SUCCESSFUL RECYCLING PROGRAMS, BEST PRACTICES, AND

RECYCLING IN MICHIGAN

SUCCESSFUL RECYCLING PROGRAMS, BEST

PRACTICES, AND DIVERSION POTENTIAL

FINAL REPORT | JANUARY 2016

A PROJECT OF THE NORTHEAST MICHIGAN COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS WITH GRANT

FUNDING FROM THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

PREPARED BY

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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TABLE OF CONTENT

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=56>?2@(AB4C;B4C@<(189(DB89B84<(........................................................................(/(

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D12@65<(%C1@(&8G;7?82?(#6;;?2@B68(=56451H<(.............................................................................................(/J(

)B84;?])65@(#6;;?2@B68(=56451H(..................................................................................................................(/J(

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,?2E2;B84(=56451H<(........................................................................................(M/

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

iv!

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)!#%&ST(&&&(!#STS*&#(&*=+#%(SD(,!#-#W&T:\(#S**SU&%&!)(+TU(aS0)(...(PZ(

%C?()@1@?(6G(,?2E2;B84(B8(*B2CB418(..................................................................(Q[(

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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INDEX OF FIGURES

DB475?(/\(*1@?5B1;(,?26N?5E(D12B;B@E(_*,D`(,?<B971;(,1@?e(.........................(/P(

DB475?(J\()BHI;BGB?9(*1@?5B1;(D;6b(UB1451H(..............................................(MJ(

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DB475?(P\(+N?514?(#6HH69B@E(,?N?87?(_+#,`(+81;E<B<(...............................(QM(

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DB475?(Z\(*153?@(AB<@65B21;(U1@1(f(:;1<<(_g(I?5(%68`(.................................(V/(

DB475?(/[\(+;7HB87H(#18<((_g(=?5(%68`(.....................................................(VM(

DB475?(/J\(D?5567<()251I(=5B2B84((_g(=?5(%68`(............................................(VM(

DB475?(/J\(%C?(=C1<?<(6G(WBG?(#E2;?(+<<?<<H?8@(........................................(ZQ(

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DB475?(/O\(#682?I@71;(D51H?b653(G65(U?N?;6IB84(W#&(U1@1(.........................(ZX(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

vi!

INDEX OF TABLES

%1Y;?(!)(]/\(K1<@?(#C1512@?5BL1@B68(6G()@1@?bB9?(UB<I6<?9(K1<@?(..............(M(

%1Y;?(/\(#C1512@?5B<@B2<(6G()722?<<G7;(*7;@B]D1HB;E(,?2E2;B84(=56451H<(......(J/(

%1Y;?(J\()65@B84(*?@C69<($<?9(0E(#^U(#?8@51;(=562?<<B84(D12B;B@B?<(..........(JX(

%1Y;?(M.((D15HB84@68(AB;;<()6;B9(K1<@?(189(,?2E2;B84(U1<CY6159F(J[/O(.......(OJ(

%1Y;?(O\(#6HI151@BN?(,?2E2;B84(,1@?<(......................................................(PO(

%1Y;?(P\(#6HI151@BN?(,?2E2;B84(i718@B@E(,1@?<(.........................................(PP(

%1Y;?(Q\(*69?;(+<<7HI@B68<(....................................................................(PQ(

%1Y;?(V\(,?2E2;B84()E<@?H(!<@BH1@?9(#6<@<(YE(=56451H(%EI?(......................(PV(

%1Y;?(X\()?8<B@BNB@E(+81;E<B<(6G(,?2E2;B84()E<@?H(!<@BH1@?9(#6<@<(..............(PX(

%1Y;?(Z\('1;7?(6G(#755?8@(,?2E2;B84(.........................................................(QO(

%1Y;?(/[\()C5?99?9()251I(........................................................................(VJ(

%1Y;?(//\(,?2E2;B84(

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%1Y;?(/M\(%C?(!2686HB2(&HI12@(6G(@C?()251I(,?2E2;B84(&897<@5E(.................(VQ(

%1Y;?(/O\(#C1512@?5BL1@B68()@79B?<(,?NB?b?9(............................................(XJ(

%1Y;?(/P\(=?52?8@14?(6G(%6@1;(=;1<@B2(W189GB;;?9(........................................(XO(

%1Y;?(/Q\(=?52?8@14?(6G(#1@?465B?<(6G(W189GB;;?9(*1@?5B1;<(........................(XP(

%1Y;?(/V\(*B2CB418(K1<@?(#C1512@?5BL1@B68(..............................................(XQ(

%1Y;?(/X\('1;7?(6G(W189GB;;?9(*1@?5B1;(......................................................(XV(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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In! April! 2014 ,! Go v e rn o r ! Sny d e r! released ! Mich igan 's! Residen tial! Recy cling! Plan! and! announced! a!

statewide! recycling! initiative! to! boost! material! recovery,! inclu din g ! th e! es ta b lish ment! o f! R ec yc lin g !

Council! composed! of! business! leaders! represe ntin g! differen t! aspe cts! of! the! recyclin g! system .! The!

governor's! plan! set! a! clear! course! of! actionable! steps! for! improvin g! recycling! in! M ich igan ,! includ in g !

benchmarking!and!m easuring! progress,!providing!education!and! technical! a ssistance! for!commu nities,!

ensuring! widespread! and! convenient! access! to! recycling,! developing! ma rke ts ! fo r! c o m modities,!

innovating,!an d !a!creating!sustained!comm itment!to!success.!!

The!plan!and!the!Council!identified!benchmarking!and!measurement!as!a!first!step,!and!the!M ichigan!

Recycling!Coalition!received!a! grant! fro m !the!Michigan!D e pa rtm en t!of!En viro nmental!Q ua lity!(MDEQ)!to!

launch! the! M ich ig a n! Recyclin g! Index! (MRI),! m e a s u re ! access ! t o ! recyclin g ,! evalua te ! particip a t io n ! in!

recycling,! an d! calculate! th e! rate! of! rec ycling ! for! mun icipa l! s olid! waste! (MSW).! ! The! fin al! report,!

Measuring*Recycling*in*the*State*of*Michigan!"#$%"&'()*%+,-"*."/$0"12345!!!

This!report! bu ilds!on!the! M RI! w ork.!!Through! a!separate!MDEQ !grant!the !Northea st!Michigan !Council!of!

Governments! (NEMCOG)! co ntracted! with,! R e source! R e cy c ling! Syste ms! (RRS )! and ! Pub l ic ! Sect o r!

Consultants! (PSC)! to! iden tify ! best! practices! and! metrics! for! successful! recycling! programs! and! profile!

Michigan!communities! who!have!implemented!these! best!practices.!The! objective! of! the!project!was!to!

fully!unders tan d! the!key! fe atu res !o f!m o d el! re cyc ling! program s ! and!share!the!experiences!of!Michigan!

communities!who!have!been!successfully!implem enting!these!best!practices.!!!

=,Sa!#%(A&:AW&:A%)(+TU(D&TU&T:)(

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RECYCLING BEST PRACTICES, MEASURES OF SUCCESS AND MODEL PROGRAMS

(

There!are!significant!lessons!from!successful!recycling!programs!that!can!be!adop ted!an d!expanded!in!

Michigan! to! improve! the! state’s! recycling! efforts.! ! Section! I! provides! a! comprehensive! overview! of!

national!best!practices!for! collection!and!processing,!rate!structures,!multi-family,! ru ral,!and!c om mercial!

recycling! program s,! and! options!for!addressing!construction!and!demolition!recycling.!Based! on!these!

recycling!best!prac tices!res earc h,!PSC !and!RRS!identified!seven!recomme nd ed !measures,!or!metrics,!of!

successful!recycling!prog rams!that!com m unities!in!Michigan!should!strive!to!meet!in!order!to!increase!

and!improve!Michigan’s!recycling!performance:!!

1. Recycling!education!programs!

2. Easy!access!to!recycling!options!

3. Providing!curbside!recycling!in!all!communities!with!medium!to!high!densities!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

4. Providing!curbside!recycling!carts!to!in c rea s e!t h e!v o lu m e !o f!re cyc lable s!collected!

5. Providing!curb sid e !re cy clin g !to !multi-family!hou sin g!

on!the!same!routes!as!single-family!collection!!

6. Implementing!varia b le !ra te !p ric in g !fo r!waste!to!crea te !in ce n t ive s!for!recycling!

7. Supporting!market!development,!especially!for!commodities!with!low!market!value!!

8. Supporting!local!policies!!

9. Consistent!and!sufficient!funding!for!recycling!

10. Engagement!and!participation!among!households!and!businesses!

11. Local!capacity!and!leadership!

12. Tracking!and!measurement!systems!!

We!used!these!metrics!to!evaluate!the!success!of!four! high-performing!M ichigan!comm unities:!!Benzie!

County,!City!of!Farmington!Hills,!Em met!County,!and!the!City!of!Grand!Rapids.!Some!of!the!key!issues !

and!findings!regard ing!the !ap plica tion !of!the se!m e asu res!in!th e!fou r!communities!include :!

• Education!and!outreach!are!very!important!and!must!be!constantly!imple mented!and !u p da te d . !

• Capacity!at!the! curb!makes!a! difference.! !Communities! tha t!mo ve d!to!large r!roll-off!carts!have!seen!

significant!increase s!in! the!volume!of!recycled!m aterials!because!it!is!more!convenient! and!provides!

more!space!for!a!lot!of!materials.!

• Access! in!rural! areas!needs!to! make!sense!–!be!in!places!people! go!and!allow!people!to!easily!bring!

many!item s!

• Strong! policies! drive! strong! recycling.! The! level! of! policy! support! varied,! a n d ! th o s e ! wi th ! th e !

strongest!policies,!such!as!Emmet!County,!have!th e!most!robu st !re c y c lin g !e ff o rt!

• Consistent!funding!is!critical!and!communities!must!choose!the!method!that!best!meets!their!needs.!!

Recycling!costs!must!be!spread!across!the!commu nity,!no t!j u st !c o me!from!th o se!that!participate!

• Measuring! progress! is! important! for! adaptively! managing! programs.! ! More! progress! needs! to! be!

made! on! measuring! progress! in! some! a re a s.! F o r! e xa mple,! it! can! be! hard! to! accurately! gau ge!

participation!

• Leadership! is! key.! ! Someo ne! needs! to!be! in ! charge! of! keeping! th e! ball! rolling! at!the! local! level! –!

political!support!will!generally!follow!

Not!every!successful!recycling!program!has!invested!equally!in!each!of!these!elements,!and!some!are!

more!critical!than!others.!!But!the!most!successful!communities!have!knitted!these!elements!together!to!

ensure! that! residents! (and! businesses)! have! access! to! recycling,! understand! its! value! and! how! to!

participate,! are! helping! support! the! cost! of! recycling,! and! can! follow! and! track! their! com munity’s!

progress.!

MODELING RECYCLING PERFORMANCE AND PARTICIPATION

(

Utilizing! existing! research,! RRS! evaluated! best! practices! for! superior! program! performance! and!

participation!to! serve! as!a!baseline!for!the! purposes! of! both!promoting!best!practices!and!comparing!

program!performance!across!the!state.!RRS!developed!a!model!that!provides!an!estimate!of!the!costs!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

and! avoided! disposal! savings! incurred! with! different! approaches! to! operating! a! residential! recycling!

program.!The!following!is!represent!key!findings!from!the!analysis:!

• Current! recycling! collection! programs! in! Michigan! range! from! biweekly! pickup! dual! sort! to!

weekly!single!sort!collection!programs.!

• The! relationship! between! participation! rate! and! the! quantity! of! material! that! is! recycled! is! a!

difficult!variable!to!balance.!!

• The! Net! Recycling! Cost! is! the! lowest! for! the! Single! Sort! Semi! Au tomated! Bi-weekly! collection!

program!by!approximately!50%!while!potentially!achieving!a!46%!recycling!rate.!!

• A!Dual! Sort!Bi-weekly! program! has! an!estimated!net!cost! of!approximately!56%!higher!then!the!

Single!Sort!Bi-weekly!program!and!achieves!a!27%!recovery!rate.!

WASTE CHARACTERIZATION

(

For!the!purposes!of!the!study,!a!waste!sector!is!identified !by!the!particular!generation!characteristics!that!

make!it!a!unique!portion!of!the!total!waste!stream.! Each! state!characterization! that!was! reviewed!has! a!

different!definition!of!what!material!was!included!in!their!studies!based!on!their!statutory!definition!and!

the!typ es! of! solid!w aste ! and! recycling! program! requirements.!The! characte rization s! from! other!states!

and!commu nities!identified!80!different!categories!of!material!that!w ere!evaluated,!how ever!not!every!

category!wa s!evaluated!within!a!specific!state!study.!The!developm ent!of!a!w aste!characterization!for!

the!S tate! of! Michiga n! is! based! a! review! of! 27!statewide! an d! municipal!waste!characterization!studies!

from!across !the!co u ntry.!A n!iss ue !that!co m p licate s!the !de velo pment!of!a!waste!chara cteriz ation !for!th e!

State! of! M ichigan! b y! utilizing! previously! conducted! waste!characterizations! studies! from! other! states!

and! m unicipalities! is! the! “evolving! ton”,! a! term! being! used! to! d esc ribe! the! shift! in ! the! overall!

composition! of! the! m un icipal! solid! waste! stream! over! the! past! 20! years.! A! comprehensive! Waste!

Characterization!profile!can!be!found!in!Table!ES-1.!

Table!ES!-1:!Waste!Characterization!of!Statewide!Disposed!Waste!!

Material!Type!

TONS!

PERCENT!

of!TOTAL!

Paper!Subtotal!

!1,901,543!!

23.69%!

Plastic!Subtotal!

!1,009,556!!

12.58%!

Metal!Subtotal!

!487,789!!

6.08%!

Glass!Subtotal!

!143,835!!

1.79%!

Electronics!Subtotal!

!130,285!!

1.62%!

Total!Wood!

!848,002!!

10.57%!

Yard!Waste,!Food!Was te !an d!Organic!Subtotal!

!1,709,554!!

21.30%!

Other!Materials!such!as!Textiles,!Batteries,!Carpet!

!435,258!!

5.42%!

Other!Non-!Recyclable!Materials!

!1,360,621!!

16.95%!

Total!

!8,026,443!!

100.00%!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF RECYCLING

(

The!analysis!of!the!economic!impact!of!recycling!includes!an!evaluation!of!the!current!recyclable!current!

market!value!of!materials,!market!trends,!and!a!discussion!of!the!recycled!commodity!market!drivers.!

Based!on!data! collected!through!the! MRI!project,!the!economic! and! environmental!impact!of!current!

and! potential!recyclables!was!calculated!to!provide! information!about! the!revenue-generating!potential!

of!those!recycled!commodities.!!!

• Contractual!Arrangements!between! a!municipality!and! a!Material!Recovery!facility!(MRF)!where!

the! M R F! operato r! rebates! communities! based! on! the! value! of! recycle! com m odities! using! a!

blended! comm odities! pricing! index! has! becom e! a! comm on! practice.! The! average! commodity!

revenue!(ACR)!contract!approach!is!o n e!of!the! p re va len t !mecha n is m s !for!a!co m munity!to!h ed g e !

the!risks!of!volatile!swings !in!the!va lue!o f!recyc led!co m m o dities.!

• The!majority!of!recycling!revenue!in!a!MRF!comes!from!the!denser!suite!of!m aterials!like!fiber,!

which!represents!as!much!as!65!percen t!of!the!weight!but!about!48!percent!of!the!value!

• Beginning! in! 2014! the! general! trend! in! overall! average! comm odity! revenue! has! declined! as!

global!demand!for!all!commodities,!primarily!driven!by!Chinese!demand,!has!declined.!

• The! valu e ! of! re c yc ling ! material! that! is! cu rre n tly ! rec yc le d,! b a se d ! on ! O c to b e r! 2 01 5 ! A v era g e!

Commodity!Revenue! for!the!Midwest,! is!approximately!$76!million,! which!is!70.1%! of!the!value!

base!on!the!average!commodity!value!over!the!past!5!years.!

• The! quantity! of! landfilled! bu t! poten tially! recyclab le! mate rial! based ! on! the! types! of! material!

currently! collected! in! recycling! program s,! as! illustrated! in! Table! 18,! is ! app r o x imately! 1.879!

million!tons!of!material!and!represents!23.4%!of!the!material!landfilled.!

• The!value!of!landfilled!but!potentially!recyclable!material!based!on!a!5-Year!Average!Commodity!

Revenue! for! the! Midwest,! a s ! illustr a te d ! in! Tab le ! 18,! is! approximately! $ 2 1 1! millio n ,! whic h ! is!

143%!of!the!value!based!on!the!current!October!2015!commodity!value.!

• It!is! difficult!to!project!future!prices! for!rec ycle d! commodities!as!the! value!is!closely!linked!to!

global!economic!growth!and!is!especially!sensitive!to!th e!growth!in!indust ria liza tio n !of!e merging!

markets!such!as!China!and!India.!

• The!estimation!of!the!jobs!related!to!recy cling !indicates!that!6 8!jobs!are!created!th rou gh ou t!all!

sectors,!including! collection,!processing!an d! recycled!manufacturing! for!every! 1 0,000! tons!per!

year!that!are!recycled.!

Waste! and! recyclables! that! end! up! in! landfill! is! lost! energy! and! materials.! In! a! land fill! s ite ,! or g an ic !

residuals! decomposing! in! anaerobic! conditions! produces! landfill! gas,! approximately! half! of! which! is!

methane.!When! waste!is!recycled,!landfill!gas!is! not! formed.! In! addition!to! landfill!emissions,!waste! and!

contributes! to! green ho use! gas! em issions!also! in!other! operations.!When!properly! managed,!recycling!

can!affect!emissions!at!all!of!these!stages.!

The! overall! benefit! gained! from! recycling! depends! on! a! number! of! questions,! such! as! what! are! the!

transport! and! pre-trea tm en t! requirem e nts! of! the! recycled! materials,! what! kind! of! materials! are!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

produced! and,! above! all,! what! kind! of! products! are! to! be! replaced! by! different! products! using! new!

materials.!

The!review!of!the!US!EPA!Waste!Reduction!Model!(WARM)!ap proach!to!evaluating!the!environm ental!

impact s! of! re cy clin g ! as! w e ll! as! th e ! review! of! o th e r! Life! C y cle ! appro ac h es ! leads! the! p ro je c t! team! to!

conclude! that!the! W ARM !approach!is!an!appropriate! m ethod!for!evaluating!certain!curbside! recyclables!

and! Construction! and! Demolition! m aterials! in! the! State! of! Michigan.!The! WARM! Model! is! useful! for!

comparing!internal!scenarios!for!different!approaches!to!a!comprehen sive!waste!m anage men t!approach!

but!should!not!be!used!to!develop!management!protocols!for!individual!materials.!It! is!less! useful! for!

examining!the!fate !of!ind ivid u a l!wa st e!str ea ms!(e.g.!individual!paper!type s!such !as!cardb oa rd!or!m ixed !

office!paper)! and!has! limitations!in! the!applicatio n ! to! organ ics ! in! genera l.! Some! key!limitations!in!the!

WARM!are:!

• WARM!does!not! differentiate!between!specific!wastes,!such!as! organic!wastes!th at!include!food!

wastes,!and!therefore!underestim ates!the!GH G!poten tial!of!certain!materials.!!

• WARM!also!does!not! include!GHG! emissions!or!emissions!reductions!associated!with!other!co-

benefits! associated! with! the! use! of! compost,! such! as! water! conservation! and! changes! in!

fertilizer! use.! WARM! also! does! not! differentiate! betwee n ! the! potential! for! varying! emissions!

from! compost! sites! them s elve s! a s! a ! fu nc tion ! o f! te chn o log y! (e .g.,! an ae rob ic! vs.! aerobic!

composting,!or!centralized!vs.!home!composting).!

• WARM! does! not! currently! break! emissions! and! emissions! reductions! into! the! years! in! which!

they! actually! occur.! Rather,! WARM! rolls! all! futu re! emission s! and! emissions! reduction s! into! a!

single!number.!

,!#S**!TU+%&ST)

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Based!on!the!project!findings,!PSC!an d !RRS!h av e!identified!some !potential!near- te rm !actions!the!state!

and!Michigan!communities!can!take!to!improve!Michigan’s!overall!recycling!efforts:!

• The!State! o f!Michigan!should!adopt!statewide! p olicies!for! ensuring!access!to!recycling!as!d efined!in!

the!measu res!of!su cce ssfu l!recycling !prog ram s!!

• The!state!should!provide!hands-on!technical!assistance!to!com munities!in!evaluating!and!designing!

appropriate!funding!options!for!expanding!their!recycling!programs!

• Grant! funding! should! be! targeted! to! build! communities’! capacities! for! m easuring,! tracking,! and!

reporting!on!re cyclin g!pro gres s!and !pro vid ing!co m m u n ity!edu ca tion !on !recyc ling!an d!o n!d eve lop ing!

recycling!educ ation !pro gra m s!

• Communities!should! evaluate! their!current! access! to! recycling!and! develop! a! plan! for! meeting! at!

least!the !m in imum!acces s!n e ed s !id en t ifie d!in !t h is!re p o rt!

• The! state! and! com munities! should! partner! to!identify! appropriate! recycled! m aterial! markets! and!

work!with!local!industries!on!potential!recycled!product!use.!!

• The!State!should!evaluate!req u irements!for!Co ns tr uc tio n !a n d!Demolition!waste!recycling . !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

• The!State!of!Michigan!should!develop!more!detailed!data!on!the!types!of!m aterials!to!include!in!a !

WARM!methodology!before! a! comprehensive!utilization!of! this! tool!can!be! undertaken! to! assess!

GHG!impacts.!!

• The!protocols!for!organics!in!W A R M!should!be! improved! o r! alternative! approaches! developed!for!

these!materia ls.!

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WASTE CHARACTERIZATION

(

Other!states! that!have! regularly!conducted!statewide! waste! characterization! studies! have,! over!time,!

structured! the! s tud ies! to! investigate! certain! waste! stream s! in! greate r! detail.! In!additio n ! to! me a su r in g!

the!com po sition !of!disposed!wastes!in !total!and!by!generator!secto r,!some!states!have!opted!to!focus!

on:!

• Targeted!generator!samp ling !of!the!most!prevalent!business!types!(e.g.,!grocery!stores,!

manufacturing,!retail!malls,!etc.)!that!generate !significa nt!q ua ntities!o f!wa ste;!

• Enhanced!research!into!waste!generation!indicators!for!certain!waste!streams,!especially!C&D!

debris,!to!improve!future!sampling!plans!for!this!waste!stream ;!

• Measuring! contamination! rate s! in! disposed! material! (for! both! particulate! matter! and!

moisture)!as!a!means!of!investigating!dirty!MRF !p ro ce ss in g !po t en t ial;!

• Calculating!energy! and! heating!values!in! disposed!waste!for!in cin e ra tio n ! and!therm a l!

conversion!processes;!and!

• Determining!the !composition!of!residuals!from!rec ycla bles!processing!facilities!to!test!reco very !

efficiency!and!potential!for!additional!processing.!

Michigan!should!co ndu ct!a!large!statew ide!waste!characterization!stu dy!but!it!sho uld!integrate!one!or!

more!of!these!tests!in !the!future .!Such!future!efforts!would!be!limited!by!available!funding,!but!could!

provide!additional!insight!into!diversion!and!recycling!opportunities!in!Michigan.!

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

! ! !

Michigan’s!current!recycling!rate!is!only!14.5!percent!of!total!waste!diversion.!This!amount!is!well!below!

many!other!states,!including!several!of!our!Midwestern!neighbors.!It!has!been!estimated!that!increasing!

Michigan’s!recycling!rate! from!current!levels!to!50!percent!would!result!in!the!addition!of!$435!million!

to!Michigan’s!ec on omy!annually!and!help!improve!Michigan’s!environment.!!

In! ord er ! t o ! help! re co g n iz e! these! economic! and! e n vir o n mental! ben e fits ,! Michigan’s! Governor! Snyder!

released! a! Residential!Recycling!Plan! in!2 0 14 ! and! announced! a! statewide! recycling! initiative!to! boost!

material! recovery.! The! governor's! plan! set! a! clear! course! of! actionable! steps! to! improve! recycling! in!

Michigan,!including!benchmarking!and!measuring!progress,!providing!education!and!technical!assistan ce!

for! co m m u nitie s,! ensuring! widespread! and! convenient! access! to! recycling,! developing! mar ke ts ! for!

commodities,!innovating,!and!a!creating!sustained!commitment!to!success.!

In!o rd e r!to!ad d re ss !these!g o a ls!and!maximize!the!value!of!material!successfully!diverted!to!recycling!and!

composting,! the! gover n o r! has ! urge d ! tha t! pub li c! and!private ! inve s tments!b e ! focu s e d ! on! implementin g !

the!R esid en tial!Recycling!Plan.!To !this!e nd ,!the!Northeast!Michigan!Council!of!Governments!(NEMCOG)!

was!awarded! a! State!of!Michigan!Pollution!Prevention!grant!in!2014!to!conduct!a!detailed!analysis!of!

recycling!in!Mich iga n,!inclu din g:!

1. Evaluating!best!practices!for!recycling!

2. Identifica tio n!of!metrics!o f!s u cc e ss fu l!re cy c lin g!p r o g ra m s!

3. Highlighting!successful!community!recycling!programs!

4. Calculating!the!economic!and!environmental!impact!of!Michigan’s!recycling!rate!

5. Develop!a!Waste!Characterization!of!Landfilled!Solid!Waste!

Public!Sector!Consultants!(PSC)!and!Resource!Recycling!Systems!(RRS)!partnered!w ith!NEMCOG!on!this!

grant! to! help! the! state! and! local! communities! recognize! the! economic! an d! environmental! value! of!

recycling,!understand!the!key!elem e nts!of!a !successful!recycling!program,!and!learn!from!the!examples!

of!other!Michigan!com munities.!!This!report!presents!th e! fin ding s!o f!th e! first! three!tasks.!!A!sep arate!

report! w h ich ! evaluated! the! im pa cts! of! the ! bottle! b ill! laws! on ! state! an d! local! rec yclin g! rates! was!

published!in!January!2016!in!conjunction!with!this!project.!

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

=,Sa!#%(W!+U!,)A&=(

! !

The!Michigan!Profile!of!Recycling!Programs!and!Potential!Recycling!was!a! project!of!the!NEMCOG,!which!

received! a! P ollu tion ! Preventio n! Grant! (P2)! from! the! MDEQ.! Support ing ! the! project! was! an! advisory!

group!comp rised!of!Michigan!Recycling!Coalition,!RRS,!Cascade!Cart!Solutions,!Clean!Tech!Inc.,!Emterra!

Environmental!USA ,!Emmet!County! Recycling,! Public!Sector!Consultants!(PSC),!the!Michigan!Association!

of!Regions!and!Recycle!Ann!Arbor.!!The!Advisory!Group!met!three!times!during!late!2014!and!2015.! !

6+,"789:+,$%:" /*;+*<$ . "=8'.;*)"8>" ? 8 @ ,9 .A,.:%"B7 C /=D?E"#$%", %:$ ( )*%+ , -"

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W2"0,$9%!"OK="+$%"('*):"$"9,&':$:*8.">89";9,-*(),!"*.-,&,.-,.:"9,%,$9;+!"

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

=,Sa!#%(:S+W)(+TU(S0a!#%&'!)(

! !

The! goals! of! this! project! are! to! identify! current! trends! and! best! practices! for! recycling! programs,!

determine!m easures,!or!metrics,!that!com munities!can!use!to!evaluate!their!success,!and! to!highlight!

the!examples!of!some!Michigan!communities! w ho!are!implementing!successful!recycling!programs.!The!

purpose!is!to!help!communities!learn!from!each!other!and!develop!or!expand!their!recycling!programs!in!

a!way!that!builds!on!best!practices.!

The!Project!Team!reviewed!literature! on! recycling! p rog ram s! in!Michigan!and ! elsewhere ! in!the ! U.S.!to !

identify!best!practices.!Based !on!these!best! p rac tic e s,!the!team!develope d!minimum! a s!well!as!id e a l!!(o r!

“stretch”)! m easures!for!successfully!adopting!best!practices.!!We!then!researched!and!interviewed!four!

communities! in! Michigan,! representing! a! mix! of! geographies! and! urban! versus! rural! commun ities,! to!

highlight!how!they!are!(or!are!not)!meeting!those!measures.!!!

The! economic! and! environmental! impact! of! current! and! potential! recyclables! is! also! evaluated! to!

provide! information! about! the! revenue-generating! potential! of! those! recycled! com mod ities.! An!

objective!of!this!report!is!to!identify!model!programs,!best! practices,!and!the!potential! of!recycling! that!

will!provide!information!important!to!decision!makers!at!the!state!and!local!levels.!

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

10!

SECTION I

RECYCLING BEST PRACTICES AND

SUCCESS STORIES

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

11!

T+%&ST+W(0!)%(=,+#%&#!)(DS,(,!#-#W&T:(

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The!goals!stated!in!most!community!recycling!programs!are! to!increase!recycling!participation,!increase!

the! amount! of! material! recycled! and! reduce! the! cost! of! services.! To! meet! those! goals,! co m m u nities!

often! considering!establishing!what! materials! should! be! included! in! recycling! programs! and! requiring!

implementation!of!eit h er!dual-stream!or!single–stream!collection.!!T he!challenge!facing!communities!is!

how! to! increase!the! current!recycling!rate! to! meet! the! higher!recovery! goals,!while! providing!a! cost-

effective!program!that!can!be!embraced!by!its!residents!and!businesses.!!

Many! cities!and!solid! waste!districts!through o ut!th e!na tion !are!se tting!n ew ,!am b itious !goa ls!for!high er!

recycling,!w aste ! rec ov ery! ra tes!and!even! ta rge ting! ze ro!waste!as! an ! atta ina ble!goal.!The! cha llen ge! fa cing !

the! S tate ! and! M ichiga n! municipalities! is!h ow ! to! gain! recycling! pro gra m ! efficiencies,! providing! a! cost-

effective!program!that!can!be!embraced!by!its!residents!and!businesses.!!

RRS!has!researched!recycling!programs!across!the!U.S.!and!globally!for!over!30!ye ars.!!We!utilized!our!

research! to! identify! som e ! best! prac tices! for! residential! recycling,! including! the! related! impacts! on!

efficiency! and! program! costs.! The! project! team! conducted! a! comp arative! analysis! of! communities!

recycling!collection!and!processing!programs!to!iden tify!the!q u an tity!of!m ate rial!collected!through!the!

implementation!of!“best!practices”.!Th e!intentio n !of!this!analysis!w as!to!gather!data!from!comparable!

cities!to!provide !an!ove rview !of!each !one ’s!expe rienc e!with!possible!options!that!can!be!incorporated!

into!mu n ic ipa l!p ro g ra m s !th ro u g h o ut !Michigan.!!

The! analysis! identifie d ! some! of! the! key! com pon ents! regarding! recycling! best! practices! in! several!

categories:!

• Collection!and!Processing!!

• Variable!rate!pricing!

• Multi-family!recyc ling!

• Rural!recycling!

• Commercial!recycling!

COLLECTION AND PROCESSING SYSTEMS

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Single-stream! or! single!so rt! recycling! –! where!all!fiber!grades! and! recyclable! containers! are!collected!

commingled! together! in! one! compartmen t! o n! the! recycling! collection! veh icle! –! has! been! a! growing!

trend!for!th e! p ast! fifteen !y ears !a nd !is! no w !considered!to! be!the! “best!practice”!for!high! volume !recovery!

of!recyclables.!The!prevalence!of!single-sort!collection!w as! first! evaluated!in!a!2000!Survey!for!the!Paper!

Industr y!Assoc iat io n !Coun cil!(PIAC) ,!a n d !has!c o n tin u e d !to!be !evaluat ed !in!the !subse q u ent!surveys.!The!

growth!in!single-sort! recycling!has!stead ily!increased .! In! 2005,!o nly! 29!percent! of!the! population!w ith!

recycling! had! ac cess ! to! a! single-sort! p rogram .! By! 2010,! that! numb er! had! increased! to! 64! percent.! In!

2014!the! percentage! of! the! population!w ith!recycling!access! to! curbside! recycling! had! increased! to!72%.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

12!

Although!the!PIAC!has! not!attempted! to!correlate!the!trend! to!single-sort! co llection!with!the!expansion !

in! fiber! product s! collected ! in! progra ms,! anecdo ta l! evidence! suggest s! such! a ! relationship! exists.! In!

addition,! the! PIAC! survey!is! directed! at! County! government,! which! the! degree! to! which!counties! are!

involved !in!lo ca l!recyclin g!progr ams!varies!widely !from!state!to!s ta te !and!region !to!re g ion .!The!coun ty !

staff!surveyed!by!AF& PA ! m ay ! n ot!be!familiar!with!the!exact!material!guidelines!for!specific!communities!

on!their!survey!form,!and!may!have!completed!the!survey!with!a!more!general!list.!

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Carts!versus!bins:!Car ts !have!consistently!shown!an!increase!in!the!volume!of!recycling!collected.!Ca rts!

offer!greater!capacity,!m ore! stability!and!decreased!risk!of!materials!becoming!wind-strewn ! o r!placed!in!

trash! when! th e! bin! is! full! before ! collectio n.! Th ere! are ! con cern s,! as! no ted ! in! the! later! sectio n! en titled!

‘Curb!Set!Out!Options’,!about!the!size!o f!the!carts!and!difficulty!in!handling!to!the!curb.!However,!with!

consistent,! user-friend ly! education! and! if! c arts! are! offere d! in! size! options,! carts ! yield! greater!

participation!and!volumes.!!!

Waste!versus!recycling:! T h e !combination!of!waste!an d!recycling!collection!rem ains!a!factor!in!recovery!

rates.!If!un lim ited!wa ste!dispo sal,!at!a!low!rate!of!co st!is!offered!to!a!commu nity ,!it!is!very !easy!to!put!

everything! into! a! waste! container.! ! Successful! programs! focus! on! d iscouraging! w aste! disposal! and!

encouraging! recycling,! composting! and! source! reduction! as! the! better! alternatives.! This! can! be!

accomplished!through!education!and!encouraging!participation!in!the !re cy clin g ! p ro g ra ms!an d !t hr ou g h !

the!variable!pricing!of!waste!disposal.!!Whe re !thes e!fac to rs!are !pres en t,!rec yc ling !pro gra ms!ten d !to!be!

much!more!successful!in!both!recovering!material!and!generating!revenue.!

Frequency:! Many! comm u nities! h av e ! resort ed ! to! bi-weekly! recycling! collection! as! a! cost! savings.!

Communities! attaining! high! recycling! rates! in! the! compared! cities! provide! weekly! collection.! Weekly!

collection!provides!residents!w ith!a !simpler!“everything!out!to!the!curb”!m od el.!Bi-weekly!as!an!option!

in!th e !interests!of!cost !savings! must!be !balanced !by!pro vid in g !adequate !containers!and!reminders!of!the!

collection!schedule!to!a void!recyclables!being!disposed!in!the!garbage!because !the!resident!“ran!out!of!

room”!in!the !recyc ling!b in.!!

Cost:! Co n v er tin g ! to ! a! sin gle ! so rt ! co llec tio n! syste m! requ ir es ! so me! cap it al! in v es tment! in! equipment,!

program! modifications!and! public! education.! Changes! in! processing! fees! will! be! dependent!upon! the!

arrangement!with!the!MRF!and! the! revenue!sharing!arrangement! established! w ith! the!local!jurisdictio n .!

These!investment! factors!are! b alanced! against!the!increase !in!recycling!resulting!from!a!simpler!method !

of!setout!and!collection!for!the!comm unity,!and!the!savings!realized!from!reduced!w aste!disposal!fees!

and!collection!costs.!

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An! increasing!number! of! comm unities! have! shifted!to! a! single! sort! collection!system.! In! a! single! sort!

system,!all!materials!are! co llected!and!placed! in!a!single!co mp artm ent!truck.!Each! collection!vehicle! ca n!

remain!on!rou te!until!th e!truck!is!completely!full!or!the!rou te!is!com p lete .!Even!in !that!case ,!dispatchers!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

13!

may! send! a!less! than! full!truck! to!another! route! to!help!complete!collection,! based! upon! proximity! and!

capacity!of!the!truck.!

The!trucks! can!be!dual- purpose,!i.e.,! collect!recyclables!and!

then! design ate d! to ! re turn ! to! assist! in! waste ! or! other!

materials! collection.! The!driver! makes!a! one! motion!pass!at!

each! stop,! saving! time! and! labor! costs.! If! the! truck! is!

equipped!with!a!mechanical!loading!h opper!or!mechanical!

arm,! the! driver! can! save! additional! time! in! the! collection!

process.!!!(See!photos!below)!

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There! are! two! container! op tions! comm unities! can! offer!

residents! to! set! ou t! m ate rials! for! sing le! sort! cu rb side !

collection.! The! first! op tion! is! to! provide! one! or! more!

recycling! b ins,! i.e.,! plastic! box es! of! varying! size,! typically!

ranging!from!13 ! g allon s!to! 25!gallons.! While!recycling!bins!

can! be! equipped! with! lids,! the! disadvantage! to! bin!

programs! with! lids! is! that! the! lightweight! lid! can! be!

damaged! if! it! falls! or! blows! into! the! street,! or! completely!

disappear!if!weather!conditions!are!amply!strong.!!

The!second!option!for!curbside!set!outs!is!a!wh eeled!cart,!

equipped! with! an! attached! lid.! W heeled! carts! have! been!

the!most!accepte d!and !grow ing!optio n!for!single!collection !

programs! over!the!past!10!years.!The!w heeled!cart!encourages!residents!to!recycle!m o re!materials!an d !

provides! the! convenience! of! storage! of! materials! and! for! hauling! to! the! curb.! The! most! expressed!

reservation!from!residents!concern ing!multi-so rt!programs,!the !number!of!containers!and!the!difficulty!

of!moving!all!of!them!to!the!curb!without!spillage,!is!also!one!of!the!advantages!of!the!cart.!!

There! are! circumstances! where! some! residents! are!

concerned!that!the!cart!is!too !big!or!heavy!to!m ove!to!

the! curb,! especially! for! the! elderly.! ! Operation al!

experience! has! show n ! that! although! cart! size! can! a t!

first! b e! so m e w ha t! intim id ating ,! the! res ide nt! ad ap ts! to!

the!cart!and!its!transport!and !storage !optio ns.!Op tion al!

programs!that! allow!for!residents!to!request!a!different!

size!cart!can! also!be! im plem ented !as!p art!of!a!switch !to!

cart! based! programs.! Dual! sort! systems! can! also! u se!

carts,! either! split! 96-gal! or! two! 64-gal! for! biweekly!

collection.!!!

Automated!Re cycling!Collection!Truck !

Semi-Automated!Collection!Truck!

Typical!Recycling!Carts!and!Bins!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

14!

Communities!can!allay!these!concerns!by!first,!displaying!the!carts!in!a!prominent!location!so!residents!

can!“check! the m!out”!prior!to!the !onset! o f!a!pro g ra m!or! b y!offering!an!op t io na l!smaller!sized! ca rt.!It!can !

also!be!pointed!out!that!communities!seem !to!have!no!problem!providing!a!trash!cart!of!the!same!size!

or!to!offering!smaller!carts!for!the!elderly.!

Some!cleanliness!improvement! has! been! identified!with!the! implemen tation!of! carts.!!A ! larger!container!

with! a!cover!prevents!much!of! the!litter!and!blowing! of!paper! and!plastic!that!is! associated!with! lidless!

bin!containers.!!In!addition,!some!residents!have!indicated!that!storing!re cyc lable s! o u tside! in!a!ca rt!is!

preferable!to!keeping!bins!indoors.!This!is!especially!helpful!in!areas!providing!alley!collection.!

PROCESSING OPTIONS

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Choices!pertaining!to!sorting!technologies!and!overall!processing!choices!are!predominantly!driven!by!

curbside!collection!systems.!!!Substantial!imp rovem ent!in!p rocessing!capability!and!efficiency!h as!been!

experienced!in!the! p ast!5-10! years.!Beyond!the! initial!use!of!magnets!to!capture!ferrous!m etals!at!an!

efficient!rate,!and!eddy!currents!to!separate!and!capture!aluminum !from!the!so rt,!more!sophisticated!

equipment! and! reconfiguration! of! the! sorting! systems! has! resulted! in! higher! recovery! rates,! greater!

throughpu t,!and !less!co nta m inatio n!to!m e et!m ark et!stan da rds .!!!

The! number! of! recyclable! materials! has! increased! as! the! ab ility! of! secondary ! and! manu fac turin g!

industrie s!to !co n ve rt!po s t-consumer!packaging!into!marketable!products!has!grown.!Subsequently,!the!

market!demand!for!the!greater!variety!and!volume!of!materials!has!driven!MRF’s!to!seek!equipment!

that! enable! them! to! efficiently! recover! an! increased! array! of! post-consum er! plastics! and! fiber.! The!

processes!must!also!be!designed!to!increase!the!volumes!or!tons!per!day,!to!justify!the!investment!in!

such!equipment!or!system s.!!

MRF’s! and! equipment! manufacturers,! to! remain! competitive! and! derive! the! greatest! value! from! the!

collected! material,! continue! to! improve! the! ability! of! the! sorting! methodology! and! performance!

standards.!!Systems!are!configured!to!provide!screen ing!of!non-recyclable!ma teria ls!and!contamin ants!

from! a! particular! recyclable ! mate rial! to! yield! a! higher! value! end-of-sort! p rodu ct.! ! ! Op tical! sorting!

technologies!have!advan ce d!to!e na ble !efficient!a nd !broade r!range!of!so rting!plastics!and!fiber!carto ns !

that!results!in!an!increa sed !variety !of!acc ep ted! materials!for!recycling!at!a!higher!marketable!value.!!

Residual! rates! are! an! indicator! of! the! success! of! the! sorting! systems! and! the! recycling! collection!

program.!Residual!rates!in!both!dual!sort!and!single!sort!sorting!systems!have!declined!over!the!years,!as!

evidenced! in! the! Figure! 1.! T h e! ability! to! recover ! everyth in g! that! is! r ec yc lab le ! or! marketa b le! and ! to!

remove! waste! that! can n ot! be! rec ycle d! is! a! key! facto r! in! determining! the! type! of! recycling! program !

provided.!!It!is!also!a!key!measurable!in!determining!overall!recycling!program!success!or!failure.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

15!

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! *!SS!-!Single!Sort,!DS!-!Dual!Sort,!MS!-!Multi!Sort!

Quality!control!remains!a!critical!element!in!M RF!recovery.! At! various!points!in!the!recovery!process,!

testing! or! checking! o f! the! co m m od ity! des tined ! for! m arke ts! can ! result! in! incre ase d! valu e! to! the !

commodity.!! !The!community!can! also!play!a!role!in!helping!to!increase!the! value!of! m aterials!collected.!

To! ensure! quality! standards,! communities! can! require! contracted! MRF’s! to! report! volumes! and!

percentages!of!recovered!m aterials!by! type,!including!residue! rates;!set! minimum!standards!of!recovery!

and!residue,! and!the!volume!of!materials! sold!as!various!grades!in! the!recycling!markets.! A!certification!

process!should!be!applied!to!MRFs.!MRFs!require!them!to!report!c erta in!o pe ration al!d ata! for!m o nito ring!

purposes.!This!information!should!include!at!a!minimum:!!

