Is it time for Curbside Recycling

1
Is it time for Curbside Recycling ?

• Beryl Eismeier

2
Why do you recycle?
Its the right thing to do!
3
Why dont you recycle?
Its the right thing to do! Recycling is
Garbage Rinsing out tuna cans and tying up
newspapers may make you feel virtuous, but
recycling could be America's most wasteful
activity. -New York Times Magazine, 30 June,
1996.pps. 24-29,44,48,51,53. John Tierney
4
Teasing out the truth

• while recycling is not always the profitable in
  the short term, it is nonetheless a valid
  response to a long-term environmental problem,
  which cannot be reduced to narrowly economic
  terms.
• Frank Ackerman, former researcher at Tellus
  Institute, Boston MA. Why Do We Recycle? (1997)

5
Whether you are an avid recycler, opposed to
recycling or somewhere in between Its
essential to know why werecycle, its benefits
costs.To stay alive, recycling will have to
pull its weight as one of many methods of waste
disposal.
6
Curbside recycling today

• 8,800 programs in US
• 48 of US citizens have a curbside recycling
  program in their community
• 32 of US Municipal Solid Waste recycled (some by
  curbside programs)
• 7,000 PAYT systems in place

7
As you seek out the truth behind the competing
visions of recycling opponents and proponents
Consider the source (the vision, mission and
political agenda of the publication, website or
speaker) Consider the funding supporting the
presenter Consider the economic underpinnings
which driver the presenters position(s) Recycling
s detractors sometimes include competing
disposal facility operators, trash haulers (but
not all), managers leaders resistant to change,
lobbyists for (some) mining timber industries,
and some manufacturers.
8
We should recycle because of

• manufacturers, here abroad, who save money by
  getting cheaper raw materials without depleting
  natural resources
• lower energy, water fewer other auxiliary
  materials reqd to make new products from
  recycled feedstock
• jobs more are created by recycling than
  disposal, ton for ton (esp. in manufacturing
  sector)
• net environmental impacts of curbside recycling
  on the ecosystem compared to disposal
• land that could be preserved for a higher purpose
  vs landfills
• pollution caused by manufacturing from virgin
  resources
• reduced pollution from landfilling and
  incineration

9
We should recycle at the curb when

• Drop off collection is not reaching its optimal
  level
• Cost savings are available by adding curbside
  recycling to our existing solid waste program
• There are markets for the materials we hope to
  collect which are both accessible enough
  affordable within our cost-savings model (above)

10
We should recycle at the curb when

• Cost savings are available by adding curbside
  recycling to our existing solid waste program
• Full-cost accounting is an approach to cost
  comparison (of one disposal method to another)
  which best evaluates the system-wide impact of a
  choice, not just the short-sighted cost-per-ton
  or cost-per-household style of many
  anti-recyclers.

11
Full-cost Accounting
Unlike other common methods of accounting that
record only current outlays of cash, FCA takes
into account all of the monetary cost of
resources used or committed to MSW programs,
which may differ from cash outlays. Many
communities nationwide are already using FCA as a
way to streamline solid waste programs, make
programs sustainable in the long term, and
provide the best service for the least cost.
www.epa.gov (FCA)
12
Opposition It was a clever idea whose time has
come and gone.

• Cost (usually per-ton or per-household)
• Futility ( low participation or recovery
  compared to set-outs for disposal or the
  falsehood that recyclables end up being disposed
  of after collection)
• Environmental fallacy (energy, pollution, natural
  resources)
• Landfills are plentiful

13
Opposition Answers
14
Why do communities choose to add curbside these
days?

• Disposal costs are rising because old facilities
  are closing and new facilities are needed
• Housing densities are increasing, making both
  curbside trash recycling a newly affordable
  strategy for formerly remote areas
• Other collection or disposal program
  infrastructure is about to change, making
  recycling a new, wiser strategy than before

15
Why dont communities consider curbside recycling?

• Even with FCA modeling, not much savings is
  possible due to
• Long-term contracts or commitments
• Very low disposal costs
• Markets which are far away, not lucrative enough
• Collection (still) being too expensive to justify

16

• Why dont communities consider curbside
  recycling?
• But, sometimes also due to
• Outdated assumptions, old data and conclusions

17
How can we get one?

• Citizen education demand
• Dialogue with local leaders
• FCA approach
• Cautious long-term strategy
• Outreach and lots of it
• Careful cost-accounting, regular feedback to
  customers
• Give careful consideration to PAYT element

18
Curbside recycling is nice, but
What about backyard composting and grasscycling?
What about Pay-As-You-Throw? Buy-recycled
creating demand for products made with recycled
content
19
Beryl Eismeier lives in Queen Annes County,
Maryland and is a native of the Eastern Shore.
She designed and managed recycling and household
hazardous waste programs throughout the state for
13 years, serving as Kent County Recycling
Coordinator from 1989 to 1995 and the regions
first Midshore Regional Recycling Program
coordinator until 1995. She worked as Anne
Arundel Countys recycling chief until 2002. Ms.
Eismeier is a former board member and officer of
the Maryland Recyclers Coalition. She has also
coordinated numerous community environmental
projects such as Earth Day celebrations and
Marylands Community Clean-up Campaign for Kent
County. Her programs have received numerous
awards and grants. She holds a bachelors degree
from Oberlin College.
20
Your questions, comments, requests for sources
and links are welcome BerylEismeier_at_gmail.com

• Good luck!!