You already know that Grand Junction is experiencing an energy boom. What we have found out is that the boom has spilled over into the recycling arena… in some very big ways! The first is in the amount of material being generated by local residents and businesses. Back in 2002, we were thrilled to report that you had broken the 2 million pound mark. That number doubled, to nearly 4,000,000 pounds, in 2007! All of that material resulted in the diversion of 8% of the City’s trash from permanent entombment in the Mesa County Landfill. While we are still far below the national average of 32 %, Grand Junction is making great strides in recovering commodities from the City’s trash stream and giving them life as new products.

Another effect of the boom has been the number of new residents signing up for the curbside program, up from 20 per month to 30+ per month in 2007. There are now nearly 3,000 residential homes in the City actively involved in curbside collection, and the River Road drop off is a constant whirl of activity.

Recycling is a hot topic in many sectors of our community and part of a larger vision to cut waste and promote sustainability. An example is Alpine Bank which has achieved a “Green Building” award, setting standards and goals for energy conservation and aiming to reduce waste by 50% by the end of 2008 through recycling. Local entities such as St. Mary’s Hospital are achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, with recycling programs a big part of the process. City schools are involved in cardboard recycling efforts and are being encouraged to do more with the introduction of single serve plastic milk bottles in the lunchrooms. The City of Grand Junction, through it’s CORE (Conserving our Resources Efficiently) leadership group, is working toward recycling at local events (the first will be JUCO) and in public buildings.

Smaller businesses are interested in reducing their impact on the planet as well. We receive calls every day from local business wanting to recycle, and frequent requests from the public for talks, tours and our participation at events.

Wow! Recycling has become exciting! But, hold on…handling these various requests for service and processing all of the material that people are more and more eager to recycle takes equipment, manpower, and the structure to house and maintain that equipment and employ those people. Equipment costs money, and the competition with the natural gas companies has put the qualified labor pool out of reach of many local businesses, such as ourselves. Instead of expanding the recycling program in 2007 to meet the public’s requests for service, we were actually forced to cancel half of our commercial accounts!

In other words, building an infrastructure to recycle in a big way requires a financial investment. So, what happens next… after Grand Junction has demonstrated a desire and willingness to recycle? Mesa County Government is spearheading an evaluation of waste diversion and recycling in the valley in comparison to other areas of the state. We eagerly await its recommendations. In the meantime, talks are underway within the City to determine what will be necessary for the program to expand to meet the needs of officials, businesses, and the public and also what funding the City is willing to provide to achieve those goals.

Would you like more recycling options? Would you like to see more of your neighbors recycle or to have recycling at your workplace? Thanks to your commitment and effort through the years, 2008 may prove to be the next turning point for recycling in the Grand Valley.

Don’t Trash That Old Computer!

February’s electronics collection event garnered 9,000 pounds of CPU’s, CRT’s, and printers from area residents, small businesses and government agencies. Recycling this much material saves an energy equivalent of 2,319 gallons of gasoline and diverts the following from the landfill:

• Lead: 649 pounds
• Plastic: 2,676 pounds
• Glass: 1,863 pounds
• Metals: (aluminum, steel, copper, tin and iron): 3,345 pounds
• Zinc: 104 pounds
• Barium and mercury: 9.5 pounds

For information about upcoming electronics recycling events, call Sammie Baratta at Lifespan Technology, 256-0182. Waste Management also has an electronics recycling program. Phone: 243-4345.

Plastic’s Outlaw

Over the past 30 years the plastic bag has made its way into every aspect of our lives. So much so that it is now a major contributor to unsightly blight- blowing around the countryside, clogging waterways, sticking to fences and being ingested by animals and birds mistaking its tiny, photo-degrading particles as food.

In an attempt to control the problem created by bag litter, some state and local governments across the country are taking steps to restrict their distribution or disposal. In April 2007 the City and County of San Francisco banned the use of non-compostable plastic bags by retail businesses with $2 million or more in annual sales. The State of California also enacted legislation requiring large supermarkets to provide free recycling collection for plastic shopping bags and make reusable bags available for purchase. In a similar move, the City of New York has mandated that all retail operations occupying 5,000 or more square feet or that have five or more outlets provide convenient recycling for plastic shopping bags. Some businesses are taking the problem in hand without waiting for legislation. Austin, Texas based Whole Foods Market is eliminating the use of the disposable plastic shopping bags from its 270 Canadian, UK and U.S. stores by April 22, 2008.

Around the World

According to Reusable Bags.com, between 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year, and that figure increases by more than half a million bags every minute. The vast majority are used once, often for a matter of minutes, and then end up in landfills or as litter. Planet Ark, an international environmental group, reports that thousands of whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year worldwide. They block drains, trap birds, and are swallowed by livestock.

The response is global. From France to South Africa to India restrictions or bans are being debated. Japan, Germany , Italy as well as cities across Canada and Britain already have them in place. In Australia, about 90% of retailers have signed up with the government’s voluntary program to reduce bag use. In January of this year the Chinese government banned the free distribution of plastic shopping bags. While the bags can still be purchased by consumers, it is the hope of the Chinese government that eliminating the give away practice will encourage people to opt for reusable bags.

When Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags in 2002, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent within weeks. Within a year nearly everyone had purchased reusable cloth bags. Plastic bags were not outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable and the tax, now at 50 cents per bag, made it worthwhile for shoppers to rethink their habits.

Recycling In Colorado

Boulder County is the leader in recycling around the state. Since its resolution by City council in May 2006, the City has been working toward achieving an 85% recycling and composting rate. Projects being worked on include expanding recycling programs to include composting, commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris. Also under discussion are landfill bans for electronics and possible ordinances requiring manufacturers of some goods, such as electronics, to either take back their products for recycling at the end of its useful life or to support infrastructure that recycles the product. Boulder County commissioners in the meantime have adopted Zero Waste as a guiding principle for government decision making, in the hopes of achieving a 50% or better waste diversion for the county as a whole by 2010.

Beginning February 1, 2008, Colorado State agencies will be utilizing recycled content paper in all of their 280 copiers. The Greening Government Initiative calls for the state to implement an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing policy by June 2008.

According to Biocycle, in 2006, Colorado landfilled 6.9 million tons of municipal solid waste and diverted only 12.5%, well below the nationwide average of 32%. Grand Junction is below even the State average, at only 8 %.

Composting—The Natural Way to Recycle

by Pat Garland, aka “Mother Mulch” Recycling plastic, glass and newspapers is something many of us do. But what about yard waste- grass clippings, leaves and plant debris? How do we recycle the kitchen waste- coffee grounds, banana or potato peelings and those egg shells? All these things take up space in the trash and are destined for the landfill. But all are also organic and can instead be composted. Compost is the only method of recycling that can be done naturally.

