December 1, 1999, Whittier, California
Part of a Forum Series to Assist Local Jurisdictions in Getting to 50% Diversion
Organized by the Southern California Council on Environment and Development
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recycling Food through Non-Profit Organizations
Damien Leone, L.A. Regional Food Bank, 877-NO-HUNGER (667-8643), Ext. 130:
We are one of largest food banks in the country, diverting 40 million pounds annually of surplus food and personal care items. We distribute food to 960 charities, which feed 260,000 people per week. We encourage more donations.
Hotel and Restaurant Food Waste Recycling
Bill Gorman, West Coast Recycling Company, 323-261-4176:
Our company recycles food waste from large restaurants and hotels with large catering and food service operations. They experience a cost savings of 10-15% without any extra labor involved
Supermarket Organics Recycling
Eric Wilhite, Community Recycling, 818-767-1203:
We recycle edible unsalables from grocery stores (perishable goods) that used to go to landfills. The result is the cleanest, purest organic compost on the market. Farmers love it. Every ton is sold every 3 weeks before it is done.
L.A. County Grasscycling Program
Joe Haworth, Information Officer, L.A. County Sanitation Districts, 562-699-7411:
L.A. County’s Mow Down Pollution Program is a region-wide grasscycling campaign. We are trying to educate the public to use mowers without a bag, so the grass goes right back on the lawn, and fertilizes it.
Using Green Materials in Landfills
Nick Morell, L.A. County Sanitation Districts, 562-699-7411, Ext. 2444
Alternative Daily Cover (ADC) using greenwaste has helped us to achieve our AB 939 goals. Placing greenwaste on the refuse at the end of the day has many benefits including conservation of air volume, odor and vector control, as well as preserving soil for intermediate and final cover use.
A State Perspective on Organics Diversion
Howard Levenson, Waste Prevention & Market Development, CIWMB, 916-255-2159:
The Board has many efforts to support the diversion of organic materials and promote their beneficial use. These include fact sheets, end-user application guidelines, compost/mulch supplier and worm bin manufacturer lists, etc. Check our website at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics.
Sustainable End Markets for Organics
Kevin McCarthy, California Organics Recycling Council (CORC) & Waste Management, Inc., 510-563-4214:
The CORC Board is recommending the “Yard Waste Recycling Opportunities Act,” which would require California jurisdictions to divert yard waste from landfilling through programs consistent with the AB 939 waste management hierarchy.
A Successful Municipal Greenwaste Program
David Peterson, City of Santa Clarita, 661-284-1411:
We have good separation of greenwaste (it totals 48% of our waste stream). We encourage home composting with a reduced fee. We mulch or compost tree trimmings and Christmas trees and we use it on parks and medians for weed abatement, etc.
Managing the Dynamics of the Organics Industry
Bill Camarillo, California Wood Recycling, 805-650-1616:
Greenwaste recycling has created a supply push on an undeveloped marketplace. We need to provide hundreds of products, customized for specific industries and customers. The CIWMB also needs to push regulatory reform to help get more compost facilities permitted.
Countywide Yard Waste Program
George DeLaO, L.A. County Dept of Public Works, 626-458-5184:
The Yard Waste Program includes workshops throughout the County to teach composting, grass recycling, and water-wise gardening techniques to help residents reduce yard waste in their own backyards. Workshops are held at the County’s demonstration centers and at cities’ facilities.
Environmental Hotline and Website
Sev Williams, Earth’s 911, 310-401-0317:
Earth’s 911 is an information resource on national and local environmental issues, via either phone (1-800-CLEANUP) or the Internet, (www.1800cleanup.org). Users can punch in their zip code to get local information including recycling locations, hazardous waste disposal, water and air quality and organics diversion.
SUMMARIES OF PRESENTATIONS
For more information, contact the speaker.
Welcome
Joe Haworth, L.A. County Sanitation Districts, 562-699-7411:
The Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED) has worked since 1993 to bring issues of sustainability to the cities of the region. It has been very successful, involving organizations, corporations and public agencies. We are proud of what Kathleen Gildred has accomplished with SCCED.
