-

78 / April 1991 / RECYCLING TODAY

f i

ing, as does recycling. Certain key topics that are out front in the news are float-

ste Stream’ sub-

with those areas

information into the right hands “Most of our recycling efforts had

been corporate, meaning we had been aggressively recycling cans, paper, bot- tles, cardboard and plastic,” said Robertson. “Columbia has a limited curbside recycling program, so we startedencouraging employees to bring their material here to be recycled.

“In addition, we’ve E-mailed (on our in-house network), information to our employees and have set up an en- vironmental information area in our break room.”

When asked about how on-li

download them a BBS area. There’s

will admit that Compu- Serve was a bit intimidating, and, like most novices, I was concerned about racking up huge on-line charges due to my hunting and pecking methods; but for sheer hugeness of choice and the power to instantly share data with so- meoneacross townor acrosstheplanet, CompuServe stands alone.

A division of General Videotex, Delphi is a smaller, more concise on- line service than CompuServe Smaller, but in many ways friendlier and less imposing.

Delphi has alarge menu of groups and clubs; including the Environment SIG, which serves as a messzge and file database where Delphi members can conference, exchange ideas, and upload and download information about the environment.

The modem (upper left) is the key to tying into the electronic networks.

Schon, the Environment SIG’ In less than two hours, he wro

As part of the servi , Schon also publishes an on-line new etter called EnvironLaw which, for a s all fee, of- fers up-to-the-minute inf mation about legislation that affects re cling and the environment in general.

which cept through are not the available very expensive \ anywhere hard- ex-

cover services This is just as immediate and much less expensive for the user!’

And what of the other message bases in his SIG?

“We would like to get a lot more in- put from the various environmental organizations like the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society andbe able togive people a point of contact for these sources,” said Schon. “We want people across the country to be able to log on and have immediate access to informa- tion.”

I found a number of provocative threads taking place on the Environ- ment SIG bulletin board; including dis- cussionldebates on animal rights, household toxics and one particularly interesting conversation on beverage containers and responsibility (see sidebar on page 74).

“We cover the most recent cas

Like CompuServe, the messages from Delphi subscribers seemed to be not only politically and environmental- ly astute, but also indicative of a will- ingness to listen to both sides of an argument.

In the information business, News- Net is all business I t is an on-line news- letter service for people who need highly detailed, up-to-the-minute data drawnf all cornersof the electronic world

ERS. Of the hundreds of week- F 1 and monthly newsletters available on-line, I found 16 devoted to environ- mental concerns; including the Solid Waste Report, Environmental Com- pliance Update and the Waste Treat- ment Bchnology News

Patricia McParland, marketing com- munications specialist for NewsNet, Sees the environmentalinformationsec- tion as one of the fastest growing seg- ments of their entire database.

“The environment is an areain which we have experienced amazing growth in the last two years,” says McPar- land.

One of the reasonsmay be NewsNet’s monitoring and gathering service call- ed NewsFlash; which will search hun- dreds of documents and electronically “clip” and present you with just those that you specify. This saves costly on- line time, as well as time spent sifting througharticleslookingfor those spec- ific to your needs McParland feels that the “flash” in NewsFlash might best illuminate NewsNet’s most important asset: Time.

“We market ourselves as a ‘current service,” she said. “The

thing is timeliness”

and up), there are, of course, situations when the speed of accessing such in- formation could be invaluable.

As more recycling information goes on-line, and more information becomes instantly accessible to the American consumer, it seems certain that more responsible behavior will evolve.

Andoneday, themessagejust might get out to those to whom the bark of recyclers is a rude and constant annoyance: Our byte is worse.

The author is hard wired to his PCin Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

RECYCLING TODAY I April 1991 In

According to Susan Smith, president of C2S2 Consulting Group headquar- tered in Seattle, Wash., the main ad- vantage of a windrowing system is the low capital requirement to get into oper- ation. “Anybody can get some land, a water retention system, and start turn- ingawindmw,” she says “There is not too much you can screw up in a system like that!’

Without proper management, how- ever, the quality of the compost will not

be good. Poor quality compost is dif- ficult to give away, almost impossible to sell.

One municipality with apilotproject is Fairfax County, Va., Eventually, the county plans to build a large site with capacity to handle 152,000 tons of yard waste But that’sdownt.he line. Thep-ro- ject started with leaves

Three percent of the residents got 30-gallon Kraft paper bags “We col- lected on Saturdays in November and

December,” says Richard Boes, project manager for yard waste management.