There are several different ways to compost. Compost bins are available at local retailers and through garden supply catalogs. Bins can be constructed using old pallets or a trash can with holes drilled in the sides and bottom to allow air flow. You can compost without any structure at all. Grass clipping are the easiest to compost. Leave them right on the lawn. As soon as the blades of grass are cut the composting process begins.

A favorite method of composting is to dig small holes (I use a bulb planter to dig the holes 6” – 8” deep) between the plant rows and bury food scraps. A compost pile located in a corner of the yard also works well. Pile the material together and mix it up. The composting process requires Nitrogen (green material) such as kitchen waste, grass clippings (no meats, fats, greases or dairy products), and Carbon (brown material) including leaves and plant debris. Green and brown material should be a 50/50 mix by weight. The green will weigh more than the brown.

The living organisms within the compost that do all the work need both water and air to stay alive. You want the mixture to be only wet enough for a handful to form a ball when squeezed, without water oozing out between your fingers. If it’s too wet it will begin to smell rotten, an indication the pile needs air. Using a garden fork to lift the pile and turning it over is the best method to incorporate air into the pile. Tough, yes, but critical!

Some insects are good composters and should be left alone. The heat of a pile (up to 140 degrees F) will usually kill many other unwanted pests. The unpleasant pests in your compost pile-flies, roaches, and even cats and dogs-can be discouraged by covering the pile with soil or leaves to mask the odors of fresh, rotting material.

The commercial composting facility at the landfill accepts clean yard waste free of charge. If you can’t have a pile of your own, take advantage of this service and allow them to do the work. They also sell high quality, finished compost to the public.

Composting is my hobby. Readers with questions or just wanting to brag about their composting are welcome to email me.

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Pat Garland is a Master Gardener and formerly Compost Education Technician with the CSU cooperative extension and Mesa County Landfill.

Innovation Leads to Less Sorting At Home!

Breaking News!!! While some cities are spending millions (yes-millions!) of dollars on high-tech separation systems to sort recyclables, we at GJ CRI have been busy experimenting with our own designs. We have devised a system for a fraction of the cost that will allow you to mix more material together now and allows us to sort it much faster than ever before.

This system will help us deal with all the material that is currently pouring in to the facility. Additional funding is necessary to speed up processing in other areas of the facility and to handle the anticipated expansion and growth. Here are the four categories:

• NEW!!! Place your #1 and #2 plastic containers in the same container with your steel and aluminum cans.
• Keep your glass jars and bottles together in a separate container
• Place newspapers, magazines, office paper, etc. in a separate container
• Flatten and stack only non-glossy, corrugated cardboard and recycle with brown paper grocery bags.

Just a note about glass: Glass must be kept separate from other materials in order to be properly color sorted, marketed and made into new glass. Mixed glass is trash. Worse yet, if broken glass gets mixed with cardboard or paper it can ruin an entire load of material as glass pieces will break machinery at paper mills.

Please remember that glass bottles with lids left on them will explode in the hot sun. We barely avoided a tragedy with one of our workers two summers ago. Please remove all lids! Put metal lids with cans and discard the rest. Thanks!

Cutting Paper Waste

In an effort to minimize the impact of our operation and the amount of paper we generate we have put your pick up schedules and our newsletters. If you would like us to remove your name from paper mailings, please sign up to receive the Waste Not, Grand Junction! Newsletter by email.

Other ideas:

1. Return mass mailed items in their own self-addressed envelopes with a request to be removed from their mailing list. (Simply writing “refused “ on the envelope won’t work.)
2. When you make a contribution or place an order by mail or phone ask that your name not be sold or given away.
3. Call the number given on catalog’s and ask that your name be removed from the mailing list.

In our most recent newsletter we printed an address for reducing junk mail. Since then we have discovered that the P.O. Box has been closed and mail is not being forwarded to the correct box!

If you would like to utilize the Direct Marketing Association service to reduce junk mail please visit them online at www.dmachoice.org or call them for more information at (212) 768-7277.

We apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused you.

Schedules

2008/2009
Please note that the schedule you have received has two years printed on it. Make sure that you are checking the correct year for your scheduled pick up. Schedule changes due to a holiday are printed in bold and are marked with an asterisk.

Combine Us

Did you know?….
GJ CRI has designed a new system that now allows you to combine your #1 & #2 solid plastic containers with your steel and aluminum cans.

Glass must remain separate from any other material.

Thank you for continuing to remove lids and rinse containers.

GJ CRI Gyre Contest

The first five people to correctly answer both questions will be awarded $10.50 from GJ CRI (That’s 6 months of free curbside recycling!)

What is a gyre?

What is happening to the gyre?

Call the office at (970) 242-1036 with your answers and Good Luck!!!

All schedules are in the PDF format. To view and download these documents, you will need Adobe Reader (Free Download).

We are often asked what happens to the material we collect once it leaves your curb or alley. We are also asked why we do not accept all materials, such as various numbers of plastics and low grade cardboard. The answer is that part of our job is to market the material around the country and arrange transportation to those markets. Producing the cleanest material, obtaining the best market prices, and transporting the material for the least cost are key elements in making a recycling program work.

So, let’s take a look at where materials are currently going: We have been sending glass jars and bottles to Coors in Golden, Co. for over a decade. Coors’ bottles contain 30% recycled content, a mixture of brown, clear and green glass.

Aluminum is trucked to a mill in Alabama where it is processed and rolled into sheets of aluminum for resale to various industries. Newspapers, magazines and catalogues are made into cellulose insulation at a manufacturing plant in Salt Lake City. Cardboard is sent to Washington State where it is processed into new cardboard products. Finally, “natural” plastics, such as milk bottles, are made into plastic lumber in Colorado. Colored HDPE (#2) and PET (#1) are sent to California and made into carpeting or plastic furniture.

As dependable markets for other materials develop in the future, we will investigate methods and costs of transportation and may add to the list. For now, you can be assured that you are part of a national and international system of commerce that is saving resources and redistributing commodities that should not end up as trash.

Your Recycling Schedule, and much more…now online

Many thanks to curbside recycler Saman Sadeghi for responding to our request for technical assistance! Check out Saman’s web design talent on our fantastic, new web page www.gjcri.com. It is complete with past edition newsletters and links to other local resources. Along with all of our publications, guidelines, and order forms, you can now view and print out your recycling schedule. Under Schedules and Pick up, simply click on the route number/pick up day displayed in the lower left hand corner of the mailing label on this newsletter. You can also sign up to receive your newsletter via email.