Recycling Food through Non-Profit Organizations
Damien Leone, L.A. Regional Food Bank, 877-NO-HUNGER (667-8643), Ext. 130:
We are one of largest food banks in the country, diverting 40 million pounds annually of surplus and second quality food and personal care items. We distribute food to 960 charities, which feed 260,000 people per week. We want to encourage more donations.
Our sources include donations from:
• Retail and manufacturing distribution centers
• Processing and manufacturing plants
• Reclamation centers
• Dry and cold storage facilities
• Logistic trucking companies
• Food service distributors
• Restaurant, caterers and prepared foods
Objections we hear to making donations:
• The company president often says, “We never have any waste ever.” But we talk with others in the organization, and usually find more accurate information about surplus items.
• “What if some homeless lady gets sick and sues us?” That’s not a issue because there are several “Good Samaritan” laws that protect companies. We have been operating for 25 years without problems. We provide product and donation integrity. We put donation stickers on in accordance with the major trade associations guidelines. We are regularly inspected by government inspectors.
Types of donations include products with:
• Cosmetic and production errors not affecting edibility
• Change in recipe formula or packaging
• Out of season items (such as chocolate Easter bunnies at Christmas time)
• Meat products with labels only in foreign languages.
We feature convenient quick pick-up, on the same day, or the next weekday, in climate-controlled refrigerated trucks. We are a member of the Second Harvest network. We also take personal care, cleaning products, or anything you can use in your home.
Companies say they donate because it is the right thing to do, and they save the disposal cost.
Questions:
Q: Who do we call?
A: Here is a sample list of places to call to make donations of various goods:
– L.A. Regional Food Bank, 877-NO-HUNGER (667-8643), Ext. 130: All types of food, personal care products, paper goods, cleaning supplies for the home.
– L.A. Shares, 213-485-1097: office supplies, art supplies, miscellaneous goods.
– Habitat for Humanity, 213-975-9757: building supplies
– Goodwill Industries, 888-4GOODWILL: used clothes, furniture, appliances, computers, and other miscellaneous goods.
Q: What is your minimum amount?
A: We need at least a pallet load for us to send a truck.
Q: Do you have written information on the Good Samaritan laws?
A: I can send it to you.
Hotel and Restaurant Food Waste Recycling
Bill Gorman, West Coast Recycling Company, 323-261-4176:
Our company handles food waste from large restaurants and hotels with large catering and food service operations. There is about 40-50% waste in food products from plate scrapings and kitchen preparations.
We started with the Disneyland Hotels and found them motivated to do waste food separation and recycling. We now include all restaurants in the theme park. We collect 7-8 tons/day, 365 days/year. Unfortunately, we are not equipped to go to a larger scale because our capacity to handle waste is limited.
The operation at the hotel is simple. We just place a 44 gal Rubbermaid container next to the kitchen prep areas and one additional container for waste food at the bussing stations. We instruct the staff to separate waste food from the trash container. When our container is filled, it is dollied out to a loading dock. Once the operation is set up, it becomes a regular daily routine. We exchange the filled containers for empty steam-cleaned containers with tight snap lids (like Tupperware). We pick up a maximum of twice a day, using bobtail vehicles with lift gates.
The hotels experience a cost savings of 10-15% without any extra labor involved. The current landfill fee, plus shipping fee, is about $41/ton. We charge $35/ton.
They also get other benefits, such as getting the waste food out of their garbage compactors, eliminating odors, eliminating leaking liquids from compactors, adding to life of compactors by eliminating corrosive liquids. They also have a decrease in back injury claims because the employees don’t have to lift and dump the heavy barrels into the compactor.
The renderers used to pay for waste cooking oils, but now they charge the hotels to pick them up. So our accounts have found that instead of maintaining a odor-filled waste oil container, they dump the oil into our food waste container and we pick it up daily.
The food waste is used as an ingredient for livestock feed.
