Sumter County Recycling Plan INTRODUCTION The amount and type of waste generated by a community, and the strategies employed to manage or treat the waste, contribute to the many facets of a sustainable community including human health, the environment, land use, and economic development. Waste materials originate from a variety of sources including industrial, agricultural, commercial and domestic activities. In Sumter County, 157,091 tons of municipal solid wastes (MSW) were managed by both the public and private sectors through landfilling, combusting, and recycling practices in 2014. In an effort to contribute to the achievement of the waste reduction and recycling goals contained in Section 403.706 and Section 403.7032, Florida Statutes, Sumter County has developed a recycling program for local government entities, private companies and organizations, and the residents of Sumter County. Recycling allows materials that would otherwise go into a landfill to be removed from the waste stream to be processed into new products, reduce the need for raw materials and save space in the landfill. As the county continues to grow, the potential amount of MSW which must be disposed of will also grow in proportion resulting in the need for improvement of the collection, disposal and recycling of solid waste. SUMMARY As of April 1, 2015, the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research estimates the population of Sumter County to be 115, 657. There are five municipalities in the County (Bushnell, Center Hill, Coleman, Webster and Wildwood) which comprise 11% of the total population while 89% of the population resides in the unincorporated area of the County. Of the 103,282 persons residing within the unincorporated county, 73,923 reside within The Villages. The North Sumter County Utility Dependent District (NSCUDD) provides curbside municipal solid waste and recycling services for the Sumter County portion of The Villages which are contracted through CH2M HILL OMI while the remaining residents utilize the Citizens Drop-Off Area (CDA) provided by the County to drop-off their municipal solid waste and recyclables or elect to pay a commercial vendor to haul their municipal solid waste to a private-owned landfill. The County s Public Works Division operates the CDA (WACS ID: SWD-60-53008) as outlined in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Permit No. 126941-007-SC/08, which includes the Sumter County Solid Waste Facility Operations Manual dated March 2012. The CDA is located at 819 CR 529 Lake Panasoffkee, Florida 33538. The CDA is open Tuesday through Saturday form 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with the exception of the approved holiday schedule. The facility is available only for residential drop-off and accepts Class I general, non-hazardous house hold waste, source-separated recyclables, and special waste including Class III waste, C&D materials, lead-acid batteries, tires, used oil, white goods, and yard waste. This facility does not accept commercial waste, institutional waste, hazardous waste, industrial waste, ash waste or biological waste. These materials are rejected at the point of delivery. If hazardous waste materials are unknowingly accepted and identified in the waste stream, Sumter County contracted employees handle the waste in accordance with the hazardous waste manual for the CDA. There is no solid waste tax assessment set for the residents of Sumter County. The CDA is funded entirely as part of the General Fund. The CDA accepts waste material then loads and transfers the 1 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
waste to a permitted disposal facility by contract with a local hauler as listed in the table below. In addition, the CDA has separate contracts to dispose of recyclables such as used oil and cardboard whereby the vendor is responsible for hauling and reporting back to the County the amount of volume for each recycled material. Material MSW Construction and Demolition Tires Metal Location of Transport per Hauling Contract Heart of Florida Sumter Recycling & Solid Waste Disposal, Inc. Global Tire Recycling in Wildwood Trademark Metals in Ocala RECYCLING STATUS In 2008, the Florida Legislature enacted House Bill 7135 which created Section 403.7032, Florida Statutes. This established a new statewide recycling goal of 75% to be achieved by the year 2020. Also, the statute directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to develop a program designed to achieve this goal and