Recycle-full-cycle in Philadelphia Nerd Nite Philadelphia Presented By: Phil Bresee, City of Philadelphia Recycling Director September 18th, 2013

Where Does our Garbage Go (U.S.)? Solid waste, or MSW = Typical discards from households & businesses; does not include mining wastes, industrial wastes, etc. U.S. generated 250 million tons in 2011 according to U.S. EPA (~400 million counting construction & demolition debris). MSW generation tracks closely with economic trends and GDP. Solid Waste Management in the U.S. 2011 (in tons and percentages) WTE 29,000,000 12% Recycled 87,000,000 34% Landfilled 134,000,000 54% Sources: US EPA

Where Does our Garbage Go (Philadelphia)? 2.7 million tons + of solid waste generated in 2012. Residential = 25% Commercial/Institutional = 75% ~50% of all (residential + commercial) solid waste recycled in 2012. Landfilled 724,010 27% Recycled 1,364,255 50% WTE 640,743 23%

Solid Waste Management Trends in Philadelphia Philadelphia MSW 2007-2012 3,500,000 3,000,000 Tons Per Year 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 - 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Recycled & Composted 1,221,029 1,025,394 1,175,842 1,493,955 1,396,987 1,364,255 Disposed 1,964,247 1,771,033 1,495,412 1,437,419 1,443,037 1,351,800

How Should We Manage our Solid Waste? Source Reduction Reuse Recycling Least Preferred Disposal w/energy recovery Disposal Most Preferred US EPA developed solid waste management hierarchy in late 1980s. Source, or waste reduction means minimizing or not creating waste in the first place. Recycling is preferred way to manage materials.

Environmental Benefits of Recycling Greenhouse gases (GHG) are emitted during product life-cycles, which include extraction, manufacturing, usage, & disposal. Recycling & waste reduction are effective tools for reducing GHG emissions from: Raw materials extraction Energy consumption during manufacturing Reducing methane emissions from landfills Graphic courtesy of US EPA

Link Between Solid Waste & GHG Gas Emissions Infrastruct ure 1% Prov. of Goods 29% Other Transport 9% Local Transport 15% Building HVAC & Lighting 25% Calculation sources: U.S. EPA 42% of GHG for stuff Prov. of Food 13% Appliances /Devices 8% Traditional sectorbased calculations understate impact of waste. Systems-based, as shown, takes purpose of GHG emissions into consideration.

Economic Benefits of Recycling About 2% of $12.36 trillion U.S. GDP in 2007 Labor intensive & creates jobs at 10/1 ratio vs. disposal. Multiplier impact with economic activity created at each stage. 2008 five-state (PA, NY, MA, ME, DE) economic study: 11,738 recycling or recycling-reliant establishments (3,803 in PA) Workforce of 100,500; payroll of $4.2 billion (52,316 & $2.1 billion in PA) $35 billion in gross receipts ($20.5 billion in PA)

Not Recycling = Throwing Money Away Material Average Market Tons Disposed in Value Per Ton U.S. (2012) = Disposed Income Newspaper 2,766,400 $ 104 = $ 287,705,600 Cardboard 4,755,000 $ 132 = $ 627,660,000 PET Plastics 1,895,700 $ 600 = $ 1,137,420,000 HDPE Plastics 3,311,000 $ 500 = $ 1,655,500,000 665,000 $ 1,200 = $ Aluminum Cans 798,000,000

Key Recycling Requirements & Policy Goals PA Act 101 (1988): Mandatory recycling for municipalities with more than 5,000 persons. Includes commercial recycling requirements. Established 35% recycling goal. City ordinance requirements (10-700) includes commercial recycling (1994). Greenworks goals including 25% residential diversion rate and 70% landfill diversion rate.