See Mark Your Calendar on the flip side of this newsletter to see which holidays might affect your pick up schedule.

Need website services for your business?

You can contact Saman Sadeghi at Degi Designs.com.

Program Updates

Bins and Bags

A new order of recycling bins has arrived. These are the sturdy, open, eighteen gallon, stackable containers with logo. They are U.V. resistant and come with a 10 year warranty. The price is $12.00, which includes tax and delivery. Remember that you don’t need to use our containers. Any container of reasonable size and weight (no more than 40 lbs. when full, please) will do.

You can print out the order form online at our new website or contact us for delivery.

Drop Off Center

As construction on River Road in front of the City’s maintenance yard nears completion, the security gate into the yard will be reactivated. This should take place in mid December.

The hours of access into the yard will be 5:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Electronics Event

Save your electronics for this winter’s one day event coming Friday, February 8, 2008. Lifespan Technology will be holding the event, so call them for details at 256-0182.

A regular collection schedule at a new location will start up in the spring.

Tidbits

Recycling in Good Company in Grand Junction

Do you ever look down your block and feel like you are the lone recycler? It is true that participation in some areas is still sparse. Don’t get discouraged! Grand Junction is a growing community of curbside recyclers. Just this year so far over 350 families have signed up for recycling, an average of 30 per month, 35 per month since August!
This is the fastest growth we have experienced since 1992.

Mark your Calendar

For the six holidays listed here, pick ups will be delayed by one day. For instance, Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday, November 27, 2008. We will instead pick material the next day, Friday, and Friday’s will be moved to Saturday. If in doubt, please call us!

We will observe the following holidays in 2008:

• New Year’s Day-January 1
• Memorial Day –May 26
• Independence Day - July 4
• Labor Day-September 1
• Thanksgiving Day– November 27
• Christmas Day-December 25

Just a reminder about sharing:

We are aware that some participants are having their friends, family, and businesses add to their stack of recyclables at the curb. While the intention is good (we all want to see as much material recycled as possible!) please remember that we are only equipped and staffed to pick up material from the single family residences that are signed up. Excessive material at the curb cuts our efficiency and raises our costs. Please ask your friends and relatives to sign up or let them know about the River Road drop off, conveniently located near downtown Grand Junction.

Thank you!

It’s really not such a mystery. The amount of trash generated each year in this county increased from 88 million tons in 1960 to over 230 million tons in 2005. The sad fact is that while Americans are now recovering, recycling or composting nearly 32% of their trash, the sheer volume of trash seems to be outpacing all of our efforts to divert it to productive uses.

Population growth certainly accounts for a portion of the increase. But consider that the average amount of trash generated per person has increased from 2.7 to 4.5 pounds per day and is rising, a reflection of manufacturing and packaging practice as well as consumer consumption and habit.

The Mesa County landfill received 191,995 tons of material in 2006, up 31% in five years. This, in spite of increased use of other landfill programs such as composting and hazardous material collection and reuse options.
An 8% increase in material recovered for recycling during that same period has helped keep City trash in check. Trash volumes are up only slightly, from 24,068 tons in 2001, to 25,634 tons in 2006.

Rather than be discouraged by the numbers we, as consumers, need to take actions that will reverse the trend. We can look for ways to produce less waste in our own lives, and we must let manufacturers, stores, and policy makers know that we also expect them to take action to reduce waste in America.

Rethinking The Convenience Of Bottled Water

Worried about paying $3.00 per gallon for gas at the pump or $4.00 for a gallon of milk? Consider that, according to the Earth Policy Institute, Americans are now paying as much as $10.00 per gallon for bottled water!

Per capita consumption of bottled water, now at 27.6 gallons a year, has nearly doubled since 2000. It is estimated that less than a quarter of the plastic bottles produced in this country are recycled, primarily in the 10 states that have enacted bottle bills (a system of refunding a pre-paid amount on bottles returned to collection centers.) This leaves millions of plastic bottles trashed each year that won’t degrade in landfills for hundreds of years.

The Natural Resource Defense Council reports that manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of plastic bottles also consumes oil and contributes to global warming.

Let’s not be deceived by the convenience of bottled water! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Properly Disposing Of Your Electronics

It is estimated that 1.1 million units of e-waste (monitors, CPU’s, cell phones, TV’s, copiers, etc) are disposed of each year by Colorado businesses and residents. This e-waste stream will add nearly 51,000 tons of lead, 15 tons of arsenic, 107 tons of cadmium, 209 tons of silver, and 25 tons of mercury to the state’s landfills by 2015. Soil, air, and water contamination from these toxins, and the associated human health risks, contributed to Colorado’s 2005 ban on e-waste disposal in landfills by business. Violators face fines of up to $25,000 per day. Similar bans on residential e-waste disposal are in the works.

Proper disposal of e-waste insures that data is destroyed and toxic electronic components are not landfilled, dumped or sent overseas, where environmental controls and human safety standards are not monitored.

There are costs associated with recycling e-waste. Items must be safely stored and transported to a dismantling location and personnel must be thoroughly trained to dismantle each item. Some of these costs must be passed along to recyclers in the form of a recycling fee.

Some of the larger computer manufacturing companies have programs in place to take back their equipment from customers. Check with your product’s manufacturer for such programs. Some states, like California, have initiated “Advanced Recovery Fees”, whereby the purchase price of the unit includes a fee to help with proper disposal costs at its end of life. Colorado has no such law in effect, but local residents and business still have an option. LifeSpan Technology Recycling, a Grand Junction business, is one of only eight firms in the U.S. to be designated a Certified Electronics Recycler (IAER), incorporating management standards set by the EPA. LifeSpan, in conjunction with GJ CRI and the City of Grand Junction, offers a drop off option in Grand Junction. Currently this is by appointment only. Call 256-0182 for times, location, and to set an appointment to properly dispose of your items.

Some current fees are:

ITEM FEE
Monitors $12.00
CPU (towers) $ 8.00
Printer (Small) $ 8.00
Laptops $ 5.00
Keyboards $ 1.00
Cell phones free
VCR $ 8.00
TV’s (per inch) $ 1.25
Copiers (table top) $25.00
Copiers (floor) $100.00

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Some systems less than 3 years old are tested and reused, although residential waste electronics are usually too outdated to reuse.

Political News

In Colorado, HB07-1141 requires persons (with some exceptions) paying $0.50 per pound or more for metals (including aluminum, copper, and brass) to obtain identification from the seller and requires the seller to provide a statement identifying where he/she obtained the metal. This is in response to a recent national surge in crime involving theft of commodity metals, particularly copper, from construction sites and other locations.

