Recycling Linn

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Recycling Linn Benton Counties
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful
lot,Nothing is going to get better. It's
not. Dr. Seuss, from The Lorax
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Definition

• Recycling the process by which materials are
  collected and used as "raw" material for new
  products. There are three steps in recycling 1.
  Materials are collected separated. 2. Materials
  are processed and manufactured into new products.
  3. Consumers purchase the goods made with
  reprocessed materials.

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History

• Curbside Recycling began in Corvallis and Albany
  in the early 80s.
• Materials were source separated or separated by
  customers and placed in separate bins in the
  trucks.
• Before that, there were early attempts at
  recycling depots locally.

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History

• By 1976, more than 7,000 curbside recycling
  programs served roughly half of the American
  population and diverted 27 of the nations solid
  waste.
• Recycling isnt new, before the days of mass
  production, households routinely repaired, reused
  and recycled their materials possessions. Rags,
  corrugated boxes and scrap metal have long been
  recycled.

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Allied Recycling Process

• Recycling is picked up at the curb and at depots.
• The trucks are set up for commingled or mixed
  recycling.
• Glass goes into a separate
• bin in the truck.
  

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Commingled Recycling

• Commingled material
• is sent to Source
• Recycling in Albany,
• where it is baled for
• transport.

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The MRF (material recovery facility)

• After commingled material is baled, it is
  transported to a MRF, or material recovery
  facility to be sorted.
• At the MRF, commodities are sorted into like
  materials.
• In this system, only those materials that are
  accepted by the MRF will be recycled.

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The MRF
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The MRF

• Materials are loaded onto a conveyor belt and are
  sorted.
• Some sorting is automated, with powerful magnets,
  series of screens and fans.
• The rest of the sorting is done by hand.

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The MRF
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F.Y.I.

• Rinsing food residue from containers before
  recycling, prevents bac-
• teria growth and contamination of paper in the
  recycling. I also helps to
• protect the health of
• people who handle it
• along the way.

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Recycling Commodities

• Materials for recycle are called commodities.
  Just like stock commodities, there must be a
  ready market for them to have value.
• Not all materials that can be recycled are
  recycled in our system, (or most curbside
  programs in Oregon.)
• The MRF determines what they will accept for
  recycling based on markets that are available to
  them to sell those materials.

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Residential Recycling

• Curbside Recycling offered within city limits of
  Albany, Corvallis, Lebanon and Philomath.
• Depots Recycling depots throughout the counties
  for customers living outside the city limits.

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Commingled Recycling

• Commingled recycling began in 1999 in Linn County
  and 2000 in Benton County.
• Commingling or mixed recycling allows customers
  to mix most materials without sorting. (the
  exceptions are glass motor oil)
• Statewide, recycling totals have gone up as
  communities go to commingled systems.

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Our Hero

• 65-Gallon Recycle Roll Carts are now being used
  in Benton and Linn Counties
• Increases in recycling totals have remained
  steady at 10-15 since roll cart implementation.

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Why Switch to the Tan Carts?

• Since delivery of the tan 65-gallon carts for
  commingled recycling in April, 2008, recycling
  totals have remained steady with a 20 increase.

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Commingled Recycling

• Paper, up to 40 of waste in landfills is made up
  of paper. Newspaper is the single most thrown
  away item.
• Newspaper
• Magazines
• Paperboard
• Office Paper/Mail
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Aseptic Cartons/Gable-top Milk Cartons
• Freezer Boxes which do not touch the food
• NO Metallic or Plastic Coated Paper

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Commingled Recycling

• Where does our paper go?
• Commingled paper goes to the MRF, from there,
  cardboard goes to Georgia Pacific in Toledo or
  Longview Fiber. Mixed paper goes to 3 western
  states to be made into newsprint. The Oregonian
  is printed on paper that comes in part from our
  paper.
• Cardboard that we collect separately from schools
  and businesses goes directly to Weyerhaeuser
  Paper Mill in Albany.
• Office paper that we collect separately from
  schools and businesses go directly to James River
  Paper Mill in Halsey.

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Commingled Recycling

• Metals
• Aluminum Cans Tins
• Aluminum Foil (clean)
• Tinned (steel) Cans

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Commingled Recycling

• Where does our metal go?
• Aluminum goes to ALCO on the east coast.
• Tinned Steel cans go to a facility in McMinville
  to be made into pipe and rebar.

