NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Sustainable NREL Waste Management and Pollution Prevention

Ellen Fortier

September 18, 2013

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Sustainability and Waste Diversion

NREL’s commitment to pollution prevention can be demonstrated by our strong efforts to divert waste from the landfill.

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Waste Diversion Program NREL recycling program began informally in the early 1980’s and was formalized in 2000.

• In 2008 we were diverting 49% of our waste from landfills • In FY 2012 we increased that diversion to 81% • 80% of all construction waste was diverted from landfills

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NREL Waste Diversion

Compost

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RecycledWaste

50% 19%

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FY2012 Waste Diversion

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An important NREL goal is pursuing “Near-Zero Materials Waste”. We are working to eliminate the laboratory’s waste stream by holistically coordinating and managing our“4Rs” program to heighten global campus awareness.

The Four R’s

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REDUCE, REDUCE, REDUCE

• Electronic communications and publications replace paper drafts.

• Multi-function copiers designed to copy, print, fax and scan documents on one machine. • Lock your print jobs and print

only once

NREL has ongoing activities designed to reduce material use which include:

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REUSE

NREL has established Reusable Office Supply Centers through-out the STM and NWTC campuses. Before buying new supplies, staff are asked to repurpose any office supplies needed for their office or work space. They are also encouraged to drop off any new or good-as-new items they are not using.

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RECYCLING

NREL has a recycling station in each building. Among other items, the common office waste materials include:

• Paper, phonebooks • plastics #1 thru #7

• aluminum cans • paper bags (unsoiled)

• glass • flattened corrugated cardboard (cardboard bin)

• cereal boxes • batteries (separate container)

• milk and juice paper cartons (waxed)

• Hanging file folder, file folder, post-it-notes

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Recycling for Employees NREL Offices/Programs

• Recycling stations are located at all DOE-owned buildings and leased facilities.

• Single-stream recyclables can be placed in large and small blue bins.

Recycling Rooms/Stations

Kitchen/Break Areas

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Each office/cubicle contains a large recycling bin with a small waste container.

• This emphasizes the importance of recycling materials before disposing of them in the trash.

Office/Cubicle Recycling

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Cardboard Recycling • There are designated bins for cardboard with

instructions to remove all packaging, break down boxes and flatten before putting them in the bins.

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Recycling Requiring Special Handling

• Scrap metal, wood pallets and other wood items are recycled. 30 yard roll-off bins are strategically placed for the wood and metal recycling on both campuses.

• All hardware, working or non-working is recycled. When equipment is replaced or retired, NREL follows DOE guidelines for transferring the equipment.

• Batteries, light bulbs, toner cartridges

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For Personal Recycling As a benefit to staff, NREL provides recycling bins on both

campuses for home recycling. Employees may bring select personal recycling items from home and deposit them at the outdoor recycling station on the south side of the parking garage and at the Wind Site.

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Waste Diversion – How Hard Can It Be?

Employee behavior is central to waste management and overall sustainable laboratory operations. Simplifying the waste management process and your outcomes will be favorable. • Color coding • Signage • Training

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Color Coding for Waste Materials

SIGNS

BLUE-RECYCLED

GREEN- COMPOST

RED-TRASH

WASTE BINS

BLUE

GREEN

GRAY

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Evolution of Recycling and Signage • Separated to Comingled Recycling

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Bigger and Better signs

WHAT IS IN NRELS SINGLE-STREAM RECYCLING? The following are recyclable! Place these in the blue bins! Nothing is separated!

Paper, newspaper, books, phonebooks Shredded Paper *

Cardboard (broken down) Paper microwave dishes without foil * Brown paper bags * Paper board – cereal boxes * Paper - wrapping paper * Paper Milk and Juice (wax coated) Plastics #1 through #7 Paper coffee cups (if marked) *

o Black Microwave dishes (rinse out) Newspapers * o Liquid detergent and other

cleaning bottles (rinse out) Paper Egg Cartons * File folders

o Condiment bottles (rinse out) o Milk jugs and orange juice jugs

Hanging file holders Post-It notes*

o Shampoo bottles and liquid soap dispensers (rinse out)

o Peanut butter jars (rinse out)

Notepads Aluminum and tin cans Aluminum foil (flattened)

o Yogurt containers (rinse out) o Plastic lids from paper coffee cups

Glass jars and bottles o Soda, Water and juice bottles

ANY ITEMS GOING INTO THE BLUE RECYCLING BINS SHOULD BE RINSED AND CLEANED.

