Waste stream journal, Vol. 2, no. 2 (Winter 1998)

CA't'S.W3
s~ THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL

A Waste Reduction Newsletter of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs

* * * VOL. II NO. 2

WINTER 1998

**** IT'S ON US

Fun at the Zoo
Georgia Recycling Day Prizes Awarded
More than 10,000 Pledge to Recycle
On December 15, seven state prizes were awarded to winners who made a recycling pledge for Georgia Recycles Day (GRD). Dr. Terry Maple, Zoo Atlanta director, presented the awards at the Zoo's Conservation Action Resource Center, a new facility made with over 6,000 recycled Coca-Cola glass bottles, recycled granite and other ecologically sound materials.
Over 50 people attended the ceremony, includillg the Chipper, the Christmas tree recycling program mascot, who assisted Dr. Maple.
Citizens from around the state participated in GRD events, pledging to recycle more and increase their purchases of recycled products. Over 10,200 pledge cards, including 352 Internet pledges, were returned to DCA's Office of Waste Management, which coordinated Georgia's event.
Pledges were made at Goodwill and Home Depot stores, local GRD events in participating communities, and on the Internet at www.americarecyclesday.com. More than 240 local governments, communities and civie organizations participated in this first annual Georgia Recycles Day.

Talkin' Trash-

* * *
The Public Sector

* * *
The Private Sector

T he Southern States Waste Management Coalition (SSWMC) is accepting applications for a pay-as-you"throw

When the owners of the new Pragel Cafe in Conyers examined the books from the restaurant they purchased,

peer matching program. With they learned the former

funds provided by EPA Region management had spent $1,000 4, SSWMC will send officials a month on disposables. A

in a comm1mity considering mere $700 purchased enough charging residents based on previously owned dishes,

the amount of waste they glasses,. cups and utensils to throw away to visit officials in service the 40-person restau-

a community with an existing rant. Owners Phill and Klm

program. Applications are Collins say that moving to due February 27. For more reusables didn't just save

information, contact Craig money and reduce their waste

Seeley at (904) 246-9655.

stream-the wait staff makes

* * *

up to 70 percent more in tips

"Let's Keep Georgia Peachy Clean" cleanup week will coincidewith EarthDay again

since the change. For more information, call GHEP's Jeff Darrow at (404) 679-1598.

this year, with cleanups taking .

* * *

place across the state .April 18- Show you the money,

25. (See article, page 12.) While you're cleaning up your roads, why not get even closer to home and clean out your files, too? The Second National Clean Your Files

you say? Solid Waste Technologies' 1997 salary survey found the best solid waste management wages in the engineering/consulting/ design segment, with an

Day, organized by the U.S. average professional, manageConference of Mayors; is ment-level salary of $58,601.

taking place during the same The landfill operations seg-

week. Call Lisa Subick at (202) 861-6776 for all the materials you will need to host an event in your community,

ment ran a close second, averaging $54,291. Professionals in the collection/ hauling segment averaged

including a manual with planning instructions and a kit with sample press releases, proclamations and advertising.

$47,693. Not surprisingly, private sector pay packages were generally higher than those in the public sector.

* * *
See PuBuc on page 8: 1&

* * *
See PRIVATE on page 8: 1&

In This Issue

Findmarkets for your plastics at a free workshop. (Act quickly, workshop date is February 17.) See page 5.
New issue, same old funny letters. See commonly used acronyms, page 10.

Cornpostllappens
Initiatives to Compost MSW
Underway
Cobb and Crisp to Begin in June
What does it take to make garbage go away? To watch it slowly-or even better, quickly-return to dirt and sell itself out the door?
Managing all MSW through composting and recycling once seemed like a pipe dream, but many Georgia communities are now banking on doing just that. Georgia has at least three MSW composting initiatives underway and a fourth that has fizzled out.
"When you compare the number of MSW composting projects, you find that Georgia is composting as actively as many other states," said Patty Mcintosh, manager of DCA's Waste Reduction Section.
"In addition to the MSW projects, many .of our local governments are composting yard trimmings, several prisons are composting their food wastes, and some coinmunities are composting biosolids and industrial byproducts. It's a quiet but common way of handling significant portions of our waste stream," Mcintosh said.
While each composting project has a slightly different approach, all seek the same end result: less solid waste to landfill. Recent articles in publications like Waste Age, BioCycle and The Southeast

SEE GRD on page 6: 1& What's going on out there? See Community News, page 11.

SEE COMPOST on page 7: 1&

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL WINTER 1998 _ _ _ __
GCB'SNOTA

TEENAGER ANYMORE

Georgia Clean and Beautiful will kick off a yearlong 20th anniversary celebration at its annual awards luncheon on March 12. "We've been around two decades now, and we're just getting started," said Lynn Cobb, GCB coordinator. "We can't wait for everyone to see what surprises we've got in store for the next 20 years."
GCB will unveil a new look this year as it recognizes Georgia organizations and individuals that have excelled in environmental stewardship. "This is the perfect time for us to reflect on our past accomplishments and renew our own commitment to excellence," Cobb said.
The luncheon will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The festivities will begin at 11:30 a.m., when all award applications, including winning entries, will be on display at an opening reception.
The awards luncheon and 20th anniversary celebration are open to everyone, not just award winners or entrants. Reservations, which cost $25, must be received by February 26. For more information, contact Rhonda Koplin at

GCB, five local KAB affiliates and a local KAB chairman all brought home national awards from KAB 's December annual conference.
Pictured (l-r) are: GCB Coordinator Lynn Cobb, Smyrna Clean and Beautiful Chairman FrankAdams, Smyrna Clean and Beautiful Executive DirectorAnn Kirk, Keep Macon/Bibb BeautifulAdministrative Assistant Virginia Elder, Keep Macon/Bibb Beautiful Executive Director Caroline Crayton, KAB President Ray Empson, Keep Macon/Bibb Beautiful Coordinator Patricia Robinson, Southeast Georgia Clean and Beautiful Executive Director Karin Stenborg, Albany-Dougherty Clean and Beautiful Executive Director Julia Bowles, and _Dublin-Laurens Clean and Beautiful Executive Director Patsy Baker.
(404) 679-3152 or rkoplin@dca.state.ga.us. Look for a complete report of award winners and GCB 's 20th-
year celebrations in the next issue of The Waste Stream Journal.

