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Volumne 19, No. 2
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digest listing.
Selected Articles:
Joining WasteWise Can Benefit You
BIRP Participates in Planning For America
Recycles Day
Buy Recycled Alliance Membership Is Growing
Hotels Work to Reduce Waste and Recycle
NAPCOR Changes Name, Mission, Address
The Rag Man Is Coming Back Into Vogue
Steel Recycling Institute Introduces Redesigned
Website
LRC Appoints Study Task Force on Container
Deposits for HR 371
Aluminum Can Recycling Climbs
Joing WasteWise Can Benefit You
WasteWise is a free, voluntary EPA program that allows partners
to design their own solid waste reduction programs, tailored
to their needs. WasteWise helps you achieve your waste reduction
goals by providing information and offering technical assistance.
To help spread the WasteWise message to more organizations,
EPA launched the WasteWise Endorser Program. Endorsers are
trade associations and other membership based organizations
that commit to recruiting member organizations to become
WasteWise partners and provide members with ongoing promotional
or technical information.
The National Soft Drink Association and corporate offices
of major soft drink companies already are members of WasteWise.
By joining, you commit to undertake a three year effort
to: REDUCE WASTE.
WasteWise partners examine their operating and purchasing
practices to identify cost effective opportunities for waste
reduction.
ESTABLISH WASTE REDUCTION GOALS. Within six months of joining,
WasteWise partners set three year goals for waste prevention,
recycling collection, and purchase or manufacture of recycled
products.
TRACK PROGRESS. Partners monitor their progress and annually
update EPA on their accomplishments.
The WasteWise Program has been highly effective to date.
WasteWise partners conserved nearly 453,000 tons of materials
through waste prevention activities in 1996 . . . a 30%
increase over 1995 figures. In addition, partners quadrupled
the reported amount of materials collected for recycling
to more than 4.8 million tons.
WasteWise partners also reaped significant cost savings.
In avoided disposal tipping fees alone, the amount of waste
reduced represents a potential savings of more than $178
million. WasteWise partners also helped create stronger
markets for recyclables by purchasing more than 4.3 million
tons of recycled content products in 1996.
Waste reduction makes good business sense because it can
save your organization money through reduced purchasing
and waste disposal costs. WasteWise provides free technical
assistance to help you develop, implement, and measure your
waste reduction activities.
WasteWise offers publicity to organizations that are successful
in reducing waste through EPA publications, case studies,
and national and regional events. These events also provide
networking opportunities for organizations to share waste
reduction ideas and success stories.
There are four basic steps in getting your WasteWise program
started.
- First obtain management support and involvement
- Second, establish a waste reduction team and select
a team leader.
- Third, set goals for your organization which may first
involve conducting a waste assessment. As part of this,
we suggest that you set up a measurement/tracking system
so that you can easily track progress toward your waste
reduction goals.
- Fourth, involve your entire organization in implementing
your goals by making an organization wide announcement.
A Goals identification Form is due six months after your
receive your New Partner Packet which will contain the form
and information to assist you in completing it. An Annual
reporting form describing your organization's progress in
achieving goals is due March 1st of each year.
HOW EPA CAN HELP YOU. EPA has a wealth of information that
will become available to you as a WasteWise Partner.
A toll free help line is available to communicate with
WasteWise partners and others interested in the program.
Each WasteWise partner is assigned a WasteWise representative
to help establish goals, assist in completing their Annual
Reporting Forms and provide technical assistance.
EPA publicizes the WasteWise program so that the public
understands the significance of organizations participation
in WasteWise. The WasteWise program receives coverage in
a wide range of business and trade publications, as well
as in EPA publications. EPA also has encouraged further
public recognition of the program by placing public service
announcements in such well known journals as Fortune, U.S.
News and World Report and Business Week.
On September 9, 1998, EPA will sponsor the first annual
WasteWise Awards Program to recognize the outstanding achievements
of WasteWise partners and endorsers.
EPA sponsors a national forum . . . regional forums . .
