This edition of the SCRAM newsletter is printed on Vision Paper Company paper made from 60 % Pre Consumer recycled fiber, 20% Post consumer recycled fiber and 20% Kenaf fiber.
Vision Paper is a small, innovative company whose mission is to make the most environmentally-positive paper products possible. They work with American farmers to grow an annual row crop called kenaf, a raw material substitute for trees. They manufacture pulp and paper, without using any (dioxin creating) chlorine compounds, and sell the paper to printers, companies, and organizations nationally. All of their kenaf is grown in the US, with sustainable agricultural practices that reduce or eliminate the use of fertilizers and chemicals. Because kenaf is grown for the fibrous stalk, and not for the fruit or flower of the plant, insecticides are not required.
Kenaf is a 4,000 year old NEW crop with roots in ancient Africa. A member of the hibiscus family, it is related to cotton and okra and grows well in many parts of the US. It grows to heights of 12-14 feet in as little as 4 to 5 months, yielding 6 to 10 tons of dry fiber per acre per year which is 3 to 5 times greater than the yield of southern pine trees, which take from 7 to 40 years to reach harvestable size. The stalks of the kenaf plant consist of two distinct fiber types. The outer is called "bast" and comprises roughly 40% of the stalk's dry weight. The bast fibers measure 2.6mm and are similar to the best softwood fibers used to make paper. The white, inner fiber is called "core" and comprises 60% of the stalk's dry weight. These refined fibers measure .6mm and are comparable to hardwood tree fibers, used in a widening range of paper products. Upon harvest, the whole kenaf plant is processed in a mechanical fiber separator similar to a cotton gin. The separation of the two fibers allows for independent processing and provides raw materials for a growing number of products including paper, particle board, animal bedding, and bio-remediation aids.
Growing world population rates indicate a growing demand on paper. Recycling alone cannot satisfy this demand. Unless we begin to make paper from something other than trees, deforestation will become a bigger and bigger problem.
Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexSCRAM will be participating in and co-sponsoring the Second Annual Alternative Paper Conference at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine on March 14, 1999. The purpose of the Conference is to bring together environmentalists, farmers, students, printers, government officials, business leaders, and others concerned about paper issues. The conference will provide the latest information on alternative paper: production; fiber farming; commercial printing applications and purchasing options. The hope is to work together to develop a sustainable alternative paper infrastructure for New England.
Current paper industry practices are wreaking havoc on the environment and our health. Unless we stop purchasing products made from virgin wood fiber the processes will continue. Nationwide, paper companies are producing high quality office papers made with post-consumer waste, agricultural residues, and annual plant fibers. Communities everywhere have the opportunity to begin a transition to these fibers and create economies which help towns, mill workers, and farmers.
For more information about the Conference, please contact: C.U.R.E., P.O. Box 100, Edgecomb, ME 04556 or ADBURT@WISCASSET.NET
Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexAs of July 1, 1999, the DEP will ban cathode ray tubes (CRTs) from disposal at landfills and combustion facilities in Massachusetts. CRTs are the leaded glass picture tubes found in televisions, computer monitors and video games. The average CRT contains eight pounds of lead, encased in the glass screen. Recycling CRTs will keep this lead from polluting our air, water and land. Today, about half of the estimated 25,000 tons of CRT waste generated annually in Massachusetts comews from residential sources. This amount will sky rocket when television broadcasts switch from analog to digital transmission signals in 2006. Currently CRT recycling can run any where from break even to $500 a ton depending on the CRT quality and the reuse value of the computer or video equipment collected with the CRTs. DEP hopes to develop the state CRT recycling infrastructure and bring the costs down to a stable, affordable level.
Enforcement of this waste ban will fall on the disposal facilities but like previous bans recycling will fall on the municipalities' shoulders. The operators of solid waste disposal facilities, landfills, combustion facilities and transfer stations will be required to submit plans for regular (not random) inspections of all solid waste loads to ensure removal of banned CRTs for recycling. Such "back-end" collection is less cost effective due to breakage, whereas "front-end" separation and collection will avoid breakage and increase revenue from value-added components associated with the CRTs (computers). Although DEP will not make CRT collection a DARP requirement, the voluntary collection of CRTs will become another expensive responsibility for municipalities.
DEP has a four-point plan to help make voluntary CRT and other kinds of obsolete electronics recycling a reality.
1. Pilot Program Grants will explore collection models, including municipal drop-offs, seasonal curbside collections, retailer "take backs," charity collections, moving company services and a University of Massachusetts end-markets investigation for the materials collected. Municipalities probably saw these grant offerings in their state grant packages but did not fully understand what they were for.
2. Following this year's pilot program grants, DEP will promote the most effective collection approaches through municipal grants. CRT and electronics equipment tonnage may be added to the existing MRIP tonnage to further encourage voluntary recycling.
3. Massachusetts currently has an electronics recycling master service contract that reduces costs to municipalities already collecting electronic equipment. DEP proposes to help the municipalities further with collection cost grants.
4. To promote sustainable end-markets for CRTs, Massachusetts is exploring leasing or buying computers for government agencies only from companies with take back programs. Existing demand side recycling programs, such as the Recycling Loan Fund and Recycling Industry Reimbursement Credit, are also being used to develop new end markets for obsolete electronics.
This is an awesome task to undertake and the state hopes that in a few years it will have established proven community and retailer-based collection programs where costs will go down with increased volumes. We can only hope that the ban will be enforced equitably and that more of the Clean Environment Fund money can be used for its original purpose and help financially-strapped towns who want to participate in CRT recycling.
