Recycle-full-cycle in Philadelphia Nerd Nite Philadelphia Presented By: Phil Bresee, City of Philadelphia Recycling Director September 18 th , 2013
Transcript
Recycle-full-cycle in Philadelphia Nerd Nite Philadelphia
Presented By: Phil Bresee, City of Philadelphia Recycling Director
September 18th, 2013
Where Does our Garbage Go (U.S.)? Solid waste, or MSW = Typical
discards from households & businesses; does not include mining
wastes, industrial wastes, etc. U.S. generated 250 million tons in
2011 according to U.S. EPA (~400 million counting construction
& demolition debris). MSW generation tracks closely with
economic trends and GDP. Solid Waste Management in the U.S. 2011
(in tons and percentages) WTE 29,000,000 12% Recycled 87,000,000
34% Landfilled 134,000,000 54% Sources: US EPA
Where Does our Garbage Go (Philadelphia)? 2.7 million tons + of
solid waste generated in 2012. Residential = 25%
Commercial/Institutional = 75% ~50% of all (residential +
commercial) solid waste recycled in 2012. Landfilled 724,010 27%
Recycled 1,364,255 50% WTE 640,743 23%
Solid Waste Management Trends in Philadelphia Philadelphia MSW
2007-2012 3,500,000 3,000,000 Tons Per Year 2,500,000 2,000,000
1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 - 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Recycled & Composted 1,221,029 1,025,394 1,175,842 1,493,955
1,396,987 1,364,255 Disposed 1,964,247 1,771,033 1,495,412
1,437,419 1,443,037 1,351,800
How Should We Manage our Solid Waste? Source Reduction Reuse
Recycling Least Preferred Disposal w/energy recovery Disposal Most
Preferred US EPA developed solid waste management hierarchy in late
1980s. Source, or waste reduction means minimizing or not creating
waste in the first place. Recycling is preferred way to manage
materials.
Environmental Benefits of Recycling Greenhouse gases (GHG) are
emitted during product life-cycles, which include extraction,
manufacturing, usage, & disposal. Recycling & waste
reduction are effective tools for reducing GHG emissions from: Raw
materials extraction Energy consumption during manufacturing
Reducing methane emissions from landfills Graphic courtesy of US
EPA
Link Between Solid Waste & GHG Gas Emissions Infrastruct
ure 1% Prov. of Goods 29% Other Transport 9% Local Transport 15%
Building HVAC & Lighting 25% Calculation sources: U.S. EPA 42%
of GHG for stuff Prov. of Food 13% Appliances /Devices 8%
Traditional sectorbased calculations understate impact of waste.
Systems-based, as shown, takes purpose of GHG emissions into
consideration.
Economic Benefits of Recycling About 2% of $12.36 trillion U.S.
GDP in 2007 Labor intensive & creates jobs at 10/1 ratio vs.
disposal. Multiplier impact with economic activity created at each
stage. 2008 five-state (PA, NY, MA, ME, DE) economic study: 11,738
recycling or recycling-reliant establishments (3,803 in PA)
Workforce of 100,500; payroll of $4.2 billion (52,316 & $2.1
billion in PA) $35 billion in gross receipts ($20.5 billion in
PA)
Not Recycling = Throwing Money Away Material Average Market
Tons Disposed in Value Per Ton U.S. (2012) = Disposed Income
Newspaper 2,766,400 $ 104 = $ 287,705,600 Cardboard 4,755,000 $ 132
= $ 627,660,000 PET Plastics 1,895,700 $ 600 = $ 1,137,420,000 HDPE
Plastics 3,311,000 $ 500 = $ 1,655,500,000 665,000 $ 1,200 = $
Aluminum Cans 798,000,000
Key Recycling Requirements & Policy Goals PA Act 101
(1988): Mandatory recycling for municipalities with more than 5,000
persons. Includes commercial recycling requirements. Established
35% recycling goal. City ordinance requirements (10-700) includes
commercial recycling (1994). Greenworks goals including 25%
residential diversion rate and 70% landfill diversion rate.
Recycling in Philadelphia: Vintage 1990s to mid 2000s Program
much-maligned Funding support & staffing issues. Recycling
coordinator turnover. Every-other week pickup, limited materials.