. and also recognizes the efforts of individual WasteWise
partners by featuring their waste reduction successes in
WasteWise presentations and publications, such as the Annual
Progress Reports, WasteWise Update and other EPA case studies.
Since 1994, the WasteWise program has distributed more
than 30,000 publications, including tip sheets, WasteWise
Updates and Bulletins, waste reduction guides, directories
and other WasteWise publications.
Once EPA approves your goals, you will receive the WasteWise
logo for internal and external use, with some restrictions.
In addition, WasteWise has developed a sample press release
and newsletter designed to assist you in announcing your
commitment to WasteWise.
You can reach WasteWise by calling 800-EPA-WISE (372-9473)
or FAX 703-308-8686 or by E-mail Tumarkin.Jeff@epamail.epa.gov.
You can write to WasteWise Program,(5306W) U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20460.
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BIRP Participates in Planning for America
Recycles Day
The first meeting of the America
Recycles Day Committee was held this month to discuss
ways and means to expand and improve the program for 1998.
A broad cross section of the business and government communities
were present at the first meeting including the Post Office,
Solid Waste Coordinators, Division of Solid Waste, Kentucky
Chamber of Commerce, Business Industry Recycling Program,
and others.
More details will be developed as the committee continues
to meet and work on program details for 1998. (Click
here to return to top.)
Buy Recycled Alliance Membership Is Growing
Since the Kentucky Buy Recycled Alliance was formed last
April, over 146 organizations have joined, including city
and county governments, boards of education, colleges and
universities, manufacturers, corporations, small businesses
and churches.
There has been a concerted effort by the soft drink bottlers,
beer wholesalers, and grocers to join and many of these
firms have become new members over the past several weeks.
(Click here to return
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Hotels Work to Reduce Waste and Recycle
When it comes to recycling, hotels have long considered
themselves different from other industries. A hotel's waste
stream is as diverse as it is enormous. Office paper, restaurant
food waste, amenity bottles, plastic and aluminum beverage
containers, countless cardboard boxes, heavy machinery and
guest room furnishings all find their way into a property's
dumpster.
Although the waste is diverse, the typical American hotel
generates a fairly consistent waste stream. The majority
is paper and food waste, with lesser amounts of metals,
plastic and glass. This profile is similar to the standard
municipal solid waste stream coming from residential communities,
largely because a hotel is much like a big house.
Variations in hotel waste composition can be attributed
to differences in the scope of operations and the hotel's
target market. For example, limited service hotels and motels
often do not offer an on site restaurant. This eliminates
most of the food waste that makes up a large portion of
a full service hotel's waste stream. Some hotels cater to
business travelers who leave office paper waste behind.
Other hotels cater to families on vacation who leave a
lot of container waste (take out boxes and bags, soft drink
bottles and cans). Still others cater to the convention
and trade show market which generates significant paperboard
and packaging waste.
Nearly half (46%) of a hotel's waste is made up of food
and organics'. Another 37% can be attributed to paper and
cardboard, while roughly 17% is composed of different container
wastes.
Haulers and recycling companies that have an idea of the
total volume of waste generated by a specific hotel property
can use these proportions to estimate the amount of material
that could be diverted for recycling.
Major chain operators like the Hyatt Regency, Marriott,
Holiday Inns, Ramada Inns, and many many independent operators
around the nation and in Kentucky have joined the reduce,
reuse, and recycle program.
Items that are recycled include food, soap, posterboard,
shelving, six pack rings, bottles and cans, and so on. Additionally,
many hotels have recovered linens from the trash heaps along
with silverware that has been accidentally thrown away.
In Kentucky as well as elsewhere, hotels are joining in
the green room movement to save on the use of detergents,
water and other environmentally sensitive materials.
Recycling is difficult in hotels because of the many layers
of personnel and the practices of guests. The haulers, recycling
processors, and the many different kinds of employees makes
source separation for recycling very difficult. Kentucky
is fortunate to have so many hotel properties participating
in the recycling movement. (Click
here to return to top.)
