Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2007 Solid Waste Management Update Waste Collection Solid waste management is essential to reduce the harmful effect of waste on our health, environment and to recover valuable resources from it. This update will focus on the level and type of solid waste collection, processing and, recycling methods available throughout the State. The level and type of solid waste, recycling and yard trimmings collection services provided throughout the state varies greatly depending upon a community's size, density and demographic profile. The data contained in this report is obtained mainly from the Annual Solid Waste Management Survey and Full Residential Waste and Recyclables Cost Report. This data is used to acquire an over-all "annual snapshot" of solid waste and recycling activities in the State. Before applying any analysis to this data it should be noted that in FY 2004 there was a significant drop in the response rate (from 93% in FY 2003 to 79% in FY 2004). It is believed that the switch to the online reporting system is the primary reason for the significant drop in the response rate. Statistically this is the first year of reliable data collection since returning to a significant response rate. As a result this data should only be used for primary analysis. Collection FY 2004 - 2006 2004 No. of local governments responding 546 to Solid Waste Management Survey Solid Waste Service Providers Local governments 501 providing/arranging for residential waste collection Provided by public sector 336 Provided by private sector 379 Types of Residential Programs 2005 631 593 335 356 2006 643 640 347 293 In the table entitled Residential Waste & Recyclables Collection the changing role of local governments as solid waste collection service providers is highlighted. Many local Curbside/backdoor City County 374 436 448 60 66 71 governments are now "providing for" rather than "arranging for" solid waste collection services. One potential trend appears to be the increasing availability of recycling services. In FY 2004 91% of those responding to the survey indicated that they provided or arranged for recycling services for their residents, in FY 2006 this number increased to 99%. It should be noted that this trend can not be validated until two more years of data is collected. Staffed Drop-off City County Unstaffed Drop-off City County Dumpsters (Green box) City County Recycling Service Providers Local governments making 44 42 21 95 80 57 17 40 26 25 43 32 27 23 20 49 25 17 390 395 408 Local governments can partner with the private sector to manage the waste generated within their communities by using permits, ordinances, franchise agreements, and/or contracts. Permits and ordinances governing the collection of solid waste are typically the least residential recycling services available Provided by public sector Provided by private sector Provided by non-profit organization 266 264 290 67 77 112 57 80 80 restrictive tools local governments use to manage solid waste collection in their community. Collection ordinances typically establish general standards by Private/Public Partnerships for Residential Waste Collection FY 2004 - 2006 2004 2005 2006 which a private sector service provider City County City County City County must operate. Franchise agreements, Private collection does not exist 158 55 178 59 181 59 either exclusive or open, generally Issue permit or license 48 31 56 34 57 37 establish a minimum level of services Local ordinance 230 70 251 79 267 84 that must be provided by all service providers and usually stipulate the Franchise agreement 103 36 134 Governments contract 202 53 248 Open competition -- no local 139 66 167 40 142 41 60 260 63 72 169 72 specific operating standards. A government oversight contract between a local government and private waste service provider provides the greatest degree of management control over the waste stream, with the local government setting forth specific performance measures and standards to be met by both parties. The number of local governments reporting they use ordinances continues to increase (300 in FY 2004 to 351 in FY 2006). Since this is only the second year of data collection since the wording of the question as well as the section of the survey in which the question was asked has changed, it would be premature to establish this as a trend. C - 1 Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2007 Update As can be seen in the Residential Waste and Recyclables Collection table (C-1), the types of residential solid waste collection services range from "green box" or Dumpster drop-off service to curbside or backdoor pick-up. One trend the Department of Community Affairs has been tracking for several years is the use of Dumpsters. They are often placed in unsupervised areas, usually in rural communities, for trash collection and frequently become dumping grounds for everything from household trash to disabled vehicles, tires, and animal carcasses. They can become an eyesore in a community and attract waste from neighboring jurisdictions. The number of local governments using Yard Trimmings Management green boxes for residential waste collection has FY 2004 - 2006 dwindled in recent years. In 1994, 74 cities and 99 counties reported using them for residential waste collection. In FY 2006, just 20 cities and 17 counties Promote home 2004 City County 24 27 2005 City County 25 25 2006 City County 22 29 