California Trends in

Resource Recovery Parks

Resource Recovery Parks & Zero Waste

Friday, December 5, 2014

Ruth C. Abbe, Co-Chair

CRRA Global Recycling Council

Agenda

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Best Practices by Material Type

Best Practices by Program Area

Facility Descriptions

Zero Waste Infrastructure

3

Zero Waste Infrastructure

Social Infrastructure

Physical Infrastructure

Zero Waste Infrastructure

Social Infrastructure

• Alignment of Goals

– Local Government

– Generators

– Service Providers

• Rate Structure Signals

• Community-Based Approaches

• New Rules and Mandates

• Culture Change

• Technical Assistance

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Miss Alameda Says “Compost!”

Zero Waste InfrastructurePhysical infrastructure

• Universal access to recycling and composting collection services

– Residential

– Commercial & Industrial

– Institutional & Schools

• Processing capacity

– Recycling

– Food scraps

– Construction & Demolition processing

• Self-haul

– Resource recovery park – For Hard to Recycle Materials

– Processing prior to landfilling – For Reuse and Recycling

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Composition of Self-Haul Materials

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Source: Derived from 2011 King County Waste Characterization and Customer Survey Report,

Cascadia Consulting Group, Page 80

Best Practices by Material Type

C&D materials

– Dedicated self-haul sort line separate from commercial C&D sort line

Bulky items

– Drop off areas for specific materials

– Floor-sort using staff to assist in unloading and proper placement of

materials

Traditional recyclable and compostable materials

– Resource recovery park for multiple materials

– Requiring separation of materials after the fee gate

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C&D Materials – Sort Line

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Dedicated self-haul sort line - 50-70% diversion

− Cardboard, wood, plastic

Examples: Davis Street, SF Recycling

Bulky Items – Drop Off

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Drop off areas for

specific materials − Furniture

− Mattresses

− Carpet

− Electronics

Examples: Davis Street,

SF Recycling, El Cerrito

El Cerrito Recycling Center

Bulky Items – Floor Sort

Floor-sort using staff to assist

in unloading and proper

placement of materials

− Furniture

− Building materials

− Household goods

− Rare finds

Examples: SF Recycling,

Berkeley Transfer Station

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Berkeley Transfer Station – Urban Ore

Resource Recovery Park for

Multiple Materials

• All curbside recycling materials

• Hard-to-recycle items :

– Window glass

– Carpet

– Styrofoam

– Cooking oil

– Reusables

• Exchange Zone

– Office supplies

– Books and magazines

– Household goods11

El Cerrito Recycling Center

Self-Haulers Separate after Fee Gate

Self-haulers directed to

bunkers for separating

materials

− Metal

− Yard trimmings

− C&D

Facility Use Fee (extra

$20) for by-passing

separation area

97% of self-haulers

separate materials

Cold Canyon Resource Recovery Park

Best Practices by Program Area

Requiring customers to separate materials for diversion

Placing the reuse and recycling areas after the fee gate and

charging extra for customers who refuse to separate

Designating areas or stations for unloading specific materials

Making recycling as convenient or more convenient than wasting

Using spotters or helpers to assist customers in unloading and

separating materials

Targeting all reusable and recyclable materials for diversion

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Equipment Used for Self-Haul Materials

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Facility Containers Sorting Compaction Rolling Stock

Berkeley Bins, roll-off boxes Box truck

Cold Canyon Bunkers and bins

Davis Street Cubic yard dumpsters,

roll-off containers,

electronic scrap boxes

Sorting line Loader

El Cerrito 30 3 to 7 cubic yard bins

and 40 cubic yard roll-off

boxes

1 horizontal baler,

densifier

3 fork lifts

SF Recycling Bunkers, bins and roll-off

containers

Conveyor and

sort line

Loader

Staffing Levels for Addressing

Self-Haul Materials

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Facility Manager Drive up

window Sorters

Spotters/Helpers Reuse

Staff

Loader

Operator

Berkeley 2 3

Cold Canyon 1

Davis Street 24 1.5 1.5 2

El Cerrito 0.5 2-3

SF Recycling 10-12 4 1

Specific Materials Targeted for Diversion

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Material Berkeley Cold Canyon Davis

Street

El

Cerrito

SF

Recycling

Appliances (large)

Appliances (small)

Batteries

Bicycles

Books and

magazines

Building materials

Cardboard

Carpet

Cartons and aseptic

packaging

Clothing

Container glass

Cooking oil

Electronic scrap

Expanded

polystyrene

Film plastics

Specific Materials Targeted for Diversion

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Material Berkeley Cold Canyon Davis

Street

El

Cerrito

SF

Recycling

Fines

Hazardous waste

Inerts

Mattresses

Metals

Motor oil

Paper

Pharmaceuticals

and sharps

Plate glass

Reusable items

Rigid plastic

Universal waste

Wood

Yard trimmings

Berkeley Transfer Station, Berkeley, California

Owned and operated by the City

of Berkeley

City crews salvage recyclables

(metals, cardboard)

