Raining Opportunities - WSU Extension

Sustainable Community Stewards News From the WSU Snohomish County Extension

The Newsletter of WSU Snohomish County Extension

Sustainable Community Stewards

Volume III, Issue 11

November/December 2017

Raining Opportunities By Chrys Betolotto

What an interesting time to be a Sustainable

Community Steward and Waste Warrior! I want to bring

you up to date on a few New Projects Coming Online:

Styrofoam Collection Events and Event Organizer Assistance:

Republic Services has approached us to supplement

additional outreach to increase recycling and reduce

contamination. I have proposed that we start planning

some Styrofoam collection events for Edmonds. These

would take place between May 2018 and June 2019.

Prior to July 2018, we’ll be creating a Special Event

Organizer guide to help festival organizers and other large

groups planning events to move closer to zero waste.

We’ll also be shifting to some traditional booth outreach

at local events in south Snohomish County.

Energy Literacy / Conservation at Farmers Markets:

Puget Sound Energy has invited us to submit a

proposal to bring energy conservation information out to

our communities. I have proposed that Sustainable

Community Stewards bring this information out to local

Farmers Markets. We would also make sure to bring this

information to the Latino volunteer program, Promotores

del Medio Ambiente, and Beach Watcher programs,

through Facebook posts and presentation

Repair Cafés:

These are still planned for 2018 and 2019, with a

kick-off planning meeting in January (1/17). Should be

fun to organize, so let me know if you want to help out!

Welcome to 2017 Sustainable Community

Stewards! I am excited to introduce our newest group of

Sustainable Community Stewards. They bring energy,

creativity and wonderful new ideas to the program. They

are (from l to r): Patricia Wangen, Dawn Bugge, Gail

Walters, Heather Teegarden, Monika Star, Betti Johnson

and (bottom row, with me on left), Natalie Norcott, David

Robertson, Cya Arroyo (Nicole Roy not present). Please

help me to make them feel welcome!

New Staff Hoped for in February I have submitted the paperwork to begin the hiring

process for a new Sustainable Community Steward

Coordinator. WSU’s process is fairly thorough (and

slow), so I don’t expect to see a new Coordinator until

February.

You’ll still have a dedicated staff person, and the

qualifications will now include a heavy emphasis on skills

related to outreach, promotion and social marketing, as

well as events management and adult education and

engagement. I’m excited to see who will apply, and will

be sure to share the notice with all of you.


What do a Sno Isle Food Co-op Gift Bag and Reporting Your Volunteer Hours have in Common?

We will be raffling off a Sno Isle Food Coop gift bag full of great food and a $25 gift

card to one lucky person who reports volunteer hours in the month of December,

no matter how long ago the hours were.

You could be the lucky winner while documenting your hours!

Why is this important to do?

It helps to show our funders as well as WSU why the Sustainable

Community Steward and Waste Warrior programs are good

investments.

It complements our program reports in which we quantify all of

your good work into actual impacts for Snohomish County natural

resources.

Please report your hours – they make a difference!

The online database is found at

http://ext.wsu.edu/volunteers/logon.aspx or you can request a paper form.

http://ext.wsu.edu/volunteers/logon.aspx


M ajor brands, nonprofit

organizations and industry

groups will raise $150 million to boost the

collection and recycling of plastics that

may otherwise become marine debris.

Announced today, the new initiative

will raise money to fund waste

management and recycling solutions in

Southeast Asia, a region that contributes

greatly to the global ocean plastics

problem. Supporting the effort are the

Ocean Conservancy, Trash Free Seas

Alliance and Closed Loop Partners.

Closed Loop Partners, which has

invested in recycling infrastructure across

the U.S. to boost materials recovery, will manage the

funding for the ocean plastics prevention effort.

“Through this initiative, we will invest in and

support the municipalities, entrepreneurs, investors

and NGOs working to reduce ocean plastics and

improve waste management in Southeast Asia,” Rob

Kaplan of Closed Loop Partners stated in a press

release.