Q: Since this counts as a diversion from landfills, can we get a count of the tonnage?
A: Yes, we can provide monthly accounting by tonnage or by container.
Q: Do you experience contamination?
A: We train the kitchen staff for a day or two, and that has been not a problem. A little paper or plastic is not a issue, but there cannot be any broken glasses or bottles, since we are using it for animal feed.
Q: Can you expand?
A: We are working with Consolidated Services of Republic Industries to find another use for the bench waste. Some of it is too liquid for feed. Right now we are limited to 50 tons/day.
Supermarket Organics Recycling
Eric Wilhite, Community Recycling, 818-767-1203:
We recycle edible unsalables from grocery stores (perishable goods) that used to go to landfills. We divert over 100 trucks/week from landfills.
We have the grocery store personnel put them in the same wax-coated cardboard containers they were shipped in. (The coated boxes are not recyclable as cardboard.) The boxes are palletized, capped, wrapped, and sent back to the companies that distribute the perishables. They are dumped in our facilities at the loading dock and taken to our grinding facility. There they are mixed with municipal greenwaste (we have contracts with cities), and then shipped to our compost site in Lamont near Bakersfield.
Our composting site has 600 acres, with 100 acres composting at any one time. Each row handles 1100 tons, and is filled in one week. The site is built to higher than state standards for composting. It is clay-lined and surrounded by a 100-year flood berm. We use clay drains to drain excess water to a pond, where it is reused. We use “walking floors” to dump it in the windrows on the site. Within 6-24 hours of delivery it is already composting. We use recycled water from Lamont, and finish with fresh water. It takes about 3 months to compost.
The result is the cleanest, purest organic compost on the market. The farmers love it. Every ton is sold every 3 weeks before it is done. California Poly has tested it and found it is very productive. We grew some corn to advertise it. Compared to an average corn crop, the corn grown with our compost is twice as high.
This is closed loop recycling because the compost grows the food products that go to the grocery store. Vons bags it and sells to their customers at a very nominal charge. Through our partners, we donate it to cities for fertilizing ball parks, etc. We also have compost education programs.
Q: What about the wax-lined cardboard?
A: It becomes part of the compost, so everything is diverted from the landfill.
Q: How much do you charge to take the greenwaste?
A: The rates vary for different cities.
Q: How much tonnage have you diverted?
A: We don’t know exactly. We know we have diverted 60-70% of the waste from Vons stores. All Vons stores are participating. They would be able to quantify the diversion rate. We are also getting some from Ralph’s, Safemarket, Pavilions, Safeway, and Food 4 Less.
We also take greenwaste from street sweepings. [Carson generates 131 tons/month of street sweepings, which adds 2% to its diversion rate.]
LA County Grasscycling Program
Joe Haworth, Information Officer, L.A. County Sanitation Districts, 562-699-7411:
L.A. County’s Mow Down Pollution Program is a region-wide grasscycling campaign. We are trying to educate the public to use electric mowers without a bag. Most mowers (gas or electric) can be used without a bag, but the best is a mulching mower.
Grass clippings are difficult for us because they the most odorous product we have in the landfill. We try to blend them immediately with other greenwaste for our cover.
This is our third year of the campaign. In the first year, we did advertising and electric mower sales. We spent $200,000 and we sold 800 electric mulching mowers at discounted prices. With the help of CIWMB, we got some newspaper articles published to instruct people on how to grasscycle.
In the second year, we decided to do a grassroots program. We went to the haulers and the cities, and said we need you to use your technicians to inform the public, about mulching mowers. The haulers put out tens of thousands of pieces of literature. We had a PR firm that designed formats for door hangers, flyers, etc. They provided Zip disks with the materials and the haulers just had to put their logo on it. They also had posters for the sides of the trucks. They provided the materials in both English and Spanish.
We are now getting up to 3% diversion of grass clippings.
From January 2000 through August 2000, we have used radio PSAs. We are developing a TV PSA using the Harlem Globetrotters, showing how easy it is to mow without a bag. Ploughshares is helping with the PSA distribution.
