United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(OS-305)
EPA/530-SW-90-018
Winter 1990
v>EPA
NEW:
Welcome to Reusable News
By Sylvia K. Lowrance, Director, Office of Solid Waste
Welcome to this first issue of
Reusable News, the newsletter
of the Municipal Solid Waste Program.
It's no news that many areas of the
country are today facing a solid waste
crisis. We here at EPA are keenly
aware of the problems that com-
munities, businesses, and individuals
are confronting in managing their solid
waste. We are committed to leading
the nation in resolving both our current
challenges as well as those that may
lie ahead.
In February of 1988, EPA formed a
Municipal Solid Waste Task Force to
assess the size and scope of the solid
waste problem, examine alternatives
for solving it, and develop a national
strategy to deal with the problem. A
year later, EPA published the final
report of the Task Force in The Solid
Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Ac-
tion. This national strategy presents
the goals and recommendations for ac-
tion by EPA, state and local govern-
ments, industry, and citizens to
address the municipal solid waste
problems facing our country. The
Agenda for Action is available from
our RCRA hotline.
Over the past year, we have grown
from a task force to a full-fledged pro-
gram. EPA's Municipal Solid Waste
Program currently consists of 20 staff
in EPA Headquarters in Washington,
D.C., as well as an additional 20 people
in the ten EPA Regional Offices. Key
contacts at both Headquarters and in
the Regions are provided in an insert
to this newsletter.
To further our efforts in raising
awareness and fostering improve-
ments in the management of our
nation's solid waste, we have initiated
this newsletter. It is our hope that
Reusable News will help provide use-
ful information to decision-makers,
state and local officials, industry, and
anyone else who would like to know
more about the key issues and con-
cerns in solid waste management.
Reusable News will feature a
diverse array of articles. We plan to
share with you the activities we're un-
dertaking to address the solid waste
dilemma, as outlined in the Agenda for
Action. We'll feature news of upcom-
ing conferences, updates on environ-
mentally friendly products, news from
Capitol Hill, publications of interest,
success stories from around the na-
tion, and more.
The newsletter will offer food for
thought, ideas that work, and places to
go for further information. Together,
we can turn our agenda into action.
In This Issue
||We[corrie to Reusable News
glutting Our Agenda Into Action-
glnformation Exchange and Planning
f;EP AHeadquarters Establishes
pin-House Recycling Program
IfSolutions for the 90s-
p EPA Sponsors International Solid
IjWaste Management Conference
gThe Philadelphia Story-
§'Queen Village's Recycling Program
EPA Sets Up Procurement
feGuidelines Hotline
Putting Our
Agenda Into
Action
Information Exchange
and Planning
This past February, EPA released its
Solid Waste Dilemma: An Agen-
da for Action, a national strategy for
managing the nation's municipal solid
waste. With the Agenda, EPA set
several national goals to reduce and
better manage our garbage. These
goals are to increase available waste
planning and management informa-
tion, encourage better waste manage-
ment planning, increase source
reduction and recycling, and improve
the safety of incinerators and landfills.
EPA has completed many activities
in direct response to the Agenda for
Action, and others are well underway.
Some key projects involving informa-
tion exchange and planning are
described below. Future issues of
Reusable News will describe achieve-
ments in source reduction and recy-
cling and in increasing the safety of
landfills and incinerators.
All sectors of society-government,
industry, and private citizens-need up-
to-date, practical information on solid
waste management. The Agency has
published several documents for
citizens to help raise awareness of our
solid waste problems and to communi-
cate the importance of public involve-
ment. A list of available EPA
publications is provided in an insert to
this newsletter.
The news media can effectively
raise awareness and communicate in-
formation to a wide spectrum of people,
Continued on Page 4
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EPA Headquarters Establishes
In-House Recycling Program
EPA began recycling in the mid
1970s, and in recent years has
stepped up its efforts. Last year, EPA
recycled over 400 tons of high-grade
white paper from its Waterside Mall,
Crystal City, and Fairchild offices. This
constitutes one half of EPA's total
paper waste stream.
Paper and paper products make up
over 80 percent of the office solid waste
stream, so EPA has paid particular at-
tention to these recyclables. And like
any government agency, EPA has
found plenty of raw material in its of-
fices. To encourage paper recycling,
EPA distributes fact sheets informing
employees of how to participate in the
recycling program. The Agency also
has established paper reduction
measures, such as requiring double-
sided copying, using the backs of
printed pages for drafts, and using E-
mail whenever possible.
EPA has also increased the amount
of recycled paper the Agency buys.
"Virtually all EPA
publications are now
printed on recycled paper."
"Virtually all EPA publications are now
printed on recycled paper," states
Randy Bacon of EPA's print shop. The
Agency also procures hand towels and
toilet paper made from recycled paper.
