Sponsors: City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts,

Construction Materials Recycling Association of Southern California

Produced by: Southern California Council on Environment and Development (SCCED)

Meeting room provided by the South Coast Air Quality Management District

Kathleen Gildred, SCCED (310-281-8534): This conference is part of an ongoing series on waste management, environmentally preferable purchasing and sustainability. We hope you can use this information to help your municipality to achieve 50% diversion. Please see our website www.scced.org under "Hot Issues" to get reports of our previous conferences and forums.

Eugene Tseng, E. Tseng & Associates (818-889-8628): A waste reduction and recycling audit is a tool that provides information to both the company and the jurisdiction to help increase recycling and waste diversion. I will present an overview of audit methods and outcomes.

Jon Root, Eco Telesis (310-575-3934): This LA County DPW program assists businesses through a website, hotline, newsletter, technical assistance and outreach efforts. Our message is, "recycling is smart business, it doesn’t cost, it pays."

Michael McCartney, QLM Consulting (888-692-9292): The City of Sacramento set up a community team, made up of all stakeholders, to develop a flexible approach aimed at achieving a 30% diversion rate. In addition to the website www.cityofsacramento.org>www.cityofsacramento.org, a complete resources guide can be downloaded from www.sacgreenteam.com.

Kevin McCarthy, California Organics Recycling Council (CORC) (510-563-4214): CORC monitors state and federal regulations regarding organics and provides information and technical assistance. We see increased composting, but we need more sustainable value-added end markets. Municipal procurement can be helpful.

Kelly Ingalls, Construction Materials Recycling Association of Southern California (818-548-8996): Some of the public policies to support C&D recycling include: local ordinances, local conditions for approval of projects, EIR language, construction specifications and procurement ordinances. In addition, resource contact information is provided.

John Richardson, Community Recycling (818-767-6000):

We operate a number of facilities, including a transfer station, dirty MRF, and recycling center. We have developed a processing facility to take mixed C&D debris and recycle over 80% of it.

Eugene Tseng, E. Tseng & Associates: A waste reduction and recycling audit is a "tool" that provides information and data to accomplish our goals:

An audit can be used in any or all of the following ways. Doing the first two is a minimum, but we recommend on-site visits and accomplishing all seven.

• Evaluate and quantify current and/or future disposal practices at a business.
• Evaluate and quantify current and/or future waste reduction and recycling practices at a business.
• Provide technical assistance, literature, outreach and education, promote use of recycled content.
• Provide business-specific programmatic recommendations for each business.
• Provide recognition for exemplary programs, this helps to institutionalize waste management practices so there can be more funding for them within a business.
• Develop teaching and peer match models so that one business can learn from another.
• Provide long-term planning data for jurisdictions.

Ways audits can be conducted include:

1. Telephone surveys
2. Letter surveys
3. On-site/in-person visits (e.g. Alameda County Solid Waste Management Authority, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works)
4. Electronic surveys (e.g. City Departments of the City of Los Angeles)
5. Part of business license renewals (e.g. City of Commerce)
6. Combinations of various of the above

Choosing the method depends on the purpose and what you want to use the data for.

How do you meet AB 939 compliance for the year 2000?

1. Meet the 50% diversion rate.
2. Show a good faith effort by successfully implementing the programs you agreed to in your SRRE.
3. Provide documentation to show how your programs justify the diversion rate by tying the diversion quantities to programs.

Current compliance controversies include:

1. CIWMB’s temporary moratorium on new base year studies.
2. Using actual diversion measurements vs. statistical extrapolation of diversion from a representative sample of your businesses. I believe that sampling and extrapolation is a more accurate method and more conservative, otherwise you could just keep going to businesses to count your way to 50%.
3. How much do you actually change the diversion rate by implementing programs?
4. Definition of source reduction. For example, if you send ten tons of lettuce to a compost facility, it is recycling, if you send it to a pig farm, it is source reduction. If you move to two-sided copying, that means half your reams of paper disappear. Is that called source reduction? We need better standards.
5. Inaccuracy of the base year 1990 studies.
6. Are we counting our way to 50%?

In South El Monte, they had a negative diversion rate and received a Compliance Order in 1998. But through commercial audits, we found 62% diversion rate. The audit program provides a basis for new programs. Starting Oct 1, 2000, South El Monte will be doing MRF processing for the entire waste stream. Their costs are going up, but it will increase diversion. They now have a new area of study on textile waste.

Each jurisdiction has the responsibility to develop the appropriate infrastructure for diversion programs.

The City of Carson, under Jaime Lozano, has found the following signs of a successful waste reduction and recycling program:

1. Businesses, on their own, call to request waste reduction and recycling audits to be performed (spread by word of mouth).
2. Businesses volunteer to become models for BMPs case studies.
3. Businesses volunteer to become teaching models and provide tours to showcase their recycling and waste reduction practices.
4. Businesses refer other businesses to the City for the waste reduction and recycling audit program.
5. Businesses serve as mentors to local youth environmental programs.
6. Businesses participate in the Regional Environmental Science Fair.
7. Businesses participate in a regional business environmental organization to address AB 939 (the South Bay Business Environmental Coalition).
8. Businesses work with the City to pilot innovative technologies.

Jon Root, Eco Telesis (310-575-3934):

We have a subcontract through Edelman with LA County DPW to assist businesses with implementing waste prevention and recycling programs. Our message is, "recycling is smart business, it doesn’t cost, it pays."

