Recycling Away From Home

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Recycling Away From Home On The Go Recycling
Opportunities for Green Highways

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Office of Solid Waste
• November 2005

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Green Highways and EPA

• Similar environmental stewardship goals
• REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, REBUY

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2003 Municipal Solid Waste Generation236 Million
Tons
Food Scraps 11.7
Yard Trimmings 12.1
Other 3.4
Wood 5.8
Rubber, leather, and textiles 7.4
Paper 35. 2
Plastics 11.3
Metals 8.0
Glass 5.3
EPA Waste Characterization Report 2003
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Waste Management Hierarchy

• Avoid
• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle
• Recover
• Dispose

Most Desirable
Least Desirable
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How Waste is Managed

• Land Disposal
• 55.4
• Combustion
• 14.0
• Recovery
• 30.6

Recovery 30.6
Combustion 14
Land Disposal 55.4
EPA Waste Characterization Report 2003
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Recycling Opportunities

• 8,875 curbside programs across the USA
• 51 households have curbside access
• 50 of those that have access use it
• Recycling- Away from Home and On the Go targets
  the 40 of MSW generated away from home (Away
  from Home)

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Recycling-Away from Home and On the Go
Objectives

• Develop a recycling infrastructure for away from
  home collection
• Increase the amount of waste collected for
  recycling
• Promote a culture of recycling by making it
  convenient, available and cost effective

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Examples of Recycling Away from Home and on the Go

• Recycling at offices, commercial establishments
• Shopping malls and stores
• Recycling at beaches, state and national parks
• Recycling at airports, highway rest stops and
  subway and train stations
• Recycling at special events

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Why Recycle at Rest Stops?

• Large potential to divert and recover waste.
• Public awareness and acceptance of increased
  recycling.
• Very positive public reaction to existing
  programs
• Community Benefits

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Wisconsin Rest Areas

• An example of a successful rest stop recycling
  program.

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Rest Stop Recycling

• Wisconsin has 35 rest areas and 168 waysides.
• Wisconsin recycles at all interstate rest stops
  and at waysides that receive more than 1000
  vehicles per day.

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An Overview-- in 1998 rest stops recycled

• 41,490 lbs of aluminum
• 50,120 lbs of plastic
• 156,717 lbs of glass
• 32,922 lbs of newspaper and magazines

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Components that make the program work

• Physical Layout of Bins and well labeled
  containers
• Public Education
• Community Involvement

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Physical Layout and Labeling
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Public Education

• Press Release announcing program inception.
• Brochures available at rest stops.
• Radio messages on highway broadcast channel.
• Signs placed by trash and recycle bins.

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Community Involvement

• WDOT contracts with a non-profit organization
  Rehabilitation for Wisconsin (RFW), to run a Rest
  Area Maintenance (RAM) project.
• Under RAM, Community Rehabilitation Programs
  train individuals to clean, landscape, and
  recycle at the rest areas.

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• Landscaping at highways rest stops
• Erosion control
• Plant selection
• Durable benches and signs
• Energy-efficient lighting

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Buy Recycled-Content Products

• Sustainable
• Comprehensive
• Procurement
• Guidelines

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CPG-Designated Products

• Transportation products Traffic cones, Traffic
  barricades, Parking stops, Traffic control
  devices, Delineators, Flexible delineators
• Landscaping products Compost, Hydraulic mulch,
  Garden/Soaker hose, Lawn and Garden edging,
  Landscaping Timbers and Posts
• Construction products also established
• Other sustainable choices Plastic lumber made
  from bags for outdoor structures, Rubberized
  asphalt, Biobased cleaners and solvents,
  Low-maintenance and native plants/grasses,
  Biodiesel and biobased lubricants for equipment,
  Fuel-efficient vehicles, High efficiency lighting
  for roadways, parking lots Solar-powered
  lighting and signage, Organic, biobased,
  slow-release fertilizers, Biopesticides in place
  of conventional pesticides

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Highway Success Stories
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TX DOT, Big Spring, TX

BEFORE COMPOST APPLICATION
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TX DOT, Big Spring, TX

• AFTER COMPOST APPLICATION

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ID DOT Improves Highway Safety
BEFORE
AFTER
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Recycled Rubber Raises Road
Maine DOT Mud Inlet Bridge
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Why Highways Should GreenScape

• Cost savings
• Environmental Impact
• Recognition
• CPG requirement

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Benefits to Fulfilling the Vision

• Human Health
• Risk reductions
• Improved living
• Ecosystem Protection
• Removing hazards
• Restoring land
• Material and Energy Savings
• Sustainability
• Conservation

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For More Information

• GreenScapes
• www.epa.gov/greenscapes
• Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines
• www.epa.gov.cpg