Efforts to procure recycled computer
and copier paper are underway.
For the collection of glass recycl-
ables, EPA Administrator William Reil-
ly dedicated glass "igloos" this year at
two locations in the Agency parking lot.
In-house programs for aluminum,
newspaper, and mixed papers are also
being developed. Currently,
employees bring many of these items
to collection centers in the area. All of
these efforts are carried out by volun-
teer employees, who have formed a
Recycling Work Group.
Reilly has appointed Gail Miller
Wray to be EPA's "Czarina for Recy-
cling." She has taken the lead in set-
ting up a model recycling program at
EPA. Wray also participates actively in
the Agency Recycling Work Group,
visits with EPA regions, labs, and field
offices to assist them in developing
their in-house recycling efforts, and
coordinates recycling in other agen-
cies.
The in-house recycling program
helps EPA do its share to reduce the
garbage glut, and the Agency hopes
that it will serve as a model for other
organizations as well.
Solutions for the 90s
EPA Sponsors International
Solid Waste Management Conference
As the nation's papers, cans, tires,
bottles, and other discards rapidly
pile up, finding ways to dispose of all
this refuse is no easy task. While trash
disposal is handled locally, the dis-
posal problem is national in scope.
Private citizens, industries, and public
officials at all levels of government
agree that there is an imminent need
for vastly improved solid waste plan-
ning and management across the
country.
To respond to this need, EPA is
sponsoring an international forum
called the First United States Con-
ference on Municipal Solid Waste
Management. The conference, which
is called "Solutions for the 90s," will be
held in Washington, D.C. on June 14-
16,1990. The conference will address
solid waste management issues of na-
tional and international importance and
work to increase awareness of these
issues at the local, state, regional, and
international levels.
Conference Manager Susan Mann
of EPA's Office of Solid Waste (OSW)
says that the aim of "Solutions for the
90s" is to initiate partnerships among
peers in governments, involved
groups, and individuals to encourage
cooperation apd innovation in our ef-
forts to solve solid waste problems.
We hope that as a result of the con-
ference, ongoing projects will be
developed between participants that
will increase their abilities to resolve
their solid waste problems.
Specific areas to be addressed at
the conference include: 1) integrated
solid waste management planning; 2)
source reduction and reuse; 3) recy-
cling and composting; 4) combustion;
5) land disposal; 6) public education
and involvement; and 7) disposal of
special wastes such as used oil,
Continued on Page 4
For more information,
contact the
RGRA/Superfund
Hotline
at 1-800-424-9346
If you know someone who is
interested in receiving this
newsletter, they should contact:
Office of Program Management
and Support (OPMS)
OS-305
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
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The Philadelphia Story
Queen Village's Recycling Program
In response to the garbage crisis, a
number of cities have set up man-
datory or voluntary recycling programs.
In fact, over 1,000 communities now
have curbside recycling in place. The
EPA booklet Recycling Works! high-
lights some of these state and local
success stories. The following profile
program began as a way to save the
city money by recycling," says Bob
Pierson, chairperson of the Queen Vil-
lage Recycling Committee. "Also, we
wanted to experiment with different
ways of collecting recyclables other
than traditional curbside pickup."
Here's how it works. Residents
describes one of the programs fea-
tured in the booklet.
A densely populated Philadelphia
neighborhood operates a highly
successful voluntary "block corner
pickup." This recycling program, or-
ganized by the Queen Village Neigh-
borhood Association, serves 1,200
households on 46 blocks. 'The block
drop off their newspapers, glass, and
aluminum cans on 25 designated
street corners on Saturday mornings.
Each participating block has a block
coordinator, who arranges corner pick-
ups and encourages participation.
Two trucks and a crew of four provided
by the city of Philadelphia collect the
recyclables in less than 3 hours and
unload the goods in another 2 hours.
Proceeds from the recycling program
are used for block improvement
projects.
The Queen Village program has-
been a great success. A study com-
paring the block program with a
curbside program in another Philadel-
- phia neighborhood found that the block
program utilized its collection crews
and trucks four times more efficiently.
The block program requires fewer
stops than traditional curbside
programs, so it takes less crew and
less time to pick up the recyclables.
Queen Village has also found the
block corner program to be far more
cost effective than curbside pickup.
The program is estimated to cost an
average of $50 per ton of recyclables
collected compared to over $200 per
ton for curbside programs in other
Philadelphia neighborhoods. One
reason for this dramatic difference is
the program's collection efficiency;
another is that the materials are source
separated before they are picked up.
By separating the materials themsel-
ves, participants save as much as $25
per ton.
Program participation is growing,
and the blocks have recently increased
the frequency of collection from twice a
month to weekly. Queen Village con-
tinues to explore ways to increase par-
ticipation so that more people can reap
the rewards of recycling. For more in-
formation about the Queen Village pro-
gram, contact Robert Pierson at (215)
563-4220.