The initiative will focus on investments to

improve collection, sorting and recycling markets

for Southeast Asia. Nearly half of the plastic that

flows into the ocean every year comes from waste

streams in five countries: China, Indonesia,

Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

“This is a major breakthrough in the fight for

trash-free seas,” Susan Ruffo, managing director of

international initiatives at Ocean Conservancy,

stated in the release. “Our research has found that

by improving waste management in Southeast Asian

countries, we can cut the flow of plastic going in the

ocean by half by 2025. A funding mechanism will

take this goal from dream to reality, and support

efforts by governments and local groups on the

ground to improve their livelihoods and well-being

while also improving ocean health.”

Some major names are behind the dollar

commitment. The Trash Free Seas Alliance is made

up of 28 nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Five

members of the group have already pledged enough

money to fully fund the design phase of the effort:

PepsiCo, 3M, Procter & Gamble, the American

Chemistry Council and the World Plastics Council.

The goal is to share the results of the initial phase

of work within the next year, according to the

release. That will help attract more investors.

The initiative was announced in conjunction with

the Our Ocean 2017 conference, an Oct. 5-6

gathering of world leaders in Malta.

Good News!

$150M pledged to fight SE Asia ocean plastics problem by Jared Paben

Marine Debris.


W e have been doing an excellent job

of getting the word out about

recycling, composting, and

reusing. But when the global market shifts

and there is little call for recycled plastics,

why do we continue to recycle? It takes

energy to recycle and to move the materials

from consumer to recycle-sorter to recyclers.

Why do we spend that precious energy?

Another question to ask ourselves: What

can we do as volunteers to mitigate the

extensive use of plastics in our society, and

in the world? Plastics have a place, yes. They

have completely revolutionized the medical

field. They make all our consumer goods

more affordable. But there are many places

where we can just plain cut down on

consumption.

How many toys and gadgets do we need?

Can we use the same item for several

purposes? Do children need or even want all

the junk plastics they are showered with?

How many plastic coated fry pans and

utensils have you purchased and thrown

away? The list goes on.

As SCS’s, when we gather to discuss

recycling

programs,

let’s go

beyond that

thinking

and see

where we

can make

even better

changes.

When you read the article on the following pages,

start thinking about our role as

Sustainable Community Stewards as it applies here.


What happens to our recycled plastics?

Mixed rigids feel the

effects of China’s ban by Colin Staub and Jared Paben

China’s import policy changes are

straining recovered plastics export markets,

particularly impacting mixed rigids.

Recycling companies have been forced to

stockpile and even landfill the materials,

while numerous municipal programs have

stopped accepting mixed plastics. Chinese import permits have not been renewed

since May, slowing and, in some cases, halting

shipments of certain recovered materials to the

country. Although the language of China’s initial

announcement to the World Trade Organization

(WTO) describes an official Jan. 1, 2018

implementation date for a ban on imports of certain

recovered plastic, fiber and metal grades, the U.S.

recycling industry is already feeling the impact in a

big way.

Plastics Recycling Update spoke with a handful

of industry stakeholders about the ban’s impact to

date and found that communities across the U.S. are

being affected.

LOW-VALUE PLASTICS LANGUISH

Mike Pope, president and general manager of

Sonoco Recycling, explained how his Hartsville, S.C.

-based company is reacting to the global supply

chain shocks precipitated by China’s actions. Sonoco

Recycling is part of global packaging and industrial

products maker Sonoco and is involved with

curbside collection, sorting and recovered

commodity sales.

While Sonoco is

feeling the biggest

impact of China’s

actions on its ability

to sell recovered

mixed-paper bales,

it’s also struggling

to manage mixed

bulky rigids, Pope

said. The bales,

which contain a

variety of plastic

items pulled off the

presort line at

materials recovery

facilities (MRFs),

are already low-value, Pope said.

“It’s now a question of can you move it at all,

rather than what’s the price,” Pope said.

He expects Sonoco may be faced with the

inability to move mixed bulky rigids in a matter of

days, not weeks or months, he said.

China was a big consumer of 1-7 and 3-7 bales,

which are produced by Sonoco Recycling in

relatively small volumes. While the company is still

able to move some of it to market, some has ended

up as residue sent for disposal, Pope said.