HB 1288 went into effect on July 1, 2007 and institutes a charge to waste producers to fund the Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Program created in Section 25-16.5-106.7 of the Bill. The fund provides for loans and grants for waste diversion and recycling activities such as education, infrastructure expansion and program development within the State. Moneys will be available beginning July 1, 2008.

A provision of HB 1288 increases the fee for tire disposal from $1.00 to $1.50. In response to that provision, Mesa County Landfill is imposing a $50.00 per tire fine on waste haulers dumping tires with trash, rather than delivering them to the designated tire disposal site.

For more information and updates on legislative actions relating to recycling and the environment, and for links to other websites, visit the Colorado Association for Recycling.

Local Efforts

Creating a sustainable infrastructure for growth in recycling has been a goal in Grand Junction, and that goal is being achieved. Markets are strong for all materials and the amount of recyclables collected is up 8% over 2001. Still, Grand Junction has a long way to go to catch up to the national average recycling rate of 27%.

In Mesa County, 415,506 pounds of hazardous materials were recovered in 2006, with 85% of that being recycled or reused.

The City of Grand Junction recently made a commitment to the continuation of curbside recycling by awarding GJ CRI a 10 year contract. With that commitment, the City and GJ CRI will proceed with plans to expand the current drop off center to include a newspaper buy back option.

This will begin after the completion of the section of River Road in front of the City Shops Maintenance Yard, probably in early 2008.

The center will have bins positioned and designated for participating local non-profit groups. The general public will be able to contribute paper to the bin of their choice and the non-profit will receive a periodic check.

Our Guidelines: See Something New?

Paper

Newspapers, magazines, office paper (shredded okay), envelopes, paper back books, and junk mail. Please remove the sheets of sticky address labels and plastics (like fake credit cards) from your junk mail! Discard all plastic wraps.

Cans

Mix your clean steel and aluminum cans together!
No aluminum foil, pie tins or TV dinner trays. No scrap pieces.

Plastics

Still just the #1 or #2 solid plastic containers. The lids are not recyclable, so please throw them out. (Sorry, no plastic bags)

Glass

Jars and bottles only. Remove all lids. (Throw plastic lids into the trash. Metal lids may be recycled with cans)

Cardboard

Empty, non-glossy, unwaxed, corrugated cardboard only. Flatten and stack. Brown paper grocery sacks (Keep these with cardboard, please.)

Phone Books

Remove and discard plastic wrap. Place phone books on top of paper, so we can see them.

The joy of giving Less: Ideas for reducing and reusing

Weddings, birthdays, holidays… the gift giving season is year around. With a little advance planning we can contribute more to each occasion by giving less …waste.
Look for commercially produced cards, gift wrap, and boxes that are recyclable and made from recycled material. (Most aren’t!) Take your own bags with you when you shop and put purchases from more than one stop into the same bag. Don’t accept bags if you don’t need them. Hang on to gift boxes, card fronts, and used wrap and ties to use again next year. Wrap gifts creatively in scarves, sacks or funny pages.

Easy gift ideas:

• Colorful fabric or canvas shopping bags.
• Refillable water containers or coffee mugs (If selecting plastic, it may be wise to purchase #2, #4 or #5 refillables, thought to leach the least toxins in reuse)
• Under sink water filters or filtering pitchers
• Any clothing and bedding made from hemp or recycled PET

There are many sites online with a wealth of ideas on socially and environmentally responsible options. Check these out:
Paporganics
Lagniappe Gift Wrap
Use-Less-Stuff

About our company

GJ CRI is a locally owned and operated business. Residential curbside recycling is offered in partnership with the City of Grand Junction under the direction of the Solid Waste Management Department. All money derived from the sale of commodities collected through curbside collection and at the River Road drop is returned to the City to help offset program costs.

All products listed in the guidelines brochure are sent to market (never landfilled.) We make every effort to deal with domestic markets.

GJ CRI also offers commercial recycling.

Contact Curbside Recycling Indefinitely, Inc.

Would you like to contribute more to the recycling effort?

Here are some ideas:

• Submit a researched article for publication.
• Sponsor printing and mailing of this newsletter, so we can get it out to the wider community.
• Make copies and distribute to friends and neighbors. Take some to work or to your dentist’s waiting
  room.
• Help us with creative ideas and tips for reducing, reusing, and recycling to pass along to others.
• Contribute technical support and website development.
• Learn about the recycling facility and give tours to area students.
• Kids! You can contribute articles to an upcoming newsletter for children. Let us know how you or someone you know is making the world a better place by creatively reducing, reusing or recycling. Sign up to receive the newsletter, coming soon!
• Help form a group to investigate ways to finance and support future recycling efforts (like at local events!)

Have you noticed that Earth Day (April 21st) is no longer celebrated on a large scale in the Grand Valley? Have you been looking for (and not finding) recycling bins at local events, concerts, and public buildings? Have you asked yourself why Colorado’s waste diversion rate (currently 2nd lowest in the nation) is not being addressed aggressively at the state and local level? And why are public education and awareness campaigns noticeably absent through the media?

The events, media coverage, and ongoing activities associated with Earth Day have in the past provided a public forum for addressing local and global environmental concerns. These concerns included the dumping of trash in the desert, resource depletion, the problems of mounting municipal waste, rising energy costs, and water and air pollution. The Earth Day forum also presented the opportunity for the public to learn practical solutions to apply in daily living: like recycling and installing home water filtration and solar systems. It allowed both children and adults to participate in educational activities like the desert clean up and interactive wildlife demonstrations. Most of the concerns of the past still exist, as do more recently identified issues which can (and do) affect your health and well being- issues such as pesticide spraying, fluoridated water, improper electronics disposal, global climate changes, and toxic emissions .

In November, a small meeting was held to talk about future Earth Day efforts and the reformation of the Grand Valley Earth Coalition, the non-profit entity which once organized such events and served as a meeting ground for local officials and concerned groups and citizens. The decision was made at this meeting to assess the current private and public sector interest in reviving the Coalition.

Are we to wait until increased growth and population impact living conditions in Western Colorado to the extremes that prompted the first Earth Day events in the 1970’s? Other areas of the country have waited until forced to pass mandatory recycling standards and remedial environmental legislation. Can we instead be proactive and come together as a community of involved, connected, and educated citizens to lead the Grand Valley to a new era of awareness and positive action? We pose the question.

Should you wish to become personally involved in planning and actively supporting future Earth Day events phone Pat Garland at 242-5866 or Elaine Foss at 242-1036.

From Waste REDUCTION to…… ZERO WASTE!

Zero waste policies are being deliberated and adopted in communities across the country. Some Colorado communities are joining in to take bold action in addressing problems associated with waste. Summit County has passed the first Zero Waste resolution in the entire Mountain West and the City of Boulder has already set an ambitious 50% waste reduction goal.