GEORGIA HOSTS FIRST KAB INSTITUTE

Georgia Clean and Beautiful originated with Georgia's local Coordinators will receive a "We expect this Institute to

(GCB), the first state KAB executive directors," _said certificate for satisfactory become a model for others

affiliate and the first to offer Lynn Cobb, GCB coordinator. completion of each level. around the country," said

training for chairmen of local "They were looking for a way When a participant has Horace Hudson, community

affiliates, has again broken the to refine their skills and met all requirements, a KAB development coordinator for

mold by organizing and expertise. There weren't any Institute diploma will be UGA's Cooperative Extension

hosting the inaugural KAB programs for professionals issued acknowledging course Service and a primary

Institute for executive who are experts in wa.ste completion.

organizer of the Institute.

directors in Athens.

- management issues and who Participants must be current "Since I've been involved with

The Institute, which will also interact with a cross- local KAB executive Georgia Clean and Beautiful,

ultimately consist of three section of the public, so we directors or staff members of it's always been a leader and

levels of training, taught its made one."

state KAB affiliates or KAB 's an innovator. This is just

first session during the first Level I courses, taught at national office. A formal another example of that."

week of February. Seventeen UGA's Continuing Education application to attend must be For more information on

local executive directors from Center, focused on inter- submitted for review and the Institute, contact Lynn

Georgia and 13 state affiliate personal skills, group pro- approval by the Institute Cobb at (404) 679-4910 or

leaders and national KAB cesses, leadership skills and Advisory Council.

lcobb@dca.state.ga.us.

representatives attended the train~ ing, conducted by faculty from the

SINCE I'vE BEEN INVOLVED WITH
GEORGIA CLEAN

community action -.---.-.- - - - - ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
f~0~~s~e!ie~e;~~~~ DCA to Give SW Planning Award
fall, will focus on This year, for the first time, in both preparing and

University of AND BEAUTIFUL, waste reduction DCA will present one city, implementing a solid waste

Georgia(UGA) and IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A issues. For Level county, solid waste authority management plan. Additional

other universities. A LEADER AND AN III, each participant or combination of local points will be given for

newly-formed KAB INNOVATOR. THIS IS will design and governments an award for keeping solid waste manage-

Institute Advisory JUSTANOTHER complete

a achievement in solid waste ment plans as up-to-date as

Council and UGA EXAMPLE OF THAT. practiCum using the management planning. The possible.

will designate

knowledge and winner will receive the award Applications have been

participants who HORACE HUDSON skills learned in at DCA's annual Georgia mailed to local governments.

complete all three

Levels I and II. The Clean and Beautiful Awards If you would like to receive

levels of training as "Certified practicum can be tailored to Luncheon (see article, above). one, contact Mark Bryant

KAB Executive Directors." the individual's needs, job The successful applicant at (404) 679-4998 or

"The concept of the Institute skills and job requirements. must demonstrate excellence mbryant@dca.state.ga.us.

2

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - GEORGIADEPARTMENTOFCOMMUNITY AFFAIRS

WESTIN'S WASTE IS

side, and placed them on a stand with a rod running

DEKALB'S DREAM

through the center. This setup allowed the composting

materials to be mixed easily,

One Man's Trash ...
Nine barrels a month. It doesn't sound like much for a large hotel like the Westin Peachtree Plaza to worry

partner in GHEP since the partnership formed in 1995. The Extension Service had even housed GHEP at its DeKalb County offices for the first year of the program.

by rotating the barrels. The completed composting
bins have been used in the demonstration and community gardens. The Extension Service is also making the

about. But over the course of Upon learning of the Westin's plans available so others may

a year, those barrels add up to more than a ton of garbage if ignored and sent to landfills.
In its role as GHEP's pilot hotel, managers at the Westin chose not to ignore the bright blue and white plastic barrels, which hold concentrated laundry detergent. Instead, they decided to divert them from the waste stream.
"It was a simple concept, but difficult to implement," says Jeff Darrow, DCA's GHEP program manager. First, the Westin reused as many of the drums as possible as recycling containers and trash cans on their property.
As opportunities for reuse at the hotel dwindled, GHEP and the Westin began working with the supplier to return the containers to the detergent manufacturer for reuse there. While the supplier had a program to allow for return of the containers, .the Westin would have had to stockpile 30 barrels before sending them back. Storing thatmany of the 55-, 25- and 5-gallon drums was simply too cumbersome for the hotel.
Lack of storage space was also an impediment to recycling the barrels.. Made of HDPE, they could be recycled with the hotel's other

problem barrels, DeKalb reuse barrels in similar ways.

Extension Agent Bobby Wilson and his colleagues saw Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and...

a supply of materials for three. Finally, Wilson and his

gardening projects.

colleagues used the old barrels

First, the DeKalb agents to create "Circles of

used some of the barrels Gardening." The top and

to create irrigation systems bottom were cut off of each in staff-maintained demon- barrel, then each was cut into

stration gardens and three 11 1/2" rings. Old

community-maintained newspapers or cardboard were

gardens, usually found in placed on the ground, then the

low-income neighborhoods. rings set upon them. The

For less than $20-enough to agents filled the rings with

purchase a spigot and some compost and used them as

tubing-two of the 55-gallon bottomless planters.

drums could be transformed The first to develop this

into a drip irrigation system. concept, the DeKalb County

The agents used other agents are already spreading barrels to create composting the method and its benefits

bins. For some of the bins, throughout the country. The

they simply cut the tops off of Urban Gardening Program in

the barrels and drilled holes in Jackson, Miss., is imple-

them to provide air circulation. i menting the idea, and Wilson

For others, they drilled holes J will present it at the

in both the tops and

f American Community

bottoms, cut a door in the ..J..i. Gardening Conference in

ALL IT TAKES TO TURN AN OLD BARREL INTO A CIRCLE OF GARDENING IS A HAND OR TABLE SAW, A TAPE MEASURE AND PEOPLE POWER.

Phoenix this winter. The benefits of creating
Circles of Gardening are numerous. Because similar beds would typically be built with timbers, using the barrels reduces the use of wood, while reducing the cost

of constructing

w,.:,., the beds. .,...,, Perhaps

plastics, but they would fill the recycling container and leave no room for the hotel's other recyclables.

-the most obvious ben.efit is the .reuse of the

More than one way...
GHEP stepped in to find a solution. The UGAExtension

drums, which .diverts them from the waste stream.

