Waste stream journal, Vol. 3, no. 2 (Spring 1999)

WASTE STREAM JOURNAL

A Waste Reduction Newsletter of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs

VOL: III NO. 2 * * *

SPRING 1999

**** IT'S ON US

General Assembly
Scrap Tire Bill Passes Again,
Extended to 2005
Governor Signs Bill Maintaining Fee on New Tire Purchases
The Georgia General Assembly has approved extending to the year 2005 the fee charged on all new tires sold in the state.
Since 1992, a $1 fee has been imposed upon the retail sale of all new replacement tires in Georgia. The fee, collected by tire retailers, is deposited into the Georgia Solid Waste Trust Fund for distribution to local governments for scrap tire pile cleanups, enforcement and education, as well as for waste reduction and recycling grants.
After clearing the Georgia House of Representatives by a vote of 139~29, the Senate voted unanimously to. lift the sunset provision for Georgia's existing scrap tire fee, which was scheduled to end on June 30, 2000. Instead, the legislature agreed to extend the fee until June 30, 2005.
The bill was introduced by Representative Dubose Porter of the 143rd district (Laurens County) and Representative Bob Hanner of the l 59th district (Chattahoochee, Lee, Marion, Terrell and Webster counties). Representatives Porter and Hanner sought passage ofthe bill this session, a year before its sunset date, in order .to provide continuity for state agencies and local
See BILLS on pg. 4: w

Talkin' Trash

* * *

..

* * *

The Public Sector

The Private Sector

0 nee again this year, Georgia Pacific, the open burning will be Atlanta-based manufacturer

restricted in the Atlanta area of paper, pulp, building

between May 1 and September materials and other products,

30. EPD has identified open recently made changes to

burning as a significant better use its wood residuals.

contributor of the pollutants The residuals, including bark,

which form ozone.

sawdust and wood shavings,

Traditionally, ozone levels \Vere being used as a fuel in

in Atlanta during the summer its boilers to produce steam

months reach unhealthy for operations.

levels.

Figuring they could get a

Burning of leaves and other higher return by finding

yard wastes are prohibited, as alternative uses for residuals,

is the burning of vegetative the company now .sells

waste from land clearing sawdust for turkey and horse

activities.

stable bedding and bark to

The 13 Georgia counties landscapers.

affected by .this burning ban are: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb,

***

Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, The 11th Annual BioCycle

Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Nationwide Survey, "The

Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding State of Garbage in America,"

and Rockdale.

has been released by

BioCycle.: The Journal of

***

Composting and Recycling.

In order to more efficiently One of the highlights of the

process and recycle news- report includes statistics

paper, the Recycling Bank of showing that although the

Gwinnett has expanded its amount of waste being

facility and added a building produced in the United States

devoted solely to sorting continues to rise - as it has

newspaper.

every year this decade - the

Approximately 2 million percentage of waste being

pounds of newspaper is landfilled continues to

collected and processed at the decrease.

facility each month. The Other improvements

expansion will allow it to include the increase in the

speed up the processing of number of curbside recycling

newspaper, and also improve programs, the rise in the

See PuBuc on page II: w

See PRJVA~E on page II: w

In This Issue

GEFA announces the winners of its Recycling and Waste Reduction Grants, pg. 12.
Phone Book Recycling in Georgia, pg. 7. America's legendary litter prevention icon dies at age 94, pg. 9. Acronyms strike again ... we'll help you decipher, pg. 10.

Peachy Clean
Unique Projects
Highlight Hectic Clean.Up Week
Local Programs Enlist Volunteers Worldwide
Lawnmowers, hammers and nails, and hundreds of out-oftown guests helped kick-off the 1999 "Great American Cleanup/Let's Keep Georgia Peachy Clean" program.
The. annual statewide litter cleanup stretched across 122 of Georgia's 159 counties this year. Thousands ofvolunteers across the state donated countless hours oftime to pick up litter, clean vacant lots, beautify run-down areas and educate the public on the problems associated with litter.
"Now in its fourth year, local event coordinators were enthusiastic about the event and getting members of their communities involved," said David Smith, statewide coordinator for the event. "This year, more and more areas were looking for unique events to really highlight the problem of litter, not only in their community, but across the state."
Among the more distinctive events was a litter-free Habitat For Humanity project in Americus. More than 1,300 volunteers from around the world worked each day for seven days as 25 houses were built in the area. Eighty houses have been built in the past three years to help rid the area of substandard housing,
SEE CLEANUP on pg. 6: w

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNALSPRING1999 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Keep Georgia Beautiful, Governor Barnes

Honor Georgia's Environmental Stewards

Governor Roy Barnes honored 48 Beautiful and they will know a different

individuals, organizations, schools and song and a different story."

.

businesses for making significant Keep Georgia Beautiful recognized the

contributions to improving Georgia's award winners for theii achievements iri

environment during Keep Georgia managing waste and reducing litter in

Beautiful's 21st annual awards luncheon at Georgia through a variety of litter

the Georgia World Congress Center.

prevention, solid waste management

.,

Nearly 700 people attended this year's education, recycling, composting and

luncheon at which Governor Barnes beautification programs.

praised the efforts that the award winners "Keep Georgia Beautiful is proud of

have made in their own communities and, what this year's award recipients have

collectively, in Georgia.

accomplished," said Jim Higdon,

"More than 370,000 volunteers Commissioner of DCA. "They are

contributing two million hours of service working to protect and preserve Georgia's

in one year is something that is not only future by accepting responsibility to

an accomplishment to be proud of, but one improve their local environment."

that I believe is unparalleled," said Barnes. Marc Pickard, reporter for Atlanta's

"There are some who do not understand NBC affiliate WXIA-TV, served as master

or believe that preserving and protecting of ceremonies for the luncheon. Guests

our environment is about what you and I were entertained by the Georgia 4-H Governor Roy Barnes congratulates students

do everyday," he continued. "Let them performing group, Clovers and Company. from H.J. Dexter Elementary School for

spend a day with the folks at Keep Georgia

winning a Keep Georgia Beautiful award.