submit it to the Legislature for approval. FDEP submitted its 75% Recycling Goal Report in January 2010. In 2010 the Florida legislature passed House Bill 7243 which addressed several of the issues discussed in FDEP s 75% Recycling Goal Report. There are also several Florida Administrative Codes in regards to recycling as follows: Florida Administrative Code 62-716: This rule currently establishes procedures for disbursement of recycling and education grants, small county grants, waste tire, litter control /prevention grants, and small county landfill closure grants to local governments for recycling/solid waste education in accordance with the intent of the Legislature, and to assist local governments in meeting the requirements of the Solid Waste Management Act. Florida Administrative Code 62-722: This rule regards the regulations of recovered materials. According to FDEP regulations, traditional recycling credits exclude renewable energy and yard trash disposed in a landfill. A renewable energy recycling credit is 1 Megawatt = 1 Ton of yard trash disposed of in a landfill beneficially using landfill gas for something other than electricity. Renewable energy recycling credits are included in the total number of recycling credits. A summary of 2014 total recycling credits for Sumter County is as follows: Traditional Recycling Credits 23% Renewable Energy Recycling Credits 2% Yard Trash Recycling Credits 0% Total Recycling Credits for Sumter County 25% 2 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
*Note as reported by FDEP RECYCLED MATERIALS The CDA accepts some recyclable materials at no cost while other materials require a small disposal fee to the resident. Recycled materials listed below are currently disposed of at recycle locations that specialize in the specific material. Some of the materials are disposed of at a cost to the resident while general fund revenue is collected for the other materials as listed below: Cost to the Resident Used Tires (all sizes accepted and residents are charged the appropriate tire disposal fee) C&D Materials Vegetated/Wood Debris No Cost to the Resident Used Oil/Oil Filters Batteries Clean Scrap Metal Cardboard Material Tires Cardboard Used Oil Metal Batteries C&D 2014 Recycled Total 15.60 tons 24.10 tons 1538 gallons 37.30 tons 1.26 tons 325.5 tons 3 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
Recycled materials listed below are currently disposed of at the ACMS landfill as Sumter County does not currently have a recycling contract in place with an outside vendor. Newspaper/Magazines All Plastic Containers/Bottles HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION BI-ANNUAL EVENT As directed in Chapter 3 Infrastructure Elements Goals, Objectives and Policies of the Unified Sumter County/Center Hill/Webster Comprehensive Plan, the BOCC provides two Hazardous Waste collections each year. The County ensures that these events are fully advertised to ensure public awareness of the dates and locations. The Cities cooperatively continue to advise the residents and businesses of the County s Amnesty Day and encourage participation. These events are managed cooperatively by Sumter County and the Marion County Hazardous Waste Collection Center. Sumter County has entered into an inter-local agreement with the Marion County Board of County Commissioners to provide services and vendors for these collections, with assistance from the Sumter County Public Works Division. SUMTER COUNTY S CHALLENGES Developing a successful recycling program is both an opportunity and a challenge. When state legislatures codified waste reduction and recycling mandates into law and placed responsibility with local governments, few gave special consideration to rural areas. These communities are striving alongside their urban counterparts to meet recycling and reduction goals of 75%. Rural areas' efforts, however, can be hampered by low population densities and tax base, limited local government budgets and personnel and limited commercial development. For the Sumter County CDA, difficulties accumulating sufficient quantities of processed materials can limit cost-effective marketing options and solid waste volumes can fluctuate due to seasonal residents and, or tourists. The Sumter County CDA has its own unique challenges, only accepting residential MSW and recyclables from those residents which elect to drop-off at the site along with the fact that no commercial waste generated from businesses or Cities is accepted at this facility. All