We have targeted reaching 20,000 businesses in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County through technical assistance and outreach efforts. We have a Hotline (800-741-9236) and a Website, (www.BusinessRecycling.com). Businesses want hard information, such as exactly who to call for food pick up.

We also provide public educational outreach through twice yearly newsletters, brochures, posters, and presentations at community events, trade shows, etc. We provide free promotional items and also award Smart Business Recycling Plaques to businesses with newly implemented waste diversion programs. So far we have awarded 74 plaques.

We provide site visits by three business recycling consultants who do on-site surveys/uations/assessments. (We don’t call them audits because the term scares some businesses.) The consultants collect data on the amounts and types of waste and recyclables generated and put it into a Microsoft Access database. They also provide recommendations to businesses for implementing or improving waste diversion programs. So far they are recording a 49% diversion rate for the commercial program. We have developed professional materials, and are pushing waste minimization,

The website (www.businessrecycling.com) provides waste prevention tips for various industries. It has links to:

- Los Angeles County Materials Exchange, www.Lacomax.com

- CalMax

- County Environmental Resources, www.888cleanla.com

By October 2000, it will have a database of 350+ recycling companies in Los Angeles County, arranged by type of material to recycle.

Here are sample success stories:

Based on recommendations from a site visit by the business recycling consultants, the College converted its standard lawnmowers to mulching mowers, and began grasscycling three acres of lawn. As a result, the college now saves $3,600 in annual operating costs and 128 staff hours a month.

Sungdo, a textile finishing company, instituted a collection program for mixed paper, film plastic, and textiles. The business recycling consultants helped Sungdo locate several recycling companies, which are now collecting over 80,000 pounds of scrap materials each month. The company has reduced its annual waste disposal fees by $6,000 to $10,000.

Based on assistance from the Smart Business Recycling Program, Quaker City Plating, a plating and polishing company, now recycles 900 pounds of cardboard every week. In addition to receiving money for the cardboard, Quaker City also reduced its waste hauling costs and increased its annual bottom line by $1,200.

Q: Will the Board do training for cities?

A: Cara Morgan, CIWMB: We are doing regional training and one on one training for jurisdictions that is very beneficial. We did a waste audit training program for Loma Linda. We can custom design the program for you.

Q: South El Monte has a new collection system and has increased rates to cover the MRF. How is that working out?

A: Tommy Ouzoonian, Athens Disposal: There are 1500 business in the city and only 5 came to the City Council meeting. The residential community is only 22,000 people. The increased cost for the MRF processing wasn’t a big issue.

Q: What is the status on solid waste studies on waste generation?

A: Cara Morgan: The Board placed a moratorium on new studies that have extrapolation or source reduction greater than EPA's 11% national average for source reduction. The Board wants to understand the extrapolation methodology better. They don’t want the studies brought before them until they understand the process better.

For any jurisdictions on compliance orders, they will do extensions, if necessary (a Board letter is going out soon).

Q: What about the moratorium on all new base years?

A: Cara Morgan: If you establish a new base year, the three year limit for corrections does not apply. Once you establish a new base year, you have three years to do a correction.

Q: Does the website list of resources include all the County of Los Angeles?

Jon Root: We have compiled a list of County-wide resources that will go up on the website at the end of October. We send out our newsletter only to the 20,000 businesses in unincorporated areas of the County.

The three consultants are working with any size business. They do both appointments and drop-in visits. Since 1994, a total of 5-6,000 businesses have been seen. In this 24-month contract, we will do about 2,000 site visits. We have a database from prior contracts and go back to some of them to make sure the programs are still in place.

Joe Delaney, Solid Waste Operations Manager for the City of Santa Monica:

In Santa Monica we have put out bins for mixed paper and beverage containers near businesses. We also have a program for restaurants. We offered 36 restaurants to give them a container which we would pick it up, but less than a third were interested.

We sent out 20,000 newsletters about recycling to our Access database of businesses. We had a spike of 35 additional calls after the newsletter, many of them from 1 to 4 person businesses.

Relative to electronics recycling, we will do a one day collection for America Recycles Day and keep a on-going drop off station at our recycling station. Some businesses are doing an electronics change-out program and we are working with them. Often they donate the old equipment to educational institutions.

Q: How are you using GIS technology to identify large waste generators to improve efficiency of recycling pick ups?

Tseng: We are working with some cities to geocode every business we visit, and we are seeing if that information can optimize routing.

Redondo Beach is doing electronics recycling via a drop off location. The City of Los Angeles is doing that in conjunction with HHW roundups.

Michael Huls: We need to identify who is picking up waste at every business, and make an inventory all recyclers and handlers of waste.

GIS is now cheaper. You can use handheld units when on site and download the data into a computer at the end of the day.

Michael McCartney, QLM Consulting (888-692-9292):

In Marin County we worked with largest owner of multi-family units in seven cities. In San Jose we worked with the hauling community and the green team and recycling coordinators to start multi-family diversion. We spent a year and a half working with Waste Management Inc. I would like to summarize our experiences in multi-family situations for you to consider for your programs.

The City of Sacramento passed a law mandating 30% diversion from all 18 permitees. The first ordinance Solid Waste Authority (SWA) #2 required them to offer recycling to multi-family customers, however this resulted in less than 1% participation The new ordinance SWA #5 is the most flexible multi-family ordinance I have seen in the country. Copies of the Ordinance can be downloaded at the Sacramento County Web site at www.sacgreenteam.com, go down to the multifamily level to find all resource material.