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Commingled Recycling

• Plastics
• Plastic Bottles (opening is smaller than rest)
• Plastic Jugs (bottle with a handle)
• Plastic Tubs (flip top)
• Plastic Jars
• Remove screw-top lids
• Leave in flip-top lids

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Commingled Recycling

• Where does our plastic recycling go?
• Because there is a strong market overseas, most
  plastics go to China.
  S.P. Recycling is
  constantly looking for
  domestic markets for
  plastics.

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About those Chasing Arrows..
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Resin Identification Code

• This well known symbol identifies the resin or
  polymers used in a plastic product.
• It is not intended to dictate whether or not a
  material will be recycled.

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Commingled Recycling

• Glass
• Glass is the only commodity that must be
  separated.
• Clear and colored glass
• containers go in a separate
• bin or paper bag.

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Glass Recycling

• Where does our glass go?
• Currently, our glass is going to Valley Landfill.
  It is crushed and used as roadbed.
• It does not need to be color separated.
• There is speculation that a new glass recycler
  will begin accepting curbside glass in 2009, to
  be made into wine bottles.

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Recent Additions to the Curb

• Aseptic Containers
• Gable-top Cartons
• Pots Pans
• Refrigerator and Freezer boxes that do not touch
  the food
• Can all be included in curbside recycling.

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Commercial Recycling

• Allied Waste offers commercial recycling to
  businesses within the city limits. Commodities
  collected include the same as those collected
  curbside, as well as specialized materials for
  business.
• Office paper and cardboard are sorted collected
  separately from businesses and schools.

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Other Opportunities

• The First Alternative Co-op in Corvallis offers a
  depot and can accept some items for recycling
  that Allied Waste can not, specifically,
  additional plastics and styrofoam.
• Most grocery stores accept plastic sacks for
  recycling.
• Burchams Metal in Albany takes many kinds of
  scrap metal.
• Large producers of plastics can take materials to
  Agriplas in Keizer.
• Composting/Yard Debris Collection
• Hazardous Waste disposal.
• Buying goods made with recycled materials
  encourages recycling.

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What are Oregonians Recycling
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Factoids

• Oregons bottle bill, enacted in 1971, was
  intended to reduce litter, not increase
  recycling. The 2009 update adds water and
  flavored water bottles to the bill.
• Oregonians recycle almost 90 of aluminum cans
  and close to 80 of plastic bottles with a
  refundable deposit. In states without a bottle
  bill (39 of them!) the recycling rate for these
  containers is closer to 24.
• The bottle bill achieved its intended goal of
  reducing litter. Roadside litter had previously
  been 40 bottles and cans. That number was
  reduced to 6 and remains constant.
• Oregons bottle bill received a long-awaited
  update in January, 2009, including water and
  flavored water bottles

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More Factoids

• Recycling of aluminum cans saves 95 of the
  energy required to make the same amount of
  aluminum from its virgin source.

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Still More Factoids

• According to the White House Task Force on
  Recycling
• Recycling in 2005 resulted in a savings of 605
  trillion Btus, or the amount of energy used by 6
  million households
• Recycled materials in 2005 were valued at 5.2
  billion.
• Greenhouse gases were reduced by 48 million tons
  of carbon, or the equivalent to emissions of 36
  million cars.
• Recycling diverted 83 million tons or 35 of all
  solid waste from landfill nationally in 2005.

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Electronics Recycling

• Electronics recycling
• An estimated 150 million tons of electronic
  equipment were disposed of in
  2004.
• Electronic waste can contain up to 40 different
  toxic chemicals.
• Most consumers have an average of 3 outdated
  or unwanted computer
  components.
• The issue is being looked at and dealt with,
  locally, nationally and internationally. Oregons
  new e-waste bill took effect in January 2009,
  allowing monitors, computers and televisions to
  be collected for recycling in all communities.
• Allied Waste in Benton and Linn Counties
  collected 84 tons of e-waste in 2008.

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Electronics Recycling

• Our customers can bring computer electronics to
  the Albany or Corvallis offices during business
  hours to drop off for recycling, at no cost.
• Oregons new e-waste law requires
  manufacturers to take part in the
  recycling of electronic equipment.
  The law covers televsions,
  CPUs monitors.

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Conclusions

• Recycling is only a part of the solution.
• Reuse of goods plays a role.
• Waste reduction, buying, getting, having less
  stuff is perhaps the most important thing we can
  do.
• Your dollars are your voice when purchasing
  recyclable or non-recyclable items.
• What we are living with is the result of human
  choices and it can be changed by making better
  wiser choices.
• Robert Redford