commercial waste is either run through Waste Management and/or The Village s service provider. In addition, the County does not operate an active landfill which is an additional limitation in the development of an extensive MSW and recycling expansion plan. ASSESSMENT DATA & INDICATORS Indicators presented in this area include the amount of waste each person contributes to the waste system, a breakdown of the generator type of waste and the material type recycled by the entire County which includes the County s recycling contracts, other governments, The Villages, and private recycling. Table 1 shows the waste generated per capita since 2004. Table 2 shows disposal of waste per capita since 2004. 4 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
Table 1 County Municipal Solid Waste Collected per Capita 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Tons/Year 1.09 0.86 1.30 0.85 1.60 1.33 1.02 1.20 1.76 1.19 1.41 Pounds/Day 5.95 4.72 7.10 4.66 8.74 7.30 5.57 6.56 9.69 6.51 7.75 *Note data published by FDEP Table 2 County Municipal Solid Waste Disposal per Capita 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Tons per Capita (Landfilled and Combusted) 0.85 0.68 1.17 0.74 1.39 1.18 0.83 0.94 1.53 0.93 1.09 *Note data published by FDEP Table 3 shows MSW collected by Generator Type such as residential single-family and multi-family along with commercial and the percentage recycled for the County s recycling contracts, other governments, The Villages, and private recycling. Table 3 MSW Collected by Generator Type (Excludes recycling credits for renewable energy and yard trash beneficially using landfill gas) Residential: Single-Family Tons Per Year Residential: Multi-Family Ton Per Year Commercial Tons Per Year Total Tons Per Year Year Population Collected Recycled % Collected Recycled % Collected Recycled % Collected Recycled % 2014 111,125 54,974 12,416 23% 15,706 3,547 23% 86,411 19,535 23% 157,091 35,498 23% 2013 105,104 43,676 9,301 21% 12,479 2,657 21% 68,635 14,617 21% 124,790 26,575 21% 2012 100,198 75,853 8,256 11% 12,924 2,338 18% 88,415 12,841 15% 177,192 23,435 13% 2011 84,815 35,623 5,783 16% 10,125 1,399 14% 55,684 14,525 26% 101,432 21,707 21% 2010 93,420 33,259 4,611 14% 9,488 1,050 11% 52,132 11,825 23% 94,879 17,486 18% 2009 95,326 39,638 3,496 9% 8,678 956 11% 78,597 9,525 12% 126,913 13,977 11% 2008 93,034 50,487 8,882 18% 14,849 1,906 13% 83,121 8,740 11% 148,457 19,528 13% 2007 89,771 5,339 1,172 22% 763 195 26% 70,173 8,439 12% 76,275 9,806 13% 2006 82,599 36,394 2,634 7% 10,704 2,107 20% 59,942 5,796 10% 107,040 10,537 10% 2005 74,052 21,699 6,548 30% 6,410 1,271 20% 35,740 5,659 16% 63,849 13,478 21% 2004 66,416 24,671 9,215 37% 7,208 1,821 25% 40,215 4,199 10% 72,094 15,235 21% *Note published by FDEP 5 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
Table 4 shows the recycling rates for various material types for the entire County which includes the County s recycling contracts, other governments, The Villages, and private recycling. Table 4 Waste Products Collected and Recycled (Tons) by Material Type Materials 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Newspapers 68% 30 31% 63% 59% 73% 63% 69% 73% 80% 71% Glass 46% 0 0% 0% 38% 25% 33% 31% 27% 57% 70% Aluminum Cans 15% 4 1% 31% 46% 13% 16% 25% 7% 64% 30% Plastic Bottles 0% 6 0% 1% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Steel Cans 7% 9 0% 0% 5% 4% 4% 10% 6% 11% 14% Corrugated Paper 74% 58% 87% 69% 73% 76% 75% 63% 42% 69% 86% Office Paper 48% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 2% 0% 27% 10% 0% Yard Trash 2% 0 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Other Plastics 10% 4% 0% 4% 12% 11% 14% 18% 11% 22% 24% Ferrous Metals 58% 68% 63% 63% 59% 18% 36% 63% 37% 42% 76% White Goods 0% 0% 0% 58% 0% 4% 30% 71% 0% 72% 36% Non-Ferrous Metals 23% 14% 23% 24% 3% 12% 15% 20% 9% 56% 9% Other Paper 62% 11% 1% 2% 2% 3% 6% 12% 1% 0% 1% Textiles 2% 5% 0% 0% 0% 0% 4% 7% 3% 9% 4% C&D Debris 33% 9% 1% 2% 8% 0% 0% 2% 0% 1% 6% Food Wastes 21% 5% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 5% Miscellaneous 0% 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 21% 0% 4% 7% Tires 73% 13% 53% 64% 30% 24% 38% 36% 21% 90% 23% Process Fuels 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Overall Recycling Rate 21% 21% 10% 16% 13% 11% 18% 21% 17% 24% 25% *Note data published by FDEP INITIATIVES In order for Sumter County to increase their recycling credits, it will take an increased effort from the municipalities, other