• Amounts!and!types!of!recyclables!delivered!to!the!facility;!!

• Amounts!and!composition!of!processing!residuals;!!

• Amounts!and!types!of!materials!processed!and!marketed!on!an!annual!basis;!and!!

• Amounts!and!types!of!materials!downgraded!or!rejected!by!markets.!

Residual! rates!at!the!MRF!can!also!be!improved!by!education.! As!recycling!participation!increases,!it !is!

importa n t! to! pro vid e ! direc t,! sim p le! an d ! posit ive ! edu c at io n! ab o ut ! wh at ! can! be ! recyc led .! Co n sis te n t,!

accessible,!user-frie nd ly! educ ation ! abou t! wha t! can! be! recycled ! mak es! an! imp ac t! on! the! participan ts’!

participation!to! place!the!materials!that!are!accepted!in!the! recycling!container.!Even!with!the! most!

efficient! system! for! sorting! materials,! if! an! item! that! is! not! included! in! the! recycling! program ! is!

incorrect ly!p la ce d !in !a!r ec yc lin g!b in ,!it!must!be!treat ed !a s !res id u al!a t!t h e!MRF.!!!

VARIABLE RATE FEES AND INCENTIVE SCHEMES

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Systems! of! pricing! trash! for! disposal!are! kn own! by! a! variety!of! names:! variable!ra te,! pay!by! the! bag,!

variable-can! rate,! volume-based,! pay! as! you! throw,! among! others.! However,! the! basic! concept!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

16!

underlying!all!these!te rms!is!the!same!and!is!very!stra ightforw ard :!cu stom ers!that!put!out!more!waste!

for!collection!pay!more!than!those!who!put!out!less.!

Variable-rate!programs!provide!a!number!of!advantages!for!communities!and!residents:!

• Equity.! Variable!rates!are!fair:!custom ers!who!use!more!service!pay!more.!

• Econ omic!Signal.! Under!variable!rates,!(,+$@*89"affects!a!bill,!regard less !of!what!disposal!

choices!a!household!makes.! Without!variable!rates,!avid!recyclers!pay!the!same!a s!large!

disposers.! Variable !rates!provide !a!recurring!economic!signal!to!modify!behavior,!and!a llow!

small!disposers!to!save!money!compared!to!tho se !who!use!more!serv

ice!and!impose!more!

costs!on!the!system.!

• Lack!of!Restrictions. ! Variable!rates!do!not!restrict!customer!choices.! Customers!are!not!

prohibited!from!putting!out!additional!garbage;!but !those!who!want!to!put!out!more!will!pay!

more.!

• Efficiency.! Variable-rate!programs!are!generally!inexpen sive!to!implem en t!and,!unlike!

recycling!progra ms ,!do!not!require!additional!pick-up!trucks.! They !also!help!prevent!

overuse!of!solid-waste!services.! Rather!than!fixed!all-you-can-throw!charges,!which!

encourage!over-use!of!the!service,!volume-based!rates!encourage!custom ers!to!use!only!the!

amount!of!service!they!need.!

• Waste!Reduction.! Unlike!recycling!programs!alone,!which!only!encourage!recycling,!

variable!rates!reward!all!behaviors—recyc ling,!compo sting,!and!source!re

duction—that!

reduce!the!am ount!of !garbage!thrown!away.! Source!reduction!is!the!cheapest!waste-

management!strategy!and!thus!of!the!highest!priority—and!it!is!not!directly!encouraged!by!

recycling!and!yard!waste!programs.!

• Speed!of!Implementation:! Pay-as-you-throw!programs!can!be!very!quickly!put!in!place—

one!community!installed!a!variable-rate!program!in!less!than!three!months!(although!most!

take!longer).!

• Flexibility.! “Pay-as-yo u-throw”!programs!can!be!implemen ted!in!a!variety!of!sizes!and!types!

of!communities,!with!the!broad!range!of!colle c tion!arrangements.!

• Environmental!Benefits.! Because!they!encourage!increased!recycling!and!waste!reductio n,!

variable-!rate!programs!are!broadly!beneficial!to!the!environment.!

Ultimately,!it! is! anticipated!that!u

sing!variable! rat

es!to! reduce! the!burden!on!the!disposal!system!w ill!

lead! to! more! efficient!use!of!services,!imp rov ed!environmental!and! res ource!use,! and! lo we r! lon g-run!

solid! waste! sy stem ! management! costs.! Research! has! also! demonstrated! tha t! rate! ince ntiv es! in! solid!

waste!have!strong!an d!measurable!effects! on!waste!dis posal!behavior.! Adapting!pricing!principle s !from!

en ergy,!water,!and!other!utilities,!studie s!show!that!paying!for!more!(and!more!specific)!garbage!service!

increases!recycling!and!composting!an d!redu ces!disposal!overall.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

17!

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Variable-ra te!programs!are!very!flexib le,!and!adaptable!to!a!wide!range!of!com mun ity!types. ! They!

can!be!categorized!into!five!major!types:!

• Variable!Can! or! Subscribed!Can.! In!this!program,!cu stomers!select!the!appropriate!number!or!

size! of! containers! (one ! can,! two! cans,! etc.,! or! 30–35! gallons,! 60–65! gallons,! etc.)! fo r! their!

standard!weekly!disposal!amount.!Rates!for!customers!are!higher!for!customers!using! a!two-!or!

three-cart!service!than!rates!for!customers!that!us!only!on!cart.!

• One-can!customers.! Some!communities!also!have!introdu c e d !mini-can!(13–20!gallons)!or!micro-

can!(10!gallo ns)!service!levels!to!provide!incentives!for!aggressive!recyclers.!

• Bag! Program.! In! this! program,!custo m ers!purchase!bags!im p rin te d ! with!a! particular!logo ,! and!

any!waste

!they!want!collected!must!be!put!in!the!appropriately!marked!bags.! Bags!holding!fro m !

30!to !35!gallons!are!most!common,!but!som e!communities!also!sell!smaller!bags!at!a!discounted!

price.! Bags!can!be!sold!at!city!hall!or!commun ity!centers;!more!common ly,!com m un ities!work!

with!grocery!stores!or! convenience!sto

re!chains!to!sell!th e!bags—som etimes!with!a!commission,!

although! sometimes! the! foot! traffic! is! enough! rew a rd! to! the! retailer.! The! price! of! th e! bag!

incorpo ra te s!the!co st!of!the!collection,!transportation,!and !disposal!of!the!waste!in !the!bag.! In !

some!comm unities,!the !bag!program!is!used!in! c o n ju nc tio n!with!a!customer!charge!or!flat-fee!

program!charge,!and!in!tho se!cases,!the! bag!price!reflects!o nly!a!portion!of!the!cost!of!collection!

and!disposal,!with!the!rem ain de r!collected!through!the!monthly!charge.!

• Tag!or!Sticker!Programs.! These!are!almost!ident ica l! to !bag!programs,!except!instea d!of!a!special!

bag,!customers!affix!a!special!logo!sticker!or!tag!to!the!waste!they!want!collected.! The!tags!need!

to!be!visible!to!collection!staff!to!signal!that!th e!waste!has!been!paid!for.! Like!the!bag!program,!

tags! are! usually!good! for! 30-gallon!incre ments! of! service.! Pricing! an d! distribution ! options! are!

identical !to!bag!programs.!

• Hybrid! System.! Th is! syste m ! is! a!hybrid! of! the! cu rrent! collection! system ! and ! a! new ! in c en t ive -

based!system.! Instead ! of!receiving!unlimited!collection!fo r! payment!of!the

!mo

nthly!fee!or! tax!

bill,!the!customer!gets!only!a!sm aller,!limited!volume!of!service!for!the!fee.! Typical!limits!for!the!

base! se rvice! in! comm u n itie s ! across! the! cou ntry! are! one! can,! two ! bags,! or! two ! cans.! Limits!

usually! vary! based! on! maturity! of! the! program,! disposal! behavior,! and! availability! and!

comprehensive n e ss ! of! re cyclin g! o ptio ns.! Beyond ! the! approved! base! service,! custome rs! are!

required!to!bu y!bags!or!stickers,!as!described!above,!for!any!extra!garbage.! Under!this!program,!

the! bas e! service! level! can! be! tailored ! to! bes t! suit! the! co m m u nity! or! to! a ch ieve! a! variety! of!

objectives.! No! new! billing! system ! is! need e d ,! and! bags! only! need!

! be! purchased! for! service!

above! the! base.! Current! collection! and! billing! are! retained! with! minimal! changes,! and! many!

customers!see!no!change!in!their!garbage!fee.! This!system!provides!a!monetary!disincentive!for!

those!who!are!putting!out!higher!amounts!of!garbage.!

• Weight-based! System.! This! sy stem! uses! truck- bas ed ! scales! to! weigh! garbage! containers! and!

charge! cu stom e rs! based ! on! the! actual! pounds! of! garbage! set! out! for! disposal.! On-board!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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computers!record!weights!by!household,!and!customers!are!billed!on!this!basis.! Special!“chips,”!

called!radio !frequen cy!(RF)!tags,!are!affixed!to!the!containers!to!identify !households,!an d!these!

are!rea d!and!recorded!electron ically!on!the!on-board!com puter!along!with!the!weights!for!that!

household.! These! programs! have! been! pilot-tested! in! the! U.S.,! and! imple mented! overseas.!

Certified!scale!systems!are!now!available.!

• Other! Variations.! Some! communities! or! haulers! offer! variable! rates! as! an! option! along! with!

their! standard! unlimited! system .! Waste! drop- off! programs,! that! use! punch! cards! or! other!

customer!tracking!systems,!are!also!in!place!in!some !comm unities,!especially!in!rural!areas.!

Loca l! communities!can! assess! the ! changes!needed!for! their!system,!and!iden tify!the!systems! that! are!

most! s uited! for! their! needs.! Using! an! analysis! of! key! priorities! and! relative! implementation! burdens!

communitie s!may!come!to!very!different

!con

clusions!on!the!types!of!programs!that!will!work!b est!for!

them.! However,!there!are!some!patterns.! For!example,!research!finds!that!the!percentage!of!variable-

can!system s!is!higher!in!urban!areas,!and!bag!programs!are!more!comm on!in!rural!areas.!This!may!relate!

to! the! greater! prevalence! of! a utomated! collection! (compatible ! with! variable-can! programs)! in! urban!

areas!and!concerns!for!low-cost!imple m en tatio n!in!rural!areas,!in!com bination!with!a!variety!of!other!

community-specific!fa ctors. !

RECYCLING INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

(

We!are!all!familiar!wit h ! the! old! ad a g e! "one! ma n s! trash! anoth e r! mans! trea su re ." ! New!companies! are!

trying!to !change!that.!They!say!y our!trash!is!your!own!treasure,!because!you're!go i n g !to!pay!you !for!it.!

The! concept,! called! Incentive! Based! Recycling,! is! to! increase! recycling! rates! by! prov id in g! a! direc t!

financial!incentive!for!pe op le!to! go !through!the! tro ub le!of! s ortin g!their! g arb ag e.!Participating!custome rs!

receive! a! 35,! 64,! o r! 96-gallon! con tainer! that! has! a! barcode! that! identifies! their! home.! As! the! truck!

collects!the!recycling!it!scans!the!barcode!on!the!container!and!translates!the!value!of!the!recycled!items!

into!a !dollar!amoun t !-!that!can!be!red ee m ed !though!shopping!coupons!at!participa ting!businesses.!Th e!

two!major!p rogra m s!are :!Recy cleb an k!an d!T,#$9-%">89"T,;0;)*.<.!

Participants!use! an! online! interface! to! choose! w hich! coupons! suit! them! best,! order! the! coupons!and!

receive! the m ! b y! mail.! Alterna tively! participants! c an ! ch o ose ! to ! d o na te! their! Recycleb an k! Dollars! to!

charity.!Recyclebank!serves!both!residential!and!re ta il!customers.!Many!paper,!plastic,!metal!and!glass!

recyclables! are! c ollec ted !a nd ! the ! company!supp orts! a !s ingle !sort!recycling!system! th at! a llow s! all! typ es! o f!

recyclables!to !b e! deposited !in! one!single !co n taine r.!H o m e! collection!o f!e-waste!is!co ming!soon! but!in!

the! m eantime! customers! can! send! in! cell!phones! for!recycling! by! printing! a! envelope! label! including!

stamp!directly!from!the!website.!

Recyclebank!trades!the!actions!a!custom er!makes!that!have !a!positive!impact!on!you r!h o m e!by!saving !

energy,!com munity! by! recycling! and ! the! environment!by! co nserving! natural! reso urces! for! p oints! that!

you!can!use!for!rewards! yo u!cho ose.!Those! rewards!come!in!a! variety!of!options:!Pro d u c ts ,! discou n ts !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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and!cou pons!from!the!wo rld’s!leading!brands!(think:!Kashi,!Footlocker,!Dunkin!Donuts),!or!by!dona ting!

your!points!to!support!environmental!education!in!schools.!!

Because!Recyclebank!offers!coupons!and!other!economic!incentives!to!recycle,!the!RecycleBank!model!

is! partic u lar ly! attractive! to! low e r -income! co mmunities.! By! rew a rd ing ! househ o l ds! with! coupons! for!

groceries! or! services,! RecycleBank! is! having! a! direct! positive! impact! on! fam ily! budgets.! Therefore,!

recycling! beco m es! so m e thin g! ho use ho lds ! particip ate ! in! for! fina nc ial! assista nce ,! rathe r! than ! altru istic!

reasons.!This!is!not!meant!to!suggest! that!the! on ly!people! participating!in!R ecycleBank!are! those!on!the!

lower!en d !o f!the!income!spectrum ,!o n ly !th a t!t he !in c en t ive s!inherent!in !t he !R e cy c leB a n k!model!beco me!

increasin g ly!a ttr ac tiv e!t h e!lo wer!on!the!sp ec tru m!a!househo ld !la ys .!

T,#$9-%">89" T,;0;)*.<! was! founded!in! late!2008!with!the!express!intent!to! provide! a! better!recycling!

affinity! program! option! for! municipalities! and! waste!haulers.! ! The! Recycle! Bank! program! was! closely!

studied!and!evaluated,!and!R 4R!was!designed!to!be!uniquely!different,!a ddressing!all!of!the!challenges!

we! found! in! the! alternate! system.! ! The! R4R! program! founders! identified! multiple! challenges! in! the!

alternate! system,! specifically! a! lack! of! understanding! of! basic! marketing! and! consumer! behavior!

patterns.!

T,#$9-%">89"T,;0;)*.<!is!a!com m unity! base d!Recycling!program.!!R4R!partners!with!the!municipality,!the!

residents,! the! com munity! and! the! local! bu sine sses.! ! T,#$9-%" >89" T,;0;)*.<! rewa rds! frequenc y! and!

loyalty!fo r!b u ild in g!r ec yc lin g!as!a!ho us e h old !habit.!!!T h e!p ro g ra m!is !o p en !a nd!available!to!all!members!

within!the!community.!!T,#$9-%">89"T,;0;)*.<!provides!rewards!to!every!household!immediately!upon!

start-up,! and! continues! to! provide! smaller! value! rewards! to! all! households! regardless! of! recycling!

activity.!!This!methodology!provides!the!opp ortu nity!to !con tinu ou sly!co nv ert!n on-recyclers!by!showin g!

them! the! re w ard s! of! significantly! h ighe r! value! that! w ill! be! available! to ! them! as! soon! as! the y! begin!

recycling.!

Local! Business! participation! is! a! key! componen t! o f! the! T,#$9-%" >89" T,;0;)*.<! program.! ! The! R4R !

Program!features!rewards!that! com e!from!the!businesses! located!within!each!community.!Restaurants,!

Pharmacies,!Dry-cleaners,!O il!Changes!and!other!retail!products!an d!services.!The!majority!of!them!are!

locally!ow n e d !a nd !o p e ra te d ,!an d !e mploy!local!people.!!!

The!revenue!generated!by! these!businesses!stays!hom e! and! supports!the! local!economy.! R4R! gives!each!

business!an! opportunity! to! offer! valuable! savings!to! residents! free! of! c harge.!!These! offers! can! drive!

traffic!to! local! business.!In!addition,!T,#$9-%">89"T,;0;)*.<!has!m ultiple!promotional!options!available!

for! local! businesses ! that! can ! get! them ! exp os ure ! in! Direct! ma il,! E-newsletter! m arketing! and! even!

television.!!

&82?8@BN?()E<@?H(=56<(189(#68<(

Demographics!are!probably!the!most!important!factor!to !look!at!when!considering!an!inc en tive!system!

partnership.!An!incentive!system!model!is!particularly! attractive!to!lower-income!commu n it ies !becaus e !

it!offers!co up o n s !an d !o th e r!ec o n omic!incentives !to !rec yc le . !By!rewarding!households!with!coupons!for!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

20!

groceries!or!services,!an!incentive!system!is!having!a!direct!positive!impact!on!family!budgets.!Therefore,!

recycling! beco m es! so m e thin g! ho use ho lds ! particip ate ! in! for! fina nc ial! assista nce ,! rathe r! than ! altru istic!

reasons.!The!fo llow ing !is!a!partia l!listing!of!the!pros!and!cons!of!incentive!systems.

PROS!

• Incentiv e-based!program!rewards!recycling!participation!and!builds!good!recycling!habits!

• Public!awareness!and!participation!in!recycling!rises!

• Substantial!rise!in!material!volumes!

• Data!on!the!effectiveness!of!existing!and!proposed!w aste!collection!routes!and!strategies!is!

collected!

• Opportunity!to!modernize!or!upgrade!the!waste!collection!and!recycling!infrastructure!

CONS!

• System!rewards!consumption,!not!waste!reduction!

• Program!may!be!a!poor!fit!in!communities!with!already!high!recycling!participation!

• Success!relies!on!the!participation!of!national!and!local!businesses!and!retailers!

• Upgrade!costs!could!be!prohibitively!expensive!for!communities!and!smaller!haulers!if!not!

adequately!negotiated!with!Service!Provider!

• Program!not!cost!effective!in!areas!with!low-cost!disposal.!

(

MULTI-FAMILY PROGRAMS

(

To!help!communities!learn!how!to!create!or!maintain!a!successful! program,!studies!have!identified! and!

highlighted!program! characteristics!that!are!associated!with! high! diversion! rates.! Two!important! factors!

play!into!the!success!of!a!recycling!program:!efficiency!and!effectiveness.!Efficiency!refers!to!measures!

of! the! productivity! of! collection! crews! and! effectiveness! refers! to! how! well! a! program! meets! policy!

objectives.!A!program !can!be!ve ry!effective!(i.e.,!high-diversion!rate)!and!not!very!efficient!(i.e.,!high!unit!

costs).! The! most! su ccessful! programs! meet! b oth! of! these! criteria.! The! productivity! measu res! for!

multifamily!recycling!used!in!this!study! are!cost! per!ton! collected,! annual! cost! per! hou sehold! served,!

number!of!tons!of!recyclables!collected!per!household!per!year,!and!diversion!rates.!!Table!1!ide n tifie s!

the! c ha racte ristics! of! a! su cce ssful! multi-fa m ily! recyclin g! progra m ! and! the! best! practice s! in! those!

programs.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Resource Recycling Magazine

F(S2@6Y?5F(J[[Z(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

21!

Table!1:!Characte ris tic s!o f !Su c c e ss fu l!Multi-Family!Recycling!Programs!

Program!Element!

What!Happens!In!High!Diversion!Communities!

Percentage!of!High!Diversion!

Communities!With!This!

Practices!

Collection!

Collect!multifamily!recyclables!on!the!same!routes!

as!single-family!recyclable s,!usin g!the !same!truck!

and!crew.!

61%!of!high-diversion!group!

Participation!

Ensure!compliance!through!mandatory!

participation,!with!sanctions!available!to!local!

governments!for!enforcement.!!

90%!of!high-diversion!group!

Containers!

Provide!container!with!capacity!of!at!least!90!

gallons.!Collect!materials!in!sets!of!containers,!with!

one!set!per!15-20!households!and!two!to!three!

containers!in!the!average!set.!

64%! of! high-! and! medium-

diversion!groups!

Commodities!

Include!more!recycled!comm od ities:!m ixed !w aste !

paper,!OCC,!magazines,!and!phone!books!in!

addition!to!ONP,!glass,!plastics,!and!steel!and!

aluminum!cans.!

82%!of!high-diversion!group!

Management!

Conduct!recycling!through!a!private!firm!under!

contract!or!exclusive!franchise!to!local!

government.!

82%!of!high-diversion!group!

Fees!

Charge!monthly!flat!fee!(usually!$2!or!more)!to!

units!for!recycling.!!Charge!variable!fee!for!refuse!

(reduced!solid!w a ste!fee !as!m o re!m a terials!a re!

diverted!to!recycling).!Average!fee!is!lower!in!high-

diversion!communities.!

63.6%!of!high-!diversion!group!

Some!highlights!of!multi-family!recycling!program s!inc lu d e:!

• Collection!

− Unit!cost!of!collecting!recyclables!decreases.!The!average!cost!per!ton!to!collect!multifamily!

recycling!in!the!low - diversion!commu nities!is!$ 17 7 !v er su s !$1 1 3 !in !th e !h igh-diversion!

communities.!

− Quantity!of!refuse!set!out!for!collection!decreases.!As!diversion!rates!increase,!however,!the!

cost!per!ton!to!collect!refuse!increases!from!$43!per!ton!in!the!low-!diversion!communities!

to!$66!per!ton!in!the!high-diversion!communities.!

− Decreases!in!refuse!setouts!exceed!the!increase!in!recycling,!implying!that!waste!reduction!

also!is!occurring!in!communities!with!the!most!successful!recycling!programs.!

• Mandatory!Participation:!

− a'*)-*.<%[!High!diversion!p ro g ra m s !a re !m o re !lik ely !to !b e !m a n d a to ry.!A!Portland,!OR !

ordinance!requires!multifamily!buildings!to!establish!recycling!programs!that!collect!

mixed!paper,!newspaper!and!three!other!materials.!!The!Portland!Bureau!of!

Environmental!Services!found!that!the!proportion!of!complexes!with!no!recycling!

program!dropped!from!10%!in!1995!to!2%!in!1996!as!a!result!of!the!ordinance.!!High!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

22!

diversion!programs!are!more!likely!to!report!the!use!of!fines,!liens!or!other!sanctions!

against!complexes!that!do!not!recycle!prop erly.

− b$'),9%[! Comm unities!can! require! haulers! to! provide!multifamily!recycling!services!by!

ordinance!or!by!contracts!or!franchise!agreements.!!In!Tehema!County,!California,!the!

County’s! franchise! agreement! w ith! a! local! hauler! requires! the! hauler! to! provide! its!

multifamily!building!trash!customers!with!recycling!and!yard!waste!collection!at!no!extra!

cost.! ! The! com pan y! must! provide! carts! and! bins! for! trash! and! recyclables! and! must!

accept!certain!materials!for!recycling.

− T,Y'*9,"T,;0;)*.<"O)$.%["Requiring!multifamily!owners!to!develop!and!file!recycling!plans!

stops!short!of!requiring!recycling,!but!motivates!some!buildings!to!sign!up!for!recycling.!

− T,Y'*9,"T,;0;)*.<"*.":+,"],$%,[!Communities!can!recommend!that!building!managers!

require!residen ts!to! re cyc le!as!p art!of!th e!leas e.

• Containers:!

− High!diversion!programs!are!more!likely!to!use!95-gallon!carts.!!They!are!less!likely!to!

use!cans!or!65-gallon!carts!or!to!use!18-gallon!bins.!!The!95!gallon!wheeled!cart!has!

several!advantages,!including!mobility!on!site,!low!square!footage!required!for!siting!

and!compatibility!with!the!semi-automated!side!loading!compartmentalized!trucks!

frequently!use d !for!sing le!fam ily!re cyclin g.!!

− Higher!diversion!programs!also!serve!fewer!households!(15-19)!per!set!of!recycling!

containers!than!lower!diversion!programs!(26).!!Less!sharing!of!containers!means!each!

set!is!located!closer!to!each!apartment!unit,!making!it!more!convenient!for!residents!to!

drop!off!their!recyclables.!!Providing!bins!or!baskets!for!storing!recyclable!materials!

within!individual!apartment!units!may!also!lead!to!higher!diversion!levels.

• Materials!Accepted:!

− Communities!with!high!diversion!rates!include!more!materials!in!their!multifamily!

recycling!progra m s,!an!a vera ge!o f!10.3 !m ateria ls,!com p are d!to!8 .2!m aterials!in!the !

communities!with!low!diversion!rates.!!

− Communities!with!high!diversion!rates!are!more!than!twice!as!likely!to!include!mixed!

waste!paper!and!other!plastics.!!They!are!also!much!more!likely!to!include!cardboard,!

magazines!and!phone!books.

• Tracking!Performance:!!

− Keeping!track!of!the!performance!of!a!program!(in!terms!of!the!number!of!set!outs,!

number!of!containers!distributed,!how!often!the!containers!are!emptied,!number!of!

households!in!complexes!receiving!service,!number!of!complaints!registered!an d!serv ice!

violation!notices!issued,!and!quantity!of!materials!collected)!is!a!probable!causal!factor!

in!achiev in g!h ig h !o r!im p r ov e d !pr og ra m!performan c e.!!F o r!e xa mple,!comm u n itie s!t h at !

know!where!containers!have!been!distributed!and!how!often!they!are!emptied!are!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

23!

better!able!to!target!their!program!promotions,!education!efforts!and!outreach!

elements,!which!encourage!participation.

• Education!and!Outreach:!

− High!diversion!programs!are!more!likely!to!have!more!frequent!mailings!to!individual!

households,!while!communities!w it h !lower!diversion!ra t es !te n d !to !h av e !les s!f req u e n t!

mailings!and!rely!more!on!the!property!managers.

− !Outreach!in!multiple!languages!is!important.!!Some!communities!are!experimenting!

with!outreach!materials!that!are!all!pictures!so!the!materials!do!not!have!to!be!

translated.

− Because!of!higher!turnover!in!many!multifamily!buildings,!reaching!newcomers!is!more!

of!an!imperative!than!in!single-family!home s.!!!

• User!Friendly!and!Convenience:!

− The!Recycling!Education!Project!at!Portland!State!University!in!Oregon!examined !

recycling!at!twelve !sim ilar!m u ltifam ily!co m ple xes .!!Two !facto rs!tha t!sho w ed !corre lation !

with!participation!were!user!friendliness!of!the!collection!containers,!(defined!by!

visibility,!prominence ,!attractiveness!and!cohesiveness)!and!the!location!of!the!recycling!

facilities,!(including!pro xim ity !to!the !trash !con tain er,!resid en t!traffic!an d!living !un its,!and !

the!absence !of!ph ysica l!barriers!to !the!fa cilities).!Severa l!othe r!surve ys!also !iden tified!

these!same !facto rs!as!elem e nts !of!success.

• Management!Support:!

− The!Recycling!Education!Project!at!Portland!State!University!also!found!that!manager!

commitment!(motivation,!direct!participation,!and!interest)!correlated!with!

participation.

• Creating!Incentives:!

− P*9,;:"6,.$.:"M.;,.:*@,%["Pay-As-You-Throw!programs!can’t!directly!reach!tenant!

generators;!one!possible!strategy!is!to!provide!credits!on!“other”!bills!to!tenants!in!

buildings!that!meet!defined!criteria!as!a!participating!recycling!building.!!This!strategy!

might!be!feasible!in!communities!that!provide!residents!with!energy!or!water!services.!!

The!strategy!would!give!tenants!a!financial!stake!in!helping!make!sure!that!that!building!

continued!to!have!recycling!available!and!that!participation!was!high!enough!and!

contamination!low!enough!so!tha t!the!b uilding !wo u ld!rem a in!“qu alified” !to!rece ive!th e!

credits.!

− /$.$<,A,.:"M.;,.:*@,%[!Some!communities!provide!incentives!to!building!managers!to!

establish,!improve!or!promote!recycling.!!For!example,!Seattle’s!“Friends!of!Recycling”!

volunteer!program!trains!individuals!w ho !the n!ch am p ion !recyc ling!w ithin!the ir!

building.”!!The!volunteer!can!either!be!a!member!of!the!management!staff!or!a!tenant.!!

Seattle!issues!a!one-time!$1 00!reb ate !on !trash !bills!to!the!m an ag em e nt!of!b uilding s!w ith!

Friends!of!Recycling!volunteers.!!Seattle!has!not!evaluated!the!effectiveness!of!its!

“Friends!of!Recycling”!program,!however.!!Interestingly,!the!use!of!volunteer!outreach!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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coordinators!was!one!of!four!different!outreach!techniques!tested!in!98!multifamily!

buildings!in!Portland,!OR.!!In!the!Portland!test,!volunteer!outreach!coordinators!were!

ineffective !a t!in c re as in g!t h e!q u a n tity !o r!q u alit y!o f!multifamily!rec yc la ble s .!

− b$'),9"M.;,.:*@,%["Communities!with!hauler-provided!service!(though!contract!or!

franchise)!can !pro vide !finan cia l!re w a rd s !to !th e ir!h au le r(s )!fo r!in c re as in g!r ec yc lin g!in !t h e!

multifamily!sector.!!This!provides!an!incentive!to!the!hauler!to!become!a!more!active!

agent!in!promoting!multifamily!recycling.

• Logistical!Strategies:!!

− b$9-#$9,"K8)':*8.%:!Syst ems!are!now !a v aila b le!t h at !make!recycling!a s !co n v en ie n t!a s!

trash!disposal!in!large!b uildin gs!w ith!cen tral!ga rbag e!ch ute s.!!The !chu tes!are !retrofitte d!

for!both!garbage!and!up!to!6!recycling!streams.!!The!tenant!pushes!the!appropriate!

button!at!the!chute!–!selecting!“containers”!for!their!bottles!and!cans!and!then!selecting!

“garbage”!for!their!trash!disposal.!!The!systems!have!been!installed!in!Florida,!New!York,!

Canada!and!other!locations!and!have!been!assessed!in!several!high-rise!buildings!in!

Toronto.!!Increases!in!recycling!from !25% !to !45% !w ere !fou nd !afte r!the!sy stems!were!

installed.!!Th ree-year!paybacks!from!lower!garbage!bills!are!fairly!typical.

− T,Y'*9*.<"%&$;,">89"9,;0;)*.<["Modifying!the!building!codes!to!require!adequate!space!

for!recycling!in!new !a nd !rem o de led !m ultifa mily!buildings!can!help!make!recycling!as!

convenient!as!garbage!disposal!for!tenants.

• Fees:!

− Multifamily!recycling!programs!can!present!a!challenge!for!funding!in!those!

communities!where!multi- fa m ily!refu se !collec tion !is!con sid ered !a!se rvice!to !be!p aid !for!

by!the!property!owner,!typica lly !th r o u g h !a !c o n t ra c t!b e t ween!the!p ro p e r ty !manager!and!

a!private!hauler.!

• Diversion!Rates:!

− A!key!measure!of!the!success!of!a!recycling!program!is!the!diversion!rate!it!achieves.!

Based!on!a!study!of!community!multi-family!re cyclin g !p ro g ra m s !b y!t he !E n vir on mental!

Protection!Agency!(EPA),!the!following!observations!can!be!made!about!diversion!rates!

for!multi-family!units!in!sample!communities:!

§ The!quantity!of!materials!recycled!increases!as!diversion!rates!increase;!

§ The!quantity!of!materials!discarded!as!refuse!or!garbage!decreases!as!diversion!

rates!increase.!

§ The!aggregate!discard!stream!(i.e.!recyclables!and!refuse!for!multi-family!

households)!decreases!as!diversion!rates!increase.!

Many!of!the!same!economic!benefits!generated!by!residential!recycling!can!be!realized!by!co m mercial!

businesses! and! the! State.! The! State! has! the! potential! to! not! only! save! additional! costs! from! every!

business! that!w aste!is!diverted!from!the!landfill,!but!can!use!this!extra!revenue!to!help!offset!the!costs!

of!increased!commercial!recycling!at!the!local!level.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

25!

RURAL RECYCLING PROGRAMS

(

Developing! a! successful! rural! recycling! program! is! a! challenge.! When! state! legislatures! wrote! waste!

reduction!and!recycling !man da tes!into!law!and!placed !respon sibility!with!local!governments,!few!gave!

special!consideration !to!rural!area s.!Rural!commun ities!are!striving!alongside!their!urban!counterparts!

to! mee t! re cyc ling! and! reduc tion ! g oa ls! o f! 15! to! 70! percent.! R ural! areas'! efforts,! h o w eve r,! ca n! be!

hampered!by!low!population!and!tax!ba se,!lim ited! loca l!go vern m en t!b ud ge ts!an d! pe rson n el,!low-density!

housing!and!limited!commercial!development.!

For! some! areas,! solid! waste! volumes! fluctuate! due! to! seasonal! residents! or! tourists.! Fo r! many,!

difficulties! accumulating!enough! processed! materials! can! limit! cost-effective! marketing! options.! Rural!

areas,!however,!have!strengths!that!can!assist!them!in!developing!and!operating!recycling!programs.!For!

example,!rural!residents!have!a!strong!sense!of!com mun ity,!a!history!of!volunteering!and!often!take!a!

creative!and!thrifty!approach!to!solid!waste!management.!

Typically,!rural!waste!streams!come!from!residences!and!small!bu sinesses.!As!a!result,!they're!smaller!

and! contain! lighter! weight! materials! than! are! found! in! urban! waste! streams! with! large! amounts! of!

commercial! wastes.! Many!ru ral! re cyclin g! p rog ram ! sho uld! be! ab le! re co ver! approximately! 9! percent! o f!

the! residential! waste! stre am ! if! items! suc h! as! glass,! m eta l! containers! and! newspapers! are! recovered.!

Adding!cardboard!containers!and!other!commercial!wastes!can!boost!the!diversion!rate.!

Consider! a! regional! recycling! approach! to! overcome! the!barriers! facing! individual! rural! governments.!

Benefits!include:!

• Increase d !v o lu mes!of!recyclab le s ,!w h ic h !o p e n s!marketing!op portunities;!

• Potential!for!cooperative!marketing,!which!can!substantially!increase!revenues;!

• Conserved!landfill!capacity!and!avoided!tipping!fees;!

• Regional!economic!stimulus!from!new!collection!and!processing!jobs;!and!

• Shared!costs!for!equipment,!personnel,!processing,!transportation,!marketing!and!facility!capita l!

and!operating!costs.!

Recycling!sales!revenues!cannot!be!relied!upon!to!support!a!regional!program!because!markets!can!be!

volatile.! Instead,! recycling! costs! must! be! viewed! as! part! of! the! entire! municipal! solid! waste! (MSW )!

management! strategy.! For! example,! a! recycling! program! shou ld! be! con sidered! a! viable! m ethod! for!

reducing! overall! disposal! costs.! Althoug h! each! progra m ! will! experience ! different! econo m ies! of! scale,!

every!successful!program!will!require!its!participating!jurisdictions!to!share!costs.!

Regional! waste! reduction! objectives,! quantities! of! recyclables! in! your! waste! stream! and! m arket!

availability!all!influence! which!materials!will! finally! be!targeted!for!recycling.!Because! w aste!reduction!is!

measured!by! decreases! in!tonnage,! try! to!target! the! heaviest! materials! with! a! positive!market!value.!

These! include! ONP,! OCC,! other! pap er! grades! an d! some!bulky! items! (white! goods! and!metals).! When!

targeting!recyclable!mate rials,!also!consider!ease!of!collection!and!proc essin g!as!well!as!th e!degre e!of!

cooperation!anticipated!from!your!region's!businesses!and!residents.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

26!

Rural! areas! m ay! present! unique! alternatives!for! using! some! recyclables.! For! example,! old! newspaper!

(ONP)!an d !mixed!paper!ca n !b e!used!as !a !stra w !substitute!fo r!animal!b ed din g.!Wastepa per!also!can!be!

used! for!cellulose-type!bu ilding!insula tion!an d!as!a!bulking!m ateria l!for!hydrose ed ing.!Potential!uses!for!

mixed! glass! include! glassphalt! (a! mix! of! glass! and! asphalt! for! road! paving),! landfill! cover,! fiberglass,!

glasscrete!(a!mix!of! glass!and!concrete),! sandblasting,!backfill,!road !bed!material,!e rosion!control,! sep tic!

fields!and!as!a!san d !sup ple m en t!or!su b stitute .!

Individu a l!rura l!go ve rn ments!are!often!no t !in!a!pos itio n !to!ne gotiate!optimal!m a rk et !terms! d u e !to!sm a ll!

volumes! of! materials.! Cooperative! m arketing! allows! rural!regions! to! offer!larger! volumes! to! potential!

end-markets.!This!strategy!helps!them!to!achieve!higher!market!value,!to!obtain!better!transportation!

rates! and! to! increa se! the ! type s! of! m ate rials! acc ep ted ! by! the ! m an ufa cture r.! In! general,! cooperative!

marketing! acts! as! a! region's! broker! to! secure! end-user! m arkets,! maintain! all! recycling! records! and!

arrange!for!cost-effective!transportation!to!end-users.!Local!governments!can! also! share!costs!for! public!

education,!technical!assistance,!equipment!purchases!and!legal!assistance.!

Cooperative! marketing! requires! centralized! management.! Staff! from! a! “lead”! city! or! county,! a! solid!

waste! authority! or! a! non-profit! organization! can! undertake! the! daily! administration.! State! or! federal!

grants! typically ! pro vid e ! fu nd s ! for ! est ab lis h in g! market! coops.! Membership ! fee s ,! tec hn ic a l! ass ist an c e !

consulting!charges!and!revenue!from!the!sale!of!recyclables!also!are!used!to!fund!cooperatives.!

COMMERCIAL RECYCLING APPROACHES

,?2E2;B84(S59B8182?(,6;?(

An! ordinance! should! describe! comm ercial! recycling! requirements! for! owners! and! man agers! of! all!

commercial!business!types.!The !requirement!of!the!o rdinance!should!be!to!recover!m aterials!collected!

in!th e!local!or!region al!recycling !facility.!Sh ou ld!a!b usin ess!need !to!use!an!alternative!recycling!service!

provider! to! com ply! with! the! ordinance,! they! would! have! to! meet! requirements! to! fill! out! a! simple!

recycling!che cklist!p lan !to !eith er!re co ver!50%!of!the ir!w aste !strea m !o r!to !re cov er!th e!top!two!m ate rials!

in!their!waste!stream,!whichever!is! greater.!The!checklist!required!would!need!to!identify! the!recycling!

provider!that!would!make!recycling!possible!for!the!business.!!

#6HH?52B1;()6;B9(K1<@?(D5182CB<?(,6;?(

Local! units! of! government! could! franchise! commercial! solid! waste! collection! to! one! or! more! haulers!

under! a! long-term! fra nc hise! contract.! A! req ue st! for! prop os al! process! could! b e! initiated! e arly! in! the!

implementation!process !to!sp ec ify!service !option s,!pricing,!and!use!th e !franchis e e!selectio n !proces s!to!

make!decisions!on!how!to!structure!the!fra nch ise.!!

Specifications! for! the! franchise! should! describe! all! d etails! of! how! solid! waste! services! would! be!

provided,! including! time! of! day! that! services! are! allowed! in! different! areas! of! the! loca l! jurisd ictio n ,!

container! location! req uirem ents,! special!needs,! as! well! as! procedures! for! resolving! service!issue! sand!

complaints!and !more.!An!im portant!feature!of!the!specifications!is!the !requirement!that!reductions!in!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

27!

waste! service! (frequency! or! size! of! containers)! and! thus! cost! of! service! would! be! accom modated! as!

recycling!increase s.!

CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION (C&D) RECYCLING

(

Construction!and! demolition!(C& D )!was te !acco u nts!for!an!enormous! amount!of!the!waste!stream!in!the!

United!States.!While!most!of!this!waste!accrues!to!landfills ,!estimates!ar e!that!90!percent!of!the!w a ste!

stream! is! potentially! reusable! or! recy clable.! T h e re ! are! tw o ! main! approaches! and! a! third! emerging!

practice!for!systematically!addressing!the!C&D!debris!cycle.!

1. =,.:9$)" O98;,%% *.< " S$;*)*:0[" Transporting! of! mixed! C& D! w aste! to! a! central! processing! facility!

where!high!graded!material!is!sorted!from!the!debris.!The!mixing!of!the! reusab le!materials!w ith!

other! debris! such! as! nails,! paint,! oil! or! plastic! can! limit! their! potential! to! be! recycled! due! to!

contaminatio n .!

2. c8(" K*:," /$ :,9*$ )" T,;8@,90[" Separation! of! selected! materials! at! the! job! site! followed! by!

transporting!th e!materials!directly!to!the!m arkets!for!tho se!materials.!This!approa ch !can !res ult!

in!a!larger!amount!of!material!recovered!but!is!a!less!common!practice!due!to!factors!such!as!

lack! of! experien c e! with! t his ! method,! lack! o f! on-site! space! and! the! timeline! set! for! buildin g!

completion.!

3. D.I%*:,"/$:,9*$)"O98;,%%*.<["This! emerging!method!consists!of!processing!selected!materials!for!

end!of! life! u se! at!the!job! site.!It!takes! tactics! f ro m ! the! two! main! approaches!and! deploys!the!

technology! to!the! site! thro ug h! o n-site!grinding! using! a! portab le! residential!scale! grinder.! This!

technique! is! inspired! by! the! biological! notion! that! waste! equals! food.! The! concept! of! waste!

equals!food!is!exhibited!by!natu re !every!da y !and!hu man!emulation!of!such!concept!can!enhance!

natures!abilities.!

#?8@51;(=562?<<B84(D12B;B@E(

The! centralized!facility!approach!is!the!most!common!facility!arrangement.!!Typically,!mixed!C&D!debris!

is!tip ped!at!a!central!facility,!and!the!materials!with!a!high!market!value,!such!as!large!pieces!of!sawn !

lumber,!are!removed.!! The!remaining!mixed!C&D!materials!are!then!processed!using! one! of! two! p rimary!

methods.! ! The! mechanized! size! reduction! method! uses! a! crusher,! a! dozer,! or! a! compactor.! ! T he!

materials!are!then!passed!through!a!series!of!screens,!magnets,!and!other!separation!equipment.!!The!

manual! labor! method! relies! on! human! sorters! to! pick! out! materials! and! place! them! in! specific!

containers.! ! Screens! and! magnets! may! also! be! employed! w ith! the! human! labor! method,! but! the!

materials!are!left! in!their! origina l!form!rather!than !crushed!so!that!they!can!be!easily! distinguished!and!

sorted.!!The!most!common!approach!is! a!blend!of!the! mechanized!size!reduction!and!the!human!sorter!

methods.!

A! primary! success! for! a! C&D ! recycling! operation! hinges! on! the! degree! of! contamination! of! the! C&D!

materials!by!other!types!o f!w aste!such!as!nails,!pa int,!foil,!oil!or!p la st ic .!!S ome!processing!facilities!that!

aggressively! handle! a! mixed! waste! stream! may! cause! contaminatio n ! of! th e! C&D ! materials,! th ereby!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

28!

limiting!their !pot e ntial!to!be !recycled.!Table!2!summarizes!the! methods!employed!by!central!processing !

facilities!and!also!includes!the!estimated!volume!of!material!that!is!rejected!from!the!recycling!stream!

for!each!method!