We worked with all the stakeholders to make sure that the program would satisfy the needs of all of the communities. In December 1998 at the request of the Solid Waste Authority, the City of Sacramento established a community recycling team to uate the best approach to take to meet the requirements of increased diversion and AB939. This was an inclusive process involving the following working group of stakeholders and ultimately led to the passage of a new SWA Ordinance 5. The group included:

SWA 5 Results:

• Goal is 30% diversion rate from multi-family dwellings
• The County is the SWA enforcement agency (cost $1 per unit per month)
• Prices for service will be set by the market place
• Flexible implementation - Plan A or alternative Plan B (see www.sacgreenteam.com for details)
• Funding from $500 per year assessment on front-loading commercial collection vehicles provided $100,000
• City and County will assemble promotional materials, "how to kits," and conduct workshops and educational forums with stakeholder associations

SWA Summary

• Phased implementation over a year and a half (3 groups, each involving 6 months)
• Recognizes realistic limitations; Allows for 10% of all multi-family dwellings (MFDs) to be excluded and allows initially for mixed paper collection, expanding to the full range of materials after one year
• Includes strong anti-scavenging language and enforcement
• Annual review of the program will allow for changes

• Supported by SWAC (Solid Waste Authority Committee)
• Fulfills requirements of AB 939
• Implements a recycling program to a significant population of the community - 110,000 living units
• Fairness and equity - provides convenient access to recycling for tenants
• MFDs are now part of the solution along with single family residences

Where we are now:

• Successful programs hinge on public participation and awareness
• Extensive and on-going outreach planned - using the web for distribution of materials
• Comprehensive Recycling Guide includes:
• User-friendly contents
• Conversational tone
• Making materials useful
• Diskettes provided with templates for you to put your own info on.
• Held over 20 public forums and 1 TV workshop
• Communications
• Benchmarked existing programs throughout the US, reviewed materials, discussed successful outcomes and learned lessons from failures
• Created a comprehensive multi-family community recycling guide and resource materials
• Interactive websites: www.cityofsacramento.org, www.sacgreenteam.com
• Website includes description of program, listing of 30 pages of resource guide in pdf formats, as well as downloadable documents and clip art

Key Suggestions:

You need a different skills set for multi-family staff. You need a different person speaking to property owners, managers, real estate trust with thousands of units, multi-ethnic residents, etc. You need to train them in communications skills for a wide range of stakeholders, including:

• The ability to effectively deliver the recycling message to a diverse group of stakeholders-RHA, RFR, CAW, Independent Recyclers, Permitted Haulers and MRF owners
• Facilitation skills - the capability to listen and hear the recommendations to meet the marketplace
• Community Empowerment — in our case the people who implement the program directly created the law

We had best success with staff people in their mid-30s with a passion about the environment. Relative to costs, first you have a big start-up cost, then it goes down to maintenance, then you need to provide new materials, because after 2 years you have different people managing and living there.

Overall Framework for Increasing Diversion:

• Listen to your customers
• Be opportunistic
• If it works use it
• Take a continuous improvement approach
• Establish feedback loops at every point in the diversion chain
• Create, maintain and grow a recycling reuse network - we created a CalMax in Marin County

Next Developments

• Cultivate community feedback
• Continue to improve materials
• Promote success stories
• Make changes visible on website
• Share information with other jurisdictions
• Develop program metrics

Joe Delaney, City of Santa Monica (310-458-8554):

In Pasadena, we implemented recycling for single family and multi-family dwellings up to four units. We had a requirement in our hauler contracts.

In Beverly Hills (where 75% of the population lives in multi-family dwellings), we put out two containers for bottles and for newspapers.

In Santa Monica we established 100 zones throughout the community, each with 3 bins for newspaper, mixed paper, and bottles and cans. We have found 100 zones are not enough. We are now testing commingled recycling with signs on the bins of what can go in. That is doing very well, with contamination less than 5%.

For multi-family buildings without alleys, we try to give them 90 gallon containers, but it is a hard sell, they don’t want another container to put out at the curb.

Jon Emerson, City of Redondo Beach Recycling Coordinator:

For up to 10 units, we use blue bins. For larger complexes, we use two 95-gallon containers, but we have a lot of contamination. We are distributing refrigerator magnets. We also have a website.

Tim Flanagan, Waste Management, Inc., District Manager in Orange County:

In the City of Irvine, we have a master planned community, so we don’t have problems of integration of multi-family units in our recycling collection. One of the biggest challenges is location of the bins. We find that the most convenient bins are overflowing, while bins only 20 feet away are half full.

We want to work with our cities to incorporate multi-family dwellings into existing recycling programs, if possible.

Q: Have you achieved 30% diversion from MFDs in Sacramento?

McCartney: We are now at 15%. I believe we could get into the 20s, 30% is difficult, but we have achieved and sustained greater than 30% in many multi-family communities.

Becky Guay: In Camarillo, our multi-family program requires a recycling bin at every refuse container, for up to 4 units. Our hauler provides a 3 yard bin or 90 gallon cart for commingled recycling. The requirement must be implemented in 3 years. It is working very well. Our previous ordinance said you had to have a recycling container anywhere on the property. We still have the issue of continuing education of the residents.

Tim Flanagan, Waste Management: In Irvine the city allows for reduction of landscaping or parking requirements to provide for access to recycling.