governmental agencies, commercial businesses, local businesses, County employees and the residents all working together to reduce the amount of solid waste generated where it is practical and economically feasible. Sumter County will begin with the following initiatives: Development of a waste reduction and recycling plan for all County-owned buildings (see Exhibit A). Identify potential recyclables at the CDA. Negotiate recycling contracts. Sumter County has several contracts already in place; such as waste oil and tires, but will look at adding new contracts for additional recycling opportunities at the CDA. Partner with Heart of Florida to look at recycling efforts at the landfill in coordination with the CDA. 6 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
Partner with local businesses to encourage recycling efforts and maintain tracking of such efforts. Educate the residents on recycling, reduce and reuse via website and brochures. County to establish metrics for its recycling goal measurement and on-going tracking. 7 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
Exhibit A Sumter County Board of County Commissioners County-owned Buildings Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan Purpose To provide a cost effective and environmentally sound way of managing office waste by reducing the amount of waste generated, maximizing the life of products by reusing where possible, recycling acceptable materials, disposing only what is necessary, and buying recycled products. Responsibility It shall be the responsibility of each Sumter County employee to participate in recycling and waste reduction programs to reduce the amount of waste generated by the organization. Recycling Primary Goals Implementation Plan Prevention of waste is the most cost-effective waste management strategy as it reduces the total amount of waste generated. Whenever practical, employees are encouraged to prevent waste by reusing items. Responsible Division/Department Office of Management and Budget (OMB) OMB Public Works/Operations Goal Centralized purchasing of office supplies to limit overstock of items Development of a plan to increase centralized purchasing to reduce other areas of excess inventory or duplication of items Monthly approved electronic communication to educate employees on approved recycling initiatives Timeline 5/1/2016 1/1/2016 All BOCC Employees Use double sided copying and printing 1/1/2016 Administrative Services Only purchase recyclable cups for County meetings and functions 1/1/2016 All BOCC Employees Reuse interoffice envelopes, file folders and binders 1/1/2016 8 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
Administrative Services and Public Works Weekly courier old library newspapers to Animal Services for reuse 1/1/2016 Responsible Division/Department Public Works / Engineering OMB OMB Goal Contract with hauler for the collection of recyclables from county properties Purchasing employees gain training on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Establish a policy for implementation to purchase recycled paper with at least 30% post-consumer content Timeline 2/1/2016 2/1/2016 Public Works Recycle all scrap metal from county projects 1/1/2016 Public Works / Operations Public Works / Engineering Recycle all used county vehicle tires via contracted recycler New and renovated county building construction required to consider LEED or equivalent green building standards 2/1/2016 3/1/2016 9 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan
Responsible Division/Department Public Works / Engineering Goal Custodial employees will be trained to keep recyclables separate from MSW and where to deposit recyclables for collection Timeline Completed within two weeks of executed recycling contract Division/Department Heads Employees will be trained on what to reuse, recycle, how, and where Secondary Goals Employee Services Public Works / Engineering Administrative Services Employee Services provides all new hires receive a copy of and training on the recycling plan/program Place a recycling bin for office paper next to every copy machine, central office area, and or mailroom Place a recycling bin for newspapers and magazines on every floor and in libraries 3/1/2016 Public Works / Engineering Provide for corrugated cardboard to be flattened and placed next to other recycling bins on every floor Public Works / Operations Communicate recycling plan to all employees and reminders on the Intranet 1/1/2016 10 P age Sumter County Recycling Plan