Service has been an active

Circles of

Gardening can be created with any size or type of plastic drum, as long as it has not contained any toxic materials and has been washed thoroughly.
The detergent drums are readily available. They are used not only by hotels, but also by hospitals and other institutions. The DeKalb Extension Service is using more barrels than the Westin can provide, so it has contacted Emory and Crawford Long Hospitals and the Emory Inn and Conference Center as sources.
Circle gardening also supports recycling by providing a use for composted yard trimmings, says Wilson.
"Using the barrels in this way goes beyond the three R's," he said. "Sure we're reducing, reusing and recycling, but we're also conserving soil and water and extending our growing season."
Circle gardening is ideal for school gardens or for sites with limited space. It can even be done on concrete. "All it takes to tum an old barrel into a Circle of Gardening is a hand or table saw, a tape measure and people power," said Wilson .
"This is a perfect example of how partnerships should work," said Darrow. "The Westin had a problem waste stream, and the DeKalb Extension Service saw an opportunity. Now they're sharing their experience so other businesses and organizations can see the opportunities, too."
For more information on Circles of Gardening or the DeKalb Extension Service's other uses for plastic barrels, call Bobby Wilson at (404) 244-4880.
For more information on GHEP, contactJeffDarrow at (404) 679-1598 or jdarrow@dca.state.ga.us.

3

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL WINTER1 9 9 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

UGA Bioconversion Center Helps Solve Waste Problems

volume, creating alternative products, preventing groundwater pollution, developing

soil amendments, using hard-

The Waste Stream Journal has best in the nation, researchers to-convert compounds and

reported on several training study how to handle waste. minimizing odors.

sessions at VGA 's Bioconversion

"We're taking the uni-

The new facility is a

Research and Demonstration versity's waste products, from cooperative effort between the

Facility since its completion last animal bedding in the barns College of Agricultural and

year. (See articles on composting to leaves and grass clippings, Environmental Sciences and

training, below, and Composting in the Southeast Conference on page 5.) The following article, written by Faith Peppers of UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, offers insight into the facility's purpose and activities.

and composting them," said Wayne McLaurin, an Extension Service horticulturist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
"The composted product is then put back into

Georgia Tech. The seven-acre facility has
four acres of windrow composting, complete with research windows to view the layers of compost. It also has, among otherthings, enzyme digestion tanks for composting

Bioconversion is a big word the university landscape as chicken carcasses from

for a simple idea. Mostly, it's mulch and soil amendments," poultry farms.

composting. And University he said.

"This project allows us to

of Georgia scientists are using But the university is just one use all our waste," McLaurin

it to eliminate waste problems. of Georgia's waste producers. said. "It saves landfill space

Simply put, bioconversion "For example, Georgia food and saves all our dumping

is turning materials that can be processors produce millions fees. It makes a usable product

toxic to the environment into of tons of by-products and out. of a waste product. And

safe, value-added products. waste every year," McLaurin . we're helping nature recycle."

It's the wave of the future as said. "Getting rid of all that Twice a year, the UGA

landfills fill up and close.

waste is a big economic scj~ntists offer training in

At the UGA Bioconversion burden for industry."

waste management and com-

Research and Demonstration The bioconversion research posting for local government

Facility in Athens, one of the focuses on trimming waste site managers, landfill

compost operators and workers from private operations.
"During these training sessions, we offer hands-on experience in all phases of composting," McLaurin said. "We're able to discuss the biological process, the materials you can use, the chemical process and the application of it, and all the university-generated materials we're working with."
Right now, the windrow composting includes four piles eight feet high, 10 feet wide and more than 200 feet long. Each stack reaches about 140 degrees inside. And each has to be turned once a month to incorporate all the material.
"When you compost, the original mass is reduced by 70 percent in the breakdown," McLaurin said. "It's great to have the compost in this kind of facility. People can see the stages the compost is in, the process itgoes through and the ways we use it to make the university grounds beautiful."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~

TRAINING OFFERS GUIDANCE FOR

uGALab Technii:ifJ.~:
Powell de~onstraf~ oftesting compos

Pay-As-YouThrow Online

COMPOSTERS

EPA's new Pay-As-You-

The UniVersity of Georgia's Bioconversion Research and Demonstration Facility in Athens will host its second Compost Facility Operators Training Workshop March 1920, 1998.
Intended for operators; designers and regulators who have some background in composting, the training includes two days of lectures, discussions, laboratory demonstrations and hands-on practice. In a tour of the Research and Demonstration Facility, participants will see examples of large scale composting techniques. Topics covered will include the microbiology of composting, compost marketing, .

feedstock characterization, equipment and siting considerations, and regulatory concerns.
Attendees will receive a composting handbook with notes from speaker presentations and information on composting technology to take back to their own operations. One participant in the first training, held in October 1997, commented that the "materials alone were well worth the

price of admission." Attendees also commented on the expertise of the speakers and their ability and willingness to share information at an understandable level.
Compost Facility Operators Training Workshops, expected to be offered twice each year, cost $90 and are limited to 25 participants. To register for the March session, call Cathy Felton at (706) 542-3086 or K.C. Das at (706) 542~8842.

Throw Online homepage (http://www.epa.gov/payt) places current information on pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) programs right at your fingertips.
Pay-As-You-Throw Online includes tools, factsheets, importantPAYTtopics and the latest PAYT research. The site also includes a community database section with interactive maps linked to data on over 3,400 PAYT communities across the country.

4

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' - - - - - - - GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Free Workshop to Help

Locate Plastics Markets

To Be Held in

journals that manufacturers are adding capacity and screaming

Atlanta February 17 for more plastics.

What is .a weary recycling

If you're a local recycling coordinator to do?

coordinator-and maybe even While Dr. Figgers likely

ifyou'renot-youhaveheard taught you there is no such

the questions many times: thing as a free lunch, the

Why can't I recycle all Association of Postconsumer

my plastics? Why OF Po

Plastic Recyclers

can I recycle some "'o~

s.,..C'. (APR) is offering a

number two's and ,~
not others? Why 8

0-i free workshop to ~ help recycling

did the grocery ~

~ coordinators solve

stores stop taking &:

::c just this sort of

my plastic bags
back? My taxes pay your salary,

.<>.

't..g8 .,.,,

c\.~

C RECi

dilemma. But you
must. act quickly. The workshop will

cover how to market and get the most revenue for plastic containers most commonly collected in municipal curbside and drop-off recycling programs.
"We understand that some recycling coordinators are concerned about collecting certain types of plastics for recycling because there may not be viable markets," said Robin Cotchan, APR manager. "Yet APR members, those who purchase the recovered plastic containers, state that there is an insufficient supply of material available. This workshop will be a mutually beneficial opportunity for. buyers and

Georgia's KAB Programs BY THE NUMBERS*

54

KAB affiliates in Georgia

Hncluding 2 pre-certified

communitiesl

7,040

Students benefitting from GCB waste In Place and Waste: AHidden Resource curricula training sessions for
teachers

8,959 Articles and other media placements about GCB sponsored programs

16,040 Presentations made by local KAB affiliates to community, civic and professional organizations

so what are you going to do about it?
You have explained the concepts of markets and

be held at the Wyndham Hotel in Atlanta on February 17.
The workshop will bring together recycling coord-

sellers to come together." If you would like to attend,
please call the APR office at (202) 974-5419 or fax your

67,886 Students reached through 858 school presentations by local KAB affiliates

supply and demand so many times you have new respect for Dr. Figgers, your economics professor. Yet, while you tell residents there are no markets,

inators with the people who are actually buying plastics, offering participants an opportunity to meet potential buyers and discuss speci-

name and address to (202) 296"7154. And while you're at it, why not give old Dr. Figgers a call to let him know you actually use all that stuff

357,920 Volunteers involved in Georgia KAB activities (almost 5% of the state's population)

you have read in all the fications. The sessions will he taught you?

