Recycling

Recycling is probably the best known diversion practice among the public probably because of the many public outreach programs designed to increase public participation. All states surveyed for this report have at least some kind of recycling development program in place. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, although recycling awareness may be relatively pervasive, participation in recycling among the public is often driven by regulatory mandates or by economics. However, until disposal costs for waste materials increase, the recovery rates of recyclable materials will not likely approach the waste generation rates of recyclable materials in MSW streams.

The methods now used to recover recyclable materials include source-separated waste with curbside collection, and customer delivery of separated materials to drop-off and/or buy-back recycling centers. Nationally, approximately half of all households had access to curbside recycling collection in 1996. In the Northeast, over 80 percent of households had access to curbside collection; whereas, approximately 35 percent in the Southeast had access to curbside recycling (Biocycle, 1997). Drop-off centers usually serve the more sparsely populated areas. A buy-back center is typically a commercial operation that pays for the deposit of recyclable materials. These commercially operated recycling facilities are often run by paper dealers, scrap metal dealers, or waste haulers.

Nine states had container deposit laws and recycling programs in 1999 and included: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont; two of the states were included in this study's states survey. In a container deposit program, customers pay a deposit on a beverage purchased in a container, then the used container is returned to the seller or collection center and redeemed for the deposit amount. These container deposit programs or systems generally focus on beverage containers, which represent less than four percent of national MSW (USEPA, May 1996). The container deposit programs are considered successful means to help mitigate littering of the environment as much as they are useful in minimizing landfill space.

Further separation and processing of recycled wastes that have been source-separated usually occurs at materials recovery facilities (MRFs) or at large integrated materials recovery/transfer facilities (MR/TFs).� MRFs and MR/TFs are also utilized for separation of commingled MSW. Integrated MR/TFs may include the functions of a drop-off center for separated wastes, a materials separation facility, a facility for the composting and bioconversion of wastes, a facility for the production of refuse-derived fuel, and a transfer and transport facility.

MRFs and MR/TFs are used for the following purposes:

1. To further process source separated wastes collected from various recycling collection programs

2. To separate and recover reusable and recyclable materials from commingled MSW, and to improve the quality of the recovered waste materials.

3. To serve as the middleman in solid waste management by processing the solid waste before ultimate disposal. The processing that takes place at the transfer station usually aims to accomplish the following tasks:

   • Segregate the wastes based upon content.

   • Separate the recyclable materials from the solid waste.

   • Remove the residue and unsuitable materials from the waste streams.

   • Compact the municipal waste.

   • Grind/screen the construction/demolition waste.

   • Transfer the products to vehicles for transportation.

The separation of recyclable materials from MSW or co-mingled recyclable waste is usually low-tech and labor-intensive. Typically, mechanical separation methods are not used in MRFs or MR/TFs; laborers usually manually sort the materials. Some MRFs and MR/TFs utilize conveyor belts and other mechanical separation processes to assist the laborers in removing recyclables from dry waste loads. However, many transfer stations only do minimal sorting of the recyclable material before shipping it off to another transfer station/recycling center for further processing.

The economics of material recovery are largely dependent upon the types of materials being collected and the market demand for such materials. For a county or municipality to assess the opportunities for recycling, the available options for separation and processing waste materials must be considered. Even if it is possible to separate the materials for recycling, the county or municipality must find buyers for the material. Often prices for recycled material may vary depending upon supply and demand and other market factors. Obtaining satisfactory prices for certain recyclables may be difficult.

However, when economic conditions are aligned and the facilities are well run, recycling can be profitable for the operators as well as beneficial for the conservation of landfill space. By reducing the amount of solid waste in each load by five percent, it can extend the life of a landfill considerably.

In 2003, permitted solid waste management facilities reported that they recycled 1.0% of the waste that they managed (excluding for Hurricane Isabel waste and waste that was only sent off site). �Most recycling, however, occurs at facilities other than permitted waste management facilities. Local governments provide more complete information on the recycling of waste generated in Virginia.� Based on the local government recycling reports, the statewide average recycling rate for calendar year 2002 was 36.75%.� See http://www.deq.virginia.gov/recycle/pdf/rrr02rpt%20.pdf.