Getting the Biggest Bang for the Buck

Diamond Bar, California, September 27, 2000
Sponsors: City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts,
Construction Materials Recycling Association of Southern California
Produced by: Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED)
Meeting room provided by the South Coast Air Quality Management District

Executive Summary

Kathleen Gildred, SCCED (310-281-8534): This conference is part of an ongoing series on waste management, environmentally preferable purchasing and sustainability. We hope you can use this information to help your municipality to achieve 50% diversion. Please see our website www.scced.org under "Hot Issues" to get reports of our previous conferences and forums.

Eugene Tseng, E. Tseng & Associates (818-889-8628): A waste reduction and recycling audit is a tool that provides information to both the company and the jurisdiction to help increase recycling and waste diversion. I will present an overview of audit methods and outcomes.

Jon Root, Eco Telesis (310-575-3934): This LA County DPW program assists businesses through a website, hotline, newsletter, technical assistance and outreach efforts. Our message is, "recycling is smart business, it doesn't cost, it pays."

Michael McCartney, QLM Consulting (888-692-9292): The City of Sacramento set up a community team, made up of all stakeholders, to develop a flexible approach aimed at achieving a 30% diversion rate.

Steve Uselton, CIWMB (714-449-7076): Board staff are working directly with cities to analyze, develop and implement appropriate new programs. The Planning Annual Report Information System (PARIS) database is on the Board website (www.ciwmb.ca.gov).

Lisa Rapp, City of Lakewood (562-866-9771 x2510): Before AB 939, we pledged all our trash to be burned in a waste-to-energy facility (but received no diversion credit under AB 939). We have met with the Board, established new programs, and are now removed from our Compliance Order.

Kevin McCarthy, California Organics Recycling Council (CORC) (510-563-4214): CORC monitors state and federal regulations regarding organics and provides information and technical assistance. We see increased composting, but we need more sustainable value-added end markets. Municipal procurement can be helpful.

Kelly Ingalls, Construction Materials Recycling Association of Southern California (818-548-8996): Some of the public policies to support C&D recycling include: local ordinances, local conditions for approval of projects, EIR language, construction specifications and procurement ordinances.

John Richardson, Community Recycling (818-767-6000): We operate a number of facilities, including a transfer station, dirty MRF, and recycling center. We have developed a processing facility to take mixed C&D debris and recycle over 80% of it.

Cara Morgan, CIWMB (916-255-2350): We have a variety of resources to aid C&D recycling, including the Governor's Executive Order D-1600 regarding green buildings, model ordinances on our website, and assistance in organizing workshops involving deconstruction companies, engineers, etc.

Summary of Presentations and Discussions

Commercial Sector Recycling/Waste Audits

Eugene Tseng, E. Tseng & Associates:

A waste reduction and recycling audit is a "tool" that provides information and data to accomplish our goals:

• Goal 1: Institutionalize the Integrated Waste Management Hierarchy
• Goal 2: Develop the Infrastructure to Support Diversion Programs

An audit can be used in any or all of the following ways: evaluate and quantify current and/or future disposal practices at a business; evaluate and quantify current and/or future waste reduction and recycling practices at a business; provide technical assistance, literature, outreach and education; provide business-specific programmatic recommendations for each business; provide recognition for exemplary programs; develop teaching and peer match models; provide long-term planning data for jurisdictions.

Ways audits can be conducted include: telephone surveys; letter surveys; on-site/in-person visits; electronic surveys; part of business license renewals; combinations of various of the above.

The City of Carson, under Jaime Lozano, has found the following signs of a successful waste reduction and recycling program: businesses, on their own, call to request waste reduction and recycling audits; businesses volunteer to become models for BMPs case studies; businesses volunteer to become teaching models and provide tours; businesses refer other businesses to the City for the waste reduction and recycling audit program.

SmartBusiness Recycling Program

Jon Root, Eco Telesis (310-575-3934):

We have a subcontract through Edelman with LA County DPW to assist businesses with implementing waste prevention and recycling programs. Our message is, "recycling is smart business, it doesn't cost, it pays."

We have targeted reaching 20,000 businesses in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County through technical assistance and outreach efforts. We have a Hotline (800-741-9236) and a Website, (www.BusinessRecycling.com). We provide site visits by three business recycling consultants who do on-site surveys/evaluations/assessments. So far they are recording a 49% diversion rate for the commercial program.

Sample success stories:

• Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, Whittier Area: The College converted its standard lawnmowers to mulching mowers, and began grasscycling three acres of lawn. As a result, the college now saves $3,600 in annual operating costs and 128 staff hours a month.
• Sungdo, Rancho Dominguez: Sungdo, a textile finishing company, instituted a collection program for mixed paper, film plastic, and textiles. The company has reduced its annual waste disposal fees by $6,000 to $10,000.
• Quaker City Plating, Whittier area: Based on assistance from the Smart Business Recycling Program, Quaker City Plating now recycles 900 pounds of cardboard every week, reducing waste hauling costs and increasing its annual bottom line by $1,200.

