Commercial Waste Reduction Coordinator NEWMOA Conference, Sept 2005 Using Solid Waste Contracts as a Tool to Increase Recycling and Reduce Waste Julia Wolfe, MassDEP Commercial Waste Reduction Coordinator NEWMOA Conference, Sept 2005 Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Solid Waste Contracts Contracts – primary vehicle for solid waste service: two-thirds or more of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream is managed through contracts. Most contract managers don’t understand waste issues. Solid waste is usually not a large part of the budget. Solid waste costs rising and recovered materials markets are strong. Facility managers not taking advantage of cost cutting opportunities. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Use Your Solid Waste Contract as a Tool for Waste Reduction and Recycling Solid Waste Contracts 101. How to get the most out of your SW contract. Examples of specific tools to assist you. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

If your not recycling, you may be throwing money away. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Recycling is not free – but it is often less expensive than disposal Term to Remember: Avoided Disposal Cost “Tipping” fees for recycling: revenue generated - $60/ton “Tipping” fees for trash: $70-$120/ton Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Solid Waste Contracts 101 What’s in your solid waste contract? What are you paying for? What are you really generating? How can you adjust services to meet your needs? Should I re-bid? Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

What’s in your contract? Contract length Materials collected (trash and recyclables) Charges Volume of waste/recycling containers Collection frequency Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Unbundle charges – they should be transparent! What are the Charges? Unbundle charges – they should be transparent! Trash Costs Trash container rental Collection/hauling fee Disposal facility charges (tipping charges) Recycling Costs What materials are included? What are the specific charges recycling container rental/service transportation/hauling fee processing fee Are you paid for any collected materials? Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

What are you paying for… Read your statements and keep track of your charges – in a spreadsheet if possible: Is your service provider giving you a monthly statement that includes all charges? Determine what you are actually paying for. Does this match your contract? Track your service and costs: WasteWise Update "Measuring Waste Reduction" http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/wstewise/pubs/wwupda3.pdf Harvard University tracking spreadsheet at www.recyclemaniacs.org/tools-measurement.htm. GOAL: calculate the cost per ton of disposal/recycling of each material Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

What are you paying for… Monitor your current operations for a period of time: How many times/week are containers picked up? Are containers full when picked up? Is recycling being picked up? If not, why? GOAL: determine if receiving the service you are paying for. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Identify Your Needs Knowing the volume or weight of waste generated is the key to obtaining competitive bids: Are there materials you are recycling that you could recycle more of? Are there new materials that you would like to recycle? Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

What you are generating… Conduct a waste audit/assessment to find out what’s really in your wastestream: Waste Audit Forms: Earth911 Business Waste Audit Form: www.earth911.org/library/brrc/pdf/WasteAssForm.pdf EPA’s Business Guide to Reducing Solid Waste: www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/pubs/red2.pdf GOAL: to baseline your current trash and recycling levels. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Adjust services or re-bid to meet your needs. Talk to others to find out what they are paying for trash and recycling. Adjust existing service levels Pick Up Savings:Adjusting Hauling Services While Reducing Waste: www.p2pays.org/ref/03/02098.pdf Re-bid if necessary. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Adjust services Discuss needs with existing service provider: Make sure trash contract does not have minimum volume requirements. Find a recycler: check www.cleanup.org for business recycling company locator. Structure pricing differently: If using bins/dumpsters/toters, consider a cost per pickup rather than a cost per ton. Sometimes hard to get tonnage amounts on trucks that pick up at other facilities. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Adjust services Reduce trash container size. Could fewer/smaller disposal containers be used? Would using pressure gauge on your trash compactors help you determine capacity? Reduce frequency of trash pick-up. If recycling, reducing amount of material going into trash. Is an on-call service sufficient? Containers typically used: Cubic yard bins/ dumpsters (typical sizes: 1, 2, 3, 6, 20, 30 & 40 cubic yard) Small and large wheeled containers with lids 30-40 cubic yard compactor boxes Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Re-Bid Consider bidding trash and recycling separately. Consider having primary bid to recycler who subcontracts trash. Let potential contractors review your operations before bidding. Send RFP to at least 3 service providers. Consider a Resource Management Contract – see Lemeul Shattuck Hospital Case Study. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Resource Management Contracting “THERE ARE NO WASTE STREAMS, ONLY WASTED RESOURCES” — Raj Mishra, General Motors Corporation, 1999 Resource management (RM) compensates waste contractors based on performance in achieving waste reduction goals rather than the volume of waste disposed. Incentives for innovative approaches that to cost-effective resource efficiency through prevention, recycling, and recovery. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

RM In Action at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Replaced 35 yd. compactor with 40 yd. compactor. Service level reduced: 3x - 2x/wk. $400/month savings. Eliminated 40 yd. dumpster for bulk debris. Savings from dumpster rental (approximately $100/month), hauling and disposal costs. Temporary dumpster rented if needed. New recycling: cardboard, organics, scrap metal, pallets and electronics Reduced administrative overhead – one contract as opposed to many. Excellent relationship between contractor and hospital. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

RM In Action at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital In FY’04 Shattuck saved $11,000 and diverted 44 tons of material to recycling. Excellent relationship between contractor and hospital. RM provider will be compensated about $10,000. Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Conclusion Transparent charges Request monthly statements Adjust existing contract with proper collection management Provide incentives to reduce waste Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Additional Resources There are lots of resources at your fingertips! MA DEP’s Website www.mass.gov/dep/recycle MA DEP’s Resource Management Website: http://www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/files/rm/rmcontr.htm Join the MA WasteWise Program www.epa.gov/wastewise Earth 911 or Cleanup.org www.cleanup.org Julia Wolfe, MassDEP

Commercial Waste Reduction Coordinator Contact Julia Wolfe Commercial Waste Reduction Coordinator MassDEP 617-292-5987 or julia.wolfe@state.ma.us Julia Wolfe, MassDEP