RESOURCE RECOVERY FOR VENUE MANAGEMENT The Road to Zero Waste through the Resource Revolution

Transcription

1 RESOURCE RECOVERY FOR VENUE MANAGEMENT The Road to Zero Waste through the Resource Revolution Authors: Chris Bradlee, Biodegradable Polymers Market Development Manager, North America, BASF Melissa Radiwon, Marketing Manager, TOMRA North America Publication Date: July 1, 2012 Abstract As population and standards of living increase, so does consumption of our resources. Today we are using 1.5 times what the earth can replenish in one year this places unprecedented pressure on our resources. It is time to investigate what can be done to sustain those resources for generations to come. This paper describes the concept of zero waste, with special focus on organics recovery and commodity recycling as it applies to venues. With large quantities of people generating large volumes of waste at venues including stadiums, convention centers, concert halls, zoos, aquariums and fairgrounds venues serve as an ideal microcosm to apply the concepts of zero waste and resource recovery to the benefit of the environment and the organizational bottom line.

2 ZERO WASTE Zero Waste is a best practice for managing operations at venues, leading to the efficient and sustainable use of resources, while turning wastes into assets. The term zero waste conveys more than reusing and recycling to reduce landfill dependence. Zero waste also involves designing and manufacturing products and packaging to incorporate reuse and recycling from the moment the product or packaging is conceived. The concept involves taking into account a product, packaging, or program s end-of-life situation before it is manufactured, purchased, or installed/implemented in other words, being aware if energy will be wasted or materials will end up in a landfill. The zero waste concept also extends to facility management in the form of various environmental and social responsibility programs, including water and energy conservation efforts, compostable material use, resource recovery and waste reduction. By looking at the life cycles of various operational materials, usage and disposal methods, facilities can find solutions to improve their social responsibility, environmental protection efforts and economic success. Venues that lack environmental and social responsibility programs could be missing out on opportunities for cost savings, social awareness, and environmental effectiveness. Consider, for example, a 40,000 seat capacity sports arena with suites and concessions stands containing empty or near empty refrigerators/freezers. Over a 30 day period, how many will not be utilized? For one arena, the answer is 162. Not only is that an energy waste, but also a dollar waste and in today s economic climate that is no laughing matter. Over 4.2 billion pounds of plastics were recycled in the United States in 2009, saving enough energy to heat over 2.1 million homes. ~ EPA Resource Recovery Resource recovery refers to the collection of materials that would normally become part of the waste stream and marketing those materials for use in new product production. Waste as a recovered resource becomes a marketable asset with inherent value, versus a liability with cost for disposal. RESOURCE REVOLUTION It is human nature to continuously seek to improve, invent and innovate. The sweeping changes of the Agricultural Revolution in the 17 th -19 th centuries, the Industrial Revolution in the 18 th -20 th centuries, and the Information Revolution that began in the 20 th century continues today. This progression has placed our global resources under unprecedented pressure. 2 P a g e

3 Source: BASF Certain demographics show mega trends such as population increase, aging population, middle class growth and urbanization that will likely influence resource consumption over the next 35 years. If trends continue, there will be nearly nine billion people in 2050 a 25-30% increase over today s population. In addition, over 70 million people enter the middle class each year. With that population increase and class shift comes an increase in resource demand. The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that people have consumed more resources in the last 50 years than in all previous history. Of all materials consumed in the US over the last 100 years, more than half were consumed in the last 25 years. Today it takes 1.5 years to reproduce what the world consumes in just 1 year; by year 2050 some studies suggest that we might need the equivalent of six Earths to satisfy the consumption pace. The world s water supply is expected to stay essentially flat over the next 20 years, however, demand is expected to increase by almost 65%. As a planet, we are running beyond maximum capacity. Resource productivity must increase to ensure sustainable development. Rethinking how we source, use, steward, reclaim, recycle, and revitalize our resources is at the core of the Resource Revolution. Optimizing our resources is the key to achieving a better environment and better business. ROAD TO ZERO WASTE FOR VENUE MANAGEMENT Similar to our society, how a venue utilizes resources is fundamental to its economic, environmental and societal future. Facilities such as sport stadiums, convention centers, fairgrounds, concert halls and zoos can reap 3 P a g e