Did You Know...
EPA Sets Up
Procurement Guidelines Hotline
The United States generates
160 million tons of solid waste
each year-enough to fill
a convoy of trucks that would
stretch halfway to the moon.
To stimulate and strengthen the
marketplace for recycled goods,
EPA has issued procurement
guidelines requiring the federal
government to buy products made of
recycled materials. The guidelines
also apply to state and local agencies
that use over a specified amount of
federal money to purchase certain
products.
To date, guidelines have been is-
sued for five product types: building
insulation products, cement and con-
crete containing fly ash, paper and
paper products, lubricating oils con-
taining re-refined oils, and retread tires.
EPA is currently studying the feasibility
and impact of implementing two addi-
tional guidelines for building and con-
struction materials and products
containing materials recovered from
scrap tires. EPA has established a
telephone hotline to respond to ques-
tions about the procurement guidelines
from agencies, vendors, and the
general public. The number is (703)
941-4452.
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The following
publications are
available at no charge
from the EPA RCRA
Hotline.
Call 1-800-424-9346.
Recycling Works!
A booklet describing 14 successful
state and local recycling programs in
the United States.
EPA/530-SW-89-014
Recycling
A concise citizen's brochure on
recycling and its role in solid waste
management.
EPA/530-SW-88-050
Bibliography of
Municipal Solid Waste
Management
Alternatives
A listing of approximately 200
publications available from industry,
government, and environmental
groups.
EPA/530-SW-89-055
The Solid Waste
Dilemma: An Agenda for
Action
A report describing the municipal
solid waste situation and presenting
a national strategy to improve the
management of wastes nationwide.
EPA/530-SW-89-019
The Garbage Problem:
An Action Agenda
A brochure briefly describing the
report The Solid Waste Dilemma: An
Agenda for Action.
EPA/530-SW-89-018
How to Set Up Local
Used Oil Recycling
Program
An easy-to-follow manual for local
decision-makers, environmental
groups, and community
organizations.
EPA/530-SW-89-039a
Used Oil Recycling
Brochures
A series of three brochures on ways
to recycle used oil:
Recycling Used Oil:
What Can You Do?
How the general public can
participate in used oil recycling.
EPA/530-SW-89-039b
Recycling Used Oil: 10
Steps to Change Your Oil
How citizens can change their car oil.
EPA/530-SW-89-039C
Recycling Used Oil: For
Service Stations and
Other Vehicle-Service
Facilities
How service station owners can play
a key role in facilitating used oil
recycling.
EPA/530-SW-89-039d
Yard Waste Composting:
A Study of Eight
Programs
A report describing successful
composting programs across the
country.
EPA/530-SW-89-038
Characterization of
Products Containing
Lead and Cadmium in
Municipal Solid Waste in
the United States, 1970
to 2000.
A report characterizing all products
that contribute at least 1 percent of
the lead and cadmium found in
municipal solid waste.
EPA/530-SW-89-015C
Promoting Source
Reduction and
Recyclabilityinthe
Marketplace
A report exploring the role of
household consumer demand in the
recycling process.
EPA/530-SW-89-066
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Municipal Solid Waste Contacts
Bruce Weddle
Director
202-478-9872
Bob Dellinger
Deputy Director
202-476-9872
CRITERIA AND
ASSESSMENT GROUP
Michael Flynn
Chief
202-382-3048
PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION GROUP
Steve Levy
Special Assistant
202-382-4746
ASSESSMENT
TEAM
STANDARDS
TEAM
IMPLEMENTATION
TEAM
PUBLIC OUTREACH
TEAM
Susan O'Keefe
Chief
202-382-4489
Allen Geswein
Chief
202-382-4687
Lillian Bagus
Chief
202-382-7920
Terry Grogan
Chief
202-475-9718
Municipal Solid Waste Program - Headquarters
Region I
Ron Jennings
Waste Management Division
U.S. EPA-Region I
J.F.K. Federal Building
(HEE-CAN 6)
Boston, MA 02203
FTS 8-833-1700
(617)573-5700
Region II
Michael DeBonis
Air & Waste Management Division
(2AWM-SW)
U.S. EPA-Region II
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
FTS 8-264-0002
(212)264-0002
David Savetsky
Air & Waste Management Division
(2AWM-SW)
U.S. EPA-Region 11
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
FTS 8-264-0547
(212)264-0547
Region III
Andrew Euricheck
Waste Management Branch (3HW30)
U.S. EPA - Region III
841 Chestnut'Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
FTS 8-597-0982
(215) 597-0982
Region IV
Craig Brown
Residuals Management
U.S. EPA - Region IV
345 Courtland Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30365
FTS 8-257-3433
(404) 347-3433
Region V
Bill MacDowell
Waste Management Division
U.S. EPA - Region V (5HR13)
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604
FTS 8-886-7452
(312)886-7452
Region VI
Dan Johansen
RCRA Program Branch
U.S. EPA - Region VI (6H-HS)
First Interstate Bank Tower
