1. Recycling Contamination
New Ways to Approach an Ongoing Problem
NC SWANA Spring Conference
Asheville, NC
April 5, 2017

2. Why Care? Safety.
John kicked the conference off talking about safety and that we are the 5th most dangerous profession.
Lots of unsafe things in a MRF: needles come through a line that is moving very fast, large pieces of metal like in Greensboro (and a loaded gun), MRF fire in Charlotte, and this image… what is the #1 contaminant in a MRF?
Star Screen and issues with tanglers- multi million dollar problem for MC MRFs in shut down time and residue costs.

3. Why Care? Pricing.
Materials mix (% of commodities)
Then, value of commodities (winter 15/16 values here)
Overall blended value
Minus operating costs minues residue costs
Value of material to a MRF is influenced by:
An individual material’s current commodity price
How much of any material is in the commingled mix
The MRF’s contracts / relationships with markets for materials
The effectiveness of the MRF system for recovering that material
Not all MRFS are created equal:
Efficiency and economy of scale impact relative cost of processing
Recycling Facilities (MRFs) and Communities are in this together
MRFs need to be profitable to survive, they cannot be banks and or insurance companies
Communities need facilities that will accept materials to provide critical services to community recycling programs
End users and manufacturers need high quality, consistent materials
Partnership works best when everyone wins…in good times and bad times.
More important than ever because of recent markets
Lots of moving parts contribute to the final value
Price of a commingled ton is a composite based on the value of individual commodities and their percent of the mix (the “commingled ton”)
Remember: sorting and baling isn’t free and MRFs are for-profit operations
Both quantity and quality of material delivered to a MRF matters
1 in 5 Americans recycle in the bathroom
More: Average NIC rate is 245 #/household/year
Best NC programs are getting around 550 #/household/year
865 #/HH is what we think is there.

4. Gross Value of a Commingled Ton Over Time

5. What is contamination? Affect Processing Affect Safety Affect Quality
Contamination is Expensive, dangerous, and compromises the material quality of what comes out of a MRF and harms the end markets who need good quality material to manufacturer with recycled materials.

6. Shredded, and CAPS ON

7. The Big picture Contamination is expensive
NC MRFs facing $7 Million price tag to deal with contamination each year
Recycling Facilities (MRFs) and Communities are in this together
MRFs need to be profitable to survive, they cannot be banks and or insurance companies
Communities need facilities that will accept materials to provide critical services to community recycling programs
End users and manufacturers need high quality, consistent materials
Material quality is a shared problem and this is a partnership in good times and bad.
NC MRFS process tons annually
15% avg contamination rate
Tip fee for disposal is $5 mill alone
Shut downs to clean, etc cost more, somewhere on order of $10-$15/ton.
All told, NC MRF conservatively facing $7 million to handle contamination.
WM says contamination costs can be upwards of $125/ton

8. Things Are Changing
Market conditions have forced a focus on material quality
Evolving ton and new packaging
We depend on a voluntary action from citizens for materials
Contracting from our throw-it-all-in mentality
Attention spans
Single Stream is here to stay:
Reduces recycling collection cost
Increases recycling program efficiency and effectiveness
Increases amount of materials recycled and makes citizens happy
Avg attn span today seconds: down from just a few years ago.

9. Waste Management’s List

10. 3 Steps to Reducing Contamination
Inform
Strong Outreach Materials: web, print, mail
Clear and Consistent Signage
Personalized feedback
Drop-off: Site Attendants and Staff
Curbside: Cart Hangers/Oops Tags
Issue Specific Communication
Ask your MRF what are the main problems (1-3)
INFORM
PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK
-People think they are doing it right, they aren’t
-Curbside data allows you to focus on problematic routes and repeat offenders and target the worst of the worst.
ISSUE SPECIFIC
-Attention spans and info overload

11. Wake Co Recycling Audits
Apr-15
May-15
Oct-15
Apr-16
Oct-16
 AVG
Aluminum
1.3%
0.8%
1.6%
0.9%
1.1%
Cardboard
6.7%
7.0%
5.8%
6.6%
3.0%
Mix Paper
1.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.7%
0.4%
Glass
16.8%
19.7%
17.9%
22.7%
22.5%
19.9%
News
54.4%
55.7%
54.5%
50.8%
55.1%
54.1%
Plastic
10.2%
9.4%
13.1%
11.8%
10.1%
10.9%
Steel
2.2%
1.4%
2.7%
2.0%
1.7%
Residue
7.3%
5.9%
4.3%
5.3%
6.0%
Our one thing: Plastic Bags and Bagged Recyclables

12. Site Attendants MRF Tour
Training at MRF with site attendants and WM staff.
Also did training for call center staff about common questions about solid waste and recycling.
Site attendants play a critical role in reducing contamination and helping you understand what your citizens are confused about.

13. One major theme that emerged when we were on the tours and from the audit data was that we had a bag problem.
Staff got to see how it affects the MRF and why it’s a problem and were charged with making sure they were having interactions with customers in order to prevent bags from going into the containers. This training empowered them to have these conversations.

14. Providing a container for bags is also key

15. Inform
Wake Co operated 17 waste and recycling facilities, including 11 drop-off, manned convenience sites.
Brochures
Strong website
Social media sites
Strong branded signage at convenience sites
Conduct MRF Tours, Landfill Tours and offer community programming
School recycling curriculum

16. Personalized Feedback

17. Issue Specific Communication
Taking message out to all our platforms and also using that model to fix problems at Food Waste Drop offs

18. Wake County Solid Waste Division
Heather Cashwell
Wake County Solid Waste Division
(919)