Recovery Rates. A Better Way to Measure Recycling Performance At Your Transfer Station. Presented By: Ted Siegler

Transcription

1 Recovery Rates 1 A Better Way to Measure Recycling Performance At Your Transfer Station Presented By: Ted Siegler DSM Environmental Services, Inc. Windsor, VT

2 2 Recycling Rates EPA set the standard for measuring recycling in 1997 when it published Measuring Recycling, A Guide for State and Local Governments The intent of the Guide was to standardize measurement across programs so that states and municipalities could compare programs and measure progress over time Unfortunately recycling rates have been plagued by a number of variables making comparison across programs challenging What materials are included in the numerator? What materials are included in denominator? Is California really that much better than the New England states or does the inclusion of ground C&D and sludge in the numerator and denominator make a big difference? DSM Environmental Services, Inc. Windsor, VT

3 3 The Changing Ton * More recently recycling rates have been either falling or flat despite the best efforts of states and many municipalities, in large part because of the changing ton Newspapers and other types of paper are shrinking dramatically Glass, the other heavyweight is being replaced by light weight plastic And plastics continue to be light-weighted as packaging technologies improve As a result, recycling rates have become an increasingly problematic tool for measuring success over time Municipalities and states are not necessarily doing a worse job Instead we are increasingly handling higher volumes of lower weight materials * Thanks to Chaz Miller and Dylan De Thomas DSM Environmental Services, Inc. Windsor, VT

4 4 Recovery Rates An Alternative Definition of Recovery Rate Can be calculated for a single recyclable material, or for all recyclable materials accepted in a program Primarily used to assess the performance of residential programs, but can be used to evaluate commercial or transfer based recycling programs as well For a single material the quantity of newspaper delivered to the Transfer Station for recycling divided by the quantity of newspaper delivered for recycling plus the quantity of newspaper thrown away with the trash Summing the recovery rate for each recyclable material accepted at the Transfer Station/Recycling Drop-Off results in an overall recovery rate for all recyclable materials at that Transfer Station/Recycling Drop-Off. DSM Environmental Services, Inc. Windsor, VT

5 5 Benefits of Recovery Rate Analysis Is independent of the numerator and denominator of recycling rates Simply measures what percent of the materials you are asking residents to recycle are being recycled as opposed to being thrown away Can be significantly less costly than a waste characterization study You are only sorting what you are targeting in your programs Can be carried out by transfer station staff, by other municipal employees, or contract employees Establishes a baseline to measure how well users of the transfer station are doing, and where improvements can be made, or communications improved Identifies contamination issues that can be addressed in the future DSM Environmental Services, Inc. Windsor, VT

6 Two Recent Transfer Station Recovery Rate Sorts Sherborn and Barnstable, Massachusetts

7 Comparison of Recovery Rates Materials Sherborn Barnstable Steel Cans 85.7% 43% Steel Expanded 100.0% 0% AL Deposit 81.0% 72% AL Expanded 100.0% 14% AL Other 11.8% 50% PET Deposit 84.4% 45% PET Expanded 79.3% 30% PET food/other 67.5% 30% PET Cups 48.0% 29% PET Thermoform 83.6% 38% HDPE Bottles 80.2% 49% HDPE Expanded 100.0% 100% Plastic Tubs/Lids 72.8% 26% Glass Deposit 95.8% 97% Glass Expanded 90.3% 100% All Other Glass Bottles 97.0% 41% Mixed Paper Recyclables 78.4% 42% Total: 81.9% 44%

8 Logistics Choose a date Go over sorting location logistics Day Of: Choose sample size Determine nth vehicle Collect samples Store and sort Record data Analyze Report

9 Choose a Date We are looking for days that are average without the impact of major holidays Don t pick a date from mid-december to mid-january Avoid weeks with a major holiday in them If there is a large seasonal population make a decision as to whether you want to sort during this period If you are sorting outside, cancel if it is raining or there is a strong wind Rain soaks the paper distorting the weights Wind can blow light materials away during sorting and storage of the sorted material

10 Sorting Location If at all possible sort under cover If not, pick a location that you can direct traffic to, but that keeps the sorters safe You need space to store incoming material Sorting space Storage of sorted materials

11 Sample Size and Selection Our experience is that a sample size ranging from 40 to 50 households is sufficient An experienced sorting crew of four can sort a ton of waste and recyclables in roughly 4 to 6 hours Since the behavior of the population using the transfer station might change over the course of the day (early morning users versus afternoon users), try to select a sample that is representative of all users Use the nth vehicle selection criteria to select sample How many vehicles use the facility on a given day divided by sample size For example, 250 vehicles enter facility and desired sample size is 50, then take every 5 th vehicle

