Lake County Recycling Survey February 2018 Highlights
Credits This survey report was conducted and prepared by the 2017-2018 Lake County Minnesota GreenCorps Member. Minnesota GreenCorps is an AmeriCorps program administered by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Thank you to those who served as stations for collecting surveys Two Harbors Public Library Silver Bay Public Library Ely Public Library Two Harbors City Hall Silver Bay City Hall Clair Nelson Community Center Beaver Bay Community Center Town of Silver Creek Two Harbors Community Radio Two Harbors SuperOne Thank you to others who helped get the word out about the recycling survey Silver Bay and Two Harbors Public Libraries for each hosting a recycling conversation event KTwH 99.5 Two Harbors Community Radio for a community announcement Two Harbors Chamber of Commerce and Ely Chamber of Commerce County residents who participated in the survey Contents Representation.. 4 Current Recycling Participation..... 5 Barriers to Participation..... 7 Increasing Opportunities for Recycling... 8 Composting.. 9 Recycling Center, Landfill, and Transfer Station... 10 Conclusions.... 11 2
Background Minnesota is a leader in Recycling Rate in Lake County recycling and waste reduction, and the state is currently recycling about 45% of its waste. But there is potential for this number to be even higher. The state has ambitions to continue to increase recycling rates. In 2013, a statewide study found that over 75% of what we throw away can be recycled or 2016 Goal 2025 composted. The goal recycling rate for greater Minnesota set by the state legislature is recycling of 35% of all waste by 2030. Currently, Lake County stands at a 21% recycling rate and aims to achieve this 35% by 2025. This survey evaluates what information, education, and initiatives will best support this goal. This evaluation gets at the very basic questions of what is getting recycled, how people are motivated, barriers for recycling, and thoughts on composting. The county has plans to ramp up recycling efforts and will use the results of this survey as a launching point. Key questions driving this survey: How much, and what, are residents currently recycling? What are the main barriers and motivations to recycling? What are recycling priorities? Are residents composting and/or interested in composting? 3
Results REPRESENTATION 367 Lake County residents responded to the survey This is about 3.4% of the population Areas grouped for survey analysis and number of responses from each area Crystal Bay/ Stony River/UT #1 Fall Lake Two Harbors The percent of responses from each area is nearly equal to the portion of the county population the area makes up Outer ring: percent of survey Silver Creek/ UT #2 Beaver Bay/ Beaver Bay Township Silver Bay Inner ring: percent of county population this area makes up 4
CURRENT RECYCLING PARTICIPATION How we dispose of garbage and recycling Most county residents have garbage hauled for them: 83% of respondents said they have their garbage hauled 17% do not have their garbage hauled Reasons for NOT having garbage hauled include: Cost of service, 44% Outside of haulers service areas, 36% Do it myself, 13% Not a full-time resident, 11% I don t make much garbage, 7% Of those who have garbage picked up, many also recycle: 47% also have their recycling picked up 42% haul their own recycling 11% do not recycle Reasons for NOT having recycling picked up include: I can take my recycling to a drop-off site for free, 33.7% I didn t know I could recycle at the curb, 44.1% I don t have curbside recycling service, 25% It costs extra to recycle, 8% Pickup is not often enough, 18.4% Not enough waste to make separating worth it, 0.6% satisfied dissatisfied Satisfaction with recycling pickup Most people are satisfied with how often their recycling is picked up. Greatest Satisfaction is with once a week or every other week pickup and greatest dissatisfaction is with once a month pickup 5
CURRENT RECYCLING PARTICIPATION What is getting recycled Reported recycling rates for common recyclable items Awareness of existing opportunities to recycle Only about half of those who have their garbage hauled currently are aware that their recycling can be picked up at least once a month, no extra charge, with their garbage service Awareness of recycling facilities in Lake County Recycling Center in Two Harbors Household Hazardous Waste Facility in Two Harbors Transfer Station in Fall Lake (awareness among Fall Lake residents) 6
BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION Questions and confusions The most confusion is about: Which plastics are acceptable Where to dispose of electronics and appliances What counts as household hazardous waste Motivations Top factors that would motivate residents to recycle more include:* 30% More frequent pick up of recycling 39% Recycling bins provided for your home 34% Having clear instructions regarding how, what, and when to recycle 16% More types of items accepted 9% Single sort option/separating, sorting takes up space 5% Closer drop off location 4% Want curbside service option/knowledge of that option 21% I am satisfied and/or not interested in trying to recycle more *respondents allowed to select more than one response 7
INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECYCLING Community collection days Over 80% of all respondents were interested in some sort of community collection day for the following items: 83.7% Household Hazardous Waste 89.4% Electronic waste 86.9% Appliances and other bulky items A collection day is when a truck or trailer is stationed in an area for a day or two and collects a particular type of waste that requires special handling. Three options were provided for which items residents might like to see a collection day. Bins in public spaces Top places respondents would like to see more recycling bins: 50.4% Gas stations 49% Community events/large events 42% Public walkways, sidewalks, and streets 45.1% Parks and athletic fields/centers 34.6% Stores and shopping centers 21.5% State Parks 12.8% Restaurants 4.4% More recycling bins are unnecessary 8
COMPOSTING Compost bin ownership among survey respondents 46% Have a compost bin (indoor and/or outdoor) 54% Do not have a compost bin Support for potential compost initiatives Increasing education and promotion of backyard composting Implementing drop-off sites (similar to yard waste sites) for food waste Collecting food waste curbside in a separate bag or bin Requiring schools, hotels, restaurants.. to separate food waste for compost 9
RECYCLING CENTER AND TRANSFER STATION Comments about recycling and waste facilities included: Want facilities open more days or longer hours Why can t facilities be open more often? Want to know what items facilities accept Want facilities to accept more types of items, especially #3-#7 plastics Why doesn t the recycling center accept all plastics? Like supporting DAC through recycling center Need better labelling at facilities Negative or inconvenient experience at recycling center 10
RECYCLING REALITY CHECKS Answers to some of your questions FACILITY HOURS Hours are limited at the recycling center and transfer station due to both funds and availability of the DAC, who staff the recycling center. Household Hazardous Waste is not open year-round because the current building is not weather proof. CLEAN RECYCLING IS IMPORTANT It is important to avoid contamination of recyclables. This means not only making sure that our recycling is relatively clean, but that recycling ends up in the right bin and that items that cannot be recycled do not get recycled. Recyclables do not need to be completely clean, just emptied and quickly rinsed. GLASS While glass is a high-quality packaging material that can be recycled over and over again, it is a difficult material to recycle mostly because it is heavy and costly to transport. There are also currently few markets for glass. This means recycling glass is not cost-effective for haulers and recycling facilities. Some communities across the U.S. have even discontinued collecting glass for recycling altogether. NOT IN THE LANDFILL Haulers are not and should not be throwing away your recycling. Haulers often take separate routes with the same or a different truck to pick up recycling and garbage. This may be why it looks like they do not recycle. To make sure your recycling ends up in the right place, it is important to communicate with your hauler how they want you to set out your recycling and their pick-up days before you begin recycling. There is also concern that recycling is ultimately ending up in a landfill. Your recycling is not ending up in a landfill at least in Minnesota. Recently, China, who takes much of U.S. recycling, placed a high standard on the quality of recycling they accept. Because of this, some recycling has begun ending up in landfills across the county. In Minnesota, however, recyclers are required by state statute to ask MPCA for permission before landfilling material collected for recycling. So far, that permission has not been granted. 11
RECYCLING REALITIES continued. AVOID WISH-CYCLING Although many materials we throw out could be recycled in some way, it may not be feasible to do so. This is because a material may not have a market or has high transportation costs. What is recyclable varies by region, it is important to take note of what is recyclable where you are and avoid wish-cycling, or recycling items we hope are recyclable. Wish-cycling is costly on the end of recyclers, who must sort, untangle, and ultimately pay for the disposal of these unwanted items. If you are unsure if something is recyclable, remember: When in doubt, leave it out PLASTIC Plastics other that those with resin codes #1 and #2 are difficult to recycle everywhere. There is currently not much of a market and a long distance to market for plastics #3-#7. While it will be ideal to recycle all plastics eventually, for now #3-#7 plastics need to be placed in the garbage. SEE FULL RECYCLING SURVEY REPORT ON THE LAKE COUNTY SOLID WASTE WEBPAGE www.co.lake.mn.us/departments/solid_waste 12