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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08281990 - EA.1 TOS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS :.:` `: r Contra FROM: ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUPERVISOR TOM TORLAKSON, CHAIR SUPERVISOR NANCY FAHDEN County DATE: AUGUST 13, 1990 SUBJECT: STEPS TO REDUCE CARDBOARD AND WOOD WASTES IN LANDFILLS AND TO ENCOURAGE FULL-SCALE RECYCLING . SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) 6 BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS Reduce, to the maximum extent possible, the amounts of corrugated cardboard and wood waste allowed to be disposed in sanitary landfills and encourage full-scale recycling through the following actions: Include, as part of the County's materials recovery program (Resource Recovery Action Plan and AB 939 Plan) , full-scale recycling and reduction of cardboard at landfill sites and in coordination with transfer stations; Direct the Community Development Department, as part of the County's public information and monitoring programs, to coordinate with waste collectors and disposal facility operators efforts to heighten awareness among homeowners and small businesses regarding existing corrugated cardboard collection services, drop-off sites, and buy-back centers; Direct the Community Development Department to request the operators of existing landfills, which are accessible to the public, to provide public drop-off or buy-back facilities for corrugated cardboard and wood waste recovery; Direct the Community Development Department to include provisions in franchise agreements for the unincorporated areas requiring curbside collection of cardboard; Direct the Community Development Department to request landfill operators and haulers to conduct waste audits on commercial stores; CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: xx YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR xxx RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S):- -Supervisor Tom Torlakson, Chair Supervis Nancy Fanden ACTION OF BOARD ON August 28, 1990 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED x OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A x UNANIMOUS .(ABSENT III, IV TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Orig: Community Development Department ATTESTED x8'. /990 cc: County Administrator PHI BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY94 , DEPUTY LA:gms ea:EACardbd.bo Steps to Reduce Cardboard and Wood Wastes in Landfills (Continued) - Page Two Reaffirm the Board's policy that new landfills provide programs for recovering corrugated cardboard and recovery processing of wood waste; and other materials; Reaffirm the Board's policy that new transfer stations in the unincorporated area are to provide public drop-off and buy-back facilities for corrugated cardboard recovery and facilities for wood waster processing; Request the AB939 Task Force to study wood waste alternatives as part of the compost element. Reassess the success of these actions in reducing the amounts of corrugated cardboard and wood waste disposal at sanitary landfills and considering banning such disposal at sanitary landfills if significant wastestream reduction has not been achieved. Such reassessment will be included as part of the ACME Transfer Station resource recovery program to be submitted in December, 1990 and/or as part of the AB939 Plan to be completed July/August 1991. FISCAL IMPACT No impact on the County General Fund. The items above would be covered by the funding for the Resource Recovery Action Plan and the AB939 program along with funding from the Land Use Permit Conditions of Approval for the transfer stations and new landfills. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS See attached Staff Reports to the Environmental Affairs Committee, dated May 11, 1990 and July 9, 1990. LPA:gms ea:EACardbd.bo CONTRA COSTA COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO: Environmental Affairs Committee DATE: May 11, 1990 Supervisor Tom Torlakson, Chair FILE: Supervisor Nancy Fanden FROM: Charles A. Zahn CA-Z_ AssistantDirector SUBJECT: Recommendations Regarding the Banning of Cardboard at Landfills RECOMMENDATIONS 1. We recommend that the Board of Supervisors not consider banning the disposal of cardboard at landfills at this time. Corrugated cardboard already has a recycling infrastructure and markets. The system appears to be effective and improving with respect to the larger generators. Paperboard is "mixed paper" having low economic value. A ban would primarily affect small businesses' and households' waste disposal. The forthcoming waste characterization studies for AB 939 during the next year will indicate if there are large amounts of cardboard waste not- being recycled and who is generating them. Appropriate measures can be determined relative to this information. •2. We recommend that the extraction of recyclable amounts and types of cardboard be included in the materials recovery programs that the operators of new landfills are required to prepare and have approved by the County (e.g. Condition 31.4 of the Marsh Canyon Landfill Land Use Permit Conditions of Approval). The landfill materials recovery programs are required to be coordinated with those of the transfer stations (the Acme Transfer Station Land Use Permit Condition of Approval requires cardboard extraction) . 