The company hasn’t experienced any problems

with PET and HDPE. “There is a very robust

domestic demand for PET and HDPE products,”

Pope said. “There’s no issue there whatsoever.”

Sonoco is also an end market for recovered PET

and HDPE, although it purchases recycled PET and

HDPE from reclaimers and doesn’t break open bales

produced by Sonoco Recycling, Pope said.

Friedman Recycling, a Southwest U.S.-based

MRF operator, has also experienced impacts to

mixed plastics Nos. 3-7.

(Continued on page 6)


“What we’ve found is the China market has

virtually evaporated,” company CEO David

Friedman explained.

As a result, alternate domestic and international

markets have become saturated with the materials,

he said, meaning quality requirements have

increased and prices have fallen. Buyers in alternate

markets, including India, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico

and Vietnam, have been inundated with offers,

driving up the competition among sellers.

Friedman expects the Chinese markets will

eventually return, as the demand remains strong

and the disruption is driven by regulation rather

than economic forces. But he predicts the cost to

process the material will rise with higher quality

demands.

For the time being, he said his company’s

priority is to keep the low-grade plastics moving to

domestic markets. To the extent the company is able

to move the mixed rigids, the materials are moving

to domestic markets. The company has storage space

and is equipped to hold onto materials if there’s a

short-term disruption of downstream outlets,

Friedman noted.

“We just build that in, from experience,” he said.

RIPPLE EFFECTS

Other companies and municipal programs across

the country are in a similar boat.

Madison, Wis. announced last month its drop-off

recycling program has stopped accepting mixed

rigid plastics due to the ban. Far West Recycling in

the Portland, Ore. metro area has stopped accepting

film, rigids and all mixed plastics Nos. 1-7, leaving

only PET and HDPE bottles as accepted materials.

Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality is

facilitating discussions between recycling

stakeholders and says the China policies may lead

the agency to approve disposal requests for landfill-

banned materials “on a large scale” for the first time.

And in California, materials have begun stacking

up as facilities struggle to locate buyers. Vahe

Manoukian of Plastic Recycling Corporation of

California (PRCC), a buyer and seller of recovered

PET bottles, described conversations with many

large plastics processors who have no outlet for their

products. Those processors, in turn, have told MRFs

they can’t accept the affected materials, leading

some MRFs to stop baling those recyclables.

“We’re seeing MRFs basically not sort this

material, just let it go on the line and it’s going to the

landfill, which is very sad, but that’s the reality

that’s taking place as we speak,” he said. “It’s pretty

dire out there.”

PRCC sells most of the PET it handles

domestically and has so far not been substantially

impacted by China’s actions. But its position in the

California recycling industry allows it to observe

trends in West Coast materials movements.

STOCKPILING WORKS ONLY MINIMALLY

In a related trend, for the last six months certain

processors were taking low-grade plastics for a low

fee, Manoukian said. They had space and were

essentially stockpiling material in hopes of China

opening back up as a downstream outlet.

“Now, those facilities are out of room,” he said.

More companies may be faced with the

stockpiling decision as China dries up as a

downstream destination. Pierpont said New

Mexico’s hub-and-spoke model may benefit its

processors, because the model allows a greater deal

of flexibility for changes compared with larger

municipal contracts. Under the hub-and-spoke

model, regional facilities often handle lower

volumes of material than their large municipal

counterparts.

(Continued from page 5)

(Continued on page 7)



Today we use plastic,

a material designed to last forever,

for products designed to last …

minutes.

“That flexibility right now is really important for

programs,” Pierpont said.

In some cases, companies are looking elsewhere

in the global marketplace for a downstream outlet.

Experts point to Southeast Asia, India and more as

possible replacement markets to absorb some of the

market void.

“We’ve also seen material that used to go to

China pretty consistently going to other export

markets,” said Ellen Martin, vice president of impact

and strategic initiatives at Closed Loop Partners. “So

that’s kind of an interesting thing — are we seeing

that (exports are) just rebalancing? Or is it really

going to change fundamentally how much material

gets exported, period?”

