Business and Environment Series: Kroening - Big Picture of Downstream Waste Management

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Environmental Initiative Business and Environment Series

Downstream Waste Manangement – The Big Picture

Paul Kroening

Supervising Environmentalist


Sustainability


Triple Bottom Line


GHG’s by Sector Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by

Economic Sector in 2010


Waste Contribution to GHG’s

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Source


Greenhouse Gases by Systems Systems-Based View of U.S. GHG Emissions


Materials Management


Flow of Materials


Energy Savings from Recycling

* Assumes recycled materials would otherwise have been landfilled. Includes embedded energy.


Recycling and Jobs

•  Recycling creates 5 times more jobs than landfilling - materials sorters, dispatchers, truck drivers, brokers, sales representatives, process engineers, and chemists

•  2011 - 36,981 - total job activity associated with recycling manufacturing including downstream jobs


Waste Management Goals


Long Term Goals - 2030


What’s Left in Waste


Waste by Category


Recycling Not Mandatory

•  State and Counties recycling by businesses not mandatory

•  Some cities business recycling manadatory – MPLS, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park

•  Recycling is exempt from State & County SW taxes and fees – 31.5% in Hennepin, almost 50% in Ramsey


PET Recycling Industry Data


Paper Recycling

•  Amercian Forest and Paper Association set target of 70% recovery of paper for recycling by 2020

•  Estimated recovery in 2011- 66.8% •  Regional paper mills - St. Paul, Becker,

Duluth, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ontario


Evaluate Opportunities

•  Review recycling guidelines in your communities

•  Audit your waste •  Review waste disposal and recycling

contracts – communicate with vendors, suppliers

•  Communicate clear guidelines to employees


Product Design

•  Recyclable in current collection programs?

•  Extended Producer Responsibility •  Collection system must make sense –

convenient, easy


Recycling Expensive?

•  Collection costs of reycling and waste similar

•  Garbage tipping fees $45-50/ton plus taxes and fees

•  Recycling has value – currently around $100-115/ton – processing cost $50-60/ton

•  Organics and recycling tax exempt


Pricing for Waste Services

•  Basis for cost of waste, recycling, and organics frequency of collection

•  Charged per pickup – to minimize cost reduce collection frequency

•  Maximize volume of containers – adjust collection as needed


Assistance Available

•  Business recycling directory – RethinkRecycling.com

•  County and City SW staff •  MN WasteWise •  MN Technical Assistance Program


Contact Info

Paul Kroening Supervising Environmentalist Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services Email: [email protected] Ph. 612-348-6358 Website: www.hennepin.us/environment

Business and Environment Series: Kroening - Big Picture of Downstream Waste Management

Business

waste services basis

jobs recycling

fees recycling

recycling guidelines

recycling manufacturing

recycling contracts

counties recycling

state county sw taxes