Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2009 Solid Waste Management Update Waste Collection This update will focus on the level and type of solid waste collection, processing and recycling methods available throughout the State. How these services are provided, or even if, depends greatly 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 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 annual response rates vary greatly and may contribute to the variations in trends. In the table entitled Residential Waste & Recyclables Collection the changing role of local governments as solid waste collection service providers is highlighted. One trend appears to be the decreasing availability of recycling services. In FY 2006 66% of local governments who provided or arranged for residential waste collection for their residents, also made recycling services available, in FY 2009 this number fell slightly to 65%. However, collections for individual commodities has dropped off significantly; see the tables on page C-3 for details. 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 restrictive tools local governments use to manage solid waste collection in their community. Collection ordinances typically establish general standards by which a private sector service provider must operate. Franchise agreements, either exclusive or open, generally establish a minimum level of services that must be provided by all service providers and usually stipulate the specific operating standards. A 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 fell Private/Public Partnerships for Residential Waste Collection slightly (373 in FY 2007 to 362 in FY 2009). This drop is likely due to slightly reduced reporting for FY 2009. Percentage-wise, ordinance use has hovered in the mid-50% range for several years. Private collection does not exist Issue permit or license Local ordinance FY 2007 - 2009 2007 2008 City County City County 199 58 199 58 68 41 69 41 278 95 279 95 2009 City County 181 60 68 37 272 90 Franchise agreement 149 42 150 42 141 40 As can be seen in the Residential Governments contract 274 64 275 64 263 64 Waste and Recyclables Collection Open competition -- no local 151 74 151 74 153 72 table (C-1), the types of residential government oversight solid waste collection services range from "green box" or Dumpster drop-off service to curbside or backdoor pick-up. One trend DCA has Yard Trimmings Management FY 2007 - 2009 been tracking for several years is the use of 2007 2008 2009 Dumpsters. They are often placed in unsupervised City County City County City County areas, usually in rural communities, for trash Promote home 22 29 28 21 26 29 collection and frequently become dumping grounds composting for everything from household trash to disabled vehicles, tires, and animal carcasses. They can Provide for collection 326 56 304 45 304 45 and disposal Collection Options become an eyesore in a community and attract Staffed drop-off 21 28 12 31 14 27 waste from neighboring jurisdictions. In 1994, 74 facilities cities and 99 counties reported using them for residential waste collection. In FY 2009, just 21 cities and 21 counties reported using green boxes. This steady decline is direct evidence of improving waste management in the state. Unstaffed drop-off 10 3 10 3 6 2 facilities Curbside collection 302 21 295 17 297 21 Accepted at 23 31 15 24 11 20 landfill/transfer station C - 1 Revised August 6, 2010 Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2009 Update Recyclables Collection During FY 2009, 385 local governments reported they provided or arranged for residential recycling services in their communities. As can be seen in the Residential Recycling Services Providers graph, the strong tradition of public, private, and non-profit partnerships used to provide recycling services throughout Georgia continues, however it appears that the public sector maybe taking a stronger role in providing collection services. Residential Recycling Service Providers 450 FY 2006 - 2009 400 350 300 250 200 150 The number of local governments whose 100 residents have access to recycling services has dropped off after making steady gains 50 through the 2000s. The recycling industry is not 0 immune from the economic recession, and commodity prices dropped in the fall of 2008 as global demand slumped. Some local governments, having grown accustomed to the revenue their recycling programs brought, cut collections. Since the public sector recovery will likely lag behind the private sector, Georgia 2006 2007 2008 2009 Governments with recycling services available to residents Provided by public sector Provided by private vendor will once again see our strong end-use markets clamoring for more material from a supply chain disrupted at the local level. 