We want to thank Earth 911, which is providing an environmental hotline and website: www.1800cleanup.org. You can put in your Zip code and find out what is going on in your area.
We have an attractive demonstration booth for fairs that shows how grasscycling is done. We have done local workshops in various cities, as well as some county programs. We placed a few newspaper ads in Long Beach and the San Gabriel Valley, but we are mainly hoping for news pickups, especially by the gardening editors.
There are still subsidized electric mulching lawnmower sales. AQMD and ARB will provide $40,000 in subsidies, so a cordless rechargeable costs $150, and a corded for $75.
CIWMB does a survey before and after the programs to see impact. We want to have 5-7% of the populace involved, and then it will take off because everyone will see someone in their neighborhood doing it. When the environmental movement got up to 5% participation, it started spreading like wildfire.
Q: Where does the grass go?
A: It goes right back on the lawn, so it fertilizes it. It also reduces the amount of water and fertilizer you need. You need to follow the rules and only cut the top 1/3 of the grass length.
Using Green Materials in Landfills
Nick Morell, L.A. County Sanitation Districts, 562-699-7411, Ext. 2444
We have four active landfills, representing approximately 20,000 tons per day of disposal. (It should be noted that Spadra Landfill was closed in April, 2000.) These facilities handle waste and diversion materials from over 65 cities and 6 garbage disposal districts.
We have an active materials recovery program, including asphalt, refuse-to-energy ash, white goods, soil, ferrous metals, motor oil, tires, etc. We also recover methane gas and produce energy.
Alternative Daily Cover (ADC) using greenwaste has helped cities to achieve their AB 939 goals. The greenwaste is placed on the refuse at the end of the day to meet the mandatory daily cover requirements. The many benefits of the program are:
AB 939 credits
Conservation of air volume and reduced soil use
Reduced tipping fees for greenwaste
Enhanced potential for landfill gas generation
Odor control
Vector control
Control measure for rain infiltration and erosion
Useful material for onsite landscaping efforts
After it is ground up, the material is generally homogeneous and brown, not “green”. We pick-up the processed material with a “scraper”, transport it to the active disposal area and place it on the face of the daily “cell” of the landfill. This material is as easy to apply as soil. It falls out of the scraper bowl easily, except that it is somewhat “lumpy” and must be applied by a skilled operator. Although it is an ideal substitute for soil, we have experienced some odor problems during the winter months, due to the quality of the unprocessed material (age and moisture content), as well as variable wind and weather conditions.
We cover the active landfill face which varies in size by landfill site (20,000 to 160,000 square feet per day), with a layer 6-12 inches thick when compacted. Since we started this program in 1989, we have handled 2 million tons of greenwaste.
Q: What do you charge?
A: The tipping fee for greenwaste is $11.50 per ton vs. $18 for refuse at Puente Hills and Spadra landfills. About 3% of the loads are rejected, because they contain litter, large stumps, or are noticeably odorous. We charge a hard-to-handle fee of $22 per ton for rejected greenwaste.
This low fee can only be passed on to customers as a result of its use in the construction of the landfills. The tipping cost for all waste materials, including greenwaste, will go up as the handling and transportation costs increase, which will make other alternatives more economically feasible as locally available sites like the Spadra Landfill close.
We would prefer if people would leave grass clippings on their lawn, but we have created a beneficial use for greenwaste in the County. Otherwise we would be using dirt or plastic film to do the covering.
Q: How does your pricing of greenwaste disposal compare to that of private greenwaste processors?
A: We have increased our tipping fee slightly which may encourage people to haul materials to a composting site if it can be used. That is the solution in the long term. The tree trimmers go to USA Biomass, because they know they won’t be rejected for oversized material.
Q: Has L.A. County Sanitation considered a private composting facility on any of your landfills?
A: The issue is that our disposal area constantly is moved around the surface of landfill to ensure that drainage is always maintained and the slopes grow evenly. Based upon this need to be mobile, we even have even experienced difficulties storing waste tires in one location, prior to periodic recovery or shredding. We want to do our job, cover the refuse and efficiently meet all of the health and safety regulations.
