&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA-530-F-99-022a
October 1999
www.epa.gov/osw
Blossom Hill Estates
San Jose, California
50% and 65% Waste Reduction Rate
A California law requiring all cities to divert 50% of their solid waste
by 2000 led the managers of Blossom Hill Estates to city hall to try to
fight recycling. When they realized they could not, they decided to
implement a strong model program. Now, working with the
recycling program is one of the highlights of their job. Residents of
the two complexes that comprise Blossom Hill Estates recycle over 50% of their
solid waste. The first complex began recycling in 1993; the second began in April 1997. Since
implementing recycling, Blossom Hill Estates I and II have reduced total disposal costs by 40%
and 41% respectively.
Program Description
I
n San Jose, Green Team, a local
company contracted by the city,
provides multi-family dwellings with
sets of three specially marked 96-
gallon bins: one for newspaper; one
for mixed paper; and one for other
mixed recyclables. At Blossom Hill
Estates, residents bring recyclables to
bins kept next to the trash containers
in outdoor trash corrals. Building
maintenance staff bring both trash and
recycling containers into the alley once
a week on pick-up day.
Since 1980, CMS Properties, a local
landscaping company, has taken care of
all the landscape work at Blossom Hill
Estates II. CMS brings yard trimmings to
a commercial composting company and
then buys back finished compost for its
landscaping work. There is no
landscaping at Blossom Hill Estates I.
When recycling began at Blossom
Hill Estates II, the first of two complexes
to recycle, building managers sent
residents information about what and
how to recycle. After two months,
managers sent letters to every
household that had not recycled
properly. Letters explained that
residents should recycle, what they should
recycle, and how and where to do it. Staff
identified "violators" by going through trash
bags and finding an item with the resident's
name on it. Reaching a 50% diversion rate took
a year.
When the program began at the second
complex (Blossom Hill Estates I), whenever the
trash container was full and recycling
containers were not, management staff sent a
letter to every resident in the complex as well
as to the landlord explaining the recycling
program and encouraging residents to recycle.
After two months, managers began a new
tactic. Now, if they find a lot of recyclables in
Materials Collected
Newspaper
Corrugated cardboard
Mixed paper (magazines,catalogs, paper
bags, telephone books, paperboard,
colored and white paper, envelopes,
mail, paper egg cartons)
Glass containers
Cans
Juice and milk cartons
Plastic bottles and jugs
Polystyrene packaging
Scrap metals (including aluminum foil
and pie pans, metal can lids, small
metal appliances, hubcaps, metal pots)
Textiles
Yard trimmings
This profile is part of the fact sheet Complex Recycling Issues: Strategies for Record-Setting Waste Reduction in Multi-
Family Dwellings (EPA-530-F-99-022).
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trash from a particular household, they
send that resident and the landlord a
letter. The letter contains notice of a
$30 fine for not recycling as well as an
explanation that if a resident can
recycle properly for 90 days, the
resident does not have to pay the fine.
Residents reached a 50% diversion rate
within 90 days of program
implementation.
Outreach Activities
At both complexes, building
managers spend time with residents
going through residents'trash,
explaining what is recyclable, how to
prepare it, and where to put it. In
addition, building management staff
send informational mailings to every
household and the landlord three times
per year.
Costs/Benefits
Start-up costs were minimal.
Operating costs, including mailings
to every resident three times per year,
are also low. The city provides recycling
collection containers, and does not
charge extra for recycling services. The
trash fees MFDs pay cover recycling
services. Trash fees have been fairly
consistent from 1993 to 1997. During
the first year of program
implementation at Blossom Hill Estates
II, building management spent $2,000
on stamps sending letters to all
residents.
Total disposal and composting
costs at Blossom Hill Estates II were
$77,500 per year before the recycling
program; total trash and waste
reduction costs dropped by 41% to only
$45,300 in 1997. Disposal costs at
Blossom Hill Estates I were $67,000 per
year before the recycling program; trash
and diversion cost $40,000 in 1997,
representing a 40% reduction in costs.
In total, Blossom Hill Estates avoids
almost $60,000 per year on disposal
costs and diverts more than 50% of its
waste at a cost of less than $14,000.
Of the money that Blossom Hill
Estates pays for landscape services,
approximately $1,100 per month is for
composting services.
Tips for Replication
• Show owners that they can realize
big savings through recycling.
• Educate people on what needs to
be done and why. Explain that nobody
is making more land for landfills.
Recycling will help the environment.
• Help people learn. Show them
how to prepare recyclables. Work with
people.
Contact:
Bill Holman
Jane Holman
Building Managers
Blossom Hill Estates 2
5533 Snell Avenue
Suite 203
San Jose, CA 95123
(408)281-3771
Program Summary
i
Blossom Hill Estates II
Blossom Hill Estates I
Start Date
Type of Multi-Family Buildings
Households Served
Total Waste Generated (Tons)
Disposed
Diverted*
Total Diverted (%)
Recycled*
Composted*
Average Generation
P(lbs./HH/day)
Disposed
Diverted
Fees per Year
Disposal
» Diversion
Net Costs per HH per Year
Disposal services per HH
Diversion services per HH
Savings per HH
1993
4 units per building, 86
buildings in complex
344
Before
Recycling 1997
595 595
520 208
75 387
13% 65%
0% 52%
13% 13%
9.5 9.5
8.3 3.3
1.2 6.2
$77,472 $45,336
$64,272 $32,136
$13,200 $13,200
$225 $138
$187 $93
$38 $45
$87
1997
4 units per building, 98
buildings in complex
392
Before
Recycling 1997
624 624
624 312
0 312
0% 50%
0% 50%
0% 0%
8.7 8.7
8.7 4.4
0.0 4.4
$67,200 $40,133
$67,200 $39,504
$0 $629
$171 $102
$171 $101
$0 $2
$69
HH = household
Note: Numbers may not add to total due to rounding.
*ILSR estimated tons recycled and composted. Recycled tonnage was set equal to the reduction in trash disposal at
Blossom Hill Estates during the period studied. HSR converted volume of yard trimmings to weight using the
following conversions: 1 cubic yard brush = 300 Ibs.; 1 cubic yard of grass clippings = 702 Ibs.
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