Recycling solid waste

RECYCLING SOLID WASTE AND ITS
MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS RECYCLING?
 Recycling turns materials that would
otherwise become waste into valuable
resources and generates a host of
environmental, financial, and social
benefits. After collection, materials
(e.g., glass, metal, plastics, and paper)
are separated and sent to facilities that
can process them into new products and
materials

BENEFITS
There are following benefits
for recycling solid waste:
1. Economic
2. Environmental
3. Employee Morale
4. Corporate Image
5. Compliance

BENEFITS
Economic
Potential economic advantages of waste
prevention include:
 Reduced waste disposal fees
Revenues from recycling commodities

BENEFITS
 Environmental
 The environmental benefits include:
 Reduced energy consumption
 Reduced pollution
 Conservation of natural resources
 Extension of valuable landfill capacity
 Stimulates the development of greener technologies
 Prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases and water
pollutants

BENEFITS
 Employee Morale
 Employees morale improves when they see the
company taking steps to reduce waste through
recycling
 This heightened morale could increase
employee enthusiasm, productivity and more
waste prevention measures
 Some companies use recycling revenues for
employee recreation (I.e. picnics, holiday parties
etc.)

BENEFITS
 Corporate Image
 When customers and the surrounding
neighborhoods see that the company is
environmentally conscious, it creates a
favorable image of the company
 An enhanced corporate image might attract
customers
 Surveys show that more and more
consumers consider a firm's environmental
record when making purchasing decisions

BENEFITS
 Compliance
 Reducing solid waste through recycling can also
mean compliance with local or state solid waste
regulations
 Some communities also restrict the amount or
types of waste accepted at solid waste
management facilities
 By implementing an aggressive recycling
program, your business can help ensure
compliance with these requirements

KEY PEOPLE
Step 1. – Key People - Select a Recycling
Coordinator
 The recycling coordinator will need to have
good communication and organizational skills.
Creativity, patience, persistence, a sense of humor,
and good reporter with other people in your
business are important character qualities
 If you are the owner or manager of a small
business, you will probably be the coordinator, at
least in the beginning

KEY PLAYERS
A coordinator’s role typically includes:
 Conduct a waste audit and determine what to recycle
 Selecting the contractor
 Designing the collection system
 Educating employees
 Tracking the program’s progress
 Designate area monitors to assist the coordinator in:
- Keeping the collection containers free of non-recyclable
material
-Notifying the coordinator if containers overflow
- Encouraging employee participation

KEY PEOPLE
Step 1. – Key People - Janitors
 Always involve janitors in the planning process for any
recycling program
 Additional training may be necessary to familiarize them with
new or alternative waste collection procedures
 Realistically assess their safety concerns and how changes
will affect their workload
 The janitors' commitment and cooperation in executing your
recycling program are crucial to success
 You may need to modify the janitorial contract to specify
recycling services.

KEY PEOPLE
Step 1. – Key People - Landscape Contractors
 Plant waste from decorative landscaping for
many downtown courtyards, atriums, and
sidewalks often goes straight to landfill
 By working with your landscape contractor,
you can potentially have plant waste hauled to a
commercial composting facility

KEY PEOPLE
Step 1. – Key People – Food Handlers
 Food and other "wet wastes" contaminate dry
recyclable waste unless you keep them in separate
dumpsters
 It may be possible to reduce food waste through the
suggestions of food handlers
 Donating food may be another alternative rather
than disposal
 Food waste can also be recycled through
composting

KEY PEOPLE
Step 1. – Key People - Construction Contractors
 The materials generated during the demolition phase of a
renovation are mostly recyclable
 It is necessary to provide the contractor with a staging
area and time in which to separate the materials
 If the contractor separates the materials, the value of the
material can be rebated back to reduce hauling costs

WASTE AUDIT
Step 2. – Conduct a Waste Audit
 The reason to conduct a waste audit is to find out what’s
in your trash
 The waste audit will help you identify which materials to
collect for recycling, what size and type of containers you
will need, and what waste could possibly be prevented in
the first place
 Find out if your company or individual employees are
already collecting any materials for recycling
 A waste sort or “dumpster diving” should be the first
place to gather “bottom line” information and should be
done just prior to refuse pickup

WASTE AUDIT
Gather the following materials and resources:
sorting tables
 a large scale for weighing the waste
 separate bins for each sorting category
 gloves
 surgical masks
 a calculator
 materials for recording data

WASTE AUDIT
Safety First!
 Talk to your facility safety representative
prior to doing a waste sort
 Wear protective clothing such as long-
sleeved shirts, pants, gloves, and surgical
masks
 If you discover any hazardous material,
don’t touch it and contact your safety
representative

WASTE AUDIT
 Once you have transferred all of the
garbage to your sorting table, identify the
materials you generate (for example,
cardboard, office paper, and food waste)
 Weigh each type of material and record
your findings
 Total the different amounts of waste found
in each dumpster to find the “bottom line”
 Do similar waste sorts within the facility to
determine what size recycling containers
you’ll need and where they should be placed

DECIDING WHAT TO RECYCLE
Step 3. – Deciding What to Recycle
Certain materials are either banned or restricted from
disposal facilities, such as:
 Tires
 Green Waste (yard trimmings)
 Appliances
 Used Oil
 Scrap Metal
 Auto Batteries
Contact your landfill to find a listing of restricted
materials and how these materials can be disposed

In some municipalities, businesses are required to recycle
certain commodities such as:
 Bars and restaurants serving alcoholic beverages might be
required to recycle glass
 Office buildings might be required to recycle office paper,
newspaper and cardboard
 Hotels, restaurants, food courts, grocery stores, hospitals, and
food manufacturers who generate large volumes of food waste
might be required to recycle food waste
You should contact your local solid waste regulator to
determine what materials you must recycle