Q: Using greenwaste as ADC is a disincentive to organics recycling.
A: We agree it is best to leave it on the lawn, but if people want it collected, we can reuse it. It would cost more to ship this material to a composting facility. It also would be very difficult if not impossible for us to process, bag and sell 1300 tons of compost in this area every day. Therefore ADC is an ideal use for the large quantity of material generated in this urban region on a daily basis.
A State Perspective on Organics Diversion
Howard Levenson, Waste Prevention & Market Development, CIWMB, 916-255-2159:
In 1990, the CIWMB estimated that about 15 million tons of organic materials were generated statewide, including 30% of commercial waste and 43% of residential waste generation. About 90% of these materials were sent to landfills. Today, based on the CIWMB’s 1999 Waste Characterization Study, organic materials still comprise about 35 to 40% of what is disposed in landfills.
In terms of using organics, a California Organics Recycling Council (CORC) survey in the mid-1990s found that perhaps 3-4 million tons were being composted or mulched. Statewide, the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) reported using 960,000 cubic yards of mulch for maintenance in 1996, but this figure dropped to 150,000 cubic yards in 1999. In a 1999 survey of 75 local jurisdictions, we found very few formal city or county programs designed to buy back the materials generated in their jurisdiction. We know that agriculture and landscaping usage is high, but the actual amounts are unknown. Organic materials also are used as alternative daily cover (ADC) at landfills. In 1998, 844,000 tons were used for ADC in Southern California, including 425,000 tons in Los Angeles County and 200,000 tons in Orange County.
In 1999, CIWMB staff attempted to survey composting facilities about their use of organic materials, but the survey failed due to insufficient responses from operators. As a result, in 2000 the CIWMB contracted for a new survey through an independent consultant, with the identity of the facilities masked. The goal is to get responses from 80% of composters and mulchers. The final report on this survey is due in late 2000. The CIWMB does maintain a voluntary list on its web site of composting companies who want to market their services.
Ideally, we want a home for all compostable organic materials, in a manner that protects the environment and public health and safety. We need to ensure we have safe processing facilities, but they often are hard to site. To ensure public safety and environmental health, the CIWMB regulates the operation of composting facilities. Changes in the regulations are being considered to eliminate loopholes and provide more opportunities for business development.
One of the biggest operational issues for composting facilities is odor. Previously, the authority to respond to odor complaints was vested with Air Quality Management Districts. Now, however, local enforcement on odor issues is typically the responsibility of County Environmental Health Departments, working in conjunction with the CIWMB. To assist local enforcement efforts, the CIWMB is developing a resource guide that will include information on how to set up a facility and how to solve odor problems.
We also want to ensure product quality and consistency. Buyers of compost need better information on the products. The problem is that there are no industry standards for compost quality. A voluntary organization, the California Compost Quality Council (CCQC) has developed a voluntary registration system in which registered producers agree to disclose product parameters. Currently 15 composters in California are registered with CCQC. The CIWMB has contracted with CCQC for an updating of its testing and inspection manuals, and is attempting to coordinate with the US Composting Council on development of a national quality seal program.
Relatively few official specifications exist for compost and mulch. The CIWMB has fact sheets available on its web site on how to write specifications and on assessing the quality of compost for agriculture and home gardening. Under contract to the CIWMB, Cal Poly Pomona reviewed specifications and end-use guidelines. CIWMB staff is preparing fact sheets based on this report, with publication anticipated in late 2000.
Caltrans has specifications for composted mulch that are oriented towards weed seed suppression and erosion control. Caltrans specs include sufficient heating to kill weed seeds, plus curing to ensure no biological activity is going on. The CIWMB and Caltrans sent a joint letter to composters in early 2000 explaining these specifications and providing additional information on working with Caltrans.