Less than 40,000 tons per year from curbside program. Negative
perceptions: Too much trouble Unclear what was recyclable Fines
most effective motivator 10 Popular 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 Unpopular
-10
Recycling Revitalization Milestones in Philadelphia Tons
per-year of Residential Recyclables 2003-2012 140,000 Cartons added
City-wide singlestream 120,000 100,000 #3-7 plastics Citywide
single-stream 80,000 Mayor Nutter elected Recyclebank goes citywide
Plastics & OCC 60,000 Weekly pickup 40,000 Recyclebank pilot
20,000 Single-stream phase-in 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013
Curbside Recycling Program One of the 1st curbside recycling
programs in U.S. (c. 1986). 525,000 households serviced by Streets
Dept. 120,000+ tons for 2012; ~460 lbs. per HH annual yield.
Recyclables accepted include: Mixed paper & cardboard Metal
food & beverage cans Plastics #1-7 Glass bottles and jars
Aseptic cartons Seasonal yard waste collection Fiscal benefits to
city (FY 2013): $3.2 million in revenues $7 million in avoided
disposal fees Photo courtesy of Peter Tobia
Recycling Rewards Program Philadelphia original Recyclebank
pilot (2006). Program became City-wide 2010. ~190,000 households
have signed up for the program. Outreach, events, and overall
program visibility are key elements: 2012 summer sweepstakes
Recycling bin distribution events America Recycles Day Green
Schools Project U.S. Conference of Mayors Award
Where do Recyclables Go? Recyclables delivered to Materials
Recovery Facility (a.k.a. MRF, pronounced murph). Recyclables
processed using screens, trommels, optical sorting, eddy currents,
etc. Speed & angles of processing lines calibrated. FY 2013
fiscal benefits = $30 per ton revenue vs. paying $58.11 per ton to
dispose of trash. Photos courtesy of Resource Recycling Magazine
and Waste Management, Inc.
Comparative Curbside Recycling Rates (metals, plastics, glass,
and paper only)* Austin Philadelphia Boston Atlanta, GA Minneapolis
San Diego New York Dallas Baltimore San Antonio Denver Phoenix Fort
Worth Miami-Dade County Washington, DC Chicago 0.0% 5.0% 10.0%
15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% *Sources are varied and include city
performance measure reports, departmental program reports, or
operating budget documents from 2012 or 2013.
Other Initiatives & Programs Public space recycling
opportunities (920 Big-Belly sites). Recycling drop-off centers at
sanitation yards accept other materials: Electronics Household
Hazardous Waste Styrofoam Insinkerator food waste project Public
event recycling: 87% recycling/composting rate at 2012 Philadelphia
Marathon
Commercial & Institutional Recycling Graphic courtesy of
Keep America Beautiful Commercial & institutional MSW stream =
2 million tons (served by private haulers). Recycling mandated
since 1994. 50% + commercial recycling rate. Small & medium
sized businesses need more tools to help ensure compliance and
achieve cost efficiencies. Paradigm shift needed in way commercial
solid waste services are provided (allow for rightsizing).
Considerable private/institutional innovation underway: C&D
recycling Organics & food waste recycling
Future Recycling Initiatives & Challenges Waste stream is
changing with less paper, more plastic, less glass, etc. City needs
to consider additional materials to push residential diversion
rates higher: 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Household
metals e.g. pots, pans, etc.? Additional plastics? Textiles?
Organics? 2012 2015 2025 2030 Residential Recycling % Commercial
& Institutional Recycling % Diversion from Landfill % Increase
use of drop-off center network. Examine options to increase
recycling in multifamily communities.
Future Recycling Initiatives & Challenges Streets Dept.
Allied Agencies (MOS, PWD) State & National (PROP, US Recycling
Conf.) SWRAC Recycling & Waste Reduction Goals Environmental
Organizations Civic & Neighbors Assoc. Regulated Businesses
Business organizations (Corridors, Chamber, etc.) Solid Waste
Management Plan rewrite. Explore partnerships with allied agencies,
school district. Continue to leverage and build public-private
partnerships. Expand commercial recycling support. Increase public
space recycling. Recycling program rebrand to link all
opportunities.
Conclusions Recycling is a demonstrated environmental
protection success story with environmental and economic benefits.
Is a low-hanging fruit for cities and counties to use to help
reduce their carbon footprints. Recycling allows for hands-on and
visible opportunity for citizens and businesses to help their
environment. Recycling can be a gateway to other positive
environmental behaviors.