*July 1, 1996 June 30, 1997

COMPOSTING CONFERENCE TO. BE HELD IN ATHENS

As the bumper stickers say, compost happens. But sometimes ittakes a lot of effort to control when, where and how it happens. That's why composting professionals from five states are

to a call for abstracts have been reviewed and. authors notified.
Cm~osting. Organizers asked for papers on all areas of composting, from facility ~'rtiBSoutheast start-up to product marketing and

planning the Composting in the Southeast Conference & Expo for

Conference & Expo

application to new technologies and research that will help future

September 9-11, 1998.

composters. The accepted papers

The composting industry has grown rapidly in the Southeast, will be compiled and printed into conference proceedings

as in other parts of the nation. Conference organizers hope to for all attendees.

sustain this growth by preventing setbacks and enhancing the In addition to learning from the presentations, attendees will

industry's reputation. They are providing a forum for sharing have an opportunity to interact with 40 to 60 exhibitors.

successes and failures within the industry, bringing applied Companies marketing products such as monitoring instruments

research closer to practitioners, and networking.

and processing and application equipment are expected to

Conference organizers include representatives from exhibit, along with not-for-profits and state agencies that provide

universities, state agencies and private companies. The information and support for the industry.

conference will be held at the Classic Center in Athens, with Other activities surrounding the conference, such as tours,

some equipment being demonstrated at the Bioconversion workshops and networking meetings, are still in the planning

Research and Demonstration facility. Georgia sponsors are stages. The next issue of The Waste Stream Journal will provide

DCA; P2AD; the University of Georgia and complete details.

its Cooperative Extension Service; GreenCycle of Georgia, Inc.; For more information, contact K.C. Das at kdas@bae.uga.edu

Packer Industries, Inc.; NewHolland North America, Inc.; and or fax him at (706) 542-8806.. You may also contact Mark Risse

Bedminster Bioconversion, Inc.

at mrisse@bae.uga.edu or visit the conference web site at

Agenda topics will be determined in the spring, after responses www.bae.uga.edu/outreach/bioconversion/compost.html.

5

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL. WINTER 1998-----i

GRD Prizes Awarded
I&' GRD from page I

prizes presented at Zoo Atlanta included cash, courtesy of Fort

DCA awarded a total of twenty prizes, valued at over $7,700, from a random drawing of pledges made in Georgia. The seven prizes awarded at Zoo Atlanta included two youth prizes and two school prizes.
Seven-year-old Mathew Binion of Soperton received a computer, monitor and printer courtesy of BellSouth Telecommunications. "This is the first time we've ever won something," said Mathew's mother. "Our recycling has definitely paid off."
Mathew and his 10-year old sister, Julia, who save aluminum cans for cash, were excited to try out the new computer. "I like the games the best," said Mathew. The entire Binion family came to watch Mathew receive a hug and hearty handshake from Chipper and to take home the family's first computer.
Kasey Wood of Covington, who was celebrating her 13th birthday, won a bicycle donated by the Steel Recycling Institute. "I'm so excited," she said, riding her new bike out of the building. Kasey's mother, Janice Spence, stated, "This could not have happened at a better time."
J.J. Daniell Middle School and Milford Elementary School of Marietta were also big winners in the state prize drawing. J.J. Daniel Middle School kids gathered around their prize, a six-foot plastic lumber picnic table donated by Georgia Power Company and manufactured by Eastern Plastics Inc., of Duluth. Milford Elementary School won playground surface materials made from recycled tires and industrial rubber, donated and manufactured by United Rubber Recycling of Lawrenceville. Additional

James Corporation, a year's supply of Coca-Cola from The Coca-Cola Company, and carpet made from recycled PET soda bottles donated by the American Plastics Council and Image Industries.
"This was excellent," said Cobb Clean Commission's Annette Clark, who helped organize GRD events for local schools. "Most people are unaware of all the products that can be made from recycled materials. The display of prizes was a great educational experience for kids and adults."
Additional prize and state sponsors included Browning Ferris Industries, Enviro-Cycle, Goodwill Industries, Georgia Power, GreenCycle of Georgia, Home Depot, Renaissance Pineisle Resort at Lake Lanier Islands, Safety-Kleen, Georgia Soft Drink Association, Union Camp and Zoo Atlanta.
National winners were also selected from a random drawing. The American Green Dream House was awarded to Sgt. Robert Portillo of Copperas Cove, Texas, who submitted a hand-written pledge to "recycle all my beer cans, take used motor oil to the collection center and cut down on the number of plastic bags for purchased items." Kyle Harvey of Columbia, S.C., won the youth national prize, a Walt Disney World Resort vacation package for four.

6

.,____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Communities

Host GRD Events

0 ver 200 local governments, schools

.

and civic organizations hosted

Georgia Recycles Day (GRD) events as

part of a nationwide campaign to increase

recycling efforts and increase the purchase

of recycled products (see article, page 1).

GRD events included everything

from grocery store campaigns to school

contests. Taylor County Elementary

School, for example, held a paper

recycling contest to educate students about

how much classroom and household paper

could be recycled. The winning class-

the one that collected the most paper-

.won a coveted pizza party sponsored by a

local merchant.

The school's average collection increased 500 percent

during the contest, with more than 15,000 pounds of paper

products collected over three weeks. Taylor County

Elementary also used the GRD event to collect used clothes

for a local neighborhood

service center that had

. recently burned.

In Athens-Clarke

County, College Square

was closed to traffic for

the first time ever

. during a University of

Georgia football game

as GRD organizers

hosted an environmental

exposition. Organi- GRDfestivities (clockwise from top left):

zations such as Students for Environmental Awareness and Matthew Binion 's new computer was all it

Habitat for Humanity's Thrift Store touted recycling messages at 15 booths.
Visited by thousands, this GRD event also featured a

was stacked up to be and more; getting 'em started young in Sandy Springs; Kasey Wood receives her "recycled" bicycle from State Recycling Coordinator Paula Longo;

live band, promotional giveaways, local prizes and lots of that critter about town, the Chipper, at

publicity. Kids had their faces painted, made crafts from Zoo Atlanta event with Zoo Director Terry

recycled items and played with "famous" recycling mascots Maples; Mrs. Ward's Taylor County

Roscoe, from the Steel Recycling Institute, and B.B. Clean, Elementary School class were all smiles

from Athens-Clarke County Clean and Beautiful.

while competing for a pizw party.