The advantages of using compost include disease suppression, improved health of soils, and water retention. The CIWMB has sponsored numerous compost demonstration projects, with reports available on its website. For example, a 1997 UC Riverside avocado project showed that mulch suppressed root rot. A 1997 Caltrans report examined the effectiveness of using mulch for erosion control. The CIWMB also reports for projects involving citrus orchard erosion control, and has new projects on hillside vineyard erosion control.
The CIWMB has an outreach program in several regions around the state to educate landscape contractors about mulching, grasscycling, and other sustainable landscaping practices. As part of this, UC Riverside will be publishing landscaping-related publications in 2000. We plan to include building/property managers and architects/designers in future outreach efforts. We also have worked with the California Landscape Contractors Association to revise its Resource Recovery CLCA handbook.
For the latest information on CIWMB activities related to organic materials management, please check our website at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics.
Sustainable End Markets for Organics
Kevin McCarthy, California Organics Recycling Council (CORC) & Waste Management, Inc., 510-563-4214:
CORC is a technical council within the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA). The CRRA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1974, involving representatives of recycling companies, consultants, haulers, public agencies, and others dedicated to promoting waste reduction, reuse, recycling, pollution prevention, composing and expanding the market for recycled content products. For more information, see our website at www.crrra.com
CORC monitors state and federal regulations regarding organics and provides public information. We were founded in 1992 and operate on an all volunteer basis. We comment on proposed laws and regulations regarding organics. However, we are not trying to be the Compost Council; our constituency is basically the municipalities who want to increase diversion of organics.
The CORC Board Members include:
Cliff Feldman, City of Oakland (510) 238-6815
Stephen Grealy, City of San Diego (858) 573-1275
Michael Gross, Zanker Road Landfill (San Jose) (408) 934-2416
Jack Macy, City and County of San Francisco (415) 554-3423
Brian Mathews, Alameda County Waste Management Authority (510) 614-1699
Kevin McCarthy, Waste Management Inc. (510) 563-4214 [email protected]
If you are setting up a greenwaste program, call someone on this list, we have a lot of experience that can help you.
CORC’s goals are:
Maximize diversion of organics from the waste stream by:
Restoring a “program” focus to AB 939, moving away from an accounting-based focus
Supporting diversion programs that promote the following waste management practices in order of priority (same as AB 939 priorities):
Source reduction
Recycling and composting
Environmentally safe transformation
Land disposal (last on the list)
Support development of environmentally superior and diverse end markets involving the highest and best use of organic materials. (ADC would be a last resort.)
Serve as a technical clearinghouse and resource on organic materials recycling programs.
Provide expert testimony and comments on legislation and regulations.
On October 28, 1999, the CORC Board unanimously approved a resolution entitled the “Yard Waste Recycling Opportunities Act.” This act would require every California jurisdiction to divert yard waste from landfilling through implementing residential and commercial diversion programs. These diversion programs would promote the AB 939 waste management hierarchy. Approved end markets would include compost, mulch, biomass fuel, and/or feedstock for new or reconstituted products.
This resolution is CORC’s new organics policy position. We are seeking feedback on the resolution as part of a potential legislative effort.
We don’t consider ADC as an end market for yard waste. We support sustainable end markets that reflect environmentally superior and diverse end uses. Yard waste that is processed into mulch and compost products has the following benefits:
conserves landfill space
conserves water
improves soil quality
creates jobs
promotes the economy through retail product sales.
Yard waste processed into a feedstock as a biomass fuel:
conserves landfill space
reduces fossil fuel use
creates jobs
generates power.
Yard waste used as ADC reduces excavation of native soils. And the methane gas collection must be 100% or it contributes to global warming. ADC is taking in valuable material at a very low disposal price and diverting it from its best use.
Since 1996, when the state approved ADC use to meet diversion goals, its usage has nearly doubled, from 560 thousand tons to over 1 million tons in 1998, with 80% of that increase in Southern California. This dramatic increase raises some fundamental questions: Are statewide market development efforts for organics being undermined and are the year 2000 diversion goals and CIWMB enforcement efforts creating an incentive for increased ADC usage?