3. Until the waste characterization studies are available, we recommend that the County's recycling public information and outreach programs be focused to inform the public and small generators of corrugated cardboard waste that there is a market for the material and that there are collectors and drop-off or buy-back .centers which will take it. Households and small businesses are evident sources of corrugated waste which escape the existing recycling infrastructure. At the County's first transfer station, Acme's Interim Transfer Station, corrugated and other paper may be deposited at a drop-off center before being weighed-in and subjected to a disposal charge. Cardboard is also extracted from the wastestream on the tipping floor to the extent practicable. When the drop-off center is converted to a buy-back center and when the Permanent Transfer Station's increased sorting capability is available, these efforts will be expanded. The Acme Transfer Station role is expected to be repeated at other stations established in the County. Small specialized entrepreneur collectors .have been very aggressively recovering OCC and wherever possible. Many have established routes servicing small shopping centers and individual businesses. (When the price for OCC is high, there are problems with theft if bales are left unattended; thieves have been known to steal baled cardboard in broad daylight, loading them into small vehicles. ) The major waste collection services all recycle corrugated cardboard. Concord Disposal Service, for example, picks up cardboard from its large commercial accounts if they generate sufficient volume. Concord Disposal encourages their customers to purchase balers, and they purchase the bales from them. Ordinary collections (non-source separated) of OCC are also sorted before they are landfilled. The company also buys OCC at its Mt. Diablo Recycling. Pleasant Hill/Bayshore also accepts OCC at its buy-back center in Pacheco. Their collection service also takes it at the curb although they do not currently advertise this service. Richmond Sanitary has an aggressive program because their landfill has relatively little space left and they want to extend its life for as long as possible. Among the other recycling centers, E1 Cerrito, Walnut Creek and Many Hands in Pittsburg all accept OCC at their drop off facilities. Local OCC••Markets Gaylord Container Corporation, Independent Paper Stock and Arata Western are the major purchasers of OCC in the County. Gaylord uses OCC to make new corrugated containers exclusively, while the other two are paper dealers who supply the local paper market and ship to the overseas market in Asia. Gaylord Container recently spent $60,000 million upgrading their plant, which will enable them to use an average of 1,250 tons per day of OCC. Their current usage is 900 tons per day. Their maximum capacity is 1,500 tons per day, depending on cleanliness of the waste received. Diashawa Corporation is in the process of locating a paperboard plant at the Port of Stockton. They have received all the necessary permits except for one from the Public Utilities Commission to construct a railroad spur. Current plans are to sign contracts for purchase and construction of the equipment by the end of May, with a start-up date of late 1992. This plant will be capable of handling approximately 1,100 to 1,500 tons per day of OCC, depending upon what equipment they purchase. CAZ:jal j148:eac.mem r. CONTRA COSTA COUNT COMMUNITY DEVECAPMENr DEPARMENT To: Environmental Affairs Committee DATE: July 9, 1990 supervisor Tani Torlakson, Chair Supervisor Nancy Fanden FROM: Charles A. Zahn Assistant Director SUBJPX,T: Wood Waste Disposal at landfills TYPES OF WOOD WASTE Wood waste is composed of pallets, crates, furniture, rooting material, dimensional lumber and plywood. It does not generally include woody material generated as yard waste unless is over 1" in diameter. However, wood and yard waste can be handled by the same processing system. CURRENT HANDLING Wood waste is commonly used as a fuel, for the production of raw materials (i.e. chipboard) and for composting; and, some older materials are re-used in construction. No current and comprehensive figures on re-use are available but these will be compiled in the AB 939 program. The Acme Transfer Station is currently recovering wood as a part of its conditions of approval. They will have a chipper by 1992. Their wood is currently being chipped for cogeneration. Concord Disposal looked into recovering and chipping wood at their Antioch landfill, a year ago. The problems associated with the recovery - noise, unsightliness, and fire hazard discouraged them from proceeding. They were particularly concerned about the noise level as it would affect the neighbors. Richmond Sanitary Service is currently landfilling wood. Plans are being developed to recover it at their,planned resource recovery and transfer station in about three years. Gaylord Container in Antioch is the largest market in Contra Costa County for wood chips. They can use 180,000 tons per year for their co-generation plant. Hesco Wood Products, a subsidiary of Nor Cal Solid Waste, chips 22-25,000 tons per year from Contra Costa, as well as wood from San Francisco, Salano and San Jose. Antioch Waste Fiber currently chips wood for co-generation at Gaylord and facilities in Tracy. They are building a new facility in Hayward which will be the largest facility in the nation for wood processing. Wood that is diverted from a landfill for use as fuel is not considered as part of the diversion rate for AB 939. MART= There is a substantial market for wood chips for boiler fuel in Contra Costa County (Gaylord container Corporation) and Central California. The markets for other uses are currently small, but composting is expected to increase as cities and counties ccoply with the waste reduction objectives of AB 939. Contamination is a big factor in