DOMESTIC DOWNSTREAMS

Across the board, industry members say they

hope the ban leads to increased domestic processing.

In some cases that shift is already happening on a

low level. Manoukian said PRCC has been able to

drive up the quality of B-grade PET it receives from

MRFs, primarily by educating them on how to

produce a cleaner stream.

“We have worked with multiple MRFs and they

have managed to increase their quality to a level

where we call it ‘B-plus’ and we’re able to sell it

domestically,” Manoukian said. For some MRFs, he

added, that may be impossible due to older

equipment or particularly contaminated feedstock.

Beyond education, experts anticipate the ban will

drive increased domestic investment in recycling

infrastructure. Some companies have applied for

California state grants to increase domestic

processing capacity. Sally Houghton, also of PRCC,

pointed to the large expansion in PET processing

capacity in California in the past decade, from a

couple of companies up to eight. A similar

processing expansion could develop for other

materials, she said.

Martin recalled the timing of the fall 2014 launch

of the Closed Loop Fund, noting the fund’s impetus

was at least partially tied to fallout from Green

Fence, the previous year’s Chinese imports

crackdown action. The fund works to drive

investment across multiple sectors of the recycling

industry and has put money into several projects

increasing U.S. processing and end-market capacity.

“I think, in the near term, it’s clearly causing

anxiety and stress for operators, and we want to

make sure their business models can weather the

storm,” Martin said. “But I think in the long run this

will force some upgrades in infrastructure and get us

to the point where we can actually create better

quality material, which means we don’t have to ship

around garbage.”

(Continued from page 6)



Tuesday, December 12 — Can to Candy Green Cleaning Event:

6:30 to 8:30 pm Darrington

Let’s bring this far-flung community Green Cleaning Product Cookbooks, free samples

and tips on how to keep families and pets safe from spills. The larger community event

includes a tree lighting, Santa Photos (we’ll be right by Santa) and a food drive. A Green

Cleaning volunteer opportunity. RSVP [email protected] if you’re interested in taking part.

Wednesday, January 17 — Repair Café Planning Kick-Off:

7:00 to 8:30 pm Evergreen Room at McCollum Park

Come together to plan the four Repair Cafés that will launch later this year. The

Cafés do exactly what their name implies – they help folks to repair their used

items, making a stand against the idea that all things are disposable. We’ll

have some paid “fixer” people and other volunteer craftspeople to make repairs.

Our main job will be to organize and promote the events, and handle the RSVP

process. These are brand new, with some preliminary ideas formulated by the

Class of 2017 project team focused on this.

Wednesday, January 24 — SCS meeting (none in December):

6:00 to 7:30 pm McCollum Park Evergreen Room (regular time and place)

Learn about projects / volunteer opportunities in 2018. Re-connect over a potluck

meal – I’ll bring the main dish! We may also have a guest speaker, so stay tuned.

RSVPs appreciated!

Saturday, January 27 — Waste Diversion at the Country Living Expo

7:30 am or 11:30 am Shifts Country Living Expo and Cattlemen’s

Winterschool, Stanwood High School

At the Expo you can attend classes on a multitude of topics, network with other

small farmers, enjoy a delicious vegetarian or prime rib lunch and visit with

local agricultural businesses. Program Contact: WSU Skagit County Extension

(360) 428-4270 or [email protected] OR — Do your Sustainability

Thing and sign up for the Waste Warriors. There’s lots to see when you’re not

working, plus you get an absolutely excellent meal! To sign up for the Waste

Warriors, contact [email protected].

You’ve got an Event? We’ve Got Resources!

Got an event or venue you’d like to share information with? Feel free to borrow the

Can You Sort game, educational materials or even our energy literacy presentation

and solar car activities. We’d love to see this stuff get used more!

Please RSVP to any of these events with Chrys at (425) 357-6020, [email protected].

Coming Events & Volunteer Opportunities

mailto:[email protected]





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J anuary 2018

Raining Opportunities - WSU Extension

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