Recycling in Philadelphia: Vintage 1990s to mid 2000s Program much-maligned Funding support & staffing issues. Recycling coordinator turnover. Every-other week pickup, limited materials. Less than 40,000 tons per year from curbside program. Negative perceptions: Too much trouble Unclear what was recyclable Fines most effective motivator 10 Popular 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 Unpopular -10

Recycling Revitalization Milestones in Philadelphia Tons per-year of Residential Recyclables 2003-2012 140,000 Cartons added City-wide singlestream 120,000 100,000 #3-7 plastics Citywide single-stream 80,000 Mayor Nutter elected Recyclebank goes citywide Plastics & OCC 60,000 Weekly pickup 40,000 Recyclebank pilot 20,000 Single-stream phase-in 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Curbside Recycling Program One of the 1st curbside recycling programs in U.S. (c. 1986). 525,000 households serviced by Streets Dept. 120,000+ tons for 2012; ~460 lbs. per HH annual yield. Recyclables accepted include: Mixed paper & cardboard Metal food & beverage cans Plastics #1-7 Glass bottles and jars Aseptic cartons Seasonal yard waste collection Fiscal benefits to city (FY 2013): $3.2 million in revenues $7 million in avoided disposal fees Photo courtesy of Peter Tobia

Recycling Rewards Program Philadelphia original Recyclebank pilot (2006). Program became City-wide 2010. ~190,000 households have signed up for the program. Outreach, events, and overall program visibility are key elements: 2012 summer sweepstakes Recycling bin distribution events America Recycles Day Green Schools Project U.S. Conference of Mayors Award

Where do Recyclables Go? Recyclables delivered to Materials Recovery Facility (a.k.a. MRF, pronounced murph). Recyclables processed using screens, trommels, optical sorting, eddy currents, etc. Speed & angles of processing lines calibrated. FY 2013 fiscal benefits = $30 per ton revenue vs. paying $58.11 per ton to dispose of trash. Photos courtesy of Resource Recycling Magazine and Waste Management, Inc.

Comparative Curbside Recycling Rates (metals, plastics, glass, and paper only)* Austin Philadelphia Boston Atlanta, GA Minneapolis San Diego New York Dallas Baltimore San Antonio Denver Phoenix Fort Worth Miami-Dade County Washington, DC Chicago 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% *Sources are varied and include city performance measure reports, departmental program reports, or operating budget documents from 2012 or 2013.

Other Initiatives & Programs Public space recycling opportunities (920 Big-Belly sites). Recycling drop-off centers at sanitation yards accept other materials: Electronics Household Hazardous Waste Styrofoam Insinkerator food waste project Public event recycling: 87% recycling/composting rate at 2012 Philadelphia Marathon

Commercial & Institutional Recycling Graphic courtesy of Keep America Beautiful Commercial & institutional MSW stream = 2 million tons (served by private haulers). Recycling mandated since 1994. 50% + commercial recycling rate. Small & medium sized businesses need more tools to help ensure compliance and achieve cost efficiencies. Paradigm shift needed in way commercial solid waste services are provided (allow for rightsizing). Considerable private/institutional innovation underway: C&D recycling Organics & food waste recycling

Future Recycling Initiatives & Challenges Waste stream is changing with less paper, more plastic, less glass, etc. City needs to consider additional materials to push residential diversion rates higher: 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Household metals e.g. pots, pans, etc.? Additional plastics? Textiles? Organics? 2012 2015 2025 2030 Residential Recycling % Commercial & Institutional Recycling % Diversion from Landfill % Increase use of drop-off center network. Examine options to increase recycling in multifamily communities.

Future Recycling Initiatives & Challenges Streets Dept. Allied Agencies (MOS, PWD) State & National (PROP, US Recycling Conf.) SWRAC Recycling & Waste Reduction Goals Environmental Organizations Civic & Neighbors Assoc. Regulated Businesses Business organizations (Corridors, Chamber, etc.) Solid Waste Management Plan rewrite. Explore partnerships with allied agencies, school district. Continue to leverage and build public-private partnerships. Expand commercial recycling support. Increase public space recycling. Recycling program rebrand to link all opportunities.

Conclusions Recycling is a demonstrated environmental protection success story with environmental and economic benefits. Is a low-hanging fruit for cities and counties to use to help reduce their carbon footprints. Recycling allows for hands-on and visible opportunity for citizens and businesses to help their environment. Recycling can be a gateway to other positive environmental behaviors.