Refuse/Recycling FAQ

Transcription

1 Refuse/Recycling FAQ From: Dale Morris, Solid Waste Coordinator Date: 19 February 2007 The University of Florida s comprehensive, award-winning recycling program was inaugurated in 1989 under the auspices of the Physical Plant s Solid Waste Management Office. Over the past 15 years, the program has recovered and recycled over 200 million pounds of paper, cans, glass, plastic, scrap metal, concrete, and other materials generated through University operations. The Physical Plant Division s recycling program significantly reduces the University s environmental footprint and operational costs. It has also benefited our local economy and has helped expand recycling opportunities for local residents and businesses. The program has received numerous awards and recognition at the local, State and national levels and continues to grow as opportunities present themselves. When did UF start recycling? Although a few items were sporadically recycled during the mid-1980s, UF did not formally kick off a campus-wide recycling program until August 1, What prompted (or enabled) UF to start its recycling program? Florida's Solid Waste Management Act of 1988 basically opened the door for UF to really implement a broad-scope formal recycling program. The full act deals mostly with hazardous waste management, but the key feature was that it set a state goal of reducing landfill deposits by 30% specifically through recycling and made counties responsible for achieving the goal. It also enabled State agencies to actually spend money on recycling and to retain the revenue from the sale of their recyclables as an incentive. (Recycling doesn't normally make money. Without a return from the sale of materials, it generally winds up being more expensive than alternative disposal for most small waste generators a real killer for the budget-conscious.) Aside from its legal aspects, the Act prompted the creation of recycling businesses and processing facilities within the state. This made it possible for UF to find accessible recycling service providers and buyers for its recovered materials. Before the Act passed, only a few items like scrap metal, aluminum cans and high-grade computer paper could be disposed. Within a few years after the Act passed, local markets developed for a great many more items. 1

2 Who manages the University central recycling program? The University of Florida's general-support recycling program is managed by the University Solid Waste Management Office, a part of the Physical Plant Division. The program is currently coordinated by: Dale Morris University of Florida Solid Waste Coordinator Bldg. 809-PPD, SW Radio Road P.O. Box Gainesville, FL tel 352/ fax 352/ MAILTO:damorris@ufl.edu In addition to the "University" programs, which provide common-user support for major commodities on an area basis, the Environmental Health and Safety Division, Surplus Property Office, Division of Housing, Shands Teaching Hospital, individual University departmental offices, and several student groups operate both formal and informal programs to support selected commodities, areas, or charities. How does UF's recycling program compare to other schools? Few (if any) other schools can match UF's program for quantity or variety, but making direct comparisons is difficult. Most schools (and others) fudge their data a bit they frequently fail to define what portion of their total population they serve and generally do not consider their total waste stream (for example, by only counting office waste and ignoring yard debris, construction waste, old furniture, etc). Most don't count any garbage hauled off by supporting municipal services or tenant activities. UF counts ALL its waste and we have one of the most comprehensive and productive institutional recycling programs in the country. The information needed to do real head-to-head comparisons just isn't available. How does UF fund its recycling program? Recycling is treated as an integrated part of our Solid Waste Management Program. The costs of recycling are built into the refuse disposal rate the Physical Plant charges its campus clients (including academic departments, UAA, Housing, Shands, fraternities and sororities, Gator Dining and Student Government). As an incentive, recycling services are provided without cost to the clients. This means that the more refuse folks generate, the more they pay. The more they recycle, the lower their bills will be. The wasteful wind up subsidizing the frugal. How much does UF spend on recycling each year? From the UF Refuse Account alone, over $300,000 was programmed to support recycling activities in FY From that, we expect to receive back about $62,000 in revenues for the materials we recover. Collecting, processing, transporting, and disposing both refuse and recyclables is very expensive, but disposal through recycling often produces both economic and environmental pluses over disposal as refuse especially for our major products. 2