It was a real eye-opener. “We gar- nered 600 tons of leaves from that pro- ject,” he says.

The county also vacuumed leaves at extra cost to the residents in 7 percent

owner associationsgot together to use bags, and there was some voluntary self-hauling done.

“Citizens brought in a total of 2,000

RECYCLING TODAY I April 1991 / 79

efthe c”. In additim, some home-

tons of leaves on a volunteer, self-haul basis,” Boes says

The countjr used brush tub grinders, with a different set of screens, to make the leaves into mulch. Those grinders were used later for Christmas Tree disposal (see sidebar on page 79).

Altogether, the county has about 16,000 cubic yards of leaves undergo- ingwindrow composting this spring. I t intends to combine the leaves with grass from a number of lawn service companies which cooperate with the county. Boes figures hewillget between 1,OOO and 2,000 tons of grass to com- post with the leaves ATTAINABLE GOALS. For 1991, Boes would like to see 30,000 tons windrow composted, including brush, leaves and grass About 1,300 tons of brush alone are shredded each month, so the goal looks quite attainable.

majority of all brush. The county, like many others around the country, will no longer landfill brush. So Boes an- ticipates as much brush as he can handle. , InLosAngeles,Calif., brushalsowill be part ofthe yard wasteprogram. Sara

j 1 McEneaney, sanitary engineer for the city, says 30 to 35 percent of Los Ang- eles’ trash is yard trimmings She says 82 percent of that is leaves and grass, 18percent is tree trimmings and brush.

Christmas trees are a major consid- eration in the Los Angeles project. In 1989,5,000 trees were collected. This past Christmas, the city picked up 18,000 trees

Los Angeles used a drop-off method for its Christmas tree program in the past, but may go to curbside collection this year. Since the city wants to go to totally automated collection within the next five years, that may become a prob- lem, however. Treesoften are too bulky to fit into the automatic pickup systems. Q ~ G S AND SWDGE. The city has three programs to compost materials The first combines yard clippings with sewage sludge The clippings are used asabulkingagent. The product is com- posted by San Joaquin Compost.

Last February, a separate proposal was put together and awarded to Uni- ted Pacific Corpor. They vdl t& mzt- erials from the street tree division, grind and compost it, and use it as a soil amendment and mulch.

All of the material will be windrow-

, i Previously, incineration handled the

80 / April 1991 / RECYCLING TODAY

composted in the San Joaquin area, quite a distance from Los Angeles.

Transportation bills are high: $2.35 per ton mile. But, McEneaney points out, there is no processing cost, so the total cost is not too bad.

Currently, Los Angeles is lookingfor- ward to collecting yard waste from 800,000 residents annually in a project phased in over the next five years

A 15,000-home pilot project is also underway. McEneaney says the city sees a lot of contamination with refuse in the yard trimmings program. It’s another factor which will have to be workedout as the city steps upitscom- posting program. :

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., identified four technology levels from which communities can choose when starting a windrow composting program.

The basic level is formation of large windrows, 12 feet high by 24 feet wide and up to several hundred feet long.

This approach calls for the windrows to be turned with a front-end loader as infrequently as once a year. Material is usually suitable for use as compost after one to three years.

Although relatively inexpensive and requiring little attention, this method

calls for a large buffer zone between the facility and neighbors due to con- siderable odor resultingfrom the infre- quent turning.

A slightly more advanced system, termed low-level by Rutgers, is using smaller windrows and more frequent turning to limit odor problems Here, a municipality piles windrows 6 feet high by 12 to 24 feet wide. CURING. After the first burst of micro- bial activity - about one month - two piles can be combined. About a year later, after several windrow turnings, piles can be moved off to a working area to cure, opening up room for fresh yard waste.

This method turns yard waste into compost in 16 to 18 months Low-level technology is less malodorous because the material is turned more frequent- ly. As a result, the buffer zone does not have to be as wide.

Thenext stepupis theintermediate- level. Similar to the low-level technol- ogy, it calls for weekly turning of the windrows to accelerate decomposition. Compost may be ready in four to six months

Extra processing means an increase in capital and operating costs The use

(continued on page 82)

GS . . = and we’ve got a sack full of satisfied customers to prove it!

McDonalds Weyerhauser Alcoa

City and County of Honolulu

Cobb County (Ga) Payless Drugs

City of Olympia (Wa)

Yosemite National Park Luke Air Force Base

Mars Candy Reynolds Aluminum

Washington State Univ.