Q: What about old buildings with small trash enclosures?

Joe Delaney: We put out blue containers or 90 gallon containers that fit anywhere. We do need to change our codes requirement enclosure for solid waste containers.

McCartney: Some chute systems allow for a blue bag to collect recyclables

Q: What do you do about anti-scavenging?

McCartney: Sacramento has 2 motorcycle policemen dedicated to trash and a hotline for the public to call in tips. The police find it useful to go after scavenger people in vehicles because they often have outstanding warrants.

Jon Emerson: In Redondo Beach, we have a part-timer 20 hours per week dedicated to scavengers. We have a hotline that will go to the Police Department if he is not on duty.

Q: In Orange County there is a 15-20% turnover rate which creates problems.

Delaney: In Santa Monica, we distribute a city newspaper 2 times per year to every resident that includes recycling procedures. We also put large stickers on the container, we find the bigger the better, even 20 x 17 inches.

Steve Uselton, California Integrated Waste Management Board (714-449-7076):

The first thing is to know your waste stream, where it is generated and in what quantities. More importantly, know what programs are being done to keep that waste from going to the landfill. Implement programs that target waste generated in your community. We have a lot of cities below 50%. So we are asking what programs are you implementing to target the major waste categories?

In 1998, the Board intensified its effort to work directly with jurisdictions that had unusually low numbers identified in the 95/96 Biennial Reviews.

The Board wanted to take a different approach to the way we assist jurisdictions. We needed to research your communities, go to them, hear your issues, and find out what has been accomplished and what more can be done. To accomplish this the Board created teams of staff to provide hands-on support to jurisdictions that were the farthest behind in getting to 50 percent.

The Board envisioned that these teams would help jurisdictions identify programs to maximize diversion. The concept seems to be working where is has been used. We developed a cooperative process in which the Board and local agencies worked together to identify programs for reaching the diversion requirements and committed to time-specific strategies for implementing them. Over 65 cities, seven counties and three regional agencies have participated in this process. More visits are planned and the CIWMB is changing its organization to allow more staff time to participate in this practice.

We define the process of needs assessment as "A systematic approach to gathering data on a jurisdiction’s history and progress to date and forming recommendations to meet their challenges and program needs." We identify local government need for assistance in a three step process:

1. Gather background data on what the jurisdiction has done to date.
2. Conduct a site visit.
3. Develop a plan.

We see four types of needs assessments:

• Compliance Order — required by the Board, based on biannual reviews — we need to develop a performance plan.
• 1066 Extension Process — we need to uate program gaps and develop a timeline with the jurisdiction.
• 1999-2000 Biannual Review — after uating annual reports, we identify gaps. We will go over the reports with the jurisdiction and improve the information or expand on it to present to the Board as a report on their efforts.
• Voluntary — at the jurisdiction’s request, we will provide assistance on specific issues, such as C&D.

Step 1: Background Data Search, which involves:

• Match profiles: using city profiles available on our website, we find cities with similar residential mixes, to identify a peer group that you can work with.
• Review the PARIS database at the Board, and the annual reports. We want to look at the programs that didn’t work for you, and identify alternatives.
• Look at the city’s website in terms of how it is communicating about recycling to your residents and businesses.
• Look at Info USA (www.info.usa.com) that lists every business in a local jurisdiction.
• Review SRRE/SWGS.
• Review file history of correspondence.
• Examine relevant CIWMB databases.

The CIWMB databases include:

• Disposal Reporting System.
• Waste Characterization Database — using a form on our website, you can put businesses in SIC groupings, and find out how about much waste each is likely contributing.
• Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) - identify businesses in your community that are doing well.
• Grants Database — identify funding available to support recycling programs, such as used motor oil and other programs.
• Recyclers of C&D Debris — this is often where you can get a big bang for the buck.
• Materials Exchange (CALMAX)

Step 2. Site Visit

• Visual survey of city — it is very important for our staff to get a perception of the community. For example, in one tour we noticed large piles of C&D debris. We worked with the city attorney to develop requirements for the concrete and asphalt to be reused on the site.
• Meet face to face with city staff - to improve communication.
• Complete PARIS review — we go through the program codes in the PARIS glossary on our website, and see what programs you are doing in source reduction, HHW, etc. There are 60 different program codes you can take credit for. You don’t have to implement all 60 programs, but often you can see the possibility of doing a new program. We sent out a complete set of our notes from our PARIS database for you to add programs, but we didn’t get many responses.
• Effectiveness of existing programs - we will go through every program code and ask if the city is doing them and what the results have been.
• Discuss planned programs — we will review the status of your planned programs.
• Identify program gaps — and talk about possible new programs.
• Tour key facilities.

We especially look at four key waste categories:

• Commercial
• Who are your largest generators of waste?
• What types of diversion programs are they implementing?
• What types of waste are they generating?
• Are you planning waste assessments for city programs, commercial or industrial generators?

• Construction and Demolition
• How much C&D is happening in your city?
• Do you have a C&D diversion program?
• Does the city require contractors to have a plan for diverting C&D waste?
• Does the city require contractors to purchase recycled concrete/asphalt?

• Organics
• Do you educate landscapers about greenwaste diversion?
• How do you promote backyard composting?
• Are there any contamination problems with the greenwaste collection programs?
• Do you purchase back composted organic material?
• Do you promote grasscycling, xeriscaping?
• Do you ensure city tree trimmings are turned into mulch?