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 2008, the most popular commodities recycled from residences were newspaper (307 jurisdictions reporting collection); aluminum (310); and PET (# plastic, 244.) It should be noted that there was a decrease in the number of jurisdictions collecting these materials. We will continue to monitor this decrease. The tables on page C-4 tally the number of local governments collecting commercial and residential materials for recycling. Processing of Residential Recyclables FY 2007 - 2009 2007 2008 2009 City County City County City County Source-separated 77 92 74 71 72 65 Commingled 31 13 78 21 86 27 Both 9 8 23 20 23 17 C - 2 Revised August 6, 2010 Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2009 Update Recyclables Processing In FY 2009 137 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. The chart below labeled `Processing of Residential Recyclables' reflects Georgia's shift toward single-stream processing. While source-separated processing fell from 169 local governments in 2007 to 137 in 2009, single-stream processing rose from 44 to 113 local governments. Use of Solid Waste Transfer Stations FY 2006 - 2009 City County 2006 157 72 2007 157 77 2008 106 82 2009 108 84 Georgia continues to have adequate collection and processing capacity for recyclable material; the demand for more material remains constant. Transfer Stations 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 tractortrailer for the trip to the landfill saves fuel costs, vehicle wear and tear, and means fewer trucks can service more customers. Only 70 counties reported that they or their contractors used transfer stations for the collection or disposal of residential waste in FY 2005. By FY 2009, 84 counties and 108 cities or their contractors were using transfer stations to manage residential waste. Number of Jurisdictions Collecting Commercial Materials for Recycling by Type FY 2006 - 2009 2006 2007 2008 2009 Automobile components tires 54 47 31 24 auto batteries 38 13 26 23 motor oil 36 14 24 24 Metals aluminum 196 187 74 83 scrap metal 94 94 49 52 Paper newspaper 254 252 69 83 magazines 84 67 48 75 corrugated cardboard 177 174 83 88 white paper 66 66 * * phone books 71 71 60 69 other paper Misc. 50 31 35 54 plastic 181 162 * * glass 57 47 56 54 Number of Jurisdictions Collecting Residential Materials for Recycling by Type FY 2006 - 2009 2006 2007 2008 2009 Automobile components tires 142 127 224 108 auto batteries 100 88 167 81 antifreeze 21 24 78 23 motor oil 95 100 187 79 oil filters 28 25 75 29 Metals aluminum 452 463 448 310 steel cans 226 228 289 160 scrap metal 208 204 294 173 aerosol cans 39 35 101 39 Paper newspaper 509 507 492 307 magazines 378 381 430 266 corrugated cardboard 368 386 431 254 phone books 322 324 415 233 paper board 72 105 293 148 other paper 236 253 339 200 Misc. #1 plastic 360 363 378 244 #2 plastic 311 324 348 214 other plastic 69 72 238 99 glass 303 311 361 199 white goods 225 222 324 192 Christmas trees 262 254 363 206 C&D materials 48 45 0 37 agricultural chemical containers 10 8 37 12 electronics 76 102 221 119 Household Hazardous Waste paint 29 27 93 44 cleaning products 2 0 44 17 pesticides 4 4 19 8 other 12 6 65 29 C - 3 Revised August 6, 2010 Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2009 Update Yard Trimmings Georgia banned yard trimmings from lined Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills in 1996, as part of an effort to extend landfill disposal capacity. Effective September 1st 1996, each city, county and solid waste management authority was required to Yard Trimmings Management FY 2007 - 2009 2007 2008 2009 impose restrictions on yard trimmings generated in City County City County City County or disposed within their jurisdiction. The restrictions required that yard trimmings: Promote Home Composting and Beneficial Reuse 22 29 28 21 26 29 Not be placed in or mixed with municipal solid Provide for collection 326 56 304 45 304 45 and disposal waste; Collection Be sorted and stored for collection to facilitate composting or other handling; Not available 189 96 203 98 193 100 Your government 245 8 254 36 252 30 Another government 12 9 4 0 6 0 To the maximum extent feasible be sorted, stockpiled or chipped for composting or used as a mulch or for other beneficial purposes; and Solid Waste 7 8 1 1 0 2 Authority Private vendor via 8 17 8 0 8 0 individual subscription Be banned from disposal at MSW disposal Private vendor via 36 9 35 5 35 6 government contract facilities having liners and leachate collection Collection Options systems. The number of local governments providing for the collection and disposal of yard trimmings increased from 291 in FY 2006 to 349 in FY 2009. The number providing the service themselves has increased from 253 in FY 2006 to 291 in FY 2009. 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. Annually, DCA surveys local governments to Staffed drop-off 20 29 12 31 14 27 facilities Unstaffed drop-off 10 3 10 3 6 2 facilities Curbside collection 277 22 295 17 297 12 Accepted at 23 54 15 24 11 12 landfill/transfer station Other 20 29 12 31 18 33 Processing Methods Composting 35 9 9 1 10 1 Solid waste landfill 42 5 40 1 35 2 Inert landfill 104 30 63 16 64 11 Grind/chip into 158 30 99 12 91 14 mulch Burning 26 0 21 0 25 0 Other 0 0 10 1 6 1 determine how they collect, process and use yard trimmings generated within their Give away Sell 159 16 73 0 72 0 11 3 2 0 5 0 communities. During FY 2009, 26 cities and 29 Used by local 48 17 7 0 4 0 counties reported actively promoting waste government minimization practices such as home composting Becomes property of 39 private contractor 21 15 0 15 17 or beneficial reuse of yard trimmings. During FY 2009, 304 cities and 45 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 75 local governments reported disposing the collected materials into an inert landfill. Twenty-five cities report burning yard trimmings. Composting and chip into mulch 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 storm-water 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. C - 4 Revised August 6, 2010