Sustainable NREL. Waste Management and Pollution Prevention. Ellen Fortier. September 18, 2013

Transcription

1 Sustainable NREL Waste Management and Pollution Prevention Ellen Fortier September 18, 2013 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

2 Sustainability and Waste Diversion NREL s commitment to pollution prevention can be demonstrated by our strong efforts to divert waste from the landfill. 2

3 Waste Diversion Program NREL recycling program began informally in the early 1980 s and was formalized in In 2008 we were diverting 49% of our waste from landfills In FY 2012 we increased that diversion to 81% 80% of all construction waste was diverted from landfills NREL Waste Diversion 2,500,000 Annual Disposal = lbs. 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000, ,000 Compost Solid Waste Recycled Waste 0 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY2012 Waste Diversion 31% 19% 50% 3

4 The Four R s An important NREL goal is pursuing Near-Zero Materials Waste. We are working to eliminate the laboratory s waste stream by holistically coordinating and managing our 4Rs program to heighten global campus awareness. 4

5 REDUCE, REDUCE, REDUCE NREL has ongoing activities designed to reduce material use which include: Electronic communications and publications replace paper drafts. Multi-function copiers designed to copy, print, fax and scan documents on one machine. Lock your print jobs and print only once 5

6 REUSE NREL has established Reusable Office Supply Centers through-out the STM and NWTC campuses. Before buying new supplies, staff are asked to repurpose any office supplies needed for their office or work space. They are also encouraged to drop off any new or good-as-new items they are not using. 6

7 RECYCLING NREL has a recycling station in each building. Among other items, the common office waste materials include: Paper, phonebooks plastics #1 thru #7 aluminum cans paper bags (unsoiled) glass flattened corrugated cardboard (cardboard bin) cereal boxes batteries (separate container) milk and juice paper cartons (waxed) Hanging file folder, file folder, post-it-notes 7

8 Recycling for Employees NREL Offices/Programs Recycling stations are located at all DOE-owned buildings and leased facilities. Recycling Rooms/Stations Single-stream recyclables can be placed in large and small blue bins. Kitchen/Break Areas 8

9 Office/Cubicle Recycling Each office/cubicle contains a large recycling bin with a small waste container. This emphasizes the importance of recycling materials before disposing of them in the trash. 9 9

10 Cardboard Recycling There are designated bins for cardboard with instructions to remove all packaging, break down boxes and flatten before putting them in the bins. 10

11 Recycling Requiring Special Handling Scrap metal, wood pallets and other wood items are recycled. 30 yard roll-off bins are strategically placed for the wood and metal recycling on both campuses. All hardware, working or non-working is recycled. When equipment is replaced or retired, NREL follows DOE guidelines for transferring the equipment. Batteries, light bulbs, toner cartridges 11

12 For Personal Recycling As a benefit to staff, NREL provides recycling bins on both campuses for home recycling. Employees may bring select personal recycling items from home and deposit them at the outdoor recycling station on the south side of the parking garage and at the Wind Site. 12

13 Waste Diversion How Hard Can It Be? Employee behavior is central to waste management and overall sustainable laboratory operations. Simplifying the waste management process and your outcomes will be favorable. Color coding Signage Training 13