This was the inaugural year for the GRD annual event, which will likely build momentum in the years ahead, as Earth Day did. "I hope next year is even better," said Clark. "I'd like to have more county schools involved."
Planners anticipate a bigger GRD in 1998. "We had a wonderful response to GRD this year, especially since we

got started planning late and it's the first year we've participated," said DCA's, Paula Longo, State Recycling Coordinator. "Next year, we plan on starting earlier to get more pledges, sponsors, events and prizes/"
Look for information on GRD 1998 in upcoming issues of The Waste Stream Journal.

i& COMPOSTfrom page 1
Journal (section of The Wall Street Journal) show that the world is waiting to see how these projects will fare.
Cobb County
Cobb County's $23 million MSW composting facility has been plagued with problems since its first attempt to operate in May 1996.

The potent odor of MSW piles. The temperature in the

and sludge reached a neigh- aeration area can reach about

borhood just beyond the tree 120 degrees.

line buffer and led to a To keep heat and odor down,

temporary shutdown. Fire- water is sprayed on the piles

likely caused by an undeter- and air is blown across the

mined ignition of methane room and into a biofilter

gas-hit the aeration floor in system. After 28 days, the

August 1996. Before the plant product is run through a fine

could reopen, a construction trammel to remove any

accident sparked a second fire, remaining debris. The mix-

this one on the tipping floor, ture, which is now rich, black

on Christmas Eve.

humus, is taken off-site for

More than a year later, final curing.

$12.5 million in needed When the facility reopens,

repairs are still incomplete. improvements will make it

Bedminster Bioconversion more efficient and a better

Corporation, the contractor neighbor for Cobb residents.

managing construction and It will have the capacity to

operation, plans to complete move more air across the

construction in March, with aeration floor and through the

testing in April and May. biofilter, reducing both

If all works well, Cobb temperatures and odors. The

County will be composting amount of sludge mixed with

again by June.

solid waste, formerly one part

The Bedminster compost- to every two, will be reduced

ing system is simple in to further control odors.

concept, but elaborate in Bedminster Project Mana-

execution. MSW is brought ger Willem van Zyverden

to a tipping floor and put on says that the need to rebuild

conveyors. Crude separating has put the company in the

removes large objects or items enviable position of being

that are likely to clog the able to make substantial

machinery, such as mattresses changes based on lessons

or bags of clothing.

learned in the first months of

The remaining solid waste operation. They can also take

is pushed into one of five advantage of technology

large digesters and mixed introduced since the original

with sludge. The mixture facility was completed almost

moves through the three two years ago.

compartments of the digesters "I believe most com-

in three days. The new munities of the future will

product-which looks like compost their solid waste,"

dirt with trash in it-rolls said Van Zyverden. "Ifthis

through a trammel, where all project fails or if any other

pieces larger than an inch and composting project fails, it

a half in diameter are could slow that down."

screened out. Those pieces Van Zyverden is determined

go to a landfill. (The goal is that won't happen.

to landfill only 35 to 40 percent of the solid waste that

Crisp County

comes in the door.) Iron In contrast to the misfor-

materials are removed for tunes befalling the Bedminster

recycling.

facility, Crisp County's new

The cleaner mixture- composting project has pro-

which now looks like dirt with gressed smoothly. The 54-acre

smaller bits of trash-is spread MRF, balefill and composting

over the aeration floor, a large, complex is scheduled to open

concrete area with rows of in June.

vents that force air into the "Everything's on track. It's

all on time and on budget," said Danny Greene, education and training manager for the Crisp County Solid Waste Management Authority.
Some 1,250 tons of solid waste will come to Crisp County each day from communities all over southwest Georgia. Getting the communities to sign on and help guarantee the bond was a greater challenge than building the facility.
In a spring 1997 interview with Waste Age, Bill Goff, former Crisp County administrator and solid waste authority executive director, said he spent three years going to other counties to solicit their involvement. He asked the communities to contract with the Crisp County Solid Waste Authority, owner of the processing and composting portions of the project, to accept their residential waste for 25 years.
The Authority needed the put or pay contracts to guarantee sufficient tonnage for the facility and to secure a 25year, $53 million loan. At press time, 38 communities had signed on, and others were in negotiations.
Even with backing from that many communities, Greene admits that there are some skeptics about the project. The skeptics just make his job of educating the public and the participating communities more important. "What you find out is, bottom line, a lot of people just don't understand this whole business," he said.
"But really, one of only three things happens [to the materials coming into the facility]. It's either composted, put in the ground, or extracted from the waste stream for recycling," Greene said.
Once the waste arrives, recyclables and contaminants will be sorted out, leaving 400 to 450 tons per day for
SEE COMPOST on page 9: ll'F

7

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL W I N T E R 1 9 9 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Public
IEFTALKIN' TRASH from page I

tition. The deadline is March 15. For information, contact Brian Guzzone at SWANA,

The much anticipated Georgia Solid Waste Management Plan: 1997 was published in December. The new plan, the first update of the original one published in 1990, will guide the State's solid waste efforts over the next five years. For copies of the full plan or the executive summary, please contact Berenice Thomas at (404) 679-3142 or bthomas@dca.state.ga. us~ Copies may also be downloaded from DCA's web site, www.dca.state.ga.us.
* * *

(301) 585-2898.
* * *
EPA has moved the national recycling and composting goal to 35 percent by 2005. In 1995, the most recent year for which figures are available, Georgians recycled an estimated 33 percent of materials that otherwise would have been disposed of in landfills. The federal agency has also set a waste generation goal of 4.3 pounds per person per day by 2005. Georgia counts all wastes in its disposal figure, including C&D and industrial wastes, while EPA excludes certain

Is your landfill something waste streams. Therefore,

to brag about? Is it out- . Georgia's disposal totals

standing in all aspects of site cannot be used as a basis for

planning, development and calculating a compa~ative.

construction, and daily generation rate. We can tell

operation? You may want to you that in Fiscal Year 1996,

enter the Solid Waste Associ-. Georgians disposed of 7.43

ation of North America's pounds per person per day.

(SWANA) 1998 Landfill Thatfigureisexpectedtodrop

Excellence Award compe- slightly for Fiscal Year 1997.