Table!2:!Sorting!Methods!Used!By!C&D!Central!Processing!Facilities!!

Approach!

Description!

Reject!volume!

Manual!separation!only!

Waste! is! tipped.! ! Large! identifiable! materials! w ith!

ready!markets!are!removed!by!hand.!!The!remaining!

material!is!land!filled.!

High!(>50%)!

Combination!Manual!and!

Mechanical!separation!(most!

common!approach)!

Waste!is!tipped!and!screened.!

Manual! labor!is! used!to! remove!the!components!on!

a!conveyor!belt.!

Medium!(25-

50%)!

Heavy!mechanical!processing!

and!separation!

Waste!is!tipped!and!processed!(often!crushe d)!and!

sent! through! a! complex! train! of! mechanical!

equipment!for!separating!the!materials.!

Low!(<25%)!

Source:!Florida!Department!of!Environmental!Protection!(FDEP),!2001!

a6Y()B@?(*1@?5B1;(,?26N?5E(

The!practice! of!sorting!and!processi ng! materials!at!the!jo b!site!can!result!in!a!higher!degree!of!material!

recovery! but! is! less! commonly! used! in! residential! C&D! practice.! To! sort! C&D! materials! onsite,!

contractors!need!to!either!arrange! for!C& D!debris!haulers!to!visit!the!site! during !th e!different!stages!of!

C&D! activity! and! waste! generation! or! set! out! different! containers! for! the! different! waste! materials.!!

Some! of! the! factors! that! have! limited! this! app ro a ch ! are! a! lack! of! expe rie n ce ! wit h! job ! sit e! material!

recovery,!a!lack!of!space!for!different!containers!on!the!job!site,!and!th e!need!fo r!rapid!completion!of!

many!C&D!projects.!Various!types!of!equipment!are!available!for!C&D!processing!and!recycling,!either!at!

a!central!processing!facility!or!at!the!job!site.!!

S8])B@?(*1@?5B1;(=562?<<B84(

The! third! approach! on-site! processing! of! materials! presupposes! to! take! tactics! fro m! the! two ! main!

approaches!and!deploy!the!technology!to!the!site!and !to !do !w ha t!makes!sense!in!terms!of!processing.!

In! the ! D.I%*:,"?9*.-*.<" 8>"T,%*-,.:*$)" =8.%:9';:*8. " P,(9*%[":+," M.-*$.$"?9*.-,9" O *)8:" co nducted! by!the!

NAHB! Research! Center! in! 1999,! concluded! that! 90%! of! the! waste! stream! is! p o t en tia lly ! recyc lab le ! or!

reusable!on-site.!

On-site!pro cessing!has!be en!evaluated! in!numerous! states! and!has!found! to!be!highly! successful! in! all! of!

the! studies! conducted! regardless! of! geographic! location.! The! likelihood! that! this! will! become! the!

dominant! method!of!processing!east!of!the!Mississippi!River!is!very!high.!The!primary!element!leading!to!

the! s ucc essfu l!deployment! of!residential!scale! o n-site!materials! processing! is! a! portabl e!residential!scale!

grinder!capable!of!handling!wood,!shingles,!drywall,!nails,!concrete,!cardboard,!and!brick.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

29!

#^U(K1<@?(*B@B41@B68(189()1;N14?(

Numerous! waste! mitigation! strategies! exist! for! C&D! waste.! Contractor! strategies,! building! code!

specifications,! and! a! technique!called! “o p timum! value! engineering”!can! all! help! to! minimize! the! C& D!

waste!stream.!Ho wever,!the!most!important!factor!is!the!policy!prospective!of!the!political!ju ris d iction!

that! operates! the! landfill.! T h e ! following ! list! offers ! examples! of! strategies! that! different! cities! and!

agencies!have!employed!to!mitiga te ! C & D !waste,!(some!of!the!strategies!may!have!been!employed!in!the!

commercial!industrial!marketplace!but!the!concept!could!be!transferred!to!the!residential!setting).!

• For! the! construction! of! the! EPA’s! Research! Triangle!Park! office! in! North! Carolina,! the! agency!

incorpora ted !w aste !sep aration!and!recovery!into!general!con trac tor!sp ec ification s.!O vera ll,!the!

project!had!an!80%!recovery!rate! for!C&D!debris.!!“A s! fa r!a s! re c yc ling ! is! co n ce rn e d ,![contractors]!

are! generally! not! used! to! it,! but! they! are! capable! of! doing! it,”! said! Chris! Lon g,! EPA ! Project!

Manager!(EPA,!2003:5).!

• Santa! Monica,! California’s! Green! Building! program! includes! requirements! for! C&D! waste!

management,! includ ing! the! follo wing:! (1)! a! r e quirement! to! recycle! C&D! waste! is! included! in!

construction!contracts;!(2)! the!reuse! of! salvaged! b uilding! and! landscape!materials!is!required;!

and!(3)!interior!building !components!are !des ig n ed !for!future!disassembly,!reuse,!and!recycling!

(EPA,!2003:6). !

• Portland,! Oregon’s! building! codes! mandate! that! all! construction! projects! over! $25,000! must!

recycle!materials!generated!at!the!job!site!(EPA,!2003:6).!

• In!Port lan d,!Oregon!and!Ch ica g o ,!Illin o is ,!h a ulers!that!charge!by!the!square!foot,! do!not!require!

roll-off!containers!and!recycle!more!than!50%!of!the!jobsite!waste!are!the!normal!service!that!

builders! can! buy.! The! haulers! time! their! pick-ups! to! coincide! with! the! different! phases! of!

construction,! so! that! the! different! materials! are! picked! up! separately.! ! S uch! cleanup! services!

have! been! effective! in! areas! that! have! high! disp osal! costs! and! established! existin g ! recyclin g !

markets!for!common!construction!waste!materials.!

• “Optimum!value!engineering,”!also!called!“efficient!framing,” !is!an !en g in e erin g !te ch n iq u e !from!

the! homebuilding! industry! that! reduces! the! amount! of! wood! used! in! the! framing ! process !

without!compromising!structural!integrity!(EPA,!2003).!

• King! County,! Washington,! (Seattle),! operates! th e! C&D ! recycling! program! and! has! two! goals:!

“First,!to!assure!that!job-site!material! is!recycled! to !the!g rea test!extent!possible.! And! second,!to!

accelerate! the! adoption! of! green! building ! practic e s,! techn olo gie s,! policie s! and ! stand a rds! in!

residential! and! comm ercial! development.”! ! The! program! is! act ive ! in ! th e ! e d u ca tio n a l! an d !

outreach! arena! and! operates! cutting! ed ge! w eb! based! tools! to! assist! contractors! in! gaining!

knowledge!and!information.! !Of!particular!note!are:!1)!A! section !with!case!studies!generated!by!

the!co ntra cto rs!themse lves,!2)!A!directory!of!recycling!businesse s,!and!3)!A!step!b y!step!guide!

on!how!to!recycle!construction!and!demolition!wast e .!!

• The!City!of!Los!A ngeles!has!formally!adop ted!a!70%!diversion!goal!for! the!year! 2020.! ! To! achieve!

that! goa l! th ey ! are! actively! engaged! in! the! community! and ! in ! the! education! and! outreach!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

30!

business.! ! One! particula r! innovation! which ! they! fee l! will! fa cilita te ! reaching ! t h eir! goal! is! t he !

requirement!that!all!new!developmen ts!or!building!expansions!must!include!sufficient!space!in!

the! building! or! on! the! project! site ! to! collec t! and ! sto re! recy c lable! materials.! ! This! ordinance!

applies! to! commercial,! mullet-family,! a n d ! re s idential! c o n st ru ctio n .! ( C ity! of! Los! A n g ele s ! Solid!

Resources!Citywide!Recycling!

• The! City! o f! San! Diego! has! formally! adopted! an! imm ediate! 50%! reduction! goal! and! has!

implemen ted! selected! demolition! permit! fee,! waste! disposal! fee! ! ! Waivers! as! a! method! to!

induce!businesses!to! utilize! “ ac ce p ta ble!recycling!facilities!for!recycling!concrete!and! bricks!(City!

of!San!Diego!Manager’s!Report).!

The! US! EPA! recommends! that,! when! contractor! bids! are! initially! solicited,! that! the ! contractors!

submitting ! a! bid ! also! be! required! to! submit ! a! pla n ! for! redu cing,! reusing,! or! recycling! the! wastes!

generated!onsite.!!Contractors!may!be!offered!the!incentive!of!allowing!them!to!ke ep !th e! rev en ue s!fro m !

recycling!and!savin gs!from!avoided!landfill!costs!due!to!waste!reduction.!!Althoug h !it!ca n !be!difficult!to!

find! recycling! or! reuse! markets! for! some! materials,! one! resource! that! contractors! can! consult! is! the!

Construction!M aterials!Recycling!Association!(CMRA),!which!is!an!associat io n !of!C& D!debris!generat o rs ,!

haulers,!processo rs,! recyclers,!and!re-manufacturers.!!The! contractor!p lan!should! include! a!discussion!of!

the!following!item s!(EP A,!20 03:7 ):!

• Carefully!estimate!the!number!of!materials!that!will!be!needed;!

• Identify!markets!for!recyclable!materials;!and!

• Establish! recycling! systems! onsite! and! make! sure! that! both! contractors! and! subcontractors!

receive!instruction s!on!sorting!their!own!waste.!

Deconstruction,!rather!than!demolition,!can!also!maxim ize!the!salvage!of!materials!for!reuse!or!recycling!

by!disassembling!buildings!and! removing! materials!in!stages.!!Items!such! as!flooring,!siding,! windows,!

doors,!bricks,!plum bing!fixtures,!ceiling!tiles,!a nd! structural!components!can! be!salvaged.!!Apart!from!

increased! C&D! material! salvage,! deconstruction! often! brings! ben efits! su ch ! as! job ! crea tion .!!

Deconstruction! requires! more! time! and! manual! labor! than! demolition,! and! in! some! areas!

deconstruction!is!used!to!train!at-risk!youth!and!welfare-to-work!program!participants!(EPA,!2003).!

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

31!

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THE RECYCLING PROCESS IN MICHIGAN

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MSW! in! Michigan! to! be! divided! into! three! primary! streams:! dispo sal,! rec ycling ,! an d! co m p os t,! as!

described!below:!

Disposed! Material:! Disposed! material! from! M ichigan! is! sent! to! a! Michigan! landfill,! a! Michigan!

incinerat o r,!or!s h ip pe d !o u t!o f!st at e.!The!first!two!categories!are!quantified!through!th e!Department!of!

Environmental!Quality’s!(DEQ)!repo rts!of!solid!waste!land filled!in!Mich iga n!as!well!as!public!reports!on!

the!quantity!of!solid!wa ste!disp os ed!at!M ich igan !incinera tors .!Mich igan !is!believed !to!be!a!net!im po rter!

of! solid! waste! so! the! third! category! is! re lativ e ly! sm all.! In! determ in in g! the! total! quan tity ! of! dispose d !

material,!incinerator!ash!was!excluded!from!the!total!landfilled!volume,!as!this!waste!was!accounted!for!

pre-incinerat io n !via !th e !d at a!fr o m !Michigan!incin e ra to rs .!!

Recycled!Material:!Recycled!material!from !M ich igan !is!proce ssed !in!three !wa ys:!it!may !be!so rted !at!a!

Michigan! MRF,! sorted! at! an! out-of-state! MRF,! or! sold! to! brok ers! and/o r! end ! users! w ithout! furthe r!

sorting.!The!study!me asured! material!collected!by!comm un ities,!counties,!and!take- back!progra m s,! as!

well!as!material!sorted!at!Michigan!MRFs!through!a!survey.!These!included!single,!dual!and!multi-stream!

MRFs! and! operations! that! are! baling! (bundling! and! preparing! them! for! shipping)! source! separated!

materials.!!

Composted!Material:!Composted! material!from !Michigan !is! p roce sse d!into!finished!mulch!and! co m po st!

either! at! Michigan! compost! facilities! or! ou t-of-state! compost! facilities.! Only! large! scale! comm ercial!

composters!were! considered !for! M SW !diversion;! onsite,!backyard! com posting!was!not! part!o f!the!study!

as!it!is!excluded!from!the!EPA’s!definition!of!MSW.!

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Material!diverted!from!disposal! moves!through!a!number! of!stages! before!being!reprocessed!into!new!

items.! The!MRI!study! conside re d ! four!primary!stages,!while!noting!intermediate!steps!between!them.!

These!stages!of!the!diversion!process!are:!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

32!

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Program! performance! can! be! measured! by! a! diverse! set! of! factors,! including! avera ge! household!

diversio n ,!ove rall!efficiency,!cost-effec tiv eness,!and!com munity!benefit,!to !name!a!few.!Factors!affecting!

participation!ra tes!include! program!co nvenience,!limitations! on ! was te ! set!out,!education,! and! sto rage!

capacity.! The! following! section! describes ! these! factors,! best! practices! on! con tracting,! and! education!

programs,!as!well!as!highlights!program!design.!

RECOMMENDED MEASURES OF SUCCESS

Based!on!our!review!of!best!practices,!PSC!and!RRS!worked!with!the!project!advisory!team!to!identify!

elements!of!successful!programs!an d!co rrespond ing!m etrics,!or!me asures,!for!evaluating!communities’!

strengths! in! recycling! perform ance.! ! Studies! con sistently! show! that! any! successful! recycling! program!

must! focus! on ! high-quality! service! tha t! best! m a tch es! the! c om m u nity’s! preferenc es,! aspiration s,! and!

circumstances.! ! The! seven! elements! of! successful! programs! identified! by! PSC,! RRS! and! the! advisory!

group!are :!

1. Recycling!education!programs!

2. Access!to!recycling!options!

3. Supporting!local!policies!!

4. Consistent!and!sufficient!funding!!

5. Engagement!and!participation!among!households!and!businesses!

6. Local!capacity!and!leadership!

7. Tracking!and!measurement!systems!!

GENERATORS

•  Counties

•  Municipalities

•  Townships

•  Cities

COLLECTORS

•  Municipal Haulers

•  Private Haulers

PROCESSORS &

BROKERS

•  MRFS

•  Commodity Brokers

END USERS /

REPROCESSORS

•  Plastics Reprocessors

•  Manufacturers

•  Paper Mills/Manufacturers

•  Metal Reprocessors

•  Glass Benification

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

33!

The! sections! below! describe! the! elements! of! successful! recycling! p rograms! and! the! corresponding!

metrics!of!success.!!

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Educating!the!public!about!the!impo rt a nc e ! of!recycling,!how!and!where!to!recycle,!and!wh at!benefits!

the!comm un ity!rece ives!by!recycling!is!critical!for!increasing!participation!and!efficacy.!!At!a!min imum,!

successful!recycling!programs!will!have!a n!education!program ,!inc lu d ing!a!website!w ith!information!on!

recycling! option s! and ! conta ct! information! (i.e.,! w h at! m ate rials! are! acce pte d,! wh ere ! and ! wh en ! to!

recycle)! and! direct,! quarterly! distribution! of! recycling! information! to! consumers,! newspapers,! an d / o r!

other!media!outlets.!!!

Ideally,!com munities!will!have!a!ded ica te d !recyc lin g !edu c at io n !budget,!equal!to!about!$2!to!$2.50!per!

household,!which!is !used !for!more!exten s ive !outre a ch !delive ry !(e.g.,!addition a l!mat er ials !to!customers,!

school!programming,!e ducation!e ve nts,!and!facility!tours).!

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Access!to!recycling!collection!and/or!drop!off!sites!is!one!of! the!single!biggest! determinants!of!recycling!

participation! and! volume! collected.! The! best! recycling! programs! will! provide! the! same! level! of!

residential! and! business! services! for! recycling! that! is! available! for! waste! collection.! ! At! a! minimum,!

successful!programs!should!provide!the!following !services!based!on!com m unity!type:

• In! urban! and! subu rb a n ! areas ! (com munities! over! 7,500! peop le

),! curbside! recycling! is! o ffered!

with!at!least!twice-per-month!collection,!using!la rg e !roll-off!carts,!and! collecting!at! least! fo ur!(4)!

materials!and!organics.!

• In!rural!areas,!recyclin g!dro p -off! centers!are!available!and!located!either:!!1)!within!six!m iles!of!

every! household;! 2)! within! a! 15! minute! drive! on! m ajor! travel! routes! in! the! com munity! (as!

defined! in! regional! Council! of! Governments’! transportation! im p ro ve ment! plans);! or! 3)! at!

location s!that!are!commonly!u se d ,!regu la r!dest in a t io n s !in!the!community!(e.g.,!groce ry!stores).!!!

To! be! most! successful,! drop! off! cen ters ! must! collect! at! least! five ! (5)! materials,! and! provide!

public!access!on!at!least!four!days!per!week!(for!a!total!of!20!hours!of!access!time).!!!

• In!all!areas,!com m ercial!and/or!multi-family!recycling!is!offered!(either!curb sid e!or!as!dro p -off),!

and!a! convenience! center! is! available!in! the!community!for!d rop! off! of! bulky! and!hard!to!recycle!

items!(e .g.,!a p p lian c es ,!h o us e h old !h a za rd o u s!materials).!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

34!

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Policies!w hich!help!establish!the!market!for!recycled! goods!and!ensure!convenient!access! are!critical!to!

helping! increase! participation! in! recycling! efforts.! ! The! most! successful! communities! in! the! U.S.! and!

elsewhere!have!policies!that,!at!a!minimum :!!

• Ensure!access!to!recycling!as!described!above!!

• Include !“pa y-as-you-throw”!pricing!which!includes!a!participant!cost!for!waste!disposal!and!free!

recycling!

• Ban!illegal!dumping!or!burning!of!recyclable!materials!

• Ban!scavenging!of!recycling!and!waste!containers!

• Include !a n !en f o rc ement!mech a n ism!for!the!above!policies!

To! increase! program! success,! communities! should! adopt!one! o r! m ore! add itional! supporting! recycling!

policies!such!as!landfill!bans,!hauler!licensing!requirements,!or!material!flow!control!policies.!

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To! ensure! high-functionin g ! service s,! com munities! must! find! way s! to! consis te n tly ! and! fairly! fund !

recycling!efforts.!!At!a!minimum,!successful!communities!ensure!there!is!no!economic!disincentive!for!

household!and!business!recycling!(i.e.,!extra!charge!for!recycling!but!free!waste!pick!up).However,!the!

most! successful! programs! will! have! dedicated! funding! for! recycling! in! their! communities! based! on! a!

range! of! financ ing! options! such! as! reve nu e! sharing! with! the! m ate rial! processo rs,! signing! franch ise !

agreements,!!passing!a!waste!and!recycling!millage,!charging! participant!fees!(for!wa ste!an d! recycling!

combined),!using!general!fund,!and!seeking!grants.!

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Participation! rates! can! be! challenging! to! track! because! not! every! household! or! business! p u ts! out!

recycling! e ac h!week.! !Howeve r,!understanding !the!gen era l!level!of!business!and!h ou seh o ld!participation!

is! import an t ! to! o n go in g ! pro g ra m! im p ro v ements! and! eva lu a tin g! o p tio n s! fo r! p ro gr am! eff icie n cy .! In!

addition,! greater! participation! am ong! residents! and! busin esse s! can! be! a! strong! social! c ue ,! or! even!

pressure,!to!help!spread!the!word!about!recycling!in!communities.!

Successful!communities!will!have!participation!rates! o f!at!least!65!p ercent!of!resid en t ial!customers!and!

25!percent!of!commercial!customers!(if!offered). !

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To!ensure!comm unity!buy-in!and !p a rtic ip at io n!fo r!re c yc lin g,!c ommunity!sta ff!a n d !ele ct ed !le a de rs !must!

be! supportive! and! lead! by! example.

( At! a! minimum,! successful! com m unities! will! have! a! dedicated!

recycling!liaison!w hose! job!it!is! to!oversee! recycling!outreach!and! efforts!for!th e! com m u nity ,! and ! will!

lead!by !e xa mple!(i.e.,!requ ire !re c yc lin g! at !municipal!fac ilitie s,! p u rch a se ! re cy cle d !c o nt e nt !materials!wh e re !

feasible,!and!pro vid e!rec ycling !in!pu blic!sp a ces ).!!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

35!

The!most!successful!commu nities!will!have!a!dedicated!recycling!coordinator!whose!job!is!to!promote!

recycling,! develop! and! imp lem e nt! recycling ! service! options ,! and! track! progress/b en chmark! the!

community’s! recycling! efforts.! ! Successful! commun ities! will! also! have ! stron g ! recy clin g ! lead e rs h ip,!

including ! the! suppo rt! of! th e ! munic ip a l! mana g er! and/ o r! elected ! officials,! and! partner sh ip ! with! local!

businesses!and!related!local!manufacturing!companies.!

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Tracking!and! measuring!progress!is!essential!for!continually!improving! recycling!program s.!! Successful!

communities! will! track! and! benchmark! their! recycling! performance,! including! participation! rates,!

volume! of! recycled! m aterials,! number! and! type! of! materials! collected,! customer! satisfaction ,! an d !

recycling!costs !an d !rev en ue s.!!For!added!progress,!com m u nities !w ill!an n ua lly!rep o rt!o n!these!meas ure s!

in!an!eas y-to-read!format!an d !wid ely!sh are !the!res ults!w ith!th eir!community.!

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS: THE EXPERIENCES OF FOUR MICHIGAN COMMUNITIES

In! or d er ! to! h e lp ! com m unities! in! Mich iga n ! bette r! und er st and! how ! these ! eleme n ts ! can! be! d e p lo y ed!

effectively,! we! used! the! m etrics! to! evaluate! the! success! of! four! high-performing! (based! on! overall!

recycling!rates)!comm un ities.!!RRS!provided!PSC!with!a!list!of!the!top!twelve!recycling!comm u nities!in!

Michigan! (based! on! their! recent! recycling! measurement! project),! and! PSC! selected! four! to! highlight!

here—represe ntin g!a!ran ge !of!geo grap h ies,!sizes,!an d!typ es!o f!gove rnment!(i.e.,!city!versus!County):!!!

1. Benzie!County!

2. City!of!Farmington!Hills!

3. Emmet!County!

4. City!of!Grand!Rapids!

We!researched!each!of!the! communities’!recycling!programs!and!conducted!interviews!with!community!

recycling! coord inato rs! in! ord er! to! un de rstan d ! how ! ea ch! co m m u nity ! wa s! perfo rm ing ! on! the ! seve n!

metrics!for!successful!recycling!programs.!!!

The! following! pages! highlight! the! experience! of! four! communities! in! establishing! and! maintaining! a!

successful! recycling! pro gram .! Each! of! these! com m un ities! has! made! significant! pro gress! in! expanding!

recycling—both!participation!and!overall!volume!collected—over!the!last!decade!or!more.!!They!have!all!

met! or! exceeded! most! of! the! measures! of! successful! recycling! programs! described! in! the! previous!

section!as!well.!!Th eir!experiences!provide!examples!that!other!comm un ities!can!learn!from!and !adop t!

in!order!to !a d va n c e!t he ir!o wn!program s.!! !

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Benzie!County!is!a! community!of!about! 17,000!people,!located!along!Lake!Michigan!in! the!northwest!

part!of!the! state.!! The!largely! rural!County! is! 860! square!m iles!and! has!an!annual! Cou nty-wide!budget!of!

just!over!$ 4 0 !million.!!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

36!

The!Cou nty! has!a!robust!recycling!program!and !meets!or! exceeds!several!of!the!identified!elements!and!

measures!of!successful!recycling!programs.!

RECYCLING!EDUCATION!

Benzie!County!has!an!active!recycling!ed u ca tio n !

effort.! The! County’s! website! provides!

substantial! information! on! their! recycling!

efforts,!and!provides!residents!with!information!

on!what!materials!can!be!recycled,!where!they!can!bring!their!recycling,!frequently!asked!questions,!and!

tips!for!increasing!their!household!and!business!recycling.!!!

In!ad d it io n ,!Benzie!Coun ty !has!a!ded ic at ed!recycling !coord in at o r,!Marlen e !Woo d s ,!who!is!ver y!active!in!

the!co m m un ity!and!p as sion ate!about!the!pro gram.!She!p ro vides !substantial!education!and!o utre ach !to!

her! community! on! recycling! opportunities.! ! For! example,! she! organizes! field! trips! for! schools! to! the!

American!W aste!facilities,!visits! schools! to!do!on-site!recycling!programs,!hosts!story!hours!for!children,!

provides!classes!on!composting,!and!makes!presentations!at!comm un ity!ev ents!and!m eetings!(such!as!

the!Rotary!C lub ).!!In!a dd ition,!sh e!s pe nd s!a! lot!o f!time !in!th e! field!a t!dro p-off!centers!educating!residents!

about!the!recycling!program.!!!

These!efforts!have!h elped!increase!awareness!of!recycling!opportunities!an d!crea ted !a!stron g!eth ic!for!

recycling!in!the!community.!!!

ACCESS!TO!RECYCLING!OPTIONS!

Given! its! rural! geography,! Benzie! County! does! not! offer! curbside! pickup! of! recycling.! ! They! operate!

seven! recycling! drop-off! centers! conveniently! located! throughout! the! community! in! highly! accessible!

location s! s u ch ! a s !sc h o o ls! a n d !s ho p p in g !ce n te rs .!!T h e!d ro p -off!centers!are!open!24!hours!a!day,!seven!

days!a!week.!!The!centers!are!dual!stream,!with!one!roll!off!cart!that!accepts!a!single!mix!of!clean! tin !a n d !

aluminum! containers;! all! numbers! of! plastic,! inc lu d ing ! p la st ic! b a gs ;! paper! and! flat! boxes,! includin g !

magazines!and!jun k! m a il;!aseptic!packaging;!#6!polystyrene!packaging;!shred ded!an d!m ixed!pape r;!an d !a !

separate!bin!for!glass.!!!

Benzie!County!also!provides!r ecycling! con tainers! to! any!comm unity!event! or! festival!in!the!area!in!o rd e r!

to!encourage !everyo ne !in!attend an ce!to!recy cle!mo re.!Event!organizers!can!request! sm all!carts!or!a!roll!

off!bin!for!use!at!these!events,!and!the!cCounty’s!contractor!will!drop!off!the!bins!and !p ick!th em !u p! after!

the!event!to!tran spo rt!it!to!theC ou n ty!!wa ste!an d!re cycling !trans fer!station .!

In! the! past ,! Ben z ie ! Co u n t y’s ! recy cling!pro g ra m!has! b ee n ! lim ite d ! to ! res id e n tia l! pa rtic ip a tio n .! ! Re ce n tly !

however,! the! County! adopted! a! Green! Biz! permit! program! that! allows ! busines ses! to! pay! a! yearly!

donation!of!$80,!which!allows!them!to!bring!their!recycling!to!any!of!the!drop-off!centers.!!Over!forty!

businesses! participate,! and! several! hire! a! local! organization! called! Centra! Wellness! Network,! which!

creates!new! job!opportunities!by!em ploying! adu lts!w ith! special! need s,!to!transport!their!recycling!to! the!

drop-off!centers.!!.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

37!

SUPPORTING!LOCAL!POLICIES:!

Benzie! County! has! interlocal! agreements! with! all! of! the! communities! in! their! County! to! provide!

recycling.! ! It! is! an! opt-in! prog ram,! b u t ! all! of! th e !

townships! w ithin! the ! Cou nty ! have! been! participating!

since! 2 006.! ! Th ese! policies! ensure! access! to! recycling!

facilities!for!all!residents!o f!the!C ou nty .!!!

In! addition,! the! cCou n t y! has! adop t ed! a ! uniqu e ! policy !

for! s upporting! recycling! of! cardboard! in! partnership!

with! Packaging! Corporation! of! America.! ! Schools! and!

other!organizations!can!host! roll-off!carts!for! cardboard!recycling,!w hich! is!ultimately!recycled!by! the!

County,!and!they!get!$50!for!every!ton!of!cardboard!they!rec ycle.!!Th is!pro gram !sign ifican tly!incre ase s!

the!amou nt!of!ca rdb o ard !recycle d!an d!is!a!gre at!fun dra iser!for!sch o ols.!!

The! city!does! not!currently! have!other! recycling-related!po licies,!such!as!requ ired !recycling !at!mun icipa l!

facilities,!fines!or!other!enforcement!tools,!or!bans!on!scavenging!of!recycling!and!waste!containers,!in!

place.! ! However,! as! recycling! coordinator,! M s.! Woods! has! worked! with! the! Michigan! Department! of!

Natural! Resources! to! identify!illegal! waste! dumping! sites! and! organized! efforts! to! help! pull! tires! and!

other!recyclables!from!those!sites.!

CONSISTENT!FUNDING!

Benzie! County’s! recycling! program! operates! under! Public! Act! (PA)! 69,! which! allows! communities! to!

charge! households! an! annual! fee! to! fund! re side ntia l! waste! and! recycling! programs.! ! Residents! pay!

$22/year!for!recycling!at!drop-off!centers,!but! contract! with!priva te! waste! c om p an ies! to!pick! u p !th eir!

garbage!from!their!hom es.!!W aste!haulers!charge!those!residents!by!the!bag,!so!there!is!incentive!for!

people!to!utilize!the!recycling!centers!in!order!to!reduce!their!household!waste!collection!costs.!!!!

The!cCounty! contracts! w ith!Am erican!Waste! to! p ick! up! the! recycling! from ! the! seven! drop ! off! centers!

and!haul!it!to!a!central!transfer!station.!!Because! the! amount!of!recycling!varies!by!season,!Am erican!

Waste! only! picks! up! the! roll-off! carts! at! drop-off! centers! when! they! are! full! (i.e.,! not! on! a! regular!

schedule),!which! h elps!the!County!save!money.!!T he!contract!is! structu red!as!a! “no t!to!exceed”!amount!

in!order!to!ac co mmodate!th at !varia bility!an d !en su re !th at !the !Co u n ty !is!on ly!pa y ing !fo r!the !amount!of!

recycling!service !it!rece ives .!Th e!C ou nty !rec en tly!sign ed !a!five-year!contract!with!American!Waste,!which!

is! lo n g e r-term!than ! previou sly! don e.! ! It! allowed! them ! to! negotia te! a! better! rate! and! ask! more! of!the!

company!than!they!could!get!in!a!single-year!contract.!!!

American!Waste!offers!a!revenue!sharing!p rogram ,!which!provides!a!rebate!of!5%!to!the!County!on!all!

the!p ap er!and !cardbo ard !recycled,!as!determ ine d!by!the!pulp!and!paper!industry,!on!a!mo nthly!basis.!

This!is!the!only!non-fee!revenue !the!p rog ram!receives.!!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

38!

The! funding! the! County! receives!from! fees! and! revenue! sharing! is! used! to! fund! the! drop-off!centers,!

collection!of!those!m aterials!by!Am erican!Waste,!and!edu cation!and!outreach!efforts !by!their!re cyc ling!

coordinator.!

ENGAGEMENT!AND!PARTICIPATION!OF!HOUSEHOLDS!AND!BUSINESSES!!

Benzie! County! has! not! done! any! formal! surveys! to! determine! what! percentage! of! their! households!

participate!in!the!recycling!program.!!How ever,!the!recycling!coordinator!estim at es !tha t!it!cou ld !be!as !

much! as! 80! percent! of! their! residents! based! on! the! amount! of! material! collected! and! her! informal!

monitoring!at!drop-off!centers.!

LOCAL!CAPACITY!AND!LEADERSHIP!

As! described! in! the! education! section,! Benzie! County! has! a! dedicated!recycling! coordinator,! M arlene!

Woods,!who!is!very! engaged!with! the! community!and!oversees!the!management!and!tracking! of!the!

recycling! program.! ! She! work s! with ! Am erica n! W as te! to! dete rm ine ! wh en ! recyclin g! carts! nee d! to! be !

picked!up!from!drop!off!centers,!helps!co ord ina te!re qu es ts!fo r!sp ecia l!eve nt! rec ycling! bin s,!de ve lops !an d!

reports! on! the ! Co u nty’s! re cyclin g! b ud get! a nd ! co ntra ct,! an d! en su res! th at! th e! C ou nty ’s! we bs ite! is!

providing!accurate!recycling!information.!!!

Benzie! County! has! also! been! proactive! in! pursuin g! par tn e rsh ip ! opp o rt u nit ies ! to! exp an d ! recy clin g !!

services! in! th e! County.! ! As! discussed ,! they! have! helped! local! businesses! co nne ct! with! a! nonprofit!

organization,! Centra! W ellness,! to! haul! comm ercial! recycling! to! drop-off! centers.! The! County! also!

partnered! with! the! National! Park!Service! (NPS)! to! place! some! of! the! County’s! old! roll-off! bins,!which!

they!w ere ! n o ! lon ge r! u sing,!!at!NP S!campground s,! to ! e nc ou rage ! re cyc ling! b y!campers.! ! Th e!County!le ase s!

the! b ins! to! the! NPS! for! $1,! and ! the! NPS! hauls! the ! bins! to! the! American! Waste! Central! Lake! transfer!

facility!when!the y!are !full.!!!!

Benzie!County!does!not! have! a! “buy! recycled”!policy!for!municipal!purchases,!and!recycling!at!municipal!

facilities! is! n ot! required,! but! the! recycling! co ord in ato r! is! looking! at! how! to! improve! their! lead-by-

example!efforts.!

TRACKING!AND!MEASUREMENT!SYSTEMS!

Benzie!County’s! recyclin g! co o rdin ato r! track s! the ! C ou nty’s! monthly! and! an nu al! re cyclin g! p erfo rm an ce ,!

including ! t o ta l! vo lu me! a n d ! to n s ! o f! re cy cle d ! material! collecte d ! a t! t h e! d ro p-off! centers,! amount! of!

materials!collected!at!special!events!and!festivals,!and!costs.!!The!County!recently!began!partnering!with!

Networks! Northwest! to! use! Re-TRAC! Connect,! an! online! waste! diversion! measurement! and! tracking!

system.!The!recycling!coordinator!h opes!to!use! this!data!to!make!information!on!the!cCounty’s!recycling!

performance!more!widely!and!easily!available!to!stakeholders!and!decision!makers!in!the!County.!!!

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

39!

D15HB84@68(AB;;<(

Farmington! Hills! is! a! com munity! of! about! 80,000! people! in! southeast! Michigan.! ! ! The! city! is! largely!

urban/suburban! in! nature! and! is! an! established! business! and! residential! center! within! the! greater!

Detroit!region.!

The! city! is! part! of! the! Resou rce! Recovery! and! Recycling! Authority! of! Southwest! O akland! County!

(RRRASO C ),! “an! intergovernmental,! municipal! solid! waste!

authority! created! in! 1989! by! the! member! communities! of!

Farmington,!Farmington!Hills,!Novi,!South!Lyon,!Southfield,!

Walled! Lake,! and! Wixom,”! which! provides! waste! and!

recycling! collection! and! processing! and! program !

management! (RRRASOC,! n.d.).! ! RRRASOC! owns! a! material!

recovery! facility! (MRF )! in! South field ,! which! is! operated! by!

ReCommunity! Recycling! through! a! public! private!

partnership.!! ! RRRASOC! also!has! a! large!drop-off!center!in!

Novi.! ! As! part! of! this! partnership,! the! city! has! a! strong!

recycling! program ! which ! meets ! or! exceeds! several! of! the!

identified !e lements!and!measures!of!s uc c es sfu l!p ro g ra ms.!

RECYCLING!EDUCATION!

RRRASOC! provides! the! majority! of! Farmington! Hills’! recycling! education! to! residents! and! businesses.!!

Partnering!with !an!organization!called!Iris!Waste!Div ersio n!Specialists,!RRRAS O C!develo ps!and!provides !

outreach!materials!to!customers!on!what!types!of!m aterials!can!be!recycled!and!!how,!when,!and!where!

to! recyc le! in! their! commu nity.! ! Thes e! materials! are! provided! electronically! through! the! website! ,!

electronic!newsletters,!and!through!a!direct!mail!piece!to!customers!every!year.!!In!addition,!RRRASO C!

provides! recycling! tips! and! information! on! recycling! (including! special! events)! throu gh ! its! Fac eb oo k!

page.!!!

The! City!of! Farmington!Hills!also!maintains! a!recycling!website!on! its!main! m unicipal! p age.!! The!website!

provides! information! on! curbside! and! drop-off! recycling! options! as! well! as! special! event! recycling!

opportunities!(e.g.,!househo ld !h a z a rd o us!waste!ev e n ts ).!

Finally,! RRRASOC! provides! o n-site! tours! an d! recycling! edu cation! at! its! MRF! in! Southfield,

!and! makes!

presentations!to! schools,!community! groups,!and! other!organizations!in! all!of!its!mem ber!communities,!

including !F a rmington!Hills.!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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6I?8?9(B8(<I5B84(J[/Q.(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

40!

(

ACCESS!TO!RECYCLING!OPTIONS!

Through! a! contract! procured! by! RRRA SOC,! the! City! contracts! with! W aste! Management! to! collect!

materials! curbside! from! all!single-family! h ou se ho lds ! and! small! m u lti-fa m ily! properties! (less! than! four!

units)!on!a!w eekly!basis,! including!single-stream!recycling,!yard!waste,!garbage,!and!b ulky!item !pick!u p.!!

Currently,! the! program!provides!the! service!for! 23,328!households!in! Farmington!H ills.!!In! 2012,!the! City!

and! RRRASOC! began! using! roll-off! carts!for! the! collection!of! cu rbside! recyclable! m aterials! in! order! to!

increase !th e !vo lu me!and!level!o f!p ar ticip a tio n .!! !

Materials!collected!through!the!curbside!recycling!program!include:!

• Plastics:!#1,!#2,!#4,!#5,!#6!(no!Styrofoam),!and!#7!,!as!well!as!bulky!#2!plastics!(e.g.,!cat!litter!

boxes)!

• Newspaper,!magazines,!and!catalogues!

• Junk!mail,!office!p ap er,!an d!ph o ne bo ok s !

• Cardboard!and!boxboard!

• Paper!drink!cartons!

• Glass!(all!colors)!

• Household!metals!

• Yard!waste!from!early!spring!through!late!fall!using!yard!waste!bags!and!stickers!

• Bulk!items!(e.g.,!refrigerators)!!

Commercial! recycling! is! fairly! limited! in! Farmington! Hills.! RRRASOC! has! two! drop-off! centers,! one! in!

Southfield!and! one!in! Novi,!w hich! are!available!to! residents!and! businesses!throughout! the!RR RASOC!

service!area.!!

Farmington! Hills! com p o st s! residen tia l! yard! waste! (as! well! as! oth e r! organic ! materia l! from! munic ip al!

sources)!and! m akes! th e! com po st! available! to! residents! free! o f! charge,! from ! daw n! to ! dusk ,!b etwee n! M ay!

and!September!at!its!soccer!complex.!!!

Finally,! the! city! and! RRRASO C! provide! special! recycling! events,! such! as! household! hazardous! waste!

recycling!events!and! sen ior!citizen!docume nt!shredding !at! th e!Senior!Center,!which!help! resid en ts!more!

easily!recycle!these!materials.!

SUPPORTING!LOCAL!POLICIES!

The!City!of!Farmington!Hills’!C ode !of!O rdinan ces,!Chapter!14,!ad dresses!waste!and!recycling!in!the!city!

and!helps!ensure!a!robust!and!effective!recycling!program.!!Specifically,!the!ordinance:!

• Defines!garbage,!recycling,!yard!waste,!and!other!related!waste!management!and!recycling!

terms!

• Bans!the!scavenging!of!waste!and!recycling!containers!in!the!city!

• Requires!the!licensing!of!anyone!collecting,!transporting,!or!disposing!of!solid!waste!

• Mandates!separation!of!recycling!into!separate!containers!and!placement!of!approved!

containers!at!the!curb!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

41!

• Mandates!the!disposal!of!yard!waste!on!site!in!a!manner!that!does!not!cause!a!nuisance!or!

disposal!through!the!city’s!yard!waste!collection!system!

• Authorizes!city!employees!or!representatives!to!enforce,!including!the!issuance!of!citations,!the!

recycling!ordinance!requirements!(City!of!Farmington!Hills!2015)!

These! policies! help! manage! waste! disposal,! control! flow! of! materials,! and! ensure! that! the! city’s!

participation!in!RRRASOC!is!not!undermined.!

CONSISTENT!FUNDING!!

(

Farmington!Hills!spends!about!$3.6!million!a!year!on!waste!

and! recycling,! including! collection! an d! processing! of!

residential!recyclin g,!wa ste!co llectio n!fro m !pa rks!an d!o the r!

places,! household! hazardous! w aste! recycling,! and!

contribution! to! RRRA SOC ! to! help! cover! administration,!

programming,! and! education! costs! (which! is! $99,675).!!

These!costs!are!largely! paid!through!a!refuse!collection!and!

disposal!dedicated!millage!and!recycling!user!fees.!

RRRASOC! operates! the! material! recov er y! fa cilit y ,! p ro v ides!

outreach! and! education,! and! negotiates! a! contract! for!

recycling! and! w aste ! collectio n! on ! be ha lf! of! its! partners,!

including ! Farm in gt o n ! Hills! (currently! with! Waste!

Management).!!!

The! collection! costs! for! the! city! in! 2014! were! just! over!

$500,000!total—or!$21.97!per!household.!!During! that!year,!

532.74!pounds!was!recycled!per!household,!resulting!in!a!total!collection!cost!of!$82.47!a!ton.!Under!

their! ag reement! with! ReCo m m u nity! Recycling! (an! organization! which! processes! recycled! materials),!

RRRASOC!communities!also!get!revenue!sharing! based!on!the!value!of!the!materials.! !In!2014,!revenue!

sharing!was!$11.03/ton,!bringing!the!net!collection!cost!for!recycling!down!to!$71.44!per!ton.!

ENGAGEMENT!AND!PARTICIPATION!OF!HOUSEHOLDS!AND!BUSINESSES!!

Neither! Farmington! Hills! nor! RRRASOC! do! formal! surveys! to! determine! the! level! of! household! and!

business!participation!in!the!city.!!Waste!Management!tracks!set!out!rates!(the!num ber!of!households!

putting! out! their! cart! each! week).! ! On! average,! approximately! 70! percent! of! households! participate,!

which!is!above!the!metric!of!at!lea st ! 6 5 ! p er ce n t! o f! h o u s eh o ld s ! p art icip a tin g ! fo r!recycling!co mmunities! t o !

be!considered!successful.!

LOCAL!CAPACITY!AND!LEADERSHIP!

The! City! of! Farmington! Hills! has! shown! strong! leadership! on! recycling! and! environmental! issues! in!

general.!! RRRAS OC! pro vide s! d ed icate d! re cyc ling! c oo rdin atio n! on!their! b eh alf,! bu t! th e! c ity! w o rks! w ith !

In 2012, Farmington Hills switched to

the use of single-stream roll-off carts.

The contract for recycling and waste

collection with Waste Management

(WM) included a provision that WM

provide and maintain roll-off carts at

no cost to the city. The contract also

specified that WM switch from diesel

to cleaner burning compressed natural

gas trucks. Since switching to roll off

carts, total tons per household

increased by 62% and the collection

cost dropped by almost $55 per ton

(Csapo 2015).