14 Color Coding for Waste Materials SIGNS BLUE-RECYCLED GREEN- COMPOST RED-TRASH WASTE BINS BLUE GREEN GRAY 14

15 Evolution of Recycling and Signage Separated to Comingled Recycling 15

16 Bigger and Better signs WHAT IS IN NRELS SINGLE-STREAM RECYCLING? The following are recyclable! Place these in the blue bins! Nothing is separated! Paper, newspaper, books, phonebooks Shredded Paper * Cardboard (broken down) Paper microwave dishes without foil * Brown paper bags * Paper board cereal boxes * Paper - wrapping paper * Paper Milk and Juice (wax coated) Plastics #1 through #7 Paper coffee cups (if marked) * o Black Microwave dishes (rinse out) Newspapers * o Liquid detergent and other Paper Egg Cartons * cleaning bottles (rinse out) File folders o Condiment bottles (rinse out) Hanging file holders o Milk jugs and orange juice jugs Post-It notes* o Shampoo bottles and liquid soap Notepads dispensers (rinse out) Aluminum and tin cans o Peanut butter jars (rinse out) Aluminum foil (flattened) o Yogurt containers (rinse out) o Plastic lids from paper coffee cups Glass jars and bottles o Soda, Water and juice bottles ANY ITEMS GOING INTO THE BLUE RECYCLING BINS SHOULD BE RINSED AND CLEANED. What is Not Recyclable? NOT ALLOWED The following are NOT recyclable? Do NOT put them in the blue bin! X Plastic Bags of any kind X Paper towels, Kleenex * X Plastic wrap, cellophane X Compostable cups * X Styrofoam of any kind X Microwave dishes with foil X Packing Peanuts X Food Waste * * These items are compostable 16

17 Kitchen/Break areas and Conference Rooms 17

18 Composting Signs FOOD WASTE AND OTHER COMPOSTABLES What is Compostable? ALLOWED The following are compostable! Place them in this bin Bones Paper towels Cheese, yogurt Tissues Cooked food Napkins Fruit & salad trim Shredded paper Corn cobs and stalks Paper plates Egg shells Newspapers Tea bags Paper egg cartons Coffee grounds Shredded paper Coffee filters Compostable cups Wooden coffee stirs Compostable plates Old flowers and plants Compostable straws Drinks, milk, etc. Compostable forks, knifes, spoons Food oils, fat or butter Cardboard take home containers Noodles Wood (chopsticks, etc.) Potato or rice What is Not Compostable? NOT ALLOWED* The following are NOT compostable? Do NOT put them in this bin! X Plastic bags X Plastic forks, knifes, spoons X Plastic bottles X Styrofoam X Plastic film (wrap) X Glass X Latex gloves X Metals X Plastic buckets X Aluminum foil * Exception Plastics that are biodegradable and made from Corn or Soy based materials. Plastic bags that are biodegradable will be identified on the bags. 18

19 And more 19

20 Trash Disposal signs 20

21 Composting Waste at NREL NREL began a Composting Waste Pilot Program in April 2010 which included staff participation from five buildings. In October 2010, the program was rolled out to the entire laboratory. During the six month pilot program 68,468 pounds of organic waste was collected. We are now composting an average of 58,400 pounds per month totaling over 700,878 pounds in FY2012. Helping complete the cycle we received 30 yards of premium garden compost every Earth Day from our outside composter for the employees. 21

22 Composting Made Easy All green composting containers are lined with green biobags and are conveniently located in all common areas. Kitchens, break room areas, and conference rooms have green 30 slim jims for food waste, coffee grounds/filters, paper towels, tissues, napkins, etc. Restrooms have containers for paper towels. Signs explaining what materials are compostable are posted on or above the containers. The cans are emptied daily by the janitorial staff. 22

23 Compostable Plates, Utensils and Cups Compostable cups, plates and utensils are used for all meetings and take out orders from our Café and Kiosk. 23

24 Small Green Buckets For the employees convenience, Sustainable NREL will supply a small green bucket to be used at their work space. They are responsible for emptying and cleaning their bucket on a nightly basis or as needed. 24

25 Removal of Compost Material NREL s janitorial service is responsible for: Removing the compost material from kitchens daily, relining the containers with biobags, and cleaning them as necessary. Take the full biobags to 65 gal totes located on the dock areas of each building where these are emptied weekly. We have a total of gal totes on both campuses. 25

26 Recycling and Composting Trainings All new employees receive training on recycling and composting in their employee orientation. s are sent out quarterly to employees encouraging them to test their recycling and compost knowledge. This is available on our internal Sustainable NREL website. NREL Composting Waste Program Training What you need to know to successfully compost at NREL! Sustainable NREL FY2013 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC 26

27 Sustainable Acquisitions NREL has worked aggressively to implement new policies and programs that increase acquisition of sustainable products consistent with Executive Order Our Office Supply company has a green catalog for staff to purchase recycle content products. GSA PCard Purchasing staff are encouraged to purchase environmental preferred products. This is tracked in our reporting system. In FY2011 we initiated a Green Janitorial contract. All cleaning products are biobased and paper products are made with 100% recycled content. 27

28 Questions / Answers