* * *
If schools, colleges, libraries or bookstores in your community are looking for ways to get rid of old textbooks, two companies in the area can help out. They sometimes even cover freight costs. For information, call Interstate Paper in Canton at (770) 479-6586, or Diversified Book Binders in Auburn, Ala., at (800) 624-8612.
* **
The Governmental Purchasing Association of Georgia and the Georgia Chapter of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing will sponsor their 10th annual conference and products exposition on April 14 and 15 in Perry. Information on recycled products will be available. If you are interested in exhibiting to 300500 governmental purchasers, call Nancy Lam at (706) 236:2488. If you would like to attend, call Charles Cooke at (706) 291-5283.

NEXT ROUND OF
GEFAGRANT
APPLICATIONS
ANNOUNCED
Sharpen those pencils (or warm up those computers) and get ready. A GEFA Recycling and Waste Reduction grant application is coming to Georgia communities in February, and the competition will be tough.
Last year, GEFA distributed . $5 million in Solid Waste Trust Fund monies through the grant program, This year, the pot is only $1 million.
"The application process is a little more extensive this year, and the grants we give will be smaller," said James Thompson, program manager for GEFA. "We have less money, but we.'re still hoping to have a big impact on local waste reduction programs."
Grant amounts will be limited to $25,000 for single jurisdictions and $50,000 for multiple jurisdictions, with no match required, Projects

must focus on waste

Private
IEFTALKIN' TRASH from page I
Image Industries, Inc., an Armuchee . carpet manufacturer, is adding a third fiber line to its Summerville plant, giving the company the largest PET reclamation capacity in a single location in the U.S. When the project is completed this summer, Image's total fiber capacity will be 180 million pounds per year, with annual demand for 200 million pounds ofbaled bottle scrap, according to Plastics Recycling Update. .
* * *
And after all that carpet is used and replaced, what happens to it? AlliedSignal Inc. and DSM Chemicals North America Inc. are investing $80 million to build a used carpet recycling

facility in Augusta. The companies estimate they will divert more than 200 million pounds of old carpet from landfills each year and tum it into Type 6 nylon. Type 6 is used for new carpet, plastics and other applications requiring high product performance. The companies are using patented technologies for sorting and reprocessing the used carpet.
* * *
In its January issue, The Green Business Letter, a monthly journal for environmentally conscious companies, published a list of 25 organizations that give national environmental awards. Though the focus is on businesses, awards for governments; individuals and non-profits are also included. Application deadlines and

contact information are provided for each award. Single editions of the journal may be purchased for $10. For information, call (800) 955-GREEN or e-mail gbl@greenbiz.com.
* * *
Atlanta's BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. received the Fred Schmitt Corporate Leadership Award at the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) Annual Conference last fall. The award recognized BellSouth's Telecology, or Telecommunications Working for Ecology, for furthering recycling through a dedicated, successful corporate effort, Those efforts include scrap xecycling, employee education, process improvement and buy recycled programs.

reduction, not simply waste management.
"For example, grant funds can't be used for a transfer station that handles orily garbage," said Thompson. "But they might be used for recycling facilities at a transfer station."
Other items that cannot be funded by the grant are land, personnel and vehicles.
Thompson also said projects that reduce waste in the commercial and industrial sectors will be one of this year's priorities.
"As always, I encourage communities to think through their projects carefully and submit applications that thoroughly describe the project and its cos.ts and benefits," said Thompson.
The Solid Waste Trust Fund is financed through the $1 fee Georgians pay on new tires I@:

8

1--- GEORGIADEPARTMENTOFCOMMUNITY AFFAIRS

CHIPS

l@f' COMPOSTfrom page 7 composting. The feedstock

more jobs for the area. For now, the Center faces the challenge of securing both

AWAY!

will be put into windrows on funds and participation for the one of three covered, three- ambitious project. acre concrete pads and com~ "We're willing to jump off

posted using windrow turners. a cliff and figure out where we

After all of the recycling, land later," Franklin D.

composting and reusing, an Williams, chief executive of

The Chipper, official mascot of

estimated 13 percent of the the Boggs Center told The

"Bring One for the Chipper,"

materials coming into the Southeast Journal. "There

welcomes recyclers at a Sandy

facility will still need to be needs to be in this country, to

Springs/North Fulton Christmas tree recycling site. The program made 100,000 seedlings available to participants in the eighth annual event. Collections were held at 318 sites in 118 communities throughout Georgia. An estimated 300,000 trees were collected.

landfilled. By compacting and baling this waste before disposing of it, the owners expect to double the life of the landfill.
Boggs Rural Life Center
According to The Southeast

stay out ahead of the world, a certain amount of wildness."
Microlife USA
During the 1996 Olympic (James, Microlife USA took waste from Olympic venuesto a sorting facility in Atlanta.

"Bring One For the Chipper" is sponsored annually by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert

Journal (January 1, 1998), the Boggs Rural Life Center in Keysville hopes to bring jobs and manage the region's garbage. through anaerobic composting of MSW. Ex-

After pulling recyclables, Microlife transferred waste to a Conyers site for composting.
"The results are hard to quantify, but it was a successful project," said Dave

Company, Georgia Power

pected to cost $37 million Perry of Waste Diversions,

Company, Georgia-Pacific

over five years, the project is Inc., a former consultant for

and WXIA-Tv.

still in the planning and fund- the company. "The Depart-

raising stages.

ment of Agriculture, EPA, the

Updates Due for Some Solid Waste Plan

The proposed composting local officials involved and

Short Term Work Programs

process, co-developed and EPD all recognized its marketed by Jose R. Sifontes success. There was nothing

If your city or county completed a solid waste management of the University of Florida, but wide open acceptance once

plan during the first half of 1993, an update to the short term would convert solid waste the project was done."

work program (STWP) of that plan is due to DCA by June 30, into humus and natural gas, The landfill diversion rate

1998. About 225 local governments recently received notices which would then be sold. was greater than 50 percent for

from DCA regarding this deadline and other update requirements. Patented as Sequential Batch what Perry says was truly

According to Mark Bryant of DCA's Office of Waste Anaerobic Composting, or MSW, not just waste from the

Management, some of the key things to keep in mind when Sebac, the prototype consists venues. "That's a common

updating the STWP are:

of four tanks connected by misperception," -said Perry.

two local public hearings are required, one to brief the clear plastic hoses and a "Waste from the venues was

community of the process to be used to perform the update swimming pool pump.

the majority, but we also got

and another to brief the community on the contents of the . Before going into the regular garbage."

completed STWP;

processors, the materials Drivers bringing waste to

. local governments must submit the STWP to their RDC which

will in tum hold a regional hearing and check the STWP for

compliance with the State's Minimum Planning Standards and

Procedures for Solid Waste Management; see STWPpage 10 l@f'

.