Exerpts from
Governor Barnes' Remarks at the Keep
Georgia Beautiful Awards Luncheon

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

'

.

BusiRess/Professional - Small

Business/Professional :- Large

Youth Groups and Schools .

Government Agencies -Local

Governm.ent Ag.encies -

Federal. ,

. .

Non-Profit, Civic or Community

ERTH Products, LLC - Peachtree City Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings -DaltoA J:E. Richards Recycling, Lawrenceville . The City of Smyrna U.S. Arllly -fort Benning

"I am proud of what Keep Georgia Beautiful has accomplished, w.hich for 21 years has been committed to preserving and improving our environment."
"Let other folks begin to comprehend how grassroots organizations can bring together local government, businesses, industries and citizens to form lasting and productive public-private partnerships."

"Because. organizations like

Keep Georgia Beautiful .have

reached out to build strong

,

public-private partnerships,

I I

Georgia is a leader and not a

follower."

"Let others watch an army of environmentalists and thousands ofvolunteers stretch across this state to improve Georgia's environment and keep her beautiful."

2

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - G E O R G I A DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Governments Contemplate Pay-As-You-Throw Alternatives

A one-day workshop was held recently to study pay-asyou-throw programs across the state and provide information to government officials contemplating a change in t.he way waste is collected in their communities.
The Pay-As-You~Throw Workshop, sponsored by DCA, examined the unitpricing programs in which residents and businesses are charged for waste collection based on the amount of waste they throw away.
With pay:..as-you-throw systems, the fee. charged for collection and disposal increases with the amount of garbage disposed. This provides a financial incentive for residents to reduce waste, which can lead to lower disposal costs.
Pay-as-you-throw programs provide a direct economic incentive to reduce the amount of waste generated through recycling, composting and other waste reduct.ion methods.
"Pay-as-you-throw programs are gaining

momentum as a fair way to collect garbage," said Bonnie Fryer Moss, coordinator ofthe event. "Basically, people will only pay for what they throw away, which gives them the control over their costs, which hopefully will lead to the reduction of waste produced in the home."
More than 20 communities in Georgia, and 3,000 across the country, have switched from a flat-rate fee structure to some sort of variable rate system.
According to the EPA, most communities participating in pay-as-you-throw programs have experienced major benefits including:
Economic sustainability Programs enable communities to generate the revenues they need to cover solid waste program costs. Residents also welcome the opportunity to take control of their trash bill.

Environmental sustainability - Less waste and more recycling means that fewer natural resources need to be extracted.
Fairness - Residents and businesses pay only for what
they throw away.
There are many different types of payas-you-throw programs already in operation throughout the state, but for communities wishing to implement a program, the decision must be carefully planned. "Educating the public is one of th.e most important facets fora pay-as-you-throw system to be successful," said Moss. "Customers of the system must be made aware of collection schedules, rates, billing cycles, penalties for noncompliance and, if applicable; locations for purchasing bags or tags and

stickers." There are many different
ways to implement the system, and different communities have found success with different variations of collection.
For example, the cities of Sugar Hill and Duluth have a prepaid bag system in place. The price of the bag covers all or part ofthe cost ofcollection. The fewer bags used, the less the citizen pays for waste collection.
City of Marietta residents are required to place orange stickers on garbage cans with capacity less than 32-gallons. The residents are charged on a per can basis. The more cans used, they more they pay for collection.
"Monitoring and evaluating the program and providing the community with results is just as important," Moss said.
For more information, please visit the DCA website at www. dca. state. ga.us/ pub lications/paythrowI payindex.html or the EPA website at www.epa.gov/ payt.

GHEP Move Allows Enhanced Public, Private Technical Assistance

The Georgia Hospitality Environmental Partnership (GHEP) has moved from DCA to the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (P2AD) at DNR. The change was made in order to link GHEP more closely to the other technical resources serving the comillercial sector.
GHEP, which provides technical assistance for waste reduction in the hospitality industry, now has expanded resources in water and energy conservation. GHEP still addresses waste reduction, recycling and composting issues, but now includes all facets of the hospitality

industry and is a statewide service.
Bonnie Fryer Moss, program coordinator; moved with. the GHEP
program to the P2AD program and is excited about the many new oppor~tunities forGHEP.
"I am looking forward to the positive changes that will affect this program because ofthe transfer," Moss said. "Among other things, P2AD is a great resource for addressing the needs of the business community."

GHEP services have become increasingly in demand since aggressive marketing strategies were
implemented last year.
"We wanted to generate awareness about GHEP to the hospitality industry - they simply did not know that this important service was available to them," Moss said. Hosting booths at hospitality trade shows, sending out direct mailings and presenting small workshops at conferences for

the hospitality industry gave positive exposure for GHEP. Moss says she has seen a definite increase in the volume of requests for assistance, as well as the motivation behind it.
"It's even more encouraging to receive a call from a hotel ownerthat doesn't care about the financ;ial benefits, but simply wants .to be environmentally aware about the way he' operates his business everyday," she said. For more information about GHEP, contact Moss at (404) 657-7440 or by email at bonnie_fryer@mail.drir.state.
ga.us.

,3

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNALSPRING1999 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Tire Bill Extended, Signed Into Law

Georgia Composting Association

continued from page 1

governments involved in the Part of the money collected Seeks Interested Members

scrap tire program. Governor Roy E. Barnes
signed the bill into law on April 28, making the new act effective on July 1, 1999.
Through the legislation passed in 1992, the General Assembly has allowed EPD to develop a program to manage the millions of scrap tires that had accumulated in illegal dumps throughout the state. The money received from this $1 fee has been targeted to collect and properly dispose of the illegally-dumped tires.
EPD reports that more than 8.9 million tires have been targeted for cleanup since the program began. Ofthose tires targeted, 7.4 million have been removed at a cost of $8.5 million.

from the scrap tire fee has The recent formation of the

been divided among grant Georgia Composting Associ-

recipients to develop local ation (GCA) provides an

clean-up events and education opportunity for Georgians

and enforcement programs to interested in composting to get

prevent future illegal dumping acquainted and support

problems.

