Municipal Recycling News

City Cancels Curbside Programs

Red Bank and Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., Hamilton County, ended their curbside recycling programs after low participation rates by residents. "You’ve got these people who are used to doing it (recycling) and then they’ve got nowhere to go," Lori Munkeboe, environmental specialist with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "That’s the bad thing when you give them a lapse and they get out of sync doing it."

The Soddy-Daisy program ended Aug. 1 after the $90,000 per year program proved to be too expensive with only 650 households out of 4,500 using it. Residents can now drop off recyclables at Seqouyah Recycle Center. The Red Bank program cost about $130,000 per year and had a 30% participation rate. The program ended July 11.

San Diego Awards Recycling Leaders

San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy has honored 34 businesses and organizations that had outstanding waste reduction and recycling programs at a San Diego Earth Works VIP Reception.

Eleven companies received the Recycler of the Year Award for 2001. "More than 20% of all the waste that ends up in our Miramar landfill is paper that could have been recycled, and half of that waste is generated by commercial businesses," says Richard L. Hayes, director of the San Diego Environmental Services Department. "We honor companies who take the initiative and develop recycling or waste reduction programs because we see them as leaders that are setting an example for others to follow."

Winners of the Recycler of the Year Award include:

• ST Microelectronics

• Jackson Elementary School

• Sea World

• United States Postal Service, San Diego Region

• Alvarado Convalescent & Rehabilitation Hospital

• Kaiser Permanente, San Diego

• Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Cooperative

• The Orchard Senior Center

• Unisys Corp.

• Westfield Shopping Mission Valley

• Zoological Society of San Diego (San Diego and Wild Animal Park).

Study Looks at Solid Waste Industry

The 27,000 organizations in the United States solid waste industry generated more than $4.3 billion in revenue in 1999, according to a comprehensive study of the industry commissioned by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF), Washington. Private sector waste management companies generated about 76% of the industry’s total revenues.

The solid waste industry also contributed more than $96 billion and 948,000 jobs to the economy. "The foundation undertook this study because, until now, reliable information has not been available from any other source," says Michael Cagney, president of the foundation. "This research developed the first available independent, authoritative, comprehensive and statistically defensible data on the size of the waste management industry."

Mercury Product  Collections Announced

Regional Waste Systems Inc., Portland, Maine, has announced a series of free mercury product collections to be held this summer and fall. Items to be collected include mercury thermometers, button cell batteries, fluorescent lamps, non-electric thermostats and electrical switches.

The campaign kicked off in late July and will continue through late September.

RSW will give away free digital thermometers to the first 75 residents turning in mercury thermometers at each of the six events. For more information on collection dates, locations and times, visit www.regionalwaste.org .

Federal Employees Honored

In June, 105 federal employees were honored with "Closing the Circle" awards for their achievements in greening the government. The awards were established under executive order 13101 to expand and strengthen the federal government’s commitment to recycling and buying recycled content.

The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) received the Best Agency Program award for establishing one of the first agency-wide strategic plans establishing a 45% recycling goal for all operations by 2005. Last year the DOE surpassed this goal with a 47% recycling rate.

The Oak Ridge Electronics Recycling Center, Oak Ridge, Tenn., was also honored for establishing an agency-wide electronics recycling program that recycled more than 1,200 metric tons of obsolete electronics.

WASTE MANAGEMENT TO SELL AUSTRALIAN SUBSIDIARY

Waste Management’s international subsidiary, Waste Management International B.V., has reached an agreement to sell Pacific Waste Management, its Australian subsidiary, to Paris-based SITA for $230 million. The sale was completed in the second quarter. Pacific Waste Management currently provides services to more than 600,000 residents and 30,000 individual and commercial customers.

The sale is part of Waste Management’s strategic plan to refocus the company in its North American solid waste operations. The possible sale of other Waste Management subsidiaries is also being discussed and the company intends to use the proceeds from these transactions to reduce debt and, over time, repurchase shares and make selective tuck-in acquisitions of solid waste business in North America.

PUBLICATION RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL AWARD

"Your Recycling Guide," published by Maui Recycling Group, has received the Rotary International Public Relations Award for 1999-2000. The award was given by RI president Carlos Ravizza and presented at the Rotary District 5000 Conference on Maui.

The publication was distributed by The Maui News and through community and recycling events and provided information on local recycling opportunities and where to take recyclables. The August issue was the final issue, as the guide was discontinued when the County of Maui published its own guide in early January.

WASHINGTON NAMES ‘RECYCLER OF THE YEAR’

Sego Jackson, principal planner with the Snohomish County Solid Waste Management Division, was awarded the "Recycler of the Year" award from the Washington State Recycling Association at the organization’s Annual Conference and Trade Show.

"Environmental protection is not just a job for Sego, it is his life," says Kim Ducote, director of public affairs and business development for Rabanco Recycling.

Jackson serves in an external advisory committee to the Department of Ecology, a group that is revising solid waste rules to encourage more recycling. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Washington Citizens for Resource Conservation, the Washington Organic Recycling Council and the Policy Committee of the WSRA. In addition to serving on those committees, he developed a program, "Soils for Salmon," that calls for developers to heavily amend disturbed soils with compost during construction.