2010-05-25_PWETC_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Recycling Pilot Program Summary Mixed Broken Glass There is an ongoing debate within the recycling industry about the appropriate end-use applications for glass that is broken during the collection and processing of commingled residential materials that cannot be separated by color for remanufacture back into glass bottles. Such mixed-color, broken glass pieces may instead be used for lower value aggregate uses, such as sandblast media, supplements to traditional road construction aggregates, and alternative daily cover at landfills. The larger policy question transcending this glass issue is: "Should municipalities play a role in encouraging the concept of highest and best use for recyclable materials when designing their recycling programs and contracting for recycling services?" These residuals and contamination issues are discussed in more detail in Appendix A. The pilot project included evaluating the extent of non-targeted materials at the curb and review of existing data on process residuals. Pilot Study ethoology It was determined that most of the key program parameters could be addressed in a pilot collection project by comparing different collection approaches in different neighborhoods within the City. The collection approaches that were tested included: Single-stream: Bi-weekly collection, one 64-gallon wheeled cart, tested in two different neighborhoods; Increased collection frequency: Weekly collection, one 18-gallon bin, dual- stream system; Increased public education efforts: Bi-weekly collection, one 18-gallon bin, dual- stream system, increased education; Larger bin capacity: Bi-weekly collection, two 22-gallon bins with wheels, dual- stream system; Control, using the current system: Bi-weekly collection, one 18-gallon bin, dual- stream system. These pilot study areas are summarized below in Table 1. s i cos DRAFT