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

42!

them!to!do!joint!ou trea ch.!!The!city!p rom o tes!recycling!on!their!website,!p rov ides !info rm atio n!on!what!

materials!can!be!recycled,!and!refers!people!to!RRRASCOC!for!further!information.!!!

In!additio n ,!the !city!lea d s!on !ot h e r!en vir o n m e n t al!init iat ive s ,!inclu d in g !rec yc lin g!at!m u n ic ip a l!bu ild in g s!

and!green!building!policies.!! The!city!made! upgrades!to!City!H all! in! 2011,! and ! in!the!process! the!building!

was!rated!as!“gold”!under!the!Leadership!in!Energy!and!Environmental!Design!(LEED)!rating!system.!!The!

upgrades! included!the! addition! of!solar!panels!on!city!hall!that!meet!most!of! the!building’s!non-heating!

and!cooling!electrical!needs!(City!of!Farmington!Hills,!n.d.).!

TRACKING!AND!MEASUREMENT!SYSTEMS!!

RRRASOC!provides!all!of!the!recycling!tracking!and!measurement!for!the!City!of!Farmington!Hills!based!

on!collection!data!provided!by!WM,!material!collected!at!events,!and!processing!information!from!the!

MRF.! ! RRRASOC! uses! a! cloud-based! system,! ReTrac! Connect,! to! mana ge! and! report! data.! Each! year,!

RRRASOC!provides!the!city!with!a!“dashboard”!of!recycling!metrics!which!RRRASOC!and!the!city!use!to!

track! progress ! on ! inc reas ing! a nd ! im p rovin g! re cycling ! pe rformance! over! time .! ! Ta ble! three! show s!

Farmington!Hills’!recycling!dashboard!for!2014.!

Table!3.!!Farmington!Hills!Solid!Waste!and!Recycling!Dashboard,!2014!

Material!Utilization!

Total!Solid!Waste!(tons)!!!

28,318.15!

Materials!Recycled!(tons)!!!

5,856.04!

Household!Hazardous!Waste!(tons)!!!

53.8!

Yard!Waste!(tons)!!

6,407.08!

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Utilization!Rate!(i.e.!Total!Recy clin g !R a te )!

43.50%!

Costs!

Rubbish!and!Recycling!Expenditures!(per!capita)!

45.32!

Regional!Median!for!Southeast!Michigan* !

$69.33!!

Environmental!Impact!

Energy!Saved!(million!Btu)!!

76,904!

Energy!Saved!(annual!household!equivalents)!!

761!

Reduced!Airborne!Pollution!Emissions!(tons)!!

8,632!

Number!of!Trees!Saved!!

57,582!

*!Based!on!data!from!a!RRRASOC!2014!s8)*-"#$%:,",V&,.-*:'9,"(,.;+A$9U"%:'-0"

K8'9;,[""=*:0"8>"S$9A*.<:8."b*))%"1234d123G"a'-<,:"B=*:0"8>"S$9A*.<:8."b*))%"c')0"1234E!

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

43!

!HH?@(#678@E(

Emmet!Cou nty! is!a! com mun ity!of! about!33,000! people!located! along! Lake!M ichigan!in! the!northwest!

part!of!the!state.!The!County!is!largely!rural,!covering!88 2!squ are !m iles.!!

Emmet!County! has!a!very!successful!recycling!program!and! was!recognized!in!2015! with!a!governor’s!

Leadership! in! R ecycling! aw ard! for! its! high! rate! of! recycling,! increased! access,! and! strong! recycling!

education!and!outreach.!The!County!has!also!been!very!successful!in!advancing!the!other!elements!of!

recycling!progra m s.!!!

RECYCLING!EDUCATION!

Emmet! County! actively! prom otes! and ! provides! education! on! recycling! opportunities! through! its!

informa tiv e ! website,!which!was!recently!revamped!and!is!now!very!user!friendly.!!The!website!highlights!

awards!an d!recycling!news,!as!well!as!provides!d etailed!information!on!what!types!of!materials!can!be!

recycled,!where!and!h ow !to!re cycle,!tips!for!recycling!a nd!composting,!frequen tly!a sked!questions,!and!

videos! on! recycling! topics.! ! The ! County! also! p ublishes! an! annual! report—6+," N+8)," N89U%—that!

summarizes!program !statistics!and!describes!program!highlights!and!cha llenges.!!!

Emmet!County!also!actively!promotes!recycling!efforts!throu gh!a ction s!suc h!as:!

• Providing!public-space!recycling!in!Petoskey!and!Harb or!Springs.!!

• Providing!on-the-ground!education!for!the!public!through!literature,!signs,!and!social!media.!

• Helping!to!provide!recycling!education!for!fourth!graders!b y!paying!for!school!bu ses!to!transport!

the!children! to!th e! recy cling! facility!for! tou rs!a nd !b y!w o rking !w ith!te ach ers !to! crea te! app ro priate !

curriculum.!!The!County!also!conducts!curriculum-specific!tours!for!other!grade!levels.!

• Providing!tours!of!the!MRF!for!community,!business,!and!government!groups.!!!

These! efforts! help! residents! and! businesses! understand! why! and! how! they! can! recycle,! create!

enthusiasm!for!participating,!and!celebrate!recycling!successes.!

ACCESS!TO!RECYCLING!OPTIONS!

For!most!of!its!residents!(i.e.,!those!who!live!in!Bear!Creek!Township,!Little!Traverse!Township,!Resort!

Township,! Harbor! Springs,! Petoskey,! and! Bay! Harbor),! Emmet! County! offers! weekly! dual-stream!

curbside! recycling.! ! Re sidents! can! put! new spap ers,! magazines,! catalogues,! books,! office! and! writing!

paper,!cardboard,! paperboard,!brown!paper!grocery!bags,!and!plastic!bags!in!one!bin.!!In!a!second!bin,!

they!can!recycle :!

• Plastic!bottles,!jugs,!and!jars!

• Tubs,!trays,!and!cups!

• Juice!boxes,!m ilk!carto n s,!and!paper!cups!

• Metal!cans,!foil,!and!trays!

• Glass!bottles!and!jars!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

44!

The! County!also!operates!13! drop-off!recycling!sites,!w hich!accept!60! different! m aterials! free!of! charge.!!

Twelve!(12)! of! the!sites! are! open! 24! hours! a! day,!seven! days! a! week.! ! The! other!facility!is! a! transfer!

station! and! drop-off! “super! center”! which! is! open! Monday! through! Saturday.! The! super! center! is!

designed!w ith!multiple!loops!for!various!materials!intended!to!make! drop!off!easy.!The! loops!include!

places! for! textiles! and! shoes,! unlimited! garbage! disposal! (for! a! fee),! e-waste,! household! hazardous!

materials,! and! bulky ! recyc la bles! su ch! as! scrap ! met a l,! clea n ! wo o d ,! asphalt! sh in g le s ,! rubb le ,! freo n-

containing!devices,!appliances,! and! tires.!A!seasonal!loop! of! the! MRF!also!exists!from!spring!through!the!

fall!season!for!recycling!less !com m o n !ma terials!inc lud ing!m attre sse s,!plan t!plastics ,!latex!paint,!asphalt!

shingles,!a n d !marin e !shrink!wrap!(the! p lastic !covering! o n!boats! a nd !watercrafts!when! th ey !are!sh ipp ed ) .!

Emmet! County! marinas! have! succeeded! in! reducing! annual! waste! by! 90! percent! from! the! ability! to!

recycle!marin e!shrin k!w rap .!

The!transfer!station!also!allows!for!drop-off!yard!waste.!!Leaves,!stems,!weeds,!grass!clippings,!and!twigs!

that! are ! made! into! compost! on site! are!free! to! recycle.! ! W oody! brush,! logs,! and! branches,! which! the!

County! makes! in t o! wo o d ch ip s ,! cost! $0.50! per! 30- ga llon! can/bag!

(with!discoun ts!fo r!large r!volu m es ).!

Commercial! and! multi-family! recycling! is! also! provided! curbside ! in!

Emmet! Co unty.! ! Resort! Township! offers! commercial! curbside!

recycling! free! of! charg e,! but! in! all! oth er! communities! there! is! a!

charge! of! $39! per! tote/year! and! $116! per! cart/year! for! weekly!

service.! !Mu ltifamily!recycling!is!av ailable!for!smaller! u nits!(less!than!

six! to! eight! u nits),! using! a! mix! of! individual! bins! per! apartment! or!

centralized!cart!depots!depending!on!the!bu ilding!size.!!The!Coun ty!

does! not! provide! curbside! recycling! for! m ulti-family! buildings! larger! than! this,! altho ug h ! multi-fa m ily!

properties!can!lease!a!drop-site!bin!or!utilize!the!County!drop-off!centers.!

Finally,!Emmet!County!conducted!a!food!scrap!collection!pilot!with!comm ercial!entities!in!2015.!Through!

the! pilot! program,! food! s crap s! were! p icke d! up! tw ice! a! w eek ! from! tw en ty! (20)! co m m ercia l! e ntities!

including ! res ta u ra nt s,! gro c ery ! sto re s,! flor ists ,! and! ba k e ri e s.! The! pilot! req u ir e d ! the ! modificatio n ! of! a!

County! truck! to! include! a! cart! tipper! and! a! sprayer! for! onsite! clean-up.! ! The! County! hopes! to! move!

toward! an! expanded! program! next! year,! but! full! implemen tation ! will! likely! take! several! years.! ! They!

have!evaluated!the!pilot!program!results!and! developed!a!business!case!m odel!for!the!program.!! The!

pilot!was!supported! w ith!County! recycling!fund!dollars,!but!as!the! program!expands! it!will! likely! require!

a!fee!for!participants.!!!!!

SUPPORTING!LOCAL!POLICIES!

Emmet!County!has!had!intergovernmental!agreements!with!the!cities!and!townships!within!their!County!

to!provide!recy cling !s er vic es !s inc e !1 9 91 .!! T he !C o u n ty’s !a u thority!over!waste!and !re c y c lin g !a l lo ws!them!to !

protect! the! flow! control! of! waste! and! recyclable! m aterial.! ! For! exam ple,! the! County’s! Sol id ! Waste!

Ordinance:!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

45!

• Bans!illegal!dumping!or!burning!of!recyclable!materials!

• Licenses!waste!and!recycle!haulers,!requiring!them!to!offer!all!comm ercial!entities!a!dum pster!

for!cardboard !an d!u se!o f!the!C ou nty !trans fer!station!

• Uses!a!!“Pay-as–You-Throw”!system!that!charges!for!garbage!disposal!on!a!volume!basis!

• Bans!scavenging!of!waste!and!recycling!containers!

These! policies! are! based! o n! the! recognition! that! recyclable! m aterials! are! a! resource! and! provide! an!

economic! value! to! the! County! and! its! recycling! program.! They! drive! material! markets! and! make! the!

recycling!progra m !susta ina ble !by!pro vid ing!re ven ue !from !m a terial!sa les.!

In! additio n ,! th e ! C o u n ty ! h as ! im p le mented! po licie s! to ! e n courage! recyclin g ! in ! m u n ic ip a l! fac ilitie s! and!

programs.!! Recycling!is! established!at! these! facilities! and! the! County! has! recomm ended! a! purchasing!

policy!that!requires!use!of!recycled-content!materials!whenever!feasible.!!

CONSISTENT!FUNDING!

When! it! was! initially! established,! Emmet! County’s!

recycling! program! was!funded! through!a! millage! of! .25!

mills! for! 2! years.! ! Now! operation! of! the! program! is!

covered! through! a! highly! diversified!system ! which! uses!

enterprise! budgeting

!to! ensure! the! pro gra m ! is! self-

sustaining.!! Emmet County is a!major!tourist!destination!in!

the! state,! particularly! during! the! sum mer!mo nth s.! ! The!

County’s! population! triples! during! the! summer! season,!

which! adds! complexity! to! the! capacity! planning! and!

budgeting!for!its!recycling!program.!!!

The! County! is! very! proactive! in! expanding! and!

developing! connections! to! recycled! m aterial! markets.!!

Emmet!Cou nty! employs! two!individuals! who!are!focused!

on! the! development! and! maintenance! of! relationships!

that!better!a llow !th em ! to! m ark et!th e! Co un ty’s! recy clab le!m a terials.!T he y!h av e!c rea ted !p artne rsh ips!with!

local! comp an ie s! like! East! Jorda n ! Iron! Wo rks ,! Peto sk ey ! Plastic s,! Grea t! Lake s ! Tissue ! Company,!an d ! East !

Jordan!Plastic s!to! utilize!materials !from!Em m e t!C ou nty ’s!recy cling !pro gra m !in !the !pro d uctio n! of!those!

companies’! products.! ! Becau se! of! this,! the! sale! of! recyclable! materials! covers! about! half! of! Emmet!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Public-Private Collaboration

Emmet County is a neighbor of East

Jordan Iron Works (EJ). The

company’s cast iron products average

about 85 percent recycled content. But

they had very specific needs for the size

and consistency of the “bricks” of

recycled cans they needed to get from

MRFs. The county purchased and

refurbished a bricker and partnered

with EJ to create the type of bricks they

needed for their process. EJ now

purchases over 100 tons a year of

bricked cans from Emmet County.

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

46!

County’s!recycling!program!costs,!including!the!trucks,!staff,!collection!of!recycling,!and!operating!the!

County’s!MRF.!

The!remainder!of!the!costs!are!covered!through!curbside!recycling!contracts!with!participating! c itie s! a n d !

townships! (betwe en! 16-18%! of! the! costs);! fees! from! communities! outside! the! County! (between! 16-

18%),!including!Otsego,!Cheboygan,!and!Presque!Isle;!and!process!fees!from!transfer!station!revenues!

(about!15% !of!co sts).!!Th e!C ou nty !sha res!a!portion!of!its!recycling!revenue!with!its!partner!communities.!

Emmet!County!charges!$24!per!cubic!yard!for!waste!disposal!at!its!transfer!station,!less!than!any!other!

transfer! station! in! n orth ern ! M ichiga n.! ! So m e! o f! tho se! d ispo sal! fee s! are! u sed ! to! su pp ort! the ! recyc ling!

program.!!

ENGAGEMENT!AND!PARTICIPATION!OF!HOUSEHOLDS!AND!BUSINESSES!!

In! 2 0 01,!Emmet!County!conducted!a n!exhaustive!survey!of!their! com m unities.! Th e!findings!showed!that!

more!than!80!percent!of!residents!recycle.!In!the!spring!of!2016,!Emmet!County! will!be!moving!from!

recycling!bins!to!bins!plus! carts!that!are!equipped!with!radio-fre qu en cy!ide ntifica tion !(RF ID) !ta gs,!which!

will!allow!the! County!to!better!track!pa rticipa tion.!With!the!move!to !rec ycling !carts ,!Em m et!County!will!

maintain! dual-stream!recycling,!so!residents!will! have!two!18-gallon!b ins!for!plastics,!metals,!an d!glass,!

and!use!a!64!gallon!cart!for!cardboard,!paper,!m agazines,! and!books,! tripling!capacity!at! the !curb!to!10 0!

gallons!per!week.!Th e! County!expects!a!significant!increase ! in!participation!as!well!as!overall!material!

volume.!

LOCAL!CAPACITY!AND!LEADERSHIP!!

In!2 0 1 5 ,!Emmet!County!re cyc ling!celebrate d!25!years!of!serv ice.!!T he !County!opened!its!first!recycling!

center! in! 1990! and! developed! the ir! Solid! Waste! M anagemen t! Plan! that! include d ! recycling ! and!

household!hazardous!waste!programs.!!The!County!hired!its!first!Department!of!Public!W orks!Director,!

Elisa!Seltzer,!to!oversee!the!recycling! program .!! M s.!Se ltzer!still!serves! as !th e! d irecto r!a nd ,! in ! p a rtn e rs h ip!

with! several! other! recycling! program ! staff,! oversees! all! program ! operations,! material! market!

development,!outreach!and!education,!and!coordination!with!participating!communities.!!The!County’s!

solid!waste! ordinan ce! w as! passed ! by! th e! County!Board!of!Commissioners!in!1991,!and!was!adopted!by!a!

majority! of!town ship s!and !mu nicip alities!in!the!cCounty!(since!th e n,!all!but!2!of!21!communities!in!the!

County!have!adopted!the!solid!waste!ordinance).!

The!Department!of!Public!Works!has!b een!recognized! b y!the!state!for!their!leadership!and!creativity!in!

advancing!recycling,!not!only!in!Em met!County!bu t!in!the!state!as!a!whole,!and!its!director!was!named!

“recycler!of!the! year”!in! 2000!and!Michigan! Recycling!Coalition’s!Mem ber!of! the!Year! in!2011!(Michigan!

Department!of!Environmental!Quality!2015).!!!

TRACKING!AND!MEASUREMENT!SYSTEMS!

In! 2 0 1 3 ,! Emmet! Co u n ty ! cond u c te d ! a! bench m a r kin g ! stud y! to! meas u re ! their! recyc lin g ! perfo rmance,!

including !ton s!of!ma te ria l!recycle d .!Acc or d ing !to!the!201 3 !repo rt ,!Em m e t!Co un t y!recy cle d !42!perc en t !of!

their!waste!stream .!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

47!

Emmet!County!utilizes!Re-TRAC!Connect,!a!nation-wide!online!recycling!measurement!tool,! to!evaluate!

and!develop!reports!on!the!cCounty’s!recycling!performance.!!Results!from!these!reports!are!provided!

to! all! of! the! commu n ities,! highlighte d! in! local! ne w spapers,! and! showcased! on! the! Emmet! County!

website.!!The!County!is!also!considering!developing!an!easy!to!read!recycling!dashboard!for!its!website.!!

(

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

48!

#B@E(6G(:5189(,1IB9<(

(

Grand!Rapids,!with!a!population!of!193,792,!is!Michigan’s!second!largest!city!and!the! fastest! growing!

metro!area!in! the! state.!!The!city! is!a!recognized!leader!in! environmental!sustainability!and !its!recycling!

efforts! have!b een!a!key!part!of!that!success.!!As!highlighted!in!the!following!sections,! Grand!Rapids!has!

made!great!strides!in!advancing!the!seven!elements!of!successful!recycling!programs.!

RECYCLING!EDUCATION!

The!City!of!G rand! Rapids!has! a! rec ycling !and!solid !waste!w eb site!that!ide ntifies!the!city’s!recycling!goals,!

highlights!w hat!recycling!efforts!the!city!is!undertaking,!provides!information!on!what!can!be!recycled!

and!where,!answers!frequently!asked!questions,!and!gives!recycling!tips.!

In! or d e r! to! foster! participation!in! the! recycling! pro gram ,! the! city! offers! the! m yGRcity points!program,!

which! allows! residents! the! opportunity! to! earn! points! by! recycling! that! can! be! redeemed! at! local!

businesses!such!as!Anna’s!Hammocks,!Boxed!GR,!Br e w e r y!Vivant ,!Derby!Station ,!Eastern!Floral,!Logan’s!

Alley,!Rive r! C it y! Improv,! and! The! Rapid! (transit)! for! prod uc ts! an d! se rvice s.! ! M o re! tha n ! 13,00 0! p eo ple !

have! participated! in! the! m yGRcitypoints! program,! and! the! City! was! recognized! by! the! M ichigan!

Department! of! Environmental! Quality! and! Gov.! Rick! Snyder! for! the! program! in! 2015! (City! of! Grand !

Rapids,!n.d.).!!

The!city!is!also!home!to!Kent!County’s!Recyclin g !an d !Ed u ca t io n !Ce n t e r,!a!new!M R F !tha t!wa s !op e n e d !in!

2010.! ! The! Center! provides! tours! and! educational! programming! to! school! and! community! groups.!!

Visitors!can! see! the!facility’s!state-of-th e-art!sorting!equipm ent! which!sorts! from!a! single!stream!that!

contains!plastic,!glass,!metal,!and!paper!waste!products.!

ACCESS!TO!RECYCLING!OPTIONS!

Grand! Rapids!provides! its! residents! with! bi-weekly!curbside!

collection! of! recyclable! materials.! ! Since! 2010,! the! city! has!

utilized! single-stream! recycling! in! roll-off! carts.! ! Partnering!

with!Cascade!Cart!Solutions,!city!residents!are!provided!with!

roll-off! carts! equipped! with! RFID! tags! for! both! garbage! and!

single-stream! recycling.! ! Under! the! THRO W ! (tip-based!

household! reduction! of! waste)! program,! residents! can! put!

their! recycling ! carts! out! for! collectio n! free! of! cost,! bu t! are!

charged! when! they! put! out! their! garbage.! ! Collection!crew s!

scan! the!RFID! tags!and! custom ers!are!b illed! for!garbage!based!on! the!size!of!the! cart! and! the! num ber! of!

times!it!is!set!out!for!collection .!!

The!city’s!curbside!recycling!program!collects!the!following!materials:!

• Paper!

• Cardboard!and!paperboard!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

49!

• Glass!

• Plastic!containers!#1–#7!

• Aluminum!and!tin!cans!

• Plastic!g ro ce ry!bags!with!a!#2!or!#4!

• Telephone!books!

• Yard!waste!

All!of!the!City!of! Grand!Rapids’!curbside!recycling!is!brought!to!the!Kent! County! Recycling!and!Education!

Center!(MRF)!in!Grand!Rapids! for!processing.!!Residents!can!also!bring!recyclable!materials!to!any!of! the !

three!drop-off!recycling!centers!in!Kent!County,!including!the!Recycling!and!Education!Center,!for!free.!!

Kent!County!also!provides!four!locations!for!household! hazardous!waste! dropoff!wh ich!are!each! open! at!

least!one !d a y!a !w e e k!a n d !d o !no t !re qu ire !a n !appointment.!!!

Businesses! in!Grand!Rapids!that!have!access!to!the!street! or!regular! residential!route!can!participate!in!

the!city’s!recycling!program !by!utilizing!the!64-gallon,!single-stream!carts.! !Mu lti-fam ily!bu ildin gs!do !no t!

have!access!to!the!city’s!recycling!program !and!mu st!wo rk!with!their!wa ste!hau ler!to!provid e!recyclin g!

services!for!their!residents.!!

SUPPORTING!LOCAL!POLICIES!

The! City! of! Grand! Rapid! has! a! solid! waste! ordinance! which! requires! that! the! city! provide! recycling,!

refuse,! a nd ! yard! waste! services.! ! The!ordinance! requires! licensing! of! any!hauler! providing! waste!and!

recycling!se rvices !in!the!city!and!establishes !the!“pay-as-you-throw”!approach !for!was te!disposal.!!The!

ordinance!does!not!prohibit!scavenging!of!refuse!or!recycling!containers!or!ban!the!illegal!dum ping!or!

burning!of!recyclable!material.!

In!ad d itio n !to!its!so lid !waste!o rdinance,!th e ! C it y!of!Gran d ! R a p id s!has!a! co mprehensiv e ! s u st ain a b ilit y!plan!

that!includes!over!20 0!spe cific!targets!for!en viron m en tal!susta ina bility.!!The!plan!co mmits!to! expanding!

reuse!and!recyclin g!opp ortu n ities!as!we ll!as!com po sting !of!yard!wa ste.!!It!includes!eigh t!recyclin g!and !

reuse!targets,!includ ing :!

• “Target!1:!Increase!participation!in!recycling!to!at!least!45,000!households!by!June!30,!2013.!!

• Target!2:!Increase!the!number!of!households!composting!yard!waste!by!an!additional!5%!over!

FY12!results!by!June!30,!2015.!

• Target! 3:! Recycle! or! reuse! 100%! of! recyclable/reusable! City-owned! equipment! and! supplies!

annually!!

• Target!4:!Decrease!the!number!of!tons!of!City’s!w aste!d iverted!to!landfills!by!an!additional!2%!

over!FY12!results!by!June!30,!2015.!

• Target!5:!Decrease!the!amount!of!the!City’s!waste!sent!to!hazardous!waste!landfills!by!at!least!

5%,!over!FY!2012!results,!by!June!30,!2015.!

• Target!6:!Increase!the!reuse!of!materials!from !City!deco n struc tion /d em o lition !projec ts!by!15% !

by!June!30,!2015.!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

50!

• Target! 7:! Implement! recycling! in! City! owned! parks,! if! an! appropriate! and! efficient! collection!

method!is!identified,!by!June!30,!2015.!

• Target!8:!Increase!residential!refuse!cart!service!by!an!additional!5% !over!FY12!results!by!June!

30,!2015.”!(City!of!Grand!Rapids !201 3) !

The!city!has!made!significant!progress!in!meeting!these! targets.! !For!examp le,! all! city-ow ned!equipment!

is!reused !or !rec yc le d,!a n d !refu s e !to n na g e !div er te d !to !landfills!has!decreased! by!almost!25!percent.! !The!

City’s! Office! of! Energy! and! Sustainability! provides! an! annual! comparison! of! completed! targets! on! its!

website!(City!of!Gran d!R ap ids,!n.d .).!!!!

CONSISTENT!FUNDING!

The!City! of!Grand! Rapids!uses! a! mix!of! funding!sources! to!provide! solid!waste! an d! recycling!services.!!

Refuse! and! yard! waste! collection! in! the! city! are! paid! 100!

percent! through! Pay! as! You! Throw! (PAYT)! user! fees! and!

yard!waste!fees.!!Residents!pay!between!$2!and!$6!per!tip!

(dependin g!on !the !size!of!the !cart)!eve ry!tim e!th ey!pu t!ou t!

their! re fuse .! ! Yard! waste! collecte d! curbside! is!also ! funded!

through! user! fees! (a! one-time! fee! of! $27! and! a! $6! yellow!

yard!waste!bin!tag!ea ch!time!the!container!is!pu t!out),!but!

residents! can! dro p! off! ya rd! waste! at! the! city’s! yard! waste!

site!free!of!charge.!!

Residents!disposing!of! bulk!items! and!appliances!are! charged!a! fee,!but!the! city’s!solid! waste! millage!

helps!modestly!support!those!programs.!!!

Recycling!is! 100! percent! funded! through! the! City’s! refuse! millage! of! 1.5! mills.! ! This! funding! supports!

curbside! collection! o f! recycling! and! transport! to! the! Kent! County! MRF.! ! K ent! County! has! historically!

allowed! the! city! to! dump! recycling! at! the! M RF! for! free,! but! beginning! in! A ugust,! 2015,! the! county! is!

charging!a! $ 10-per-ton!fee! fo r!processing.! !The!C ou nty !has!not!historically!p rov ided !any!reve nu e!sharing!

from!the!sale!o f!m ate rials!w ith!th e!City!of!Grand!Rapids!(Miller!2015).!!!

ENGAGEMENT!AND!PARTICIPATION!OF!HOUSEHOLDS!AND!BUSINESSES!!

Based! on!the!data! gathered!through!the!RFID!tags!on!residents’!and!businesses’!recycling! carts,! the!city!

estimates! that! participation! has! increased! by! almost! 80! percent! sinc e! 2 010 ,! an d! that! about! 45,000!

households! are! participating! in! the! recycling! program.! ! As! with! the! other! communities! described! in!

previous!chapters,!exact! estimates! of!participation! are!challenging!(even!w ith! RFID!technology)!because!

not!everyone!participates!every!week!or!even!every!month.!!!

LOCAL!CAPACITY!AND!LEADERSHIP!

The!City!of!Grand!Rapids!is!a!recognized!leader!in!environmental!sustainability,!and!its!recycling!efforts!

are!am ong!the!many!areas!of!environmental!leadership!and!capacity!that!the!city!has!excelled!in.!!The!

City’s!recycling!program,!including!implementation!of!the!city’s!curbside!recycling!programs,!outreach,!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

51!

and! edu cation,! is! overseen! by! the! Director! of! the! Department! of! Public! Services! (DPS).! ! DPS! is! the!

primary!contact! for!the!city’s!recycling!program,!but!the!Office!of!Energy!and!Sustainability!also!plays!a!

role!in!tracking!prog ress!o n!rec yclin g!targe ts!an d!co m m u nica ting !abo ut!p rog ram !ac hie vem e nts .!

The!city!has!been!recognized!by!the!state!and!the!Michigan!Recycling! C oalition!(MRC)!for!its!lead ersh ip!

on!recycling,! including!the!2015!G overnor’s!Award!for!its!myGRcitypoints!program!and!the!M RC!Aw ard!

of! Excellence! in! 2012.! ! In! addition,! the! city’s! adoption! and! implementation! of! a! comprehensive!

sustainability! plan! has! resulted! in! recognition! from! numerous! o rganizations! and! m edia! outlets,!

including :!

• One!of!Twelve!Cities!Leading!the!Way!in!Sustainability!identified!by!journalist!Bill!Moyers!

• Large! city! top! w inner! in! the! 2012! U.S.! Con ference! of! Mayors! and! W almart! Mayors’! Climate!

Protection!Award s!

• Clinton!Global!Initiative’s!Billion!Acts!of!Green®!Cities!Campaign!recognition!in!2012!

• Named!"America's!Greenest!City"!by!Fast!Company!magazine!

• Number!1!in!Leadership!in!Energy!and! Environm ental!D esign!(LEED )!bu ildings!per!capita! for!m id-

sized!U.S.!cities.!(City!o f!Gra nd !Ra pid s!O ffice!o f!En ergy !and !Su sta inab ility,!n.d.)!

TRACKING!MEASUREMENT!SYSTEMS!

The! City! of! Grand! Rapids! tracks! it! progress! in! meeting! all! of! the! targets! identified! in! the! city’s!

Sustainability!Plan,!including!the!eight!recycling!and!reuse!targets.!Progress!on!the!residential!recycling!

program! is! tracked! by! the! DPS,! who! works! with! the! City’s! Office! of! Energy! and! Sustainability.! ! In!

addition,!other! city! departments!track!and!provide!updates! to!the!Office! o f! Energy!and!Sustainability!on!

municipal!recycling,!construction,!and!purchasing-rela ted !recyc ling!targ ets.!!!

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

52!

#ST#W$)&ST)(

It! is! clear! fro m! res ea rc h ! o n ! r ec yc lin g ! p ro g ra ms! th ro u g h o u t ! th e ! U .S .! a n d ! o th e r ! co u n t rie s! t h at !

communities!which!have!m ade!significant!progress!in!recycling,!and!reducing!diversion!of!materials!to!

landfills! overall,! have! in v es te d ! time! and! re s ou r ce s! in! th e ! seven! elemen ts! of! s u cc es sf u l! recycling!

programs!discussed!here.!!These!elements,!while!each!important!individually,!work!together!to!create!

strong!recycling!programs!in!communities.!!!

Not!every!successful!recycling!program!has!invested!equally!in!each!of!these!elements,!and!some!are!

more! critical! than! others.! However,! the! most! successful! communities! have! knitted! these! elements!

together!to!ensu re!that!re side nts!(and!businesses)!have!access!to! recycling,!realize!its!value,!understand!

how! to! participate,! help! support! the! cost! of! recycling,! and! can! follow! and! track! their! community’s!

progress.!!!

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

53!

SECTION II

RECYCLING PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AND COST

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

54!

*SU!W&T:(,!#-#W&T:(=+,%&#&=+%&ST(+TU(#S)%(&T(*&#A&:+T(

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Utilizing! existing! research,! RRS! evaluated! best! practices! for! superior! program! performance! and!

participation!to! serve! as!a!baseline!for!the! purposes! of! both!promoting!best!practices!and!comparing!

program!performance!across!the!state.!RRS!developed!a!model!th at!provides!an!estimate!of!the!costs!

and! avoided! disposal! savings! incurred ! w ith ! diffe re n t! ap pr oa c h es ! to! op er at in g! a! resid e n tia l! recy clin g !

program.!Included! in! th is!a nalysis! is!a! detailed! financial! analysis! of! colle ction! co sts!and! route!densit y.!

The!variation!in!route!density!can!be!due!to!low!population!density!or!low!participation,!both!increasing!

the! drive! time! between! stops! an d! potentially! the! amount! of! material! at! each! stop.! Modeling! was!

completed!for!m ultiple!collection!scenarios,!including!carts,!bins,!biweekly, !weekly, !and!other!factors.!

!In!gene ra l,!th e !m o d e l!ac ce p t s!a !w id e !ran g e !o f!va ria b le s!d es c rib in g !th e !co mmunity,!cap it al!in ve s tments,!

labor! costs,! and ! the! ma rke t! valu e! of! recyc led ! commodities,! and! in! turn! provides! a! detailed! financial!

breakdown!of! different!approaches! to! collecting!material!at! the! curb.! ! It!is! intended! to! help!decision!

makers!evaluate! potential!expansions! or!adjustments!to!existing!programs,!or!to! provide!an! estimate!of!

the!costs!of!building !a!new!program.!!Natu ra lly,!as!w ith !any!la rg e!munic ip al!service,!recycling!programs!

can!vary!widely!due!to!unique!local!conditions!and!market!forces,!and!this!model!should!not!be!assumed!

to!be!comp letely!ac cu rate!in!a ll!poten tial!sets!of!circu m sta nce s.!!

COMPARATIVE CITY INFORMATION

(

The! cities! included! in!the! com parative! analysis! that!have! single! sort!systems! are!Ann! Arbor,!Kansas!City,!

and!Cincinnati.!Keeping!glass!separate!from!the!remainder!of!the!recyclable!materials!modifies!Kansas!

City’s!single!sort!collection.!!!

Table!4:!Compa ra tiv e !R e cy c lin g!R a t es!

Program!

Recycling!Rate*!

St.!Paul!

30%!

Ann!Arbor!

37%!

Portland!

34%!

Kansas!City!

16%!

Cincinnati!

18%!

(

Communities! that! have! converted! to! dual! so rt! or! single! sort! collection! experience! an! immediate,!

significant!increa se!in!the!volu m e s! co llecte d.! Residents!do!not!have!to!provide!as!much!space!for!sorting!

and!storing!materials!in!preparation!for!their!collection!day,!and!find!it!easier!to!carry!materials!to!the!

curb!in!fewer!containers.!Further,! the!routes!can!be!expanded!to!serve! a!larger!number!of!stops,!which!

saves! in! truck! usage,! labor! and! travel! time! on! the! street.! ! It! has! been! demons tr at ed ! throug h o u t! the!

country!that!cart!based!systems!incre a se s!the!am o u n t!of!recycla b le !material!that!ca n!be!collected!in!a!

bi-weekly!or!weekly!program.!!!

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55!

Table!5:!Compa ra tiv e !R e cy c lin g!Quantity!Rates!

Description!

Ann!Arbor!

St.!Paul!

Kansas!City!

Cincinnati!

Portland!

Recycling!Collection!

Single!Stream!

Weekly!

Single!Stream!

Weekly!

Single!Stream!

Weekly!

Single!Stream!

Biweekly!

Single!

Stream!

Weekly!

Container!

Cart!

Bin!

Cart!

Collection!Cost/Ton!

$131!

$165!

$168!

$148!

$205!

Collection!Cost/HH/month!

$3.70!

$3.30!

$2.11!

$2.39!

$5.62!

Lbs./HH!

726!

477!

302!

386!

659!

(

The!five!comparable!cities!offer!a!variety!of!service!combinations!to!consider.!Each!has!its!own!success!

story.! Each! has! adapted! to ! its! own ! program,! so! add itional! review! w ould! be! beneficial! in! evaluating!

which!options!would!be!the!most!applicable.!!

RECYCLING COLLECTION MODEL

(

The!mo st!important!comm unity!information!is!primarily!the!nu mber!of!house h o ld s!(t yp ic ally !pro v id ed !

by! the! US! Census)! and! the! participation! rate.! ! The! participation! rate! determines! the! number! of!

households!actively!served!by! the!program!–!if!th e !number !of!part icip a tin g !househo ld s!is!kno w n !but!n o t!

a!rate,!the!rate!can!be!back -calculated!from!available!data.!!The!reason!that!the !households!served!is!

importa n t! is ! th at ! the ! ‘p ou n d s ! pe r! h ou s e ho ld ’! m e tr ic! is! ty p ica lly ! in! re fe ren c e ! to! th e ! to ta l! n umber! of!

households!in!the!community,!this!helps!differentiate!the!productivity! and!success!of!a!program!that!is!

very!active! b ut!only!serves! a!subset!of!a!com mu nity! from !a!similar! program !with!a!wider!reach.!!Current!

recovery!informatio n!and!MS W !generatio n!rates!are!used!to!determine!improve m e nt,!and!local!tip!fees!

contribute!to!the!total!syste m !as!an !avo ided !disp osa l!ben efit.!!!

Capital!assumptions! are! straightforward! –! borrowing! rates! and! payback!periods! for! infrastructure,!as!

well! as! the! number! and! types! of! carts! used! in! different! scenarios! contribute! to! an! annual! capital!

expenditure!that!is!normalized!to!a!per-ton !ba sis.!!Th e!number!of!staff!involved !is!also !d eterm in ed !for!

each!scenario!–!the se!can!be!fraction al!full-tim e!em plo yee s!if!needed !(e.g.!a!service!and!main tena nc e!

technician!is!also!alloca ted !to!oth er!flee t!respo ns ibilities!outside!of!the!recycling!program).!!!

Operations!and!maintenance!assumptions!cover!labor!rates!(using!hourly!rates),!the!general!efficiency!

of! the! program! (measured! by! stops! per! route),! fees,! equipment! maintenance,! and! fuel! costs.!!

Additionally,! the! estimated! educational! spend! per! household! served! by! the! program! is! an! expense!

commonly!overlooked!or!undervalued,!but!is!a!critical!component!of!a!well-run!rec yclin g!pro gram.!!!

Finally,! the! market! assumptions! take! as! inputs! an! average! bale! com position,! commodity! values,! and!

processing! costs.!An!analysis! was!done!with! the!Average!Commodity!Revenue!for!October!2015!for!the!

Midwest! region! as! well! as! an! analysis! using! the! 5! Year! Average! for! the! Commodity! Revenue.! These!

compositions!vary!regionally,!and!are!best!sourced!from !a!w aste!cha racterization!of!the!local!recycling!

stream.!! The!values! used!in! the!model!are!values!used! in!the! estimate!of! the!value! of!currently!recycled!

materials!described!later!in!this!report.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

56!

All! of! these! financial! inputs! are! then! calculated! against! the! size! of! the! com munity! to! determine! the!

number!of!routes!needed! and! the!necessary!equipment!and! staff!needed!to! provide!service.!!The!m odel!

generates! two!tables! sum m arizing!the!im pacts!of! different!types!of!programs!on! the!local! recycling!rate!

and!detailed!costs.!

The! following! table! identifies! the! general! assumptions! that! were! mo deled! for! collection.! A!

comprehensive!table!is! p ro vid e d !in!the!App e nd ic e s.!Assumptions! were!developed!based! on!the! analysis!

of! programs! in! other! cities! that! have! dual! and! single! sor t! colle c tio n ! pro gr ams.! The! three! key!

assumptions!derived!from!this!information!are!the!participation!rate,!the!number!of!stops!per!day!that!a!

collection! truck! can! achieve! in! a! constrained! alley! environment,! and! the! increase! in! the! amount! of!

material!that!participants!will!recycle!on!an!annual!basis.!!

The! quantity! of! material! collected! for! each! household! was! based! on! the! average! of! the! quantity! of!

material!collected,! or!433!pounds!per!household! per!year,! identified! in! the!report! evaluating! curren t!

recovery! rate s! in ! M ich igan .! T he ! 75 0! p o un ds! per! house ho ld! is! the! quan tity! o f! m a terial! c ollec ted ! p er!

household! from! single! stream! recycling! in! high! performing! communities! in! M ichigan.! Other! related!

assumptions!include!the!size!of!the!cart!and!the!capacity!of!the !co lle ct ion !v e hic le .!

Table!6:!Model!A s su mptions!

Model!Parameter!

Value!

#!Of!Households!

45,000!!

Participation!Rate!

84%!

#!Of!Participating!Households!

37,800!!

Current!Household!Recovery!(lbs./HH/yr.)!

433!!

MSW!Generation!(lbs./HH/yr.)!

1,620!

Landfill!Tip!Fee!

$30!!

(

Collection!System!

Dual!

Stream!

Semi-Auto!

Dual!

Stream!

Auto!

Single!

Stream!

Semi-Auto!

Single!

Stream!

Full!Auto!

Stops!per!Day!per!Truck!

600!!

650!!

1,000!!

Lbs.!per!Household!per!year!

433!!

750!!

The! four! types! of! programs! were! modeled! based! on! information! from! the! comparative! review! of!

programs! from ! across! the! country ! and! on! the! comm unities! review ed ! in! Michigan .! The! relationship!

between! participation!rate! and!the! quantity! of!material!that!is!recycled! is!a! difficult!variable! to!balance.!

The!frequency!of!collection!on!a!weekly!or!bi-weekly!basis!has!a!major!impact!on!the!costs!for!trucks!

and!staffing.!Current!recycling! collection!programs!in!Michigan!range!from!biweekly!pickup!du al!sort!to!

weekly! single! sort!collection!programs.!A!sem i!automated!rear!load!collection! truck!program!results!in!a!

similar!operation!level!as!the!collection!system!that!is!also!a!semi!automated!rear!load!operation.!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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Table!7:!Recycling !S ys te m!Estimated!C o st s!b y !P ro g ra m!Type!

Weekly!Collection!

Bi-Weekly!Collection!

DS!Side!Load!

Auto!

SS!Side!loader!

Auto!

SS!Rear!Load!

Semi!Auto!

DS!Side!Load!

Auto!

SS!Side!loader!

Auto!

SS!Rear!Load!

Semi!Auto!

Assumptions!and!Factors!

Number!of!Weekly!

Participating!

Households!

45,000!!

Number!of!Carts!

75,600!!

37,800!!

75,600!!

37,800!!

Number!of!Trucks!!

(including!extras)!

13!

8!!

13!

Number!of!Staff!&!

Managers!

14!!

9!!

26!!

8!!

14!!

Estimated!Recovery!

Rate!(lbs./HH)!

433!!

750!!

433!!

750!!

Estimated!Recovery!

Efficiency!

(lbs./HH/stop)!

8.33!!

14.42!!

16.7!!

28.8!!

Estimated!Tons!

Recovered!per!Year!

9,743!!

16,875!!

9,743!!

16,875!!

Estimated!Recycling!

Rate!

27%!

46%!

27%!

46%!

Financial!Impacts!with!Oct.!2015!ACR!

Total!Annual!Labor!

Cost!with!Capital!

!$(2,476,815)!

!$(1,500,287)!

!$(3,315,653)!

!$(1,594,341)!

!$(1,074,832)!

!$(1,917,291)!

Additional!Education!

Costs!

!$(112,500)!

Gross!Recycling!Cost!

!$(2,589,315)!

!$(1,612,787)!

!$(3,428,153)!

!$(1,706,841)!

!$(1,187,332)!

!$(2,029,791)!

Gross!Recycling!Cost!

per!ton!

!$(265.78)!

!$(95.57)!

!$(203.15)!

!$(175.20)!

!$(70.36)!

!$(120.28)!

Cost!per!HH/month!

!$(5.71)!

!$(3.56)!

!$(7.56)!

!$(3.76)!

!$(2.62)!

!$(4.47)!

Material!Revenue!!

(Revenue-

Processing)!

!$193,735!!

!$335,569!!

!$193,735!!

!$335,569!!

Gross!Recycling!

Costs!!

with!Revenue!