Georgia's composting in-

Hundreds of local govern- dustry.



ments have benefited from the GCA was founded at the end

grants, which also fund of 1998 by Wayne King, Sr.,

projects that propose owner of ERTHProducts, a

innovative uses for scrap tire compost manufacturer in

chips.

Plains. King realized that

EPD also distributes money many state government

from the Solid Waste Trust agencies, local governments

Fund to other state agencies and businesses are currently

including DCA, which involved in some aspect of

provides technical and compost production and

educational assistance to local research, but knew of no

governments regarding solid organization that could help

waste. Other agencies foster communication among

receiving money from the fund these groups.

are P2AD and GEFA.

Interest in composting

+ organic materials has gained

producers, users and researchers to encourage the production of high quality compost through the establishment of industry standards; to support environmentally acceptable composting practices; and to promote the economic development of Georgia's composting industry.
GCA members include compost producers, equipment manufacturers, city and county government representatives, researchers and educators.
GCA officers include r~presentatives from the University of Georgia Biological arid Agricultural Engineering Department and Bioconversion Center, DCA, the Georgia Water and

Mason Award to

much attention in the state as Pollution Control Association, people realize the--value of and county- -and-- - city

Recognize Top

turning a waste byproduct that government. would normally be landfilled GCA is an affiliate of the

KAB Director

into a useable end product for United States Composting the landscaping and horti- Council, and the two

Barbara Mason was honored

cultural industry.

organizations worked closely

at the annual Keep Georgia

"Through this group we are to promote the recent

Beautiful Awards Luncheon

reaching a very large segment International Composting

for her lifetime .of dedicated

of the community, from Awareness Week.

service to the KAB system on

agricultural and industrial to GCA hopes to serve as an

the national, state and local

commercial entities and information resource for the

levels.

classroom researchers," .said state, sponsor workshops,

Mason has been involved in

GCA secretary Rachel conduct tours and hold regular

the KAB system since its

Cochran. "These groups seem meetings. GCA is actively

inception iri 1978. She helped

very pleased that an seeking new members, and

start the Georgia affiliate, then In her honor, a new award organization of this type membership is open to anyone

known as Georgia Clean and - The Barbara Mason Award - exists."

interested in composting and

Beautiful, which became the will be given each year to a Some examples ofthe types organic recycling.

first state affiliate in the Georgia KAB Ex.ecutive of waste materials that have Several technical and non-

country.

Director who displays successfully been composted technical committees are

Mason helped start the leadership and is resourceful, include food waste from forming and need volunteers.

Atlanta Clean City dedicated and committed to schools and. prisons, peanut GCA held its first members

Commission (now Keep the concepts and ideals of hulls, poultry litter, animal meeting in May in conjunction

Atlanta Beautiful), was Keep America Beautiful.

manure, municipal sewage with the University of

Executive Director of Fulton The award was created by sludge, pulp and paper Georgia's first . annual

Clean and Beautiful, and now the Keep Georgia .Beautiful industry byproducts, and yard Composting Open House at its

serves as Chairman of the Foundation and sponsorship of debris.

Bioconversion Center.

Keep Sandy Springs/North the award will be shared by GCA's main goals are to For GCA membership

Fulton Beautiful Board of industry groups on a revolving facilitate information ex- information, contact Rachel

Directors.

basis.

change between compost Cochran (see page 10).

4

- - - - - - - - - - - , - - - - - - G E O R G I A DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Hartwell's Ultimatum Provides Creative Solid Waste Improvements

Hartwell Sanitation Superintendent Dea1l Carruth was given an ultimatum three years ago make his department self-sufficient or have it turned over to a private garbage hauler.
Professional consultants hired by city officials did not give Carruth much hope that any changes could be made to the current operations to make his department cost-effective.
Although the city would save thousands of dollars in tipping fees, any reduction of solid waste being hauled to the landfill, the consultants said, would require a large investment in new equipment. Two choices for raising funds to purchase the new equipment raising taxes or increasing user fees were both out of the question.
The options were few for the town of 4,600, situated just miles from the South Carolina border. Carruth believed, however, that if he was able to implement some ofhis own ideas and methods successfully, he could keep the sanitation collection public and use it as a model for other small municipalities.
By improving the efficiency of garbage collection routes and by reducing the number of personnel used to collect the garbage, Camith was able to make a small dent in the department's financial quandary. His solution was boosted by the City Council's decision to slightly increase commercial rates, yet give them an incentive to recycle.
In 1996, the City ofHartwell was hauling 3,825 tons of waste annually to the Hart County Transfer Station, which was charging $35 per ton to dispose of solid waste. Carruth figured the easiest way to tum his department around was to use waste reduction methods to limit the amount of waste going to the

landfill. As tipping fees were seeking Hartwell's sludge as a city personnel is a drop in the

increased to $40 per ton, means ofcontrolling fertilizer bucket compared to what he

Carruth felt his decision was costs."

believes he could collect if

absolutely correct.

