NRC Congress: Getting Down to Business

The commercial sector differs widely from the residential and therefore requires different strategies to get recycling programs going, according to Lisa Skumatz, SERA Inc., Superior, Colo., who addressed attendees of a panel discussion called “Jump Start Business Recycling in Your Community,” at the NRC Congress & Expo held in Denver.

According to Skumatz, the commercial waste stream makes up somewhere between 40 and 60 percent of the total waste stream. The wide variation between the industrial businesses that generate the material makes collection different from approaching residential collection. Businesses vary in size, materials produced and priorities, she said. However, the variation in the sector is not necessarily always a negative aspect. Variation increases flexibility and decreases risk by involving many players, Skumatz said. “One group isn’t doing all the work,” she said, so a recycling program doesn’t have to hinge on the participation of one entity.

Businesses name many barriers to starting a recycling program, including cost, not having available space, lacking management interest or not having a hauler. Skumatz said knowing the sector helps in overcoming these barriers on a case-by-case basis. Questions to ask including: “Is solid waste a large portion of their operating budget?” and “Do they have staff devoted to the management of solid waste?” “Know the sector,” said Skumatz.

Different strategies appeal to different kinds of businesses. Skumatz outlined several by category, including providing builder incentives, such as allowing a contractor to build a floor higher if he meets recycling requirements, in the case of C&D. She also suggested conducting audits and including recycling requirements in lease agreements to help encourage programs with commercial generators.

Matthew Todd of the North Carolina Division of Pollution Control discussed getting cleaning crews involved with office recycling to create stronger programs. He discussed Partnership to Recycling (P2R) and its pilot program in Meckenburg County, N.C. The first phase of the initiative is further engaging cleaning staff by providing additional training and information about recycling. In the pilot program, additional training was provided in quarterly or monthly sessions, which only took 10 or 15 minutes, Todd said. Time efficiency is a key element in getting cleaning staff to participate, he added. “The key is not to make it a burden on them,” he said. The program also provided procedure sheets to the staff, which were two sided and offered information on recycling in English and Spanish. The project’s second phase is getting cleaning professionals organizations, like the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) involved, according to Todd.

At the session, Raj Lathigara from the city of San Jose also demonstrated a Web-based reporting tool designed to help franchise managers gather and report data from their contracted haulers. 

The NRC Annual Congress & Expo was help Sept. 16-19 in Denver. More information is available at www.nrc-recycle.org.