HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03201990 - EA.3 EA3
TO- BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
i
FROM: Environmental Affairs Committee
Supervisor Tom Torlakson, Chair
Supervisor Nancy Fanden -�: = -;.
- =
DATE; - - --
March 20, 1990
SUBJECT: T9 COUK
Plastics Recycling
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECCMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOME NDATION
1. Accept the report on pilot projects underway with McDonalds
to recycling polystyrene food containers and pilot projects
in school cafeterias.
2. Accept status report on pilot plastics recycling program and
processing mixed waste plastic.
3. Direct the Resource Recovery Specialist to give a status
report of these projects to the Environmental Affairs
Committee as conditions warrant. ,
BACKGROUND
The Plastics Recycling Task Force has met with representatives of
McDonalds ' restaurants, which resulted in a commitment from eight
owner-operators to separate their polystyrene waste. A
commitment from a collector to transport this material to a
processing plant needs to be obtained. The Plastics Recycling
Task Force has also been addressing the use of polystyrene food
containers in schools. A meeting is being planned with school
officials to address this issue.
The Resource Recovery Specialist gave a status report on the
pilot project for mixed waste plastics undertaken by the City of
Walnut Creek. The pilot program involves curbside collection of
mixed waste plastic for 2,000 homes. Three collection methods
are being tested. In addition, preliminary on-site sorting is
being tested at the recycling center before materials are
transported to a plant in Benicia.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S): Chair 2Suervisor nc Fanden
ACTION OF BOARD ON _ March 20. 1990 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES. AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: Community Development (Orig. Dept.) ATTESTED -fC.r do X99
Resource Recovery Specialist PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
M382/7-83 BY ,DEPUTY
Item 4: Polystyrene Collection Programs at McDonald's Restaurants and in
public schools
Representatives from the McDonald's Restaurants have attended several meetings
of the Plastic Recycling Task Force. They include individual owner-operators of
restaurants in Contra Costa County as well as representatives from their
regional office in San Jose.
A meeting with owner-operators and management was held several months ago,
resulting in a commitment from 8 owner-operators to separate their polystyrene
waste beginning in April, 1990. However, there lacks the connecting point - a
commitment from a collector to haul material to the Bay Polymer processing
plant located in Fremont. To date, this problem has not been resolved.
The Ad Hoc Polystyrene Committee of the Plastics Recycling Task Force studies
indicate that the greatest consumers of polystyrene food serving containers are
schools. Dow Chemical has assigned a staff person, Bridget Seifert to approach
individual schools to discuss polystyrene recycling (see attachment) . However,
it has been made clear by the Task Force that these approaches must include
information about their recyclables,,and recycling education curriculum.
A meeting is being planned for appropriate school district officials in the near
future.
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POLYSTYRENE COLLECTION
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CONTRA COSTA SCHOOLS
January 1990
Polystyrene Collection
for Recycling
Goals: Promote recycling awareness
Establish long - term, economically
attractive waste reduction program
Facts: Polystyrene IS recycable
School collection program already
proven in Portland and Northeast
Alternatives to Polystyrene are costly
Processor is established in Bay Area
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UPDATE ON SCHOOL COLLECTION
OF POLYSTYRENE
1. MARTINEZ - HIGH SCHOOL ONLY
MARTINEZ SANITARY SERVICE WILLING TO HELP
2. ANTlOCH SCHOOL DISTRICT -
INTEREST HIGH
SUPPORT FROM PLEASANT HILL-8AYBHOBE ESSENTIAL
3. RICHMOND SCHOOL DISTRICT -
COORDINATING WITH RICHMOND SANITARY
POSSIBLE ASSISTANCE FROM JAMES RIVER FOR PILOT PROGRAM
4. MT. DlABLO SCHOOL DISTRICT -
INTEREST HIGH '
NEED LOCAL COLLECTION POINT
4 DISPOSAL COMPANIES PARTICIPATE
VIEWED PLASTICS AGAIN (LEOMINSTER, MASS) AND PLASTICS RECYCLING, INC
_ (BROOKLYN, NY) TO OBSERVE SCHOOL COLLECTION SET-UP AND COLLECTION
PROGRAMS AND LOGISTICS.
VIEWED PORTLAND, OREGON OPERATION TO UNDERSTAND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO
FINANCIAL OBSTACLES BEING ENCOUNTERED.
QUESTIONS? CALL BRIGITTE SElFERT 415-746-5262
Item 6. Status Report on Pilot Plastics Recycling
Program and Processing Mixed Waste Plastic
With the focus on mixed waste plastic collection spurred by the Solid Waste
Commission study "Recycling Plastic in the Wastestream" and the support of the
Board of Supervisors, mixed waste plastics recycling began as a pilot program in
June 1989 in the City of Walnut Creek. It was incorporated in the City's
regular curbside recycling program to test various operational procedures, and
to learn more about public reaction and participation in a new and innovative
program.
The program has so far demonstrated that waste plastics collection is feasible
on a pilot scale. It has the support of the County, the program sponsors, the
Dow Chemical Corporation, and the City.
The Walnut Creek City Council voted on September 18, 1989 to expand the pilot
program to serve 2,000 homes and appropriated $6,500 to cover a portion of the
additional costs needed for the first phase of the expansion. These funds are
intended as a partial match to the total funds that are required.