reported using green boxes. composting and grasscycling Provide for collection 365 57 258 33 326 56 and disposal Yard Trimmings Collection Collection Options Staffed drop-off 14 16 19 28 21 28 The number of local governments reporting that they facilities provide for the collection and disposal of yard Unstaffed drop-off 9 3 9 3 10 3 trimmings fell from 422 in FY 2004 to 382 in FY 2006. This apparent decrease may be attributable to local facilities Curbside collection Accepted at 220 3 5 15 294 21 22 32 302 23 21 31 governments using private contractors to arrange for landfill/transfer station this service. The number of counties reporting they Other 13 3 16 6 18 7 provide collection services has increased from 33 in FY 2005 to 56 in FY 2006. From the information reported it appears that this increase is occurring in the curbside programs. The type of collection service options ranged from accepting yard trimmings at solid waste management facilities like a solid waste transfer station to curbside collection programs. Recyclables Collection Residential Recycling Service Providers FY 2004 - 2006 During FY 2006, 408 local governments reported they provided or arranged for 450 residential recycling services in their 400 communities. As can be seen in the Residential Recycling Services Providers 350 graph, the strong tradition of public, private, and non-profit partnerships used to provide 300 recycling services throughout Georgia 250 continues. 200 The number of local governments whose residents have access to recycling services 150 has increased slightly during the last three years. Collection programs for paper, beverage 100 containers and plastics continue to rise. It 50 appears that cities and counties are expanding collection programs at about the same rate. 0 This increase in programs may be linked to the rise in prices for recyclable commodities. What is notable is the increase in the number of jurisdictions who reported collecting special wastes such as electronic items. 2004 2005 2006 Governments with recycling services available to residents Provided by public sector Provided by private vendor Provided by non-profit organization C - 2 Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2007 Update As shown in the Number of Jurisdictions Collecting Materials for Recycling tables on page C-4, there has been a steady increase in the number of local governments making residential recycling services available in their jurisdictions. Nationally and regionally, market prices for recycled materials have risen steadily. Over the past year we have seen a stabilization of the price for recycled materials. This price stabilization along with local residents demand has prompted local governments to add recycling services and to increase the number of materials they accept in their program. This report does not address the scale of the individual local recycling operations, which would be difficult to quantify. Rather, it focuses upon the level of recycling services being offered throughout the state. Since 1992, newspaper has been reported as the residential recyclable material most widely collected in Georgia, followed by aluminum cans. During FY 2006, the most popular commodities recycled from residences were newspaper (507 jurisdictions reporting collection); aluminum (463); corrugated cardboard (386); magazines (381); and #1 plastic (363). As the prices for recyclable glass increases local governments have added this material to their recycling programs. The tables on page C-4 tally the number of local governments collecting commercial and residential materials for recycling. Recyclables Processing In FY 2006 169 local governments reported processing residential recyclables as source separated materials, or reported that they collect source-separated materials from their customers. Source-separated means the materials are separated before being collected, typically by the consumer. For example, a homeowner may have to place glass, plastic and metal in separate containers before collection. Commingled collection means the consumer places all the material in one container and the material is sorted after collection, often by paid staff, inmates or probationers. Processing of Residential Recyclables FY 2004 - 2006 2004 2005 2006 City County City County City County Source-separated 75 97 79 97 77 92 Commingled 32 12 46 14 31 13 Both 8 10 6 9 9 8 Unknown 52 34 32 21 27 34 C - 3 Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2007 Update Number of Jurisdictions Collecting Residential Materials for Recycling by Type Number of Jurisdictions Collecting FY 2002 - 2006 Commercial Materials for Recycling by Type 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Automobile components tires auto batteries motor oil Metals aluminum scrap metal FY 2002 - 2006 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 89 88 62 54 47 70 71 44 38 13 71 75 50 36 14 249 238 248 196 187 170 168 106 94 94 Automobile components tires auto batteries antifreeze motor oil oil filters Metals aluminum steel cans 137 136 117 142 127 93 91 89 100 88 22 24 18 21 24 101 93 66 95 100 17 23 18 28 25 362 334 292 452 463 165 157 118 226 228 Paper newspaper magazines corrugated cardboard white paper phone books other paper Misc. plastic glass 258 257 293 254 252 202 198 189 84 67 257 253 202 177 174 190 177 98 66 66 176 168 163 71 71 153 148 92 50 31 353 326 214 181 162 176 177 139 57 47 scrap metal aerosol cans Paper newspaper