!$(2,395,580)!

!$(1,277,218)!

!$(3,092,584)!

!$(1,513,106)!

!$(851,764)!

!$(1,694,222)!

Gross!Cost!per!ton!

w/Revenue!

!$(245.89)!

!$(75.69)!

!$(183.26)!

!$(155.31)!

!$(50.47)!

!$(100.40)!

Value!of!MSW!

Diverted!

!$292,275!!

!$506,250!!

!$292,275!!

!$506,250!!

Net!Recycling!Costs!

!$(2,103,305)!

!$(770,968)!

!$(2,586,334)!

!$(1,220,831)!

!$(345,514)!

!$(1,187,972)!

Net!Cost!per!

Recycled!Ton!!

!$(215.89)!

!$(45.69)!

!$(153.26)!

!$(125.31)!

!$(20.47)!

!$(70.40)!

The!final!analysis!includes!the!impact! on ! the!revenue!and! disposal!costs!on ! the!o verall! program! cost.!

The!Net!Recycling!Cost!is!the!lowest!for!the!Single!Sort!Semi!Automated!Bi-weekly!collection!program ! by !

approximately!50%!while!achieving!a!46%!recycling!rate.!The!Dual!Sort!Bi-weekly!program!has!a!net!cost!

of!approximately!56% ! higher!then!the!Single!Sort!Sem i! Automated!Bi-weekly!program!and!achieves!a!

27%! recovery!rate.! The!participation!rate,!or!the! number!of!pickups! per!route ,!and! recovery!rate! driven!

by! the!total! pounds!collected!per!household! can!dramatically!affect!the!overall! cost!per!household.!The!

interactio n !o f!th e se !two!parame te rs!is !a !ke y!t o !inc re a sin g !th e !rec o ve ry !ra te !in !a!c o st !eff ec tiv e!manner.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

58!

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

(

A! sensitivity! analysis! was! completed! to! evaluate! the! impact! of! different! assumptions! that! affect!

collection! costs.! Three! sensitivity! scenarios! were! evaluated:! 1)! A! 10%! reduction! on! the! participation!

rate,! 2)!A! 10%! reduction!in!the! Stops!per! Truck!per!Day,! and!3)! An!analysis!using! the!5! Year!Average!

Commodity!Revenue.! Table!8!illustrates!the se! sensitivities!for! g ross! Cost!pe r!T on ,!C ost! per!Hou se ho ld!

per!Month!and!the!Net!Cost!per!Ton!including!Revenue!and!the!Value!of!MSW!Diverted!from!landfills.!

Table!8:!Sensitivity!Analysis!of!Recycling!System!Estimated!Costs!!

Weekly!Collection!

Bi-Weekly!Collection!

DS!Side!Load!

Auto!

SS!Side!loader!

Auto!

SS!Rear!Load!

Semi!Auto!

DS!Side!Load!

Auto!

SS!Side!

loader!Auto!

SS!Rear!Load!

Semi!Auto!

Baseline!Assumptions!and!Factors!!

Gross!Recycling!Cost!

per!ton!

!$(265.78)!

!$(95.57)!

!$(203.15)!

$(175.20)!

$(70.36)!

$(120.28)!

Cost!per!Participating!

HH/month!

!$(5.71)!

!$(3.56)!

!$(7.56)!

!$(3.76)!

!$(2.62)!

!$(4.47)!

Net!Cost!per!Recycled!

Ton!!

!$(215.89)!

!$(45.69)!

!$(153.26)!

!$(125.31)!

!$(20.47)!

!$(70.40)!

Baseline!Assumptions!and!Factors!with!10%!reduction!in!Participation!

Gross!Recycling!Cost!

per!ton!

!$(250.68)!

!$(87.17)!

!$(189.34)!

!$(175.20)!

!$(70.36)!

!$(120.28)!

Cost!per!Participating!

HH/month!

!$(5.98)!

!$(3.60)!

!$(7.83)!

!$(4.18)!

!$(2.91)!

!$(4.97)!

Net!Cost!per!Recycled!

Ton!!

!$(200.79)!

!$(37.28)!

!$(139.45)!

!$(125.31)!

!$(20.47)!

!$(70.40)!

Baseline!Assumptions!and!Factors!with!10%!reduction!in!Stops!

Gross!Recycling!Cost!

per!ton!

!$(280.87)!

!$(103.98)!

!$(216.96)!

!$(190.29)!

!$(78.76)!

!$(134.09)!

Cost!per!Participating!

HH/month!

!$(6.03)!

!$(3.87)!

!$(8.07)!

!$(4.09)!

!$(2.93)!

!$(4.99)!

Net!Cost!per!Recycled!

Ton!!

!$(230.99)!

!$(54.09)!

!$(167.08)!

!$(140.41)!

!$(28.88)!

!$(84.21)!

Baseline!Assumptions!and!Factors!with!5!Yr.!ACR!

Gross!Recycling!Cost!

per!ton!

!$(265.78)!

!$(95.57)!

!$(203.15)!

!$(175.20)!

!$(70.36)!

!$(120.28)!

Cost!per!Participating!

HH/month!

!$(5.71)!

!$(3.56)!

!$(7.56)!

!$(3.76)!

!$(2.62)!

!$(4.47)!

Net!Cost!per!Recycled!

Ton!!

!$(179.19)!

!$(8.99)!

!$(116.56)!

!$(88.61)!

!$16.23!!

!$(33.70)!

(

! (

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

59!

SECTION III

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF RECYCLING:

COMMODITIES AND JOBS

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

60!

%A!()%+%!(SD(,!#-#W&T:(&T(*&#A&:+T(

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In! 201 4 ,! Michig an ! prod u ce d ! abou t! 9,440,4 7 2 ! t o n s ! of! MSW,! of! which ! about ! 15%! was! r ec yc le d .! The!

quantity!of!municipal!waste!is!about!1,620!lbs.!per!person!each!year.!!

Through!the!Michigan!Recycling!Index!(MRI)!project,!sources!and !q uan tities!of!m aterials!fro m !Michigan!

curbside! an d!drop-off!programs!were!collected!from!respondents! and !analyzed,!in!addition !to!m a te ri al s!

that! are! sent! fro m ! co m m erc ial! sou rces! an d! recycled! into! new! products.! In! addition! to! curbsid e ! a n d !

drop-off! collection! programs,! direct! outreach! and! research! was! conducted! to! measure! materials!

collected! throu gh!take-back!programs! for!e-waste,!tires,!organics,!beverage!container!deposits,! textiles,!

hazardous!household!waste!and!batteries.!!

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Traditional!ho usehold! recyclables!collected!from! commercial! and ! residential!sources!comprise!44%! of!

the!recycling!stream ,!w hile!26 % !of!the !total!is!com p os ed!of!organics!including!yard!waste.!!The!container!

deposit!program!accounts!for!11%,!and! other! materials!that!are!collected!through!a! variety!of!take-back!

programs! such! as! lead-acid! batteries,! appliances,! tires,! e-waste,! and! textiles! comprise! the! remaining!

19%!of!the!recycling!stream.!Pap er!recycled!by!households!is!made!into!new spaper,!while!white!office!

paper!is! used!in! s o ft! tissue! prod u ctio n .! Small! amo u n ts ! of!rec yc le d ! paper! are! u s ed ! to!make! insula tio n !

products,!such!as! cellulose!wool.!Metal!waste!is! reused!to! m ake!new! metal,!while!glass!provides!raw!

material!for!packaging!glass!and!glass!wool!and!can!replace!gravel!in!earthworks.!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

61!

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(

The!analysis!of!the!economic!impact!of!recycling!includes!an!evaluation!of!the!current!recyclable!current!

market!value!of!materials,!market!trends,!and!a!discussion!of!the!recycled!commodity!market!drivers.!

Based!on!data! collected!through!the! MRI!project,!the!economic! and! environmental!impact!of!current!

and! potential!recyclables!was!calculated !to!pro v ide !info rmation!about!the !reve n ue-generating!p otential!

of!those!recycled! com modities.!!All!materials! collected! and!ultimately!processed!in!a!recycling! program!

are! considered! commodities.! Th is! means! that! in! spite! o f! market! demand! fluctuations! and! associated!

price! increases! or! decreases,! the! total! collected! tonnages! must! yield! a! value! to! mainta in! a! h ealth y,!

stable!recycling!programs.!!

Recycling! opportunities! vary! from! one! municipality! to! the! next.! In! Michigan,! pap e r ,! co rrugated,!

paperboard,!plastics,!glass,!metal! are!generally!collected,!and! several!municipalities!have!also!organized!

the!collection!o f!organics,!carton s!and!en e rg y !waste.!Colle c ti o n !points!are!property-based,!or! collection!

is! orga n iz ed! regionally.! Most! municipalities! in! Michigan! towns! have! reuse! centers,! flea! markets! or!

second-hand!shops,!which!also!help!promote!recycling!and!reuse.!

Residents!can!take! household! waste! electrical!and! electronic!equipment!free-of-charge!to!the!collection!

points!provided! by!major!retailers!or!dro p!off!loc ation s!operated!by!m u n icipa l!governme nts.!Used!tires!

without!rims!can!be!t ak e n !to !th e !lo ca l!tire!sh op ,!again !free-of-charge.!!

THE RECYCLING BUSINESS PROPOSITION

(

Arrangements! with! a! MRF! in! which! haulers! rebate! communities! based! on! the! cost! per! ton! using! a !

blended! commodities! pricing! index! has! become! a! common! practice.! Taking! competitive! bids! for!

commodities! as! they! become! available! can! ma ximize! prices! that! municipalities! can! receive! for! the!

recycled!comm o dities.!Ma ny!mu nicip alities!do!not!operate!a!M RF!but!use!a!contractor!to!process!and!

market! its! recyclables.! Municipalities! often! manage! residential! refuse! collection.! Communities! can!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

62!

choose! to! reque st! MRF’s! to! share! in! the! market! value! of! materials! that! are! sold,! as! contracts! are!

prepared.!MRF!operations!are!usually!covered!by!the!tipping!fee!and !receive!additional!compensation!

based!on!the!prices!for!recyclables.!

This! is! a! typical! practice! when! separate! contracts! are! awarded! for! collection! and! for! processing! and!

marketing! of! materials.! A! revenue! sharing! arrangement! provides! an! incentive! for! both! the! MRF! to!

maintain! high! quality! and! market! standards! and! for! the! community! to! encourage! residents! to!

participate! in! the! recycling!program! and! educate! residents!how!materials!should!be!set! out!to!maximize!

the!b en efit!of!the!program .!A!m arket!share!arrangement!generally!includes!an!established!floor!price,!

which!guarantees!a!minimum!price!per!ton!paid!to!the!community!for!materials!brought!to!the!MRF.!

The!floor!price!can!be!fixed!based!on !the!market!value!of!a!select!num ber!of!items!or!the!total!mix!of!

recyclable! materials! collecte d.! Whe n! the! marke t! value! of! the! rec ycla ble! tonn age s! exceed s! the!

established!floor!p rice,!the!community!and!the!MRF!share!in!the!value!of!the!sold!comm odities,!b ased!

upon!an!established!percentag e !sp lit .!!

The! average! commodity! revenue! (ACR)! contract! approach! is! on e! o f! th e ! p re va le nt ! m e c h an is m s ! fo r! a !

community! to! hedge! the! risks! o f! volatile! swings! in! the! value! of! recycled! com m odities.! The! approach!

provides!flexibility!and!helps! to! m aximize!revenues.!If!a!com mu nity!wants!a!minimum!guaranteed! price,!

bidders! would! be ! t empering! the ir! b id s! with! lo wer! e x pe c ta tio n s! in! order! t o ! e n su re ! th a t! they’re! n ot !

incurring ! larg e! lo ss e s! in ! inst a nc e s! o f! a! m a rk et ! de p re ss ion .! Som e! MRFs! are! requesting! that! glass! be!

removed !from!the!recycling!stream!due!to!its! n ega tive!value.!With! processing!costs!at!a bout!$65!to! $85!

a! ton,!communities!that!had!received!a!rebate!from!a!regional!MRF!when!they!deliver!that! material!are!

now!facing!the!prospect!of!a!payment!to!process!material!or!a!“payment!for!diversion”.!!

An!analysis!of!the!ACR!value!approach!to!com modity! sales! is! illustrated!in! the! following! table! for! several!

different!periods!over!the!past!7!years.!During!the! first!period!from! December! 2008!to! September! 2009,!

the!recession!was!in!full!swing!but!fiber!prices!had!not!yet!fallen.!The!ACR!basket!price!began!to!increase!

in!la te ! 201 0 ! carried!b y! the!higher! fiber!prices.! The! p eriod! (January!201 1! to!N ovem ber! 2011)! portrays!

overall!higher!prices!and!the!considerably!higher!ACR!price!as!a!result!of!higher!demand.!Beginning!in!

2014! the! ge ne ral! trend! in! o vera ll! average! commodity! revenue! has! declined! as! glob al! deman d! for! all!

commodities,! primarily! driven! by! Chinese! demand,! has! declined.! After! accounting! for! negative-value!

glass!and!residue!in!the!recycling!stream,!the! blended!value!per!ton,!or! Avera g e ! Com modity!R e v e n u e !

value!was!estimated!at!$73!per!ton!as!of!October!2015!in!the!M id w e st !re gio n .!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

63!

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Several!trends!can!be!seen! in!the! graph!above,!especially!in!terms!of!rank!in!per!ton!prices!for!materials.!

Aluminum!tends!to!sit!much!higher!in!price!while!experiencing!slightly!less!of!the!volatility!found!in!#1!

and!#2!plastics.!PET!and!Colored!HDPE!have!switched!rank!several!times!since!2008.!In!fact,!all!plastics!

have!experienced!peaks!and!valleys!at!different!points!over!time.!There!is!less!volatility!in!comm ingled!

plastics!#1-7,! likely!due! to!the! broader!range! of! materials!although!the! unit!price! is!lower! d ue! to! the!

mixed! bales.! Finally,! both! steel! and! glass! dropped! in! value! due! to! the! current! global! downturn! in!

commodity!values;!however!they!remain!extremely!stable!compared!to!other!materials.!

ECONOMIC VALUE OF CURRENT RECYCLING

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Based! on! the! dat a! collected! in! the!related! MRI! project,! th e! e co nomic! impact! of! the ! current! recycling!

rate!was!calculated.!Both!the!value!of!the!material!diverted!from!the!landfill!(recyclables!and!organics)!

and!the!landfill!cost!savings!is!calculated.!!!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

64!

Table!9:!Value!of!C u r re n t!R e c yc lin g!

RECYCLED!COOMMODITY!!

TONS!

Percent!

of!Total!

5!YEAR!

Average!

$/TON!

5!YEAR!VALUE!

OCTOBER!

2015!

VALUE!

CUURENT!

VALUE!

Soft!Mixed!Paper!

!225,875!!

25.7%!

$62.83!

$14,190,625!

$42.50!

$9,599,707!

Special!De-ink!Quality!N e w s!( O N P )!

!56,431!!

6.4%!

$82.92!

$4,679,053!

$57.50!

$3,244,770!

Corrugated!Containers!(OCC)!

!166,475!!

18.9%!

$112.50!

$18,728,396!

$77.50!

$12,901,784!

Aseptic!Cartons!

!4,112!!

0.5%!

$49.37!

$203,014!

$113.75!

$467,782!

Glass!3!Mix!

!182,685!!

20.8%!

-$3.53!

-$645,488!

-$11.50!

-$2,100,882!

Aluminum!Cans!(Sorted,!Baled)!

!6,394!!

0.7%!

$1,539.00!

$9,840,093!

$1,090.00!

$6,969,267!

Steel!Cans!(Sorted,!Densified)!

!166,046!!

18.9%!

$113.29!

$18,811,587!

$90.00!

$14,944,107!

PET!(Baled,!picked!up)!

!31,222!!

3.6%!

$420.29!

$13,122,306!

$210.00!

$6,556,574!

Natural!HDPE!(Bailed,!picked!up)!

!3,575!!

0.4%!

$708.40!

$2,532,539 !

$520.00!

$1,859,007!

Colored!HDPE!(Bailed,!picked!up)!

!22,046!!

2.5%!

$486.67!

$10,729,011!

$360.00!

$7,936,529!

Comingled!(#3-7,!Baled,!picked!up)!

!14,300!!

1.6%!

$1.96!

$28,076!

$50.00!

$715,003!

TOTAL!

!879,161!!

100.0%!

$92,219,212!

$63,093,646!

OTHER!MATERIAL!

Organics!

!378,097!!

$15.00!

$5,671,462!

$15.00!

$5,671,462!

Textiles!

!29,850!!

$4.00!

$119,400!

$2.25!

$67,163!

Computers!

!24,548!!

$500.00!

$12,274,170!

$350.00!

$8,591,919!

Paint!

!225!!

-$12.00!

-$2,700!

$0.00!

$0!

Tires!

!56,960!!

-$10.00!

-$569,602!

-$10.00!

-$569,602!

Batteries!

!45,187!!

$0.00!

$0!

$0.00!

$0!

TOTAL!Other!MATERIAL!

!534,868!!

$17,492,730!

$13,760,942!

TOTAL!

!1,414,029!!

$109,711,942!

$76,854,588!

AVOIDED!LANDFILL!DISPOSAL!

Recycled!Material!

!879,161!!

$35.00!

$30,770,630!

Other!Recovered!Material!

!534,868!!

$35.00!

$18,720,381!

TOTAL!Value!Of!Avoided!Disposal!

$49,491,010!

The!current!value!of!recycling!based!on!O ctober!2015!Average!Comm odity!Revenue!for!the!M idwest!is!

approximately!$76!million,!which!is!70.1%!of!the!value!base!on!the!average!commodity!value!over!the!

past!5!years.!The!decline!in!value!over!the!past!two!years!is!drive n !by !the !glo b a l!decline!in!com modity!

demand! driven! in! large! part! by!the!slowdown!in!the! Chinese! economy.!There!are!other!factors!that!also!

affect!the!commo dity!value.!The!value!of!the!avoided!disposal!cost,!based!on!the!average!gate!rate!for!

disposal! of! $35/ton! is! approximately! $49.5! million.! It! should! be! noted! that! many! communities! and!

private!haulers!have!negotiated!long-term!disposal!rates!that!are!as!low!as!50%!of!the!average!gate!rate.!

The!

“evolving! ton”! is! the! term ! be ing! used ! to! describe! the! shift! in! the! overall! composition! of! the!

municipal!solid!waste!stream!over!the!past!20!years.!!One!of!the!trends!responsible!for!this!evolution!

has! been! the! light-weighting! of! packaging,! especially! through! the! use! of! materials! like! plastics! and!

aluminum!that! h ave!displaced!materials! like!glass!and!steel.!!More!recently,!e v en !rigid!plastic!packaging!

formats!have!started!to!be!d ispla ced !by!rapidly!growing!formats!in!flexible!packaging.!!But!plastics!are!

not! alone! in! driving! the! waste! shift:! Elect ronic! media! have! played! a! major! role! in! changing! the!

composition!of!our!recycling!stream!by!reducing!the!absolute!volume!of!newspaper!and!office!paper.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

65!

A! recent! presentation! by! Amity! Lum per! from! Cascadia! Consulting! showed! the! results! of! residential!

curbside! com position! studies! that! tracked! the! recycling! stream! of! several! cities! from! 2000! to! 2010.!!

Cascadia’s! research! found! an! 8! percent! increase! in! residential! curbside! collection! of! recyclables! by!

weight!but!an!18!percent!increase! by!volume,!and! researchers!determined! the!volumetric!changes!were!

due!almost!exclusively!to!plastic.!Most!municipalities!in!the!last!decade!have!made!a!switch!to!single-

stream! recycling,! collecting! all! recyclables! in! one! bin.! !

The!

shift! to! single-stream! collection! allowed!

community!programs!to!collect!more,!and!that!has!been!especially!true!in!the!plastics!realm.!!!

One! m ajor! consequence! has! been! greater! inefficiency! in! s o rting! as! measured! by! residue! rates.! As!

discussed!earlier!in! this!report!there!are!individual!MRFs!tha t!provided!services!to!specific!m unicipalities!

that!h av e!achiev ed !high!efficiencies!and !low!residua l!rates.!Two!recent!surveys!(from!Moore!Recycling!

Associates!and!GBB!Consultants)!documented!increases!in!average!residue!rates!at!MRFs!from!8!percent!

to! 16! percent! over! the! last! eight! years.! !

The!

shifting! stream! also! has! resulted!in! m ore! contamination!

within! the! commodities! produced! by! MRFs,! lowering! yields! of! desired! material! for! all!and! increasing!

disposal! costs.!!A!recent!MRF!study!conducted!for!the!Ca rton!Coun cil,!the!Am e rican !Chemistry!Council,!

the! National! Association! for! PET! Container! Resources! (NAPCOR),! the! Association! o f! Plastic ! Recyclers!

(APR),!and! th e!Foodservice!Packaging!Institute!documented!an!average!loss! rate!of!plastic! bottles! to!the!

paper!stream!of!5!percent!and!showed!clamshells!having!a!loss!rate!of!29!percent.!

According! to! analysis! by! RSS! on! the! average! commodity! revenue! per! processed! ton,! the! majority! of!

recycling!revenue!in!a!M RF!still!comes!from!the!denser!suite!of!materials!like!fiber,!which! represents!as!

much!as!65!percen t!of!the! weight!and!about!48!percent!of! the!value!per! p rocessed! ton!generated!at!an!

average!MRF!(see! Figure!6).!Aluminum,!which! is !ab o u t!1.1 !percen t!of!a!process!ton!by!weight,!accounts!

for!abo u t!14.4!percent!of!the!re venue.! !Plastics,!most ly!PET!and!H DPE,!m eanwhile,!represent!about!6.7!

percent!of!the!weight!of!a!processed!ton!and!about!20.8!percent!of!the!revenue.!!

The! graph! was! updated! October! 15,! 2015! and! continually! fluctuates! with! markets! and! recycling!

participation.! ! Pulling! from! numerous! recycling! composition! studies! from! across! the! U.S.,

! RRS!

termined! the! average! weight! composition!of! incoming!materials!to! MRFs,!which!is! represented!on!

the! left! sid e! of! this! graph.! The! right! side! represents! the! average! commodity! revenue! per! ton! of!

processed!material! and! excludes!residue.! ! MRF!operators!adapt! their! operations!to! respond! to! these!

numbers!or!risk!missing!out!on!revenue,!regardless!of!equipment,!techniques!or!contamination.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

66!

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In! reviewing! the! M a rke t ! T re n d s! Data,! th e ! market! dem a n d ! a n d ! c o m modity! price s ! fo r! fiber,! pla stic s ,!

aluminum! and!steel! have! declined! over! the!past! few! years.!The! commodity! revenues!associated!with!

these!m ateria ls!h ave !over!time!p rov ided !the!financial!fo un da tion !fo r!most!recycling !p rog ram s,!whether!

publicly!or!privately!sponsored.!Manufacturing!techniques!using!post-consumer!materials!also!have!kept!

pace!with!technology!and!knowledge!of!the!materials!sorts.!Mills!have!improved!their!equipment!and!

systems! to!pred ict! and! adapt! to! a!degree! of! contamina tion! and! to! capture! contaminants! to! minimize!

damage!to!equipment!and!maintain!quality!product!standards.!!!!

End! markets! for! even! mo re! materials,! especially! the! #3 -#7! plastics,! has! provided! oppo rtunities! for!

Material!Recovery!Facilities!(MRF’s)!to!increase !the ir!list!of!acce pte d!m a terials!an d !collecte d!v olum e s.!!!

In!fac t,!the!capabilitie s!of!b o t h !dual!and!single!sort!collection!pro gram s!to!easily!add!materials!types!to !

their! co llection ! programs! h as! led! to! the! expansio n! of! recycling! programs! nationwide.! ! Without! th ese !

inheren t! flexib ilitie s,! the! suc ce ss fu l! recyc lin g! of! carto n s,! juice! bo xe s,! textile s ,! boxb o a r d,! and! exotic!

plastics!(#3!-!#7)!would!not!have!grown!as!quickly!over!the!last!five!to!ten!years.!

Percentage!of!Value!

Percentage!of!Quantity!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

67!

Environmental! concerns,! lower! commodity! prices! and! increased! regulation! are! making! recycling!

increasin g ly! difficult.! While ! the!re c es sio n ! reduce d ! consu mer!demand!for!products!in!general,!demand!

for!products!m an ufa ctu red !with !recycle d!go od s!ha s!risen !over!the !pas t!five!years.!Fu rthe r,!in!the!future !

demand! w ill! continue!rising,!as!voluntary! product!stewardship!requirements! of!the! major!retailer!in! the!

world,!Walmart,!require!manufacturers !to!use !m ore !recyc led !con ten t!as!inp uts.!!

The! recycling! industry! is! a! mature! industry,! understands! and! controls! it! cost! structure! and! has! well-

established!relationships!w ith!end!markets!and!had!expanded!at!an!average!annual!rate!of!4.4%!until!

the! recent! do w ntu rn! in ! glob al! com modity! d em a nd.! There! is! considerable! volatility! in! recycled!

commodity! prices,! wh ich! dropped!du ring! the! recession!in! response! to! slumping! consumption.! D uring!

2009,! recycled! commodity! prices! w ere! particularly! low,! resu lting! in! low er! re ven ue s! for! the! industry.!

Revenue!volatility!became!a! concern! for! industry!players,!and! m any! sought! to! consolidate!operations!to!

become!more!stable!and!achieve!greater!economies!of!scale.!!

It! is! difficult! to! projec t! futur e! price s! for! recycled! commodity! as! the! value! is! closely! linked! to! global!

economic!growth!and!is!especially!sensitive!to!growth!of!industrialization!of!emerging!markets!such!as!

China! and! India.! Hig h e r! levels! of! government! reg u lat io n ! and! voluntary! m anufacturing! and! product!

requireme nts!for!recycled!content!will!benefit!the!industry! by! pushing!potential!downstream!customers!

to!use !recycled!go od s!in!manu fac turing ! p ro cess es.!This!trend!is!expecte d!to!boo st! th e!overall!m arke t!for!

recycled!good s!an d!h elp !stabilize !reven u e!vo latility.!!

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Fiber! materials! experienced! a! drop! due! in! prices! in! 2015,! whic h ! was! not! simultaneous! with! that!

experienced!in!containers.!N ews!and!M agazines!tend!to!have!a!more!stable!price!over!time!than!other!

corrugated!co ntainers,!office!paper,!and!mixed!paper,!w hich!show!more!dramatic!drops!and!rises.!This!

suggests! a!larger! v ariety!of! cleaner,!sorted! p rodu ct!can! insu late!the! baske t!price! from!intermittent!price!

swings!and!even!damp en!larger!econom ic!busts.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

68!

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RISI—which!provides!analysis!on!pricing,!markets,!and!trends!in!paper!recycling—rep orts ! th at!newsprint!

volumes!have!declined!significantly!due!to!major!decreases!in!worldwide!dema nd,!although!the!m arket!

for!recycled!fiber!remains!strong!overa ll.!Th e !market!for!old!n ewsprint!(ONP )!p e ak ed !in !th e !la te !1 99 0 s !

and!has! declined! by! m ore! than! half!since! in! the! United! States,!while! Europe! and!Asia! have! also!seen!

significant!de clines.!Fifteen!to!20!years!ag o,!ONP!was!60%!of!the!material!that!a!MRF!processed—now!

it’s!down !t o!a n !a ve ra ge !o f!2 5 % .!

A!second!grade!that!has!seen!continued!strong!foreign!demand!is!packaging!fiber,!which!consists!mainly!

of!recycled!paper!and!old!corrugated!container!(OCC)!paper.!The!box!business!in!the!United!States!has!

been! flat! to! declining,! especially! recycled! paper! board,! which! is! primarily! boxes—cereal! boxes,! sho e!

boxes,!pizza!boxes.!China!has!become!a!major!manufacturer!to!the! world,!so!box!production! has! really!

skyrocketed!in!China!while!falling!in !th e !US !in!th e !pa s t!10 !ye a rs ,!however!the!bo xes!still!wind!up !here .!

The!amount!of!OCC!and,!to!a!lesser!degree,!old!boxboard!has!been!increasin g !In!t h e!reside n tia l!waste !

stream,! Twenty! years! ago,! of! the! amount! o f! pap er! in! the! residential! stream,! O CC! was! a! cou ple! o f!

percent—now!that!amount!is!as!much!as!15%!to!20%.!

Another!grade!for!which!demand! is! growing! is! the !“away-fro m -home-tissue”!business,! w h ich!consists!of!

napkins,!paper!towels,!and!tissue!other!than!high-end!facial!tissue!for!businesses!such!as!institutional,!

restaurants,! and! airline s.! Ch in a ’s! go ve rn ment!inc o rre ct ly! pe rce iv es ! hyg ie n ic! issu e s! wit h ! usin g ! recyc le d!

paper! for! tissue! and! uses! virgin! pulp! in! this! market.! However,! because! tissue! does! not! ship! well!

overseas,!China!does!not!ship!tissue!to!the!United! States,!which!sees!widespread! use!of!recycled! pap er!

in! tis su e .!The!feedstock !is!o ffic e !papers,!a!s u b se t!of! what!we!call!printing!and!writing!papers,!which,!just!

like!new sp rin t ,!ar e!d e clin in g !in !t he !US.!Over!the!la s t!fiv e !ye a rs,!b e c au s e! of !ele c tro n ic! d oc u ments,!there!is !

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

69!

less! printing! and! writing! paper! in! the! recycle! stream,! and! that’s! keeping! prices! high! because! of! the!

supply!shortage.!There’s!also!less!export!of!it.!

The!fourth!major!grade!in!recycled!fiber!is!“printing!and!writing!paper.”!The!least!economical!recycling!is!

converting!printin g! an d! w riting ! pa pe rs! to! p rinting ! an d! w riting! p ap ers,! p rima rily! be cau se! o f! the ! yield! lo ss,!

and!it!requires!fairly!labor-!and!capital!operating!cost-in t en s ive !op e ra tio n s!to !get !it!up!to !th e!qu a lity !for!

reuse.! A! little! is! used ! in! the! US! and! W este rn! Europe.! India,! a! distant! second! to! China! in! importing!

recycled!pap er,!is!an!an omaly!and!uses!a!lot!of!recycle d!p rinting !and !w riting!p ap er.!

Communities! w ithin! the! Midwest! five-state! region ,! whi ch! comprises! Illin o is,! Ind iana,! Michigan,! Oh io ,!

and! W isconsin,!market! large!volumes!of! paper!to!mills! in!Michigan,!Wisconsin,!and!Indiana.!Markets! for!

fiber!have!not!ch an ge d!mu ch !for!these!regions!since!the!economic!slowd ow n !mad e!its!presence!felt!in!

2014.!The !mix ed !pap e r!grade s!and !som e !of!the!ONP!grad e s!go!overseas!and!have!more!demand!than!

domestically,!whereas!OCC!and!cardboard!still!tend!to!stay!domestic.!In!this!region,!it!appears!that!it’s!

not! that!economically! viable!to!ship! to!the!ports! on!the!coasts!and!still!get!the! value!that!you! could!get!

by!keeping!it!local.!Eve n! though!the! export!ma rkets! see m! to!be! paying!m ore,! there! are! freight! issues!

that!tend!to! in crea se!shippin g!costs.!Finally,!th ere!is!still!a!lot!of! dem an d!within!the! five-state!region!for!

OCC.!

Overall,! recycled! fiber! represents! a! steady! market! for! communities! in! the! Midwest! region.! ! T he!

challenge!with!ONP!is!volume.!Newspapers!are!thinner,!fewer!people!are!buying!them,!and!they’ve!even!

gone!as!far!as!taking!a!couple!of!inches!o ff!of!the!sides!of!them.!In!turn,!consumers!are!not!putting!as!

much! paper! in! their! recycling! bins.! OCC! is! the! one! fiber! grade! that! appea rs! to! be! in! demand -supply!

balance.!

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Plastics! markets! have! experienced! a! fairly! sharp! downward! trend! over! the! year.! Le d ! by ! a! s lu m p ! in !

polyester,! many! plastic! scrap! grades! have! been! hit! by! a! combination! of! lower! oil! prices,! a! slumping!

economy!throughout!Europe!and!a!slowing!Chinese!buyers’!market.!

China,!which!had!been!one!of!the!driving!forces!for!surging!plastic!scrap!prices!in!2011,!is!now!becoming!

a!mu ch! m ore! difficult!market!to! serve.!Several!reports!note! that!Chinese! customs! agents!are! prohibiting!

many!container!shipments!of!plastic!scrap,!which!is!forcing!more!plastic!scrap!recyclers!in!Europe!and!

the! U.S.! to! redirect! shipm en ts! to! othe r! destin ation s.! Dem and! for! mixed!post- co nsum er! plastic! grades!

has! fallen! off!quite!significantly.!This! can!be! attributed! to!tighter!regulations!throughout!Asia,!as!well!as!

higher!freight!rates!that!are! curbing!the! appetites!of! m any! potential!consumers.!Virgin!LDPE! prices! have!

dropped!significantly,!while!PET!also!has!taken!“a!big!hit.”!!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

70!

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On! the! other! hand,! the! plastics! reprocessing! sector! is! chara ct eriz e d ! by ! st ro n g ! dom estic! demand.!

However,! finding! raw! material! to! meet! customer! demand! can! be! cha llenging.! Recovered! PE!

(polyethylen e)! and! PP! (po lypro p ylen e)! are!moving! well,! though! at! low er! prices! than! e arlier! this! y ea r.!

Demand!for!recycled!PP!continues! despite!a!considerable!decline!in!virgin!PP!prices.!Pricing!for!virgin! PP!

declined!from!20!to!25!cents!per!pound.!Post-indus tria l!en g in e erin g !gra d e s!w e re !slid ing !slo w ly !in!p rice !

for!the!past!year ,!th o ugh!pricing!s e e ms!to!have!s ta b i liz e d !as!of!mid-July.!

Declining! oil! prices,!which! correlate!to! virgin!and!recycled!plastics! pricing,!do !of fe r!a!be n e fit!in!th e !for m !

of! less! expensive! transportation.! Pricing! is! more! affordable! and! m ore! trucks! are! available,! now! that!

demand!from!the!produce!industry!is!decreasing.!!

Predictably,!demand!for!polyethylene!terephthalate!(PET)! and!high-density!polye th yle n e !(H D P E )!remain!

highest!among!plastic!grades.!In!addition!to!being!reused!for!containers,!these!grades!are! in!demand! for!

such! item s! as! p lastic! decking! material,! plastic! picnic!ben ches,! and! outdoor! seating.! For! oth er! grades,!

such! as!low-density!polyethylene!and!polypropylene !(PP),!the!re gion !doesn’t!have!the! re gion al!deman d.!

There!are! fe w !established! industries!for!PET!and!HDPE.!Industries!that! dem and!PET!include!textiles!and!

carpet;!and!a!big! m arket!for!HDPE!is!containers!for!consumer!package!goods!such!as!laundry!detergent!

bottles.!A!major!user!of!recovered!PET!is!Mohawk!Industries,!which !manufactures!carpeting.!!

The! o ther!grades! have!smaller! volumes!and!less! availability.!It’s!harder! to!process! them !off! of!a!stream,!

and! MRF! technology! has! be gun! to! improve! to! address! these! materials.! Few! MRFs! are! running! near!

infrareds ,! not ! m an y ! M R F s! are ! run n in g ! op tica l! so rte rs ,! and ! m a n u al! so rtin g ! is! tim e-consuming! and!

expensive!as!well.!If!you’re!not!able!to!get!much!stuff!out!of!the!stream,!it!is!n o t!economical!to!sort!it.!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

71!

There!is!a!shift!from!PET!to!PP!in!some!non-bottle-grade!materials.!A!major!recent!development!that!has!

increase d ! PP ! u s e!was!Starb u ck s!Coffee!Co .’s! s w it ch ! fro m!PET!to ! P P ! fo r! its ! c old ! c u p s.! T h is!change!re su lt ed !

from!a! stu dy !indicating!that!PP! cups!use!15%!less!plastic!than!PET! cups!and!emit!45%! fewer! greenhouse!

gases!during!production.!Additionally,!they!do!n ot!contam inate!other!PP!containers!when!com m ingled!

for!recycling!and !are!e asie r!to!recy cle!tha n!P ET !cup s!in!m o st!co m munities,!according! to !Starb uc ks.!!

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Similarly,! glass!is!a!regional!product.!Modern,!high! production!bottle! manufacturing!requires! very!clean!

and!uniform!feedstock.!O ver!the!past!decade!there!has!been!a!growth!in!the!glass!ben efaction!sector.!

These!are!intermediate!processors! th at! rec eive !g lass! fro m ! recy cling! p rog ram s! a nd ! run ! it! thro ug h! a! s eries!

of!steps!to!remove!any!contaminants!(rocks,!ceramics,!metal!caps,!etc.)!and!provide!a!uniform!feedstock!

to!the!bottle !m an u factu rers.!T he se! rep roc esso rs!p rov ide! an !exc ellent!m ark et!fo r!re cycling !p rogra m s!th at!

do!not!have!the!volume!or!ability!to!produce!glass!for!direct!mill!delivery.!!

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Glass! beneficiation! plants! use! sophisticated! optical! sorting! machines! to! separate! the! glass! into! the!

three-color! types.! They! m ay! also! x - ra y! th e! glass! to! detec t! an y! rocks! or! ceram ic s,! w hic h! a re! then!

removed .!Magn ets!and!eddy !current!separato rs!are!used!to!remove!magn etic !and!non-magnetic!metal!

contamination!from!caps!and!lids.!The!end!produc t!is!a!uniformly!sized!load!o f!gro un d !gla ss!th at!is!free!

of!contaminants!readily!acceptable!by!bottle!manufacturers.!Lower!grades!of!recycled!glass!that!are! too!

mixed!or!contaminated,!may!be!used!in!concrete!or!in!road!paving!material!called!"Glassphalt".!

Houston-based!Strategic!Materials!has!a!large!beneficiation!facility!on!Chicago ’s!So uth !S ide .!G lass !gra de s!

in!the! most!dem an d ! in c lud e !“flint,”!aka!“clear,”!which!is!used!for!bottling!such!items!as!beer!and!p ickles,!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

72!

followed!by!brow n !and!gree n,!the!latter!of!which !com e s!in!a!distant!third!in!dema nd .!Mo st!M RF s!in!the!

area!crush! all! three!types! of! glass! together! for! a! “three-mix!glass”!that!is!shipped!to!a! processor!like!

Strategic!Materials!that!separates!the! material!optically.!Glass! is !a!“negative-value!material!but!the!cost!

to!recycle!the!ma terial!is!often !low er!th an !land fill!tipping!fees .!!

Rumpke!Recycling!in!Ohio!partnered!with!the!Ohio!Department!of!Natural!Resources!and!Owens-!Illin o is !

to!build!enhanced !techno logy !to!process!glass.!Rum pk e!first!opened !its!D ayton!glass!processing!facility!

in!2 0 0 2 ! in! an! effort! to! proc e ss ! the! bro ke n ,! mixe d ! colo r! glass ! scree n e d ! from ! the ! single ! strea m!sorting !

process.! The! new! system! creates! a! product! suitable! for! the! glass! container! industry.! State-of-the-art!

optical! scanning! will! make! the! recycling ! of! glass! con taine rs! used ! by! co nsu m ers ! as! well! as! bars ! and !

restaurants! easier! and ! more ! econ om ic al.! Wh ile! a! significant! portion ! of! the! mate rial! proces sed ! at!

Rumpke! Recycling! will! be! prepared! for! use! in! container! manufacturing,! long-standing! glass! recycling!

partner! Johns!M anville,!a!fiberglass!manufactu ring !firm!with!a!productio n!facility!in!De fian ce,!Ohio,!will!

continue!to!use!50!percent!of!the!processed!glass!as!a!raw!material.!

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After!falling!$50-$55!in!October,!many!in!Detroit!felt!the!ma rket!h ad !fin ally!reached!bottom.!One!broker!

said!in!late!October!he!felt!"a!little!bit!better!about!this!market.!It!appears!the!bleeding!has!stopped ."!

Detroit!mills!came!in!at!$20!lower!across!the!board!in!No ve mber!2015,!with!the!exc e p tio n!of!shredded !

scrap,!which!was!down!$15 .!One!brok er!said!everybody !is!going!to!have!to!get!used!to!today's!

conditions.!In!the!short!term,!the!pred i ct io n !i s!that!the!market!w on 't!drop !too !m uch !furth er,!bu t!it's!

unlikely!to!increase!much!either.!!

After!dropping!$50!in!Octob e r,!th e!C h ic ag o !market!was!o ff!a !so lid !$ 2 0 - $30!in!November!on!light!mill!

demand.!The!big!lakefront!mills!in!Chicago!proper!bought!a!reported!total!of!15,000!tons!in!November,!

with!dealer!bundles!reported!at!$155!and!turnings!delivered!at!$65.!Bundles,!bush e lin g,!s h red d e d ,!an d !

plate!and!structural!steel!were!all!trading!in!the!$160!range.!When!all!was!said!and!done,!what!little!

scrap!had!been!traded!was!generally!dow n!$30 !for!prime!grades,!dow n!$20!for!cut!grades,!and!do wn !

$15!for!turnings!and!borings.!With!prices!so!low,!and!the!Chicago!market!spread!out!from!Iowa!to!

eastern!Indiana,!several!brokers!said!they!were!ready!to!begin!pulling!back!from!rail!shipments!because!

of!high!rail!freight!rates.!One!broker!said!the!only!positive!he!had!heard!in!the!last!month !o r!two!was!the!

fact!that!export!pric es!se emed!to!be!strengthen ing !on !the!E ast!C oa st.! The!following!illustrates!current!

market!indicator!for!scrap!steel.!

Table!10:!Shredded!Scrap!

Consumer:!SDI!Indiana!(Butler,!Ind.)!

Delivered!price:!!$162!reported!

Tonnage:!!10,000+!tons!reported!

Iron!Ag e !pr ic e :!!$161-$162!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

73!

The!recycled!aluminum!can!(sorted!and!baled)!price!in!October!2015!in!the!Midwest!region!was!

$1082/ton.!This!reflects!a!44%!decline!in!value!from!the!most!recent!high!for!aluminum!can!of!$1926/tin!

in!May!2 0 1 1 .!T h e!v a lu e!o f!s te e l!ca n s!!(s o rte d !a nd !b a le d )!in !O ct o b er!2 0 1 5 !in !th e !Midwest!regio n !w a s !

$74/ton.!This!reflects!a!43%!decline!in!value!from!the!most!recent!high!for!steel!cans!of!$129/ton!in!May!

2012.!Steel!can!prices!in!February!of!2015!were!at!$122/ton!demonstrating!that!the!majority!of!the!loss!

in!value!o c cu rre d !in !th e !p as t!8 !months.!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

74!

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Based!on!published!reports!of! jo b !creation!for!recycling,!an!assessment!of!the!number!of! jo b s!created!by!

recycling!and!an!assessment!of!the!number!of!jobs!that!could!be!created!by!increasing!the!recycling!rate!

has! been! performed.! Recycling! is! a! diverse! industry.! Securing! the se! raw! materials! for! manufacturing!

throu gh !recycling!is!an!integrated!system!that!starts!with!collection!of!materials!from!the!cu rb,!at!drop-

off! centers! or! from! businesses.! The! U.! S.!