finding markets for wood. Wood that has been treated with creosote or other preservatives, or painted cannot be safely used for fit, fuel or reprocessing. Compost markets such as EBMUD do not want kiln-dried wood, sawdust, processed construction wood, or any material processed with a tub grinder. Palm eucalyptus, redwood, and fir trees are alsonot acceptable for composting. Materials must also be free of nails, plastic, glass, etc. Antioch Waste Fiber Recovery and Hesoo Wood Products in Brentwood will accept particle board, plywood, shingles and tree trimmings and any wood that has not been treated with a preservative or paint. They will not accept palm trees or overly large stumps. Wood is _currently processed into chips for fuel. Recycled Wood Products in Berkeley currently takes in about 150 tons per month 70% of which is wood, 25% of which is ground for cogeneration, and 75% is composted. About 25-30% comes from Contra Costa county. Urban Ore of Berkeley currently accepts clean used dimension lumber (i.e. 2 x 41's) , plywood, molding, etc., for resale. They currently handle 20-30 tons of wood per month of which 10-20% comes from Contra Costa County. They provide a unique source for remodelers because they carry wood that has the same dimensions that were used 20-30 years ago. FUTURE MARKET`S The two,basic markets for wood chips are as boiler fuel and landscape material. other potential markets are as a bulking agent for sewage sludge and as a drying agent for spills. pM EBM M is proposing a study this year to determine what materials would be acceptable for their conposting. This should be a good guideline for future programs. Urban Ore has expressed an interest in expanding into Contra Costa County. They currently process 300-400 tons per month of used building materials and feel that they could find a market in Contra Costa County. Areas of interest to them would be in the 680-24 interchange area or the 680-4 area. Recycled Wood Products has expressed interest in locating a facility in Contra Costa County. They have several sites around the country, including Berkeley and Southern California. Either the AB 939 Task Force, the Solid Waste commission, or the proposed Compost Task Force will be developing further information on markets. Antioch Waste Fiber has the equipment to prepare wood for waferboard but current economics have prevented this market from developing. Wood for this market would have to be extremely clean: no bark, glue, preservatives, etc. n r M� V` RDCYC[. M PAMCIPATICN RAZES Interest and participation in recycling has increased considerably in Contra Costa County. All areas currently have or are in the development stages for curbside recycling. Concord Disposal Participatitin Concord: phased in by October .40% week Pittsburg: phased in by August 40% week They estimate that their curbside program has reduced the waste stream by 18-20% in the areas served. Pleasant Hill Rayshc r e Disposal Antioch: full on-line service Pacheco and Clyde: full on-line service Pleasant Hill: phased in by September Benicia: has pilot and is in negotiations for full service Valley Waste ParticiTaaticei Alamo: full on-line service 78% month Danville: full on-line service 78% month Lafayette: full on-line service 78% month San Ramon: full on-line service 68% month Valley Waste reports that tonnages in the area they franchise for Central Sanitary have gone up from 16.5% of the residential waste stream to 18.5% in May. Pacific Rim r Participation Walnut Creek: full on-line service 40% week Clayton: full on-line service 40% week Walnut Creek's program has just added cardboard, PEP, HDPE (milk and water jugs) , white paper, tin cans, scrap aluminum and motor oil, which will greatly increase the recycling tonnages. Richmond Sanitary Service will have full on-line service for its franchise areas beginning in September/october. Sara Hoffman expects that most of the unincorporated areas will be franchised for curbside by August, with service being provided within 30 days. Contra Costa Community Recyclers Hotline has been receiving far more phone calls over the last year: March April May June '89 97 101 1190 201 349 242 438 (162 for the BOP drop) - 2 - `y The BOP Drop on June 9 was an overwhelming success. Over 7,700 lbs of paint, 2,363 used batteries and 15,600 gallons of used motor oil were collected. Concord Disposal estimates that between its own curbside and buyback programs and the materials that they handle for valley Waste, they process 3,000 tons per month. All programs report a large increase in volume since Earth Day. Pacific Rim estimates that they have seen a 20% increase at their buyback, Concord has seen an 8% increase, El Cerrito has seen a 20% increase in total tonnage from curb- side and dropoff (a year ago they did a daily average of 473 stops; after providing buckets to their residents, they recently had a day with over 1,400 stops!) . Large-Scale Waste Processing Facilities The Board of Supervisors has approved on large-scale waste processing facility— the Acme Fill Waste Recovery and Transfer Station—and has authorized the initiation of a "permit process" for a second facility—the West county Integrated Resource Recovery Facility. Oompostin4 Programs The Acme Transfer Station will initiate a composting program by December, 1990; and, the West County facility will include a canq:)csting operation. Aluminum Cans,, C arrugated CardboarYl, and Waste Wood Utilization i nation These specialty programs are already successful in contra Costa county. This was put together for your immediate purposes. We can, of course, continue to refine the figures. Please advise us of your needs. JF/7n n3:rates.doc r