Collier County Public Schools Recycling Program Status Report

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1 White Paper January18, 2008 Reduce Recycle Reuse Collier County Public Schools Recycling Program Status Report Prepared By: Phillip Reid Director of Security & Environmental Management Ext For: Dr. Russell Clukey Executive Director Support Services Ext

2 Introduction We just recently completed a random sampling audit of our schools waste dumpsters to determine how well we are currently recycling. Of the waste dumpsters audited, the majority were found to contain 40 60% recyclable items. Though we ve made significant strides since our recycling program began in November 2005, it s obvious that we still have significant room for improvement. In an effort to identify more opportunities to improve our recycling efforts, we recently formed a partnership with Collier County Solid Waste Management, The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Sunshine Recycling Services, Inc. We are hoping to leverage this partnership for new ideas and approaches to recycling that will provide the needed improvements. In addition, this partnership will be the impetus behind the 2008 Collier County School Beverage Container Recycling Challenge which will get underway on (new date) January 22, 2008, as indicated in an e mail to the Principals, dated 11/2/07. We are very excited about this Challenge, because it will motivate and reward students involvement in our recycling efforts. Purpose: The purpose of this White Paper is to provide you with the background of where our Recycling Program has been, where it is today and our plans for improving it. Background: It's important to have a Recycling Program because it conserves resources, saves money, prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants, saves energy, supplies valuable raw materials to industry, creates jobs, stimulates the growth of greener technologies, reduces the need for new landfills and incinerators and reinforces existing recycling, environmental and conservation curriculums in our schools. It should be noted that enough white paper is thrown away each year to build a 12 foot wall from California to New York. Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet. Each of us generates on an average 4.4 pounds of waste per day per person. In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage. This means that each adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs of trash for his or her children if we don't act with a sense of urgency and establish aggressive and comprehensive recycling programs in this country. Fortunately, there has been significant improvement over the years. Today, the United States recycles 32% of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years. While recycling has grown in general, recycling of specific materials has grown even more dramatically: 50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled. 2

3 On July 27 of 2004 the Collier County Board of Commissioners voted Ordinance # making it mandatory for businesses operating within Collier County to divert from their refuse all solid recyclables materials and deliver them to a recycling processing facility. For the purpose of this Ordinance, Recyclable Materials means paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, aluminum, and ferrous metal (e.g. iron, steel cans). At the time of this new Ordinance, the inhabitants and visitors of Collier County were filling our landfill at a rate of 544 tons per day at the time of approval of Ordinance An estimated 60% of that load was coming from the business sector. The School District facilities are considered part of the business sector and according to the Collier County Solid Waste Management Department"... the single largest refuse generator of Collier County." The average Collier County Public School District (CCPSD) employee generates 2.5 pounds of paper each week or between pounds of recoverable office paper each year. By recycling 1 ton of paper, you save: 17 trees, 6,953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587 pounds of air pollution, 2.06 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,077 kilowatt hours of energy. Though the Collier County School District is not duty bound to County Ordinances, in an effort to cooperate with the Board of Commissioners, the School Board decided to implement its own comprehensive and aggressive Recycling Program in October of It should be noted that in November of 2006 our School District became the first recipient ever of Collier County's Waste Reduction Award Program. I. Status of the CCPSD Recycling Program Prior to the initiation of our Recycling Program all refuse collected at the District's facilities was hauled and dumped on our County Landfill. In November of 2005, the District School Board began mandatory recycling of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, aluminum and metal cans. During the fiscal year of , we recycled approximately 1,200,000 pounds of recyclable items. A. Our current recycling process 1. Classroom Collection: a blue recycling bin should be in each classroom. It is important that only paper and cardboard be placed into the containers found in the classrooms. You will find other containers located throughout your school that are there for other items such as; plastic, glass, aluminum and metal cans (these materials are sometimes referred to as co mingled containers). a. Can we put colored paper in this bin? Yes All paper is allowed in your recycling bin in your classroom. All cardboard can be placed in there as well, just remember to break it down. In containers marked "PAPER ONLY," you can place items made out of paper, such as paper bags, paper sheets, magazines, posters, books, etc. b. NEWSPAPER: Bundle or bag newspaper. No plastic bags. c. CORRUGATED CARDBOARD/BROWN PAPER BAGS: Bundle (Maximum 2' x 2'). No cereal or pizza boxes. d. MAGAZINES & PHONE BOOKS: Bundle or bag. No catalogs. 3