- Procurement

• Do you have a procurement policy relative to recycled products?
• If yes, describe your procurement program.
• How is the program monitored?
• How are employees educated about buying recycled?

Step 3: Develop a Plan

• Plan can be formal or non-formal.
• Must be time specific.
• State what the jurisdiction will do.
• State what Board staff will do.

Lisa Rapp, Public Works Director, City of Lakewood (562-866-9771 x2510):

Ten years ago, before AB 939, we were encouraged to become involved in a waste-to-energy facility. So we pledged all our trash to be burned in the Long Beach SERRF plant. But it turned out we received no diversion credit under AB 939.

We were given a Compliance Order in November, 1999 because we had not met our reduced goal of 21 percent for 1995. We had a very strained relationship with the Board because of the Compliance Order and because they refused to recognize Lakewood’s claim for ash diversion credit from the SERRF plant. We applied to the Board for a new base year, promised to implement some new programs to boost diversion, and the Board granted an AB 260 goal reduction of 8%. In 2000, when we finally receive a 10% credit for transformation, we believe that we will meet our reduced goal of 42%. (Please note that the AB 260 reduction law only applies to Lakewood.)

In order to resolve our compliance order and establish a new base year, we set up a meeting with the Board to establish a frame work for negotiations. The Board staff has been good to work with.

The process Steve just described was what we did. We hired a consultant, Michelle Leonard, to help us. At the site visit, we went through the PARIS code and found many programs we could take credit for. We did some business audits. We found the AARP mailing center for the entire US is in Lakewood. And they do substantial recycling.

We have established significant recycling programs and documented that. We established a new base year of 1999. It was hard to convince City Council to do that, but we had far better data than for 1990.

We wanted the Board staff to understand our unique position, and our investment in our existing programs, namely sending our MSW to a transformation facility. Once we were able to dialogue with Board staff, our relationship improved significantly.

Michelle Leonard, SCS Engineers: We did a diversion study on the largest generators and found Lakewood was doing a lot more than they thought. There is a large private recyclers buyback program. We identified the City’s C&D roadbase recycling efforts, grasscycling, etc.

We also were able to identify new programs the City could focus on for next year. Lakewood pledged they would implement 12 new programs, including establishing a drop-off greenwaste site and taking some waste to a MRF.

We are on the right track now. The Board has removed us from the Compliance Order,

Cara Morgan, CIWMB: I would like to make some announcements. By the end of October, CIWMB staff will be on board in LA County.

SB 2202 will require a task force to make a recommendation to the Board on GIS. If you want to bring your expertise to this task force, let us know. We want to use GIS to make this a good system. The system is good, but we need some improvement..

Q: Will source reduction include reusable pallets?

Morgan: Yes. The Board also passed a resolution to review all regulations. Plastic pallets and grasscycling are effective methods of source reduction. Many businesses are making money from source reduction.

Q: Global Green is working with municipalities on energy efficiency. Do green building programs fit into your assessment?

Cara Morgan: Yes, the green building programs of a jurisdiction relate to C&D and procurement aspects. The Board is emphasizing C&D and green buildings. We are working on a project with the California Energy Commission on a guide for school districts.

Q: How does "green building" give credit to local jurisdictions?

Uselton: A green building program is a procurement practice. We want to document these practices where they are encouraged by local jurisdictions

Q: How was the 11% number for source reduction produced?

Uselton: That is an EPA national average.

Q: How long will the moratorium on new base years last?

Morgan: We don’t know.

Q: If we had a report in for 1999 with a request for a new base year, that would hold up uation of our report?

Morgan: Yes, but the moratorium only applies to new base year reports. We have caught up on our biannual reviews. Get your 1999 report in now, so we can process it.

A report will be out in the next month and posted on our website.

Kevin McCarthy, California Organics Recycling Council (CORC) and Recycling Manager for Waste Management, Inc. (doing electronics scrap recycling) (510-563-4214):

CORC is a technical council within the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA). The CRRA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1974, involving representatives of recycling companies, consultants, haulers, public agencies, and others dedicated to promoting waste reduction, reuse, recycling, pollution prevention, composting and expanding the market for recycled content products. For more information, see our website at www.crrra.com.

CORC monitors state and federal regulations regarding organics and provides public information. We were founded in 1992 and operate on an all-volunteer basis. We comment on proposed laws and regulations regarding organics. However, we are not trying to be the Compost Council; our constituency includes compost and mulch operators, and the municipalities who want to increase diversion of organics.

The CORC Board Members include:

Sean Edgar, California Refuse Removal Council (CRRC) (916) 444-0300

Cliff Feldman, City of Oakland (510) 238-6815

Stephen Grealy, City of San Diego (858) 573-1275

Michael Gross, Zanker Road Landfill (San Jose) (408) 934-2416

David Krueger, Davis St. Transfer Station (San Leandro) (510) 638-2303

Jack Macy, City and County of San Francisco (415) 554-3423

Brian Mathews, Alameda County Waste Management Authority (510) 614-1699

Kevin McCarthy, Waste Management Inc. (510) 563-4214 KMcCarthy1@wm.com

Chris Trott, Ogden Power Pacific (Jamestown) (209) 984-4660 x14

If you are setting up a greenwaste program, call someone on this list, we have a lot of experience that can help you.