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75270-2733
FTS 8-255-6760
(214)655-6760
Region VII
Chet McLaughlin
Waste Management Division
U.S. EPA-Region VII
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
FTS 8-757-2852
(913) 236-2852
Region VIII
Judith Wong
Hazardous Waste Management Division
U.S. EPA - Region VIII (8HWM-RM) '
One Denver Place
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202-2405
FTS 8-330-1667
(303)293-1667
Jerry Allen
Hazardous Waste Management Division
U.S. EPA - Region VIII
One Denver Place
Suite 500
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202-2405
FTS 8-350-1496
(303)293-1496
Region IX
Ayn Schmit
Hazardous Waste Management Division
U.S. EPA - Region IX (T-2-3)
215 Fremont Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
FTS 8-454-8926
(415)974-8926
Region X
Mike Bussell
Hazardous Waste Division
U.S. EPA-Region X(HW-114)
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
FTS 8-399-2857
(206) 442-2857
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Solutions for the 90s
Continued from Page 2
household hazardous wastes, medical
wastes, and white goods (e.g., old
refrigerators, washing machines).
Financial management, innovative ap-
proaches to marketing, and risk and
health assessment are also among the
wide range of topics that will be
covered.
Mann anticipates that attendance
will range from 800 to 1,000 par-
ticipants. Attendees will include repre-
sentatives from solid waste manage-
ment agencies; citizen groups; recy-
cling and secondary materials
industries; foreign governments;
manufacturers; research and develop-
ment and academic communities; and
public officials.
The conference will be held at the
Ramada Renaissance Hotel located in
the heart of Washington, D.C.'s
Chinatown and shopping district. It is
convenient to public transportation.
Anyone interested in participating in
["Solutions for the 90s" as an exhibitor,,
[pr attendee, or being added to the mail-'
|ng list, should contact: First U.S. Con-;
ference on Municipal Solid Waste
Management, c/o GRCDA, P.O. Boxj
f219, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Atten-
Jtfon: Elizabeth Oliver. Telephone num-
Bers are: (800) 456-4723, (301)
£85-2898, and FAX - (301) 589-7068.!
Putting Our Agenda Into
Action ;
Continued from Page 1
from schoolchildren to heads of in-
dustry. With groups such as The En-
vironmental Defense Fund, the U.S.
Forest Service, and the U.S. Con-
ference of Majors, EPA has developed
television public service an-
nouncements, magazine and radio ad-
vertisements/ video documentaries,
and other media promotions. One
result of these cooperative efforts is a
30-minute educational video for the
Learning Channel, which has been dis-
tributed to local Public Broadcasting
affiliates. :
The Agency also plans to communi-
cate waste management information
through a natipnal clearinghouse. The
clearinghouse, which will be operation-
al early in 1990, will be the focal point
All sectors of society need
information on solid waste
management.
I ;
for information dissemination on all
topics related to solid waste manage-
ment.
Planning |is essential to meeting
today's waste management challen-
ges, and those that lie ahead. EPA is
encouraging states and municipalities
to look beyond the single solution to
today's problems to a comprehensive
waste management plan that can
forecast and respond to future
problems.
To assist public officials and other
decision-makers in planning, EPA is
updating its Decision- Makers Guide
to Solid Waste Management, which
provides practical guidance on in-
tegrated waste planning. Workshops
and conferences are also planned on
topics such as the siting process for
waste facilities, source reduction,
states' perspectives on integrated
waste management, and household
hazardous waste.
A Peer Match Program is being es-
tablished that will match the expertise
available in municipalities, trade
groups, universities, and EPA
Regional Offices with the needs of in-
quiring communities. EPA is providing
technical and financial assistance to
this cooperative venture between the
National Recycling Coalition (NRC)
and the Governmental Refuse Collec-
tion and Disposal Association
(GRCDA). For more information on
this program, contact Ms. Charlotte
Frola at 301-585-2898 or call 1-800-
456-GRCD.
The International City Management
Association (ICMA) is also sponsoring
a peer match program which EPA is
supporting. Contact Ms. Milou Carolan
at 202-626-4600 for more information.
EPA Regional Offices in San Francisco
and Seattle have established regional
peer match programs. These groups
are currently looking for communities
and experts who want to be part of the
program.
Office of Program Management and Support (OPMS)
OS-305
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Official Business, Penalty for Private Use $300.
Reusable News is printed on recycled paper.
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