Solid waste and recycling collection: 2010 solid waste management update [2010]

Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2010 Solid Waste Management Update

Waste Collection

Local governments have an array of options to choose from when providing for waste collection services. A significant minority of local governments continue to provide the service themselves, and many partner with the private sector to manage the waste

Private/Public Partnerships for Residential Waste Collection

FY 2008 - 2010

2008

2009

2010

City County City County City County

Private collection does not exist 199

58

181

60

174

59

Issue permit or license Local ordinance

69

41

68

37

65

30

279

95

272

90

267

89

Franchise agreement

150

42

141

40

134

41

Governments contract

275

64

263

64

259

61

generated within their communities Open competition no local

151

74

153

72

136

79

by using permits, ordinances,

government oversight

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 types of residential solid waste collection services range from "green box" or Dumpster drop-off service to curbside or backdoor pick-up. One trend DCA has been tracking for several years is the use of unstaffed 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. In 1994, 74 cities and 99 counties reported using them for residential waste collection. In FY 2010, just 16 cities and 22 counties reported using green boxes. This steady decline is direct evidence of improving waste management in the state.

Residential Collection Methods FY 2008 - 2010
No. of local governments responding to Solid Waste Management Survey Solid Waste Service Providers Local governments providing/arranging for residential waste collection Provided by public sector Provided by private sector Types of Residential Programs

2008
671
513 435 217

2009
653
489 427 208

2010
615
468 411 194

Curbside/Backdoor - City - County Staffed Drop-off

373

355

337

45

37

40

City

43

41

39

County

78

87

81

Unstaffed Drop-off - City - County

23

16

19

14

14

13

Dumpsters - City - County Recycling Service Providers Local governments making residential recycling services available Provided by public sector Provided by private sector Provided by non-profit organization

23

21

16

28

22

22

405

385

395

318

317

297

104

117

117

109

92

110

C - 1

Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2009 Update

Recyclables Collection
During FY 2010, 406 local governments reported they provided or arranged for residential recycling services in their communities. As can be seen in the Residential Recycling Services Providers table, 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.
The number of local governments whose residents have access to recycling services dropped off after making steady gains through the 2000s. The recycling industry is not 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 will once again see our strong end-use markets clamoring for more material from a supply chain disrupted at the local level. Already in FY 2010 some of those programs have been restored, as evidenced by the Number of Jurisdictions Colleting Residential Materials for Recycling graph.
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 2010, the most popular commodities recycled from residences were newspaper (305 jurisdictions reporting collection); aluminum (314); and PET (# 1 plastic, 249.) 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.

Recyclables Processing

In FY 2010 137 local governments reported processing residential

Processing of Residential Recyclables

recyclables as source separated

FY 2008 - 2010

materials, or reported that they

2008

2009

2010

collect source-separated materials from their customers. Source-

Source-separated

City County City County City County

74

71

74

71

65

52

separated means the materials are

Commingled

78

21

78

21

96

35

separated before being collected,

Both

23

20

23

20

26

18

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 above 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 2010, single-stream processing rose from 44 to 141 local governments.

Georgia continues to have adequate collection and processing capacity for recyclable material; the demand for more material remains constant.

C - 2

Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2010 Solid Waste Management Update

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 2010, 84 counties and 105 cities or their contractors were using transfer stations to manage residential waste.
Yard Trimmings

Use of Solid Waste

Transfer Stations

FY 2007 - 2010

City

County

2007

157

77

2008

106

82

2009

108

84

2010

105

84

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 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

Yard Trimmings Management

FY 2007 - 2009

2008

2009

2010

City County City County City County

Promote Home

28

21

28

21

24

22

Composting and

Beneficial Reuse

Provide for collection 304

45

304

45

298

45

and disposal

Collection

Not available Your government

203

98

193

100

184

83

254

36

252

30

251

35

Another government

4

0

6

0

4

0

Solid Waste

1

1

0

2

3

2

Authority

Private vendor via

8

0

8

0

6

0

individual

subscription

Private vendor via

35

5

35

6

30

7

government contract

Collection Options

Staffed drop-off facilities

12

31

14

27

13

31

Unstaffed drop-off

10

3

6

2

1

2

facilities

Curbside collection

295

17

297

12

291

16

Accepted at

15

24

11

12

9

20

landfill/transfer

station

Processing Methods

Composting

9

1

10

1

6

0

Solid waste landfill

40

1

35

2

29

1

Inert landfill

63

16

64

11

62

13

Grind/chip into

99

12

91

14

98

14

mulch

Burning Other

21

0

25

0

23

0

10

1

6

1

9

4

Give away

73

0

72

0

69

0

Sell

2

0

5

0

4

0

Used by local

7

0

4

0

5

0

government

Becomes property of 15

0

15

17

24

0

private contractor

C - 4

Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2009 Update
facilities having liners and leachate collection systems.
The number of local governments providing for the collection and disposal of yard trimmings increased from 291 in FY 2006 to 343 in FY 2010. The number providing the service themselves has increased from 253 in FY 2006 to 286 in FY 2010. 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 determine how they collect, process and use yard trimmings generated within their communities. During FY 2010, 26 cities and 29 counties reported actively promoting waste minimization practices such as home composting or beneficial reuse of yard trimmings. During FY 2010, 298 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.

Number of Jurisdictions Collecting

Commercial Materials for Recycling

by Type

FY 2007 - 2010

2007 2008 2009 2010

Automobile components

tires

47

31

24

22

auto batteries

13

26

23

25

motor oil

14

24

24

25

Metals aluminum

187

74

83

80

scrap metal

94

49

52

49

Paper

newspaper

252

69

83

81

magazines

67

48

75

78

corrugated cardboard

174

83

88

96

phone books

71

60

69

72

C - 4

Solid Waste & Recycling Collection 2009 Update

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.

Number of Jurisdictions Collecting

Residential Materials for Recycling

by Type

FY 2007 - 2010

2007 2008 2009 2010

Automobile components

tires

127

224

108

112

auto batteries

88

167

81

76

antifreeze

24

78

23

32

motor oil

100

187

79

88

oil filters

25

75

29

24

Metals

aluminum

463

448

310

314

steel cans

228

289

160

154

scrap metal aerosol cans

204

294

173

184

35

101

39

41

Paper

newspaper

507

492

307

305

magazines

381

430

266

271

corrugated cardboard

386

431

254

251

phone books

324

415

233

242

paper board

105

293

148

173

junk mail

198

175

195

Misc.

#1 plastic

363

378

244

249

#2 plastic

324

348

214

208

other plastic

72

238

99

110

glass

311

361

199

202

white goods

222

324

192

213

Christmas trees

254

363

206

213

C&D materials

45

0

37

43

agricultural chemical containers

8

37

12

13

electronics

102

221

119

123

Household Hazardous Waste

paint

27

93

44

39

cleaning products

0

44

17

19

pesticides

4

19

8

11

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