Multi-Family Waste Diversion

Michael McCartney, QLM Consulting (888-692-9292):

The City of Sacramento passed a law mandating 30% diversion from all 18 permitees. We worked with all the stakeholders to make sure that the program would satisfy the needs of all of the communities. The new SWA Ordinance 5 is the most flexible multi-family ordinance I have seen in the country.

Key Suggestions: You need a different skills set for multi-family staff. You need a different person speaking to property owners, managers, real estate trust with thousands of units, multi-ethnic residents, etc. You need to train them in communications skills for a wide range of stakeholders. We had best success with staff people in their mid-30s with a passion about the environment.

Assessing Community Diversion

Steve Uselton, California Integrated Waste Management Board (714-449-7076):

The first thing is to know your waste stream, where it is generated and in what quantities. More importantly, know what programs are being done to keep that waste from going to the landfill. In 1998, the Board intensified its effort to work directly with jurisdictions that had unusually low numbers identified in the 95/96 Biennial Reviews.

We define the process of needs assessment as "A systematic approach to gathering data on a jurisdiction's history and progress to date and forming recommendations to meet their challenges and program needs." We identify local government need for assistance in a three step process: gather background data; conduct a site visit; develop a plan.

Lisa Rapp, Public Works Director, City of Lakewood (562-866-9771 x2510):

Ten years ago, before AB 939, we were encouraged to become involved in a waste-to-energy facility. So we pledged all our trash to be burned in the Long Beach SERRF plant. But it turned out we received no diversion credit under AB 939. We were given a Compliance Order in November, 1999 because we had not met our reduced goal of 21 percent for 1995.

We hired a consultant, Michelle Leonard, to help us. At the site visit, we went through the PARIS code and found many programs we could take credit for. We established a new base year of 1999. The Board has removed us from the Compliance Order.

Increasing Diversion and Recycling of Organic Wastes

Kevin McCarthy, California Organics Recycling Council (CORC) and Recycling Manager for Waste Management, Inc. (510-563-4214):

CORC is a technical council within the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA). CORC monitors state and federal regulations regarding organics and provides public information. We were founded in 1992 and operate on an all-volunteer basis.

CORC's goals are to maximize diversion of organics from the waste stream by: restoring a "program" focus to AB 939; supporting diversion programs that promote the AB 939 waste management hierarchy; supporting development of environmentally superior and diverse end markets; serving as a technical clearinghouse and resource on organic materials recycling programs.

We see a mixed future for composting: continued difficulties with permitting composting facilities; improved economics for recycling and composting as tip fees rise; greater composting of food waste; difficulty in maintaining a supply/demand balance for products. In summary, you will definitely see increased composting, but we need more end markets before we ban yard waste in landfills.

Public Policies and Programs for Reuse and Recycling of Construction and Demolition Materials

Kelly Ingalls, Construction Materials Recycling Association of Southern California (818-548-8996):

Public Policies to support C&D recycling include: local ordinances for C&D recycling; local conditions for approval of projects; environmental impact report (EIR) language; construction specifications; recycled product procurement ordinances.

Basic elements of effective C&D recycling programs include: ordinance or public policy; best management practices (BMPs); implementation program; monitoring; reporting/documentation; program modification process.

Resources and Contacts:

• Construction Materials Recycling Association, Bill Turley, (630) 548-4510, [email protected].
• CMRA of Southern California, Kelly Ingalls, (818) 548-8996, [email protected].
• City of Los Angeles Solid Resources Citywide Recycling Division: Nady Maechling, (213) 473-6226. Ask for Building Industry Recycling Tool Kit and Sustainable Building Reference Manual.
• California Integrated Waste Management Board: (916) 255-2296, www.ciwmb.ca.gov. Ask for A Technical Manual for Materials Choices in Sustainable Construction.
• City of Santa Monica, Environmental Programs Division: Susan Munves: (310) 458-8229. Ask for Green Building Design & Construction Guidelines.

John Richardson, Community Recycling (818-767-6000):

We operate a number of facilities, including a transfer station, dirty MRF, and recycling center. In 1989 we put in a compost facility in Bakersfield, making motor fuel out of wood. We developed a processing facility to take mixed C&D debris and get the wood out of it. After the Northridge earthquake, we processed a total of a half million tons. We have put in a new permanent facility, with an 82-85% recovery rate.

Cara Morgan, CIWMB (916-255-2350):

We have resources to aid C&D recycling, including the Governor's Executive Order D-1600 regarding green buildings. We have added new model ordinances to the C&D portion of our website. Many jurisdictions are passing ordinances with a deposit system, some charge a straight fee, some are scaled to the size of the project. We would like to help organize workshops, involving deconstruction companies, engineers, etc.