Norfolk Naval Station Oregon State Univ.

Jackson County (Fla) Alaska State Univ.

Paperboard Industries Corp.

The “BAGIT SYSTEM” makes recycling convenient and economical. It is so simple even

children can do it. ““Built and designed with the

hauler in mind” For details, clip and send the

adjacent coupon or give us a call at 1-800-62BAGIT

(622-2448)

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P.O. Box 817 Newberg, OR 97 132

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I 0 YES, Please send me more information and details about the “BAGIT SYSTEM”. The programs we are interested in are: D Curbside 0 Commercial Glass 0 Multiple Dwelling Schools

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Composting (hm page So)

of specialked windrow turning mach- ines, rather than front-end loaders, is more expensive but likely to be cost- justifiable in a program of any size. Win- drow turners are far more efficient than front-end loader sat gettingagood mix and helping proper aeration.

High-level windrowing is also called forced aeration. This system uses an automated blower system for temper- ature and moisture control. Air is blown through anetworkofperforatedplastic pipes under the compost pile.

More expensive than windrow turn- ing, high-level technology is most com- monly used for co-composting sludge with yard waste orotherbulkingagents where aeration and temperature con- trol are even more important.

Edward Janesz, organic recycling de- partment manager for Kurtz Brothers in Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, says he an- ticipates a real glut on the market in

the next three to five years as more states require separate handling of leaves, lawn clippings, and brush.

“I’d suggest mayors and councilmen give a lot of thought to where they are going to market their product,” Janesz says GLUT. “Explore the possibilities early in the process There will be a glut on the market. In some areas, you won’t be able to give it away,’’ he predicts

In Ohio, 20 percent of the waste stream is yard waste. That includes 10 to 12 percent in leaves, 4 to 6 percent ingrassclippings, and2percent woody waste.

In a typical program, homeowners use only about 10 percent of the com- post produced. Parksalsousesome. The rest depends on the commitment of the municipality to the compost recycling program.

Smith, whose firm, C2S2, perform- ed design work for some smaller win- drowing operations, says she is perplex-

ed at the lack of support municipal com- posting programs get from the very municipalities they are established to serve. “Cities seem to resist using it themselves . . it makes no sense,” she says “Figure 50 percent of what you produce is the minimum you will have to dispose of,” she adds

The problem she discovered is that the parks and transportation people are not connected with the processes they use every day. “A nice mulch cuts costs,” she re-emphasizes

But, like many other folks, people in charge at the department of transpor- tation, or parks and recreation, seem to think of grass and leaves as a prob- lem to bedisposedof,andnotaresource to be used.

“People pay too much attention to their jobs and not to what they are do- ing on their jobs,” she says. “Things are so political and one department doesn’t talk to another.”

(continued on page 94)

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82 I April 1991 I RECYCLING TODAY

Adept Solutions ..................... .37 Amadas ............................ .38 American Metal Market ............. .53 American Recycling Equipment ...... .63 Apex ............................... .9 1 Avalon ............................. .13 Bag Connection ..................... .81 Balemaster .......................... .2 Barclay ............................ .34 Cavert Wire ......................... . 7 C F Maier .......................... .I4 Chem-‘&her ........................ .39 Clark Roumellis .................... .73 Clifton Steel ........................ .50 Conrail ............................. .5 DDB Co. ........................... .83 Dempster ........................... .8

................................. .8

Ertel .............................. .43 Fairbanks Scales ..................... .9 Fink ......................... .... .61 Geneva Products .................... .89 Gensco ............................. .57

.k Global ............................. .87 GkCDA,Show ...................... .67 Harris .............................. .45 Ha buster ......................... .62 In&strial Paper Shredders .......... .36 I&r Teco .......................... 82 Innovator .......................... .32 Jedstock ........................... .40 John Lemmon ...................... .20 Kahn .............................. .16 Kewanna Screen Printing ............ .20 &Metal ............................ .52 Logemann ......................... .46

i . , Lundell ......................... .48-49 #& 1 MA Industries ...................... .25