How did ADC compare to other diverted materials statewide in 1996, according to the Department of Conservation?
Newspaper: 647,096 tons
Green materials ADC: 560,266 tons
Mixed paper: 349,738 tons
Glass: 220,355 tons
Plastic: 45,138 tons
Aluminum cans: 7,838 tons
It is highly likely that ADC with green materials is now the single largest “diverted” curbside material in California. But does this really match AB 939’s intent to divert materials from landfills so as to conserve landfill capacity? Does ADC use match the impression of “recycling” held by California’s 24 million recyclers?
I would like to present two case studies on costs of ADC vs. composting.
A small city in the Bay area has its collection vehicles unload at a landfill with a permitted composting facility. A hypothetical tip fee of $12.50/ton for ADC could be compared to a tip fee for composting of $24/ton. Composting would mean an increase of only 69¢ per month or $8.28 per household per year.
A large city in the Bay area currently pays $26.50/ton for all end uses at a transfer station. The proposed tip fee for composting of $32.50/ton would cost only 10¢ per month or $1.20 per household per year.
In Southern California, the longer you wait, the faster your landfill capacity will be used up and the higher costs you will have sooner rather than later. You have done a good job in getting the market set up for greenwaste. Wean yourself off ADC and change to compost or other environmentally beneficial end markets.
Please get involved in CORC, give us a call.
A Successful Municipal Greenwaste Program
David Peterson, City of Santa Clarita, 661-284-1411:
Santa Clarita has 150,000 people living in 47 sq. miles. Our greenwaste program totals 48% of our waste stream by weight, mostly coming from residences. We have a lot of large lots that fill up 1.5-yard bins every few weeks. The total is 18,000 tons per year.
In 1996 we offered a 65 gallon bin for greenwaste. Our waste study shows that is ok for the standard family. We have an additional charge for an additional bin, or they can put out a 32 gal bin with a tag for the hauler.
We encourage home composting, by providing gardeners with a $1.50 fee reduction and no bin, but only 1000 households are doing that.
We have recycled Christmas trees since 1991. We used to advertise on TV, now we only do newspaper ads. We accept them if there are no ornaments. Last year we mulched 10,000 Christmas trees. We use it for our parks. We also give bags out free on Arbor Day. People show up even in the rain, last year we gave out 2000 bags.
The city arborist sends the tree trimmings for mulch or composting and we use it for parks and medians for weed abatement, etc.
In our public education project on pollution prevention, we put all programs in one umbrella. We have only one composting brochure. We need ideas for better literature.
Managing the Dynamics of the Organics Industry
Bill Camarillo, California Wood Recycling, 805-650-1616:
We process over 250,000 tons/year of greenwaste. We are a professional wood and greenwaste management and marketing firm providing comprehensive turn-key services for waste haulers and city and county governments. We process, manage, recycle and market greenwaste materials and hundreds of products. For more information see our website, www.agromin.com
The organics industry includes the compost industry, the dairy industry, the forest industry, the solid waste industry, the bio-solids industry, the landscapers and the agriculture industry.
Greenwaste recycling has created a supply push on an undeveloped marketplace. The CIWMB needs to push regulatory reform to help us get more compost facilities permitted. This is the only industry that can meet the demand of handling all this supply.
CIWMB needs to help because we can’t compete with low tip fees for greenwaste. The compost industry is hard to site because of odors, so it should be located at landfills. We operate a composting facility on a landfill that we move on 30 days notice.
The solution to greenwaste is demand-side economics. We need a market development plan and more demonstration projects. We need to create value-added products with a sustainable marketplace for finished goods and services. The end users must have confidence in the products they purchase. The California Compost Quality Council (CCQC) has been helpful in developing standards.
We need to provide hundreds of products, customized for specific industries and customers, including nurseries, agriculture, golf course, sod and turf, etc. This industry makes beauty, energy, and food. ADC should only be a last resort after making every effort for better uses.