4 economic benefits through reduced costs and commodity marketing as well as societal benefits by being viewed as an environmental steward. A variety of programs and actions exist that can move a facility further down the road to zero waste. Those include water conservation through low-flow devices, energy conservation through electrical sub-metering, alternative energy through solar panels, compostable packaging and food service items, recycling plastics/aluminum/cardboard, as well as composting food waste. An effective resource recovery program will extract the maximum benefits from products and materials while generating the least amount of waste destined for the landfill. Resource recovery includes organics recovery and commodity recycling. Organics Recovery Recovery of food and food service items, as well as other organic materials like grass clipping and wood, is an important part of resource recovery programs at venues. Often these wastes constitute a higher percentage of a venue s waste stream. Based on data reported from several collegiate and professional sports stadiums, on average, a sports stadium will produce about 0.3 lbs/person of waste per game or about 15,000 lbs. In comparison, one person in the US produces approximately 5 pounds of waste each day (about 1 ton per year) according to the most recent USEPA report on municipal solid waste. 1 In total, about 250 million tons of trash was generated in the US in 2010, and of that 85 million tons was recycled and composted, equivalent to an Source: USEPA MSW in United States, Facts and Figures approximate 34% resource recovery rate. The amount of solid waste generated in the United States has risen steadily on both a total amount and per capita basis, with the amount of solid waste going to landfill doubling in the last 40 years. This increased dependence on landfill use has caused current landfills to fill up at a faster rate and forced the landfill expansion. Sport stadiums are venues that have significantly increased organics recovery and represent some of the market leading programs in this area. Examples include the Seattle Mariners, Portland Trail Blazers, Ohio State University, University of Colorado and the University of California, Davis. Often the organics recovery program 1 Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for P a g e

5 at collegiate stadiums fits into a larger zero waste program for the school, where they also are recovering material in the dining halls and cafeterias and at events such as conferences and fundraising luncheons. In 2011 Ohio State University initiated a Zero Waste program at their +100,000 seat football stadium with the intent to become the country s largest zero waste stadium. They produce an estimated 100 tons of waste per season and Source: /zerowaste Access: are composting about 2.5 tons of organic waste per game. During the 2011 season Ohio Stadium averaged a 75% diversion rate which was up from 46% in 2010 and this increase was due in large part to the addition of food diversion that was started in Bins for recycling and composting were made available throughout the stadium and items purchased inside the stadium were either recyclable or compostable. Trash bins are not provided in the stadium, and the fans are directed to put all waste materials into either the compost bin or recycling bin; and if they are unsure to put it into recycling. Sorting is conducted back-of-house. Sodexo, the food service provider for the stadium, has worked closely with the University to implement this program along with composter Price Farms Inc., of Delaware, Ohio. In addition to continuing to increase the diversion rates, the University is looking to see how the compost generated from the site can be brought back into the stadium and used in the maintenance and landscaping projects, thereby closing the loop and further gaining benefits from the organics recovery program. The highest diversion rate for a single game at OSU was 81.4% which placed them third overall in the USEPA Game Day Challenge (NCAA-Division I FBS). They were edged out by the University of Colorado Boulder and Ohio University. Over 75 colleges and universities participate in this challenge. The Game Day Challenge is a competition for schools to promote waste reduction at their football games. They track and report waste reduction and disposal data with the goals to heighten awareness of waste reduction programs, lower waste generated and increase participation of students, faculty, staff and community. Categories for the challenge include: per capita waste generation, diversion rate, per capita greenhouse gas reduction, per capita recycling and per capita organics reduction. Of the participating colleges and universities, there were a total of 2.7 million fans attending the games with nearly 500,000 pounds of waste was diverted, preventing more than 810 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents from being released. 2 2 USEPA Game Day Challenge Results. Access: P a g e

