Batteries Dead? Recycle Instead! Curbside Battery Recycling A Canadian Case Study Peter Veiga Regional Municipality of Durham May 19, 2014
Toronto Durham Region Durham Region Borders City of Toronto to the east Approximately 1,000 sq. miles in area Population of 650,000 forecasted to reach 1 million in 15 years Responsible for residential waste collection for six municipalities Responsible for waste disposal for eight municipalities in its jurisdiction Blue box collection in all eight municipalities
Managing its Waste "Long Term Waste Management Strategy Plan: 2000 to 2020". The Main Goals: Divert 50 per cent of residential waste from disposal by 2007 or earlier Secure an alternate disposal option for residential waste after the City of Toronto's Keele Valley Landfill Site closed Implement an integrated residential waste management system to collect, process and dispose of: Blue Box recyclables Food and yard waste compostable material Residual garbage waste Special waste HHW, Bulky goods, E-waste Consider an "energy-from-waste" facility for the disposal of residual waste
Breaking the 50% Barrier Launched the Green Bin in 4 remaining municipalities Launched the Green Bin in 4 municipalities Standardized service level across the Region 4 garbage bag limit bi-weekly green and blue box weekly In 1984 the Blue Box program was launched in. By 2012, the Region s diversion rate reached 53%, which ranked #1 against other Urban / Regional areas in the Province.
Battery Facts Batteries contain many valuable resources including zinc, manganese, steel and potassium Ontarians use up to 2.2 pounds (lbs) of single-use batteries annually per person Used batteries make up less than 1% of all waste found in municipal landfills. That 1% of batteries is responsible for 88% of all the toxic heavy metals found in municipal landfills.
Battery Recycling Collection Pilot September 5, 2012 Pilot Program Approved by Regional Council November 12, 2012 Collection Program Launched Region-wide September 4, 2013 Permanent Program Approved by Regional Council
Program Partners The Region of Durham partnered with several key organizations:
Curbside Collection Details Residents received a bright orange zip-lock battery collection bag in the mail with the Region s newsletter Residents placed sealed bag on top of Blue Box recycling bin on collection day
Marketing Details News Releases Interviews with the media Social Media Posters in stores, community centers, libraries Newspaper adverting Television commercials Radio announcements 35 mobile signs Website update
Guinness World Records To raise awareness (and have some fun), contacted Guinness World Records to inquire about records existing for the most batteries collected in 24 hours. The record to beat was 400lb of batteries collected at one location in one day
Curbside Waste Flows Collection contractors collected battery bags from resident s blue boxes into 20-gallon pails located inside their cab Collected batteries were brought to s Waste Management Centre to be debagged, sealed for transport and delivered to Raw Materials Company, the final processor
Collection Results Collection Dates Nov 12-16, 2012 March 18-22, 2013 November 4-8, 2013 April 21-25, 2014 To date Batteries Collected 53,000 lbs 33,000 lbs 24,000 lbs 33,000 lbs 143,000 lbs Each collection collects more batteries than Durham s four recycling depots collect in one year - combined
Contamination Less than 0.0005% total contamination Some items received as contamination were ink cartridges, compact fluorescent light bulbs, remote controls and smoke detectors
Battery Recycling Program Innovative Partnerships Teamwork Convenience/Accessibility Guinness World Record International Recognition Removing Heavy Metals from Waste Stream 600,000 residents Promotion & Education
Program Costs Funded by the solid waste management operating budget and the help of many key partnerships Total net cost to for the 2012 pilot was $20,000
RMC Process 92% Efficiency Batteries are crushed Battery components separated mechanically Operates under negative pressure capturing mercury, chlorine & ammonia vapor
Waste Management Facilities
What Next? Program is now permanent in most recent collection was April 21-25 There are also now more than 20 additional municipalities participating in the program throughout Ontario. Follow the curbside collections in Ontario, visit www.rawmaterials.com
SWANA Gold winning program! www.durham.ca/battery
Peter Veiga, Supervisor Waste Operations Regional Municipality of Durham 905-668-4113 ext.3720 Peter.Veiga@Durham.ca