Rural Recycling In-Depth Training Understanding Recycling s Benefits

Transcription

1 Rural Recycling In-Depth Training Understanding Recycling s Benefits NM RECYCLING & SOLID WASTE CONFERENCE 2014 SARAH PIERPONT, Deputy Director Hosted Thanks to USDA Rural Utilities Support THIS MATERIAL IS BASED UPON WORK SUPPORTED UNDER A GRANT BY THE RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. ANY OPINIONS, FINDINGS, AND CONCLUSIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS MATERIAL ARE SOLELY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE OFFICIAL VIEW OF THE RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE. NMRC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER. New Mexico Recycling Coalition Why Benefits Matter Ø You are the expert on recycling for your community government leaders will come to you Ø Inspiring cultural change is difficult Ø Strong understanding of benefits is needed to grow recycling programs 1

2 Recycling s Benefits Include Saves tax-payer dollars Quality of life issues Social Benefits Environmental Benefits Economic Development/Benefits New Mexico Recycling Coalion New Mexico Recycling Coalition Saves Tax Payer Dollars Ø In 2010 New Mexicans buried $168 million worth of valuable material in landfills. Ø We spent $51 million to do it 2

3 Enterprise Fund General Fund verses Runs like a business Pays for itself Intended to cover program costs through dedicated source of user fees Necessary for PAYT to build all costs into rate structure Subsidized What Is Full-Cost Accounting? Ø Consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Ø FCA is not the same as cash flow or general fund accounting Ø Focuses on the flow of economic resources (assets) Ø Recognizes costs as resources when used or committed, regardless of when money is spent Ø Solid waste management can entail significant expenditures both before and after the operating life of management facilities, focusing solely on the use of current financial resources misrepresents the costs of MSW management and can be misleading. Source: US EPA 3

4 What Is Full-Cost Accounting? FCA focuses on three major types of costs: 1. Up-Front Costs 2. Operating Costs 3. Back-End Costs Other Costs Harder to Measure: Ø Remediation Costs at Inactive Sites Ø Contingent Costs Ø Environmental Costs Ø Social Costs What Is Full-Cost Accounting? Cost Type Up-Front Costs Operating Costs Back-End Costs Includes Initial investments and expenses necessary to implement MSW services. These include public education and outreach, land acquisition, permitting, 8 and building construction or modification. Managing MSW on a daily basis, including operations and maintenance, capital costs, debt service, and any unexpected costs. Expenditures to properly wrap up operations and take proper care of landfills and other MSW facilities at the end of their useful lives. Costs include site closure, building/equipment decommissioning, post closure care, and retirement/health benefits for current employees. 4/29/14 4

5 What Is Full-Cost Accounting? Cost Type Remediation Contingent Environment Social Includes Corrective action at inactive MSW landfill Future, currently unknown corrective actions or pollution control costs. Hard to measure. Assessing the upstream and downstream environmental costs of resource use, pollution, and waste generated by providing goods and services. Adverse affects on human beings: impacts of MSW transport and facility location, property values, community image, noise, odor, and traffic. Information needed for FCA Examine Community Accounts & Records Profile MSW System FCA Clarify Organizational Relationships Inventory land, vehicles, structures, & personnel 5

6 Annual Full Cost of Solid Waste Management Operating, Up-Front and Back-End Costs Operating Wages, Salaries & Benefits $ Maintenance $ Power and Fuel $ Contract Services $ Interest $ Insurance, Licenses, Taxes $ Oversight and Support Services $ Other $ Up-Front Costs Depreciation (Vehicles, Equipment, Buildings, Landfills) $ Depreciation (Oversight & Support Services, e.g. Program Planning, Permitting & Outreach) $ Other $ Back-End Costs Payments Towards Closure & Post-Closure Care $ Payments Towards retirement Benefits $ Payments Towards Oversight & Support Services $ Other $ Overhead Cost Share Executive & Management Oversight $ Centralized Support Services $ Other $ TOTAL $ Easy Full-Cost Accounting This is one piece of the puzzle. Does Not Include Back-End & Front-End Costs, e.g. New Transfer Station or Landfill Closure $10/ton 6

7 How do you get economic value out of recycling? Value of Material Avoided Transportation Costs Avoided Landfill Costs Creates Jobs Value of Material OCC $110/Ton Mixed #1&#2 Plastic $300/Ton Mixed Paper $50/Ton Steel Cans $110/Ton UBC $1400/Ton 7

8 NMRC Diversionator 15 4/29/14 Case Study Raton ~ pop. 6,882 Recycling Motivation: Landfill Closing, Long Haul to Landfill Only recycled cardboard up until 2012, then expanded to common household recyclables using NM State Recycling and Illegal Dumping grant Received ARRA grant for horizontal baler and pit conveyor 2012 Serves as regional hub for spoke communities, such as Maxwell and Springer Drop-off 24/7 at recycling center, twice monthly volunteer-run drop-off driveup events Developed Strategic Plan to reach 33% by 2018 Collects free of charge cardboard from businesses using an old trash compactor truck. Backbone of their recycling program revenue. Member of R3 Recycling Marketing Coop, Total Revenue since January 2014 = $7,228 Tons of recyclables processed 81 tons = ~$1600 in avoided tipping fees and saving nearly $900 in fuel alone (trash is going north of Pueblo, CO 260 miles round trip) Contact: Jason Phillips, Recycling Director,

9 Case Study Otero County ~ pop. 65,616 includes Tularosa, Cloudcroft and Weed Recycling Motivation: Citizen Demand, Long Haul to Landfill BEFORE: 2010 only three household recycling drop-off sites countywide - only accepted cardboard. This is for a county larger than the size of the state of Connecticut recycling rate was 2.71% High transportation expenses as local landfill is approximately 60 miles south of Alamogordo and the area s transfer station AFTER: County received hub & spoke funding in 2011 and new drop-off sites created in rural and urban sites new access to recycling created Materials collected expanded to aluminum, tin, mixed paper, cardboard, plastic #1 & #2. Increased recycling reduced landfill transportation miles by 17,466 in one year alone. Increased public awareness lead to the creation of a local citizen activist group Joined the R3 Coop. With improved capacity to process recyclables, the county received a grant from the NM Enviro Dept for 5 containers to collect cardboard from businesses. Recycling rate rose from 10.19% in 2011 to 22.10% in 2012 (also due to organics diversion) The county brought on one new full time employee to help operate the recycling programs. Recycling facility operators report positive feedback from the community Contact: Ralph Murphy, Recycling Director, Case Study Otero County ~ pop. 65,616 includes Tularosa, Cloudcroft and Weed 9

10 Recycling Creates Jobs If New Mexico s Recycling rate rose from its current 16% to the national average of 34%... 9,318 new direct, indirect and induced jobs from the collection, processing, manufacturing and reuse sectors 4,871 of these new jobs would remain in state. Recycling s Benefits Include Saves tax-payer dollars Quality of life issues Social Benefits Environmental Benefits Economic Development/Benefits New Mexico Recycling Coalion New Mexico Recycling Coalition 10

11 Thank You Sarah Pierpont Deputy Director New Mexico Recycling Coalition