Recycling! Econom

ic! Inform a tio n! Study! (REI)

identified ! 26!

different!types!of!recycling!businesses!from!collection!to!

manufacturing,

!includin g !processing,!equipment!

manufacturing,!foun drie s,!education,!training,!and!many!more.!

Potentially!recyclable!materials!encompass!newspapers,!bottles!and!cans,!glass,!steel,! textiles ,!organics,!

industria l! materials! such! as! asphalt,! concrete,! fly! ash,! construction! and! demolition! debris,! and!

electronics.! The! list! of! potentia lly! recyclable! materials! is ! leng th y! and! could! be! more! so! with!

governmen tal!support.!

Recycling! is! co st! co

mpet

itive! with! other! extractive! in d u str ies .! As! a! driver! of! economic! activity,! the!

recycling! industry! compares! favorably! to ! heavy! indu st ries ,! su ch! as! automobile! manufacturing! and!

mining.!It!outpaces!the!solid!waste!disposal!industry!for!jo b !creation!(see!table!below ) !and!recycling!adds!

value!to!materials!and!contributes!to!growing!the!labor!force.!Recycling!supports!U.S.!manufacturing!jobs!

and!increases!U.S.!competitiveness!throug h!cost!savings.!

Table!11:!Recycling!

bs!

Created

Types!of!Operation!

Jobs!per!10,000 !

TPY*!

Computer!Reuse!

296!

Textile!Reclamation!

85!

Misc.!Durables!Reuse!

62!

Wooden!Pallet!Repair!

28!

Recycling-based!Manufacturers!

25!

Paper!Mills!

18!

Glass!Product!Manufacturers!

26!

Plastic!Product!Manufacturers!

93!

Conventional!Materials!Recovery!Facilities!

10!

Composting!

Landfill!&!Incineration!

•!*TP Y!=!tons!per!year!!

Studies!have!been!undertaken!over!the!past!years!that!look! at!recycling!and!waste!diversion!activities!

(also! called! materials! management)! wi th ! an! eye! to! determining! what! impact! recycling! and! waste!

diversion!have!on!the!economy,!both!in!individual!states!as!well!as!on!the!United!States!as!a!whole.!

Applying! the! job! creation! numbers! to! a! hypothetical! program! to! collect! 10,000! tons! per! year! that!

includes ! truck s! for! colle ct io n! resu lt s! in! the ! creation! of! 68 ! jobs! to! manage! the! material! collection,!

processing!and!recycled!manufacturing!(Table!12).!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

75!

Table!12:!Economic !D e ve lo p ment!Impact!

Single-stream!Material!

Capital!Investment

Collection!Trucks!!

$281,250!!

Carts!!

$500,000!!

MRF!Infrastructure!

$400,000!!

$1,181,250!!

Market!Efficiencies

Avoided!Disposal!

$350,000!!

Material!Value!

$1,510,200!!

$1,860,200!!

Job!Growth !

MRF!Operations!

10!

Plastic!Manufacturing!

Glass!Manufacturing!

Paper!Mills!

10!

Recycling-Based!Manufacturers!

25!

!Total!Number!of!Jobs!

68!

MRF!access!near! population!centers!will!provide!the!infrastructure!to!grow!diversion! a nd !push!material!into!

the! recycling ! e co no m y.! Across! the! state,! local! commun ities! have! varied! programs! collecting! a! range ! of!

different!materials.!!Some!include! glass;!others!do!not.!!Some!collect! all!plastic;!others!just!plastic!bottles.!! A!

growing! number! of! communities! have! m oved! to! single-stream! program s,! others! still! source! separate! or!

collect! dual! stream.! ! Some! single -stream! programs! accept! cartons! (gable-top! containers! and!

juice/win e / so u p !boxe s) ,!which!are!a! growing!portion! of! the!waste!stream,!and!others!do!n ot.!These!are!just!

a!few!examples!of!the!variation!in!colle ction !pro grams.!

• Moving! toward! a! processing! model! that! involves! a! network! of! single-stream! MRFs! is! one!

strategy! to! drive! more! diversion.! The! remaining! coun ties! and! mu nicipalities! rely! on! varied!

programs!designed!around!convenience!sites!and!recycling!drop-off!locations.!!!

• Integrat io n ! a cross! Michigan! will! help! to! broaden! the! list! of! materials! collected,! drive! m ore !

diversion,!and!create!the!critical!mass!to!grow!the!recycling!economy.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

76!

• The!potential!for!increased!diversion!from!residential!recycling!programs!could!drive!econom ic!

growth!from!this!sector.!

• The! economic! growth! will! come! from! the! market! value! of! reco vere d! mate rial,! investmen t! in!

collection!and!processing! infrastructure,!job!growth,!efficiencies!in!transport!and!collection,!and!

decreased!disposal! costs!for!local!government.!Table!10!calculated!the!potential!le v el!ec o n o m ic !

impact !per!10,000!tons!of!additional!diversion,!includin g !th e !c re a t io n !o f !6 8 !jo b s . !

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An!analysis!of!the!impact!of!jobs!related!to!the!scrap!recycling!industry!conducted!by! the! Institute!of!

Scrap!Recycling!Industr ies !(ISR I)!th a t!inc lu d e s!re sid e n tia l,!co mmercial!and !ind u s tr ial!re cy clin g!provides!a!

broad! overview! of! the! impact! on! the! State! of! Michigan.! The! ISRI! analysis! stated! the! following!

conclusions:!

“From!the!earliest!known!uses!o f!scrap!thousan ds!of!years!ago,!to!the!optical!scanners,!x-ra ys,!

air!jets,!high-tech

!sh redders! and! other! technologically!advanced! equipment! used!tod ay ;! scrap!

recycling! has! ev olve d! into! a! m ajor! industry! dedicated! to! transfo rm ing! end-of-life! produc ts ! to!

create!new!commodity!grade!materials!that!boost!national,!state!and!local!economies.!

With! a! continuing! societal! focus! on! protecting! our! natural! resources,! energy! savings! and!

reducing! greenh ou se! gas! emission s,! the! scrap! recycling! industry! is! recognized! as! one! of! the!

world’s!first!green!industries,!while!playing!a!prominent!role!as!an!econo mic!leader,!job!c re at o r,!

major!exporter!and!environmental!steward.!In !fact,!the!people!and!firms!that!purch as e ,!process!

and!broker! old!scrap!to!be!m anufactured!in t o!n e w ! products!provide!16,673!people!w ith!good !

jobs!in!Michigan.

Table!13:!The!Economic!Impact!of!the!Scrap!Recycling!Industry

Direct!

Supplier!

Induced !

Total!

Jobs!

5,129!

6,134!

5,410!

16,673!

Wages!

$373,712,300!

$382,205,200!

$257,852,200!

$1,013,769,700!

Economic!

Impact!

$1,579,780,40

$1,248,387,900!

$851,907,100!

$3,680,075,400!

5,129! jobs! are! being! supported! by! the! manufacturing! and! brokerage! operations! of! the! scrap!

recycling!industry! in!Michigan!in!2015

These!are! good!jobs!paying!an! a v era g e !wage!of! $ 7 2 ,86 3 .!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!01<?9(68(@C?(!2686HB2(&HI12@(6G(@C?()251I(,?2E2;B84(&897<@5E(B8(@C?($8B@?9()@1@?<(_J[/P`F(I56972?9(G65(@C?(&8<@B@7@?(6G(

)251I(,?2E2;B84(&897<@5B?<F(&82.(YE(a6C8(U78C1H(189(+<<62B1@?<F(J[/P.

(%CB<(B82;79?<(GB5H<(B8N6;N?9(B8(@C?(I752C1<B84F(I562?<<B84F(5?2E2;B84(189(Y563?5B84(6G(<251I(H1@?5B1;<(B82;79B84(G?5567<(189(

868G?5567<(H?@1;<F(I1I?5F(?;?2@568B2<F(57YY?5F(I;1<@B2<F(4;1<<(189(@?c@B;?<.(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

77!

In!ad d it io n !to!this,!the!scrap!recy cling !industry !through !supplie rs !and!the!in d ire ct!impa ct!of!the!

industry ’s!e xp e n d itu re s!in d ire ct ly!s u p po rt s!1 1 ,5 4 4 !job s .

• All!of!this!activity!generates!nearly!$3.68!billion!in!economic!benefits!in!Michigan.!

• When! all! scrap! materials! are! taken! into! a c co u n t,! the! U.S.! scrap! recycling! industry!

accounts!for! 0.68! perce nt! of! the! nation’s ! tota l! economic!activity,

making!it!similar!in!

size! to ! the! data! p rocessing! and! hosting! industry,! the! dental! industry,! and! the!

automotive!repair!industry.!

• The!value!of!the!scrap!sold!in!Michigan! is!created! through!the! capital! and!jo b !intens iv e!

processing!operations!of!the!American!scrap!recycling!industry!th at!tran sform s!old!and!

obsolete! materials! into! commodities! tha t! meet! the! exa cting! needs! of! m a nu factu rers!

worldwide.!This!not!only!benefits!workers,!but!also!the!government.!All!told,!the!scrap!

recycling!indus try !generates!$232.06! million! in!ta x!revenu es!for!the!federal!government!

and!$131.89!million!in!state!and!local!revenues.”!

(

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(UB5?2@( BHI12@<( 15?( @C6<?( 1<<62B1@?9( bB@C( <251I( I562?<<65<( 189( Y563?5<.( )7II;B?5( BHI12@<( 15?( 1<<62B1@?9( bB@C( GB5H<(

I56NB9B84(4669<( 189( <?5NB2?<( @6( <251I(5?2E2;?5<( 189( Y563?5<F( B82;79B84(I?99;?5<F(189( B8972?9( BHI12@<( 15?( @C6<?( 5?<7;@B84(

G56H(@C?(5?]<I?89B84(6G(b14?<(YE(b653?5<(B8(@C?(9B5?2@(189(<7II;B?5(<?2@65<.(

(075?17(6G(!2686HB2(+81;E<B<.((:U=(Y1<?9(68(G675@C(q715@?5(J[/OF(N1;7?(6G(g/V.V[M(@5B;;B68F(<??\(

Gross Domestic Product:

Fourth Quarter and Annual 2014

(_%CB59(!<@BH1@?`t(

Corporate Profits: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2014

F(*152C(JVF(J[/P.(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

78!

SECTION IV

LANDFILL CHARACTERIZATION FOR MICHIGAN

! !

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

79!

*$T&#&=+W()SW&U(K+)%!(U!D&T&%&ST)((

The!US!EPA! defines!Municipal! Solid!Waste!(MSW)!as!“discards!from!residential!and!commercial! sou rces!

that! d oe s!not!contain! re gu lated !hazardous!wastes.”!(EPA,!State! M ea su rem e nt!Program!Temp late,!2013)!

The!EPA!has!provided!a!detailed!description!of!materials!that!are!considered!MSW!and!those!that!are!

not,! and! the! full! table! is! appended! to! this! document.! Key! considerations! in! the! definition! of! MSW!

include: !

• MSW!excludes!waste! from!industrial!operations,!manufacturing,! construction!and! demolition,!

and!transportation!equipment!(automobiles).!

• MSW!excludes!sludges!and!combustion!ash.!

,?2E2;B84((

Recycling!is!defined!by! the! US! EPA! as! “the!series!of!a ctivities!by!w h ich!discarded!materials! a re!collected,!

sorted,!processed,!and!converted!into! raw!material! and!returned!to!the! economic!mainstream! by!being!

used! in! the! production! of! new! products.! It! does! not! include! the! use! of! these! materials! as! a! fuel!

substitute!or!for!energy!production.”!(EPA,!Sta te!M e as u rement!Program !Tem p la te ,!2013)!Similar!detail!

by! m aterial! identifying! the! activities! that! are! and! are! not! considered! recycling! is! excerpted! from!

“Measuring!Recycling:!A!Guide!for!State!and!Local!G overnm ents”!and!appended!to!this!docum ent.!Key!

activities!that!are!not!considered!recycling!are:!

• Combustion!of!material!for!energy!recovery;!

• Backyard!(onsite)!composting!of!food!scraps!and!yard!trimmings;!

• Reuse!(e.g.!of!refillable!packaging,!textiles,!pallets,!plastic!products,!etc.);!

• Recycling!of!non-MSW!such!as!waste!from!industrial!processes;!and!!

• Recycling!of!wood!waste!or!yard!trimmings!from!C&D!debris.!

Effectively,! the! EPA! definition! of! MSW! was! used! in! this! m ethodology,! and! is! based! on! the! historical!

management! of! municipal! solid! waste.! Although! it! is! common! practice! to! landfill! materials! such! as!

municipal! sludge,! nonhazardous! industrial! process! wastes,! and! construction! and! demolition! (C&D)!

debris!along!with!MSW,!these!materials!are!not!included!in!the!standard!scope!of!MSW!or!a!recycling!

rate.!

*B2CB418(U?GB8B@B68(6G()6;B9(K1<@?(

For!the!purposes!of!the!study,!a!waste!sector!is!identified !by!the!particular!generation!characteristics!that!

ma ke ! it! a ! unique! portion! of! the! total! wa ste! stream.! This! study! is! limited! to! analysis! of! the! statutory!

definition!of!municipal!solid!waste!(MSW!or! so lid!waste),! which!is!defined!by!Michigan!law!as!“ga rbage,!

rubbish,! ash es ,! inc ine rator! ash,!incin era tor! residue,! stre et! cleanings,! municipa l! a nd ! industrial!slu dg es,!

solid!com me rcial! waste,!solid!industrial!w aste,! an d!animal!waste”!as!per!Act!451! of! 1994,!Part!115,!Solid!

Waste!Management.!Each! state!characterization!that!was! reviewed!has! a! different!definition!of!what!

material!was!included!in!their!studies!based!on!their!statutory!definition!and!the!types!of!solid!waste!

and! recycling! program! requirements.! The! characterizations! from! other! states! and! com mun ities!

identified ! 8 0! d iffe re n t! ca te g o rie s! o f! m a te ria l! th a t! w e re ! ev alu a te d ,! ho w e v er ! no t! e ve ry ! ca te go ry ! w a s!

evaluated!within!a!specific!state!study.!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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The!definition!of!MSW!in!M ic h iga n !excludes!the!follow in g!materials!from!the!definition!of!Solid!W a ste :!

(a) Human!body!waste.!

(b) Medical!waste.!

(d) Liquid!waste.!

(e) Ferrous!or!nonferrous!scrap!directed!to!a!scrap!m etal!processor!or!to!a!reuser!of!ferrous!

or!nonferrous!products.!

(f) Slag!or!slag!products!directed!to!a!slag!processor!or!to!a!reuser!of!slag!or!slag!products.!

(g) Sludges! and! ashes! managed! as! recycled! or! non-detrimental! materials! appropriate! for!

agricultural!or!silvicultural!use!pursuant!to!a!plan!approved!by!the!department.!

(h) The! following! materials! that! are! used! as! animal! feed,! or! are! applied! on,! or! are!

composted! and! ap plied! on,! farmland ! or! forestland! for! an! ag ricultural! or! silvicultural!

purpose!at!an!agronomic!rate!consistent!with!GAAMPS:!

(i) Materials!approved!for!emergency!disposal!by!the!department.!

(j) Source!separated!materials.!

(k) Site!separated!material.!

(l) Coal!ash,!when!used!under!specified!circumstances!

(m) Inert!m a te ria l.!

(n) Soil! that! is! washed! or! otherwise! removed! from! sugar! beets,! has! not! more! than! 35%!

moisture!content,!and!is!registered!as!a!soil!conditioner.!

(o) Soil!that!is!relocated!under!section!20120c.!

(p) Diverted!waste!that!is!managed!through!a!waste!diversion!center.!

(q) Beneficial!use!by-products.!

(r) Coal!bottom!ash,!if!substantially!free!of!fly!ash!or!economizer!ash,!when!used!as!cold!

weather!road!abrasive.!

(s) Stamp! sands! w hen! used! as! cold! w eather! road! abrasive! in! the! Upper! Peninsula! by!

specified!agencies:!

(t) Any!material!that!is!reclaimed!or!reused!in!the!process!that!generated!it.!

(u) Any!secondary! material!that,!as! specified!in! or! determined! pursuant! to! 40!CFR!part! 241,!

is!not!a!so lid !w a s te !w h e n !co mbusted.!

(v) Other!wastes!regulated!by!statute.!

U!'!WS=*!T%(SD(W+TUD&WW(#A+,+#%!,&d+%&ST(DS,(*&#A&:+T(

(

It!is!im po rt a nt !to!understand!the!typ es!and!quantities!of!materials!generated,!the!generating!sectors,!the!

quantities!that!are!potentially!recover able!and!those!that!are!otherwise!disposed! to !enable!sound!policy!

and!program!design,!implementation!and!program!analyses!for!both!th e!public!sector!and!private!sector!

in!M ich ig a n .! Many!states!and!counties!through ou t!the!co un try!conduct!waste!characterization!studies!

at!regular!intervals!to!evaluate!recycling!program!effectiveness,!monitor!changes!in!the!disposed!waste!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

81!

stream,!confirm!the!effectiveness!of!landfill!disposal!bans,!identify!potential!diversion!opportunities,!and!

otherwise! help! manage! their! waste! streams.! Generation! data! can! be! used! fo r! strate gic! planning;!

developing! future! legisla tiv e! initiatives ;! evaluating! effectiveness! of! current! recovery! efforts;! targeting!

programs! and! edu cational! efforts! to! advance! recove ry! of! comm odities;! providing! guidance! to! state!

agencies!and! local! go ve rn ments;!and ! aid! in! fulfillin g ! the!responsibilities!required!under!the! Governors!

Initiative.!

The!development!of!a!w aste!characterization!for!the!State!of!Michigan!is!based!a!review!of!statewide!

and!municipal!waste!characterization!studies!from!across!the!country.!Addit ion ally,!the! RRS!completed!a!

literature! review! for! any! new! waste! characte rization! stu dies .! Resource! Recycling! Systems! (RRS)!

developed! a! national! landfill! characterization! estimation! tool! based! on ! 27! different! landfill!

characterization!studies.!These!studies!range!from!individual!m unicipality!studies!to!statewide!studies.!

For!each!study,!RRS! standardized! the!list!of! materials! and!summarized!the!composition!of! the!landfill!by!

percentage! of! each! m aterial.! The! studies! are! categorized! as! coming! from! low-,! medium-,! or! high -

diversion! communities,! since! as! m ore! material! is! diverted! from! the! landfill! the! composition! of! the!

remaining!m a teria l!chan ge s.!

Each! study! was! evaluated! for! inclusion! in ! the! tool! to! ensure! compatibility! with! the! existing! studies.!

Based!on!the!unique!ch aracteristics!of! the! waste!characterization! studies!the !Project!Team!performed!

a!statistical!a na lysis! of! existing! composition! stud ies! to! quantify! the! effects! of! each.! For! example,! the!

waste!characterization!for!states !with!landfill!bans!(or!strong!policy!promoting!the!dive rsion!of!organics)!

will! be!com pared!with! those! without!to! determine ! the! deviation! from! the! average.! This! analysis! was!

comp le ted!for!each!of!the!factors!

to!fully!understand!the!effects!of!specific!policies!and! conditions! now!

present!in!Michigan.!!

Another! consideration! that!complicates! the!use!of!waste!characterizations!studies! for!the!development!

of!a!waste!characterization!for!the!State!of!Michigan! is! the! “evolving!ton”,!a!term!being! u se d! to ! de scrib e!

the!shift!in!the!overall!com p osition !of!the !mu n icipal!solid!w aste !stream!ov er!the !past!20 !years .!One !of!

the!trends!respo nsib le!for!this!evolu tion!h as!be en !the!light!we ighting !of!pac kag ing,!especially!through!

the!u se !of!materials!like!plastics!and!a lum inu m !that!have!displaced!materials!like!glass!and!steel.!More!

recently,!even!rigid!p lastic!packag ing!forma ts!have!started!to! be !displaced!by!rapidly!growing!formats!in!

flexible!pac ka ging .!But!plas tics !are!n o t!alone!in!d riv ing !the!waste!shift:!Electron ic !media !have!played !a!

major! role! in! changing! the! composition! of! our! recycling! stream! by! reducing! the! absolute! volume! of!

newspaper!and!office!paper.!!

It’s! also! critical! to! understand! that! while! more! types! of! plastics! are! getting! collected,! complexity! has!

increased! even! within! the! resin! types! the! recycling! system ! has! traditionally! ha ndled.! In! response! to!

growing! pressure!to!recycle! mo re,!many!companies!are! shifting!to!“recyclable”! m aterials,!often! de fining!

them!as!th ose !acc ep ted !in!co m m un ity!recycling!programs.!!One!of!the!best!examples!of!this!trend!has!

been! PET! replacing! PVC! or! PS! thermoforms! and! heavier! jar! and! container! material! like! glass.! !

The!

unforeseen! consequ ence! of! this! well-intention e d ! transit io n! is! the! recent! diversification! of! PET! in! the!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

82!

recycling! stream,! a! phenom enon! that! has! lowered! the! yield! of! usable! materials! (the! PET! used! in!

clamshells,!blisters!and!ketchup!bottles!is!not!the!same!as!that!used!in!a!soda!bottle).!

*?@C696;64E(

The!studies!w ere!rev iew ed !a nd !e valu ate d!on!the!b asis!of!thorou gh ne ss!a nd !a ccu rac y,!d ate!conducte d,!

and!relevance!to!the!material! types!under!consideration.!Each!study!was!assigned! to!a!low,! m edium,!or!

high! diversion! profile! based! on! the! characteristics! of! the! states! or! commun ities! represented! in! each !

study! and ! the! per! capita! am o unt! of! land filled! m aterial.! By! averaging! across! seve ral! studies,! generic!

profiles!for!low,!m edium,! and! high! diversion!states! and! comm unities!were! developed.! The! profiles!were!

adjusted!to!take!into!account!overall!drops!in!landfill!tonnage!in!recent!years!as!a!result!of!the!economic!

downturn!and!the!changing!material!mix.!Each!profile!consists!of!an!estimate!of!per!capita!generation,!

and!the! composition!of!this!m aterial,! as!well!as! residential!and! comm ercial! generation! and!composition!

from!studies !tha t!includ ed !sep ara te!ch ara cte rizatio ns!o f!tho se!se cto rs. !

The! Project! Team! reviewed! recent! landfill! characterization! studies! from! other! states,! including!

Pennsylvania,!Illinois,!Tennessee,!and!Nebraska.!Only!state!stu d ie s! t ha t!had!spec ific! c h a rac te riz at io ns ! fo r!

residential! m ate rial! w e re! in clud ed .! A ll! fou r! o f! th ese ! state s! h av e! le ss! th an ! 15 ! p erce nt! diversion.! Th e!

percentage! of! standard! residential! recyclables! in! the! residential! waste! stream! was! on! average! 37!

percent! and! ranged! from! 35! percent! to! 39! percent.! Reviewing! characterizations! from! states! with!

medium!diversion!(15%–40%!statewide)!including!California,!Conn ecticut!and!Washington,!the!range!is!

similar! with! Ca lifornia! at! the! upp er! end! of! the! diversion! range! and! only! 19! percent! of! the! landfilled!

material!was!recyclable!to!Connecticut!at!25!percent!diversion!and!24!percent!material!recyclable.!!

Table!14:!Characteriza tio n !S t u d ie s!R e v iewed!

Low-Diversion!Profile!

• Pennsylvania,!2003!

• Illinois,!20 0 9!

• Georgia,!2005!

• Indiana ,!2 0 1 2!

• US!EPA,!2012!

Medium!-Diversion!Profile!

• Wisconsin!"2003!

• Connecticut!"2010"

• California!Integrated!Waste!

Management!Board!"2009!

• US!EPA!

High-Diversion!Profile!

• Thurston!County,!WA!"2007!

• Snohomish!County,!WA!"2009!

• Clark!County,!WA!"2008!

• Seattle,!WA!Public!Utilities,!Residential-!

2007;!Commercial!-!2008!!

• San!Francisco!"2006!

• Palo!Alto,!CA!"2006!

• California!Integrated!Waste!

Management!Board,!2009!

• US!EPA,!see!above!

Additional!Studies!Consulted!

• Delaware,!2007!

• Iowa,!20 1 1 !!

• Missouri,!122H!

• Nebraska,!2009!

• Oregon!"2002!!

• Vermont,!2002.!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

83!

It! should! be ! not e d ! that ! the ! natio nal! an d ! wo r ld ! eco n o my! exp e rie n c ed! the! effe ct s! of! a! sign ificant !

economic! down turn! in!2008-2009,! w ith! the !effects!im p a ctin g !several! o f!the! studies!that! w ere!reviewed.!

While!it!is!beyond!the!scope!of!this!stud y!to!qu an tify!the!imp ac ts,!it!can!b e!qualitatively!asserted!that!

waste!generation!patterns!may! have!been! affected! and!generation! of! specific! types! of!material!have!

changed!for!a!number!of!reasons:!

• Slow! or! negative! business! grow th! has! resulted! in! absolute! an d!per-cap ita! decreases! in! waste!

generation.!

• Construction!was!lower!than! average! for! both! residential! and! non-re sidential! projects.!

• Markets!for! recycled! materials,! like! many! commodities!markets,! dropped! precipitously! during!

the!recession.!

The! original! approach ! was! to! gen erate! three! separate ! compositions! specifically! fo r! Michigan:! low,!

medium ,!and!high!diversion!communities.!Based!on!data!from!Michigan!Recycling!Index!project,!each!of!

the!counties!was!to!be!classified!in! o n e !of!these!categories!based!on!its!diversion!rate!(less!than!15%!for!

low!div e rsion! and! greater!than! 40 %!for!high! diversion).! In! this! manner,!the!characterization!would!be!

applied !to!each!county,!based!on!the!reported!tons!g en erated!in!th at!coun ty!in!the!most!rece nt!MDEQ!

Landfill!Report.!An!avera ge!statewide!residential!compos ition!would!then!be!

generated!from!thi

s!analysis!

for!Michigan-generated!material!that!does!not!include!imported!material.!A!key!issue!is!that!Michigan!

has!one!of!the!more!effective!deposit!container!(Bottle!Bill)!programs!in !th e !co u n try .!

The!data!collected!in!the!Michigan!Recycling!Index!project!did!not!result!in!data!that!allowed!for!each!

county! to! b e! classified! as! low,! medium,! and! high! divers io n ! com munities.! The! Recycling! Index! project!

results! indicated! a! 15% ! Recycling! (diversion)! rate! that! would! put! Michigan! at! the! boundary! of! the!

division!between!a!low!and!a!medium!diversion!categorization.!!

An!alternative!approach!was!developed!that!utilized!the!average!of!the!low,!medium,!and!high!diversion !

compositions!from!the!review!of!waste!characterizations!studies!as!well!as!a!diversion!categorizations!

for!states!w ith !b ottle!deposit!s yste m s!and!states !w ith !ya rd!waste!b an s. !Several!studies!also!included!a!

breakdown! between! residential! and! Institutional,! Comm ercial,! and! Indus tr ial! (ICI)! c a te g o rie s.! The!

Project! Team !believes!strongly!that! w hen!a!state!is!classified! by!its!diversion!rate,!a!credible! estimation!

can!be!made!of!the!percentage! of!materials!that!are!recyclable!and! the! value!of!that! material! relative! to!

the!State!of!Michigan.!

Separate! characterizations! were! created! specifically! for!state s! with!a! b ottle ! b ill. ! Table!15! illust rat es ! a!

sample!of!the!com p arison!o f!the!stud y!resu lts.!The!table!for!plastic!shows!the!variability!of!studies!for!

specific!categories!of!material.!These!characterizations!show!that!there!is!a!difference!of!4.29%!in!the!

total!plastics!from!the!low!estima te!to!the!high!estim ate .!The!me diu m !diversion !chara cteriza tion!is!very!

similar!to!the!bottle!bill!diversion!characterization.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

84!

Table!15:!Percentage!of!Total!Plastic!Landfilled!!

PET!bottles!

PET!containers!non-

bottles!

HDPE!Bottles!Natural!

HDPE!Bottles!not!

specified/Colored!

LDPE!(includes!some!

bags,!film)!

Expanded!

Polystyrene!(foam)!

Plastic!bottles!and!

#3-7!(general)!

Durable!and!Rigid!

containers!

All!other!Plastics!

Plastic!subtotal!

Low!Diversion!

1.09%!

0.03%!

0.15%!

0.84%!

5.73%!

1.02%!

0.42%!

3.95%!

0.65%!

13.88%!

Medium!Diversion!

0.63%!

0.03%!

0.07%!

0.37%!

4.00%!

0.67%!

0.17%!

2.43%!

3.27%!

11.63%!

Low!Diversion!–!

GL!Residential!

1.31%!

0.29%!

0.25%!

0.93%!

5.53%!

1.04%!

0.78%!

1.22%!

4.56%!

15.92%!

Medium!Diversion!-!

GL!Residential!

1.77%!

0.00%!

0.10%!

3.14%!

3.61%!

1.65%!

0.00%!

0.80%!

3.18%!

14.79%!

Bottle!Bill!Diversion!

0.63%!

0.03%!

0.08%!

0.46%!

4.59%!

0.91%!

0.30%!

1.66%!

3.47%!

12.11%!

All!of!the!Great!Lakes!states!that!were!evaluated!have!some! type! of!o rganics!or! yard!w aste! bans! in!place!

while! other! states! and! states! with! container! deposit! laws! do! not! have! comprehensive! organics!

management! programs! or! landfill! bans.! The! higher! percentage!of! organics! in! states! without! organics!

management!programs!is!primarily!driven!by!higher!percentages!of!leaves!and!grass.!Leaves!and!grass!

make!up! approximately! 3.7-3.9! %!of!the!total!w aste!stream! in!the!states! without!organics! managem ent!

programs.! Reducing! the! organics! fraction! for! this! category! of! materials! for! ch a ra ct e riza tio n ! based! on!

data! from! states! with! deposit! container! programs! would! require! this! fraction! to! be! distributed! on! a!

weighted!basis!to!all!other!categories!to!ensure!a! 100%!distribution.! An!adjusted! bottle! bill!diversion!

allocation!was!performe d!to !com p en sate !for!the !yard!w as te!disp osa l!ban !in!M ich igan .!It!is!our!opinio n!

that! u tilizing!the! a dju sted !bottle! b ill!diversion!characterizations!would!present!a!u sefu l!approach!for!the!

State!of!Michigan!but!may!overstates!the!quantity!of!organics!(leaves!and!grass).!!

Table!16!provides!the!characterization!for!all!major!categories!of!materials.!The!compositions!provided!

in!the!table !sho w!tha t!th e !ave ra ge !of !stat e s!th at !w ere !cla ss ifie d !as!a!medium!diver sio n ,!inc lu din g !bo t h!

residential!a nd !comm ercia l!m aterial,!is!very!consistent!w ith!the!characterization!of!states!with!deposit!

container!programs.!The!other!comp arison!that!was!calculated!w as!to!states!in!the!Great!Lakes!region!

(Illinois,! Indiana ,! Wisconsin,! Iowa ).! T h ese ! composition! e stim a tes! were! com pa re d! to! select! an!

appropriate!statewide! composition!to!be! ap plied! to!Michigan.!A! com prehensive! table!of!the! percentage!

allocation!of!all!major!categories!of!studies!is!included!in!Appendix!V.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

85!

Table!16:!Percentage !o f!C a te g o rie s !o f!La n d fille d ! Materials!

Paper!!

Plastic!!

Metal!!

Glass!!

Electronics!!

Total!Wood!

Organic!!

Auto!related!!

Household!Items!

(Carpet,!Textile,!

Bulbs)!

Other!Non-!

Recyclables!

Low!Diversion!!

32.69%!

13.88%!

5.33%!

3.28%!

2.23%!

8.67%!

20.79%!

0.16%!

6.10%!

6.87%!

Medium!Diversion!!

21.30%!

11.63%!

4.93%!

2.00%!

2.50%!

11.87%!

23.90%!

0.27%!

5.93%!

15.67%!

Low!Diversion!–!!

GL!Residential!

26.72%!

15.92%!

7.48%!

2.51%!

2.40%!

11.90%!

20.07%!

0.37%!

6.32%!

6.33%!

Medium! Diversion! - !

GL!Residential!

34.12%!

14.79%!

4.68%!

3.45%!

2.10%!

6.85%!

18.78%!

0.30%!

3.99%!

10.95%!

Bottle!Bill!Diversion!!

22.81%!

12.11%!

5.85%!

1.73%!

1.56%!

10.17%!

24.39%!

0.05%!

5.18%!

16.17%!

Bottle!Bill!Diversion!

–!Adjusted!

23.69%!

12.58%!

6.08%!

1.79%!

1.62%!

10.57%!

21.30%!

0.05%!

5.37%!

16.95%!

The! final! step! was! to! comb ine! the! over! 80! categories! of! material! that! were! identified! in! the!

characterization! states! into! a! classification! system! that! typifies! broader! categories! consistent! with!

market!specifications.!The!estimate!of!landfilled!material!was!calculated!by!multiplying!the!quantity!of!

total!landfilled!mate rial!by!the !ave rage!percent!of!material!types!selected!as!representative!of!Michigan.!

Table! 17! provides! a! consolidated! profile! of! the! statewide! disposed! waste! stream.! In! add itio n ,! the !

current!recovery!o f!material!as!developed!in!for!the!M ichigan!Recycling!Index!project!wa s!include d!for!

comparative!purposes.!The!Adjusted! Bo ttle!Bill! scenario!is!he!recommended!framework!for!the!State! of!

Michigan!Waste!Characterization.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

86!

Table!17:!Michigan!Waste!Characterization!!

Material!Type!

Current!

Diversion!

Tons!!

Medium!

Diversion!

Tons!!

Medium!

Diversion!!

Percent!

FINAL!

ADJUSTED!

TONS!

FINAL!

ADJUSTED!

PERCENTAGE!

High!Grade!-!White!and!Colored!Ledger!

!4,849!!

!101,668!!

1.27%!

!114,234!!

1.42%!

Mixed/!unspecified!Office!

!32,792!!

!32,106!!

0.40%!

!56,492!!

0.70%!

Low! Grade! -! general! (OM G),! Boxboard,! P a p e r!

Bags,!Phonebooks!other!recyclables!

!193,055!!

!329,084!!

4.10%!

!447,557!!

5.58%!

ONP!

!55,699!!

!139,125!!

1.73%!

!154,466!!

1.92%!

OCC!

!140,265!!

!390,620!!

4.87%!

!455,686!!

5.68%!

Cartons,!Aseptics!and!Poly-coated!

!26,233!!

!5,351!!

0.07%!

!11,257!!

0.14%!

Compostable/!soiled!and!all!other!paper!

!711,678!!

8.87%!

!661,642!!

8.24%!

Paper!Subtotal!

!452,893!!

!1,709,632!!

21.30%!

!1,901,543!!

23.69%!

PET!bottles!and!containers!

!5,742!!

!53,510!!

0.67%!

!54,616!!

0.68%!

HDPE!Bottles!Natural!&!Colored!

!5,076!!

!34,781!!

0.43%!

!44,818!!

0.56%!

Plastic!bottles!and!#3-7!(general)!

!2,153!!

!13,377!!

0.17%!

!25,015!!

0.31%!

All! other! Plastics! and! Packaging,! LDPE,!

Polystyrene!(foam),!Durable! and!R igid! containers!

and!PP!tubs)!

!58,172!!

!832,075!!

10.37%!

!885,107!!

11.03%!

Plastic!Subtotal!

!71,143!!

!933,743!!

11.63%!

!1,009,556!!

12.58%!

Aluminum!cans!

!17,459!!

!16,053!!

0.20%!

!13,758!!

0.17%!

Ferrous!metals!(includes!Tin/Steel!Cans,!tin)!

!121,354!!

!243,469!!

3.03%!

!357,295!!

4.45%!

Non-ferrous! m etals,! Aluminum! (foil)! and! Other!

Metal!and!Aerosol!Cans!

!33,626!!

!136,450!!

1.70%!

!116,736!!

1.45%!

Metal!Subtotal!

!172,439!!

!395,971!!

4.93%!

!487,789!!

6.08%!

Glass!-!general!including!containers!

!161,913!!

!98,993!!

1.23%!

!105,896!!

1.32%!

Other!Glass!

!20,772!!

!61,536!!

0.77%!

!37,939!!

0.47%!

Glass!Subtotal!

!182,685!!

!160,529!!

2.00%!

!143,835!!

1.79%!

Electronics!-!general,!computer!related,!CRT!

!24,181.9!!

!171,231!!

2.13%!

!118,820!!

1.48%!

White!goods!(appliances)!

!29,430!!

0.37%!

!11,465!!

0.14%!

Electronics!Subtotal!

!24,181.9!!

!200,661!!

2.50%!

!130,285!!

1.62%!

Total!Wood!

!952,471!!

11.87%!

!848,002!!

10.57%!

Yard!waste!-!general!

!56,751!!

!457,507!!

5.70%!

!217,003!!

2.70%!

Food!

!226,701!!

!1,048,789!!

13.07%!

!1,211,759!!

15.10%!

Other!R/C!Organics,!Branches!and!Stumps!

!94,646!!

!412,024!!

5.13%!

!280,791!!

3.50%!

Yard!Waste!and!Organic!Subtotal!

!378,097!!

!1,918,320!!

23.90%!

!1,709,554!!

21.30%!

Other!Textiles,!Batteries,!Tires,!Carpet,!Light!Bulbs!

!132,364!!

!497,639!!

6.20%!

!435,258!!

5.42%!

Other!Non-!recyclable!Materials!

!225!!

!1,257,476!!

15.67%!

!1,360,621!!

16.95%!

Total!

!1,414,029!!

!8,026,443!!

100.00%!

!8,026,443!!

100.00%!

*Numbers!may!not!total!due!to!rounding!errors

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

87!

!2686HB2('1;7?(6G(W189GB;;?9(,?2E2;1Y;?<((

Based! on! th e! data! collected! in! the!related! MRI! project,! the! Project! Team!calculated! the! econo mic!

impact!of! the! current! land fille d! material.! Both! the! value! of! the!m aterial! diverted! from! the! landfill!

(recyclables!and!organics)!and!the!landfill!cost !savings!is!calculat ed.!!The!quantity!of!these!materi als!

Table!18:!Value!of!Lan d fille d !Material!!

POTENTIAL!RECYCLED!COMMODITY!!

TONS!

Percent!

of!Total!

5!YEAR!

Average!

$/TON!

VALUE!Based!

on!5-Yr!Avg.!

ACR!

OCTOBER!

2015!VALUE!

Soft!Mixed!Paper!

!618,283!!

32.9%!

$62.83!

$38,843,613!

$26,277,017!

Special!De-ink!Qua lity !News!(ONP)!

!154,466!!

8.2%!

$82.92!

$12,807,844 !

$8,881,821!

Corrugated!Containers!(OCC)!

!455,686!!

24.3%!

$112.50!

$51,264,728!

$35,315,702!

Aseptic!Cartons!

!11,257!!

0.6%!

$49.37!

$555,704!

$1,280,446!

Glass!3!Mix!

!143,835!!

7.7%!

-$3.53!

-$508,218!

-$1,654,104!

Aluminum!Cans!(Sorted,!Baled)!

!13,758!!

0.7%!

$1,539.00!

$21,173,787!

$14,996,379!

Steel!Cans!(Sorted,!Densified)!

!357,295!!

19.0%!

$113.29!

$40,478,533!

$32,156,539!

PET!(Baled,!picked!up)!

!54,616!!

2.9%!

$420.29!

$22,954,602!

$11,469,291!

Natural!HDPE!(Bailed,!picked!up)!

!6,254!!

0.3%!

$708.40!

$4,430,123!

$3,251,925!

Colored!HDPE!(Bailed,!picked!up)!

!38,565!!

2.1%!

$486.67!

$18,768,057!

$13,883,220!

Comingled!(#3-7,!Baled,!picked!up)!

!25,015!!

1.3%!

$1.96!

$49,112!

$1,250,741!

TOTAL!of!Potential!Recyclables!

!1,879,029!!

100.0%!

$210,817,886!

$147,108,976!

Disposed!Tons!

!8,026,443!!

Percent!of!Potential!Recyclables!

versus!Landfill!

23.4%!

$112!

$78!

Jobs!Created!

!12,777!!

OTHER!MATERIAL!

C&D!Wood!

!848,002!!

$15.00!

$12,720,031!

Textiles!

!238,891!!

$4.00!

$955,566!

$12,720,031!

Computers!

!36,271!!

$500.00!

$18,135,738!

$955,566!

LDPE!(includes!some!bags,!film)!

!382,518!!

$278.00!

$106,340,046!

$4,533,934!

Durable!and!Rigid!containers!(HDPE!

Rigid!(Baled)!

!138,207!!

$332.00!

$45,884,668!

$45,902,178!

TOTAL!Other!Material!

!795,888!!

$171,316,017!

$42,844,117!

TOTAL!

!2,674,917!!

$382,133,903!

$94,235,796!

Potential!Jobs!Crea ted !

!18,189!!

(

The! current! value! of! currently! landfilled! bu t! potentially! recyclable! material! based! on! a! 5-Year!

Average!Commodity!Revenue!for!the!M idw e st ! is!ap p ro ximately!$21 1 ! million ,! which ! is!14 3 % ! of!th e !

value! base! on! the! current! Octobe r! 2015! com m odity! value.! As! stated! in! the! value! of! currently!

recycled! m ate rial,! th e! decline! in! v alue ! o ve r! th e! p as t! tw o ! ye ars! is! driven! by! the! global! decline! in!

commodity !dem a n d !driven !in!large!part!by!the!slowdown!in!the!Chine se !econ o my.!The !value !of!the!

avoided!disposal!cost,!based!on!the!average!gate!rate!for!disposal!of!$35/ton!is!approximately!$318.1!

million.!The!number!of!jobs!that!could!potentially!be!created!by!recycling!a ll!m ate rial!th at! is!cu rren tly!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

88!

recyclable! but! lan d filled! is! 12,77 7.! Th is! calcu latio n! do es ! not! atte m p t! to! asse ss! the ! trade off! in! jo bs!

due!to!the!reduction!in! jobs!required!to!collect,!transfer,!landfill!or!otherwise!mange! solid!waste!that!

is!not!currently!recovered.!If!collection!systems!are!optimally!and!efficiently!managed,!the!gain!and!

loss! in! collectio n ! would! be! a! net! n eu tr al! job! ch a n ge ,! but! jo b! gains! would! be! se en ! in! pro ce s sin g ,!

reprocessing!a nd !rem a nu factu ring ,!

If!th e !goa l!of!the!State!wer e !to!increase!the!recycling!rate!to!30% !for!recyclable! m aterials!then!15%!

of! the! currently! landfilled! m aterial! would! need! to! be! recovered.! The! current! value! of! 15%! of! the!

currently! landfilled! but! potentially! recyclable! material! based! on! a! 5-Year! Average! Commodity!

Revenue! for! the! Midwest! is! approximately! $137! m illion,! which! is! 98%! of! the! value! base! on! the!

current!October!2015!comm od ity!value.!The!value!of!the!avoided!dispo sal!cost,!based!on!the!average!

gate! rate! for! disposal! of! $35/ton! is! approximately! $206.8! million.! The! numb e r! o f! job s ! th at ! co u ld!

potentially!be!created!by!recycling!all!material!that!is!currently!recyclable!but!landfilled!is!8,305.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

89!