The following liquids may be recycled and reused on
your premises in most areas with special equipment:
 Solvents
 Antifreeze
 Frying oil

COLLECTION CONTRACTORS
Step 4. – Selecting a Collection Contractor
 In selecting a collection contractor, you are looking for good,
reliable service at the best price
 The prices paid for recyclable materials vary with the type of
material and can fluctuate dramatically from month to month
 Moreover, your company’s economic benefit from recycling
will probably come from reduced disposal costs, rather than
money paid to you from the sale of recyclables

Option 1: Refuse hauler is also the recycling hauler
 If your refuse hauler provides both waste disposal and
recycling collection, the hauler should be able to offer a
combined cost/pay structure
 In other words, he would charge you for the hauling of both
refuse and recyclables and credit you the current market value
on the recyclables
 This can reduce your overall disposal costs or at least provide
a break-even arrangement

When you talk to the various companies to compare prices
and services, the following questions to help you make
your decision:
 What materials do you collect?
 What materials do you purchase, and how much is paid
for each?
 Do you charge for collection of recyclables?
 If you’re picking up trash and recyclables, what will be
the net savings in my disposal costs?
 Do you pick up on schedule or on call? If on schedule,
how often? If on call, how much lead time is needed?

DESIGNING A RECYCLING SYSTEM
Step 5. – Designing a Recycling System
 key: make it as simple and easy to recycle as it is to
throw away!
 The goal is to design a collection system that is
convenient for everyone and does not incur additional labor
costs

 Recyclables should flow from individual employees to
area collection containers or directly to central
collection/storage
 Place area recycling containers in convenient locations
normally frequented by employees
 Recycling containers should look distinctly different
from trash containers
 Place regular trash cans nearby to avoid unwanted trash
getting mixed in with the recyclables

At Desks
 Each employee usually gets their own small
recycling tray or upright box for convenience
 When full, the employee empties the paper
into the larger paper bins
 Trays and upright bins may be available from
your municipality for free

Dumpsters
 Most buildings have dumpsters for garbage
 Dumpster sizes are measured in cubic yards;
 Dumpsters are good for larger loads or bulky
materials, such as cardboard They have lids
which are easy to lock (which will protect
materials from theft and or contamination if the
dumpsters are located outside).
Special garbage trucks are equipped to pick up
and empty dumpsters automatica

Compactors
 Where space is limited, many buildings prefer to invest in
compacting equipment
 Compactors come in a wide range of styles and sizes
 They can be rented or purchased and are often
customized for a specific site or use
 Some of the investment can be recovered by disposal
savings because you need less frequent garbage or
recycling pick ups

 To select the best containers for your needs, consider the
following:
Durability,
Cost,
 Capacity,
Ease of handling,
Attractiveness

TRAINING AND PROMOTION
Step 6. – Training and Promotion
Phase 1: Program Announcement
 Announce start of the program with a
brief, upbeat memo from the head of the
company
 The memo should highlight the benefits
of the program to everyone, outline the
collection procedure, and give the time for
a meeting to formally introduce the
recycling program and answer questions

Phase 2: Meeting/Educational Session
 Encourage everyone to attend an information session
about the new program.
 The meeting should focus on the cooperative nature
of recycling and the importance of each individual to
its continued success.
 Highlight the main points of the program, taking care
to explain the separation and collection procedures.
 Emphasize the benefits to the environment, the
company and the employees.

Phase 3: Follow-Up
 Follow-up can be done as a part of a regular meeting
agenda or with memos or newsletters
 Consistency is the key to any successful program, and
recycling is no different
 Note how much is being taken out of the waste stream,
how much was donated to charity, how big the party fund
is, and so on

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Problem 1: Low Participation Rate
 Here are some of the things you can do to stimulate
participation:
Solution, Part 1: Provide Information
 People may not know how to recycle
 Provide reminders to tenants in memos and other promotional
pieces
 Check that signs explain the recycling program
 See the Training and Promotion Section of this training

Solution, Part 2: Put Containers in the Right Places
 Check the location of recycling bins
 Make sure there are enough of them and that they are
conveniently located
 Make it easier to put recyclable materials in the recycling
bins than to put them in the garbage
 Make sure everyone can easily reach a recycling bin

Solution, Part 3: Appoint Recycling Experts
 It helps everyone to have an expert available
to ask questions
 Designate motivated employees to be
recycling coordinators for specific areas and let
everyone know how to reach them
 Include the names or phone numbers for the
experts in all the promotional materials

Solution, Part 4: Motivate
 Some people simply don't care at all about recycling .
 Some people are very busy and might consider recycling
to be a waste of time that is better spent on their "real
work“.
 Some of these people can be convinced to participate by
providing incentives, such as games, prizes, and
recognition or by making recycling easier than not
recycling .


Problem 2: Contamination
This is when non-recyclables are mixed with
recyclables
Solution:
 If contamination of recyclables is a problem
throughout your building, ask your recycling company
to help find procedural flaws or collection deficiencies
 If contamination is isolated to certain individuals in
the building, focus your educational efforts on making
sure they know the policies

Problem 3: Lack of Space
This can either be a lack of space near the points of
generation or at the central collection and storage.
Solution
 Lack of storage space is one of the biggest problems in
many downtown office buildings
 Request assistance from your recycling company
 The two most practical solutions are to:
(1) have materials collected more frequently and
(2) install compacting equipment
 Be sure to consider health and safety as well as fire
hazards when you address space issues

Recycling solid waste

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