What is Not Recyclable? NOT ALLOWED The following are NOT recyclable? Do NOT put them in the blue bin!

X Plastic Bags of any kind X Paper towels, Kleenex * X Plastic wrap, cellophane X Compostable cups *

X Styrofoam of any kind X Microwave dishes with foil X Packing Peanuts X Food Waste *

* These items are compostable

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Kitchen/Break areas and Conference Rooms

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Composting Signs

FOOD WASTE AND OTHER COMPOSTABLES What is Compostable? ALLOWED The following are compostable! Place them in this bin

Bones Paper towels

Cheese, yogurt Tissues Cooked food Napkins Fruit & salad trim Shredded paper Corn cobs and stalks Paper plates Egg shells Newspapers Tea bags Paper egg cartons Coffee grounds Shredded paper Coffee filters Compostable cups Wooden coffee stirs Compostable plates Old flowers and plants Compostable straws Drinks, milk, etc. Compostable forks, knifes, spoons Food oils, fat or butter Cardboard take home containers Noodles Wood (chopsticks, etc.) Potato or rice

What is Not Compostable? NOT ALLOWED* The following are NOT compostable? Do NOT put them in this bin!

X Plastic bags X Plastic forks, knifes, spoons X Plastic bottles X Styrofoam

X Plastic film (wrap) X Glass X Latex gloves X Metals X Plastic buckets X Aluminum foil

* Exception – Plastics that are biodegradable and made from Corn or Soy based materials. Plastic bags that are biodegradable will be identified on the bags.

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And more…

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Trash Disposal signs

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Composting Waste at NREL NREL began a Composting Waste Pilot Program in April 2010 which included staff participation from five buildings. In October 2010, the program was rolled out to the entire laboratory.

• During the six month pilot program 68,468 pounds of organic waste was collected.

• We are now composting an average of 58,400 pounds per month totaling over 700,878 pounds in FY2012. • Helping complete the cycle we received 30 yards of

premium garden compost every Earth Day from our outside composter for the employees.

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Composting Made Easy • All green composting containers are lined with

green biobags and are conveniently located in all common areas.

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• Kitchens, break room areas, and conference rooms have green 30” slim jims for food waste, coffee grounds/filters, paper towels, tissues, napkins, etc.

• Restrooms have containers for paper towels. • Signs explaining what materials are compostable are posted

on or above the containers. • The cans are emptied daily by the janitorial staff.

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Compostable Plates, Utensils and Cups

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Compostable cups, plates and utensils are used for all meetings and take out orders from our Café and Kiosk.

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Small Green Buckets

• For the employees convenience, Sustainable NREL will supply a small green bucket to be used at their work space.

• They are responsible for emptying and cleaning their bucket on a nightly basis or as needed.

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Removal of Compost Material

NREL’s janitorial service is responsible for: • Removing the compost material from

kitchens daily, relining the containers with biobags, and cleaning them as necessary.

• Take the full biobags to 65 gal totes located on the dock areas of each building where these are emptied weekly. We have a total of 70 -65 gal totes on both campuses.

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Recycling and Composting Trainings

• All new employees receive training on recycling and composting in their employee orientation.

• Emails are sent out quarterly to employees encouraging them to test their recycling and compost knowledge. This is available on our internal Sustainable NREL website.

NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

NREL Composting Waste Program Training

What you need to know to successfully compost at NREL!

Sustainable NRELFY2013

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Sustainable Acquisitions NREL has worked aggressively to implement new policies and programs that increase acquisition of sustainable products consistent with Executive Order 13514.

• Our Office Supply company has a green catalog for staff to purchase recycle content products.

• GSA PCard Purchasing – staff are encouraged to purchase environmental preferred products. This is tracked in our reporting system.

• In FY2011 – we initiated a “Green Janitorial” contract. All cleaning products are biobased and paper products are made with 100% recycled content.

Questions / Answers