4 As your bins become full, the facilities custodial staff will take them and empty the contents into an outside collection bin for the vendor (Sunshine Recycling Services) to pick up. 2. Where do we put plastic, glass, aluminum and metal cans? All school cafeterias will have 96 gallon cart containers for items which will be marked "COMMINGLED RECYCLABLES." You can place items made of glass, metal or plastic, such as bottles, jars, tin cans, aluminum cans and plastic bottles in them. Some of these containers will also be in the staff areas. You don't want to mix these items in with the paper products. Be sure not to put any in the classroom bins that are there for paper and cardboard. a. GLASS: Glass bottles and jars only. Colors: Brown, green or clear. Rinse, discard lids. Labels are OK b. Aluminum & Tin Cans: Rinse, flatten, discard labels. No foil or scrap metal. c. PLASTIC BOTTLES & JARS/UNCOLORED (MILK JUGS): Rinse, remove lids and flatten. Labels are OK. No plastic bags. When the 96 gallon cart containers are full, they are placed outside adjacent to the recycling collection bin and are emptied by our vendor. 3. What goes in the Waste Basket? In the waste basket (no recyclables) you can place items such as food residues, items contaminated with food or human waste. Styrofoam is not a recyclable item yet. They are then transported to the waste dumpster then picked up and transported to the landfill. B. Recycling Roles 1. Food Service Workers: It's important to rinse out all the cans before placing in the recycling bins. The Commingled Recyclables 96 gallon carts located outside the schools can easily be pulled in on their wheels and then place the smaller cans, plastic, glass and aluminum right inside them. Rinse metal and plastic food containers [only to prevent pests from invading the Recyclable Containers], flatten cardboard boxes and place in the Paper Only Dumpster [painted grey]. 2. Custodians: Please keep the recyclables separated from waste. Collect all trash from classrooms, offices, and any other rooms in two separated and dedicated bags or containers. Do not mix the content of the recyclables containers with the content of the waste containers. Place the collected recyclables in the outdoor Recyclables Containers and the waste in the Waste Dumpsters [painted green] to be picked up by our contractors. 4

5 3. Teachers, Students and Parents: Your roles are critical to the success of our recycling Program. Continue to work with the custodians and Food Service Workers in ensuring that all disposable items are placed in the proper bins. It should be noted that at some schools Students (Green Teams) guided by Volunteer Teachers and Parents are collecting the recyclables from classrooms and all other areas of the school and delivering those items to the outside recyclable containers. This is very commendable!! C. Current Costs 1. Waste Disposal costs a. We are currently utilizing three (3) different Waste Disposal companies. They are the City of Naples, Immokalee Disposal Co. and Waste Management of Collier County. The following reflects the total approximate costs to us for their services during the fiscal year: Waste Management of Collier County $663, Immokalee Disposal Co. $113, City of Naples $53, Total approximate cost for Waste Disposal ( ) $829, These costs include rental of the waste bins and pick up fees. These bins come in four (4) different sizes 2, 4, 6, and 8 cubic yards. The following reflects the bin sizes we utilize from each of the three (3) waste disposal companies we are contracted with: 8 cubic yards rental cost City of Naples $ cubic yards rental cost City of Naples $1438 Waste Management of Collier County $1099 Immokalee Disposal Co. $770 Waste Management of Collier County $894 4 cubic yards rental cost Waste Management of Collier County $553 2 cubic yards rental cost City of Naples $254 Immokalee Disposal Co. $319 Waste Management of Collier County $361 5