This past summer Boulder’s progressive environmental organization, Eco-Cycle, worked with the weekly local Farmers Market to produce the first ongoing Zero Waste event in the nation. That’s right a Zero waste event - a concept that, in part, establishes that everything brought to or leaving an event be either recycled, reused or composted!

Grand Junction loves its festivals, concerts, & other events. These events are perfect ways to demonstrate to our community creative ways to come together to celebrate without generating the types of waste that degrade the very surroundings we enjoy. Zero Waste principles learned at such events are transferable to smaller gatherings! If you would like to join a committee looking into ways to help community organizers and venders incorporate zero waste in events in the Grand Valley, give us a call at 242-1036!

“Mini” Guide For Recycling “Hard-To-Recycle” Items

Welcome to Curbside Recycling Indefinitely, Inc.’s Guide to Recycling “Hard-To-Recycle” Materials – those items that typically end up in a landfill (and shouldn’t be there!). This is designed for the committed recycler like you who is willing to go that extra mile to recycle everything you can. With efforts like yours, we’re keeping more resources out of landfills, preventing toxins from entering our soil and groundwater, and preserving natural resources for generations to come. Some items are still “hard-to-recycle” and at this time non-recyclable. But hopefully some of these tips will help you to clean out your storage space, closets or that junk pile by the shed. Save landfill space and do the right thing!

View and download the Hard To Recycle Guide

Tips for “Greener” Holidays

Whether celebrating Christmas or your child’s birthday, there are simple, tasteful and creative ways to conserve as well as consume! Unwrap gently (yeah, right!) save wrapping, bows, ribbons, and tissue paper for other holidays. Paperboard (shirt boxes) are great for storing all of that saved wrap! Be creative with your own wrapping. Have the kids (or the kid inside of you) color on plain paper. You can also use recyclable paper bags as wrap, and put holiday stickers on the package. Have fun while conserving on special occasions!

2005 In Review

The City of Grand Junction’s residents, through Curbside Recycling Indefinitely, Inc., recycled two and three quarter million pounds (1375 tons) of material as of the end of November, 2005. We project that the total for the year will inch very close to the 3,000,000 pound mark! All of that material is picked up (by hand) by the GJ CRI crew and offloaded at the River Road facility. There it is further separated into the required categories, bailed, and loaded onto trucks for delivery to mills and processors as far away as Ohio (1,583 miles!). Some of the sorting is done by Partners, Inc. kids who, as a group, have contributed 300 hours of court ordered community service. At the recycling facility they get a true taste of hard work. We appreciate these kids and thank Partners Inc. for being involved!

During the same period of time, (January-November, 2005) 35 million pounds of trash went into the Mesa County Landfill from City residences. This means almost 8% of the city’s trash is being recycled! Each trash truck load averages about 7 tons of waste. At this rate we (YOU) have diverted 196 truckloads of waste from going to the landfill.

Be Proud of yourselves, but know that there is still room for much improvement in our community!

Christmas Tree Recycling

Here it is again, the Holiday season! We will be offering a home pick-up service for Christmas tree recycling on Friday, January 13th. No more putting the tree on top of the Cadillac! We’ll be happy to pick-up your tree for a $5.00 fee. Please call the Curbside Recycling office @242-1036, to schedule a pick-up. The tree must be free of all tinsel, ornaments, bows, etc.

The Solid Waste Dept. provides a drop-off location as well. The recycling starts the day after Christmas and runs through the end of January. The location has permanently moved from the City Shops to the Orchard Mesa Cemetery, located south of Hwy 50 and Unaweep Ave. on Canon St. To get there, take the first right turn on Canon Street onto the gravel road. Signs will be posted. City forestry crews will be chipping trees on a daily basis. The chips are available to the public to take free of charge (provide your own way of loading and containers).

Please DO NOT drop your tree off at the City Shops.

Call us and we’ll pick it up for you!

Happy Holidays and best wishes for a green and wonderful New Year!

The old argument that recycling doesn’t work “so why bother?” should fall on deaf ears for the millions of Americans who are doing their part to change personal waste back into industry’s supply. In fact, U.S. industry has in large measure switched to reliance on recycled content in the manufacture of products that we use everyday.

Here are some examples:

• An average of 54% of each new aluminum can manufactured in the U.S. is made from recycled aluminum and is returned to the grocer’s shelf as a new, filled can in as few as 60 days after collection.
• Recycled plastic is now used in lumber, clothing and packaging materials. About one third of all the carpeting made in the U.S. has recycled PET (#1)bottles in it. Under pressure from environmental groups, even industry hold outs such as Coca-Cola have promised to increase use of post-consumer plastic in their domestic production of plastic soda bottles .
• Office Depot reports that the average post-consumer recycled content in its paper products sold in stores nationwide reached 10.5% in 2004, with two out of every three sheets of paper sold last year containing recycled content. Paper giant, Weyerhaeuser, reported recently that its paper products contain 35% post consumer recycled content on average.
• The Daily Sentinel and major newspapers across the west utilize 60-65% recycled content newsprint from producers such as Abitibi Consolidated, the 100% recycled materials plant in Snowflake, Arizona.
• Boxes produced in the U. S. contain 37% recycled cardboard. Steel cans and glass jars and bottles contain as much as 30% recycled feedstock.
• A host of secondary markets has emerged for recovered glass jars and bottles. Among these, the fiberglass insulation industry provides the largest post-use mixed glass market in the country.

Benefiting, or hurting, everyone: In terms of energy and the environment, the savings experienced through recycling are huge. Recycling glass into new containers uses only half the energy required to mine and melt sand, limestone and potash into new glass. Recycling glass reduces carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions from glass furnaces.

Replacing the 55 billion aluminum cans land-filled each year with new cans made from virgin materials squanders the equivalent of over 20 million barrels of crude oil, generates more than 3.5 million tons of greenhouse gases and other emissions, requires strip mining of over 3 million tons of bauxite, and results in a host of other industrial activities and pollutants in environmentally sensitive habitats worldwide.

While great strides are being made in paper recycling, far too much is still being wasted. One hundred million trees are cut down every year to make the paper for America’s “junk mail”, half of which is thrown away unopened and unread. Every Sunday 500,000 trees could be saved if everyone in the U.S. recycled their newspapers.

So, the next time someone tells you that they don’t want to bother to recycle, remind them that if no one “bothered” industry would be without the resources to produce the products they and their families use everyday. There may be no easier way for any responsible person to contribute to a cleaner, healthier planet and a sustainable future than to recycle their own waste.

You, by your efforts, are saving resources, protecting the environment, keeping product and packaging costs down, and supporting America’s economy.

