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Business Recycling Plans and Policies Program Characteristics |
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Although businesses are generally very aware of costs, they also focus on their top business priorities. In most businesses, waste management costs are a very small part of production costs and the bottom line. In addition, larger businesses often separate the responsibilities for arranging for services (facilities managers) from those in charge of paying the bills (controllers). As long as costs remain comparable from year to year, waste management costs do not get much attention. However, businesses are also very concerned with their relations with local government. They often will participate in recycling programs when asked. The message to business is easy for local governments: "Don't let your bottom line go to waste. Help us meet the State-mandated 50 percent goal, and you’ll save money by reducing your waste collection and disposal costs." The first stage of any commercial recycling program should be sharing information. Communities can develop guides, offer waste audits, and provide technical assistance to businesses. They can work with local recyclers to obtain information about how much they recycled and refer businesses to them for different services. To complement this information sharing, communities could adopt a variety of economic and policy incentives to encourage businesses to reduce waste and recycle. Local governments can adopt policies in a wide variety of instruments, including:
Local governments can also influence the economics of the marketplace by the way it structures its:
If businesses do not respond to voluntary incentives, then communities may need to resort to the adoption of policies and mandates. To make recycling a priority for businesses, communities could try the following approaches:
If information-sharing, incentives, and mandates are not successful in achieving the level of recycling needed to comply with the IWMA, then communities may need to provide some solid waste and recycling services to increase waste diversion in the business sector. These might include programs similar to those in the residential sector, such as city curbside and yard waste recycling services. However, this approach is definitely the most expensive for cities. If cities can obtain the desired participation of businesses by the first three stages of a commercial recycling program, all would benefit. Recycling planning requirementsMany communities now require businesses to develop recycling plans. Pittsburg, Calif., was one of the first communities to adopt this requirement in 1991. Pittsburg Ordinance 91-1019 requires businesses to submit a simple recycling plan and site plan with their annual business tax reports. The city provides a commercial recycling handbook for businesses to use in developing their plans. The handbook includes suggestions on how to develop successful recycling programs and lists local recycling centers and recycling companies. The business recycling plan must:
An approved plan must be fully implemented within three months after the approval date. Documentation of compliance with the ordinance is required during the annual renewal of business licenses. The existing building inspection program is used to enforce the ordinance. Response to the ordinance has been very good. When the ordinance was first adopted, a letter from the mayor was included with business license applications and renewal notices, explaining the IWMA and encouraging businesses to comply with the ordinance. The mayor also stressed how the information provided in the plans would be used to increase the efficiency of collecting recyclable materials and help reduce costs for everyone. The city held several one-hour workshops at different times in different locations to assist businesses to better understand the requirements. A commercial recycling brochure explained the ordinance, listing other recycling hotlines and local recyclers and encouraging businesses to buy recycled. Most calls to the city initially were very positive. Callers were seeking more information about where to recycle particular items. This allowed staff to explain to each business the requirements of the IWMA and how businesses could help the community meet those goals. Businesses were able to shop for the most competitive recycling services and to obtain the cost savings from reducing the amount of waste being landfilled. The process also encouraged innovative recycling programs (e.g., backhauling recyclables to a central location with enough volume to justify independent recycling collection). Waste diversion requirementsCommunities may require businesses to achieve a certain waste diversion goal or to participate in specific recycling programs. Chicago, Ill., gives businesses a choice in participating in recycling at least 3 materials or recycling two materials and conducting two other waste reduction programs. Source separation requirementsSome communities have required that businesses source-separate designated recyclable materials. Often these requirements are coupled with others stating that haulers must provide recycling collection services for those designated recyclable materials. On September 30, 1993, New York City began requiring its businesses to source-separate recyclables. The requirement also mandated that haulers collect the materials. All businesses (other than food or beverage service businesses) must recycle the following materials:
Materials may be mixed together but must be kept separate from garbage. Some haulers may request that corrugated cardboard and/or high-grade office paper be kept separate from other paper recyclables. Food or beverage service businesses must recycle the following materials:
All materials except for corrugated cardboard may be mixed together in a clear plastic bag, but they must be kept separate from garbage. In New York City, the person responsible for waste management at a business must:
Noncompliance with these recycling requirements in New York City is punishable by fines of $25 to $500. San Diego County is the best example of this approach in California. In June 1991, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors adopted a mandatory recycling ordinance (MRO). The MRO prohibited mixing designated recyclables with refuse prior to refuse collection. Each city was also required to adopt an MRO of its own. The county introduced surcharges in phases to a maximum of $100 per load of solid waste delivered to a county landfill. The San Diego MRO included enforcement by disposal bans on specific recyclable materials (e.g., newspaper, glass, and yard waste). The county phased in the bans over a three-year period. Designated recyclables include:
The county allocated $250,000 for an aggressive promotion and education campaign during the implementation of the mandatory recycling ordinance. The campaign included public briefings, workshops on recycling education, and enforcement techniques for cities, recycling collectors, and haulers. A public relations handbook helps cities implement their local MROs. In addition, the county provided recycling tonnage grants to cities to stimulate residential recycling programs. The county also introduced technical assistance program (TAP) grants for public and private entities to expand recycling opportunities in the county. In March 1992, the county outreach contractor conducted a residential survey. The survey found that 88 percent of county residents supported adoption of an MRO in their community. Product bansSome communities have banned specific products or encouraged businesses to stop using specific products as part of their IWMA implementation. Pittsburg, Calif., adopted guidelines for take-out food packaging. The city encouraged businesses to voluntarily begin immediately phasing out take-out food packaging made from CFC-processed polystyrene. This applies to other packaging that is not reusable, redeemable or recyclable. Whenever possible, Pittsburg encourages businesses to replace it with packaging made from postconsumer recycled materials. Pittsburg’s Ordinance 91-1019 required that:
All retail food establishments are required to obtain written statements from the take-out packaging vendor or manufacturer that identify the manufacturer of the packaging. The vendor must also specify whether the packaging is returnable or recyclable, state the minimum amount of post-consumer recycled material in the packaging, and certify that the packaging is not CFC-processed. Documentation of compliance with the ordinance is required during the annual renewal of business licenses. Landfill bansMany communities, counties, and states have banned a wide variety of materials from landfills around the country to increase reuse, recycling, and composting. Most of the bans are on materials that are easily technically recycled and for which sufficient market demand exists for the material. Landfill bans work particularly well to quickly increase waste diversion if markets or uses exist locally for the materials. A major advantage of landfill bans is that they impact those waste streams not controlled or managed directly by a city or county. This is particularly true of landfills with self-hauled wastes. Landfill bans are most easily enacted when a public agency owns a transfer station or landfill. Bans have typically been done for the following materials in the U.S:
Bans from landfills are also in effect in some locations for the following materials:
Source: BioCycle magazine, May 1995 Landfill bans require extensive promotions and participation with affected parties before implementing. In addition, communities must give serious attention to enforcement of the ban and addressing illegal dumping after the ban goes into effect. In California, landfill bans have not been used extensively. In San Diego, the county banned a variety of recyclable materials from the county-owned landfill system as part of its comprehensive program designed in the early 1990s. In Sonoma County, yard waste is banned from the landfill. A sign at the gate of the landfill notifies users that they are not to dispose of yard waste. However, the Sonoma yard waste ban has not been actively enforced to date. Procurement requirementsOne of the most important requirements that local governments can easily make is to adopt procurement requirements for environmentally preferable products, source reduction, and recycled-content products. Local governments can specify these requirements for their own purchasing. More importantly, local governments can require that anyone receiving funds or support from them comply with such procurement requirements. Much information is available about recycled products on the market. The CIWMB has one of the best databases available on its Web site. The site also includes sample recycled-content product procurement policies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has comprehensive procurement guidelines (CPG) that are easily included in local specifications for recycled products. The CPGs are required under section 6002 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Executive Order 13101. U.S. EPA