6 The Seattle Mariners Baseball Club has been operating a resource recovery program since 2005, and organics recovery has become a cornerstone of their program s success. Diversion rates have risen steadily from 12% rate in 2005 to 81% today. Recovery of food waste and utilizing compostable food service items were the drivers to increasing the diversion rate from 38% to over 70% between 2009 and The Mariners reported a savings of more than $95,000 dollars in 2011 from the composting and recycling programs with a total of 974 tons of materials diverted from landfill. More than 50% of the waste from the stadium was organic. When we realized that the bulk of what we were sending to the landfill was organic matter, the answer was obvious, says Scott Jenkins, Vice President of Ballpark Operations for the Seattle Mariners. Turn it back into topsoil. Our zerowaste program has gone from batting.120 just five years ago to.810 today. To help fans follow our lead this Earth Day Weekend, we re giving away 10,000 kitchen compost kits including everything they need to get going. With the help of our fans, we aim to make 2012 the most sustainable Mariners season ever. Keys to success of this program include getting help from both internal and external resources, audit the waste stream and establish feed-back loops for continuous improvement and have good signage with training, training and more training. The Mariners program is a great example of how getting the stakeholders from different parts of the value chain to work together is important for Zero Waste success. The partners in this program include the Mariners, BASF Corporation, Cedar Grove Composting, Seattle Public Utilities, EcoSafe Zero Waste, Camp Fire USA and Center Plate. BASF is the official sponsor of the Zero Waste program, providing education and communication initiatives for Sustainable Saturdays at Safeco Field. Sustainable Saturdays included new signage throughout the stadium and the BASF Kid Compost Trivia Game. At each of the Sustainable Saturday games, at the end of the first inning, the public address announcer invites fans to play the trivia game and test their knowledge about sustainability at Safeco field and the Seattle area. Trivia questions are broadcast on the centerfield video board. Fans do not have to be eco-experts to win because all of the answers are provided at 16 zerowaste stations throughout the concourse, where they also find the short code to text their answer for their chance to win. 6 P a g e

7 At each zero waste station, volunteers from Camp Fire USA s Teen Leadership Program teach fans how to strike out the landfill on their visit to Safeco Field and encourage them to do the same at home. The volunteers are an important addition to the program because they help fans properly dispose of the waste in either the recycling or compost containers, which improves the fan experience while also reducing contamination levels. EcoSafe and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) were partners in the program and on April 21 - Earth Day Weekend the first 10,000 fans to arrive at the ballpark received a free Kitchen Catcher compost kit. Inside were five compostable bags produced with BASF s Ecovio compostable polymer. Center Plate is the hospitality partner of the Seattle Mariners and is collaborating in the Zero Waste program, too. Center Plate is a leader in green concessions concepts with cooking stations designed to reduce cooking oil consumption and cut utility usage. Coupled with energy-efficient improvements to lighting, paint, and refrigeration equipment along with recyclable and compostable food containers, the environmental impact of enjoying the great food at the park has been significantly reduced. Center Plate worked with Cedar Grove Composting to Kitchen Catcher Giveaway Compostable food service items and peanut bag at Safeco Field ensure the use of compostable food service items in the concession stands and suites, and Center Plate even has re-packaged the peanuts for the Mariners from non-compostable packaging material to compostable paper. Cedar Grove is the Pacific Northwest's leading organic recycling company and transforms grass, leaves, yard trimmings, food waste and wood waste into nutrient-rich compost. Since partnering with Safeco Field they have helped the Mariners better manage their waste and reduce their waste disposal costs. Landfill tipping fees in the Pacific Northwest are high, averaging close to $90.00 dollars per ton while Cedar Grove s fee is about 35% less. Much of the success at the ballpark has been built around public awareness and Cedar Grove has played a crucial role in getting the word out about the benefits of composting. The Safeco Field Soil giveaway is an example. In this promotion the first five thousand fans leaving the game receives a ninequart bag of official Safeco Field soil, courtesy of Cedar Grove. The giveaway promotes the recycling efforts that diverted an estimated 900,000 pounds of peanut shells, leftover food, compostable service ware and grass clippings from the garbage stream each season. The waste is 7 P a g e

