resources saved calculator for single-stream recycling

[Kate]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a resources saved calculator based on single-stream
recycling loads. Our community is converting to single-stream in a few
weeks and we'd like to continue to offer our larger recyclers an
environmental benefits breakdown--trees saved, gallons of gas, pounds
of air pollution, etc. Does anyone have any experience with converting
single-stream to dual stream for current resources saved calculators
or are there any calculators specific to single-stream? All advice,
links or anecdotes are welcome.

Thanks! Kate

[Christine McCoy]

You should try EPA's WARM Model. I believe it has that capability.
 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ActionsWasteWARM.html
 
Christine McCoy
703.419.0524

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[David Biddle]

Do the NERC and WARM models have this? I can’t remember. The folks to contact, otherwise, are Recycle Bank.

Go to their website first: www.recyclebank.com

--
David Biddle, Executive Director
<http://www.gpcrc.com>
Greater Philadelphia Commercial Recycling Council
P.O. Box 4037
Philadelphia, PA 19118

215-247-3090 (desk)
215-432-8225 (cell)

[Pat Franklin]

 

With regard to “resources saved” one would hope that these savings are based on tonnage actually recycled NOT on tonnage collected.  There’s a big difference.   It would seem that single stream advocates focus on how much is “collected” and not how much is recycled.

 

Pat Franklin

703.304.3546

 

 

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[Pete Pasterz]

Excellent point, Pat.   I downloaded the RecycleBank webinar last month.   I asked a pointed question about the % of materials  their single stream system receives which are disposed as "residuals"----they skirted around it with a "non-answer".

 

The nearest single stream MRF to me is in Greensboro, NC.   They self-report a 23% non-recyclable residue rate!  They do attribute much of this to residents placing non-recyclable items into recycling bins...presumably to reduce their disposal volume/costs.    Based on my own qualitative observations at facilities, I would not be surprised that independent audits of single stream MRFs  would show the residue even higher in some locations.

 

Pete Pasterz

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From: Gree...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Gree...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Pat Franklin
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 8:16 AM
To: David Biddle; Kate; GreenYes
Subject: [html][heur] [GreenYes] Re: resources saved calculator for single-stream recycling
Importance: Low

DISCLAIMER:
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[Justin Stockdale]

While the residue question alone challenges the efficacy of a "universal tool" in exploring the environmental benefits of recycling, one must also consider the individual market circumstances of the facility looking to promote their services in this way. A MRF 100 miles from a paper mill, for instance, is saddled with a much lower environmental cost per ton of paper recycled than a plant shipping their paper across the pacific. So the same ton of paper shipped will have dramatically different environmental benefits. Relying on a "one size fits all" tool avoids this issue altogether and supports operators who market materials based on price alone. Too few operators retain the ability to focus on markets which provide the best environmental benefit, not just the best price. Seems to me the whole point of recycling is to conserve resources and to limit wasting? I am reminded of a ewaste processor who claims that shipping material to a smelter in Europe is more environmentally secure than shipping to a domestic smelter whose emissions are marginally worse. What of the environmental cost of transporting across the additional 3000 miles?
More to the point, does the marketing of environmental benefits of recycling do anything more than continue to excuse the wasting of resources?

If recycling one plastic bottle saves three trees, then its okay for me to drink bottled water...just think of how many trees I'll save when I recycle them!

Justin Stockdale