
beds as well.
The city continues to promote
the value of compost to add or
replace organic matter to the
soil. Compost is useful to
• Help plants utilize available
nutrients.
• Act as a storehouse of water,
preventing soil erosion.
• Loosen heavy clay, allowing
plants to breathe.
• Serve as top dressing to re-
duce compaction, lessen
maintenance, and insulate
roots.
• Upgrade poor soil.
Furthermore, leaf compost is
cheap! University City's
method of turning leaves in
minimum space and marketing
compost through local land-
scape and nursery companies
also adds to its uniqueness.
Obstacles Overcome
University City has convinced
residents and businesses to use
compost! However, the larger
market has not been fully de-
veloped. The city is working to
avoid carry-over of compost
from one year to the next. Cur-
rent inventory is about 1,300
cubic yards.
Currently, smaller quantity
customers means higher costs.
University City would wel-
come a single purchaser for
most or all of its compost.
The city also hopes to improve
a loading and delivery system
to its customers. While a large-
volume trailer would serve this
purpose, the expense cannot
be justified at this time. Uni-
versity City is experimenting
also with a chemical spray that
can reduce odors produced af-
ter compost turns anaerobic,
without harming the bacteria in
the mulch.
-------
Program Contact
43
For further information about
University City's program,
contact Allan B. Dieckgraefe,
at (314) 862-6767 ext. 260 or
write to
Allan B. Dieckgraefe, Director
Department of Public Works
6801 Delmar Boulevard
University City, MO 63130
2.
When the 17-cubic-yard box is filled, the truck
disconnects from the loader and hauls the shredded
leaves to a processing area on unimproved park
land. The truck then returns to a route, where it is
reconnected to the original or another loader.
3.
An aerator/pulverizer mounted on a wheel loader
further shreds and piles leaves in the processing
area. The machine uses 3-foot-diameter paddles on
a horizontal shaft 7'6" long.
This shows a vacuum loader towed behind a truck,
picking up leaves from the street gutter. The loader
blows leaves through a flexible connection into a
box mounted on the towing vehicle.
Allan Dieckgraefe, Director
of University City's
recycling program, believes
there's a strong need for
compost to prevent the loss
of topsoil. "In this age of
high tech, it's comforting to
know that a low-tech
process, such as
composting, can help solve
a critical problem."
4.
Windrows are created, 8 to 10 feet high and 20 to
35 feet at the base. The piles are turned periodically
to restore oxygen for bacterial composting action.
This shows that after approximately 6 months of
processing there is a dark, rich, peat moss-like
material immediately below the surface ready for
use as a soil amendment or stabilization.
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44
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Voluntary, source-separation
drop-off recycling center.
Wellesley is a town of 27,000
people, located about 25 min-
utes from downtown Boston.
It is primarily a suburban resi-
dential community.
Wellesley's recycling program
was started in 1971 by local en-
vironmentalists and the De-
partment of Public Works
when the town's incinerator
failed to meet air emission
standards. Unlike many of the
earlier recycling centers
around the nation, Wellesley's
is still in business and is thriv-
ing. Located at the town Recy-
cling and Disposal Center, the
operation has grown from col-
lecting materials in 55-gallon
drums to using 40-cubic-yard,
open-top, transfer-haul con-
tainers, plus horizontal and pit
balers. It is now run by the
town public works department
and consists of a recycling cen-
ter, transfer station, and yard
waste composting site.
Wellesley has never had curb-
side garbage collection. Its res-
idents—at least 83 percent of
them—take their refuse to the
Recycling and Disposal Center
(RDF). The Wellesley RDF is
free only to residents. Welles-
ley hauls its refuse to a private
sanitary landfill 25 miles away,
which charges more than $25 a
ton in tipping fees.
Town residents bring both sep-
arated recyclables and regular
garbage to the town recycling
and disposal facility. There are
drop boxes there clearly
marked for glass, newspaper,
corrugated cardboard, mixed
paper, tin cans, aluminum, bat-
teries, nonferrous and ferrous
metal, used oil, plastic bottles,
yard waste, firewood, and
tires. There is also a reusable
items corner for the exchange
of books, games, toys, appli-
ances, furniture, and clothes.
In addition, there is an area for
composting leaves, grass, and
other yard wastes. The RDF is
a redemption center under the
Massachusetts Bottle Bill as
well.