SECTION V

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF RECYCLING

(

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

90!

!)%&*+%&T:(!T'&,ST*!T%+W(&*=+#%)(SD(,!#-#W&T:(

(

Waste!and!recyclables! that!end! up! in!landfill!is!lost!energy!and!m aterials.!In!a! landfill!site,!organic!

residuals!decomposing!in!anaerobic!conditions!produces!landfill!gas,!approximately!half!of!which!is!

methane.!When!waste!is!recycled,! landfill!gas!is!not!formed.!In!addition!to!landfill!emissions,!waste!

and!contributes!to!greenhouse!gas!emissions!also!in!other!operations,!such!as:!!!

• Waste!collection!and!transport!

• Waste!management!in!other!than!landfill!sites!

• Energy!consumption!in!the!manufacture,!transport!and!use!of!products!and!materials!that!

end!up!in!waste!

• Other!manufacturing!emissions!not!associated!with!energy!consumption!

When!properly!managed,!recycling!can!affect!emissions!at!all!of!these!stages.!In!recycling!operations,!

refuse-derived!raw!materials!are!used!in!the!manufa cture !of!products!o r!m ate rials!inste ad !of!virgin!

materials.!In!addition,! this! often!uses!less!energy!than!the! use!of!virgin!resources,!thus!contributing!

to!the!reduction!in!greenhouse !gas!emissions .!For!examp le,!energy!cons um p tion !is!reduced!by!some!

90%!in! the! secondary! p roduction!of! alum inum! w hen! com pared! to! primary! production.! Recycling!also!

reduces!the!u se !of!virgin !resources,!either!saving!them!to!b e!used!by!future!generations!or!freeing!

them! for! alternative! purposes.! In! case! of! renewable! natural! resources,! recycling! allows! the! saved!

resources! to! be! u sed ! in! b ioe ne rgy! genera tion ,! replacing! fossil! fuels! and! thus! c uttin g! down !

greenhouse!gas!emissions.!

The!overall!benefit!gained!from!recycling!depends!on!a!nu mber!of!questions,!such!as!what!are!the!

transport! and ! pre-tre atm e nt! req uirements! o f! the! recyc led! m ate rials,! wh at! kind ! of! ma terials! are!

produced!and,!above!all,!what!kind!of!products!are!to!be!replaced!by!different!products!using!new!

materials.!

US EPA WASTE REDUCTION MODEL

(

EPA!created! the! Waste! Reduction!Model! (WARM)

!to! help! solid! w aste ! plan ne rs! an d! o rgan ization s!

track! an d!voluntarily! re po rt!greenhouse!gas!(G H G)!emissions!reductions!from!se vera l!different!w a ste!

management!practices.! WARM!is!available!both!as!Web-based! calculator!and! as! a! Microsoft! Excel!

spreadsheet.! The! Excel-based! version! of! WARM ! offers! more! functionality! than! the! Web-based!

calculator.!

WARM! calculates! and! totals! GHG! emissions! of! baseline! and! alternative! waste! management!

practices—source! reduction ,!recycling,!comp osting,!landfilling!and!combustion.! Th e !mode l!calcula te s!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(C@@I\mmbbbM.?I1.46Nmb15HmB89?c.C@H;(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

91!

emissions! in! m etric! tons! of! carbon! equivalent! (MTCE ),! m etric! tons! of! carbon! dioxide! equivalent!

(MTCO 2E),! and!energy!units!(million!BTU)!across! a!wide!range!of!material!types!commonly!found!in!

municipal! solid! waste! (MSW).! For! information! on! the! data! and! methodologies! behind! the!

calculations,!please!see!the!model!documentation.!

WARM! was! originally! developed! for! small! to! moderate-scale! wa ste! managers! en abling! them! to !

understand! how! their! “business-as-usual”! waste! management! practices! compare! to! alternative!

practices!such! as!recycling,!source!reduction,!or!com posting!in!terms! of!greenhouse! gas! emissions!

and!energy!use.!Its!user!base!has!expanded!to!include!various!comm unity!officials,!EPA!WasteWise!

partners,! and! municipalities! interested! in! learning! more! about! the! climate! and! waste! connection.!

However,! the! results! garnered! from! using! WARM! are! estimates! and! the! model! approach! is! not!

appropriate! for! use! in! inventories! because! WARM! aggregates! diffuse! emissions! and! emission!

reductions!form!several!materials!within!a!single!emission!factor.!

WARM! is!periodically! updated! as! new! information! becomes! available! and! new! material! types! are!

added.! Users! may! refer! to! the! model!history! to! better! understand ! the! d ifferen ce s! among! various!

versions!of!W ARM .!W ARM!was!last!updated!March!2015.!WARM!now!recognizes!54!material!types,!

which!are!presented!in!the!table!below;!their!emission!factors!are!available!for!viewing!in!units!of!

metric!tons!of!carbon!dioxide!equivalent!(MTCO2E)!or!metric!tons!of!carbon!equivalent!(MTC E).! N o te !

that!the! em ission ! facto rs! rep rese nt! th e! GH G !e m ission s! asso ciate d! w ith! m an ag ing! 1! sh ort! to n! of! M S W !

in!th e! ma nn e r! indica te d .! GHG ! savin g s! shou ld ! be! calcula te d ! by! comp ar in g! the! emis sio n s ! assoc iat ed !

with!the!alternative!scenario!with!the!emissions!associated!with!the!baseline!scenario,!as!opposed!to!

simply!mu ltiplying!the! quantity!b y! an!emission! factor.!For! instance,!the!G HG ! savings!of! recy cling!1!

short!ton!of!aluminum!cans!instead!of!landfilling!them!wou ld!be!calculated!as!follows:!

(1!short!ton!×!-9.11!MTCO

E/short!ton)!-!(1 !sho rt!ton !×!0.04 !M T CO

E/short!ton)!=!-9.15!MTCO

Before!using!WARM,!you!first!need!to!gather!data!on!your!baseline!waste!management!practices!and!

an! alternative! scenario.! In! order!to! effectively! use! the! tool,! users! should! know! how ! m any! tons! of!

waste! was! managed! (or! will! be! managed)! for! a! given! time! period! by! material! type! and! by! waste!

management!practice.!The!"mixed"!material!types!are!defined!in!the!documentation.!

RECYCLING VERSUS SOURCE REDUCTION GHG EMISSIONS

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WARM! uses! different! emission! factors! to! calculate! emissions! from! source! reduction,! recycling,!

composting,! landfilling,! and! com bustion.! In! the! case! of! so urce! reduction,! there! are! two! sets! of!

factors:!one!fo r!so urc e!red u ction !th at!rep lac es!th e!c urre nt!mix!of!virgin!a n d!recycled!inp u t s!a n d !o n e!

for!source !re du ctio n! th at! dis plac es! 1 00 !p erc en t!v irgin! in pu ts.! In! ge ne ral,!WARM!use rs! ten d !to ! use ! the !

source!reduction!emission!factor!for!the!current!mix!of!virgin!and!recycled!inputs.!!

For!some!materials!(aluminum!corrugated!cardboard,!newspaper,!dim ensional!lumber,!and!medium -

density! fiberboard),! the! greenhouse! gas! (GHG)! benefits! of! recycling! are! greater! than! source!

reduction! for! the! cu rren t! mix.! This! is! because! recycling! is! assumed! to! disp lace ! 100! percent! virgin!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

92!

inputs,!wh e re as !sou rc e!red u c tio n !is!assu med!t o !disp la ce !some!re cy cle d !and !so m e !virg in!inp u ts .!Th e!

following! eq ua tion s! sh ow ! ho w ! the ! en ergy -related! GHG! ben efits! for! th e! recy cling ! and ! sou rce !

reduction!em iss ion !facto rs!are!ca lcula ted :!!

• Recycling:!(emissions!for!100!%!virgin!inpu ts!-!emissions!for!100!%!recycled!inputs)!x!recycling!

loss!rate!!

• Source! Reduction:! (emissions! for! 100! %! virgin! inputs! x! %! virgin! inputs! in! current! mix)! +!

(emissions !for!10 0!% !recyc led !inpu ts!x!% !recy cled !inp uts!in !curre nt!m ix)!!

Therefore,! depend ing! on! (1)! the! en e rg y ! a nd! fuel! m ix ! require d ! to! ma n u f a ct u re ! the! m a t e ria l! from!

virgin!versus! recycled! inputs,! (2)! the! recycling!loss! rate,! and! (3)!the! percent! virgin! materials!in! the!

current! m ix,! the! energy-re lated ! GHG! savings! fro m ! recycling! may! be! greater! than! the! total! energy!

savings!from!source!reduction.!This!is!m ost!likely!to!be!th e!case!when!there!is!a!large!difference!in!

emissions! b etween! the! virgin! and! recycled! processes,! and! where! the! current! manufacturing! m ix!

includes !a !sig n ifica n t!p ro p o rtion!of!recycled!inputs.!!

This!methodology! assum es! the!following:!(1)!in! the!recycling!scenario,!the!dem and! for!products! is!

constant,! and! therefore,! at! the! margin,! any! additional! recycling! increases! remanufacturing! and!

reduces! v irgin! production ;! a nd ! (2 )! so u rce! reduction! reduces! overall! demand! for! production! of! a!

material,!and!the!effects!of!this!reduction!are!distributed!to!remanufacturing!and!virgin!production!in!

proportion!to!their!current!rate!of!production.!These!assumptions!are!intended!to!support!analysis!of!

A$9<*.$)"changes!in!recycling!or!source!reduction!and!simplify!actual!conditions!in!that!they!do!not!

account!for!dynamic!markets!or!supply!and!demand!price!effects.!

When!comparing!the!recycling!emission!factors!to!the!source!reduction!factors!$%%'A*.<"322"&,9;,.:"

@*9<*." *.&':%,! one ! can! see ! that! the ! GHG! b e n e f its ! of! sourc e ! reduction ! are! grea te r ! than! rec y cl in g ! in!

every!case!except!dimensional!lumber!and!medium-density!fiberboard.!This!result!is!a!function!of!the!

life-cycle! framework! that! w as! used ! to! estim ate! forest! carbon! sequestration.! Estimates! of! forest!

carbon!seq uestration!consist!of!two!parts:!(1)!impact!on!carbon!in!forests!and!(2)!impact!on!ca rbon!

stored!in! products.! Both! source! reduction! and! recycling! resu lt! in!increased ! forest! carbon! storage!-!

both! management!practices!reduce! the!amount! of!carbon! that!is!harvested! to!make!wood! products.!

In! terms! of! magnitude,! sourc e! reduc tio n ! is! slightly! more! beneficial.! In! terms! of! the! product! pool,!

recycling!re su lts!in!incre ase d!carbon !storage,!as!recyc led!woo d!products!are!incorporated !into!n ew !

products.!By!definition,!source!reduction!does!not!result!in!a!new!product;!therefore,!no!carbon!is!

added! to! the! product! pool.! The! net! effect! of! these! two! com ponents! of! the! forest! carbon!

sequestration! estimates! is! that! recycling! is! more! beneficial! from! a! forest! carbon! sequ estration!

standpoint!than!source!reduction.!!

WASTE VERSUS. MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

(

Conventionally,! the! GHG! community! has! developed! inventories! using! the! lens! of! the! traditional,!

sector-based!view!of!emissions.! In!this!view,!waste!prevention! and!recycling!are!associated!with!the!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

93!

"waste!se ctor",!which!typ ically!appears!as!a!m ino r!or!even!trivial!piece!of!the!inventory.!This!is!o nly!

reinforced! by! the! common! (although! incorrect)! perception ! that! recycling! and! waste! pre ven tion ! is!

primarily!about!"keeping!stuff!out!of!landfills"!and!"extending!the!life!of!landfills".!Yet!most!of!the!

GHG!reduction!potential!associated!with!prevention!and!recycling!is!"upstream",!in!other!sectors.!For!

these! reasons ,! it! is! much! m ore ! useful! to!characterize! w aste! reduction!initiatives!as! "materials!and!

waste"! and! to! avoid! the! narrow! and! restrictive! terminology! of! "waste! emissions"! or! "waste!

initiatives" .!The!"wa st e "!elem e n t!is!importa n t!-!and!opportunities!exist!to!reduce!"waste"!emissions!

both! through! waste! diversion! and! better! landfill! controls.! But! "materials"! are! also! important,! and!

recognizing!the m !he lps!to !exp an d!the !con ve rsatio n!from!the!narrow!frame !of!just!"w a ste".!

LIMITATIONS AND KEY ISSUES WITH WARM

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The!WARM!is!useful!for!comparing!inte rna l! sc en ario s! fo r! different!ap p roa che s! to!a!co m p reh en sive!

waste!management!approach.!!The!West!Coast!Climate!and!M aterials!Management!Forum! is!an! EPA-

convened!co llaboration!of!state,!local,!and!tribal!governments!that!deve lop!ways!to!institutiona lize!

sustainable! materials! management! p ractices.! Th e! purpose! is! to! identify! a nd! share! effective!

greenhouse!gas!emission!reduction!strategies!that!also!improve!the!way!co mm unities’!source,!use,!

and! recover! materials.! !The! goal! is! to! demonstrate! effective! ways! for! commu nities! to! reduce!

greenhouse!gas!emissions!throughout!the!life!cycle!of!materials.!The!Forum!evaluated!EPA's!WARM!

tool! an d! stated! that! a lthou gh ! it! rema ins! one! of! the ! best! o ptio ns! available! for! state ! and! local!

governments! to!estimate! the!emissions!reduction! po tential!of! preven tion,!recycling,! and !composting!

(relative! to! incineration! and! landfilling),! WARM! is! not! without! limitation s.! A! complete ! list! of!

limitation s !is!a v aila b le !in!Appendix!XX .!!

The! WARM! is! less! useful! for! exam ining! the! fate! of! individua l! wast e! strea m s ! (e.g.! OCC,! organ ic s!

etc.).! !In! add it io n ,! the! sys te m! bo u ndaries! for! organ ics ! are! dra wn! to! include! proc es s in g,! bu t!

presumption! about! end-market! use! is! limited ! and ! do! not! assume! displacement! of! convention!

fertilizer.!!This!means!that!in!the!case!of!a!comparison!between!thermal!combustion!of!organics!for!

electricity!generation!and!compo sting,!credit!would!be!given!for!low!carbon!po wer!generation!and!

limited!cred it!for!carbon!sequestration!or!displacem ent!of!conventional!fertilizer!use ,!both!of!w hich!

are! well-documented! benefits! for! composting.! ! Th is! disproportionately! and! unfairly! favors!

incinerat io n!o f!o r ga n ics !a nd !y a rd !w a st es.!In!addition ,!th e re !is !als o !n o !c o n sid e ra tion!to!the!emission!of!

other! criteria! pollutants! that! accompany! the! incineration! of! MSW.! !Here! are! some! of! the! key!

limitation s !w h e n !u sin g !th e !m o d e l

• WARM!currently!has!no!capacity!to!calculate!reuse!separate!from!source!reduction.!The!

source!reduction!managem en t!option!assum es!m aterials!not!manu factured.!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(C@@I\mmb?<@261<@2;BH1@?G657H.26Hm268@?8@m7<]?I1<]b15H]@66;(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

94!

• WARM!focuses!on!materials,!not!p ro d u ct s,!w h ic h !lea v es !o u t!s ome!significant !pie c es !o f!

the!solid!waste!stre am .!!

• In!addit io n ,!WARM!use rs !fa ce !th e !c h alle n g e !o f!re conciling!their!o wn!materia ls!c at eg o r y!

definitions!with!those!the!model!employs!–!WARM’s!assumed!composition!of!“mixed!

recyclables”!or!“mixed!plastics”!for!example!may!vary!from!a!community’s!mixture.!

WARM’s!categories!for!mixed!paper!and!corrugated!cardboard!remain!ambiguous!since!

there!are!a!ma ny!m a terials!w ith!diffe rent!e m ission s!imp ac ts!that!w o uld!fa ll!into!these !

categories!in!vary in g!r at io s.!

• The!lack!of!“upstream”!(or!production-related)!emissions!for!fo od !limits!W A R M ’s!utility!

for!evaluating!fo od !w aste !prev en tion !pro jects . !

• As!of!August!2010,!a!new!version!of!WARM!includes!a!more!comprehensive!analysis!of!

composting!yard!and!food!waste!than!it!has!in!the!past.!The!calculation!of!landfill!

emissions!from!organics!is!based!on!a!first-order!decay!rate!to!better!measure!when!

emissions!are!generated.!This!new!calculation!methodology!most!affects!food!waste!and!

grass.!However,!the!updated!model!still!does!not!include!an!emission!factor!for!other!

compostable!materials,!like!non-recyclab le!pa pe r.!!

• WARM!does!not!include!GHG!emissions!or!emissions!reductions!associated!with!other!

co-benefits!associated!with!the!use!of!compost,!such!as!water!conservation!and!changes!

in!fertilizer!u s e.!WARM!also !d o e s!n o t!d iffe re n tia te !b e tw e e n !th e !po t en t ial!fo r !va ryin g !

emissions!from!compost!sites!themselves!as!a!function!of!technology!(e.g.,!anaerobic!vs.!

aerobic!composting,!or!centralized!vs.!home!comp osting).!

• Currently,!WARM!is!not!intended!as!an!inventory!or!accounting!tool.!It!is!not!sufficiently!

precise!and!it!is!not!easily!connected!to!other!inventory!protocols.!!

• WARM!does!not!currently!break!emissions!and!emissions!reductions!into!the!years!in!

which!they!actually!occur.!Rather,!WARM !rolls!all!future!emissions!and!emissions!

reductions!into !a!sing le!nu m b er.!!

THE LANDFILL AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(

Landfills!a re!the!largest!anthropo genic!em itters!of!the!greenhouse!gas!(GHG)!methane !(CH4)!in!the!

U.S.! In! 2006,! land fills ! in! th e! U .S.! e m it te d ! 6,21 1 ! to n s—34%! of! the! total! U.S.! methane! emissions!

(equivalent! to! 130.4! m illion ! tons! of! CO 2),! EPA! G HG! Inventory! Report! 2009,! and! second! in! o ve ra ll!

methane! emissions! to!enteric! fermentation!(methane! produce!by! livestock!digestion).!Methane!as! a!

greenhouse!gas!has!20!times!the!potency!of!carbon!dioxide!(CO2)

Paper!is!a!long-term!net!emitter!of! GH G !w he n!p lace d! in!lan dfill.!The !eq uiva len t!of!42 .7!million!tons!of!

CO2!emitted!in!2006!can!be!attributed! to!the!methane!produced!from!the!decay!of!paper!products.!

The!fact!that!paper!and!paper!products!make!up!the!largest!compo nent!of!a!landfill!illustrates!the!

impact !pape r!and!landfills !have !on!climate!change.!The!challenge!is!to!reduce!the!volume!of!waste!

going!into!landfills!and!to!impact!that!landfills!have!on!climate!change.!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

95!

Although!methane!generated!from!landfills!continues!to!increase!year!after!year,!m ethane!actually!

emitted!into!the!atmosphere!has!decreased!nearly!10%!from!1990!to!2007!as!a!result!of!landfill!gas!

collection!projects!that!are!now !recovering!app roximately!25-50% !of!the!gases!produced.!Methane!

mitigation! is! expected! to! increase! in! response! to! federal! regulations! that! require! large! mun icip al!

landfills! to ! c o llec t! a n d ! co mbust! their! g a s.! However,! the ! p ro b le m ! is ! la rg e! and! there! is ! a m p le !

opportunity!not! only! to! continue! to! make! progress!in! landfill!gas! reclamation!but! also! to! increase!

waste!paper!recovery,!keeping!reusable!fiber!in!the!fiber!stream.!

OVERVIEW LIFE CYCLE METHODOLOGY

(

The! Un ited! Nations! Environment! Program! defines! Life! Cycle! Assessment! (LCA)! as! a! tool! for! the!

systematic! e valuation!of!the!e nvironm en tal!aspects! of!a!product! o r!service! system !through!all!stage s!

of!its!life!cycle.!LCA!provides! an! adequate!instrum ent! for!environm ental! decision!support.! Reliable!

LCA! performance! is! crucial! to! achieve! a! life-cycle! economy.! The! International! Organization! for!

Standardization! (ISO),! a! worldwide! federation! of! national! sta nd ard s! bodies,! has! s ta n dardized! this!

framewo rk!w ithin !the !series !ISO !140 40 !on!LC A . !

Life-cycle! assessment! has! emerged!as! a! valuable!decision-sup port! tool!for! both! policy!makers! an d!

industry !in !a ss e ss in g! th e !cr ad le -to-grave!impacts!of!a!product!or!process.!Three!forces!are!driving !this!

evolution.!First,!government!regulations!are! m oving! in! the! direction!of!"life-cycle!accountability;"!the!

notion!that!a!manufacturer!is!responsible!not!only!for!direct!production!impacts,!but!also!for!impacts!

associated! with! product! inputs,! use,! transport,! and! disposal.! Second,! business! is! participating! in!

voluntary! initiatives! that! contain! LCA! a nd! product! stewardship! compo nents.! These! include,! for!

example,!ISO!14000! and!the!Chemical!Manufacturer!Association's!Responsible!C are!Program,! both! o f!

which!seek!to!foster!continuous!improvement!through!better!environmental!management!systems.!

Third,! environmental! "preferability"! has! emerged! as! a! criterion! in! both! consum er! m arkets! and!

government! procuremen t! guidelines.! Together! these!developments!ha ve! placed! LCA! in! a! central!role!

as!a!tool!for!identifying!cradle-to-grave!impacts!bo th!of!products!and!the!m aterials!from!w hich!they!

are!made.!!

The!"life-cycle"!or!"cradle-to-grave"!impacts!include!the!extraction!of!raw !materials;!the!processing,!

manufacturing,!and!fabrication!of!the! product;!the!transportation!o r!distribution!of! the!product!to!

the!co ns um e r;!the!us e!of!th e!product!by!th e!consum e r;!and!th e!disposal!or!rec ove ry!of!th e!product!

after!its!useful!life.!!

There!are!four!linked!components!of!LCA:!!

• Goal! and! Scope! D efinition,! the! product(s)! or! service(s)! to! be! assessed! are! defined,! a!

functional!ba sis!for!co m p ariso n !is!cho sen !an d!th e!req uire d!lev el!of!de tail!is!de fined ;! !

• Invento r y! A n a lys is! o f ! ex tr ac tio n s ! and! e m is s io n s,! th e ! e n er gy ! a n d ! ra w ! materials! used,! and!

emissions! to! the! atmosphere,! water! and! land,! are! quantified! for! each! process,! then!

combined!in!the!process!flow!chart!and!related!to!the!functional!basis;!!

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

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• Impact ! Assessment,! the! e ffe ct s! of! the! resource! use! and! emissions! generate d ! are! grouped !

and!quantified!int o !a!lim ite d !numb e r!of!impact!cate g or ies !which !may!then!be!weighted!f or !

importa n c e;!!

• Interpre ta tion,!th e !r es u lts !a re !re p o r te d !in ! t h e! most! in f o rmative!way! p ossible!and! the!ne ed !

and!opportunities!to!reduce!the! impact!of!the! product(s)!or! service(s)!on! the! environm en t!

are!systematically!evaluated.!!

SM?ZTC"31[6bC"Ob\KCK"DS"]MSC"=_=]C"\KKCKK/C76!

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

97!

WBG?(#E2;?(&8N?8@65E((

An! alternative! is! a! life! cycle! inventory! (LCI)! that! quantifies! the! total! energ y! requirements,! energ y!

sourc e s,! atmo sp heric! pollutants,! w aterborne! pollutants,! and! solid! waste! resulting! from! the!

production! of! feedstocks! derived! from! recovered! and! recycled! m aterial,! such! as! recycled! PET! and!

HDPE!resin! from!postconsumer! p lastic.!A!LCI!a nalysis!does!no t!include!impact!assessment.!It!do es! no t!

attempt!to!determine!the!fate!of!e missions,!or!the!relative!risk!to!humans! or!to!the!environment!due!

to! emissions! from ! the! systems.! (An! exception! is! made! in! the! case! of! global! warming! potential!

impacts,! w hic h! are! calculated,! based! on! internationally! accepted! factors! for! variou s! greenhouse!

gas es’!global!warming!potentials !relative!to!carbon!dioxide.)!

A! life! cycle! inventory! quantifies! the! energy ! consumption! and! environmental! emissions! (i.e.,!

atmosph eric!emissions,!waterborne!emissions,!a

nd!solid!w astes)!for!a!given!

produc t!based!upon! the!

study!boundaries!established.!Figure!13!illustrates!the!general!approach!used!in!a!full!LCI!analysis.!

SM?ZTC"3W[""?C7CT\]"/\6CTM\]K"S]DN"SDT"j=T\P]CI6D?"?T\^Cj"\7\]_KMK"

Energy Energy Energy Energy Energy

Raw Materials

Acquisition

Materials

Manufacture

Product

Manufacture

Product Use

Consumption

Final Disposition –

Landfill,

Combustion, Recycle,

or Reuse

Wastes

Reuse

Product Recycling

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

98!

Key! elements! of! the! LCI! methodology! inclu d e ! the ! study! boundaries,! resource! inventory! (raw!

materials! and! energy),! emissions! inventor y! (a tmospheric ,! waterborne,! and! solid! waste),! and!

disposal! practices.! Franklin! Associates! developed! a! methodology! for! performing! resource! and!

environmental!profile !analyses!(REPA ) ,!now! known!a s!life!cycle!inventories! (LCI).!This!m eth od o logy!

has!been!documented!for!the!United!States!Environmental!P r otection !Agency!and!is!incorporated!

in!the!EPA!report!

Product!

Life-Cycle! Assess

Inventory!

Guidelines! and!

les.!!

Figure! 14! illustra tes! the! basic! approach! to! data! dev elopment! for! each! maj or! process! in! an! LCI!

analysis.!This!a

pproach!prov

ides!the!essential!bu ild ing !blocks!of!data!u sed!to!construct!a!complete!

resour ce!and!environmental!emissions!inventory!profile!for!the!entire!life!cycle!of!a!product.!Using!

this! approach,! each! individual! process! includ ed! in! the! study! is! examined! as! a! clo sed! system,! or!

“black! box”,! by! fully! accounting! for! all! reso urce! inp u ts ! and!process! outpu ts! associated! with! that!

particular!process.!Resource!inputs!acc ounte d!for!in!the!LCI!include!raw!materials!and!energy!use,!

while!process!outputs!accounted!for!include !products!manuf actured!and!environmental!emissio n s!

to!land,!air,!and!w ater.!

SM?ZTC"3e["=D7=CO6Z\]"ST\/CNDTg"SDT"PC^C]DOM7?"]=M"P\6\"

Energy

Requirements

Raw Material A

Raw Material B

Raw Ma

terial

Manufacturing

Process

Product

Useful By-product A

Useful By-product B

Air

Emissions

Solid

Wastes

Waterborne

Emissions

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

99!

For! each! process,! resource! requirements! and! environmental! emissions! must! be! determined! and!

expressed!in!terms!of!a!standard!unit!of!output.!A! standard!unit!of!output!is!used! as!the! b asis!for!

determining!the!total!life!cycle!resource!requirements!and!environmental!emissions!of!a!pr oduct.!

There! is! general! consen sus! among! life! c ycle! practitioners! o n! th e! fundamental! methodo logy! for!

performing! LCIs.

13!

! However,! for! some! specific! aspects! of! life! cycle! inventory,! there! is! some! minor!

variation!in! m ethodology!used! by!experienced!pra c tition ers.!These!areas!includ e !the!metho d!used!to!

allocate! energy! requirements! and! environme ntal! releases! among! more! than! one! useful! produc t!

produced!by! a!process,!the!m e th o d!used!to!account!for!the!e

nerg y!contained!in!

material!feedstocks,!

and! the! methodology! used! to! allocate! environm ental! b u rdens! for! postconsumer! recycled! content!

and! end-of-life! recovery! of! materials! for! recycling.! LCI! practitioners! vary! to! som e! extent! in! their!

approaches!to!these!iss ues.!

POSTCONSUMER RECYCLING METHODOLOGY

When! m aterial!is!used!in! one!system!a nd!subsequently!recovered,!reprocessed,!and!used!in! another!

application,!there!are!different!methods!that!can!be!used!to!alloca te!environmental!b u rdens!among!

different! useful! lives! o f! the! material.! Material! pr oduction,! recycling,! and! disposal! burdens! can! be!

allocated! over! all! t he ! useful! live s! of! the! material,! or! boundaries! can! be! drawn! between! each!

successive! useful!life! of!the ! material.! In!

this!analysis,! separate ! sets! of! results! are! developed! using!

each!of!these!approaches.!

The! meth od ! in! which!virgin! material! burdens!and! re cycling! burdens!a re! allocated! among!a! limite d!

number! of! useful! lives! of! the ! material! is! referred! to! as! the! open-loo p ! alloca tion ! meth od .! In! this!

metho d ,!th e!burdens!for!virgin!material!p roduction,!recovery!and!recycling,!and! ultimate!disposal!of!

recycled!material!are!shared!among!all!the!sequential!useful!lives!of!the!material.!

The!other! method!is!referred!to!here!as! the!“cut-off”!method.!Under!this! appro ach,!a! boundary!is!

drawn!between!the!initial!use!of!the!material!and! subsequen t!recovery!and!recycling!of!the! material.!

All!virgin!material!production!burdens!ar

e!ass

igned!to!the!first!use!of!the!material,!and!the!burdens!

assigned!to!th e!re cycled!resin!system!begin!w it h !re c overy!of!the!postconsumer!material.!All! of!the!

burdens! for! material!recovery,! transport,! separation! and! sorting,! and! re processing!are!a ssigned! to!

the!recycled!material.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(International Standards Organization. ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management—Life cycle

assessment—Principles and framework, ISO 14044:2006, Environmental management – Life cycle

assessment – Requirements and guidelines.

(

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

100!

FINDINGS

(

The!review!of!the!U S!EPA!W ARM!approach!to!evaluating!the!environmental!impacts!of!recycling!as!

well!as! the!review!of!other!Life!Cycle!approaches!leads!the!project! te am !to!conclude! that!the!WARM!

approach!is!an!appropriate!method!for!the ! Sta te! of! Michigan!to! u tilize!in !th e! e va luatio n! o f! trad itiona l!

recyclable! materia ls,! but! the! protocol! for! evaluating ! organics! shou ld! be! mo dified ! or! alternative!

approaches!should! be! developed.! The! WARM ! Model! is!useful! for!comparing! internal! scenarios! for!

different!approaches!to!a!comprehensive!waste!m anagement!approach!and!should!not!be!used!to!

develop!management!protocols!for!individual!materials.!

Other!LCA/LCA!approach es!require!very!detailed!information!of!all!aspects!of!a!product,!both!in!its!

manufacturing! and! in! its! end ! of! life! utilization.! LCA/LC I! approaches! rely! on! detailed! data! on! the!

material! used!in!the!manufacturing!of!a!product.!Performing!LCI!studies!also!require!extensive!data!

for! specific! materials! and! products.! Although! there! are! known! draw backs! and! criticisms! of! the!

WARM!approach!it!is! primarily! focused!on!materials!that! are!typically!found!in!the!municipal! waste!

stream.!As!w as!identified!in!the !MRI!project! m ore!extensive!and!better!d ata!needs!to!be! collected!in!

Michigan!on!recycled!materials.!!

The! State! of! Michigan! will!need! to! d evelop! more! detailed! data! on! the! types! of! materials! that! are!

included ! in! th e! WARM! met ho d o lo g y! be fo re ! a! co m p re h e n siv e! ut iliza tio n ! of! th is! to o l! can ! be !

undertaken.! In! addition,! the! p roto co ls! for! organics! should! be! imp ro ved ! or! alternative! approaches!

developed!for!these!materials.!

! !

A!PROFILE!OF!RECYCLING!IN!MICHIGAN! !

101!

WASTE CHARACTERIZATION RECOMMENDATIONS

Several!findings!from! the!analysis!can! provide! guidance!that! w ill!strengthen! the!ability!to! increase!

recycling! in! Michiga n! in! the! futu re.! Thes e! reco m m en d ation s! perta in! to! imp lementation! of! best!

practices! and! conducting! more! in! depth! analysis! of! the! material! that! is! generated! as! MSW! in!

Michigan.!

Other!states!that!have!regularly!conducted!statewide!waste!characterization!studies!have,!over!time,!

structured!the!studies! to ! in ve stigate ! c erta in!waste!strea m s!in!greater!detail.!In!a d d itio n!to!measuring!

the! com po sition! of! disposed! wastes! in ! tota l! and! by! generator! sector,! some! states! have! opted! to!

focus!on:!

• Targeted! generator! sampling! of! the! most! prevalent! business! types! (e.g.,! grocery! stores,!

manufacturing,!retail!malls,!etc.)!that!generate !significa nt!q ua ntities!o f!wa ste;!

• Enhanced! research! into! w aste! generation! indicators! for! certain! waste! streams,! especially!

C&D!debris,!to!improve!future!sampling!plans!for!this!waste!stream;!

• Measuring! contamination! rates! in ! disposed! material! (for! both! particulate! matter! and!

moisture)!as!a!means!of!investigating!dirty!MRF !p ro ce ss in g !po t en t ial;!

• Calculating! energy! and! heating! values! in! disposed! waste! for! inc in era tio n ! and! therm al!

conversion!processes;!and!

• Determining! the! compo sition! of! residuals! from! recyclables! processing! fa cilities! to! test!

recovery!efficien cy!and!potential!for!additional!processing.!

If!Michig a n !d e te rmines!that!large!statewide!waste!characterization!studies!should!be!conducted,!it!

may! consider! in te g ra tin g ! one! or! more! of! these! tests ! in! the! future.! Such! future! efforts! would! be!

limited! by! available! funding,! but! could! provide! additional! insight! into! diversion! and! recycling!

opportunities!in!Michigan.!

Appendix!|!102!

APPENDICES

(

+==!TU&"(&\(!TU(*+,R!%(#S**SU&%-(%-=!)(+TU(*+,R!%(&TU&#+%S,(

Acronym!

Material!

MARKET!INDICATOR!

ONP!

Old!Newspaper!

OBM!#8!CHICAGO!HIGHSIDE!

OMG!

Old!Magazines!

OBM!#8!CHICAGO!HIGHSIDE!

OCC!

Old!Corrugated!Cardboard!

OBM!#11!CHICAGO!HIGHSIDE!

RMP!

Residential!Mixed!Paper!

OBM!#1!CHICAGO!HIGHSIDE!

OTD!

OBM!#1!CHICAGO!HIGHSIDE!

PLASTIC!HDPE!NATURAL!

High!Density!Polyethylene!

Waste!New!1st!Issue!of!Month!-!Chicago!Region!

PLASTIC!-!HDPE!PIG!

High!Density!Polyethylene!

Pigmented!

Waste!New!1st!Issue!of!Month!-!Chicago!Region!

PLASTIC!-!PET!

Polyethylene!terephthalate!

Waste!New!1st!Issue!of!Month!-!Chicago!Region!

GLASS-CL!

Clear!

REGIONAL/LOCAL!MARKET!RATE!

GLASS-BR!

Brown!

REGIONAL/LOCAL!MARKET!RATE!

GLASS-!GR!

Green!

REGIONAL/LOCAL!MARKET!RATE!

ALUM!

ALUMINUM!

ALUMINUM!METAL!MARKET!LOW!-!!

1ST!ISSUE!OF!MONTH!

STEEL!

Ferrous!Steel!and!Iron!

Average!REGIONAL!Monthly!Sales!

(

Appendix!|!103!

+==!TU&"( &&\( K+,*( ,!'&!K( 0-( %A!( K!)%( #S+)%( #W&*+%!( +TU(

*+%!,&+W)(*+T+:!*!T%(DS,$*

(

See!http://westcoastclimateforum.com/content/u s-epas-warm-tool!

The!West!Coast!Climate!and!Materials!Management!Forum!is!an!EPA-convened!collaboration!of!state,!

local,! and! trib al! go v e rn m e n ts ! tha t! de v elo p ! w ay s ! to! ins titu t ion a liz e! su st a ina b le ! m at er ials ! m a na g e m e n t!

practices.! Although! EPA's! WARM! tool! remains! one! of! the! best! options! available! for! state! and! local!

governments! to! estimate! the! emissions! reduction! potential! of! prevention,! recycling,! and! composting!

(relative!to!in cin era tion !a nd ! lan dfilling ),!W A R M ! is! no t! w itho ut! lim ita tion s.!H e re! are !some!limita tio n s! th at!

anyone!using!the!model!should!be!aware!of:!

• WARM!currently!has!no!capacity!to!calculate!reuse!separate!from!source!reduction.!The!source!

reduction!m an ag em e nt!o ptio n!as sum e s!m ate rials!no t!m an u factu red .!Usin g!the !sou rce!red u ction !

calculations!as!a!proxy!for!reu se!a ctivities!on ly!wo rks!if!on e!assu m e s!that!th e!reu se!ac tua lly!

substitutes!for!the!mining!and!manufacture!of!virgin!materials!that!would!hav e!otherw ise!been!

necessary.!This!is!a!shaky!assumption,!since!some!reuse!activities!don’t!actually!displace!

production!of!new!materials.!

• WARM!focuses!on!materials,!not!products,!which!leaves!out!some!significant!pieces!of!the!solid!

waste!stream.!It!doesn’t,!for!example,!include!such!categories!as!sheetrock,!textiles!(which!can!

have!multiple!materials!in!products)!or!h ou seh o ld!item s!–!furniture,!toys,!sporting!go o ds,!

electronics!other!than!PCs.!Material!list!is!found!on!the!WARM !homepage. !

• In!addit io n ,!WARM!use rs !fa ce !th e !c h alle n g e !o f!re conciling!their!o wn!materia ls!c at eg o r y!

definitions!with!those!the!m od el!em p loys!–!WARM’s!assumed!composition!of!“mixed!

recyclables”!or!“mixed!plastics”!for!exam ple !m ay!va ry!from!your!commu nity’s!m ixtu re.!W A R M ’s!

categories!for!mixed!paper!and!corrugated!cardboard!remain!ambiguous!since!there!are!a!many!

materials!with!different!emissions!impacts!that!would!fall!into!these!categories!in!varying!ratios.!

• Some!materials!management!efforts!are!better!evaluated!using!other!methods!and!tools.!

WARM!is!not!easily!adapted!to!comprehensive!comparisons!of!materials!management!

strategies!such!as!EPP!or!reuse!programs.!The!lack!of!“upstream”!(or!production -re lated )!

emissions!for!food!limits!WARM’s!utility!for!evaluating!food!waste!prevention!projects.!

• Methane!Global!Warming!Potential!(GWP):!GWP!is!a!concept!designed!to!compare!the!ability!of!

a!greenhouse!gas!to!trap!heat!in!the!atmosphere!relative!to!another!gas.!The!definition!of!a!

GWP!for!a!particular!greenhouse!gas!is!the!ratio!of!heat!trapped!by!one!unit!mass!of!the!

greenhouse!gas!to!that!of!one!unit!mass!of!CO2!over!a!specified!time!period.!WARM!uses!21!as!

the!GWP!fo r!m eth an e,!wh ich!is!the !100-year! GW P!listed!in!the!IPCC’s!second!assessment!from!

1996.!According!to!the!EPA,!November!2009,!this!will!not!be!changed!anytime!soon!as!the!GWP!

is!set!by!th e !U n ite d !N a tio n s!F ra mework!Con v en t io n!o n !C limate!Chang e!( U N F C CC )!which!EPA!

must!use!for!national!GHG!inventories!(and!which!is!based!on!the!IPCC!second!assessment).!It!is!

importa n t!t o !n ot e!t h at !th e !m o re !re c en t!IP C C !A s se ss ment!4!(2007 )!u s e s!a !100-year!GW P!for!

methane!of!25.!Moreover,!many!state!and!local!inventory!and!w aste !pro fessio na ls!believe !that!

using!the!20!year!horizon!GWP!of!72!for!methane!highlights!the!potential!for!important!short-

term!emission s!red uc tion!b en efits,!since!m e tha ne !dec ays!q uick ly!(it!has!a!12 !year!lifetim e)!an d!

thus!has!its!maximum!warming!impact!well!before!100!years!is!reached.!!

Appendix!|!104!

• As!of!August!2010,!a!new!version!of!WARM!includes!a!more!comprehensive!analysis!of!

composting!yard!and!food!waste!than!it!has!in!the!past.!First,!the!calculation!of!landfill!emissions!

from!organ ics!is!bas ed !on!a !first-order!decay!rate!to!better!measure!when!emissions!are!

generated.!Previous!versions!of!the!model!only!calculated!the!lifetime!methane!yield.!In!

addition,!landfill!gas!capt u re!s ys te ms!are!modeled!with!a!time!element,!assuming!systems!are!

phased!in!at!landfills.!With!these!two!new!elements,!the!model!is!able!to!estimate!the!amount!

of!methane!being!generated!at!a!particular!time!and!the!amount!of!methane!being!captured!at!

that!time.!This!new !ca lculatio n!m e tho do logy !mo st!affe cts!foo d!waste!and!grass.!The!emission!

factors!for!branc he s,!wh ich !deg rad e!a t!a!very!slo w !rate,!ch an ge d!ve ry!little.!The !ne w !em iss ion !

factor!takes!into!ac co un t!the !high er!so il!carb on !seq ue stratio n !cap acity!fo r!compost-improved!

soil!as!well!as!the!GHG!emissions!involved!in !co mposting!m ac h in er y!a n d !tra n sp o rta t ion .!

However,!the!updated!model!still!does!not!include!an!emission!factor!for!other!compostable!

materials,!like!non-recyclab le!pa pe r.!W AR M !also !do es!no t!inclu de !GH G !em issio ns!o r!em issio ns!

reductions!ass ocia ted !with !othe r!co-benefits!associated!with!the!use!of!compost,!such!as!water!

conservation!and!changes!in!fertilizer!use.!WARM!also!does!not!differentiate!between!the!

potential!for!varying!emissions!from!compost!sites!themselves!as!a!function!of!technology!(e.g.,!

anaerobic!vs.!aerobic!composting,!or!centralized!vs.!home!composting).!

• WARM!counts!long-term!carbon !seq ue stratio n!in!lan dfills,!while!ICL EI’s!GH G!Emissions!Analysis!

Protocol,!and!the!California!Air!Resources!Board!Local!Government!Operations!Protocol!do!not.!

• WARM!only!allows!comparison!against!a!single!disposal!option.!If!your!community!sends!waste!

to!more!than !on e!disp os al!facility!(for!exa m ple,!a!lan dfill!with!ga s!reco ve ry,!a!land fill!withou t!gas !

recovery,!and!a n!inc inera tor),!the n!m u ltiple !runs !of!the !model!are!required.!

• WARM!treats!international!production!–!both!of!virgin!and!recycled!materials!–!as!if!production!

in!other!c o u nt rie s!h a ve !th e !sa me!emission s!f ac to rs !(e m is sio n s !p er!t o n )!as !d o m e s tic !pr o du c tio n .!

