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 C - 5