3 How does UF benefit from recycling? Our average cost for disposing of many materials through recycling is substantially lower disposing of the same material as garbage. For example, disposal of concrete by recycling currently costs UF some $7 per ton versus about $44 per ton for disposal as garbage. The University community as a whole also derives substantial secondary savings as well. Consider: the paper recycling program saves custodial staff from hauling over 160 tons of paper per month out of our buildings, freeing them to devote time to other tasks. It also provides a mechanism to safely destroy confidential documents at substantial savings. Recycling concrete, pallets, yard waste, and scrap metal reduces driving distances for our Grounds crews -- saving hundreds of man and equipment hours each year. Over and above economic benefits, our recycling program enhances the University s image and contributes to the sustainability of our local and global community. How much of UF's waste goes to the landfill? How much is recycled? In FY 03-04, UF's total solid waste production (exclusive of Bio-Medical Waste) amounted to 17,989 tons. About 64% (11,480 tons) of the waste stream was landfilled and 36% (6,512 tons) was recovered and recycled. Our average recycling rate is around 37% over the past decade. [Note: in FY 04-05, UF recycled almost 8600 tons of material 42.6% of its waste stream but about 2500 tons was one-time material derived from hurricane debris.] How many tons of recyclable materials are collected from campus? During FY 03-04, the University of Florida recycled 6,512 tons of material recovered from our waste stream. This amounts to an average of about tons/week or over 25 tons/workday (based on 5 workdays/week). Actual amounts recovered vary somewhat from month-to-month and year-to-year depending on (mostly) variations in construction/renovation activity. More construction means more construction/demolition material and more boxes. Construction and renovations also trigger many facility/staff relocations. Together, construction and relocations increase our waste stream and our recycling opportunities. Reduced construction activity does the reverse. What products does UF recycle? With the addition of plastic beverage containers in November 2000, UF is currently recycling the following materials. Office Paper (all kinds) Newsprint Phone Books Magazines Junk Mail Soft-Cover Books Old Corrugated Containers (Boxes) Toner & Inkjet Cartridges Cans (All) Glass Bottles & Jars #1 & 2 Plastic Containers Auto Batteries Re-chargeable Batteries Used Oil & Oil Filters Antifreeze Chemicals & Solvents Wastewater Solids Precious Metals White Goods Scrap Metal Used Pallets Used Lumber Yard Debris Fluorescent Tubes Masonry & Concrete Cotton Goods 3

4 What products are most recycled at UF? Based on tonnage, our primary recycled product is yard waste (leaves, clippings, prunings, dead trees and street sweepings), followed by paper products, concrete, scrap metal and sludge. Oil, tires, batteries, wooden pallets, cans, glass, plastic,and all other products, individually and collectively, make up less than 5% of the material recycled (though they may represent 1,000's of individual "acts" of recycling activity). Unlike households, which generate lots of consumer waste, UF is an institution. Most of our waste is associated with construction, landscape maintenance, building maintenance, shipping containers, and, of course, old books, magazines, journals, records, and correspondence. There are visible recycling containers for drink cans across campus. Are there any newspaper recycling bins around campus? If so where are they located? Because paper requires weather protection, we rely primarily on interior collection bins for paper collection, supplemented by over 100 covered, specially-marked, exterior paper & cardboard recycling dumpsters around campus. We currently have over 800 paper recycling drop-off bins inside our major academic, administrative and research buildings, plus some 60 additional bins in the Health Center and Shands complex. We do have one exterior newspaper bin at present, by the Turlington Plaza, which is under the shelter of the building s covered walkway. A map of our exterior paper dumpster sites is available on our web site at: Why is plastic recycling so hard to do? "Plastics recycling" entails lots of misconceptions on the part of the public. The major ones revolve around failures to distinguish between what is technically possible versus what is economically feasible and between the blanket belief that recycling conserves resources versus the reality that sometimes recycling can consume more resources and do more environmental harm than leaving things alone. There are some 26 different kinds of "plastic" in current use, plus variations. Each has its own unique properties and chemistry and they don't mix together well. Mixtures of different plastics act like oil and water; you can physically stir them together, but they don't bond and soon separate into their constituent parts. Even small amounts of intermingled materials seriously affect the strength, behavior, appearance and durability of the resulting product if you attempt to employ the mix in making some new product. Even slightly inter-mixed (contaminated) plastic cannot be used to make good fibers, bottles, wrappers, or structural forms. Many plastics are nearly irreversibly bonded to or mixed with other materials, usually wood, fabric, rubber or metal from which they simply cannot be reasonably separated without huge expenditures of energy, chemical processing and labor [think Formica desktops, fake leather upholstery, jute- or foam rubber-backed rugs, wire insulation, etc.]. Some plastics are so specialized in their uses that even identifying them, once they enter the consumer market, is extremely difficult and gathering them up in useful quantities is hugely expensive a sharp contrast to their low market value as a raw material for manufacturing. In general, even the most easily identifiable and common plastic products (e.g., #1 and #2 food and beverage bottles) are highly contaminated by food, drink, labels, glues, pigments and cap 4