While sludge and yard private businesses in the area

Helped in part py the 1996 trimmings are more difficult recycled their paper as welL

ban on yard trimmings being items to recycle, in a weight- With the help of the private

disposed ofin MSW landfills, based disposal system the two sector, Carruth projects the

Hartwell purchased an items were important .cost- waste stream in Hartwell could

enclosed truck and chipper to saving factors.

be cut by 10%.

pick np leaves and limbs at the Carruth also believed that Carruth also reports that the

curb. In 1998, more than the. city's administrative cardboard recycling efforts in

1,000 tons of mulch was offices needed to make an Hartwell are paying offin cost

collected, chipped and given effort to recycle in order to avoidance at the landfill.

away to residents. The annual further reduce dependence on Efforts to recycle cardboard

savings in tipping fees to the the landfill. He discussed began in 1996 and continue to

City ofHartwell

increase each year. Cardboard

was $40,000.

is collected at commercial

Another large

lOcations in the city on a daily

waste stream for

basis. Carruth estimates that

Hartwell is its

the savings over three years

sewage sludge.

will amount to nearly $15,000.

Wastewater

With the assistance of a

Superintendent

grant from GEFA, Carruth

Alton Sanders

hopes that he can expand the

said about 400

cardboard collection portion

tons of sludge

of his program. As part of the

annually was

grant, Hartwell purchased a 20

being trucked to

cubic-yard rear-load garbage

a landfill 75

truck to supplement the

miles away. An

cardboard recycling program

upgrade to

throughout the city.

H ar.t we 11 's

"I anticipate additional

wastewater

cardboard recycling and

treatment plant

decreased collection times by

would result in

using the new truck," Carruth

the production

said. "I am enthusiastic about

of additional sludge and hcoigshtse.r disposal

The City ofHartwell uses vehicles like this one to collect and recycle cardboard throughout the cz.ty, d"zverting z"tfirom d. "zsposa1z.n a landlfill.

the new equipment and the impact it will have on our operating budget."
He anticipates a 17%

By working with farmers in paper recycling with his staff increase in cardboard

the Hartwell area, sludge is to determine the feasibility of collection during 1999 with

being diverted to about 160 recycling waste paper the help of the truck and a

acres offarmland approved generated by city employees. public promotional program,

by EPD for sludgeapplication. Despite the smalL tonnage which is expected to be

The end-product going to the from the staff, Carruth says it launched later this year. As a

farmlands is a wet fertilizer continues to set the example result, Caruth is expecting a

that is without contamination for other offices to follow.

savings of $6,600.

and hazardous content.

"I believe that office Motor oil is the next

The applications are personnel recognize that a recyclable set to be targeted in

expected to economically small effort on. their part Hartwell, although Carruth is

benefit farmers through their results in recyclable solid continuously contemplating

high nutrient value and save waste being removed from the the next steps to make the City

the city transportation and garbage each year without an of Hartwell an environmental

disposal fees - about another imposition on their part," he leader in northeast Georgia.

$40,000 annually.

said.

"We want to begin curbside

"The program is gaining The 2,500 pounds of office recycling.. It seems expensive

momentum," Sanders said. paper collected and removed for now, although we have not

"Additional farmers are now .from the solid waste stream by ruled it out completely."

5

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNALSPRING1999---....,.-----------------

Cleanups Enlist Thousands ofVolunteers Statewide

continued from page 1

and 40 are planned before the from the sale ofthe cardboard, recycling team," he said.

Georgia Peachy Clean" was

year 2000. More than 100,000 cans and metal to finance a

MTD, makers of the Yard-

hours of volunteer time were building project in Guatemala. GACKickoff

Man lawn tractor. The Yard-

donated to this project.

With more than 90 tons of This year's statewide event Man lawn mower and its rider

Rod Marchant, director of waste being recycled or combined the annual "Let's have shattered the world's

Keep Sumter Beautiful, reused, there was very little Keep Georgia Peachy Clean" record for distance traveled on

wanted to make this event left to be landfilled. Marchant cleanup week with Keep a lawn mower by journeying,

different than any previous said less than 70 cubic yards America Beautiful's "Great at press time, more than 3,000

Habitat for Humanity project. of waste were disposed. An American Cleanup."

miles as he makes the 4,500-

Although the event's con- average homesite produces Although the Americus mile trip from Atlanta to Los

struction waste has always

Angeles, via New York City,

,i

been recycled, he wanted to

Chicago and Denver. The

take the extra step to make

event is raising $100,000 for

sure that everything that could

Keep America Beautiful.

be recycled was, and that each

In Georgia, rider Brad

worksite was kept litter-free.

Hauter left Atlanta and rode

"We have worked with

through Athens, Royston,

construction waste recycling

Madison County and Hart

with Habitatfor Humanity for

County before heading up the

three years," Marchant said,

East Coast. This event was

"but we were also concerned

followed by hundreds ofother

with litter reduction, litter

Great American Cieanup

prevention, overall recycling

events in Georgia, ranging

and other environmental i.ssues. "

from small neighborhood cleanups to large community-

More than 50,000 cans of soda and water were donated to the volunteers and bins were assembled to collect and

Twenty-five homes were built in a one-weekperiod as part ofa litterfree Habitatfor Humanity project in March. Nearly 90 tons ofwaste were diverted from landfill disposal through this project.

wide projects. In another unique event,
more than 200 high school "Environmental Scholars"

recycle all of the .used about 40 cubic yards ofwaste, event kicked off the statewide from throughout the country

beverage containers.

so a total of 70 cubic yards events in March, the national met in Atlanta. to assist Keep

In addition, vinyl siding and from 25 home sites is kickofftook place during April Atlanta Beautiful with its

PVC scrap were collected for miniscule, as was noted in a in Atlanta's Centennial cleanup and painting project in

recycling into mobile home lefter from Habitat For Olympic Park with the start of Piedmont Park.

skirting, untreated wood was Humanity founder, Millard a new world record.

