Municipal Recycling

CALIFORNIA COMPANY GOES SINGLE STREAM

Pacific Rim Recycling, a Benicia, Calif., recycling company, has opened a new processing facility for recyclables from municipal single-stream collections. The new facility began operating March 1.

"We have built a state-of-the-art, single-stream processing facility with new technology that separates materials with screens and magnets," says Steven Moore, CEO of Pacific Rim Recycling. "This simplified process will help us become more efficient."

According to published reports, the facility cost $2 million. It is capable of processing 30,000 tons of recyclables per year at a rate of 15 tons per hour, which is a significant increase from the approximately two tons of recyclables the company was processing prior to the installation of the single-stream system.

The Pacific Rim Recycling plant in Benicia serves the Central Contra Costa County residential recycling stream.

To accommodate the change in processing, hauler Valley Waste Management began modifying its recycling carts to allow for the commingling of recyclables. Previously, the collection carts separated fibrous material from containers and other acceptable recyclables. Valley Waste Management’s plans called for having the new commingled collection carts to Central Contra County residents by the end of April.

RECYCLING IN PA. TOPS 4 MILLION TONS

According to reports filed by Pennsylvania counties, residents of the state recycled 4.45 million tons of generated material in 2003. Aside from the environmental gains of diverting waste from landfills and waste-to-energy centers, the economic benefits of recycling are estimated at more than $68 million, according to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

"Families and businesses, churches and schools are sending millions of tons of recyclables to manufacturers to generate new products rather than sending materials to landfills or burning them," DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty said during a tour of Blue Mountain Recycling. "Because of the commitment made by Pennsylvanians, our recycling and reuse industry leads the nation in creating jobs and in sales."

Blue Mountain Recycling was founded in 1999 as a material recovery facility in Philadelphia. Blue Mountain, with three operating centers and more than 80 employees, has invested millions of dollars to provide the technology required to execute a single-stream recycling program.

The DEP reports that Pennsylvania’s recycling and reuse industry includes more than 3,200 establishments with total annual sales of $18.4 billion. The industry employs more than 81,000 people and has an annual payroll of $2.9 billion. Employment, payroll and sales numbers are greater than any other Northeast state and are the second highest in the nation, according to the DEP.

In addition, Pennsylvania’s recycling and reuse industry has an indirect effect on the economy estimated at $1.8 billion and contributes $305 million each year to the tax base, the DEP reports.

Through recycling, Pennsylvania also has reduced greenhouse gas emissions, consumption of energy and natural resources and pollution.

ILLINOIS LT. GOV. PUSHES FOR BOTTLE BILL

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An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn has launched a drive to enact a bottle bill in Illinois.

Under Quinn’s I-CAN plan, a 5-cent deposit would be placed on every beverage container sold in Illinois, including those made of glass, plastic, aluminum or other metals. Beverage containers are targeted because they are often consumed away from home and constitute at least 40 percent of all Illinois litter, according to Quinn’s office. In 2002, 8 billion beverage containers were sold in Illinois.

Under the proposed I-CAN program, consumers would pay 5 cents for each container purchased to the retail dealer, who would pass the 5 cents along to the distributor, who then would deposit it (along with a 2 cent redemption fee) to a new environmental state fund. The state then would reimburse the redemption center 7 cents, which then would give the consumer back 5 cents.

Unclaimed deposits in the state account would be earmarked for environmental programs in Illinois and a portion would be shared with municipal environmental programs in the state.

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June 2005
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