News Watch

Recycling is the number one environmental quality that consumers seek when purchasing products, according to a recent study by The Plastic Bag Association, Pittsburgh. The re-cyclability of a product ranked 44 percent; followed by source reduction at 37 percent; and reusability and degradability at 9 percent. Overall, though, a product’s environmental impact is not the primary consideration when consumers consider a product for purchase, as the number one consideration is product quality, at 96 percent; second is price at 85 percent; and environmental impact is third at 75 percent.

MAKING MONEY THROUGH RECYCLING

According to a re-evaluation of the study, “The Role of Recycling in Integrated Waste Management to the year 2000,” by Franklin Associates Ltd, Prairie Village, Kan., recycling is profitable today due to improved market conditions. According to the 1993 study, the average net cost of operating a curbside recycling program was $118 per ton. Now, based on the increased revenue from the sale of recyclable materials, operation of a curbside recycling program would no longer cost money, but would lead to a net profit of $1 per ton. The reason for this change is that while the sale of recyclable material generated $46 of revenue in 1993, those same recyclables generate $165 per ton in 1995.

“While the cost of recycling will vary among communities depending on the type of programs, the availability of markets and other factors, the evidence is clear that recycling lowers the overall cost of waste management,” says Rick Best, policy associate with Californians Against Waste, Sacramento, Calif. “Waste reduction and recycling have the potential to save the public and businesses millions of dollars through avoided landfill costs and the sale of recyclable materials.”

ANN ARBOR OPENS NEW RECOVERY FACILITY

In September, Ann Arbor, Mich., dedicated its new materials recovery facility that will accept recyclables from Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan and other surrounding communities.

The $5.1 million, 30,000-square-foot-facility is designed to collect and process up to 150 tons of material per day. In addition, the facility will serve as a waste transfer operation, handling up to 250 tons of refuse per day.

PILOT PROJECT COULD LOWER SUPERFUND COSTS

In an effort that could be adopted nationally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 has invited potentially responsible parties at the North Landfill Superfund Subsite in Hastings, Neb., to participate in a pilot project. The pilot will test a different approach to the allocation of Superfund costs under which PRPs undertake or finance cleanup activities at Superfund sites.

This non-binding allocation process should reduce the transaction costs expended by PRPs at the North Landfill site, according to Dennis Grams, regional administrator. This process is designed to improve the fairness and efficiency of the Superfund enforcement efforts.

This pilot project represents a key aspect of the Superfund Administrative Reform Initiative – the allocation pilots. This new process was developed by a coalition of Superfund stakeholders after last year’s unsuccessful reauthorization efforts.

Under this approach, the PRPs may settle their liability by taking responsibility for their “fair share” of cleanup costs. A neutral party known as an allocator, selected by the parties to the process, will conduct a streamlined out-of-court allocation. The allocator will assign shares of responsibility for cleanup costs among all PRPs at a site. Under this scheme, EPA expects to pay the orphan share, which includes the shares of parties that are defunct.

In many ways, the Allocation Pilots represent significant changes from the present scheme, under which PRPs routinely resort to expensive contribution litigation and other lawsuits to resolve allocation disputes. EPA intends to try this approach at other Superfund sites around the county.

LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES GET RECYCLING COORDINATORS

The National Volunteers in Recycling project, designed to create economic development opportunities and jobs in recycling, will send 21 volunteers in the field to take one-year positions in 14 urban and rural low-income communities across the United States.

Each volunteer participating in the project will provide education, training and professional development to minority, nonprofit and rural recycling operations in the low-income communities where they serve.

NVR is sponsored by the National Recycling Coalition, Alexandria, Va., and other organizations. Volunteers receive a minimum wage living allowance and an education award for each year of service, which may be used to pay college loans or tuition.

NEW MRF FOR SHREVEPORT PLANNED

A new materials recovery facility has been approved for construction by Shreveport, La., government officials.

“This recycling plant will benefit Shreveport and the entire Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas region,” says Robert Williams, mayor of Shreveport. “Now that markets are more favorable, it is time for Shreveport to pick up the recycling pace.”

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ Waste Management Division has completed a solid waste database, which is now providing data on waste generation and waste management in the state. Under an EPA grant, the DES and a computer contractor developed the multi-user database capable of tracking both baseline and operational information on N.H. solid waste facilities. The database will be used to recalculate statewide residential and commercial waste generation figures, allowing officials to plan for future waste disposal capacity on a statewide and regional level.