WASTE REDUCTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Transcription

1 WASTE REDUCTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS

2 WHY WASTE REDUCTION MATTERS Lower trash removal and disposal costs Waste is a sign of inefficiency. Reduced expenditures on office supplies and raw materials. Increased efficiency of operations Demonstrates concern for the environment Improved employee moral Increased customer loyalty

3 WHERE DOES ALL THAT JUNK COME FROM? Your Suppliers Containers Packaging Your Customers Stuff They Bring Expectations (bags, napkins) Your Operations Have you institutionalized waste Reports, receipts, other paperwork. Your Employees

4 SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF What s really in my trash? Waste audits provide the critical information you need Most haulers will do a free waste audit with you. Evaluate your processes Is cheaper better? Establish purchasing guidelines to encourage waste prevention (durable, concentrates, reusable, refillable toner cartridges, etc.) Can I get what I want from a supplier? What do my customers want for packaging?, Billing Statements?

5 PRIORITIZE Toxicity Replace with safe material Proper Disposal Volume Hit the biggest target Opportunity Is there a recycling option you can use

6 KNOW YOUR OPTIONS Talk to your staff What waste do they see What ideas do they have Talk to your hauler Services offered Talk to your municipality What can they take

7 SOME SIMPLE IDEAS Trash your cubicle/ office trash cans No stand alone trash cans. Give every trash can a recycling partner. Death to Single Sided Copies and Printouts Use high efficiency hand dryers instead of paper towels. Stop supplying single use coffee cups Stamp out corporate junk mail. Use your shredded paper as packaging material Signs to encourage waste reduction We use 1 million paper napkins a year. Take only what you need.

8 MORE IDEAS Seek out reusable shipping containers Use bulk containers for soap and cleaning supplies Eliminate unnecessary materials and supplies Use the Madison Stuff Exchange

9 COMPOSTING ORGANICS MADISON S NEXT STEP

10 SOURCE SEPARATED ORGANICS Our goal is to divert Food waste Contaminated paper Paper napkins, towels, plates, pizza boxes Waxed cardboard boxes Pet waste? This is 15,000 to 20,000 tons per year of residential waste (33-40% of what we landfill)

11 COMMERCIAL DIGESTER FUEL

12 INDUSTRIAL DIGESTER FUEL

13 HOUSEHOLD DIGESTER FUEL

14 WHAT S THE PLAN STAN? Could begin as early as Collecting from grocery stores, restaurants, schools, institutions at first Expand residential area over 2-3 years Take organics to an anaerobic digester City owned and operated Convert organics to compost Methane for electricity and vehicle fuel.

15 ANAEROBIC DIGESTION Natural Process Bacteria break down organic matter Your Intestines are an AD System Backyard and yard waste composting are aerobic composting systems Anaerobic conditions are bad for the process Anaerobic systems work without oxygen in a sealed environment

16 ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY??? Some Claim that Assyrians used a primitive AD to heat public baths

17 GREAT LESSON OF MESOPOTAMIAN HISTORY: DON T MESS WITH ASSYRIA Doubtful they had ability to pipe and burn gas. But I won t tell them that.

18 MODERN DIGESTERS Systems widely used in sewerage treatment Until recently gas was flared Thousands in Europe Energy subsidies Wisconsin leads the nation Farm digesters to manage manure Two basic choices for organics

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21 WHY A DIGESTER Climate works against traditional methods Renewable energy Electricity Pipeline gas Vehicle Fuel Better Odor and vector management

22 MADISON S PILOT PROGRAM 500 Households Hope to add 1,600 in Businesses Most are restaurants (American Family) pounds per HH per week. Top idea from budget input sessions the last two years.

23 WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED Popular with volunteers Biggest household concerns have been maggots and odor Elementary school kids like it Food waste freezes to carts, big problem with restaurants Needs to be bagged to minimize the problem. Compostable plastic bags are expensive

24 PROGRAM COST Digester will cost approximately $20 million Collection trucks and carts $3.5 million Annual debt service $2.1 million Annual operating costs $892,000 Approximately $3 million per year annual costs Full business plan being prepared by Bake Tilly due in two to three weeks.

25 IMPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS Commercial containers in Freiberg, Germany

26 RESTAURANTS AND GROCERY STORES Convert Compactors to organics and get smaller dumpster for trash. Significant impact Up to 75% of waste is organics Space challenges Inside Outside Employee Education

27 Grocery store organic waste being fed to a digester in Germany

28 INSTITUTIONS WITH FOOD SERVICE You will have food prep waste as well as plate scrapings. Lots of organics from food service/cafeterias Paper towels from rest rooms Customers/patients and employees

29 OTHER BUSINESSES Consider a waste audit to identify what you are throwing out, Minimal amount of food waste Paper towels from restrooms Centralized collection best option? City collection is a good option

30 CONTACT INFORMATION George Dreckmann Web Site

31 QUESTIONS??