Municipal Recycling

Hugo Neu Corp., New York, has proposed building a recycling facility in the South Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point if it receives a 20-year recycling contract from New York City.

The city issued a request for proposals for the contract to recycle its metal, glass and plastic recyclables in September.

The New York Daily News has reported cautious support for the company’s plan among community groups and environmental activists, although the neighborhood already houses a sewage treatment plant, a fertilizer factory, nine waste transfer stations and a wholesale produce market, contributing to heavy truck traffic.

Kate Van Tassel, program associate for Sustainable South Bronx, told the paper, "If they do it right, it can be a good thing for the neighborhood." She mentioned that Hugo Neu has proposed servicing the facility by barge rather than truck and providing a public waterfront greenway nearby.

Van Tassel also told the New York Daily News that the quantity of recycled materials available could draw end users into the neighborhood, providing even more jobs in the area.

Oregon recycled 46.5 percent of its solid waste in 2002, according to figures released from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) 11th annual survey of garbage haulers and private recycling companies. The rate reflects a 0.3 percent decrease from 2001’s record 46.8 percent.

Volume recovery of waste material in the state increased 2.5 percent, but disposal increased 3.5 percent, DEQ solid waste specialists say. This is the first increase in per capita disposal following two years of declines.

"This drop can largely be attributed to the jump in the disposal of solid waste in the state along with poor market conditions for recycled materials," Mary Sue Gilliland, manager of DEQ’s solid waste program, says.

The recovery rates include materials collected for recycling or composting as well as some material burned for energy recovery.

Of materials recovered in 2002, organics made up 41.4 percent of the volume, followed by paper at 33.2 percent, metals at 12.8 percent, glass at 4.6 percent and plastics at 1.2 percent. Other assorted waste, including such items as tires, paint, batteries, brick, asphalt roofing material and motor oil, totaled 6.8 percent.

Despite the overall decrease, Gilliland notes several positive trends in the state’s waste recovery trends, such as the near 27 percent increase in organics collected and the 35 percent increase in waste tires collected thanks to new and expanded markets.

"We’re disappointed by the continued increase in waste generation," says Gilliland. "We’d like to see more Oregonians reduce the amount of waste they generate in the first place. It will be very difficult for the state to meet the Legislature’s mandated 2005 no per-capita increase in waste generation goal without Oregonians changing their habits."

Recovery rate data from the entire state of Oregon is available on-line at www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/rsw.htm.