.

would be. sorted to remove recyclables. These recyclables would then be marketed cooperati vely by the 18

the facility did not always limit their routes to Olympic venues, but combined it with waste picked up from other cus-

l@f' GEFA- purchased. The monies are primarily used to clean scrap tire piles and encourage tire recycling through education and research. Some of the money is used for projects that lead to overall waste reduction, such as GEFA's grantprogram.
Grant announcements will

be mailed to all mayors and county commission chairmen in mid-February. Completed applications will be due at GEFAin mid-April. Complete details will accompany the application form. For more information, contact James Thompson at (404) 656-0938 or jlt@atl.n:rindspring.com.

counties the organizers hope will partieipate. (None of the counties has officially joined the project.) The goal is to recover 50 percent of the waste stream through recycling.
Organizers expect that the volume of recyclables from
the 18 counties will encourage
manufacturers to build recycling. facilities, creating

tomers. Also, some residents took advantage of the Park and Ride lots to dump residential garbage. Those materials came to Microlife, too.
In the end, Microlife was not able to develop a full-scale facility in Georgia. "It's a shame," Bobbie Hill of Conyers told Biocycle, "because they showed people they could do it and do it well."

9

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL WINTER1998 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL
is a quarterly publication of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Funding for this publication is provided by the Georgia Solid Waste Trust Fund.
We welcome any comments, criticisms or suggestions for future editions. News releases are welcome. We can't guarantee we will publish all releases, but we do wish to report significant waste reduction news from the state and the region.
Please send releases and correspondence to: Editor The Waste Stream Journal Georgia Department of Community Affairs 60 Executive Park South, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30329-2231 (404) 679-4922 (404) 679-0572 (FAX) rdavis@dca.state.ga. us

DCA Solid Waste Assistance

Paul Radford, Director, Planning, Information & Management Division ......................... (404) 679-4934

Leamon Scott, Director, Office of Waste Management.. .................................................... (404) 679-4816

Lynn Cobb, Georgia Clean and Beautiful Coordinator ...................................................... (404) 679-4910

Patty Mcintosh, Waste Reduction and Government Assistance Manager .......................... (404) 679-4853

Mark Bryant, Consultant .................................................................................................... (404) 679-4998 Solid Waste Management Technical Assistance (Full Cost Accounting, Ordinances, Variable Rates, etc.), Solid Waste Planning

Jeff Darrow, Project Manager, Georgia Hospitality Environmental Partnership ............ ,. (404) 679-1598 Waste Reduction Assistance for Hospitality Industry

Renita Davis, Consultant .................................................................................................... (404) 679-4922

Solid Waste Management Technical Assistance (Yard Trimmings Diversion),

.

Solid Waste Public Information, Solid Waste Annual Report, The Waste Stream Journal

Bonnie Fryer, Research Assistant .... ;.....................................................................;............ (404) 679-1739

Rhonda Koplin, Consultant .................................................................................. :............. (404) 679-3152 Education Training, Georgia Clean and Beautiful

Paula Longo, State Recycling Coordinator ........................................................................ (404) 679-3161 Solid Waste Management Technical Assistance (Recycling, Variable Rates, Buy Recycled, etc.)

David Smith, Consultant .................................................................................................... (404) 679-3144 Special Projects (Christmas Tree Recycling, Statewide Litter Reduction Campaign, Home Composting), Georgia Clean and Beautiful

Berenice Thomas, Secretary ............................................................................................... (404) 679-3142

Patrick Vickers, Senior Information Specialist, Office of Research and Analysis ............. (404) 679-3151 Solid Waste Management Survey and Full CostReport

RECYCLING TRAINING TOBE

ACRONYMS COMMONLY USED IN
THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL
C&D Construction and Demolition DCA Georgia Department of Community Affairs

OFFERED IN SPRING

DNR Georgia Department of Natural Resources EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPD Georgia Environmental Protection Division (DNR)

Were you just given the

GCB Georgia Clean and Beautiful (DCA)

responsibility for handling

GEFA Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority

the recycling program for

GHEP Georgia Hospitality Environmental Partnership (DCA)

your local government and

KAB Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

have no idea where to begin?

MRF Materials Recovery Facility

Would you like an opportunity to meet and share ideas with MSW Municipal Solid Waste

other recycling coordinators around the state?

P2AD

Then DCA's Recycling Program Development Training is for RDC

you. This one and a half-day basic course is for Georgia solid waste professionals responsible for or involved with recycling.

SWM

Georgia Pollution PreventionAssistance Division (DNR) Regional Development Center Solid Waste Management

Topics to be covered include:

llESTWP from page 9

how to set up a recycling program (collection and processing);
markets for and marketing of recovered materials; financing recycling programs; public relations; composting; and environmental regulations.
The course will be offered this May or June, with complete details to be available soon. SWANA certification credits will be offered to all attendees.
If you have questions or would like to suggest other topics for the agenda, please contact Paula Longo at (404) 679-3161 or plongo@dca.state.ga.us.

the STWP must include a breakdown of the waste related

programs, facilities, activities and costs that the local

government intends to schedule over the next five years;

because of the changes that have taken place in the solid waste

field in the past five years, some communities may have to

make significant changes to their full solid waste management

plan during the STWP update process; and

RDCs can assist communities with preparing STWPs and solid

waste management plan updates.

.

Another 250 or so local governi;nents will have STWP updates

due by December 31, 1998. For more information on solid waste

short term work program requirements, contact Mark Bryant at

(404) 679-4998 or mbryant@dca.state.ga.us.

10

- - - - - - - - - - ' - - - - - - - - GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

COMMUNITY NEWS
Please let us know what is happening in your community. Send your brief submissions (100 words or less) to: Editor, The Waste Stream Journal, Georgia Department of Community Affairs; 60 Executive Park South, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 or fax them to us at (404) 679-0572. You may also give Renita Davis your community news at (404) 679~4922 or "" rdavis@dca.state.ga. us.

Clarification
In the Fall 1997 issue of The Waste Stream Journal, we wrote that Gainesville's Re-Center was the first iri the state. The Re-Center is the first in the state to make industrial wastes. and by-products available for teachers to use in .