Thank you!

Fuel Costs Force us to Cut Free Special Pick up Service

As most of you are aware, we have always run the curbside collection service for the bare minimum cost of doing business. For the past several months this has been difficult due to the rising gas prices but we have absorbed the cost as much as possible. Current conditions make it impossible to continue to do so without some changes.

Beginning October 1, 2005 we will no longer be offering the free one time per year special pick up. The reason? Most special pick ups require us to send our truck, trailer, and staff miles across town and out of our way.

The new structure will be:

• 1st special pick up: $2.50
• Additional: $5.00

Obviously, these charges will still not completely cover our costs in all cases but will help us continue to offer these extra pick ups. We regret the need to pass some of the cost on to valued and dedicated recyclers and hope you will bear with us as we all look forward to lowered fuel prices.

Colorado’s Biodegradable Bottle

Biota, a Telluride based company, has developed the first and only fully biodegradable water bottle. The organic resin, PLA, comes from domestic corn in a process developed by the seed company Cargill and Dow Chemical. The bottle contains absolutely no petroleum! The water is from Ouray and is the only Colorado natural spring water on the market.

Company president Todd Brown says that the Biota bottle will only degrade when emptied and placed in compostable conditions with high heat, humidity and the necessary microorganisms. This can take place within 80 days in a commercial compost situation compared to the 1,000 years it might take the typical plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill.

Although a process has not been developed to recycle the bottle, company research indicates that at the current level of production Biota bottles do not pose a contamination problem when mixed with PET (#1 containers) in the recycling process. Bottles can be added to a backyard compost pile, but it is suggested that they be cut up first to facilitate decomposition.

Biota is currently being marketed to natural food stores in several western states. Look for this environmentally friendly alternative locally! Other uses being developed for the PLA resin include cups, plates, utensils, bags, and deli trays.

Visit their websites: BIOTA Spring Water and Nature Works, LLC

Bottle Bill News

Sadly, the National Container Producers Responsibility Act S1867, introduced by Rep. Jeffords in 2003 died with the end of the last session in Congress at the end of 2004. The bill would have made producers and consumers responsible for their beverage packaging waste. Proponents of the bill blame lobbying efforts by the major bottling companies for its demise.

Bottle Bills have been enacted in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria, British Columbia, South Australia and many other parts of the world– where beverage container recovery rates of 80-90% are usual.
Eleven states have bottle bills but only two, California and Maine, include plastic water bottles in those laws.

New York’s Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill, an attempt to expand that state’s 22-year-old Bottle Bill to include water bottles was shot down without discussion by the State Senate, despite its passage in the State Assembly with a vote of 98-40. It will likely be introduced again in the future.

Colorado looks at setting recycling standards

Kudos to Grand Junction curbside recycler and State Representative Bernie Buescher for supporting HB 1256, the Colorado Waste Reduction and Recycling Act. The Act would have set a statewide recycling goal of 30% (the current national average) by 2011 and 50% by 2016. It would have increased the fee to dump materials at landfills to create funding for recycling and composting infrastructure and education. The Bill passed the House vote but unfortunately was killed by the Senate on May 5th.

Another initiative, HB 1275 introduced in January 2004 by State Representative Angela Paccione would have created a return/deposit beverage container program. This bill died in committee at the end of the 2004 session. The good news is that a third bill, SB 141, which makes it illegal to landfill used oil, lead-acid batteries and whole tires, passed both Senate and House votes.

Leadership from State government has been cited as the primary reason for Colorado’s poor recycling record, currently 2nd lowest in the nation!

We appreciate leaders who are attempting to change that record.

Worker Injured at The River Road Recycling Drop Off

On July 27 one of our dedicated recycling workers was seriously injured at the River Road recycling drop off. Someone had placed a large, half full bottle of beer with its cap on in the recycling bin. Apparently the intense heat of the day caused the bottle to explode when our worker attempted to remove the lid. Fortunately, the broken glass missed her carotid artery by 1/2 inch, but she did require stitches on her throat and ear.

We escaped tragedy this time, but this incident is a reminder to all of us that recycling is a hands-on activity. We all want recycling to work and for that to happen processors and mills require clean and sorted materials. These materials must be sorted and contamination such as lids must be removed by people. This is most safely done at home when the container is emptied and rinsed and before it is placed in a recycling bin.

As this and other incidents have proven, once a jar or bottle leaves your home it can break or explode and cause serious cuts and injuries to unsuspecting workers. In addition, undrained substances turn toxic or corrosive in the heat of the sun and can cause burns.

Please remember to drain and rinse all containers, remove all lids and always keep glass jars and bottles separate from other recyclables.

Thank You!

You Won’t Want to Miss this

Americans dispose of 2 million tons of outdated electronics each year. Much of this electronic waste (e-waste) currently ends up in our nation’s landfills releasing hazardous toxins such as cadmium, mercury, and lead into the environment. Laws currently prohibit disposal of business e-waste in Colorado landfills. Mandatory rules are also being proposed on both State and National levels which will ban residential e-waste from such disposal and force manufacturers to offer programs and incentives for recycling. In the meantime, conscientious consumers do have alternatives to dangerous disposal but those alternatives are often inconvenient or costly. In celebration of National Recycling Day, Lifespan Technology of Grand Junction will be offering residents an inexpensive and convenient way to dispose of unwanted e-waste in a one day event.

• When: Saturday, November 12th
• Where: Holy Family Catholic School , 786 26 1/2 Road.
• Times: 10 am - 2 pm
• Items accepted: Computers, monitors, printers, TV’s, alarm clocks, stereos, cell phones, etc.

Costs will vary depending on sponsorship and community participation.

Please call in advance for more information or:

• if you have more than15 items to recycle
• if you or your business would like to help Sponsor this event!

Phone Lifespan Technology Recycling toll-free: 1-888-720-0900

Download the Winter 2004/2005
Newsletter

Disposing of obsolete and unwanted electronic equipment is becoming an increasingly complex task for residents and organizations. At both the state and federal level, regulations have been passed to define what ‘electronic waste’ or ‘e-waste’ means and, more importantly, how to manage it. According to a recent publication for The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) it has been determined that between the years of 2000 and 2005, 6.5 million units of e-waste will be generated in Colorado by residents and businesses.¹

Televisions, VCRs, Computer monitors, CPUs (Towers), keyboards, and printers all have circuit boards that contain toxic metals. The average computer monitor has a lead concentration that is more than three times the federal limit for what should enter a landfill.² If the E-waste stream is not captured and recycled potentially 51,094 tons of lead could enter our Colorado landfills in the next 15 years.¹ These toxic materials can leach into our groundwater from the landfills and create potentially significant future economic costs to clean ground water and for landfill closure. These are the environmental and long-term economic costs of land filling e-waste.

