Municipal Recycling

GRANT AWARDED TO INCREASE BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING

The California Department of Conservation, Sacramento, Calif., awarded $1 million in recycling grants to local nonprofit and government agencies as part of a statewide effort to increase beverage container recycling and to raise California recycling rates.

The 24 grants are aimed at improving California’s recycling rate, especially while away from home, and to emphasize the recycling of plastic, single-use containers. "People are generally good about recycling when they’re at home," says Carol Nelson, acting assistant director for the department’s Division of Recycling, "but we also want them to think about recycling when they’re at work or school or out running errands."

Grant winners were chosen from a pool of 50 applicants. The largest grant, $200,000, will go to San Jose’s Environmental Services Department and will be used to provide beverage container recycling receptacles in area parks.

The recycling grants come from unclaimed funds as a result of unredeemed California Refund Value beverage containers and are awarded to the state’s general fund.

IOWA DRIVES FOR THE RECYCLING PIN

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources teed off a pilot recycling project designed to divert a portion of the 355 tons of projected landfill waste from the 1999 U.S. Senior Open Golf Tournament, which was held July 5-11 in West Des Moines. Directed by a team of waste management specialists, the effort produced a ton of recovered water bottles from the Des Moines Golf and Country Club during the four day event.

Signs and receptacles stationed at 16 bleacher sites coaxed more than 233,000 guests to use the designated bins, says Leigh McGivern, an informational specialist at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. People were receptive to the project and cooperated in separating their recyclables from disposables, she says.

"Our teams of people were policing the areas and pulling out waste and scrap from the receptacles, but by and large, it still would’ve been uncontaminated," McGivern comments. The ton of plastic recyclables recovered at the event were delivered to a recycler who remarked on the clean separation of the collected material.

The project was initially scheduled to begin July 5, the opening of the tournament. However, a "little hiccup" occurred when the United States Golf Association (USGA), Far Hills, N.J., abandoned the program two hours before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. That pushed the program back about three days, McGivern says.

The program’s other participants were able to reassemble the signs and place recycling receptacles outside of 16 bleachers for Thursday. This downsized the original plan, which was to include both compost and recycling bins at all 18 bleacher sections and 14 concession areas.

"At the end of the day on Thursday, we did what we were going to do on Monday—to evaluate whether there was enough compost and recycling material to do the program," McGivern explains. "Most of it was non-compostable, because people were eating all of their food."

McGivern hopes this will be a model for future large-scale events in the state. The committee will give the USGA a full report of the project’s results, including recycling recommendations, she says.

"If we had done nothing, we estimated a three percent increase in landfill because of one event," she comments. "We diverted a ton, which is a small amount, but if we’d been able to do what we planned and vendors were consulted in advance to use #1 and #2 plastics, that would be another number we’d have to calculate."

CAROLINA HONORS TOP RECYCLERS

The Carolina Recycling Association, Raleigh, N.C., has honored several individuals, organizations and companies at its first annual meeting since the combination of the former North Carolina and South Carolina Recycling Associations.

Among those honored were Will Sagar of Transylvania County, N.C. as Recycler of the Year; Laura Bennett of The Grove Park Inn, Asheville, N.C., with the Spirit of Recycling – Sustained Commitment Award; and Emily Keyes of the Habitat ReUse Center, Raleigh, N.C., with the Buy Recycled Award.

Other winners include:

-Judy Kincaid, Triangle J Council of Governments, Research Triangle Park, N.C., Green Builder of the Year

-Graham Butler, Duke University, Durham, N.C., Outstanding College or University

-Keep Georgetown Beautiful, Georgetown, S.C., Outstanding Community Volunteer Program

-Larry Lewis, Horry County, Conway, S.C., Outstanding Composting and Organics Recycling Program

-Robert Moore, Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point, N.C., Front Line Recycler

-Linda Slater, Charleston County, Charleston, S.C., Outstanding County or Municipal Program

-Gary Weinrich, BMW, Spartanburg, S.C., Outstanding In-House Waste Reduction Program.

The CRA’s Tenth Annual Conference and Trade Show is scheduled for March 13 to 15, 2000, at the Grove Park Inn Resort in Asheville, N.C.

Florida Study Looks at "Buying Recycled" Barriers

Cost, availability and quality of recycled materials are the major obstacles that restrict Florida state agencies from purchasing more recycled goods, according to a recent study conducted by Florida A&M University to assess recycled product procurement behavior. While 98% of universities and agencies and 88% of municipalities researched use recycled products, concerns keep some of them from increasing the purchase and use of these materials.

A survey delivered to 67 state agencies, universities, community colleges and local government agencies produced statistics addressing the procurement and utilization of recycled products, obstacles to use and suggestions for increased use. Results point to the state’s leadership role in environmental efforts, but they indicate the need for strategies to overcome existing barriers to procuring recycled materials in order to maintain their proactive momentum.

Paper is the most common recycled product purchased, with 100% of the 40 respondents from state agencies and universities buying these products. However, few procurement officers reported purchasing glass, rubber and oil products containing recycled material.

Cost is the most often cited barrier to purchasing more recycled materials reported in the survey. When recycled products are more expensive, some agencies do not have this allowance in their budget. The perception that recycled goods are of lesser quality has also been a past problem with purchasing officers. A concern for the satisfaction of the end-user also keeps some from buying recycled materials. (Copying paper was cited as an example in this category.)

Among the report’s suggestions to address the barriers: Implementing education programs for purchasing agents and end-users, stressing environmental issues, and establishing a "consumer report" facility within the Department of Management Services to evaluate recycled product quality. The report also suggests expanded tax incentives to vendors and manufacturers to curb pricing and a graduating percentage scale for mandated purchasing of recyclable items with a goal target year to influence and continue the procuring of recyclable materials.