Countywide Yard Waste Program
George De La O, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, 626-458-5184:
Because approximately 20% of the residential waste stream consists of yard waste, the Countywide Yard Waste Program was established in 1991 to reduce and divert this yard waste from landfills.
The Program uses Smart Gardening workshops, held countywide, to teach residents:
composting, including worm composting, to recycle organic material into a nutrient-rich soil amendment
grass recycling to allow the grass clippings to decompose and release nutrients back into the lawn
water-wise gardening techniques to conserve water and reduce yard waste while maintaining a beautiful and efficient landscape
Residents are taught about the need for diversion, the State’s waste reduction mandate and the limited landfill capacity, before teaching composting, grass recycling, and water-wise gardening.
It is stressed to the participants that composting is easy, saves time, money, and results in better lawns and gardens. Residents can compost with a variety of bins, including a home-made one. All of the County’s demonstration centers have various types of bins for demonstrating composting techniques. The Smart Gardening workshops also provide information on how worm composting can be used to compost kitchen scraps.
Some of the centers also have a grass recycling demonstration area to assist in showing residents the proper methods for grass recycling successfully. Several of the demonstration centers are also located within facilities which contain various samples of water-wise plants and a few like the Arboretum of Los Angeles County and the Castaic Lake Water Agency also have displays on water efficient irrigation.
Some of the centers have also recently received new raised planter beds which display plants with varying water requirements. These plants are watered using drip irrigation to help conserve water. In addition, some centers have also received a new trellis to provide shade for the residents attending the workshop.
The Program also provides compost bins at a discount, displays at regional events, and does outreach through the use of billboards, newspaper advertisements, and radio and television public service announcements. In 1998, the Program reached approximately 900 residents through the workshops and an additional 19,000 through participation at regional events. Thousands more were reached through the Program’s website at www.smartgardening.com.
For more information on the Countywide Yard Waste Program or to schedule a workshop for your organization, call 1-888-CLEANLA.
Environmental Hotline and Website
Sev Williams, Earth’s 911, 310-401-0317:
Earth’s 911 is an information resource on national and local environmental issues, via either phone (1-800-CLEANUP) or the Internet, (www.1800cleanup.org). Users can punch in their zip code to get local information including recycling locations, hazardous waste disposal, water and air quality and organics diversion.
Earth’s 911 is a free service funded by the private sector.
Earth’s 911 is the official hotline for CIWMB, and California EPA. EPA Region 9 and Cal EPA have signed a Harmonization Agreement to consolidate the state’s environmental outreach efforts under 1-800-CLEANUP and www.1800CLEANUP.org. The idea is to drive everyone to the same place for information.
Earth’s 911 consolidates high quality TV, radio and print Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and has loaded them onto www.1800CLEANUP.org to be viewed by local government agencies and non profit organizations. Many feature in celebrities such as Ted Danson, Mario Andretti, Steven Seagal, etc. This service is also available for local communities to use pre-produced materials instead of spending additional resources to create new ones.
Earth’s 911 recruited the Harlem Globetrotters to make a TV PSA to show how simple grasscycling is. Other communities can use these materials, with a local call to action. Earth’s 911 works closely with agencies and non profits to get their content in the voice-over and tag plate of the PSAs.
We can also tell people where to bring Christmas trees for recycling. Our user interface will allow the agency to get a code and update the data for your site. We maintain quality control.
We are developing a relationship with the US Compost Council. Home Depot will fund them to call up local representatives in California to gather data for posting it on the system. Home Depot funds Christmas tree recycling. They provide a tag for the Christmas tree with a phone number to call for recycling information. We are doing a statewide campaign involving all Home Depot stores throughout the state.
We would like to expand to work with every community in California. We have resources available and can customize PSAs for your city and provide links to your website. We do uation tracking of every visit to our site.
If you let us know when your PSAs go on the air, we can tell you how many calls came in from your region and how much oil was recycled, etc.
Check out the way the site and phone system are structured and feel free to provide feedback to us. We got 800,000 hits last month, and it is increasing because of agencies putting out PSAs. It was set up to save money for taxpayers as a resource to support your efforts.