8 transformed by Cedar Grove into compost prized by gardeners across the Northwest. Cedar Grove Compost has hauled away all of Safeco Field's compostables, starting with back-of-the-house pre-consumer food waste. Commodity Recycling During the five-day event that was Super Bowl XXVII in 1993, 74.1 tons of waste was collected of that 52% was food-contaminated paper and other unrecyclable wastes, 24.5% cardboard, 10.8% asphalt and concrete, 9.8% mixed paper, and 2.8% aluminum and glass. 3 High volumes of waste are generated at sporting and entertainment venues. High waste volumes translate into a number of issues such as high waste hauling costs, high labor costs, landfill dependence, an unfavorable appearance and cleanliness issues. Instituting a resource recovery program that includes commodity recycling can help: Reduce hauling costs by separating out recyclable material Reduce labor costs by reducing the amount of waste to be collected and disposed of Reduce landfill dependence by diverting the recyclables from the waste stream Improve appearance/cleanliness by utilizing collection and baling equipment The David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA has 313,000 square feet of exhibit space, 53 meeting rooms and 31,000 square feet ballroom. In 2010, the convention center recycled over 94 thousand pounds of paper and cardboard, 86 thousand pounds of plastic/glass/aluminum, 17 thousand pounds of wood pallets, almost 2,000 pounds of light bulbs and electronic waste; over 121 thousand pounds of organic waste was composted and over 12,000 pounds of food was donated. 4 Source: Oregon Convention Center Recycling Data by Fiscal Year, (Jun 2012) The Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR has over 1 million square feet of space, hosts an average of 700 events with 700,000 people annually, and was able to recover over 444 tons of recyclable material in the fiscal year (see table insert). 3 Randy Woods, Waste From Stadiums (Waste Age, April 1993) Recycling: Green First, (Jun 2012). 8 P a g e

9 Source: Recycle On the Go - Qualcomm Stadium, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2007 Part of the challenge of a resource recovery program, specifically commodity recycling, is understanding where the recyclable materials are left or disposed of in the facility. Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA identified where the recyclable material was generated or found, by location, within the facility (see table insert). For instance, food and beverages used by the concessionare are shipped to the facility in cardboard boxes. Centerplate, the vending/concessionaire at Qualcomm Stadium, recycled approximately 16 tons of cardboard in Once a venue identifies the source of the recyclable material, it is possible to design a collection method that minimizes environmental impact and costs. This paper will take a deeper look at beverage containers, cardboard and non-recyclable waste. If we look at beverage containers, the most common materials are PET, aluminum and glass (see table insert from NAPCOR). facilities have set up collection bins next to trash bins to encourage patrons to drop their recyclables into the recycling bin instead of the trash bin. This has been met with mixed reviews. At Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, it was estimated that 50% of the potential recycling volume was lost to scavengers and misused recycling bins. 6 Some Even though the recycling bins are labeled with plastic/aluminum/glass, the recyclable material is contaminated when patrons mistake it for a trash bin. Source: Venue Recycling in the USA 2008, National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) 5 US Environmental Protection Agency, Recycle On the Go Qualcomm Stadium, Randy Woods, Waste From Stadiums (Waste Age, April 1993) P a g e

