1
Raina Bright
Contributor
Sein Tun
Contributor
Derek Kitchen
Contributor
RECYCLING RESCUE FOR TOOELE
A Comprehensive Plan to Help Tooele County Increase Its Appeal and
Benefit
Its
Bottom Line by Upgrading the Existing Recycling Program
In recent years, Tooele County has made efforts to encourage recycling among its
citizens, to improve its image as a great place to live, and to address growing environmental
concerns created by the lack of recycling. However, Utah still places near the bottom of
nationwide rankings of percentage of waste recycled (Tonnage Report). This is testament to the
fact that these efforts, while commendable
could stand to be improved upon. Coupled
with Tooele’s impending population boom,
it would be prudent to implement upgrades
to existing plans. And hope that this change
will reduce the negative environmental
effects of landfills, improve Tooele’s image
to attract new residents, and create revenue
for the county. We propose a change in the way Tooele’s recycling program is managed by the
city.
2
The Problem with Landfills
Landfills have increasingly become a problem for the state of Utah, as they have across the
country. Landfills are already very unpopular among most citizens due to the many
environmental problems that have been attributed to them.
However, much has changed a lot in the past century. From individually packaged food
servings, paper prints, plastic bags and bottles and aluminum cans, more garbage is generated
now than ever before. The average person discards seven and a half pounds of garbage every
day. This garbage, the solid waste stream, goes mostly to landfills, where it's compacted and
buried. As the waste stream continues to grow, so will the pressures on our landfills, our
resources, and our environment (Stanford).
Landfills can contribute directly to greater levels of air and water pollution. Items, such
as plastics, placed in landfills break down very slowly and emit gases constantly while doing so.
Some such gases, like methane and dioxin, are proven to cause health problems ranging from
learning disabilities to cancer (Harmful Health Effects). Tooele’s population at large knows that
pollution is harmful and is a serious problem. Tooele County should look at the example of many
other states and local governments are frantically working to reduce the amount of waste in
landfills to counteract these harmful effects. It should certainly be acknowledged that Tooele has
already made some strides in this area.
Tooele Looks Dismal by Comparison
The county government and waste management officials should be commended for
implementing the Blue Bag recycling program throughout Tooele. The bags, which can be
purchased at many local retail locations and then filled with recyclables and placed inside a
3
regular city trash can for curbside pickup, have seen some measure of success. The program
itself shows that Tooele cares about the environment and the community and wants to create a
reputation for ecology and stewardship.
The fact remains, though, that Utah is sadly lagging behind most other states when it
comes to recycling. Salt Lake, Davis, and Utah counties all have highly successful programs,
with residents recycling waste at a rate nine times the national average, as shown in figure
1(Harmful Health Effects). Yet, due to the poor performance of nearly every other county in the
state, Utah still hovers around the bottom when it comes to overall recycling numbers. The
beehive state generates around 4 tons of waste each year and only about 20% of that is recycled
(Utah’s Water Resources). The rest, as we know, will sit for decades, at minimum, in one of
Utah’s many growing landfills. Tooele's mediocre numbers have, and will continue to fog the
recycling progress of surrounding Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah counties. It's time for Tooele to
bring itself up to par.
figure
1
Increased Effort Means Improved Image for Tooele
With several exciting new residential developments banking on attracting some of the
great influx of people that Utah will see in the coming years, it seems fitting for Tooele to ramp
4
up its efforts. In fact, Utah is one of the top five states for projected population growth
(Bulkeley). When given the choice between purchasing a home in an area with a positive
environmental image and one with such a poor performance in that department, many of today’s
consumers would choose the former without hesitation. The fact is that every effort must be
taken to attract homebuyers, given the slow market and competition in neighboring counties.
What would the incentive be for someone to choose Tooele over Bountiful, for instance, when
Bountiful is cleaner and ‘greener’?
Tooele’s own tourist websites cite its proximity to Wendover and Salt Lake as one of its
main points of attraction. With so many community projects in the works for Tooele, along with
the potential for a more eco-friendly reputation, the county should be able to stand on its own
merit as a destination. Utah’s recently adopted motto, “Life Elevated” connotes a place of higher
standards – somewhere clean, beautiful, and safe. Any community hoping to benefit from this
renewed image would do well to step up their conservation efforts.
