Charting Vermonts Course to Waste Prevention: Trends in Waste Generation and Composition

1
Charting Vermonts Course to Waste
PreventionTrends in Waste Generation and
Composition

• Natalie Starr and Ted Siegler
• DSM Environmental Services, Inc.
• www.DSMEnvironmental.com

2
What is Waste Prevention?

• Waste represents a stream of distinct products
  and materials we use everyday as individual and
  institutional consumers
• One common definition of Waste Prevention is
  the design, manufacture, purchase or use of
  materials that reduces the amount and toxicity of
  waste generated.

3
The Problem With this Definition

• Assumes that we, as a society, will continue to
  consume the materials and products at the same
  rate
• That is one of the reasons that we feel good
  about recycling!

4
Positive Feedback Loop of Recycling
5
Are we promoting feel good purchasing?
6
We All Know The Numbers

• According to the US EPA, the average person
  generates about 4.5 pounds of municipal solid
  waste every day
• And the average continues to grow despite
  significant light weighting of many products and
  packages
• And that is just municipal solid waste from
  consumption looking forward

7
Sustainable Dartmouth?
8
What if we were responsible for all the waste
that our lifestyle represents?
9
The Answer Is SimpleWed Use Less Stuff
10
Our Economy Has Depended on Growth in Consumption

• We measure GDP all about growth
• Economic growth translates to waste growth
• All indicators are that we consume more, not less

11
Americans Consistently Use Gains in Efficiency
to Increase Consumption
12
A Few Examples

• Honda Motor Company has increased fuel
  efficiency 1.5 per year since 1987, but all of
  this has been used to increase other attributes
  more highly valued by consumers
• Performance (speed)
• Comfort (air conditioning, size, electronics)
• Utility (size)
• Safety
• Source Climate Change Near Term Actions and
  Strategies, John German, American Honda Motor
  Co., Inc., May 5, 2006

13
More Importantly
14
Similar Gains In Efficiency Have Occurred In Home
Construction

• More efficient use of materials
• Higher insulation values
• More efficient heating and cooling systems

15
The Result
16
How Do We Compare?

• American homes are on average double the size of
  those in other richest nations
• Homes in 2002 required 890 ft2 per person of
  materials as opposed to 290 ft2 in 1950
• Study found 1500 sq ft home with relatively poor
  insulation characteristics still outperformed the
  3000 ft2 home with good insulation
  characteristics.
• Sources House Size Matters, Michael Horowitz,
  VBSR.
• Small is Beautiful U.S. House Size, Resource
  Use, and the Environment, Alex Wilson and Jessica
  Boehland.

17
What about Waste Generation?

• Vermonts 1989 Solid Waste Management Plan
  states
• We assume that during the next 13 years efforts
  by the State and regions resulting from Act 78,
  together with increasing disposal costs, will
  stop increases in per capita generation rates.

18
Where Are We in Vermont 18 Years Later?
19
MSW Disposed Vermont vs. US(Thousands of tons
per year)
20
Trends in Per Capita Generation
21
Per Capita Diversion and DisposalVermont and US
22
Per Capita Diversion and DisposalCSWD and
Vermont
23
Previous Graphs Ignore CD Waste

• Add another 1 lb per capita per day to Vermonts
  waste
• Add another 1.5 lbs per capita per day to CSWD
  waste
• CD waste often includes bulky waste masking
  actual growth in residential and commercial waste
• EPA estimated 2.75 lb per cap in 1996

24
Oregon Per Capita Waste Generation(Including CD
waste, Oregon DEQ)
25
Is the Green State of Vermont Worse than the US
Average?