12 Recalcitrant Participants The goal should be to stick to the nth vehicle selection to the extent possible This is because people who don t recycle and those who do may behave differently, skewing sample (self selecting) Assure all selected participants that the data will be aggregated and no information on the selected participant will be kept Tell everyone that the goal is a facility wide evaluation, not an evaluation of their behavior Make it easier to participate then to not participate Offer to unload their car or truck Make sure they don t have to wait in a line Remember that there is no assurance of privacy for trash There have been Supreme Court rulings making it clear that when you set out your trash it is public property But ultimately, if someone is adamant about not participating move on to the next available car or truck (nth plus 1)

13 Storage of Sample Very important that you keep an accurate sample count If you get overwhelmed by samples stop taking samples until you have the situation under control then start again You can not mix the refuse and recycling samples! Make sure the piles are clearly separated Sort all of one and record data, then sort all of the other and record data Since you are taking samples over the course of the day you can do it in batches start sorting either refuse or recyclables as soon as you start getting a sample and store the other half (either recyclables or trash) When that stored pile gets large enough stop sorting the first material, record the data and start on the second material Ultimately you should end up with two data sheets one recording all weights of material from trash and one recording all weights of material from recyclables

14 Material Categories Ideally you will sort into all the categories of material that you ask your residents to keep separate Typical categories OCC UNP Mixed Paper PET (might include thermoforms clamshells) HDPE 3-7 Plastics Aluminum (beverage and food might be separated) Steel Cans Glass (beverage and food might be separated) Trash

15 C&D and Bulky Wastes Neither C&D materials or Bulky Wastes can be sorted very well As such recovery rate sorting is typically reserved for typical residential packaging and paper There is a different set of procedures for evaluating C&D and Bulky Wastes using visual estimation techniques Save for another session!

16 Equipment Sorting table Can be as simple as a plywood sheet on two saw horses Containers to hold the sorted material 32 gallon plastic trash cans and inexpensive laundry baskets are fine Containers to store material collected but not yet sorted We typically use 32 gallon trash cans for loose material A place to dump sorted waste A dumpster? Trash cans Bucket of a front loader Packer truck

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20 Data Recording Equipment Digital Scale You can purchase scales at Staples for less than $100 Make sure you buy one that goes down to 0.2 pounds for light materials Clipboard with categories and room to record gross and tare weights Magic markers to record the empty (tare) weight of each container you are going to use to sort into Each time you weigh a container of sorted material make sure you record the tare weight! Designate a single person to record all data and don t dump anything out until that person has agreed that it can be dumped

21 Safety Equipment Safety vests Boots Coveralls Hats Glasses Leather work gloves (extra gloves are a good idea) Push material apart with the back of your gloved hand First aid kit

22 Protection of Data No one likes sorting waste Don t make the mistake of losing the data Make duplicate copies of the field data sheets as soon as possible after finishing the sort Scan the data to create an electronic version

23 Entering Data Simple Excel Spreadsheet Recyclables - Monday, July 21 Categories Tare NET WT Percent Gross Sum Gross Weights Steel Cans % AL Deposit % 3 3 AL Expanded % Al Other PET Deposit % PET Exanded %

24 Analysis Recovery Rate, Monday, July 21, Worcester Categories Recycling Trash Total Rec Rate (lbs) (lbs) (lbs) (%) Steel Cans % AL Deposit % AL Expanded % AL Other % PET Deposit % PET Exanded % PET food/other % PET Cups % HDPE Bottles % HDPE Expanded % Plastic Tubs/Lids % Glass Deposit % Glass Expanded % All Other Glass Bottles % Mixed Paper Recyclables % Total %

25 What Can Be Considered a Good Recovery Rate? Municipality/Program Measured Recovery Rate Measured Recycling Rate Maximum Achievable Rate Worcester High Income 81% 38% 47% Medium Income 82% 28% 35% Low Income 76% 24% 32% Boston Beacon Hill 41% 21% 46% Back Bay 50% 33% 50% South End 58% 34% 47% Charlestown 67% 40% 50% Subscription Suburban 83% 32% 36% Rural 61% 28% 42% Drop-Off Sherborn 82% 40% 48% Barnstable 44% 21% 37%

26 Using Recovery Rate Data to Calculate Recycling Rates Simple add in the trash that you separated and you have the recycling rate Recyclables / Recyclables + Trash Maximum achievable recycling rate Recyclables set out for recycling + recyclables in trash / all recyclables and trash

27 Conclusions Recovery rate sorting is not rocket science But it does require getting your hands dirty One day of recovery rate sampling can tell you a lot about how well you are doing Are you over 60 percent recovery? What materials are the lowest/highest How much trash is in the recyclables? What is the real recycling rate? What is the maximum achievable recycling rate?

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