The students were selected

mulched, treated wood scraps Fuller:

One of the corporate by the Coca-Cola Company

and particle board were made "Asyouknow,litterisareal sponsors of the "Great for their environmental efforts

available to the public, asphalt matter of concern for me and American Cleanup/Let's Keep in their lo.cal communities.

shingles were ground for use your efforts helped keep litter

in paving projects, and 22 tons to a minimum," he wrote.

of drywall were ground and "Getting started that way will

spread onto area peanut fields, no doubt help the homeowners

which benefit from the to have a better appreciation

gypsum.

of the site they inhabit and, I

Although plans were made hope, will make them want to

to either .compost the food keep it litter-free."

waste or give it away, Marchant, who put in about

Marchant commented that 18 hours of work each day

with thousands of "starving during the project, said that the

volunteers, there is not much volunteers from around the

food left over."

world were determined to

Metal and cardboard were reach his recycling and waste

recycled as .well. Marchant reduction goals.

noted that Keep Sumter "I challenged everyone

Beautiful has been given the there with a mission and made World-record holder /)rad Hauter prepares to embarkon his 4,500

approval to use the proceeds each of them a part of the milejourney. Hauter left Atlanta and tra'veled to Los Angeles, trying

to beat the former world record by more than 3,000 miles.

6

- - - - - - - - - . - - - - - - - - - - - GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Telephone Book Recycling Seeks To Close the Loop

Communities Offer Different Options for Residents

Many areas will receive a successful directory been modeled after the

their local telephone collection program comes . newspaper industry, which has

directories this spring, and the from a community with few achieved one of the highest

challenge of recycling the old recycling programs.

recycling rates. Cities and

directories will begin.

Savannah, with its waste-to- counties have set up ah

Since 1989, BellSouth has energy plant, offers limited infrastructUre, Miller said, and

been actively involved in recycling options to its educated the public on. the

partnering with communities residents, but with community need to recycle newspapers.

in nine Southern states to and corporate support, BellSouth rides on this

recover more than 53,000 tons BellSouth turned this momentum and seeks to make

of obsolete phone books. opportunity info a. success. recycling phone books as easy

BellSouth's commitment, Through Keep Savannah as recycling newspaper.

however, goes beyond just Beautiful and the use of local "You need to make it as easy

collecting and recycling the McDonald's restaurants as as possible so that .the only

outdated directories.

BellSouth's recycling

efforts started 10 years l:lgo in

Florida, and no one atthe time

knew how far it would spread.

In. 1998, BellSouth had

collection programs in 25

Georgia communities,

collecting nearly 30% of the

telephone books distributed in

those areas.

"Our internal goal is to

rec.over 25% of all the phone

books that . have b.een

distributed (in the collection areas)," said Eric Miller, Cobb .County volunteers take a break after accumulating telephone manager of Environmental . books during a recent collection drive.

Affairs and Co~nications collection points, BellSouth excuse someone has is that

for BellSouthAdverti~ing and was able to collect about 10:3 they just didn't want to do it."

Publishing. "That still leaves t0ns of phone books out of a Communities have found

75% of the directories out total of 385 tons available.

success in recycling phone

there. This is hot as far as we "Savannah had a much books in many different ways.

are going to take it. "

higher percentage ofrecovery While Columbus accepts

BellSouth offers technical than many other areas due to telephone books cmbside

and organizational expertise to good media coverage from the year-wund, Macon only

communities as well as beginning to reporting the accepts them at the curb for a

promotion, transportation and results," Miller said. limited period.

end-market support. They "Communities .with the most Alternatively, Gainesville

partner with governments, success are those with diverse accepts directories throughout

local businesses, private partnerships and Savannah the year in a designated

industries, not-for-profit had the diverse partnerships." container at its recycling

agencies, waste processors One ofBellSouth's goals is facility, while Albany focuses

and end-users. A program is . to make the recycling on a one- to two-month period.

also in place to offer financial program, from .beginning to Although communities with

support and sponsorships for end, as successful as possible. year-round collection tend to

school collection programs. Every aspect of the telephone collect a higher percentage of

The biggest challenge, book manufacturing process phone books, each program is

Miller said, is communicating has been studied to ensure that successful in its own way.

to the public that telephone the materials, from the paper McDonough and Gainesville

books can be recycled in their to the inks and adhesives, meet each collect around 57% ofthe

community. An example of high standards ofrecyclability. available directories. Miller,

good communication yielding The collection program has however, says even the

communities without a large participation rate are very beneficial to the program.
"It would be ideal if every community could have yearround collection, but that is notnecessarily possible at this point," Miller said. "Hopefully the concept of phone book recycling will continue to grow in every community."
BellSouth also takes the extra effort to close-the-loop by buying more than 63,000 tons of recycled paper made from old telephone books.
Another environmental effort that has an important implication for the future is the movement to alternative formats for telephone books;
In the Atlanta area and five other Southeastern cities, BellSouth has made available the white pages on CD-ROM. It is distributed to large businesses and government agencies that would normally receive more than 50 phone directories, and reduced by more than 200,000 the paper directories distributed last year in Atlanta alone.
"It is really aimed at large organizations with. computer networks;" Miller said. "It saves having to distribute thousands of phone books to just one company."
A version of The Real Yellow Pages is available for the. public online for Atlanta and four other Southern cities, and will be available to a total of 11 cities by the end of 1999.
"This is the direction we have undertaken over the last couple of years," Miller said. "The environment overall right now looks for tremendous technological growth in the future."
For more information contact Miller at (404) 9827418 or email him at
miller.eric@bapco.bls.com.

7

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNALSPRING1999 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Georgia Recycling Coalition Sets

Agenda, Annual Conference

STATE AGENCY SOLID WASTE RESPONSIBILITIES

Mark your calendars now GRC brings together and

for September 1-3, 1999, for further facilitates several Four state agencies have been granted the authority to

the eighth Annual Georgia groups of the recycling handle solid waste management in Georgia. For technical

Recycling Coalition Con- industry under the coalition assistance or information, call the numbers listed.

ference to be held at the umbrella.

