Industry News

C&D Facility Runs into NIMBY Concerns

Cries of "not in my back yard" (NIMBY) are creating opposition to a plan to build a recycling center and landfill in Clark County, Wash. The proposed site of the facility is being opposed by residents who are protesting the facility’s location in an area near schools and homes.

The plan to build the recycling facility, geared to handling construction and demolition materials, was first proposed more than ten years ago. According to local press reports, the location, in a mined-out gravel pit, was in a remote area. However, since the project was first floated the area has become much more populated.

Despite the opposition, the Clark County Department of Community Development has given its approval to build the East County Reclamation Center at the proposed site, subject to further conditions.

The proposed recycling center/limited purpose landfill would cover 98 acres. The facility would take in construction, demolition and land clearing debris, and inert waste. Acceptable non-recyclable material received at the recycling facility would be land-filled.

A public hearing has been held for both proponents and opponents of the project to comment. A hearing examiner is scheduled to make a decision soon.

Several conditions that the Community Development staff have stipulated will need to be met for approval and continued operation, including: construction of a right of way and sidewalk; landscaping; a storm water plan that meets requirements of the state of Washington; and landfill construction that adheres to state codes.

As part of the agreement, the carpet industry has established a third-party organization known as the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). During the agreement’s ten-year span, CARE will work to establish collection systems for used consumer carpet.

The aim of the voluntary agreement is to eliminate landfill disposal and incineration of used carpet. "The National Carpet Recycling Agreement provides a new cooperative model between business and the states. This has been a state- and industry-convened process, with great participation from U.S. EPA," says Sherry Enzler, director of the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance.

Government and industry representatives have worked together for two years to craft an agreement that encourages product stewardship—meaning carpet manufacturers assume responsibility for carpet throughout its life cycle—from design to disposal.

As much as 2.5 million tons of carpet are discarded each year in the U.S. The material can be bulky and difficult to handle, and is sometimes illegally disposed of by the general public.

"Since the agreement is entirely voluntary, carpet manufacturers are able to define the best approach for achieving a 40% landfill diversion goal in the agreement’s ten-year span," notes Elizabeth Cotsworth, director of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Solid Waste.

In addition to reducing the burden on landfills, carpet recycling will ideally provide financial and environmental benefits to carpet manufacturers. For example, Honeywell estimates that its carpet recycling program saves more than 700,000 barrels of oil per year, conserving 4.4 trillion BTUs of energy. C&A Floorcoverings Inc., Dalton, Ga., a commercial flooring manufacturer, estimates that its recycling program has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 11,000 tons from 1993 through 1999.

Nylon fiber, the primary material in carpet, is a valuable polymer that can be recycled and used to make new products, such as injection-molded auto parts.

"The carpet industry has, over the years, shown its commitment to sustainability as described in The Report of the President’s Council on Sustainability," says Werner Braun, president of the Carpet and Rug Institute. "This commitment is further demonstrated today in our signing the National Agreement on Carpet Recycling. The challenges in reaching the goal are large but the opportunities are equally large and justify our effort."

More information on the National Carpet Recycling Agreement is available at www.moea.state.mn.us/carpet, the Web site of the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA).

In an impressive logistical feat, Spectrum Development Group and subcontractors working with the Eagan, Minn., company moved and re-used a 300,000 square feet parking garage.

The nine-year-old parking deck, formerly located at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, was initially scheduled for demolition. "It seemed like an incredible waste to us to demolish this concrete," notes Spectrum vice president Charlie Henrich. "And due to the nature of the pre-stressed concrete, it can be re-used; it doesn’t age. The economics work, so why not?"

The structure was disassembled and moved piece-by-piece four miles away to a 20-acre site near Interstate 494. Spectrum used the individual sections—which on average weighed 29 tons and measured 60 feet by 10 feet—to construct a second level parking area for a new office facility.

Those involved in the project believe it to be the largest re-use of an existing structure in Minnesota, and perhaps in the United States.

"The training program formalizes much of the work ILSR has done across the country over the last two years," says Mark Jackson, and ILSR program associate.

Jackson says ILSR projects in Connecticut, the San Francisco Bay Area and in Washington, DC, "have created dozens of jobs, helping unemployed workers and public housing residents break into high-wage careers and even union training programs."

Advocates of deconstruction, such as ILSR program director Neil Seldman, tout job creation as a benefit of the process.

The ILSR has targeted Bridgeport, Conn.; Newark, N.J.; Portland, Ore.; Burlington, Vt.; Tacoma, Wash.; and Washington, DC, as cities where projects will be introduced.