Business and Environment Series: Kroening - Big Picture of Downstream Waste Management

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Environmental Initiative Business and Environment Series

Downstream Waste Manangement – The Big Picture

Paul Kroening

Supervising Environmentalist

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Sustainability

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Triple Bottom Line

Hennepin County Environmental Services

GHG’s by Sector Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by

Economic Sector in 2010

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Waste Contribution to GHG’s

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Source

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Greenhouse Gases by Systems Systems-Based View of U.S. GHG Emissions

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Materials Management

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Flow of Materials

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Energy Savings from Recycling

* Assumes recycled materials would otherwise have been landfilled. Includes embedded energy.

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Recycling and Jobs

•  Recycling creates 5 times more jobs than landfilling - materials sorters, dispatchers, truck drivers, brokers, sales representatives, process engineers, and chemists

•  2011 - 36,981 - total job activity associated with recycling manufacturing including downstream jobs

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Waste Management Goals

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Long Term Goals - 2030

Hennepin County Environmental Services

What’s Left in Waste

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Waste by Category

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Recycling Not Mandatory

•  State and Counties recycling by businesses not mandatory

•  Some cities business recycling manadatory – MPLS, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park

•  Recycling is exempt from State & County SW taxes and fees – 31.5% in Hennepin, almost 50% in Ramsey

Hennepin County Environmental Services

PET Recycling Industry Data

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Paper Recycling

•  Amercian Forest and Paper Association set target of 70% recovery of paper for recycling by 2020

•  Estimated recovery in 2011- 66.8% •  Regional paper mills - St. Paul, Becker,

Duluth, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ontario

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Evaluate Opportunities

•  Review recycling guidelines in your communities

•  Audit your waste •  Review waste disposal and recycling

contracts – communicate with vendors, suppliers

•  Communicate clear guidelines to employees

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Product Design

•  Recyclable in current collection programs?

•  Extended Producer Responsibility •  Collection system must make sense –

convenient, easy

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Recycling Expensive?

•  Collection costs of reycling and waste similar

•  Garbage tipping fees $45-50/ton plus taxes and fees

•  Recycling has value – currently around $100-115/ton – processing cost $50-60/ton

•  Organics and recycling tax exempt

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Pricing for Waste Services

•  Basis for cost of waste, recycling, and organics frequency of collection

•  Charged per pickup – to minimize cost reduce collection frequency

•  Maximize volume of containers – adjust collection as needed

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Assistance Available

•  Business recycling directory – RethinkRecycling.com

•  County and City SW staff •  MN WasteWise •  MN Technical Assistance Program

Hennepin County Environmental Services

Contact Info

Paul Kroening Supervising Environmentalist Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services Email: paul.kroening@co.hennepin.mn.us Ph. 612-348-6358 Website: www.hennepin.us/environment