magazines corrugated cardboard phone books paper board other paper Misc. 212 214 124 208 204 41 40 16 39 35 380 365 344 509 507 298 280 269 378 381 314 287 280 368 386 241 234 202 322 324 129 132 111 72 105 234 206 172 236 253 #1 plastic 268 256 247 360 363 #2 plastic 244 255 208 311 324 other plastic 85 76 52 69 72 glass 266 251 180 303 311 white goods 250 239 246 225 222 Christmas trees 245 244 253 262 254 C&D materials 60 65 51 48 45 Transfer Stations agricultural chemical containers 22 23 15 10 8 With fewer, more regional-sized landfills in the state and a wide array of solid waste collection programs, solid waste transfer stations continue to be a popular method of streamlining solid waste collection services. Transfer stations are especially effective when collection routes are farther than 50 miles from a landfill. Combining several conventional rear-loader garbage truck loads into a single tractor-trailer for the trip to the landfill saves fuel costs, vehicle wear and tear, and means fewer trucks can service more customers. Only electronics 27 40 12 76 102 Household Hazardous Waste paint 21 24 42 29 27 cleaning products 8 10 0 2 0 pesticides 3 7 4 4 4 other 25 21 19 12 6 n/a: Question not asked on that year's survey *Prior to the 2000 survey, DCA did not separate #1 and #2 plastics in its survey. 20 cities reported that they or their contractors used transfer stations for the collection or disposal of residential waste in FY 1995. By FY 2006, 157 cities or their contractors were using transfer stations to manage residential waste. Use of Solid Waste Transfer Stations FY 2002 - 2006 City County 2002 143 67 2003 146 70 2004 153 70 2005 157 72 2006 157 77 C - 4 Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2007 Update Georgia banned yard trimmings from lined Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills in 1996, as part of an effort to extend landfill disposal capacity. Effective Sept. 1, 1996, each city, county and solid waste management authority was required to impose restrictions on yard trimmings generated in or disposed within their jurisdiction. The restrictions required that yard trimmings: Not be placed in or mixed with municipal solid waste; Be sorted and stored for collection to facilitate composting or other handling; To the maximum extent feasible be sorted, stockpiled or chipped for composting or used as a mulch or for other beneficial purposes; and Be banned from disposal at MSW disposal facilities having liners and leachate collection systems. Annually, DCA surveys local governments to determine how they collect, process and use yard trimmings generated within their communities. During FY 2006, 22 cities and 29 counties reported actively promoting waste minimization practices such as home composting or beneficial reuse of yard trimmings. During FY 2006, 326 cities and 56 counties reported collecting yard trimmings for diversion from MSW landfills. It is not surprising, given lot sizes and population densities, that cities lead the way in providing yard trimmings collection services. Most local governments also reported that they provided the collection services with just a few indicating they contracted with a private vendor to collect yard trimmings. In many areas, especially urban and suburban communities, the visible result of the yard trimmings ban has been the presence of large paper bags of leaves and grass at curbsides. Collection of yard trimmings in paper bags enables them to be ground into a mulch or feedstock for composting. The majority of local governments who reported collecting yard trimmings either ground or shredded the collected material for use as mulch, however 134 local governments reported disposing the collected materials into an inert landfill. Composting and burning were also reported as common processing methods. Yard trimmings, when processed properly, have numerous beneficial uses in a community. The use of compost and mulch is extremely beneficial for slowing stormwater runoff and retaining moisture around plants. Many local governments use processed yard trimmings as mulch for their landscaping and civil engineering applications or report offering the processed yard trimmings to their citizens for residential landscaping. Yard Trimmings Management FY 2004 - 2006 2004 2005 2006 City County City County City County Promote Home 24 27 25 25 22 29 Composting and Beneficial Reuse Provide for collection 365 57 258 33 326 56 and disposal Collection Not available 137 86 178 96 189 96 Your government 308 54 242 76 245 8 Another government 18 12 17 22 12 9 Solid Waste 7 6 8 11 7 8 Authority Private vendor via 8 20 11 24 8 17 individual subscription Private vendor via 19 12 35 11 36 9 government contract Collection Options Staffed drop-off 16 23 16 32 20 29 facilities Unstaffed drop-off 9 6 10 8 10 3 facilities Curbside collection 220 15 240 16 277 22 Accepted at 19 39 21 44 23 54 landfill/transfer station Other 8 6 8 6 Processing Methods Composting 46 12 48 18 35 9 Solid waste landfill 35 8 22 8 42 5 Inert landfill 177 94 154 92 104 30 Grind/chip into 177 55 183 76 158 30 mulch Own a 146 20 143 29 144 17 chipper/shredder Contract out 35 33 31 33 47 21 chipping/shredding Use another local 17 9 18 9 21 3 government's chipper/shredder Burning 24 0 24 4 26 0 Other 0 0 23 6 0 0 Beneficial Use Give away 180 56 178 68 159 16 Sell 8 7 8 8 11 3 Used by local 112 26 97 41 48 17 government Becomes property of 39 13 39 15 39 21 private contractor C - 5