About 90 percent of Wellesley
residents who use the RDF
also recycle. Newspaper,
glass, cardboard, ferrous
metal, and aluminum are the
primary materials recycled. In
addition, cardboard, metals,
glass, and returnable con-
tainers are taken from the tip-
ping floor of the transfer sta-
tion, which is used for
residential and commercial
refuse.
Net recycling benefits
for 1988 were about
$188,000.
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45
The following materials are
collected and sorted at the
Wellesley recycling and dis-
posal facility:
PAPER
Newspaper
Cardboard and corrugated
Brown paper bags
Mixed paper—magazines, junk
mail, etc.
GLASS
Clear
Green • Brown
CANS
Aluminum
Steel, bimetal
PLASTIC
High density polyethylene con-
tainers
OIL
Engine
TIRES
BATTERIES
• Automotive
METALS
• Iron
• Steel
• Aluminum
Wet cells
Brass
Copper
WOOD
« Logs provided free for firewood
• Kindling free to townspeople
• Wood chips—for mulch or com-
post
LEAVES, GRASS & YARD
WASTES
• Composted—available free to
town residents; excess sold or
donated
RETURNABLE BOTTLES &
CANS
• All types—five-cent refund and
two-cent handling fees go to the
town
BOOKS
• People can take and leave
books free at the "Book Ex-
change"
CLOTHING, SMALL
EQUIPMENT, ETC.
• Donated to Salvation Army or
Goodwill Industries (an at-
tended trailer at recycling
center)
MISCELLANEOUS REUSABLE
ITEMS—"TAKE IT OR LEAVE
IT" AREA
a Usable furniture, equipment,
and miscellaneous articles are
left by residents and taken free
by other residents
In 1987, more than 16 percent
of the 17,677 tons of waste
processed at the RDF was re-
cycled. Figures for 1988 show
that 3,047 tons, or 19 percent,
of the total residential, com-
mercial, and municipal solid
wastes are recycled. This is 24
percent of residential trash.
Recycling net benefits were
about $186,000 for 1988. This
includes sales of recyclables,
avoided hauling and landfill
costs, and recycling expenses.
What Makes
Wellesley's Program
Unique?
The Wellesley drop-off center
evolved from a town incinera-
tor site to a multi-purpose re-
cycling center. The center is
proud of its park and social-
gathering setting. Picnic tables,
well-maintained lawns, trees,
flowers, and a circular drive
contribute to the site's popu-
larity for Girl Scout cookie
sales as well as political glad-
handing.
The center is also unique in its
wide acceptance by townspeo-
ple and its dedicated staff. Fur-
ther, the Wellesley recycling
center sponsors a recycling ed-
ucation program aimed at all
Wellesley residents, including
a curriculum for third graders
in Wellesley public and private
schools. "Recycle. Join the
Team" is its theme. The center
also actively promotes other
recycling in the community.
For instance, it helps spread
the word about community-
sponsored rummage sales.
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46
Obstacles Overcome Program Contact
At the recycling center, a wide
range of services can be found:
a redemption center for bot-
tles, donated as a source of
revenue for the center; a yard
waste composting operation;
and Goodwill and Salvation
Army depots, with an attend-
ant in the Goodwill trailer. The
book exchange is also a popu-
lar hangout for residents!
The Wellesley recycling pro-
gram works, and it has always
worked! Nonetheless, there
are the complaints that recy-
cling takes too much time and
that separate storage bins take
up too much space in the
home. To overcome these
complaints, the center relies
on its information and educa-
tion program. Not only does
the public works staff go to the
schools, they provide commu-
nity presentations and promote
recycling regularly.
For further information about
Wellesley's program, contact
Maurice "Pat" Berdan at
(617) 235-7600 or write to
M.R. Berdan, Director
Wellesley Department of Public
Works
455 Worcester Street
P.O. Box 81364
Wellesley, MA 02181
Recycle. Join the Team!
Pat Berdan offers this
advice: "Wellesley's
success is due to a
combination of
environmental awareness
of the townspeople, their
desire to conserve scarce
resources, and their
recognition that the town
benefits financially by its
recycling operation."
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47
Wilton, New Hampshire
Type of Program
Community Overview Background
Program Description
Mandatory, material separa-
tion at drop-off center.
Wilton and the towns of .
Greenfield, Greenville, Lynde-
borough, Mason, and Temple,
New Hampshire, built the Wil-
ton Recycling Center in 1979.