CORC’s goals are:

1. Maximize diversion of organics from the waste stream by:

• Restoring a "program" focus to AB 939, moving away from an accounting-based focus
• Supporting diversion programs that promote the following waste management practices in order of priority (same as AB 939 priorities):
• Source reduction
• Recycling and composting
• Environmentally safe transformation
• Land disposal (last on the list)

1. Support development of environmentally superior and diverse end markets involving the highest and best use of organic materials.
2. Serve as a technical clearinghouse and resource on organic materials recycling programs.
3. Provide expert testimony and comments on legislation and regulations.

The current proposed CIWMB draft regulations would have severe negative implications for our operators. We are suggesting they start over.

We see a mixed future for composting:

• Continued difficulties with permitting composting facilities.
• Improved economics for recycling and composting as tip fees rise.
• Greater composting of food waste.
• Difficulty in maintaining a supply/demand balance for products (we don’t want to overwhelm the market by ending alternate daily cover (ADC) in land fills all at once).
• Unknown future for biomass: will state subsidies end and will new federal subsidies emerge providing credits for alternative energy sources?
• ADC use of greenwaste will decline; it is starting to slow down across the state now.

In summary, you will definitely see increased composting, but we need more end markets before we ban yard waste in landfills. The key strategy is to convert it to higher value end products.

Composting is a natural process; we are just speeding it up. Here are some examples of the latest technology for food waste composting:

• Small scale in-vessel system, called CM-Pro Digester, by NaturTech, uses small containers (approximately a 4-foot cube). One or more could go behind a food mart or large restaurant. They cost $2,000 and can process 1500 pounds of food waste in 15 days.
• Naturtech and other vendors also offer roll-off-sized composters. They also are tightly enclosed so they can process material without odors. (For more information, see www.composter.com, or contact: Craig Benton at 206-790-5751 or email craigb@composter.com.)
• An aerated static pile "Express Composting System being offered by Rexius Express Blower of Eugene, Oregon, uses a larger windrow approach. Air systems blow through the material with an air filter to cut down odor. Or they can look like greenhouses as are used by Cedar Grove Composting near Seattle. This process is called the C:N System. (For more info, call Jan Allen at CH2M HILL, 425-453-5005 x5110 or email JAllen1@ch2m.com.)

Waste Management Inc. also has its own systems for composting.

In conclusion, we need more ability to process wet waste. Some people out in the San Joaquin Valley are finding doing it in windrows is easier.

Q: Has the deregulation of electricity had any impact on use of biomass?

McCarthy: Originally, we were concerned that the biomass industry would be undercut by "cheap" electricity. But that has not happened so far. The state has put in $550 million over a 4 or 5 year period to help support biomass and renewable sources, which is helping keep them open. We don’t know what will happen after that funding sunsets.

Q: When do you expect tipping fees to rise?

McCarthy: It depends on the situation with the neighbors of the landfills, as to whether they can be expanded or not.

Joe Haworth: Puente Hills’ current permit expires in 2003, but we have the possibility of a ten year extension, with 2013 as the absolute closure date. There is a MRF next door to Puente Hills, that is now charging $18/ton, and will rise to $23/ton soon. Greenwaste disposal for ADC is now charged about $10/ton.

McCarthy: There are case studies for various cities of the impact per household if you go to composting, instead of ADC. Generally it would be less than $1 per household per month, in some cases only 10¢ a month.

Q: What is the new composting facility in Irwindale off the 605?

A: It is doing wood recycling.

Q: Can Community Recycling handle a San Francisco type of program?

Roger Vander Wende, Community Recycling: We can handle it. We can handle street sweepings plus food waste. Supermarket waste is cleaner than restaurant waste.

McCarthy: Adding 15-20% food waste should not kick us up to a higher level permit.

Vander Wende: We had our permit increased, so we are in good shape. We think a clay-lined trench makes sense.

Cara Morgan: There are challenges in permitting. Our permitting program coordinator needs to work with local composters. We also need to look at the jurisdictions’ use of compost to help stimulate the market.

Vander Wende: We actually get resistance from people to using our compost because they don’t want the grass to grow so fast, because they have to cut it so often.

Morgan: We are changing the mindset of school districts to do grasscycling and save labor and money. Supermarket recycling is important. Look at your organic waste stream and what you can do.

Morgan: We have found very few municipalities buy the compost. You need to adopt a procurement policy.

Elyse Olson, City of San Diego: San Diego processes between 75,000 and 100,000 tons of green waste per year. The last year it was 90,000. At first we had difficulties marketing our material to Park and Recreation and other City departments, because they knew the quality of our "old" product left much to be desired. It contained plastic and had not been through a pathogen elimination process. Currently, only about 5% of our now clean, high quality mulch and compost goes to Park and Recreation. For the most part, the rest goes to the general public.

Vander Wende: Oregon puts compost near streams to help the forest grow because it supports the salmon.

Q: What is the progress on grasscycling? Landfills don’t want "stinky" grass. Is grass a problem for composting?

McCarthy: In terms of the diversion hierarchy, mulching mowers that leave the grass to fertilize the lawn are the best.

Comment: The challenge is the property management firms don’t want grass left on the lawn because they see it as ugly. You need to mow it when it is not too tall.

Haworth: Two-thirds of the people have gardeners. These are "mow and blow" guys. We are working with them. The large landscapers do mulching mowing because of the labor savings in handling the grass clippings. We charge $27/ton for grass clippings. The composters don’t want grass clippings either.

Elyse Olson: We need some high profile examples of mulching and use of compost.