Reuse instead of recycling is generally a preferred environmental alternative. Economically this will benefit you the most if you can resell it, however if it is obsolete you may get very little, if any, return. If you decide to donate your electronic devices you could be unwittingly passing disposal costs on to the recipient. If you’re looking to make money or help a non-profit with your technology equipment, rather than pay recycling costs, then sell or donate it before it becomes obsolete! Whatever organization you decide to donate to, call them before to see if they can use it. Be prepared to tell them what model and year you have and how well it works.

Recycling is an option for electronics that can no longer be reused. There is usually a fee associated with recycling electronics due to the bulky and toxic nature of the material. Legitimate recycling means dismantling of the computers and other electronic equipment into core materials of plastic, glass, and metal for resource recovery. You could try to contact the product manufacturer and see if they have what is called a “Take Back” program. Another option is to utilize a local e-waste drop off facility, annual recycling event, or (depending on quantity) order pickup service. No matter what option you choose make sure you ask where your e-waste is going and how it will be managed to ensure it is handled in a legal and environmental manner.

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¹ Final Report, CRT Recycling Project for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment June 2004.
² Characterization Of Lead Leachability From Cathode Ray Tubes Using The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, December 1999

About the Author: Sammie D. Baratta is the Environmental Director of LifeSpan Technology Recycling. Lifespan assists businesses, municipalities, and residents manage unwanted and obsolete electronic equipment in an environmentally-safe and cost-effective manner. For more information, please visit Life Span Recycling or call 970-256-0182. Life Span has worked in the Grand Valley for almost 3 years establishing an electronics recycling infrastructure. Last year LifeSpan was attributed with recycling 25% of Colorado’s recycled e-waste.

Recycle your Christmas Tree At a New Location!

The Christmas tree chipping program is being moved from the River Road location to the Orchard Mesa Cemetery this year. Take Highway 50 to the light at the intersection with Unaweep. Turn west on Canon and follow the signs. You may drop off your trees between December 26th and January 31st. For more information phone 244-1570.

GJ CRI will once again pick up your tree at a cost of $5.00 per tree. The collection day will be Friday, January 14th. Please call us in advance (242-1036) to schedule and arrange payment.

Please Remember: Whether you are having us pick up your tree or dropping it off yourself, remove all tinsel and decorations!

Year End Program Report

In 2004 our dedicated base of fervent recyclers kept us very busy with a growing stream of clean, marketable materials. The efforts of this core group of caring residents was augmented by over 350 new recyclers, many who are new residents moving into the area.

Domestic markets for the materials collected remained steady. Our particular mix of newsprint, magazines, catalogues, opened junk mail and residential office paper was in high demand. The efforts by our staff to increase participation and the additional recycling by City residents has helped bring in material much needed by stateside mills. Collection of newsprint and other fibers went up 30% over 2003, but even with a 60% increase in the quantity of clean, contamination free corrugated cardboard collected, we were unable to fill all the orders from cardboard processors.

There is every indication that by December 31st of this year our energetic, dedicated, and professional staff at GJ CRI will have processed nearly three million pounds of material.

Everyone should be proud of what has been accomplished this past year!. Many thanks to our customers, our staff, the mills who work with us, the City staff, who are our partners, and our cadre of regular independent truckers who get all this material to market.

Your Questions

I thought the recycling service was only $1.75 per month. Why does my City utility bill show $9.82 for Trash/Recycling?

You are looking at a combined bill. With a 64 gallon trash container this breaks down to $8.07 for weekly trash pick up and $1.75 for monthly recycling pick up.

Since recycler’s are doing all the work and saving resources and landfill space, why doesn’t the City make non recycler’s pay?

Setting up that kind of program would be extremely costly, as everyone would insist on being signed up as a “recycler” to avoid the charge. Vehicles and staff would need to be increased at least four fold to service the entire city and there is no way to guarantee that these new “recyclers” actually participate.

By making the larger trash containers more expensive than a smaller one, even with recycling, the City does have a type of “volume based” rate that involves those who generate more waste in helping pay for the program. More aggressive measures might include a recycling fee in all trash customers’ bills, but this suggestion has been defeated locally in the past and, again, would escalate programs costs. Please contact City Council Members if you feel strongly about these issues.

Get The Neighbors Involved!

This next idea was sent to us by a Curbside Recycler and we thought it was a terrific way for suggesting to your friends and neighbors that they recycle. Just clip this out, sign it, and pass it on to someone you know. Make as many copies as you like! What an easy way to ….

GET THE NEIGHBORS INVOLVED!

(If you don’t like this wording, maybe you can come up with something similar that suits you)

Download the Summer/
Fall 2004
Newsletter

Overseas sales of recovered post-consumer products have risen dramatically during the past year. In fact, according to Resource Recycling, the success of recycling in this country may be dependent on export markets.

China’s booming economy has resulted in demand for imported recovered paper that could exceed 10 million metric tons in 2004 (compare this to less than I million metric tons in 1995). The major supplier is the United States, which now sends 48% of it’s pulp and paper exports to China.

While the demand for product from places like China is increasing, the domestic supply is dwindling. This is partially due to an American public that is losing it’s passion for recycling. Even in hard core recycling strongholds such as Oregon, recycling recovery rates have flattened out or dropped over the past decade. Without an ongoing educational effort people tend to forget the issues involved in resource conservation and recycling. In municipalities and states dealing with financial deficits those recycling education efforts, as well as curbside collection programs, lose to other budgeting concerns.

Couple the international drain on the commodities market with less supply and the end result is a struggle for domestic processors to obtain sufficient product to stay operational. The domestic paper and paperboard industry has been greatly effected, with a number of producers either closing or idling recycled paper mills in 2003.

Worst hit is the U.S. steel industry. At the time of this publication, nearly three dozen steel makers are in bankruptcy court proceedings. And, according to a June 21st Article in Plastics News, Amcor PET Packaging is closing its pioneering recycling facility in Novi, MI…a possible sign of deep trouble for PET recyclers in North America due to a lack of materials.

Plastic By The Number

You may find one of these numbers inside a triangle on the bottom of a container. The # identifies the type of plastic used, but does not necessarily mean it is locally recyclable.

1. Polyehtelyn Terephthalate (PETE or PET). Used for soda & water bottles, some cooking oil and other products.
2. High Density Polyethelene (HDPE). Detergent bottles, milk containers, shampoos and other.
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). A controversial plastic used in pipes, shrink wrap & a few food or detergent containers. (See article on page 2)
4. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Container lids, dry cleaning bags, produce bags.
5. Polypropylene. Some food containers and straws.
6. Polystyrene. Styrofoam cups, packing peanuts, “to go” items.
7. OTHER : primarily food containers.

