News Watch

SURVEY SAYS PEOPLE WANT RECYCLING CONVENIENCE

A recent survey by The Plastic Bag Association, Pittsburgh, reveals that when curbside recycling for a material is not available, 88 percent of the survey respondents say they choose not to recycle these items on their own. Survey respondents were selected from a database callers to the Plastic Bag Information Clearinghouse’s toll-free hotline which provides information to consumers about plastic bags and the environment. The hotline number is (800) 438-5856; or visit PBA’s Internet site at http://www.plasticbag.com .

CHICAGO EXPANDS BLUE BAG PROGRAM

Chicago’s commingled co-collection Blue Bag Recycling program is expanding. The program now accepts yard waste in blue bags instead of the previously-required paper bags. The yard waste will be removed from the bags at Chicago’s new sorting plants and made into compost. It is still unlawful for Chicagoans to place unbagged yard waste directly into their black garbage carts.

"We have now processed almost 5.5 million bags, so it’s time to expand the program," says Henry Henderson, environment commissioner for Chicago.

The program has set a landfill diversion rate of 10 percent after the first year of operation, and already, at the halfway point, diversion rates are above the 8 percent mark.

The city uses four specially designed material recovery facilities to process incoming waste and recyclables from the program. Since the Blue Bag Recycling program’s inception, critics have argued that it is too costly and that the processed recyclables are of an inferior quality. However, program administrators point to a dramatic increase in recyclables collected when compared to past programs, and insist that the recyclables are not contaminated from the co-collection and processing with mixed waste.

SHREVEPORT, BFI MAKE MRF AGREEMENT

Shreveport, La., has approved several improvements to its recycling program. These include the development of a household hazardous waste collection program and a new material recovery facility to be built by Browning-Ferris Industries, Houston. The MRF will be built at a local recycling center instead of a BFI-operated landfill, as previously planned. The site was moved to make the facility more convenient to Shreveport residents and businesses.

Also in the agreement, BFI will give the city four reconditioned garbage trucks; two reconditioned mobile trailers and a pull truck; $25,000 per year for five years to sponsor a household hazardous waste collection program for unused paints, pesticides and other home chemicals; and $12,000 toward environmental education displays and a Recycling Education Center overlooking the MRF. BFI is also reducing its proposed annual fee for recycling services.

R.C. MILLER WINS COMMUNITY AWARDS

R.C. Miller, president of R.C. Miller Refuse Service Inc., Canton, Ohio, has recently won several awards for his efforts in recycling education and community service. Miller began an adopt-a-school program with a neighboring elementary school, in which employees volunteered to paint the entire interior of the building; developed a community mascot to educate people about recycling; and assisted the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity by donating construction and demolition debris removal. As a result, Miller was presented with Habitat for Humanity’s Golden Hammer Award and the Canton School Administrator’s Association’s Citizen/Educator of the Year Award.

In addition, the Environmental Industry Associations, Washington, awarded R.C. Miller the Distinguished Service Award during Waste Expo last May. The EIA recognizes individuals who have performed unusual service to the association or industry and who display integrity and professionalism.

RECYCLING PROGRAM GETS BOOST IN SACRAMENTO

Plastic bottle recycling in Sacramento, Calif., is getting a boost from city and county officials in partnership with The American Plastics Council, Washington. The new effort – titled "Good...Better...Best!" – is being made because the residents of the city are mainly putting out only plastic milk jugs for recycling, and not other types of plastic bottles.

"More than 90 percent of all plastic bottles are accepted by our curbside recycling program, but we’re getting mostly milk jugs," says Dan Regan, Sacramento County’s recycling coordinator. The new campaign also includes APC’s "Check the Neck" reference, which tells customers to recycle plastic bottles with narrow necks such as shampoo, salad dressing and ketchup bottles.

MINNESOTA’S PACKAGING REDUCTION EFFORT FALLS

In 1992, Minnesota set a goal to reduce packaging discards by 25 percent; however, since then, per-capita packaging discards have only declined 4.3 percent. According to officials, some of the reasons why the goal has not been met include: not identifying specific materials for packaging; the voluntary nature of the program; a shift to lighter materials, the elimination of redundant packaging and an expanded use of concentrates and refillable containers; changing demographic patterns; low disposal fees and out-of-state movement of municipal solid waste; and increased economic growth which has resulted in greater discards and consumption overall. A detailed overview of Minnesota’s effort can be obtained by calling (800) 657-3843.

DEMANUFACTURING PLANT TO OPEN IN NEW JERSEY

A facility that will disassemble used electronic equipment, household appliances and other goods is scheduled to be built somewhere in Union County, N.J. in the near-term future, according to the Union County Utilities Authority. Under a contract that was recently signed with Electronic Processing Associates Inc., Lowell, Mass., several material receiving locations will be set up throughout the region and participating municipalities, and then the used goods will be forwarded to the central EPA processing facility. Collection and transportation costs incurred by the municipalities will be covered by a $200,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.