It serves nearly 80 percent of
the 9,000 residents of this rural
area. The center requires resi-
dents to drop off their sepa-
rated trash free of charge. The
residents' other option is to
pay for curbside pickup.
A stone quarry in Wilton
evolved from an old swimming
hole to an unpleasant dump.
By 1976, the town acknowl-
edged that something needed
to be done. With its neighbor-
ing towns, Wilton cleaned up
the dump and created the Re-
cycling Center on its site.
The six towns agreed to share
expenses as well as revenues,
based on population. They also
passed ordinances in 1978 re-
quiring the separation of waste
prior to its being left at the cen-
ter. Most of the residents were
already dropping off their
trash.
Opened in 1979, the Recycling
Center cost about $360,000 to
construct. The four-acre site is
set up with stations receiving a
variety of recyclables. The fa-
cility recycles 45 percent of the
waste, burns 43 percent in an
on-site incinerator, and land-
fills the remaining 12 percent,
including ash.
enter accepts
all household wastes. Cans,
glass, paper, plastic and metal
are recycled. Trash catego-
rized for incinerating, landfill-
ing, and composting must be
kept separate as well. There is
a charge to dispose of some
items, such as tires and demo-
.lition waste. And compost and
Wood chips prepared at the
center are offered for sale.
Workers at the "low-tech"
Center compress and bale
papers and cans. Glass is
crushed, and plastic jugs are
ground up. Industries in the
area purchase most of these
.^materials.
The Wilton district spends
only about $36 a ton to dispose
of its waste. And in 1986, the
'District sold $26,000 worth of
recycled material.
The regional center
recycles 45 percent of
the waste it receives.
-------
Information
50
For more information about re-
cycling and for additional cop-
ies of Recycling Works.', call v ,
the EPA Solid Waste Hotline "
at 1-800-424-9346. InD.C., call
382-3000.
Following is a list of state recy-
cling offices:
ALABAMA
Department of Environmental
Management
Solid Waste Division
1715 Congressman Wm. Dickinson
Drive
Montgomery, AL 36130
(205)271-7700
ALASKA
Department of Environmental
Conservation
Solid Waste Program
P.O. Box 0
Junoau,AK 99811-1800
(907)465-2671
ARIZONA
Department of Environmental
Quality -O.W.P.
Waste Planning Section, 4th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602)257-2317
ARKANSAS
Department of Pollution Control
and Ecology
Solid Waste Division
8001 National Drive
Uttia Rock, AK 72219
(501)562-7444
CALIFORNIA
Recycling Division
Department of Conservation
81919th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916)323-3743
COLORADO
Department of Health
4210 E. 11th Avenue
Denver, CO 80220
(303)320-4830
CONNECTICUT
Recycling Program
Department of Environmental
Protection
Hartford, CT 06106
(203)566-8722
DELAWARE
Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Control
89 Kings Highway
P.O. Box 1401
Dover, DE19903
(302)736-4794
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Public Space and Maintenance
Administration
4701 Shepard Parkway, S.W.
Washington, DC 20032
(202)767-8512
FLORIDA
Department of Environmental
Regulation
2600 Blairstone Road
Tallahassee, FL 32201
(904)488-0300
GEORGIA
Department of Community Affiars
40 Marietta St. N.W., 8th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404)656-3898
HAWAII
Litter Control Office
Department of Health
205 Koula Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808)548-3400
IDAHO
Department of Environmental
Quality
Hazardous Materials Bureau
450 W. State Street
Boise, ID 83720
(208)334-5879
ILLINOIS
Illinois EPA
Land Pollution Control Division
2200 Churchill Road
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-6761
INDIANA
Office of Solid and Hazardous
Waste Management
Department of Environmental
Management
105 S. Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46225
(317)232-8883
IOWA
Department of Natural Resources
Waste Management Division
Wallace State Office Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515)281-8176
KANSAS
Bureau of Waste Management
Department of Health and
Environment
Topeka.KS 66620
(913)296-1594
KENTUCKY
Resources Management Branch
Division of Waste Management
18 Reilly Road
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502)564-6716
LOUISIANA
Department of Environmental
Quality
P.O. Box 44307
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(504)342-1216
MAINE
Office of Waste Reduction and
Recycling
Department of Economic and
Community Development
State House Station #130
Augusta, ME 04333
(207)289-2111
MARYLAND
Department of Environment
Hazardous and Solid Waste
Administration
2500 Broening Highway
Building 40
Baltimore, MD 21224
(301)631-3343
MASSACHUSETTS
Division of Solid Waste
Management
D.E.Q.E.