is required to designate products that are or can be made with recovered materials. They must also recommend practices for buying these products. Once a product is designated, procuring agencies are required to purchase it with the highest recovered material content level practicable. In 1995, U.S. EPA issued the first CPG that covered the original five procurement guidelines and added 19 products. A CPG update (CPG II), published in November of 1997, designated an additional 12 items. CPG III, designating 18 more items, was recently adopted. Executive Order 13101, "Greening of the Government through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition," requires federal agencies to buy recycled and "environmentally preferable" products. RCRA section 6002 requires procuring agencies that spend more than $10,000 a year on an item to buy products containing recovered materials. Procuring agencies are federal, state, and local agencies and their contractors. If a state or county agency spends more than $10,000 a year on a U.S. EPA-designated item, and part of that money is from appropriated federal funds, then the agency must purchase that item made from recovered materials. Agencies may elect not to purchase designated items when the cost is unreasonable or when inadequate competition exists. They may also opt against buying items not available within a reasonable period of time, or those not meeting the reasonable performance specifications of the agencies. U.S. EPA's Environmentally Preferable Products Program encourages and assists federal Executive branch agencies to purchase environmentally preferable products and services. These products or services have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. The National Association of Counties has developed an "Environmental Purchasing Starter Kit" to help local governments set up a cost-effective environmental purchasing program. The kit is designed for purchasing agents, county and city managers, recycling coordinators, local elected officials, product users, and vendors. Takeback requirementsSome communities are just beginning to develop voluntary or mandatory takeback programs. In the Pacific Northwest, communities are considering the adoption of a program to collect cathode-ray tubes (CRT) from old computers for a $5 fee. Ideally, they would like CRT manufacturers to adopt this program in the future. A number of pilot programs emerged in the 1990s as part of the common-sense initiative of the U.S. EPA. A number of industries assume takeback programs as a result of their lease programs. When they get back old leased products in exchange for the latest technology, they are left with a lot of old products to reuse or recycle. This is particularly true with the copier industry, where Xerox became a leader in voluntary takeback systems. Another good example is copier toner cartridges. Sharp offers a $5 rebate to customers who mail old cartridges to them to refill and resell. Other industries are starting to use takeback programs as marketing tools. A number of carpet manufacturers are now offering to "lease" carpet squares. Eighty percent of the wear of carpets is usually down the middle of a hallway. By leasing carpet squares, customers get to exchange their worn squares for new ones, without the cost of replacing all the carpeting in the area. This same process develops customer loyalty from the carpet manufacturer’s perspective, building in repeat customers through this process. Some grocery stores have implemented takeback programs for plastic grocery bags in response to consumer complaints about their use. Dry cleaners in some areas have similar takeback policies for hangers. Local governments could work with other retailers to develop similar voluntary takeback programs an effort to promote good will with their customers. Other products that lend themselves to takeback programs at the local level would be latex paints, batteries, oil, and tires. Latex paints are becoming more available to the public to take for free at household hazardous waste events. Paint retailers could accept back any nearly-full cans of paint for reuse in a number of ways:
Local governments could encourage these approaches as marketing tools for businesses. Some companies like Radio Shack now collect household batteries as part of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) campaign. Local governments could encourage or require all businesses that sell such batteries to include RBRC containers wherever batteries are displayed or sold. This would protect public health and welfare from the threat of batteries that might end up in landfills. Tire retailers usually accept old tires for recycling, adding a service charge for the proper disposal of those tires. Local governments could work with tire retailers to make sure these tires are reused or recycled rather than landfilled. Repair SystemsBusinesses could be encouraged or required to develop better repair services and systems for the products they sell. Some businesses are already starting to use repair services like takebacks as marketing tools. Radio Shack now sells itself as the “repair shop” for all major brand products, not just its own. Radio Shack did extensive market research and found that they were uniquely positioned with many local stores throughout the country that people trusted. The company advertises that it will repair products for a nominal fee and the customer will get the same reliability and service expected of Radio Shack. Sears offers similar services for all major brand appliances. Some communities are working with businesses to explore