NAPCOR Changes Name, Mission, Address
NAPCOR, formerly the
National Association for Plastic Container Recovery, has
changed its name and mission to reflect its continuing emphasis
on PET plastic recycling and an expanded focus on additional
issues of the PET industry.
Keeping the familiar NAPCOR acronym, NAPCOR now stands
for the National Association for PET Container Resources.
The Association plans to be a broader "resource" for its
members regarding various PET issues, to include but extend
beyond "recovery."
The revised mission of the Association is "to promote PET
plastic recycling and the use of PET plastic." Noting the
growth and changes in the PET industry since NAPCOR's inception
in 1987, NAPCOR President Luke B. Schmidt reports, "NAPCOR
has successfully promoted PET recycling for more than 10
years.
The NAPCOR Board of Directors remains committed to activities
that promote and facilitate PET recycling. In addition,
the Board sees a role for NAPCOR in providing resources
for the overall PET industry." Schmidt suggests that because
of this broader mission, NAPCOR may now become more active
in activities beyond PET recycling, such as market and consumer
research, or promoting the benefits of PET packaging.
The name change and mission revision follows a recent expansion
of NAPCOR membership to include suppliers to the PET industry.
NAPCOR membership previously included only PET resin manufacturers
and PET bottle makers. With the addition of 10 new members
in the last six months, NAPCOR membership now totals 27
companies.
NAPCOR has also relocated its headquarters in Charlotte,
NC. The new address is 2105 Water Ridge Parkway, Suite 570,
Charlotte, NC; 28217. Phone (704) 423-9400. (Click
here to return to top.)
The Rag Man Is Coming Back Into Vogue
Although textile recycling has been around for centuries,
it is a new type of recovery program in many local communities.
Resource Recycling reports that, "A growing number of North
American communities . . . rural, suburban, and urban .
. . are showing that old clothes, bedding and other materials
can be recovered just as efficiently as aluminum cans and
newspapers.
With more than 500 reclaimers, "the U.S. industry recovers
about 1.25 million tons of fibrous materials annually,"
according to Resource Recycling. Of this amount, about half
consists of secondhand clothing sold for reuse . . . another
20 percent is converted to polishing and wiping rags and
the rest is processed into new fiber. More than 6.5 million
tons of textiles are generated in the United States each
year, so there is large growth potential in textile recycling.
The Institute for Local Self Reliance reported in a recent
study that "textile recycling and reuse systems are beneficial
to the economy and the environment and can easily be integrated
into existing recycling programs." And little if any capital
investment is needed to add textile recovery to an existing
residential recycling program. Textiles are bringing prices
ranging from $80 to $160 per ton reports Recycling Times.
"Interest in textile reuse has exploded among municipal
waste officials and the public according to Bernard Brill,
executive director of the Council for Textile Recycling.
In Kentucky, Meade County Solid Waste Coordinator Tommy
Tucker started recovering textile residue that a local charity
was throwing away. While it took about five months to collect
20 tons, that load brought $5,100 from a broker. At the
same time, 20 tons of paper were bringing $800 . . . and
old corrugated cardboard, $1,200. Tucker bales material
in the same way paper is baled. Textiles must be clean and
dry. Shoes and belts are accepted too, but they must be
segregated from clothing.
As Meade County has done, textile recovery programs around
the country have worked with local charities and encouraged
residents to continue donating unwanted clothing to their
favorite charity and then give what charities cannot use
to recycling programs. In fact, recycling programs can help
charities save money instead of paying to dispose of residue.
Also in recent months, recycling centers in Woodford county
and Richmond, Madison county started collecting textiles.
Both are members of the Bluegrass Regional Recycling Corp.
They accept clothing, blankets, curtains, pillows, linens,
shoes and boots.
Among possible textile markets serving Kentucky are: Allen's
Rags in Liberty Kentucky at (606) 787-8806 . . . Gary Grossman
Recycling Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio at (513) 984-5614, and
Cyntex Company in Hartsdale, N.Y. at (914) 472-4922.
For more information on textile recycling, contact the
Kentucky Recycling & Marketing Assistance Program at (502)
564-6716. (Click here to return to top.)