Given!the!international!flow!of!products!and!recycled!feedstocks,!and!the!potential!for!

significant!regional!differences!in!emissions!based!on!regional!fuel!mixes!and!technology!

patterns,!this!is!a!potential!limitation.!This!is!particularly!acute!in!the!forest!carbon!

sequestration!element!of!WAR M !(for!paper!recycling!and!source!reduction),!which!is!based!

entirely!on!modeling!of!forest!management!practices!in!the!domestic!US.!Forest!managemen t!

practices,!and!the!associated!carbon!benefits/impacts!of!reducing!use!of!wood,!likely!vary!

widely!between!the!US!and!some!other!areas!of!the!world,!including!areas!that!would!supply!

virgin!fiber!to!foreign!mills!were!it!not!for!their!use!of!wastepaper!exported!from!the!US.!

• Currently,!WARM!is!not!intended!as!an!inventory!or!accounting!tool.!It!is!not!sufficiently!precise!

and!it!is!not!easily!connected!to!other!inventory!protocols.!As!mentioned!in!the!Inventories!

section,!conventional!"purist"!inventories!are!based!on!single!locations!and!designated!

timeframes .!Em ission !saving s!in!W AR M !w ill!likely!fall!outside!b oth !of !th ese !bo un da ries.!

• WARM!does!not!currently!break!emissions!and!emissions!reductions!into!the!years!in!which!

they!actually!occu r.!Ra the r,!WA R M !rolls!all!future !em ission s!an d!em issio ns!red u ction s!into!a!

single!number.!While!appropriate!for!com paring!program !options!against!each!other,!this!limits!

WARM’s!usefulness!in!inventories,!since!most!other!emissions!are!reported!in!the!years!in!which!

they!actually!occu r.!Org an ic!m ateria ls!(e.g.!cardb o ard ,!pap er,!lum be r)!hav e!av oide d!e m issions !

associated!with!source!reduction!and!recycling!that!is!time-sensitive.!!

• Forest!carbon!sequestration:!When!paper!is!recycled,!fewer!trees!are!cut!down.!This!carbon!

sequestration!reduces!the!net!emissions!associated!with!pap er!source!redu ction!and!

recycling.!The!red uc tion s!occ ur!ov er!decades,!since!every!year!following!the!actual!recycling!

or!source!reduction!event,!over!their!lifetime,!these!trees!absorb!carbon!as!they!continue!to!

grow.!

Appendix!|!105!

• Avoided!landfill!emissions:!When!paper!is!recycled,!less!of!it!goes!into!the!landfill.!Landfill!

methane!emissions !are!red uc ed ,!and !these !avo ide d!em issio ns!red u ce!th e!ne t!em ission s!

associated!with!paper!source!reduction!and!recycling.!These!reductions!occur!over!decades,!

since!decay!in!the!landfill!occurs!over!decades.!The!same!is!true!for!diversion!of!other!

putrescible!wastes,!such!as!food!waste!composting.!

• Carbon!storage:!WARM!provides!a!credit!for!carbon!stored!in!soils!treated!with!finished!

compost!as!well!as!the!non-putrescible!fraction!of!biogenic!wastes!(such!as!lumber)!placed!

into!land fills .!

(

Appendix!|!106!

+==!TU&"(&&&\(

U!%+&W!U()%+%!K&U!(K+)%!(

#S*=S)&%&ST((

Thus! table! provides!a! detailed!profile! of! the! statewide!disposed! waste!stream!based!on!the!adjusted!

Bottle! bill! scenario.! Fo r! each! material! category,! the! estimated! disposed! tons,! and! m ean! percent! are!

shown.!!

Material!Type!

Tons!

Material!Type!

Tons!

PAPER!

GLASS!

High!Grade!-!general!

0.68%!

!54,199!!

Glass!-!general!

1.32%!

!105,896!!

Mixed/!unspecified!Office!

0.70%!

!56,492!!

Flat/plate!

0.15%!

!11,882!!

White!Ledger!

0.71%!

!57,326!!

Other!Glass!

0.32%!

!26,057!!

Colored!Ledger!

0.03%!

!2,710!!

Glass!Subtotal!

1.79%!

!143,835!!

ONP!

1.92%!

!154,466!!

ELECTRONICS!

Magazines!and!Catalogs!(OMG)!

1.44%!

!115,277!!

Brown! goods! and!

electronics!-!general!

0.65%!

!52,531!!

Paper!Bags!

0.25%!

!20,220!!

Computer-related!!

0.45%!

!36,271!!

Phonebooks!and!Directories!

0.12%!

!9,797!!

Video! display! and! CRT!

devices!

0.34%!

!27,516!!

OCC!

5.68%!

!455,686!!

White!goods!(appliances)!

0.14%!

!11,465!!

Cartons,!Aseptic,!Poly-coated!!

0.14%!

!11,257!!

Other!electronics!

0.03%!

!2,501!!

Compostable/soiled!

3.71%!

!298,093!!

Electronics!Subtotal!

1.62%!

!130,285!!

Other!Recyclable!Paper!

3.77%!

!302,262!!

WOOD!

All!other!paper!

4.53%!

!363,549!!

Wood!-!general!

1.92%!

!154,258!!

Paper!Subtotal!

23.69%!

!1,901,543!!

Untreated!Wood!

2.25%!

!180,315!!

PLASTIC!

Treated!Wood!

2.48%!

!198,868!!

PET!bottles!!

0.65%!

!52,531!!

Pallets!and!crates!

0.15%!

!12,299!!

PET!containers!non-bottles!!

0.03%!

!2,085!!

Lumber!

3.77%!

!302,262!!

HDPE!Bottles!Natural!!

0.08%!

!6,254!!

Total!Wood!

10.57%!

!848,002!!

HDPE!Bottles!not!

specified/Colored!

0.48%!

!38,565!!

YARD!WASTE!

LDPE!(includes!some!bags,!film)!

4.77%!

!382,518!!

Yard!waste!-!general!

1.19%!

!95,890!!

Expanded!Polystyrene!(foam)!

0.94%!

!75,461!!

Branches!and!Stumps!

0.34%!

!26,891!!

Plastic!bottles!and!#3-7!(general)!

0.31%!

!25,015!!

Prunings!and!Trimmings!

1.51%!

!121,113!!

Durable!and!Rigid!containers!

1.72%!

!138,207!!

Leaves!and!grass!

0.00%!

0!!

All!other!Plastics!

3.60%!

!288,921!!

Food!

15.10%!

!1,211,759!!

Plastic!Subtotal!

12.58%!

!1,009,556!!

Other!organics!

0.10%!

!8,338!!

METAL!

Other!R/C!Organics!

3.06%!

!245,562!!

Aluminum!cans!

0.17%!

!13,758!!

Organic!Subtotal!

21.30%!

!1,709,554!!

Aluminum!(foil!and!other)!

0.13%!

!10,423!!

Tires!

0.05%!

!4,169!!

Tin/Steel!Cans!

0.49%!

!39,398!!

Carpet!

2.34%!

!188,028!!

Ferrous!metals!(includes!tin)!

3.96%!

!317,897!!

Textiles!

2.98%!

!238,891!!

Non-ferrous!metals!

0.73%!

!58,368!!

Fluorescent!blubs!

0.05%!

!4,169!!

Other!Metal!

0.60%!

!47,945!!

Other!Non-!Recyclable!Material!

16.95%!

!1,360,621!!

Metal!Subtotal!

6.08%!

!487,789!!

TOTAL!

100.00%!

!8,026,443!!

Appendix!|!107!

+==!TU&"(&'\(W&)%(SD(,!'&!K!U(K+)%!(#A+,+#%!,&d+%&ST()%$U&!)(

Low-Diversion!Profile!

• Pennsylvania!Department!of!Environmental!Protection,!K:$:,#*-,"/'.*;*&$)"N$%:,"=8A&8%*:*8."

K:'-0!"2003.!

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Waste_Co mp /Study.htm!

• Illinois!Department!of!Commerce!and!Economic!Opportunity/Illinois!Recycling!Association,!

M))*.8*%"=8 A A8-*:0dN$ % :, "? , . , 9$ :*8 . "$ . - "= + $9 $ ;: ,9 *J$ :*8 . "K :' - 0!"2009.!

http://www.illinoisrecycles.org/pdffiles/ICWCGSReport052209.pdf!

• Georgia!Department!of!Community!Affairs,!?,89<*$"K:$:,#*-,"N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0["

S*.$)"T,&89:!"20055"

http://www.dca.state.ga.us/development/EnvironmentalManagement/publications/GeorgiaMS

WCharacterizationStudy.pdf!

• Indiana !D e p a rtment!of!Env iro nmental!M a n a gement,!/'.*;*&$)"K8)*-"N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."

K:'-0">89"M.-*$.$,!May,!2012 !

• ###5*.5<8@d*-,Ad9,;0;),d>*),%dA%#k;+$9$;:,9*J$9*8.k%:'-05&->!

• US!EPA,!/'.*;*&$)"K8)*-"N$%:,"?,.,9$:*8.!"T,;0;)*.<!"$.-"P*%&8%$)"*.":+,"Z.*:,-"K:$:,%["P,:$*),-"

6$(),%"$.-"S*<'9,%">89"122H5!

http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw2008data.pdf!

Medium!-Diversion!Profile!

• Wisconsin!Department!of!Natural!Resources,!K:$:,#*-,"N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0!"2003.!

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/wm/publications/recycle/wrws-finalrp t.pd f! !

• Connecticut!Department!of!Environmental!Protection,!=8..,;:*;':"K:$:,#*-,"K8)*-"N$%:,"

=8A&8%*:*8."$.-"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0!"2010.!

http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/waste_management_and_disposal/solid_waste/wastecharstud

y/ctcompositioncharstudymay2010.pdf"

• California!Integrated!Waste!Management!Board,"=$)*>89.*$"122H"K:$:,#*-,"N$%:,"

=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0!"2009.!http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/publications/general/2009023.pdf!

• US!EPA,!see!above!

High-Diversion!Profile!

• Thurston!County,!WA!Department!of!Water!and!Waste!Management,!K8)*-"N$%:,"K0%:,A"

\%%,%%A,.:!"2007.!

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/wwm/Publications/Solid%20Waste/MFA%20SYSTEM%20ASSESS

MENT%20-%20FINAL_lowres.pdf!

• Snohomish!County,!WA!Department!of!Public!Works,!K.8+8A*%+"=8'.:0"N$%:,"=8A&8%*:*8."

K:'-0!"2009.!

http://www.co.snohomish.wa.us/documents/Departments/Public_Works/SolidWaste/Informati

on/Brochures/WasteComp2009Final.pdf!

• Clark!County,!WA,!=)$9U"=8'.:0"122H"N$%:,"K:9,$A"\.$)0%*%!"2008.!

http://www.clark.wa.gov/recycle/documents/11.08%20Appendix%20I%202008%20Waste%20St

ream%2 0A na lysis.pd f!

Appendix!|!108!

• Seattle,!WA!Public!Utilities,!T,%*-,.:*$)"N$%:,"K:9,$A"=8A&8%*:*8."K:'-0!"2006;!=8.%:9';:*8."l"

P,A8)*:*8."N$%:,"=8A&8%*:*8."K:'-0!"2007;!=8AA,9;*$)"$.-"K,)>Ib$')"N$%:,"K:9,$A%"

=8A&8%*:*8."K:'-0!"2008.!

http://www.cityofseattle.net/util/About_SPU/Garbage_System/Reports/Waste_Composition_R

eports/SPU_001839.asp!

• San!Francisco!Department!of!the!Environment,!N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0!"2006.!

http://www.sfenvironment.org/downloads/library/wastecharacterizationstudy.pdf!

• Palo!Alto,!CA,!O$)8"\):8"N$%:,"=8A&8%*:*8."K:'-0!"2006.!

http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=7136!

• California!Integrated!Waste!Management!Board,!see!above!

• US!EPA,!see!above!

Additional!Studies!Consulted!

• Delaware!Solid!Waste!Authority,!K:$:,#*-,"N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0,!2007 .!

http://www.dswa.com/pdfs/reports/Statewide%20Waste%20Characterization%20Study%20200

6-2007.pdf!

• Iowa!D e p a rtment!of!Nat u ra l!R es o u rc e s,!1233"M8#$"K:$:,#*-,"N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0!"

S*.$)"T,&89:,!Septemb e r!2 0 1 1 !

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/waste/wastecharacterization2011.pdf!

• Missouri!Department!of!Natural!Resources,!122H"/*%%8'9*"N$%:,"=8A&8%*:*8."K:'-0,!2009.!

+::&[dd###5-.95A85<8@d,.@d%#A&d-8;%d#;%122H5&->"!

• Nebraska!Department!of!Environmental!Quality,!N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."K:'-0,!2009.!

http://www.deq.state.ne.us/Publica.nsf/23e5e39594c064ee852564ae004fa010/e3b876e52f86f

1a6862575c900733cca/$FILE/Waste%20Study%20Portfolio.pdf!

• Oregon!Department!of!Environmental!Quality,!D9,<8."N$%:,"=8A&8%*:*8."K:'-0,!200 6 ;!D9,<8."

K8)*-"N$%:,"=+$9$;:,9*J$:*8."$.-"=8A&8%*:*8.!"2002.!

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/sw/disposal/2005study.htm!

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/sw/disposal/wastecompositionstudy.htm!

• Vermont!Department!of!Environmental!Conservation,!^,9A8.:"N$%:,"=8A&8%*:*8."K:'-0,!20 0 2 .!

http://www.cswd.net/pdf/VT_WCS.pdf!

Appendix!|!109!

APPENDIX V: COMPREHENSIVE CHARACTERIZATION CATEGORIES

Residential!and!Commercial!!

Residential!

Material!Type!

Bottle!Bill!

Diversion!!

Bottle!Bill!

Diversion!

ADJUSTED!

Low!

Diversion!

Medium!

Diversion!!

High!

Diversion!!

Low!

Diversion!!

Medium!

Diversion!!

High!

Diversion!!

Bottle!Bill!

Diversion!!

High!Grade!-!general!with!White!and!Colored!Ledger!

1.37%!

1.42%!

0.35%!

1.27%!

0.48%!

0.25%!

1.17%!

0.20%!

0.80%!

Mixed/!unspecified!Office!

0.68%!

0.70%!

2.37%!

0.40%!

0.23%!

1.10%!

0.57%!

0.85%!

0.57%!

Low!Grade!-!general!(OMG),!Boxboard,!Paper!Bags,!

Phonebooks!other!recyclable!

5.37%!

5.58%!

7.63%!

4.10%!

5.22%!

7.85%!

6.00%!

0.95%!

4.70%!

ONP!

1.85%!

1.92%!

4.02%!

1.73%!

1.64%!

4.70%!

2.83%!

1.87%!

2.20%!

OCC!

5.47%!

5.68%!

10.12%!

4.87%!

2.68%!

5.45%!

2.60%!

2.19%!

3.07%!

Cartons,!Aseptics!and!Poly-coated!

0.14%!

0.17%!

0.07%!

0.28%!

0.25%!

0.03%!

0.17%!

0.07%!

Compostable/!soiled!and!all!other!paper!

7.94%!

8.24%!

8.03%!

8.87%!

7.90%!

7.70%!

10.40%!

12.62%!

10.27%!

Paper!Subtotal!

22.81%!

23.69%!

32.69%!

21.30%!

18.43%!

27.30%!

23.60%!

18.85%!

21.67%!

PET!bottles!and!containers!

0.66%!

0.68%!

1.12%!

0.67%!

0.65%!

1.30%!

0.83%!

1.10%!

0.97%!

HDPE!Bottles!Natural!&!Colored!

0.54%!

0.56%!

0.99%!

0.43%!

0.54%!

1.10%!

0.73%!

0.75%!

0.77%!

Plastic!bottles!and!#3-7!(general)!

0.30%!

0.31%!

0.42%!

0.17%!

0.70%!

0.65%!

0.40%!

0.76%!

0.70%!

All!other!Plastics!and!Packaging,!LDPE,!Polystyrene,!

Durable!/Rigid!containers!and!PP!tubs)!

10.62%!

11.03%!

11.35%!

10.37%!

10.88%!

9.70%!

9.13%!

9.49%!

9.80%!

Plastic!Subtotal!

12.11%!

12.58%!

13.88%!

11.63%!

12.77%!

12.75%!

11.10%!

12.09%!

12.23%!

Aluminum!cans!

0.17%!

0.54%!

0.20%!

0.30%!

0.55%!

0.30%!

0.37%!

0.27%!

Ferrous!metals!(includes!Tin/Steel!Cans)!

4.29%!

4.45%!

3.75%!

3.03%!

2.30%!

3.90%!

2.67%!

2.64%!

2.77%!

Non-ferrous!metals,!Aluminum!(foil)!and!Other!Metal!

and!Aerosol!Cans!

1.40%!

1.45%!

1.04%!

1.70%!

2.20%!

1.20%!

1.60%!

1.86%!

1.33%!

Metal!Subtotal!

5.85%!

6.08%!

5.33%!

4.93%!

4.80%!

5.65%!

4.57%!

4.87%!

4.37%!

Glass!-!general!including!containers!

1.27%!

1.32%!

2.91%!

1.23%!

1.93%!

3.55%!

1.70%!

2.22%!

1.60%!

Other!Glass!

0.46%!

0.47%!

0.37%!

0.77%!

0.61%!

0.40%!

0.73%!

0.58%!

0.63%!

Glass!Subtotal!

1.73%!

1.79%!

3.28%!

2.00%!

2.54%!

3.95%!

2.43%!

2.80%!

2.23%!

Electronics!-!general,!computer,!and!CRT!

1.43%!

1.48%!

2.23%!

2.13%!

0.30%!

2.15%!

2.07%!

0.37%!

1.83%!

White!goods!(appliances)!

0.14%!

0.00%!

0.37%!

0.40%!

0.00%!

0.43%!

0.00%!

0.23%!

Electronics!Subtotal!

1.56%!

1.62%!

2.23%!

2.50%!

0.70%!

2.15%!

2.50%!

0.37%!

2.07%!

Total!Wood!

10.17%!

10.57%!

8.67%!

11.87%!

7.61%!

6.35%!

6.27%!

3.77%!

5.97%!

Yard!waste!-!general!

6.49%!

2.70%!

3.12%!

5.70%!

2.55%!

4.90%!

7.87%!

4.58%!

9.83%!

Food!

14.53%!

15.10%!

12.46%!

13.07%!

26.58%!

13.40%!

17.50%!

23.61%!

17.57%!

Other!R/C!Organics,!Branches!and!Stumps!

3.37%!

3.50%!

5.20%!

5.13%!

7.23%!

7.55%!

8.00%!

4.35%!

5.87%!

Organic!Subtotal!

24.39%!

21.30%!

20.79%!

23.90%!

36.35%!

25.85%!

33.37%!

32.54%!

33.27%!

Other!Textiles,!Tires,!Carpet,!Light!Bulbs!

5.22%!

5.42%!

6.23%!

6.20%!

4.56%!

7.65%!

7.70%!

3.45%!

8.03%!

OTHER!NON-!RECYCLABLE!MATERIAL!

16.17%!

16.95%!

6.87%!

15.67%!

12.24%!

8.30%!

8.47%!

21.28%!

10.17%!

Total!

100.0%!

Appendix!|!110!

APPENDIX VI: REFERENCES

Appalachia! Ohio! Zero! Waste! Initiative.! ! 2013.! ! Case% Stud ies:% Select% Rural% Ohio% Recycling% Prog rams.!!

Online,!accessed! 9/15/15.! Available:!http://ruralaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03 /CASE-

STUDIES-FINAL-REPORT.pdf.!!

Benzie!County,! MI.! Benzie% County% Recycling%and% Solid% W aste.! Onlin e,! accessed! 7/1 5/ 15 .! !Availa ble ! at:!

http://www.benzieco.net/departments/recycling_and_solid_waste/index.php.!

Centra! Wellness! N e twork.! 201 5 .! Annual% Report.! O n lin e,! accessed ! 11/21/15.! Available ! at:!

http://www.centrawellness.org/userfiles/filemanager/883/.!

City! of! Farmington! Hills.! ! July! 2015.! ! City% of% Farmington% Hills% FY% 2015/2016% Annual% Budget.! ! On lin e ,!

accessed! 11/15/15.! Available! at:! http://www.fhgov.com/Government/Departments-

Divisions/Finance/Budget/FY2015-16AdoptedBudget.aspx.!!

_____.! M arch! 20,! 2015.! ! Code% of% Ordina nc es,% Chapt er % 14.! On lin e,! accessed ! 10/2/15.! ! Availab le! at:!!

https://www.municode.com/library/mi/farmington_hills/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=P

TIICOOR_CH14RECOSOWADI.!

_____.! N.d.! Farmington! Hills! C ity! Hall! LEED®! Gold! Certified.! ! Online,! accessed! 11/1/15.! ! Available! at:!

http://www.sustainablefh.com/Programs-Projects/City-Hall-

Revitalization/CityHallBrochure.aspx.!

City! of! Grand! Rapids.! MI.! Office% of% Energy% and% Sustainability% website.! On lin e ,! acc e sse d ! 11 /1 2 /1 5.!!

Available! at:! http://grcity.us/enterprise-

services/officeofenergyandsustainability/Pages/Achievem ents.aspx . !

City!of!Grand!Rapids.!April,!2013!(amended).!!Sustainability%Plan.!!On line ,!acces se d !8/22 /1 5 . !!Ava ila ble!

at:! http://grcity.us/enterprise-

services/officeofenergyandsustainability/Docum ents/20 13%20Amended%20Sustainability%20Pl

an.pdf.!!

City!of!San! Francisco.!! Nd.! !Recycling%and%composting![website].! !Online,!accessed !6/27/15 .!!A v aila ble !at:!

http://www.sfenvironment.org/zero-waste/recycling-and-com posting.!!

Clark,!Christopher.!September!17,!2014.!!“Five!cities!that!are!recycling!superstars.”!!Human%Resources.!!

Online,!accessed!7/10/15.!! Available!at:!http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/09/17/5-cities-

are-recycling-superstars.!

Csapo,!Michael.!!July!31,!215.!!Personal%e-mail%correspondence.!!

Appendix!|!111!

Elisa!Seltzer.!!August!25,!2015.!!Personal%interview.!!Emme t!C o un ty .!!

Emmet! County.! ! MI.! ! Emmet% County% Recycling% website.! ! Onlin e,! ac ce ss ed ! 9/ 12 /1 5 .! ! Ava ilab le ! at:!

http://www.emmetrecycling.org/.!

Folz,! David! and! Joseph! Hazlett.! 1990.% % A% Na tio n al% Surv ey % of% Loca l% Gove rn ment% Rec yc lin g% Pro gr ams.!!

Online,!accessed!7/10/15.!!Available!at:!http://infohouse.p2ric.!org/ref/04/03958.pdf.!!

Harger,!Jim.! !M ay!24,!2013.! !“Grand!Rapids! Pay!as!You!Throw!Trash!and!Recycling!Program!Wins!Green!

Award.”!!MLive.!!!Online,!ac ce ss ed ! 12 /1 /1 5 .!! Av a ilab le !a t:!http://www.mlive.com/business/west-

michigan/index.ssf/2013/05/grand_rapids_pay-as-you-throw.htm l.!!

Keystone!Center.!!September! 19,! 2011.!! Final%report%o f%the% dialogue% on% sustainable%financing%of% recycling%

of% packaging% at% the% municipal% level.! ! Submitted! to! the! U .S .! Environmen tal! Protection! Agenc y.!!

Online,! accessed! 7/16/15.! ! Available! at:! http://www.michiganrecycles.org/images/bak-12-17-

2013/newpdf/EPAsustainablefinancingdialogue2011.pdf.!!

Mecklenburg! County! Land! Use! &! Environmental! Services! Agency.! ! 2011.! ! Best% Practices% for% Local%

Government% Solid% Waste% Recycling,% Diversion% from% Landfill% and% Waste% Reduction.! ! O n lin e ,!

accessed! 6/28/15.! ! Available! at:!

http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/County/luesa/solidwaste/m anagem en tplan/do cum ents/b est

practicesrecyclingstudy.pdf.!!

Marlene!Wood.!!July!20,!2015.!!Personal%interview.!!Benzie!Cou n ty.!

Michigan! Department! of! Environmental! Quality.! ! May! 5,! 2015.! ! DEQ% recognizes% 28% organizations% for%

recycling% excellen ce.!!Online,! accessed! 11/2/15.! ! Available! at:!!

http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,4561,7-135-3308-353915--,00.html. !

_____.!Office! o f! Waste!Man ag ement!and! R a dio lo g ica l! P ro te ctio n ! S o lid ! Waste!Section .!2014.!Report%of%

Solid% W aste% Landfilled% in% M ichigan.! Online,! accessed! 1/11/16.! ! Available! at:!

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/DEQ-OWMRP-SWS-

SolidWasteAnnualReportFY2014._481071_7.pdf!!

Michigan! Recycling! Coalition.! ! 2011.! ! 2011% State% of% recycling% in% M ichigan:% a% way% forward.! ! Online,!

accessed! 6/24/15.! ! Available! at:! ! http://www.michiganrecycles.org/images/bak-12-17-

2013/newpdf/StateofRecycling2011MRC.pdf.!

Miller,!Brian.!!August!4,!2015.!!Personal%interview.%%Cascade!Cart!Systems.!!

Ohio!Environmental!Protection!Agency.!! November!1,!2004.!! Drop-off!Recycling!in!Ohio:! ! Measuring!and!

Understanding!Participation!and!Program!Effectiveness.!!Online,!accessed! 7/8/15.!!Available! at:!!

Appendix!|!112!

http://epa.ohio.gov/portals/34/document/general/Dropoffrecycling.pdf!

http://epa.ohio.gov/portals/34/document/general/Dropoffrecycling.pdf.!!!

Petoskey!News.!!December!21,!2012.!!“County!names!EJ!recycler!of!the!year.”!Petoskey%New s.!!Online ,!

accessed! 10/12/15.! ! Available! at:! http://articles.petoskeynews.com/2012-12-21/steel-

cans_35958936.!

Petoskey! Plastics.! ! Nd.! Petoskey% Plastics% recycling% website.! ! O n lin e,! ac ce sse d ! 10 /4 /1 5.! ! Ava ila ble ! at:!

http://www.petoskeyplastics.com/Content/GreenContent_Home.!

Public!Sector!Consultants.!Feb ruary,!2013.!!Imp ro v in g %recycling%performance%in%Michigan:%best% practices,%

options% and% potential% costs.% % Online,! accessed! 6/24/15.! ! Available! at:!

http://www.pscinc.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ZI4nyjQU2WU%3D&tabid=65.!

Resource! Recycling! Systems!(RRS).! !Mecklenburg! County,!NC:!set! out!rate! study!and!satisfaction!survey.!

Online,!accessed!8/1/15.!!Available:!http://recycle.com/case-studie s/ m e c kle n b u rg -County/.!!

____.! ! Nd.! City! of! Toledo:! video! case! study.! ! Online,! accessed! 11/14/15.! ! Available! at:!

http://recycle.com/case-studies/video-case-study-city-of-toledo/.!

Resource!Recovery! and! Recycling! Authority! of! Southwest! Oakland! County!(RRRASOC).! ! Nd.! ! RRRASOC%

website.!!Online,!ac ce ss ed !9 /7 /1 5.!!A va ila ble !a t:!http://rrrasoc.org/.!

Southeast! Recycling! Development! Council.! Nd.! Outlining% a% Successful% Recycling% Program.! ! O n lin e,!

accessed! 10/2/15.! ! Available! at:!

https://serdc.org/Resources/Documents/SERDC%20Outlining%20a%20Successful%20Recycling

%20Program%20Factsheet.pdf.!!

Tufano,! Linda.! ! August! 4,! 2015.! ! “Which! U.S.! cities! are! recycling! champions?”! ! Waste% Dive.! ! Online,!

accessed! 10/10/15.! ! Available! at:! http://www.wastedive.com/news/which-us-cities-are-

recycling-cham pions/4 03347 /.!

U.S.! Environmental! Protection! Agency! (EPA).! ! 2012.! Municipal! solid! waste! generation,! recycling,! and!

disposal!in!the!United!States:!facts!and!figures!for!2012.!!Online,!accessed!8/15/15.!!Available!at:!!

http://www3.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/2012_msw_fs.pdf.!!

____.! Nd.! Improving! your! recycling! program! [website].! ! Online,! accessed! 11/18/15.! ! Available! at:!

http://archive.epa.gov/region4/rcra/mgtoolkit/web/html/improving.html.!!

U.S.! Environmental! Protection! Agency.! "M u nicipal! Solid! Waste! Generation,! Recy cling,! and! Disposal! in!

the!United!State s."!US !EPA !W e bsite.!N .p.,!Feb .!201 4.!W eb .!30!Jan .!201 5.!

Impacts of State Beverage Container Deposit

Laws on Recycling Rates and Local

Recycling Costs

January, 2016

Prepared by:

Public Sector Consultants

Lansing, Michigan

Prepared for:

Northeast Michigan Council of Governments

Gaylord, Michigan

2 | Page

Background and Scope of Analysis

Waste reduction, recycling, and reuse help divert municipal solid waste (MSW) from disposal in landfills and

provide significant environmental and economic benefits to Michigan. Despite being an early leader in

recycling and continuing to operate one of the most aggressive beverage-container deposit law (“bottle bill”)

programs in the country, Michigan’s collection and diversion of non-bottle-bill materials has remained low,

and the state’s overall recycling performance is a poor 14.5 percent (RRS 2015).

Michigan’s Beverage Container Initiated Law (commonly known as the “bottle bill”) was passed by voter

referendum in 1976 to help clean up the environment and conserve energy and natural resources associated

with waste creation and disposal. The law requires a deposit of $0.10/container, including any beer, soft drinks,

carbonated and mineral water, wine coolers, and canned cocktails in airtight metal, glass, paper, plastic, or

combination containers under one gallon, and bans these materials from waste disposal. Consumers then return

empty beverage containers to retailers for a refund of their deposit. Michigan has the highest rate of redemption

for its bottle-bill materials—97 percent—largely attributed to the high $0.10/container deposit amount (most

states levy $0.05/container). However, bottle-bill materials make up only 16 percent of the state’s total

recyclable materials (PSC 2013)

Over the years, there have been discussions of bottle bills (or with those considering adoption of a bottle bill)

in Michigan as well as other states about how these deposit programs impact states’ recycling rates and what

effect, if any, they have on local recycling programs.

While there have been numerous studies done to evaluate Michigan’s recycling performance and opportunities

for improving recycling, there has been little analysis of how the bottle bill affects the state’s overall recycling

rate and costs for local recycling programs. Public Sector Consultants (PSC) conducted a study in 2013 titled

Improving Recycling Performance in Michigan: Best Practices, Options and Potential Costs, which looked at

some of the cost and efficiency issues with a dual bottle-bill/community recycling programs system. In

addition, a Michigan Beverage and Container Task Force was established in 2003, and their final report included

some discussion on the impacts of the bottle bill on recycling in Michigan. These are the only studies that have

looked at bottle-bill impacts in Michigan, but there are several studies that have been done in other states.

PSC reviewed these studies, as well as literature that looked more broadly at recycling behavior,

to evaluate

whether:

 Bottle-bill programs increase state recycling rates overall compared to just local curbside and drop-off

systems

 Bottle-bill programs affect the cost and viability of local recycling programs

BOTTLE-BILL EFFECT ON RECYCLING RATES

While there is substantial research evaluating how bottle bills affect the recycling of beverage containers, there

is very limited analysis of how bottle-bill programs affect statewide recycling rates overall.

For its analysis, PSC reviewed a mix of peer reviewed studies, industry articles, and reports prepared by consultants or

organizations to look at the impacts of bottle bills in specific states. The vast majority of the literature was made up of

the latter category.

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Do bottle bills increase the amount of beverage containers recycled?

It is undeniable in reviewing the literature that bottle-deposit laws increase the percentage of beverage

containers recycled because consumers have financial incentives to return those containers for their deposit.

Across the ten current bottle-bill states, beverage container recycling rates range from 20 to 97 percent.

Michigan, with the largest deposit amount ($0.10/container), is the highest (almost 97 percent of its carbonated

beverage materials are returned). Curbside and drop-off recycling programs generally do not recover this

amount of beverage materials. A study done in 2002 found that residents in bottle-bill states recycled an

average 490 containers per capita per year, while non-bottle-bill state residents, which rely solely on curbside

or drop-off recycling programs, recycled less than half as much (only 191 beverage containers per capita per

year (R.W. Beck 2002)).

In addition, the materials collected through beverage-container deposit programs are higher quality than those

collected in curbside programs, particularly single stream, because there is significantly less cross

contamination of materials (including broken glass and non-recyclable materials). As such, they yield a greater

commodity value and are more easily used for recycled products. A 2015 study found that the industry-reported

average yield losses for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bales from curbside recycling programs is 31 percent

compared to a 25 percent yield loss for bales from bottle-deposit programs because of contamination by other

recycled materials (MacKerron 2015).

Do bottle-bill programs impact the recycling rate for other materials?

The impact of bottle-bill systems on overall recycling rates, including non-beverage-container materials, is less

clear. While several studies conducted over the last decade for individual states considering adoption or

expansion of bottle-bill deposit programs indicate that these systems increase recycling, they only cite rates of

beverage containers—not all recycled or recyclable material.

In 2013, PSC conducted a study of twenty high-performing recycling states

to evaluate whether there was a

strong relationship between bottle-bill programs and recycling rates. PSC’s analysis found that bottle-bill states

made up eight out of the 20 high-performing states. However, recycling rates, which ranged from 29 percent

(Kentucky) to 60.5 percent (New Jersey), varied across the 20 states regardless of bottle-bill program adoption,

as shown in Exhibit 1.

The high-performing states used for comparison were initially selected based on their ranking in the BioCycle 2010

State of Garbage in America report; however, given limitations with BioCycle data, actual recycling rates (bottle and

non-bottle-bill materials) for these states were obtained through research and/or interviews with state staff.

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EXHIBIT 1. Recycling Rates for High-Performing (Bottle-Bill and Non-Bottle-Bill) States

SOURCE: Public Sector Consultants. 2013. Available at: http://www.pscinc.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ZI4nyjQU2WU%3d&tabid=65

In short, using total recycling rates as a common metric of success, bottle-deposit laws do not seem to impact

total statewide recycling rates one way or another.

In every state, bottle-bill materials make up a modest share of total recycled material. In Michigan, bottle-bill

materials make up approximately 16 percent of total estimated recycled materials (PSC 2013). The United

States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) waste characterization studies report a similar percentage—

metals, glass, and plastics made up 15.7 percent of waste-recovery (recycling and yard waste) materials in

2012 (U.S. EPA 2012). So, while recycling rates for beverage containers may be very high in bottle-bill states,

their share of total material is not enough on its own to result in high overall recycling rates.

A 2009 study done for the State of Rhode Island which compared the adoption of an expanded bottle-bill

program (to include plastic water bottles) to enhanced community curbside recycling found that an enhanced

community program would increase the total volume of recycled material by 15,400 tons when compared to

an expanded bottle bill (a 24 percent versus 21 percent statewide recycling rate). The expanded community

system achieves a higher recycling rate because it increases the recovery of fiber (paper) while the expanded

bottle bill only increases recovery of beverage containers (DSM May, 2009).

Do bottle-bill programs affect recycling behavior?

Given the high level of beverage-container recycling in bottle-bill states, why doesn’t Michigan see a higher

level of recycling for other materials in those states based on a greater awareness of recycling? The research

on how bottle-bill programs affect recycling behavior is very limited. A small number of studies have looked

generally at the psychology of recycling behavior, but PSC found only one that specifically looked at recycling

behaviors in bottle-bill versus non-bottle-bill states. A 2012 study examining recycling rates of plastic water

bottles (which are increasingly part of the national debate on bottle-bill deposit laws) examined the factors

affecting water bottle recycling behavior, including financial incentives and convenience. The authors used a

nationally representative survey of plastic water bottle users at the household level to assess how individual

recycling behavior is shaped by state laws and financial incentives (e.g., bottle deposits), the value people place

on time (convenience), and on people’s environmental concerns. The study found:

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 Strong recycling policies, including mandatory recycling, municipal recycling plans requirements, and/or

bottle-deposit laws, are all associated with a discontinuous jump in individual recycling effort from no

recycling to diligent recycling. In other words, once these policies get someone to begin recycling, those

people do not tend to do so incrementally by becoming a moderate recycler. They “jump” to become a

diligent recycler.

 Beverage-container deposits not only affect recycling rates of plastic water bottles by incentivizing

customers to recycle those containers, they also raise the purchase price of the product if it is not recycled

(due to inconvenience) and can therefore reduce the demand for (and waste associated with) those goods.

 Low-income households are much more likely to recycle beverage containers under bottle-bill deposit

systems than high-income households, who are not as motivated by the modest deposit amount.

 Based on a before-and-after study of water bottle-deposit programs in Connecticut and Oregon, people

increased their return of all beverage containers and the number of diligent bottle recyclers jumped from

71 to 87 percent. In addition, the percentage of people using curbside programs jumped from 54 to 59

percent, indicating that recycling overall likely increased with adoption of a bottle bill.

 There are likely substitution effects between recycling programs, with some increase in bottle-deposit

returns coming from materials that would have previously been recycled at the curb and vice versa, which

may account for the lack of greater progress in increasing recycling overall (Viscusi et al. 2012).

Beatty et al. conducted a study of the incremental impacts of curbside recycling in the presence of alternative

recycling options (such as bottle-deposit laws), and found similar results regarding the substitution effect. The

authors found that increased access to recycling at the curb resulted in a statistically significant increase in the

volume of those materials collected at the curb. But their analysis also found that curbside recycling is

cannibalizing from bottle-deposit return centers, diverting 21 percent of plastic from bottle-deposit return

centers and almost 78 percent of glass (no diversion was found for aluminum) (Beatty et al. 2007).

IMPACTS OF BOTTLE-BILL LAWS ON THE COST AND VIABILITY OF

LOCAL RECYCLING PROGRAMS

Do bottle-bill programs keep communities from investing in curbside or drop-off recycling programs, either

for cost or perceived need reasons? There have been several studies on the economic impacts of bottle-bill

systems on local recycling programs in various states.

The research generally looks at whether bottle-bill laws

“rob” local programs of high-value recyclable materials (such as aluminum), making it harder for them to

operate efficient curbside or drop-off recycling, or whether they save communities collection and waste

disposal costs and provide a net benefit. The literature is somewhat mixed on the magnitude of the impacts,

but most studies find that bottle-bill laws are neutral or have positive impacts on the economics of local

recycling programs. Some of the key studies and their findings are summarized below:

 DSM Environmental Services conducted studies on the economic and environmental impacts of bottle-bill

programs for Rhode Island and Massachusetts. DSM estimated the number of beverage containers (and

related tons of material) that would be diverted from curbside programs to a new bottle-deposit return

system in Rhode Island, as well as an expanded bottle-deposit return system (to include plastic bottles) in

Massachusetts. Based on estimated diversion rates, they projected that the total loss of revenue

communities (at a statewide level) would be $1.4 million and $900 thousand respectively (DSM July,

2009; DSM May, 2009).

There have been no studies done in Michigan on the economic impact of bottle-bill programs on local communities

Revenue losses were estimated for individual materials (PET, aluminum, glass) based on market rates at the time and

assumed communities were receiving a 50 percent revenue share from material processors. The net losses also

subtracted processing fees for each ton of material (using $25/ton).

6 | Page

 However, DSM’s studies also evaluated the impact on municipal collection costs in order to determine net

economic impacts on community recycling programs. Based on reductions in the number of trucks/routes

required and reduced tipping fees for waste disposal, DSM estimated that communities in Rhode Island

and Massachusetts could potentially avoid between $2 and $4 million/year (aggregated at the state level)

in collection and disposal costs (DSM July, 2009; DSM May, 2009). In other words, from a municipal

perspective, bottle-bill programs are a net economic positive. However, as these studies point out, these

costs do not include the statewide costs of operating a bottle-bill program. DSM’s analysis in Rhode Island

compared the adoption of an expanded bottle program to investment in an enhanced community curbside

program (statewide) and found that total cost for a bottle-bill system ($14.8 million) was almost twice as

much as an enhanced municipal recycling system (which was also projected to increase overall recycling

volume compared to a bottle-bill system) (DSM May 2009).

 The University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center also looked at the potential economic impacts

to local communities from adopting a bottle-bill program. The authors cite studies (including the DSM

studies described above) showing that communities do lose revenue from the diversion of bottle-bill

materials but generally have decreased collection and disposal costs. The study also cites the significant

reductions in litter that have accrued in bottle-deposit states (as much as 84 percent decrease in beverage-

container litter), and notes that litter pick-up costs must also be considered when evaluating the economic

impacts of beverage-container laws (University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center 2011).

 Reclay Steward Edge (RSE) evaluated the economic impacts of implementing a bottle-bill program in

Minnesota, a state which already has a well-established and successful recycling program. RSE found that

a bottle bill would reduce local revenues (by about $600 thousand), but would decrease collection costs

and tipping fees as well. The net estimated impact was about $4 million in saved costs for communities.

As with the DSM studies however, RSE also estimated substantial costs for developing and operating a

bottle-bill system in Minnesota—about $30 million a year in direct costs (RSE 2014).

 Finally, a 2004 study by Sound Resource Management Group done for the state of Washington also found

similar results in terms of net revenue loss and costs to community recycling programs. The authors

estimated between $2 and $5 million net loss in revenue to communities from material sales (at the

statewide level), but over $9 million in reduced collection and disposal costs (Morris et al. 2005) for

communities. The total estimated cost of administering the bottle-bill program ranged from $60 million to

almost $150 million (Morris et al. 2005)

CONCLUSIONS

While there is substantial research showing that bottle-bill laws increase the volume of recycling for beverage

containers, there is no clear connection in the research between bottle-deposit systems and higher recycling

rates overall. Research examining 20 high-recycling-performance states found that both bottle and non-bottle-

bill states are represented in that group, and that recycling rates varied across both categories of systems.

The reasons that recycling rates overall are not higher in bottle-bill states is not well understood. There are a

handful of studies that have looked at the psychology of recycling behavior and found that there are differences

(among socio-economic classes and geographies) regarding whether financial incentives associated with

bottle-deposit returns outweigh the convenience of curbside recycling. These studies also found that bottle-

deposit and local recycling programs (curbside and drop-off) may be cannibalizing each other, which accounts

for some of the lack of progress. However, additional studies that investigate how individuals make decisions

about recycling might help illuminate why overall recycling rates in bottle-bill states are not amongst the

highest.

The research on whether bottle-bill programs negatively or positively affect the economics of local recycling

programs is more definitive. Most of the studies have shown that bottle-bill systems certainly divert materials

from local programs and that there is a subsequent loss of revenues, either by communities or their material

recovery facilities. But those studies have also shown that communities’ collection and disposal costs are

7 | Page

reduced when statewide bottle-bill programs are adopted or expanded. Thus, for communities, the impact

seems to be net positive. However, the studies that also looked at state-level costs of recycling overall found

that states with bottle-bill programs had higher net costs

than those with just community recycling programs

(with estimates of direct costs ranging from $14 million to $150 million a year). This held true even when

researchers included investments in enhanced local curbside recycling in the analysis.

Costs under bottle-bill systems are generally shared among the state, retailers, manufacturers, and distributors of

beverage containers.

8 | Page

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