Plastic Usage And Waste On The Increase

In 2002, only 21% of the plastic beverage containers produced in the U. S. were actually recycled, compared to 37% in 1995! Several factors have added to this decline, including:

• Mass production of single serve beverage containers
• Increased use of beverage containers away from home (and therefore away from convenient collection options)
• Lack of emphasis on collection at large public events.
• Corporate promotion of plastic containers as “recyclable” with no effort on their part to promote recycling or recovery of used containers. (Major bottling companies lobby heavily against Bottle Bills)
• Commingling of materials in the collection process, resulting in an increasing number of plastic bottles remaining in the paper that goes to paper mills or disposed of as residue at recycling facilities.

When purchasing food or beverages in plastic containers, remember that the recycling triangle on the bottom is there to draw your attention to the number. It is the number inside the triangle that identifies the plastic composition of the container. Markets determine whether or not it is recyclable.

Even those plastic containers that are being recycled are not necessarily made into more plastic containers. Most plastic food and beverage container producers utilize no recycled plastic content whatsoever! Recovered plastics are being used primarily to produce secondary products (such as clothing, carpeting and lumber) which are themselves not recyclable.

A large quantity of mixed plastic is being marketed overseas. It is estimated that 30-35% of the PET (#1) plastic collected in the U.S. in 2003 went to China.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

PVC’s (#3 Plastics): A public health hazard?

PVC’s (Labeled as #3 Plastic), often have a clean, clear look that strongly resembles #1 (PET). But PVC’s may be a dangerous contaminant to the recycling process in even very small quantities.

A report issued in June of this year by GRRN (GrassRoots Recycling Network in Madison, Wis.) argues that PVC’s can never be effectively recycled and should be phased out of the marketplace.

You may want to avoid PVC plastics because:

1. Production requires cancer-causing chemicals that contaminate the air, land and water surrounding factories which produce them.
2. The production of thousands of PVC products ranging from carpeting and wall covering to toys and medical products at hundreds of formulation facilities around the U.S. exposes thousands of workers and residents to these additives and byproducts.
3. PVC’s require more toxic additives than any other plastic. Many of these toxic additives can be released from PVC products when they are used or handled by consumers.
4. PVC waste is one of the largest sources of dioxin release during incineration. This effect can be created in open burning of trash in rural areas and in landfill fires. (source CHEC)

Recycling rates for aluminum down

Aluminum can recycling has long been a popular method of acquiring extra spending money. However, the recycling rate for aluminum cans has declined continually during the past five years and, at 50%, is much lower than the 65 % rate achieved in 1992. In those states where deposit laws do not exist the financial incentive to recycle has diminished along with the relative value of a single can. The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) estimates that more than 1 trillion cans have been disposed of in the U.S. since 1972, with an annual waste of $500 million worth of aluminum. In addition, aluminum smelters are being built primarily “…outside North America, in the Brazilian rainforests, on fertile lands in Mozambigue and in the heart of Europe’s last remaining wildernesses.; the Vatnakoejull Glacier in Iceland.” (Recycling Today, Aug 2004) These smelters exert a significant toll on the environment.

Ignoring decreasing national recycling rates and decades of progress in reducing the environmental impact of container production by making them lighter, Pittsburgh Brewing Co is introducing an aluminum beer can that weighs three times more than the current aluminum can! Anheuser-Busche Cos Inc. is considering following suit.

Pros and Cons of Single Stream Collection

People new to the City sometimes ask why we do not have “single stream” recycling. Single stream collection allows residents to mix all materials together in the same containers.

Single Stream collection simplifies the process for the participant and can increase both participation rates and the volume of material collected. There are, however, several disadvantages inherent in these programs. Swapping quality for quantity can come with a huge price tag in terms of collection and processing costs. Mixed materials must be sorted into marketable product, and recent studies have shown that between 16-26% of materials collected single stream, are then trashed, adding to staffing and equipment expenditures as well as disposal costs.

Glass which is broken and mixed in collection is no longer suitable for domestic glass container production and can then only be marketed either overseas or for use domestically in alternative products (such as road base). Faced with product contaminated by glass shards and other debris, paper mills must either turn down loads from single stream communities or absorb the additional costs of de-contamination.

A recent study by Resource Recycling indicates that in some areas single stream may prove its worth, but cost effectiveness depends on many factors, including public involvement and the availabilility of enough financial resources to address the issues presented.

Grand Junction’s curbside recycling program is growing in response to public interest and commitment. It is gradually moving in the direction of accommodating more mixed material to make it easier for residents, but must always keep in mind the economic viability of the program. We are grateful to all participants, who, by their efforts, make this a self-supporting program.

In the news

Missouri: Although Missourians are diverting more waste from landfills, they are generating more trash than ever. The Missouri Dept of Natural Resources has completed a study that ties increased waste generation to economics. Says Steve Mahfood, DNR director “If people have more money to spend, there’s more trash.” (Waste News)

Washington DC: The Architect of the Capitol, which oversees the Capitol’s grounds, has instituted a more comprehensive and aggressive voluntary recycling program, asking both House and Senate members and their staffs to separate papers for recycling.

A new purchasing program adopted by the EPA requires that agency employees buy green products. The hope is that other government agencies will adopt similar purchasing programs.

Phoenix, AZ: At an annual processing cost of $3.9 million (not including collection or administrative costs) Phoenix Recycles has developed a large-scale, cost effective, single stream recycling program. Reasons for the success of its program include: City ownership of its own facility, proximity to both domestic and foreign export markets, and a high volume and steady stream of materials collected, allowing for steady revenue.

Bottle Bill update

Currently the National Container Producer Responsibility Act of 2003, S1867 (See our Winter 2003-04 edition), introduced by Sen. James Jeffords is under consideration by the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Co-sponsors of the bill are Senators Daniel Akaka, John Kerry, Joseph Lieberman, Tom Harkin and Patrick Leahy.

A comprehensive container deposit measure has been introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives. The measure would go into effect in 2006 and require ten-cent container deposits on beer, soft drinks, tea and water. The state would capture unredeemed deposits, with a portion of the funds to be used for financial assistance for college students.

Testimony given to the Colorado State Legislature by the Container Recycling Institute (CRI) in February of this year outlined the potential environmental, economic, and aesthetic benefits for the state. At least 1.6 billion beverage containers were not recycled in Colorado last year. Achieving a 70% recovery would save the energy equivalent of the total annual residential energy consumption of over 12,000 average Colorado households.