Comment: The County of Orange is using it on the parks. The City of Leisure World has its own recycling facility. They have no complaints of odors. They save $250,000 in trash hauling fees per year.

Q: What about meat and dairy products?

Vander Wende: Renderers are handling meat waste, but dairy waste is harder.

McCarthy: We don’t see much meat and dairy waste in the bins.

Olson: We just started a program to mix food waste with yard waste.

Q: What about cooking oils?

Vander Wende: That is part of meat rendering.

Comment: Rancho Cucamonga recycles all its greenwaste. We use grasscycling in all parks. All tree trimmings are ground up and used in parks. Combined with C&D recycling, we have cut our land fill costs by 75%.

Comment: Southern California actually produces more compost than Northern California. San Joaquin is the largest compost producer. Compost facilities also produce some left over material from screening that goes to ADC.

Q: What jurisdictions have model ordinances?

McCarthy: San Jose, San Francisco, and Santa Monica have good ones. Mike Leon of CIWMB has been compiling a report. You can contact him at MLeon@ciwmb.gov.

CORC can help facilitate interagency integrated waste management strategies. We need more partnership among the public agencies. We need to move away from an oil-based to a bio-based economy.

Kelly Ingalls, Construction Materials Recycling Association of Southern California (818-548-8996):

First I want to present some basic definitions:

• Public Policy: a general course of action taken to resolve a problem or issue.
• Programs: formalized measures to achieve desired results.
• Practices: discrete set of activities to implement program objectives.

Responsible parties to involve include:

• Owner - the driving force (it could be a public agency or a private project developer)
• Architect/engineer
• Contractor
• Hauler

Public Policies to support C&D recycling include:

• Local ordinances for C&D recycling.
• Local conditions for approval of projects.
• Environmental impact report (EIR) language.
• Construction specifications.
• Recycled product procurement ordinances.

Types of local requirements can range from descriptive to prescriptive:

• Descriptive: locality states a policy and promotes awareness of C&D recycling (incentive-based).
• Prescriptive: locality states a policy with minimum C&D recycling requirement, financial deposits, or other "hard" requirements.
• Combined programs with both descriptive and prescriptive elements.

Basic elements of effective C&D recycling programs include:

• Ordinance or public policy
• Best management practices (BMPs)
• Implementation program
• Monitoring
• Reporting/documentation
• Program modification process

Industry outreach programs include interaction with organizations, such as:

• Construction Specifications Institute
• Contractor’s associations, such as the Building Industry Association (BIA) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
• National Association of Demolition Contractors
• Waste management associations
• Environmental organizations

Public education outreach programs can include:

• C&D recycling guides
• Information brochures
• News releases and public information
• Technical magazine articles
• Workshops and seminars
• Case studies

Construction specifications may include:

• Solid resources management specifications
• Contractor guidelines or requirements for recycling C&D materials
• Solid resources management plan
• Summary of diversion and disposal (tonnage report) (We used this for all L.A. City projects.)

The City of Los Angeles C&D Program:

• Prescriptive Contract Specifications for C&D for City-Owned Buildings.
• Prescriptive Council Conditions of Approval & EIR Requirements.
• Descriptive Policies for Private Sector Projects.
• Public Education & Building Industry Outreach Program.

• Required practices:
• Demolition and site protection plan.
• Recycle construction waste.
• Recommended Practices:
• Crush concrete and masonry for reuse.
• Use pre-engineered materials and reusable forms for construction.

• Covered Projects: Over $50K in construction costs or 1,000 sq. ft. including commercial, residential, and city projects.
• Waste Management Plan required with application for building or demolition permits.
• C&D Reporting requirement.
• Security deposit: the lesser amount of 3% of project value or $10 K.
• Infeasibility exemption procedures.

A big issue is the workload on your staff. The lower the threshold for a plan, the higher the workload.

• Prescriptive Program for Public Sector and Private Sector.
• C&D Debris Deposit Program - City collects deposit from Contractor for C&D debris, based on estimated quantities to be recycled.
• Deposit is returned if materials are recycled. (San Jose is proposing $50 per ton of materials to be recycled, if the contractor only recycles half of it, he gets half the deposit back.)

• Prescriptive Program.
• 50% waste diversion rate required.
• Applicant completes "Recycling and Waste Reduction Form."
• $50 per ton deposit required for each ton recycled.
• Town retains $50 per ton for C&D waste that is not recycled.
• Waiver process for designated projects.

• Demolition and new construction phases require C&D recycling.
• Required diversion rate for demolition, excavation & new construction debris is 75%.
• Contractor submittals required: C&D Recycling Plan and Contractor Solid Waste Reports.
• Use of recycled-content products.

• Franchised hauler has exclusive rights to C&D waste, except self-haul and City projects.
• Locality requires franchised hauler to recycle C&D debris & report quantities.
• City requires Public Works contractors to report C&D quantities.
• Private projects over 10,000 square feet must make a cash deposit and report quantities of C&D as a condition of obtaining a certificate of occupancy.

Localities must be careful when adopting policies and programs in the model ordinances. It turns out Hawthorne doesn’t have very many projects over 10,000 square feet, so they should have made their threshold lower. I suggest you don’t have a detailed threshold in the ordinance, but specify in your regulations. The ordinance should spell out what you want in terms of policy, but let the details of the deposits and thresholds be set by responsible department.