Urban Ore staff salvage reusable

materials

City pays Urban Ore $40 per ton

for every ton of reusable materials

that are removed from the transfer

station saving $20 per ton by

avoiding the cost of landfill

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Berkeley Transfer Station, Berkeley, California

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Self-Haul Recovery Staffing (full-time

equivalent) Equipment Targeted Materials

Rates

City of Berkeley

recyclable and

compostable materials

2 sorters/helpers Bins, roll-off boxes Cardboard, metal,

appliances, mattresses

and tires

$126 per ton

$29 per cubic yard

Staging area Plant debris, other

organics

$67per ton

$23 per cubic yard

Urban Ore targeting

reuse

3 reuse staff Box truck Reusable building

materials and

household goods

$126 per ton

$29 per cubic yard

Cold Canyon Resource Recovery Park, San Luis Obispo, California

Owned and operated by Waste

Connections

Supported by the San Luis Obispo

Integrated Waste Management

Authority

Self-haul customers are charged

$25 per load (about $70 per ton)

Customers must separate

recyclables or pay an additional

$20 fee if they are unwilling to sort

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Cold Canyon Resource Recovery Park, San Luis Obispo, California

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Self-Haul Recovery Staffing (full-time

equivalent) Equipment Targeted Materials

Rates

Drop-off area 1 spotter Bunkers and bins scrap metal, glass,

plastic containers,

newspapers,

cardboard,

mixed paper,

appliances, yard

trimmings

$25 minimum

$70 per ton pro

rated

Davis Street Transfer Station, San Leandro, California

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Owned and operated by

Waste Management

Self-haul customers include:

− 12 to 15 percent

residential customers

− 85 to 88 percent

contractors

Public area MRF processes

200 tons per day diverting

approximately 60 percent of

materials processed

Davis Street Transfer Station, San Leandro, California

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Self-Haul Recovery Staffing (full-time

equivalent) Equipment Targeted Materials

Rates

Public area reuse &

recycling

1.5 helpers Cubic yard dumpsters Shoes, belts, clothing,

CDs, VHS tapes

$121.43 per ton

$35 per cubic yard

Public area MRF 2 shifts of 12 sorters

Loader operator

Sorting line

Loader

Cardboard, wood, metal

and mixed rigid plastic

$121.43 per ton

$35 per cubic yard

Organic processing Loader operator Loader Yard trimmings, wood $60 per ton

$26 per cubic yard

Mattresses, carpet and

electronic scraps

recycling

1.5 helpers Roll-off containers

Electronic scrap boxes

Mattresses, carpet,

electronic scrap

$21.70 per mattress

$7.50 per carpet

$12.18 everything

with a plug

Free for everything

with a screen

El Cerrito Recycling Center, El Cerrito, California

Built in 1972, owned and operated by the City of El Cerrito

Rebuilt in 2012 at a cost of $2 million

Expanded to address more “hard-to-recycle” materials24

El Cerrito Recycling Center, El Cerrito, California

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Self-Haul Recovery Staffing (full-time

equivalent) Equipment Targeted Materials

Rates

Drop-off area 2-3 operators/helpers 1 horizontal baler, 3

fork lifts, densifer, 30

3 to 7 cubic yard bins

and 40 cubic yard roll-

off boxes

Cartons and aseptic

packaging, batteries,

scrap metal, clothing,

collectibles, building

materials, sport

equipment, furniture,

house wares, insulation,

lumber, plate glass,

expanded polystyrene,

used cooking oil, used

motor oil,

pharmaceuticals and

sharps, electronics

scrap and small

appliances, books,

glasses, garden pots,

tools, corks, magazines,

and all curbside

recyclables

Funded through a

surcharge on the

collection rate

(approximately $4

per customer per

month)

Recycling Center is

open to all

Some material-

specific fees

SF Recycling & Disposal, San Francisco, California

Owned and operated by Recology

Public Disposal and Recycling Area

10 to 15 percent of self-haul materials are diverted through floor sort

An additional 50 to 70 percent recovery is achieved through sorting line

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SF Recycling & Disposal, San Francisco, California

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Self-Haul Recovery Staffing (full-time

equivalent) Equipment Targeted Materials

Rates

Self-haul floor sort area 4 sorters

1 loader

Loader Reusable items

(furniture, mattresses),

carpet, building

materials, Universal

Waste, Hazardous

Waste, porcelain,

expanded polystyrene

$140.76 per ton -

site minimum of $25

per load

Processing line 10-12 sorters Conveyor and sort line cardboard, wood,

metal, plastics,

sheetrock, inerts, fines

$140.76 per ton -

site minimum of $25

per load

SF Recycling & Disposal, San Francisco, California

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Conceptual Design for San Francisco Zero Waste Facility