1 Winter Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
(617)292-5962
MICHIGAN
Waste Management Division
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 30028
Lansing, Ml 48909
(517)373-0540
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51
MINNESOTA
Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155
(612)296-6300
MISSISSIPPI
Non-Hazardous Waste Section
Bureau of Pollution Control
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 10385
Jackson. MS 39209
(601)961-5047
MISSOURI
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 176
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(314)751-3176
MONTANA
Solid Waste Program
Department of Health and
Environmental Science
Cogswell Building, Room B201
Helena, MT 59620
(406)444-2821
NEBRASKA
Litter Reduction and Recycling
Programs
Department of Environmental
Control
P.O. Box 98922
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402)471-4210
NEVADA
Energy Extension Service
Office of Community Service
1100 S.Williams Street
Carson City, NV 89710
(702)885-4420
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Waste Management Division
Department of Environmental
Services
6 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-2900
NEWJERSEY
Office of Recycling
Department of Environmental
Protection
CN414
401 E. State Street
Trenton, NJ 08625
(609)292-0331
NEW MEXICO
Solid Waste Section
Environmental Improvement
Division
1190 St. Francis Drive '
Sante Fe, NM 87503
(505) 457-2780
NEW YORK
Bureau of Waste Reduction and
Recycling
Department of Environmental
Conservation
50 Wolf Road, Room 208
Albany, NY 12233
(518)457-7337
NORTH CAROLINA
Solid Waste Management Branch
Department of Human Resources
P.O. Box 2091
Raleigh, NC 27602
(919)733-0692
NORTH DAKOTA
Division of Waste Management
Department of Health
1200 Missouri Avenue, Room 302
Box 5520
Bismark, ND 58502-5520
(701)224-2366
OHIO
Division of Litter Prevention and
Recycling
Ohio EPA
Fountain Square Building, E-1
Columbus, OH 43224
(614)265-7061
OKLAHOMA
Solid Waste Division
Department of Health
1000 N.E. 10th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73152
(405)271-7159
OREGON
Department of Environmental
Quality
811S.W. Sixth
Portland, OR 97204
(503)229-5913
PENNSYLVANIA
Waste Reduction and Recycling
Section
Division of Waste Minimization and
Planning
Department of Environmental
Resources
P.O. Box 2063
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717)787-7382
RHODE ISLAND
Office of Environmental
Coordination
Department of Environmental
Management
83 Park Street
Providence, Rl 02903
(401)277-3434
SOUTH CAROLINA
Department of Health and
Environmental Control
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201
(803)734-5200
SOUTHDAKOTA
Energy Office
217-1/2 West Missouri
Pierre, SD 57501
(605)773-3603
TENNESSEE
Department of Public Health
Division of Solid Waste
Management
Customs House, 4th Floor
701 Broadway
Nashville TN37219-S403
(615)741-3424
TEXAS
Division of Solid Waste
Management
Department of Health
1100 W. 49th Street
Austin TX 78756
(512)458-7271
UTAH
Bureau of Solid and Hazardous
Waste
Department of Environmental
Health
P.O. Box 16690
Salt Lake City, UT 84116-0690
(801)538-6170
VERMONT
Agency of National Resources
103 S. Main Street, West Building
Waterbury.VT 05676
(802)244-8702
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52l
VIRGINIA
Department of Waste Management
Division of Litter Control and
Recycling
11th Floor, Monroe Bulding
101N. 14th Street
Richmond, VA 23219
1-800-Keeptt
WEST VIRGINIA
Department of Natural Resources
Conservation, Education, and Litter
Control
1800 Washington Street E.
Charleston, WV2S305
(304)343-3370
WASHINGTON
Department of Ecology
Mail Stop PV-11
Olympia.WA 95804
1-800-RecycIe
WISCONSIN
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 7921
Madison, WI53707
(608)266-5741
WYOMING
Solid Waste Management Program
Department of Environmental
Quality
Herschler Building
122 W. 25th Street
Cheyenne, WY 82002
(307)777-7752
The Office of Solid Waste
thanks the recycling
program managers, who
contributed valuable time
and materials to this
project.
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1991 0 - 300-133 QL 3
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