Renaissance Pinelsle Resort at GRC has recently adopted Lake Lanier Islands. GRC's "Routes to Recycling" as its

Department of Community Affairs (404) 679-4940

annual "Trash to Treasures" annual theme. This program,

auction will also be held.

which it plans to develop in

The facility offers partnership with the DCA

accommodations, ample Office of Environmental

meeting space, quality Management, will provide

meeting support services, as opportunities for initial

well as recreational. activities development and expansion of

including golf, tennis, boating, recycling drop-off site

swimming and fishing.

capabilities by bringing

Pinelsle Resort will offer a together communities in need,

special coriference room rate technical assistance and the

provides technical assistance to local governments in solid waste management and waste reduction, including recycling, yard waste trimmings diversion and composting
educates the public in solid waste management
supports local Keep America Beautiful affiliates through the Keep Georgia Beautiful program
facilitates partnerships for waste reduction and other waste management activities
administers the annual local government solid waste management survey and prepares an annual report of statewide solid waste management activities

for two days prior and two periodic collection services of days subsequent to the commodities processors.

coordinates the state solid waste management plan update and administers local government solid waste planning

conference if participants Through this, GRC hopes to

activities

would like to extend their trip. increase the volume ofquality

provides staff support for the Waste Reduction Advisory

At its January planning recovered materials and

Council



meeting, GRC's board of provide service to

directors and committee communities in need of members identified two assistance. GRC is seeking initiatives for development insight, suggestions, expertise -

Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division (404) 362-2537

this year. GRC's goals include and experience from - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

strengthening the group and creating allied networks so assistance can be given to riew and existing recycling

individuals throughout the recycling field.
For more information, please visit GRC's website at

regulates solid waste collection and disposal activities
offers technical assistance, especially in the areas of alternative waste disposal technologies, regulatory compliance, and code development and enforcement

programs in the state.

www.georgiarecycles.org.

administers the Solid Waste Trust Fund, making available

a portion to assist DCA and P2AD waste reduction efforts

Recycling Markets Directory

evaluates new waste handling technologies

Available on DCA Website

The 1999 Recycling Markets Directory is now available on the DCA website. The directory is a technical tool used to find what materials can be recycled in a particular area.
The website can be accessed a t www.dca.state.ga. us/waste/ recycling/default.html. The site is still under construction and DCA welcomes all comments and additions.
The interactive website allows the user to conduct a search by company name, Georgia county, by material recycled or by any combination of the above.

The website also offers liriks to state agencies, recycling associations and other affiliated organizations.
Also included is a list of definitions and a directory of hard-to-recycle items, like eyeglasses and toner cartridges.
A printed version of the directory will be mailed to all local government officials and recycling coordinators.
If you are interested in a copy ofthe directory and have not received one by July 1, please contact Karen Sabatini (see page 10).

Department of Natural Resources, Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (404) 651-5120
provides assistance in industrial, commercial and institutional waste minimization develops programs and activities to encourage businesses and industries to implement waste minimization measures conducts industrial waste minimization planning implements a household hazardous waste prevention and management program and a used automotive fluids management program
Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (404) 656-0938
provides solid waste management loans and grants for local governments and solid waste authorities

8

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
In Memorium - Iron Eyes Cody (1904-1999)

Movie Actor Best Known For His Tear, Anti-Litter Message

Iron Eyes Cody, the crying Indian made announcement, once again featuring the Cody PSA,'' Cobb said. "The impact,

famous in public service advertisements famous tear that fueled the environmental again, was just as strong. The tag-line at

for Keep America Beautiful, died of movement of the 1970's.

the end, 'Back by popular neglect,' made

natural causes January 4 in Los Angeles. The new version took place at a bus me and the others in the room nod our

He was 94.

shelter and showed people throwing heads at the reality of those words."

Cody, a Cherokee-Cree Indian-turned newspaper, fast-food wrappers and other Cody was credited with appearances in

actor, starred in numerous films before materials on the ground as a bus pulls up more than 200 films and TV shows.

landing the role for which he would to the shelter.

Originally given the Indian name Little

become most famous.

In the background loomed a poster of Eagle, Oscar Cody was born on an

While working on a film in

Oklahoma farm and received his

1970, Cody initially turned down

first taste of filmaking when a

the role in the KAB ad, in which

crew used his family's farm for

he paddles a canoe past a belching

a location shooting in 1919.

smokestack and along a polluted

His family relocated to

stream before coming ashore, only

Hollywood within a year and his

to have trash thrown at his feet

father worked as a technical

along a busy highway.

advisor on many early Western

As he looks up, a single tear

films.



flows from his eye, down his

After appearing in many small

cheek and the message, "People

.roles, Cody landed a part in

start pollution, people can stop it,"

1923 's "The Covered Wagon, "

is voiced by actor William

one of the most successful

Conrad.

Western silent movies.

The ad was first aired on Earth

After completing a tour with

Day, 1971 andcontinuedinheavy

an international stage show,

rotation through 1975. It

Cody returned to Hollywood

continued receiving airtime

where he was convinced by a

through the mid-1980's and has

young Gary Cooper to stick with

been played recently on

"real acting."

Nickelodeon's "TV Land"

The public's demand for

program.