how they can create more support for repair services. One of the primary tools local governments are exploring is the establishment of job training programs for repair technicians. Cities and counties can take the lead in these programs, especially linking with local conservation corps and community colleges. Another approach could be for communities to require businesses that sell products to offer cost-effective repair services for those products. This would be particularly appropriate for products that are difficult for local governments to properly reuse, recycle, or dispose. Local governments could also develop product durability and repair labels. These could be encouraged or required by local governments to be posted where these products are sold, highlighting the life cycle costs of owning and maintaining a product. This system could be structured like the energy efficiency standards used for refrigerators and other major appliances. Although this program would be best developed by the State or federal government, local governments may be able to join with local colleges and universities to research the durability and repair records of targeted products and post them with progressive retailers. DepositsThe preeminent example of a deposit system in the state is the beverage container recycling system mandated by the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act of 1986 (AB 2020, Margolin, Chapter 1290, Statutes of 1986), commonly called the "Bottle Bill." Usually deposits are charged at a high enough level to get consumers to return the item in the way intended (to get back their deposit). Deposits are typically found on higher value equipment (e.g., from rental companies), where a significant deposit (or an open credit card voucher) is maintained on equipment that is rented to ensure its timely return without damages. For construction and demolition (C&D) debris, some cities are now requiring deposits when residents, businesses, or contractors seek permits for C&D activities. The City of Atherton, California, requires a $50 per ton deposit for all waste estimated to be produced by that project. Contractors must show that they have recycled at least 50 percent of the waste generated or the town keeps $50 for each ton below its 50 percent goal that was not recycled. The City of San Jose is working on adopting a C&D deposit for diversion. The city proposes to collect a deposit when a building permit is issued for construction, demolition, and remodeling projects. To collect their deposits, contractors will have to provide receipts showing that a recycling facility has accepted their C&D waste. Local governments could encourage or require retailers that sell difficult-to-recycle products to establish a deposit on those products. They could also require companies to take back those products wherever they are sold. Products that would lend themselves well to this approach are computer consumables and parts such as keyboards, CRTs, and toner cartridges. Land use permit conditionsPlacing conditions on local land use permits is a powerful--and familiar--tool for local governments. Planning departments often include requirements in conditional use permits to protect the public health and welfare, and to comply with adopted city policies (particularly those in the city’s general plans). Below is a good example of recycled content and recycling conditions placed on local land uses: the Playa Vista development in the City of Los Angeles. Zoning issuesLocal governments have absolute control over their zoning and could include policies and procedures that assist reuse, recycling, and composting operations. The State requires local governments to adopt minimum requirements for space for storage of recycled materials at all new developments. If local governments have not adopted their own ordinance, the model ordinance developed by the CIWMB is law. The California Department of Conservation also has a model ordinance for the siting of recycling facilities. This was adopted after the passage of the Bottle Bill. The ordinance provides language local jurisdictions can adopt in creating their own ordinances regarding the siting of recycling facilities. Under the Bottle Bill requirements, all Californians must have access to a convenient location to recycle. Some local governments are also working with reuse, recycling, and composting businesses to develop more appropriate zoning for these types of businesses. In some areas, local governments are encouraging these businesses to be located near each other. This would create a "recycling zone" where the public can go to find all types of thrift stores, salvage shops, rental operations, and recycling businesses. A good example of this is in Berkeley, Calif. The city recently amended its zoning to permit a new use, "materials recovery enterprise," in the mixed use-light industrial zone. This will facilitate the relocation of Urban Ore and other reuse and recycling businesses to this area. Enforcement IssuesMany programs enforce their ordinances by issuing tickets and levying fines (heavier for multiple infractions). For example, Kane County, Ill., made extensive inspections at businesses to enforce its recycling ordinance. The county charged violators between $25 and $100 per day. Other creative municipal approaches to enforcement are:
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Last updated: December 28, 2007 Local Government Central http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/LGCentral/ Larry N. Stephens: lstephen@ciwmb.ca.gov (916) 341-6241 |
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