5 materials AND are very widely dispersed after leaving the original plastic resin production plant. Recovering, transporting, cleaning and processing them for use in making new products is exceedingly expensive in time, labor, energy, water and petroleum resources. The real cost of recovery alone can create many times more financial and environmental cost than the original mining, refining and manufacturing processes. [Note: Virtually the same issues apply to glass recycling. For practical purposes, glass is sand -- cheap to make, but hard to recover and re-process. Think food containers versus tempered window glass versus laminated auto glass versus Pyrex, flint ware, specialized laboratory glasses, tinted glass, colored glass, light bulbs, fiber optics, etc. -- they're all different, each has unique properties and behavior, all are dispersed, and all are stable in the environment.] How much of what we put in recycling containers actually gets recycled? Unless a container becomes excessively contaminated by garbage, food products, or improperly disposed items (e.g., paper in can bins and vice versa), all of our recovered materials are, in fact, recycled. For health, safety, and practical reasons, we cannot sort through badly contaminated containers and, rarely, are forced to trash their contents. This is a special problem with beverage container recycling, for many students dump cups, food waste, and wrappers inside right along with their drink bottles. When the market for recycling is down, does the stuff we put in the recycling bin actually wind up in a landfill? We don't ever trash our recyclables except, in the rare case of excessive contamination, on a by-bin basis. Even when market prices are low, recycling normally remains an economically viable alternative to landfill disposal. Where do recycled products go after they leave campus? Basically, the answer to this question is different almost every time it is asked. Products leaving campus go in many different directions, depending on current service contracts and marketing opportunities. Even many products that are collected by (or sent to) local vendors ultimately wind up being processed and marketed to various intermediate brokers or buyers. Items recovered on the UF campus may ultimately be incorporated into new end products virtually anywhere in the world. The two exceptions, at present, are sludge and yard waste. All yard waste generated by the University is recycled through a local composting facility and all sludge is locally land-applied as a soil amendment. How much is recycled in the dorms per year? UF doesn't keep specific hard data on the individual sources of our recycled products. For economy, the University's collection systems support the campus as a whole and don't separately collect from (or weigh) the products recovered from Housing areas or other individual sites. Many products (like scrap metal) are delivered to central facilities where they are consolidated with other materials brought in from users throughout campus. As a best guess, it appears that the 9,000+ students residing in University Housing directly recycle (on average) about 16 tons of paper and about 2 tons of cans and beverage containers per month. 5

6 Paper and cans are recycled in several dorms, whereas glass and/or plastic is recovered in only a few. Why is this? While all the residence halls have EXTERIOR facilities for collecting paper products, cans, glass and plastics, not all have INTERIOR collection bins. The difference may be due to differences in the relative amounts of materials generated or to the fact that space or funds for extra containers may not be available at present or to other considerations. Recycling within Housing facilities is actively managed and supported by the Housing Division and the Housing Recycling Committee (which includes staff and students from all the various residence facilities). Unfortunately, space, costs and other concerns (like insect control and staffing constraints) often place temporary or long-term impediments to making recycling as convenient as we would all like it to be. What percent of students recycle at UF? It is impossible to say, for sure, how many of our students recycle as such. It seems clear that almost everyone recycles sometimes, and that a relative few absolutely recycle at every opportunity. I suspect it is fair to say that most folks recycle most of the time IF recycling containers are conveniently available. On campus, recycling facilities are generally available, but, unfortunately, most apartment complexes and businesses in Gainesville do not have recycling facilities. Since most students reside in off-campus apartments and work off-campus, their opportunities to recycle are limited. Our faculty and staff, on the other hand, mostly reside in houses and work in buildings that receive regular recycling services. Their opportunities and participation levels are much higher as a result. What can students do to help with recycling on campus? Recycling on campus, whether in offices, Housing, or anywhere else, really relies on folks doing two things regularly: 1) use available recycling opportunities; and 2) keep our recovered products clean. We could really "grow" our recycling rate if folks would really take the time to use the available recycling facilities and assure that that the recovered products don't get "trashed out" and rendered useless. What is UF's Recycling Policy? In short form, here are key points. a) UF actively supports and encourages recycling as a matter of good environmental practice and as a sound way to conserve our citizen's tax dollars. b) UF does not have a mandatory recycling program -- there are no "recycling police". Instead, the University relies on the individual convictions, good will and judgment of its students, staff and faculty. For many waste products, recycling provides significant environmental and economic benefits and a sound alternative to other means of disposal. For other products, depending on quantity, value and location, recycling may sometimes consume more resources than landfill disposal. A careful line has to be drawn between what is technically possible and what is prudently do-able. 6