10 One innovation that offers a comprehensive solution for beverage container collection and sorting is the reverse vending machine (RVM). An RVM is similar to a vending machine in that it is an automated machine that offers an exchange of goods. In the RVM s case, the patron inserts his or her recyclable beverage container into the machine and in return receives a print out. This print out can be an incentive or coupon the patron can use within the facility or with a retail partner. TOMRA, a Norwegian company with North American headquarters in Shelton, CT, offers RVMs that contain sensor based technology to identify commodity type for source segregation and deposit value (applicable in deposit states). The commodity segregation reduces labor costs as the material separation occurs in bins within the machine. The RVMs are easy for patrons to use and for employees to empty and maintain. In addition, the RVM can be custom wrapped to offer branding opportunities or the option for rentable advertising space. RVMs also offer the ability to spotlight the venue s front-of-the-house green initiatives. The rewards platform increases customer participation thereby increasing your recyclable material volume diverted from the waste stream and waste hauling efforts. TOMRA RVM with Advertising Wrap Cardboard and non-recyclable waste also requires planning to identify efficient collection methods. Trash bins located throughout the facility allow for non-recyclable waste collection. Those bins are normally emptied by staff and collected in larger dumpsters located in non-patron areas of the facility. Some venues offer multiple large roll-off style dumpsters to collect various material types (e.g. cardboard versus non-recyclable waste). Other venues opt to have smaller compactors and balers in locations near the source. This allows for reduction in waste volume by compacting non-recyclable waste, with some compactors providing a 10:1 compaction ratio. Having a baler near the source allows for baling the recyclable material to keep a clean and safe facility as well as reducing the storage space required to house the recyclable material until pickup by the recycling processor. MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, NJ was dealing with labor intensive manual cleanup and high labor costs. Fans generated 8.5 tons of trash during pre-game tailgating, and another 8.5 tons of trash within the stadium during the game. Large crews picked the bowl and combed the parking lot for trash and recyclables; next, they transported all materials to the stadium basement for separation and pickup by trash haulers/recyclers. The 10 P a g e

11 volume of trash and recyclables made it impractical to store them on each of the stadium s seven floors, causing multiple trips in the freight elevator. The stadium installed a TOMRA (Orwak) 5031e compactor on the stadium s highest-volume floor, and TOMRA (Orwak) 5070 HDC dual-chamber balers in the trash rooms. The 5031e compacts 15 bags of non-recyclable trash into one, saving space and time transporting bags to the basement. The 5070 HDC s multiple chamber system is used to separate recyclables, compact them and then bale them. Compacting and baling at the source allows for better efficiency in transporting the baled recyclables to the basement for pickup. MetLife Stadium has experienced improved productivity of cleanup crews and significant savings in labor costs. At the same time, they are meeting the expectation of ticket holders that the stadium function in a clean and sustainable way. TOMRA Orwak 5031e Compactor Compacting and baling recyclable materials can save the facility on waste hauling fees. Commodity prices vary both monthly and regionally; however, some areas TOMRA Orwak 5070 Baler of the country offer a rebate on commodities such as OCC (old corrugated cardboard) that can provide a return on investment for compacting and baling equipment. A strong relationship with the local recycling processor also benefits the facility. Compacting and baling recyclable materials reduces a facility s storage space requirements, and also decreases the number or frequency of pickups to the facility. CONCLUSION A venue s resource recovery plan must look from start to finish to achieve zero waste. Select products and containers that are biodegrable or recyclable. Understand the various types of materials normally generated as waste. Decide the best method of removal from the facility composting, recycling or delivery to a landfill. Plan cost-efficient and effective collection methods for the variety of different waste materials your venue produces. Work with internal vendors to ensure compliance, and with external vendors to ensure lowest costs or best rebates. Continuously look to improve in all areas of energy conservation and resource recovery. Finally, the facility should communicate these efforts to its patrons and the surrounding community. Being green and working toward a sustainable world is not a passing trend, but a necessary step in the Resource 11 P a g e

12 Revolution that the public truly appreciates. Optimizing our approach to consumption and waste is a first step to adapting how we source, use, steward, reclaim, recycle, and revitalize our resources. The earth is our home and we need to sustain our resources for generations to come. 12 P a g e