Expanding Recycling at Facilities
EPA Potomac Yard Program
Marlene RedDoor
USEPA, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
reddoor.marlene@epa.gov, 703-308-7276
July 15, 2007
MCOG Recycling & Solid Waste Management Committee
A Comprehensive Approach
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Building Relationships
Building General Awareness
Tools and Events to Educate
Volunteer Green Teams
Doing Research
Creating Proposals and Options
Keeping it going - Short and long term
goals
• Budget?
How we Approach it –
Environmental Stewardship
• Stewardship is taking personal
responsibility and interest in
management of something entrusted
to one's care.
• Environmental stewardship is the
responsibility for environmental
quality shared by all those whose
actions affect the environment.
Build Relationships with Everyone Needed for Success
• We have volunteers from all working offices in PY (ORD, OPP,
OSWER)
• Also our facilities and building managers – Edgar Lewis
(OARM/FMSD) and Maureen Dowling (Jones, Lang, LaSalle)
• EPA’s Recycling/EMS Coordinator – Dexter Johnson (OARMFMSD)
• Also the part time volunteers willing to work on key projects
• Reps from our Emerging Leadership Network
• Managers also sign off on the Charter & Projects
Why?
• Environmental Statutes
• RCRA, Pollution Prevention Act, Clean
Air Act, etc.
• Executive Orders 13423, 13514
• Environmental Management System
implementation
• Local Ordinances
Walking the walk! Talking the talk!
Potomac Yard Green Team
MISSION:
•Take the lead in advising on, supporting, and
implementing practices to reduce EPA’s
environmental footprint at Potomac Yard (PY),
• promote these practices among its tenants, and
• serve as a model for other facilities, offices, or
groups at EPA and in general.
CHARTER:
•Signed by all PY ODs and/or DODs
Recycling Goals
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Implement a compostable waste collection
Refine measurement capacity and set baselines statistics
Record quarterly numbers for recycling commodities (paper,
containers, etc.) (continue)
Recycle toner cartridges for all printers and copiers (continue)
Collect and recycle fluorescent bulbs (where not done) -count
number
Recycle electronics equipment and participate in the Federal
Electronics Challenge
Increase the recycling of cans, bottles and plastics, paper, and
newspapers (out of waste baskets)
Participate and help promote a “clean your files day” event at
least once a year
Recycle binders, file folders and binder clips – set up recycling
stations for office supplies
Institute “Techno Trash” Collection for all of Potomac Yards
(http://www.greendisk.com/gdsite/services.aspx )
Set up Plastic bag recycling
Events for America Recycles Day
Measurement
Warm Model: Waste Reduction Calculator
http://epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculators/Warm_home.html - You
can take your information and use this calculator
Potomac Yard Recycling Amounts in Tons and Diversion Percentage for 2007
2009
Two Potomac Yard
Jan
Feb
March
April
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
Mixed Office Paper
1.7600
2.2800
1.2600
1.2190
1.0100
0.5000
1.4982
1.2441
1.1951
1.3875
1.4060
14.7599
Newspaper
0.0760
0.1000
0.0640
0.0260
0.0280
0.0320
0.1115
0.0405
0.0770
0.1435
0.0660
0.7645
Plastic/Glass/Alumin
um
0.1070
0.0800
0.1800
0.1300
0.1300
0.2100
0.1910
0.2040
0.2435
0.3195
0.2985
2.0935
Plastic Bags
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0070
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0245
0.0315
Light Bulbs
0.0010
0.4800
0.0017
0.0060
0.0007
0.0013
0.0004
0.0115
0.0008
0.0001
0.0016
0.5051
Ink Toners
0.0500
0.0780
0.0900
0.0760
0.0470
0.0660
0.0360
0.0270
0.0305
0.0050
0.0195
0.5250
Batteries
0.0220
0.0230
0.0210
0.0210
0.0130
0.0260
0.0165
0.0210
0.0210
0.0145
0.0185
0.2175
Shredded Paper
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
Cardboard
0.2100
0.3400
0.3200
0.3104
0.2800
0.2700
0.4818
0.2541
0.1702
0.5439
0.3996
3.5800
Total for Recyclables
2.2260
3.3810
1.9367
1.7884
1.5087
1.1123
2.3354
1.8022
1.7381
2.4140
2.2342
Refuse
2.2600
2.4000
1.7700
3.1490
2.4400
1.8900
3.0756
2.4189
2.8749
3.7000
2.0868
Total
4.4860
5.7810
3.7067
4.9374
3.9487
3.0023
5.4110
4.2211
4.6130
6.1140
4.3210
Total Diversion
49.62
%
58.48
%
52.25
%
36.22
%
38.21
%
37.05
%
43.16
%
42.70
%
37.68
%
39.48
%
51.71
%
28.0652
#DIV/0
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#DIV/0!