• Construction Materials Recycling Association, Bill Turley, (630) 548-4510, turley@xsite.net. Ask for "Construction Materials Recycler."
• CMRA of Southern California, Kelly Ingalls, (818) 548-8996, kmibldg@earthlink.net. Ask for "Fact Sheet" & "Position Paper on CMB/Class 2 Aggregates."
• City of Los Angeles Solid Resources Citywide Recycling Division: Nady Maechling, (213) 473-6226, nmaechli@san.ci.la.ca.us. Ask for Building Industry Recycling Tool Kit and Sustainable Building Reference Manual.
• California Integrated Waste Management Board: (916) 255-2296, www.ciwmb.ca.gov. Ask for A Technical Manual for Materials Choices in Sustainable Construction.
• City of Santa Monica, Environmental Programs Division: Susan Munves: (310) 458-8229, www.santa-monica.org/environmental. Ask for Green Building Design & Construction Guidelines.
• Town of Atherton: Ed Cooney, Recycling Specialist, (650) 614-1224. Ask for Construction and Demolition Recycling Program & Council Resolution.
• Should add Oakland and _

John Richardson, Community Recycling (818-767-6000):

We operate a number of facilities, including a transfer station, dirty MRF, and recycling center. In 1989 we put in a compost facility in Bakersfield, making motor fuel out of wood. We developed a processing facility to take mixed C&D debris and get the wood out of it. We were handling up to 75 tons per day. Then in 1994 after Northridge earthquake, we said we could handle 300 tons per day, but they brought us 900 tons, then 1500 tons. We processed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 18 months. We processed a total of a half million tons.

We saw the input materials changed over time. At first it was very high concrete content with some wood fencing that was easy to separate. We were able to recycle 95%. Then we got more mixed materials as remodeling took over, and we were down to 82% recovery, but it took a lot of labor. Now we handle 300-700 tons per day. We have put in a new permanent facility, with an 82-85% recovery rate. We separate out all the wood, metals, wiring, and rock, and send the dirt to land fills for ADC.

We can process other types of materials, such as street sweepings, in which we separate out broken glass. We find 3-5% refuse in street sweepings and recycle the rest. We can also separate the seaweed from sand and get a 98% recovery rate.

We would like to process 1000 tons per day. We are priced at $28 per ton, equivalent to the land fills in our area.

Cara Morgan, CIWMB (916-255-2350) We have resources to aid C&D recycling, including the Governor's Executive Order D-1600 regarding green buildings at www.gov.ca.gov/briefing/execorder/d1600

This Executive Order tells state agencies to have a sustainable building plan. The Secretary for Consumer Services will ensure all agencies have a green building plan, including construction, remodeling and operations, covering both owned and leased properties.

We have added new model ordinances to the C&D portion of our website. In the local government section there are resources, such as model procurement policies. Many jurisdictions are passing ordinances with a deposit system, some charge a straight fee, some are scaled to the size of the project. Many are using a "carrot and stick" approach to companies, in that to get a final operating permit, they have to submit a report on how much was recycled and where. The key question is how big the deposit has to be to get their attention.

Some have a reporting requirement that the companies submit a waste management plan. The Oakland ordinance requires them to state where they intend to take the materials and the amount they will divert. Oakland provides technical assistance to help companies develop the plan.

The City of Hawthorne requires, as a part of their redevelopment program, an EIR which details how the developers are going to recycled the material. They define what are C&D materials and provide information on C&D haulers.

Some jurisdictions have found such ordinances have been blocked by the City Council, because they do not want to put additional taxes on businesses. Some cities have set up joint task forces to develop a consensus. We are ready to help you with presentations at City Council, if needed.

We would like to help organize workshops, involving deconstruction companies, engineers, etc.

Holly Groza: The City of Santa Fe Springs passed an ordinance that will require all contractors to recycle 75% of their C&D materials. There was not much opposition. We did a presentation at the Chamber of Commerce. We distributed a draft to businesses and got feedback. The City Council was supportive.

San Mateo County has an ordinance that you can get from Kathleen Gallegher, KathyG@ca.sanmateo.us. They have a 50% diversion requirement. Contractors have to post a bond of several thousand dollars.

You need to get the haulers involved. The longer the drive to the landfills the more they are interested.

Orange County has been getting 85% recycling in residential demolition, and over 90% for commercial. Contractors can save more than $1 million if they recycle rather than take it to a landfill.

Q: L.A. County Sanitation has stopped recycling C&D for ADC because of alleged patent infringement. Someone claims to have a patent on the process for using C&D in ADC.

Richardson: County Sanitation takes all mixed C&D material and grinds it up for ADC. We use a different process to separate the material that is not covered by the patent.

Ingalls: That is a very strange patent. I think you can make ADC by a different process and get around the patent.

Q: Do the ordinances include an infrastructure for reporting?

Ingalls: In the City of Los Angeles we have a format including some narrative, plus the information we need for the recycling plan, including the amount and type of materials.

To get a copy, ask Nady Maechling, (213) 473-6226, nmaechli@san.ci.la.ca.us.

Joe Haworth: The ADC price is based on the price of grinding the materials, not on the cost of landfilling at Puente Hills. I believe that composting has to grow. Now we are getting too much greenwaste for our ADC needs and we need to export some to off-site facilities.

I thank you for doing such a good job at promoting recycling. When it was first proposed, some people at my agency were cynical, but you have shown that the public can respond and do the right thing. Perhaps the most cost-effective solid waste management approach is to get the public to "play" with their trash 10 minutes more a