Add to the Blue Bag Program, Add to Tooele’s Appeal
Changing the way each participant thinks about his or her recycling bin is most
important. Many people have been surprised by the amount of waste that can be recycled by
using the Blue Bags program (County Landfill Sets Right Example). Unfortunately, the cost and
inconvenience to consumers hasn’t allowed it to reach its potential. For most busy Tooele
residents, it’s much easier to throw all of their household waste into one bin rather than sorting
out the recyclables. Especially in people’s often chaotic day- to- day life, recycling can become
much more of a nuisance than a priority. The city council can change the way people think
about recycling. Consider the following adjustments in the Blue Bags recycling program:
5
More Places to Recycle Will Mean More Recycling
If consumers had more options for where to put their recyclable goods, they’d recycle
more. Many times when someone is going to the grocery store, they know there’s a spot to drop
off used family items to the Good-will bin in the parking lot. If local grocery stores had bins for
all recyclable items, they would surely be used as well.
In addition to the Blue Bags program, offer free curbside recycling bins. We understand
the cost associated with giving each household a big plastic container for recyclable goods,
which is why we suggest keeping the Blue Bags program for small households who won’t
recycle much, but also offer the big curbside bins for larger households as they need it.
Also, require all city businesses to include a recycle bin in addition to trash. If every
local grocery store, gas station, and video store had more than just trash bins, people would be
more inclined to recycle. They wouldn’t have to hold onto their plastic bottles or soda cans,
because they’d be able to throw it into a recycling bin along with any other trash they need to
toss.
Create Encouragement through Incentive
As a city council, you have the power to influence the citizens. If the city takes a stand in
promoting more recycling, the changes in the way people think of recycling from an ethical
standpoint to a more incentive view could be astounding. We propose adding a tax incentive to
each household for their recycling. “The more you recycle, the more you save” ideal would
encourage each household to recycle as much as possible. This kind of program would work
because many people are already feeling the nationwide financial pinch in their wallets. We
suggest a program that weighs each recycled home pickup, gives the homeowner a receipt of
6
some sort each month, quarter, or year that tells them the amount of pounds they’ve recycled.
Come tax season, the homeowner would submit their receipt showing what they’ve recycled with
their tax return for a write off.
Recycling Can Be Profitable for Tooele
While Tooele is breaking even with regard to the financial cost and return of its current
recycling programs, it is apparent that improvements could bring profits to the county. So, while
there may be some initial expenses involved, it has already been acknowledged that those could
be recouped quite easily. According to the Tooele Transcript Bulletin’s editorial section,
“County landfill managers are spinning straw into gold by taking waste previously thought to be
useless junk and finding uses or a market for it” (County Landfill Sets Right Example). Recent
reports of landfill thieves serve as case in point that there is money to be made from recyclable
goods. Waste Management and Tooele itself should be making that money.
The New Program Would Be a Win-Win Situation
Whatever the initial expenses, building up the recycling program in Tooele would
certainly be well worth the investment as it creates a positive outcome for individuals as well as
the city itself. By raising enthusiasm, making recycling more convenient and offering financial
incentive, Tooele's county officials can drastically improve the county’s disappointing recycling
numbers. By doing so, Tooele can present a much more attractive picture to prospective
homebuyers while heeding the urgent call to solve the environmental problems caused by
landfills. Through these efforts, Tooele also stands to create a new stream of revenue for the
county through valuable recyclable material harvesting. By taking these simple steps, a truly
rewarding outcome will most assuredly be had – one that benefits not only Tooele officials and
citizens but the planet as well. We look forward to answering your questions and working with
7
you at every stage from estimating the initial costs of each phase of improvement and hashing
out the physical logistics of operations to presenting a net present value for future profits off of
the new program. We are confident that you will agree that these improvements would be
beneficial to Tooele and hope that we are fortunate enough to collaborate with your fine county
and its officials on such a project.
Thank you sincerely for your time and consideration.
Works Cited
Bulkeley, Deborah “Utah Growth Rate Soaring”, Deseret Morning News April 22, 2005“County
Landfill Sets Right Example For Us All” Tooele Transcript Bulletin Online Sept 2008. 11 Nov
http://www.transcriptbulletin.com/pages/full_story?hash=comments_228198&page_label=opini
on_editorials&id=228198&article-County-landfill-sets-right-example-for-usall%20=&widget=push&instance=secondary_stories_left_column&open=&#comments_228198
“Greenhouse Gas Emissions”, Environmental Protection Agency. Nov 2008
<http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/index.html>
“Harmful Health Effects (of Landfills)”, Alliance for a Clean Environment Nov 2008
<http://www.acereport.org/landfillgas2.html>
Stanford Recycling Center, Stanford University. 12 Nov 2008
<www.recycling.stanford.edu/recycling/caq.html>
“Tonnage Report”, Recycling Coalition of Utah Nov 10 2008
8
<http://www.utahrecycles.org/tonnage/county_report.php?PHPSESSID=4aa91a1030103
b039b8b0e87a14f8816>
“Utah’s Water Resources: Planning for the Future”, Utah.gov Nov 2008 Ch.3 p.1
<http://www.water.utah.gov/waterplan/>