6 2. Recycling costs a. Our recycling services for the School District are handled by Sunshine Recycling Services. They charge us for various sizes of dumpsters, various numbers of 96 gallon carts assigned to each school and the number of pick ups for paper products and co mingled items. These costs can vary from month to month. The following reflects the total costs to us for their services during the fiscal year: Sunshine Recycling Services $76, Total approximate cost for Recycling ( ) $76, These costs include rental of the recycle bins and 96 gallon carts and pick up fees. These recycle bins come in four (4) different sizes, though currently we are only using the following two (2): 8 cubic yards rental cost $45.98 w/pick up 2 cubic yards rental cost $17.92 w/pick up The 96 gallon carts are rented from Sunshine Recycling Services and costs $5.00 a piece w/pick up 3. What we can do to reduce costs: Prior to the initiation of our recycling program, we were spending $882,600 a year in waste disposal. With the reduction of waste disposal and related costs, along with the additional costs of recycling, we have realized a savings of approximately $46,248 per year or 5.24%. The savings has been attributed to the reduction in the size of Waste Dumpsters, their monthly rental and pick up costs and costs paid by the District to the County for the use of the Landfill. It should be noted that every increment increase in recyclables usually implies a reduction in waste. Any reduction in waste usually results in a reduction in waste dumpster sizes. Smaller dumpsters equal lower operational costs. II. Recycling Goals for School year A. Goal: Our goal will be to continue to increase the amount of recyclable items we are diverting from the Collier County landfill and continue to achieve cost savings in our waste/recycling disposal program. 1. How we are planning to achieve our goals: We are hoping to achieve our goals by engaging more participation of our students in recycling efforts. We believe this can be accomplished through the "Collier County School Beverage Container Recycling Challenge." Staff members from the Collier County Solid Waste Management Department, who are spearheading the "challenge", have begun initiating contacts with various teachers from your schools since November 15th. Students are being encouraged to begin preparing for the "challenge." We are planning to announce competition winners on Earth Day, April 22, The following represents preliminary steps to get the Challenge going: a. Bottle shaped Recycling Bins As a part of the Challenge, we will be distributing 330 very identifiable bottle shaped recycling bins to our schools. A survey has already been conducted with the 6

7 Plant Operators and determined how many each schools needs. b. Public Service Announcements DVDs containing Public Service Announcements (PSA) are being sent to each Principal to serve as advertisements for the five (5) competitions students can engage in as part of the Challenge. Principals will receive these prior to the January 22 nd kick off. Principals will be asked to incorporate these PSAs in their Daily School Announcements. The recycling contest includes student produced: Art competition, recycling videos, TV commercials, lip singing and school vs. school recycling totals. There will also be competition between schools to determine which school is doing the most recycling; all followed by an awards ceremony. c. Recycling baseline for each school Representatives from Collier County Solid Waste Management Department and Sunshine Recycling Services are in the process of identifying the amount that each school is currently recycling. This information will be used as a gauge on how well each school is improving its recycling program. In order to determine which schools are recycling more than others during the contest period, we will be requesting the Plant Operators to maintain a log, which will be sent to them, of the volume of recyclables being picked up from their schools. Summary: Since the November 2005 kickoff of Collier County Public Schools recycling program, your personal attention and leadership has resulted in significant improvements in our recycling program. However, as indicated above, there is still a great need and opportunity for further improvement. We are hoping by strengthening our relationships with Collier County Solid Waste Management, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Sunshine Recycling Services we increase our chances for significant improvement. By initiating the Challenge we believe strongly that increasing the students participation in recycling efforts will guarantee success. But it will not happen without your encouragement, leadership and understanding of the program and goals. Hopefully this White Paper will provide you that understanding, as well as an appreciation of the importance of accomplishing our goals. 7