Other communities have long had reuse programs. For example, Materials for the Arts is a waste exchange program sponsored by the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs to benefit artists (see Community News at left). Tift County has an exchange

Athens- Just as the Energizer Bunny keeps on going and Clarke Co. going, Athens-Clarke County (ACC) keeps adding
and adding-items for recycling that is. More than 20 different types of itenis can now be recycled in ACC. The latest addition, empty aerosol cans, may either be set out with other curbside recyclables or taken to a recycling drop-off center. The items are separated and baled with other steel items at the Athens~Clarke Materials Recycling Facility.
The ACC Recycling Division has issued the second edition ofits Environmental Resource Guide and Calendar, with general waste reduction information, as well as specific garbage and recycling information for ACC residents. If you would like a copy, please call (706) 613-3512.
ACC residents helped bring in more than 7,000 tons of recyclables to the Athens~Clarke Materials Recycling Facility in 1997. Additional materials, such as white goods and plastic bags, were diverted from the waste stream at the landfill.
Atlanta Year-end figures show that more than $935,000 in

self-active education and the first affiliate of Boston's Institute for Self-Active Education. Reuse programs similar to the Re-Center are being planned in other Georgia communities.
Give Us a Yell!
We wouldlove to hear about your community's reuse programs. Please send information to Editor, The Waste Stream Journal, 60 Executive Park South, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30329. You may also contact Renita Davis at (404) 679-4922 or rdavis@dca.ga.state.us.

center at one of its recycling

collection stations, where

residents may drop off

and pick up reuseable

household items.

.- ..- .-, '-

H

c
L -

'-

'-'

In/ ni i

.-. -

11 -,-
- I I

- .- 1,_1,_1.

r c

n C

1r1- nn lj rc

www.dca.state.ga.us

YOU' 11 find: i&What's New at DCA
i& Past Issues of The Waste Stream Journal
i& Updated Georgia Solid Waste Management Plan

- - - reusable items were donated to the City's Materials for the Arts program in 1997. The program solicits surplus goods

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

from businesses and individuals and then distributes them to FEBRUARY

individual artists, arts educators and other agencies that offer 17 Meet Your Market

Atlanta

arts programs. During the last five years, the program has

workshop sponsored by the Association of

accepted and distributed $3.7 million in goods. Materials for the Arts hosts special warehouse days for art teachers from Atlanta's public elementary schools and members of the Atlanta Theatre Coalition to pick up supplies. The program has supported

Post -consumer Plastic Recyclers

2324 Recycling Investment Forum

Charleston, sc

2527 Oreenprints

Decatur

The Atlanta Sustainable Communities Conference &Trade Show

more than 50 community projects by loaning materials as well.
Blakely/ Blakely and Early County report a 25% recycling Early Co. rate for 1997. The community removed 3,225 tons - - - - of materials from the waste stream through

. MARCH 14 southeast Recycling
Conference &Trade Show North Carolina Recycling Coalition Annual Meeting

Perdido Beach, AL Greensboro, NC

recycling and composting. Items recycled in the largest amounts 12 Georgia Clean &Beautiful

Atlanta

include old corrugated cardboard (1,519 tons) and peanut stick residue (594 tons). The community also diverted 464 tons of materials through composting. Scientific Ag Industries is

Annual Awards Luncheon 2021 The Georgia Conservancy's Annual Meeting
22-25 EPA Region 4 Lead-Based Paint Conference

savannah Jekyll Island

building a plant in Blakely to use peanut hulls and residue in APRIL

manufacturing activated carbon, so the recycling numbers should be even higher in 1998.
Snellville For the last three years, the Killian Hill Kroger has saved hauling fees and landfill space while
supporting a community petting zoo. Fresh produce .that is

1718 Red Clay Conference 1825 Peachy Clean Week 22 Earth Day 25 National Litter Bag Day 25-29 ACCO Commissioners Training Program/
Annual Meeting

Athens Statewide worldwide Nationwide savannah

still edible but no longer saleable is collected in drums and taken to the Yellow River Game Ranch in nearby Lilburn. The animals make meals of good products that were once thrown away. Store manager Rick Barrientos says his Kroger sends three or four large drums of produce to the Game Ranch e.ach week. He estimates. that the savings in dumpster pulls total

MAY 4-8 Recycle Florida Today Annual Conference 68 Georgia Clean &Beautiful
Chairperson's Institute 67 Waste Reduction Advisory Council Meeting
(held in conjunction with Chairperson's lristitutel

Florida Keys Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island

$3,500 to $4,000 each year.

68 International Recovered Paper Conference

C~icago

11

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL WINTERl99B---------'--~-----------

KEEPING The third annual "Let's Keep Georgia GEORGIA Peachy Clean" cleanup week has been
scheduled for April 18 -25, 1998. The

CLEAN

cleanup is part of the State's public awareness campaign aimed at

convincing litterers to put their trash where it belongs.

The event is once again being spearheaded by the Pefachy Clean

Team, composed of the Georgia departments of Community

Affairs, Natural Resources, Public Safety and Transportation

along with GEFA and the state's KAB affiliates.

More than 300 groups consisting ofAdopt-A-Highway groups,

KAB affiliates, 4-H Clubs, civic clubs, environmental clubs,

schools, local governments and other concerned citizens are

planning to participate inthis year's event. These groups will

8 LITTLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP
1 Set a good example for others, especially children, by not littering.
2 Make sure trash cans have lids that are securely fastened.
3 Don't put loose trash in boxes.
4 Every day, plan to pick up at least one piece of litter carelessly thrown out by someone else.

help relay the message that litter is a costly and unsightly problem for Georgians and that it is time for individuals to take responsibility by properly disposing of their trash.
Litter is a costly problem in Georgia. DOT spent $5.1 million in 1996 to clean up the State's highways and interstates and has spent more than $40 million over the last 10 years to rid the

5 Save your cigarette butts until you can properly dispose of them.
6 Cover all open loads on trucks of all sizes -even pick-up trucks.
7 Report areas where people have illegally

roadways of this visible nuisance. Besides being a costly problem, litter hurts all of us. Litter on
the roadways and debris falling from vehicles causes thousands of accidents annually. Litter also breeds more litter, which can accumulate into illegal dump sites.
If your community or group would like to participate in "Let's Keep Georgia Peachy Clean" cleanup week, please call David Smith at (404) 679-3144 or contact him at

dumped to your local highway, public works or code enforcement office.
8 Volunteer to help organize a cleanup.
L~ :ITM1t~~~~!.:~~!?!c~!~~~TM

dsmith@dca.state.ga.us. The registration deadline is February 20.

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
60 Executive Park South, NE Atlanta, GA 30329-2231
An Equal Opportunity Employer
If you are disabled and would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please contact the Georgia Department of Community Affairs at (404) 679-4915 or 1 (800) 736-1155 (TDD).
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please call us or return the mailing label to have your name removed from our mailing list. Thanks!
@Printed on Recycled Paper
12