• Maybe, but we are skeptical of US EPA (Franklin)
  data, especially when used at the State level
• Our recent data from the State of Delaware shows
  large discrepancies, especially in critical
  materials

26
Delaware Comparison

• 35 less corrugated recycled than reported by
  Franklin
• 10 times more non-bottle plastic than reported by
  Franklin
• 4 times more pallets recycled than reported by
  Franklin
• Franklins estimates for asphalt and concrete
  generation only 35 of what we found

27
Vermonts Waste Composition

• DSM conducted Vermonts only Waste Composition
  Study for DEC in 2001
• Sorted Residential and Commercial Waste
• Urban/suburban and rural generators
• Commercial waste by sector

28
Commercial Waste By Sector(Range by weight)
29
Residential Waste( by weight)
30
More Importantly, What Are The Trends in Waste
Composition?

• Package light-weighting continues
• First thin walled cans, bottles and containers
• Flexible package replaces rigid one (milk sacks,
  boxed wine)
• Substitution of plastic and aseptic for glass
• Substitution of boxboard for steel cans
• Light-weighting of durables
• Less ferrous metal per appliance
• Substitution of plastics and composites for metal
  and wood in electronics
• Change in location of waste generation
• More food prepared at restaurants, less organic
  waste at home

31
Plastic Volume Is Increasing

• EPA reports plastic was 16.4 of discards by
  weight in 2005 (0.5 in 1960 and 5 in 1980)
• Recent study in Israel found plastics made up
  largest volume (nearly half at 46) of material
  by into landfills with paper at 15 and
  corrugated at 13
• Recent work in South Africa shows significant
  differences in the compaction ratios for plastic
  waste in landfills compared to other materials

32
Special Wastes Increasing

• Electronics
• New gadgets
• Obsolete electronics
• Computer and cell phone growth
• Compact fluorescents (and mercury)
• Bulky wastes with shorter product life
• Desire for new furniture and appliances
• Lower costs and longevity of appliances

33
But we are not seeing Special Wastes in our Waste
Composition Studies
34
Perhaps Most Importantly

• Proliferation in niche products
• An entire isle in the supermarket devoted to
  paper towels and toilet paper
• An entire isle devoted to bottled water
• An entire isle devoted to snack food
• The result huge increases in supermarket square
  footage and attendant carbon footprint
• Heating, cooling, lighting

35
Waste and Carbon Emissions

• Same struggle we face with reducing carbon output
• Kyoto cars increased from 1.3 to 2 million from
  1990 - 2002
• Result growth in carbon 8 since 1990
• American citizen averages 21 tons CE per year vs.
  4.5 average globally
• 4.5 tons for car, 6.2 for hh electricity use
• US totals 6 billion tons of 25 billion globally

36
Price Signals

• Value of Recyclables
• We believe that material prices will continue to
  trend upward resulting in more recycling
• Disposal tip fees rising, but not enough to
  encourage waste reduction
• Disposal costs represent only about 30 of a PAYT
  bag rate of 1.50 - 2.50
• Collection/transport a large part of cost (and
  main contribution to CE in waste industry)

37
Charting the CourseWhat should we be measuring?

• Volume vs. weight?
• Per capita disposal may not be increasing by
  weight but by volume
• Landfill costs based on volume available
  volume charges send different price signal
• Recovery rates instead of recycling rates?

38
What Do We Target?

• Materials (Producers)
• Generators
• Behavior

39
What Is Baseline Generation?

• Include materials recycling?
• What should we count in disposal
• With or without CD
• Bulky waste accurately accounted
• Exclude practices such as
• Backyard composting
• Grass clippings left on lawn

40
What about all Other Wastes?(Washington Dept. of
Ecology)
41
Linking waste reduction with carbon reduction
strategies begins to address the entire wasteshed!
42
Our Suggestions for Waste Prevention Tracking

• Consider volume
• Include CD waste
• Disaggregate bulky waste and count it
• Dont rely on US EPA data
• Collect capture/recovery rate data
• Send strong economic signals
• i.e. PAYT

43
Most Importantly

• Use Less Stuff
• Recognize the best things in life arent things!
• Enough is enough!