A request for funds to expand the program to include some processing equipment
and public information materials, has been prepared by the County and City to be
submitted to the Council for Solid Waste Solutions (CSWS) in Washington, D.C.
The grant in the amount of $42,000 was received on January 1990.
The waste plastics collection pilot began in about 10 percent of the curbside
customers in Walnut Creek in June 1989. Residents were given yellow plastic
bags with a leaflet and red ribbon to tie the bag closed. The bags and
information were distributed door-to-door by volunteers and members of the East
Bay Conservation Corps. An estimated one-quarter to one-third of the residents
were contacted to explain the program. A copy of the leaflets is also attached.
The yellow plastic bags were collected from a 500-home test area in the existing
recycling truck by the curbside recycling collector, Pacific Rim of Benicia, at
the same time the recyclables were collected.
The collected bags are manually off-loaded into a large 40-cubic yard container
located at the recycling center on Kazebeer Lane. When full, it is hauled to
the wTe plant in Benicia for sorting and processing. The separated and
processed waste plastics are sold to Dow Chemical for use in their Waste Plastics
Applications Laboratory in Walnut Creek.
Under the terms of the Council for Solid Waste Solutions grant, the 500-home
pilot has been expanded. The expansion period is divided into' a first phase
which is designed to test various collection and processing techniques and a
second phase which expands the collection service city-wide to over 18,000
homes.
The first phase, which began in March, expands the existing 500-home collection
area to 2,000 homes. Three collection methods are being tested.
They are:
A. Clear plastic bags with yellow cinch-top and tie 1,000 homes , •
(The bags were donated by Mobil Corporation)
B. Yellow bag with tie 500 homes
C. Yellow tag only 500 homes
In addition, preliminary on-site sorting is also being tested at the recycling
center before the materials are shipped to the plant in Benicia for more
extensive sorting and processing.
Also, phase one will include efforts to increase participation and to improve
the quality of the set-out. An intensive education and promotion program is
planned which will focus on evaluating instructions to the homeowner for proper
separating and preparation of the various plastic materials for recycling.
Mixed waste plastics will be collected in plastic bags by the existing curbside
collection truck. The bags will be picked up weekly on the same day as garbage.
Therefore, one of the challenges of the program is to ensure that waste plastics
bags are not mistakenly included in the garbage pick-up. Residents will be
asked to place - the bags next to their "blue box" for recycling, and garbage
collectors are asked to leave these bags for recycling.
For the expanded program, a greater effort is planned for determining what and
how residents save their plastics for recycling. Besides re-designing the
brochure, several surveys and interview questionnaires are planned.
A fairly high non-plastic contamination level was found. Anywhere from 15 to 30
percent of the collected materials were non-plastic items, such as rubber or
leather materials, standard recyclables, and trash.
It is felt that a brochure and/or attached leaflet explaining types of plastics
and typical brands could help clarify some of the resident's confusion. An
empirical testing procedure is planned to test the results of using a more
detailed brochure design on both quality of set-out and overall participation
level.
In addition, the door-to-door canvassing will include more highly trained
volunteers who know more about plastic types and the details of program
operation. Also, follow-up phone calls to missed households in the initial
delivery of bags will be done. Residents who were contacted in the canvassing
will be asked to "sign-up" for the program as an intention to participate. This
nature of canvassing has been found to be effective in other canvassing and
recycling "block leader" programs.
i
WASTE PLASTICS RECOVERY IN
PILOT WALNUT CREEK PROGRAM
A. No, of Bags Collected
120 —
1 0 0 -- v-
so s _
60
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N
20
}
+
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w
6/6 6/13 6/20 6/27 7/4 7/1 1 7/18 7/25
B. Weekly Participation (%)
25%—
->;...
20%—
77—
15%—
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cJ for "}`i _.i`;s•.n`\F : is{,. .:.5 ..5. 5: 5,, }.'.±�'
6/6 6/13 6/20 6/27 7/4 7/1 1 7/18 7/25
Notes:
1. Waste plastics collected include all rigid and film mixed in one plastic bag
2. Participation measured as number of set-outs per total
number of households served in one week.
3. Averages for first eight weeks:
a. Number of set-outs(households): 76 bags,
b. Average weekly participation: 1517a
Source:
lnforination from collector and processor firms.. Resource ,'Management Associates (1989)
The results of the collection for the first pilot are:
PARTICIPATION IN 500-HOME PILOT �, -
500 Households
46% (230) Participated
1910 Pounds in 12 Weeks
0.7 Pounds Per Participating Household/Per Week
CHARACTERIZATION
Product Weight (%) Volume* (%)
HDPE Mile & Water Bottles 21 40
Pet Beverage Bottles 13 11
Mixed Rigids, Lighter Than Water 29 17
Mixed Rigids, Heavier Than Water 14 8
Mixed Plastic Film 21 12
Mixed Foam 2 12
Total 100 100
Reports of the data and results of these efforts will be published in a final
report that will be made available to the Council for Solid Waste Solutions and
other County cities and sanitary districts interested in starting plastics
recycling programs. This is one of the Board Orders passed by the Board of
Supervisors in July 1989. Further support for county-wide plastics collection
and market development will be provided during a conference on plastics
recycling to be hosted by the Board of Supervisors in March. Funding for the
conference has been committed by the plastics industry and the Department of
Conservation.
Estimated Work Load
To continue staff support of the Plastic
Recycling Task Force and Subcommittees 20/hrs/mo.
SC/ah/plastic. 13