Steel Recycling Institute (SRI) Introduces
Redesigned Website
SRI's new website, www.recycle-steel.org
features on-line access to SRI's quarterly newsletter, case
histories on food service and appliance recycling, and press
kit information to facilitate media review of pertinent
website subjects. The site will also feature "The Recycling
Clock,' which will keep a running tally of the total amount
of steel recycled throughout the 1998 calendar year. (Click
here to return to top.)
LRC Appoints Study Task Force On Container
Deposits for HR 371
The Kentucky General Assembly introduced HB 371 for consideration
in the 1998 session. This was an approach to the management
of litter and solid waste not considered by a legislative
study group since 1991 when there was a Task Force on Container
Deposits created by Senate Bill 2.
As passed, HB 371 establishes a study task force composed
of the following . . . the primary sponsor of HB 371 . .
. four (4) members of the General Assembly selected by the
Legislative Research Commission, two (2) of whom shall be
members of the Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture and
Natural Resources, a student representative of the Estill
County High School . . . a representative of the Natural
Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet . . . a representative
of the Department of Local Government . . . a representative
of the Kentucky League of Cities . . . a representative
of the Kentucky Association of Counties . . . a representative
of the Kentucky Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of
North America . . . a representative of the Kentuckians
for the Commonwealth . . . of the Kentucky Resources Council
. . . of the Business Industry Recycling Program . . . of
the Kentucky Retail Federation . . . the Food Service and
Packaging Industry . . . the Kentucky Beer Wholesalers Association
. . . two (2) members selected by the Legislative Research
Commission to represent nonalcoholic beverage bottlers .
. . the Kentucky Farm Bureau . . . the League of Kentucky
Sportsmen . . . the Kentucky Grocers Association . . . and
the Kentucky Scrap Processors and Recyclers Association.
The Study Task Force shall review House Bill 371 along with
any amendments or committee substitutes to the bill. The
goal of the review shall be to determine in what ways the
approach to solid waste management presented by the bill
may improve the present structure of solid waste management
in Kentucky and achieve that improvement with the least
disruption of the present structure.
The task force shall conclude its review by issuing a report
to the Legislative Research Commission no later than September
30, 1999. The report may contain recommendations for legislative
proposals to strengthen the state's waste management programs.
(Click here to return to top.)
Aluminum Can Recycling Rate Climbs to
66.5 Percent
The aluminum can industry maintained its premier position
in 1997 as the leader in packaging recycling, recording
a 66.5 percent recycling rate for used aluminum beverage
cans.
Consumers returned an unprecedented 66.8 billion cans last
year, representing the most successful year of aluminum
beverage can recycling since records were first kept in
1972. This 4.8 percent increase over the 1996 rate was announced
in celebration of Earth Day by the Can Manufacturers Institute.
Additionally, the number of cans manufactured per pound
of aluminum rose in 1997 to 32.57. The can industry's commitment
to source reduction comes in the form of "lightweighting"
. . . making more aluminum cans with less aluminum . . .
resulted in achieving an increase of 2.1 percent in the
number of cans per pound over 1996. The 66.8 billion cans
collected equals 2.05 billion pounds of aluminum, an increase
in aluminum recycled of 4.2 percent from 1996.
Aluminum cans represent recycling at its finest. The closed
loop recycling process turns cans into cans again and again
. . . saving 95 percent of the energy needed to produce
aluminum from ore. Through reclamation and production, it
can take as few as 60 days for an aluminum beverage can
to be recycled and back in a store, ready for consumer purchase.
Aluminum cans are the most valuable recyclable in a recycling
program. In 1997, the industry paid out $1.03 billion to
recyclers for their used aluminum beverage cans. Consumers
have discovered that easy to recycle aluminum cans have
value. They use the money earned from recycling for school
and church programs, non profit organizations and other
community activities.
Robert Budway, President of the Can Manufacturers Institute
said, "The unparalleled environmental achievements of the
aluminum beverage can greatly contribute to its position
as the premier beverage package, both with our beer and
soft drink customers and with consumers." (Click
here to return to top.)
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