7 Why can't employee's or students reuse stuff from the University that would otherwise get tossed out? What about charitable organizations? Recycling of state-owned items is governed by the same body of rules that apply to the disposal of all other state property. Basically, we cannot divert public resources to private benefit, even if the waste items are no longer of value to the University. For this reason, we cannot let employees (or private individuals) use state time, equipment, supplies or facilities to recover materials from the University for their own use or re-sale nor can the University simply give away property (even unwanted property) to its employees or other private parties. Under current law, the University can transfer scrap or surplus property directly to other governmental or non-profit charitable organizations (but not private individuals or businesses) with proper documentation and provided the University incurs no extra costs as a result of the transfer. This means that other public-service organizations can play a productive role in reusing or recycling University products. Note that recycling of privately-purchased items becomes a state concern only if the privatelypurchased items are diverted ("donated") to the state. In practical form, for example, this means that privately-purchased soda cans remain the property of the purchaser until given to someone else or placed in one of UF's state-owned refuse or recycling containers. With departmental permission, staff, students or custodians are welcome to collect and recycle "donated" cans on their own (for personal, charitable or department benefit) provided no state time, funds, supplies or collection containers are involved.. What recent changes have occurred in UF's recycling program? The opening of a sorting facility at the Alachua County Transfer Station opened new recycling opportunities in late Starting in November 2000 the University included plastic beverage containers into its recycling program and began to collect commingled beverage containers (cans, jars and bottles). The combined opportunities allowed UF to convert existing can recycling collection bins and drop-off centers to multi-product use (without buying more containers or needing extra space) AND opened the door to add even more recycling sites. Over 60 new sites were added in 2001 and over 75 more were added in How do Home Football Games impact on UF's waste stream? Football games have a major impact on our campus and result in a large amount of extra litter and refuse that needs to be quickly collected removed from campus. For every home game the UF Grounds Department tries to have 25 employees dedicated to litter pick up both Saturday and Sunday. These employees put out supplemental garbage cans and pick up litter and change cans during the Saturday shift and pick up the extra cans on Sunday as well as picking up litter and changing out cans. The number of hours expended on Saturday vary depending on the start time for the game (early games call for fewer hours of pregame support). Sunday is typically an eight-hour day. The Grounds Department's Refuse Section typically runs two garbage trucks on both Saturday and Sunday to service UF's big trash dumpsters. Contracted haulers service the refuse compactors at the Stadium and other key sites just before each game and on the following Monday. Extra custodial and maintenance staff from the Physical Plant, Athletic Association and Housing Division also play large roles in helping to keep the campus (and its buildings) looking good throughout the weekend. 7

8 Some 9-10 tons of extra refuse are generated from Griffin Stadium during a typical Home Game weekend and 7-9 tons of extra solid waste are picked up from other parts of campus during a football weekend. Extra guests and entertaining in Housing facilities typically add another 3-4 tons of refuse on Home Game weekends, for a total of some 18 to 23 tons of extra litter and refuse. Although practical recycling is handicapped by the fact that most game day waste is contaminated by food- and drink, over 3 tons of cardboard and about 1.5 tons of beverage containers are recovered on Home Game weekends. Homecoming weekend adds an extra day with a parade and Gator Growl to the usual Home Game routine. During most years, the Grounds Department has as many as 50 employees picking up litter and changing cans after the parade during the regular work day and runs extra services campus-wide with its refuse trucks. The Grounds Department typically provides a 25 person crew to work Friday night Gator Growl until 2:00 am and provides the usual extra Home Game litter and refuse crews for the football game on Saturday. Overall, Homecoming activities generally add an extra 5 to 7 tons of solid waste to the normal Home Game refuse load on campus, while Gator Growl contributes an extra 5 to 6 tons to the stadium's refuse load. All in all, Homecoming weekend (depending on activities) typically generates some 28 to 30 tons of extra litter and refuse. Students and visiting fans can really help by using available litter and recycling containers. At parties, cookouts and picnics, it really helps if folks will bag their litter (it is easier to pick up a bag than a pile) and dispose of it in a near-by dumpster or curbside location where it can be more readily collected for disposal. What can we do to minimize our trash output? Trash output is a factor of buying stuff you didn't really need, and having stuff you no can no longer use. Reducing waste is largely a matter of reducing consumption, buying things that will last, and diverting useful things to others who can use them. The most environmentally friendly thing you can do is cut consumption right at the start -- buy only what you really need, avoid excessive packaging, and buy things that are durable and repairable. Re-using, selling, or donating useful things you no longer need is also environmentally friendly and often a great help to folks in need. Buying recyclable products can also be a good thing, but don't fool yourself -- recycling consumes resources, too, and not everything that is theoretically recyclable is really practical to recycle in all times and places. 8