Westerns hit high gear and Cody

At the height of its popularity,

found himself extremely busy

the announcement created more

both in front of and behind the

than 24 billion viewer impressions

camera.

and received an estimated $750

Cody played Crazy Horse in

million in free airtime.

the 1954 film "Sitting Bull" and

In 1997, Entertainment Weekly

made his last film appearance in

chose Keep America Beautiful's

the 1990 film "Spirit of '76."

original "Crying Indian" PSA as

His television .credits include

one of the top advertisements of Iron Eyes Cody had an impact on millions ofcitizens, and his "Bonanza," "Gunsmoke" and

all time.

legacy continues through the work ofKeep America Beautiful "Rawhide. " His likeness was

Lynn Cobb, manager of Keep and its affiliates, including 55 in Georgia.

also featured in a 1998 episode

Georgia Beautiful, remembers the

of "The Simpsons. "

first time she saw the advertisement and Iron Eyes Cody with a computer- He was honored with a star on the

the effect it had on her.

generated tear rolling down his face. As Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983, but

"It brought tears to my eyes and an the screen turned black, the message, Cody contributed most of his energies to

overwhelming need to make a "Back .by popular neglect,'' appeared on charities benefiting American Indians and

difference,'' Cobb said. "Through the the screen. The goal was to bring back their causes.

years of environmental commitment to memories ofthe old ad while introducing Former presidents Jimmy Carter and

action, the memory of the first television the familiar message to a new generation Ronald Reagan could be counted among

PSA faded until Keep America Beautiful of viewers.

his many friends worldwide, as could

decided to bring him back."

"The Georgia Keep America Beautiful Perry Como, Pope John Paul II, Bob

Last year, KAB released an updated affiliates were among the first groups to Hope, Cecil B.. DeMille, Roy Rogers and

vers10n of the public service view the story-board ofthe new Iron Eyes Gene Autrey.

9

--------- THE WASTE STREAM JOURNALSPRING1999 __________________
THEWASTESTREAMJOURNAL DCA Environmental Assistance Program

is published quarterly by the

Georgia Department of

Community Affairs. Funding

for this publication is provided

by the Georgia Solid Waste

Trust Fund.



RICK BROOKS

Director, Planning & Environmental Management Division ....... (404) 679-0608

RoBINMEYER

Director, Office of Environmental Management ........................... (404) 679-4816

LYNN COBB

Manager, Keep Georgia Beautiful ................................................. (404) 679-4910

DAVID THOMAS Manager~ Environmental Assistance Program .............................. (404) 679-4853

RACHEL COCHRAN Program Coordinator ..................................................................... (404) 679-4998

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.

HEATHER HARDY
PATTI INSINNA RHONDA KOPLIN

SWM Technical Assistance (Yard Trimmings Diversion, Full Cost Accounting, Variable Rates, etc.), Solid Waste Planning
Program Coordinator ..................................................................... (404) 679-1598 Special Projects (Christmas Tree Recycling, Statewide Litter Reduction Campaign, Keep Georgia Beautiful
Program Assistant .............................................................,............ (404) 679-1739
Program Coordinator' (404) 679-3152 Education Training, Awards Program, Keep Georgia Beautiful

Please send releases and correspondence to:

KAREN SABATINI

State Recycling Coordinator ......................................................... (404) 679~3161 SWM Technical Assistance (Recycling, Variable Rates, Buy Recycled)

Editor The Waste Stream Journal Georgia Department of Community Affairs 60.Executive Park South, NE Atlanta, Georgia30329-2231. (404) 679-3144 (404) 679-0646 (FAX) dsmith@dca.state.ga.us

DAVID SMITH

Program Coordinator .........,........................................................... (404) 679-3144 SWM Technical Assistance, SW P~blic Information:
SW Annual Report, The Waste Strearri Journal

BERENICE THOMAS Secretary ...................................................................................... (404) 679c3142

PATRICK VICKERS. Sr. Information Specialist, Office of Research and Analysis ........ (404) 679-3151 SWM Survey and Full Cost Report

You may compose any DCA employee's e-mail address by using his/her first initial and last name'



(up to eight characters total) followed by "@dca.state.ga.us".

Check Out IX:::'..A:s Web Site
www.dca.state.ga. ~s

of
..... ~~~:...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

& KEEP GEORGIA BEAUTIFUL's Web Site
www.KeepGeorgiaBeautiful.org

':~ :.:~ ,;'~ , . ''> / .,,;, '

.} <:, .'>;)

>: J:C-"/; ";:::\;,'

ACRONYMS COMMONLY USED IN
THE WASTE STREAM JOURNAL
C&O. Construction and Demolition DCA Georgia Department .of Community Affairs DNR Georgia Department of Natural Resources DOT Georgia Department of Transportation EPA U.S, Environmental Protection Agency EPD Georgia.Environmental.Protection Division (DNR) GEFA Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority GHEP Georgia Hospitality Environmental Partnership (P2AD) KAR Keep America Beautiful, Inc. MRF Materials Recovery Facility MSW Municipal Solid Waste P2AD Georgia Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (DNR) RDC Regional Development Center SWM Solid Waste Management

9-10 Greening of the Southeast, Atlanta 9-11 compost Operators Training Workshop, Athens 2629 GMA Annual Convention, Savannah
Wl!Fi!
4-7 south/Southeast KAB Regional Conference, Mobile, Ala.
1.-3 Georgia Recycling coalition Annual Meeting, Lake Lanier Islands 29-10/1 Keep Georgia BeautifulAnnual Executive Director's Conference, Red
Top Mountain
@1i@ i,, iI8;
10-12 SWANA, Georgia Chapter Fall conference, Jekyll Island 15 America Recycles Day 18 Use Less Stuff Day
1012 KAB 46th National Conference, Washington. DC

10

_ _ _ _ _ _ _....,...-'--_ _ _ _ _ _ _ GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITYAFFAIRS

COJMJMUNITY NE"\VS Public trFTALKJN' TRASH from page 1

P lease 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) 679~0646. You may also.give David Smith your community news at (404) 679-3144 or dsmith@dca.state.ga. us.

the quality of the product being sent to mills.
The new 5,500 square-foot addition was originally scheduled to be around 4,000 square feet, but a 300% increase in newspaper during

the design stage forced a

Atlanta In conjunction with Keep Atlanta Beautiful, the City of Atlanta hosted its second Scrap Tire Amnesty Day as part of numerous environmental activities realated
to Keep America Beautiful Month in ApriL
More than 40 tons of tires were collected from residents throughout the city..The event was co~sponsoted by National Tire and Battery (NTB) as part of its ROTATE (Recycling Old Tires Aids the Environment) initiative. This program allows the company to give something back to the community by encouraging tire recycling and raising awareness of the wide number of uses for recycled tires.
NTB has also adopted Butler Park and will resurface the playground at the inner-city park with the recycled rubber

change in plans. The plant has ' been built with room to grow ~to an estimated maximum capacity estimated around 4 million pounds per month..
In operation for 13 years, the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett is operated by Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. The entire facility processes nearly 2.6 million pounds of recyclables each month from throughout the region.

material from the processed tires collected during the Scrap Tire Amnesty Day.
"Through the donation of recycled crumb rubber to resurface Butler Park, we aim to tum a negative into a positive in the community where many of our employees and customers live and work," said NTB 's District Manager Vance Rea.