MacPresse ......................... .I3 Magnatech ......................... .33 Max Pak ........................... .43 Mayfran ......................... .26-27 May Manufacturing ................. .42 Meese .............................. .89 Mid-Atlantic ........................ .32 Mid-Atlantic Waste .................. .40 Mi-Jack Products ................ .35, 96 Mitsubishi .......................... .15 Mosley Machinery .................. .95 Municipal Waste Recyclers ........... .66 New London Engineering ........... .29 Pa er Buyers ....................... .51 P8R ............................... .36 Philadel hia Tramrail ................ 88 Plastic buyers ...................... .47 Prodeva Inc. ........................ .39 Rehrig ............................. .IO Reotemp ........................... .82 Resource Recovery Systems Of Nebraska 54 REM .............................. .23 Rigo-Rig0 .......................... .34 Rojess ............................. .17 Rogers ............................. .65 Southeastern Fibers ................ .58 Steel Can Recycling Institute ........ .31 Team Rec cling System .............. .21 Techstar Jlastics .................... .54 Trucks and Parts .................. ..22 United Resource Recovery ........... .50 Van Dyk Baler Corp. ................ .24 V. Ponk ............................ 18 WRCE ............................ .41 Walin a-Timsco ..................... .59 Waspsaler ......................... .I8 Waste Management Inc. ............. .71 94 I April 1991 I RECYCLING TODAY

3 C O .......................... .55, 92

!

Composting (from page 8.2)

She points out that a muncipality which uses much of its own composted material has that much less compost it needs to turninto a saleable product. Used liberally, in combination with a chipping program, compost makes a great mulch for weed control. That reduces both dollar and environmen- tal costs in green-belt areas.

Such a program has been successful in Fairfax County, although aquantity of the compost and mulch produced still is marketed in bulk.

MSW compost is more difficult to market than yard-waste composte be- cause of the greater potential for prod- uct contamination. Heavy metals, household hazardous waste, and indus- trial sludge cangetintoMSW compost. PUBLIC USE. However, MSW compost may be used in parks, at nurseries or onland reclamation projects where the state government standards are less stringent than those for food crops.

The U.S. Congress Office of Technol- ogy Assessment is optimistic about the potential market for compost in land- scaping and smaller scale agriculture, like orchards.

0”s studies indicate that landscape contractors and suppliers, sod services, nurseries, and retailers of soil condi- tioners are likely to show increased in- terest in bulk compost.

Homeowners, while a potentially large market forbaggedproducts, may be reluctant touse compostsmade from MSW or sewage sludge, OTA says.

Compostingmay not be for all towns. “An area with 7,000 households is too small to invest in its own program,” Janesz says. In fact, he would say any city with fewer than 10,000 households will find its equipment underemployed and its investment shaky.

A typical household in Ohio, says Janesz, generates two to four cubic yards of lawn waste per year. Com- posting 14,000 yards is barely a three- month project, leaving equipment idle for the other nine months. PRIVATE SECTOR. “It makes more sense to centralize operations with three or four neighboring communities Or,” he adds smiling, “consider a private sec- tor company like ours.”

Ohio appears to be aleader in the area of operator certification. The state is expected to propose soon a program which would be similar to the commer- cial pesticide applicator’slicense. It will certify that compost makers know what they are doing, and are aware of proper

pi-acticesand procedures to make sound compost.

An additional hint from Janesz: train several back-up front-end loader oper- ators to handle the composting. If your regular operator is off sick or quits, you don’t want to leave the job to an unin- formed worker. Mishandled compost tends to stink, and one lapse can ruin an otherwise sound program.

MSW program managers need to market their programs in several areas: with the municipal government, with the citizensliving near the composting site, and with the people who eventual- ly will buy and use the compost.

With all bases covered, a windrow compostingprogram can be successful from every point of view.

The author writes from Strongsville, Ohio, andpreviously served as Execu- tive Editor for Harvest Publications’ farm books.

diverted to such locations, says arepre- sentative.

Much of Clark County is the city of Vancouver. After one year, if Clark County has not reached its goal, it will go to mobile sites to collect materials. If that doesn’tget that 50percent figure after the second year, then it will go to curbside pickup.

Even such bulk items as brush and Christmas trees can be handled by the homeowner if the program is set up right.

Brush and tree prunings traditional- ly have been treated like trash- some- thing to be hauled away. But in Fairfax County, Va., (a Washington, D.C., sub- urb), local authorities were quite suc- cessful in getting homeowners to haul their own woody, bulk and organic refuse.

With cooperation from Browning- Ferris Industries, headquartered in Houston, Texas, in transportation, and the Heckingers home improvement stores (most of which have large, open parking lots), Fairfaxcounty didachip- ping and shredding program that was quite successful.

The county returned all of the mulch it made to homeowners, and eliminated much of the disposal headache that comesafter Christmas With 6Oprivate haulers in the county, and the county service covering only 13 percent of the county, coordination of even the best- planned program can be a problem.