Local Community Involvement
For Our Environment and Our Community
How do we get everyone onboard?
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Do the research for “them”
Make it easy
Save “them” money
Provide Volunteers
Give away food
Compostable Waste Pilot
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Looked at programs already in progress
Wrote Proposal
Found 2 haulers
Used bins already in warehouse
Sent out all hands notice for each floor
Held pizza luncheon with presentations
from Haulers and Green Team
• Had bins in room and used them during
demonstration
• Made visual display boards for each floor
• Tried out different signs
Pilot Program Proposal
What we are testing?
• PY can increase its waste diversion rate to 80%
with compostable waste collection separated
from trash – time frame of 2 years. (Pilot tests
amount changed on 5 floors)
• It can also cut down on the number of plastic
bags place in the waste stream by “kicking the
can” out of individual cubicles and into a more
central location.
• What’s left in the trash after compostable
collection?
What will we collect and in what containers?
•Compostable waste consists of items that can be composted
in a commercial composting facility
•All food - including meat, bones and eggshells.
•Plants – trimmings, leaves, grass, brush, weeds, etc.
•Other compostables – waxed cardboard, pizza boxes, paper
products (napkins, paper towels, plates, cups, milk cartons,
etc), tea bags, coffee grinds and filters, biodegradable
(biobased) utensils, cups and containers. (plastics containers
made of soy or corn based materials like clamshell containers
– on if it has a label saying polylactic or the equivalent).
•Any compostable container that has been contaminated from
the recycling stream by having food waste on it.
Information in Proposal
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What will change?
Where to collect it? (Locations)
In what is it collected?
Who collects the compostable waste?
Where does it go? (from floors to lower
level in bldg.)
When is it collected? (How often?)
What floors will be in the pilot (5 out of 12
floors in pilot)
What else has to be changed?
Implementation:
Process and Sequence – when and how
Timeline
Contractors Info
• Building owner had all information to give
to bidders when current contract was
ended
• Gave 2 sources
• Envirelation – Walker Lunn - 202-465-4802
http://www.envirelation.com/contact.html
• Bates Trucking – Tara Lewis - 301-699-3268
http://www.batestrucking.com/
• 3rd Source Found
• Paterson Environmental Holdings, Harold B.
Wiggins, 410-588-9729 (Hauls out of DE and
has transfer station in MD)
http://www.marylandrecyclingnetwork.org/webi
nars/Composting-MRN.pdf
Success…
• 5 Floors in building piloted
• All tenants by December 2010
• Diversion looks to be about 80% of
what was in the trash in kitchens
• All paper towels from restrooms
• Smaller amounts of compostable
waste in trash each week
• Numbers out in a few weeks – May –
July.
Tools and Sites
• EPA Compost Web Site
• http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composti
ng/science.htm
• http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composti
ng/pubs/index.htm
• Nearest Facilities
• http://www.recycledgreenindustries.com/index.html
• http://www.peninsulacompostcompany.com/facilities
/WORC.html
• Environmental Stewardship Resource Guide:
• http://www.fedcenter.gov/epa/oswer/esrg/index.htm