***
City officials in Corpus Christi, Texas, plan to install cameras to catch illegal dumpers in the act, reports a recent USA Today article.

Keep Atlanta Beautiful and the City of Atlanta plan to make
this an ongoing event, with collection days in both the spring Private

and the fall.



triFTALKJN' TRASH from page 1 number of facilities capable of

KAB Institute Readies for Final Phase processing recyclables from

The University of Georgia recently hosted the second level of the pUot Keep America Beautiful Institute as 24 participants, including 16 local kAB Executive Directors. These students are on track to become Certified KAB Executive Directors.
The KAB Institute originated in Georgia last year to give professional development opportunities to KAB leaders. The advanced training gives the executive.directors training in group dynamics, identifying personal strengths, and cuttingedge technical areas - all which will be used by the executive directors to perform theirjobs at a higher standard.
The program's goal isfor other universities across the country

mixed waste, and the increase in the number of composting operations.
Nationwide, we have 200 fewer landfills than we did in 1997, but tipping fees have increased almost $2 per ton, the study reports.
A reprint of the article. can be ordered from BioCycle by contacting them by e-mail at:

to host the Institute so that this instruction will be offered on

an on-going basis, said Keep Georgia Beautiful Manager Lynn

***

Cobb. "As more and more executive directors graduate from the
Institute, the level of community outreach and service from KAB programs will rise across the country and become more uniform," Cobb said. "The reputation of the KAB system then becomes an even more valued commodity to a community because of the expertise with which it is run."
The final level of training includes designing a practicum using the skills acquired in the first two levels of training.

Planning is underway for the next Southeastern Recycling Investment Conference. The conference will be held in August 1999, in Charleston, S:C. Recycling businesses that are looking for investment capital should begin submitting business plans this spring. For

Cameras will be hidden in trees, bushes and rooftops in the vacinity of traditional illegal dumping sites.
***
Despite rain, cold weather and wind across most of the state on January 9, the ninth annual "Bring One For the Chipper" was a complete success; Events were held in 128 communities throughout the state at 393 collection sites. Nearly 328,000 Christmas trees were recycled during the event. More than 200 newspaper articles were printed about the event, and more than 750 television and 2,200 radio public service announcements were played during the weeks preceding the event. As always, 100,000 tree seedlings were given away to those participants dropping .. off trees at designated locations.
more information, contact Ted Campbell at (803) 737-0477.
***
With computer technology improving almost daily, old computers are a growing part of the waste stream. Project Reboot, a computerrecycling project, has begun accepting donations of used computers and provides them free of charge to children and adults with disabilities.
The ReQoot Equipment Depot is located at Friends of Disabled Adults. and Children in Stone Mountain. The organization is seeking computers (386 and faster), monitors, software and accessories. Donations are tax deductible. Contact Project Reboot at (770) 491-0198 for more information.

11

THE WASTE STREAM JOURNALSPRING1999--------------'----___,.---
GEFA Announces 1999 Recycling and Waste Reduction Grant Recipients

The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) Board of Directors has awarded more than $500,000 in recycling and waste reduction grants to 27 local governments in Georgia.
The 1999. grant awards ranged from $8,000 to $30,000 and included recycling, composting and waste reduction projects.
The grants are made available through the Georgia Solid Waste Trust Fund. The trust fund is financed through the $1 fee that is charged for each tire purchased in the state (see related story, page 1). The money in the trust fund is used primarily to cleanup scrap tire piles and to encourage tire recycling through education and research. Some of the funds, however, are used for projects contributing to overall waste reduction, like GEFA's grant program.
"The program has become much more competitive," said GEFA program manager James Thompson. "Even though we have less money to award, these high'-quality projects will have a tremendous impact on Georgia."
For more information call Thompson at (404) 656-0938 or email him at thompson@gefa.org.

Purchase 18 trailers to be used in cardboard recycling operation. Subsidize the cost of compost bins, recycling drop-off site, newspaper. Purchase chipper and leaf machine. Purchase five recyclable material collection containers. Purchase three balers and six trailers for expansion of recycling program. Plan a fully integrated recycling program. Purchase a brush chipper. Establish.a recycling center (storage building and cardboard baler). Develop backyard composting program. Develop more efficient and cost-effective yard trimmings system. Investigate and develop a cooperative recycling network for businesses. construct ramp and buy four trailers for collection of recyclable material. Expand center, purchase baler and bobcat loader. Purchase five 30-yard, open-top, roll-off containers to collect cardboard. Install fiberglass containers for cardboard and paper recycling. Purchase a baler for recycling center. Make commerci~l-style home composting bins available to the public. Construct three satellite recycling sites. Install materials recovery station (tires, oil, cardboard, paper, yard waste). Assist with construction of recycling facility. Complete interior of new recycling building and develop collection process. Purchase a chipper to use for yard trimmings; trailer for cardboard. Purchase a baler to continue to recycle without leasing equipment. Extend loading dock area and install bale storage area. Develop a manned convenience center. Develop a recycling drop-off center.
Enclose current recycling facility.

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