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Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexSCRAM has made a conscious choice to use Environmental Printing Alternatives for all its printing needs. Owners Mike Morin and Paul Angers made it easy for us to do the right thing at the right price when we were shopping around for letterhead, cards and the printing of our newsletter.
Environmental Printing Alternatives uses ONLY recycled and tree-free papers, soy inks and the most earth-friendly products in all of its printing processes. The company stringently maintains a comprehensive in-house recycling program. All darkroom chemistry and waste film is recycled and reclaimed. All set up and waste paper is recycled. All aluminum printing plates, corrugated cardboard and plastics are recycled. Rather than use a laundered rag service to clean their presses, they use recycled a 100% cotton wiper. The soiled wipers are used by licensed cement kilns as an alternative fuel source. In a true resource recovery program, wipers are destroyed and the ash becomes an integral part of the cement in the kiln. Their waste inks are handled the same way. This recycling/reuse policy accounts for an astounding 95% of all their waste. This innovative approach is unparalleled in the printing industry, an industry generally considered a major polluter worldwide. This aggressive environmental approach reduces voc's by over 40% and saves tons of waste from landfills and incinerators each year.
Environmental Printing Alternatives is a socially responsible company as well. They offer substantial savings to environmental groups, as well as non-profit agencies. The savings can then be used to enhance their own programs.
The company also takes a leadership role. Site visits and workshops are an ongoing way in which Environmental Printing Alternatives strives to educate other businesses to become environmentally responsible. Next March, both SCRAM and Environmental Printing Alternatives will be co-sponsoring and participating in an Alternative Paper Conference in Maine. Mike Morin will also talk to us at our March membership meeting about his company and alternative paper products. The company is considered a model and has won the 1997 MassRecycle Manufacturer of the Year Award and the 1998 Environmental Award from the Worcester Business Journal and the Massachusetts Audubon for creating a market in recycled products.
This edition of our newsletter is printed on paper that is a combination of virgin Kenaf fiber and post consumer recycled (see story above KENAF - A Clearcut Alternative). Mike and Paul have taken every opportunity to show us their operation and educate us about printing and paper choices. These choices make a significant difference in the way we present ourselves to the public.
Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexThe current level of enforcement of state solid waste bans is not enough! The Massachusetts Solid Waste Master Plan relies heavily on municipalities and commercial haulers voluntarily recycling or composting materials banned from disposal facilities in the state. Because the state could not afford to pay for a law mandating recycling and composting programs, the waste bans were devised.
The waste bans are enforced at the disposal facilities through inspections outlined in each facility’s compliance plans. The larger the volume of trash, the more random inspections a facility must perform to check for banned items in the loads. Trash loads hauled to a disposal facility that have any trash from a municipality with a DEP Approved Recycling or Composting Program(DARP or DACP) are exempt from inspection but count as an inspected load. Even if the majority load is generated from towns with no DARP/DACP, the load is considered exempt. Loads that contain more than allowed quantities of banned materials are rejected from that facility but can be brought to another facility the same day. Chances are it will not be inspected.
It is clear that the present waste ban compliance plan does little to identify and penalize commercial subscription haulers or DARP/DACP municipalities that do not take the bans seriously. Why should a town or commercial hauler recycle if there are no real consequences? Municipalities that have spent the money and time to start a comprehensive recycling program believing the waste bans were going to be enforced, feel cheated. If residents don’t want to recycle at a municipal drop-off center, they just call a subscription hauler and throw it all away curbside. The latest Cathode Ray Tubes(CRTs) waste ban to go in effect July 1, 1999 (see story pg ) will be very costly and have municipalities wondering why should they spend funds to divert CRTs when they know it won’t be enforced.
SCRAM and the Recycling Initiative Campaign have started a petition to send a clear message to the State that it is time to do something about waste ban enforcement. The recycling coordinators for the three largest cities in the state, as well as a number of recycling and environmental groups have already signed this petition. They will all be present at the State Municipal Recycling Coordinators’ Meeting on November 12th, 1-4 pm. at Worcester City Hall to discuss this issue. If you are interested in signing the petition, join us on the 12th in Worcester or at SCRAM’s Annual Meeting November 19 in North Brookfield.
Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexIn the spirit of thinking regionally, the South Central Recycling Association of Massachusetts (SCRAM), the Central MA Municipal Recycling Council (CMRC) and DEP's Municipal Recycling Incentive Program (MRIP) are combining their outreach efforts. Each organization has a mission to provide technical workshops for professionals and volunteers working in the field of solid waste management, as well as offer a forum for networking. In addition, each group, in its own way, has been able to create a united voice on solid waste management issues that have been brought to the attention of decision makers.
As a result, John Alphin of SCRAM, Regina Barrett of MRIP and Janet Malatesta of CMRC have become co-chairs of CMRC. Together they have been coordinating technical workshops throughout Central Mass. So far, they have covered topics on textile recycling and toxics management, as well as providing tours of the Sturbridge Recycling Center and Safety Kleen.
In addition, John Alphin and Regina Barrett have been working together to receive proposals from contractors for household hazardous waste and wood waste collection. (See the two associated articles in this issue.) These proposals were configured, based on the fact that they will be promoted throughout the region.
They intend, by combining their efforts, to avoid repetition and create more region-wide communication and unification with regard to solid waste management information and initiatives. Please support this effort by attending the meetings and workshops scheduled. Recycling coordinators have so much to share and learn from each other and this is the opportunity to do just that. You ideas and input on workshops and meetings topics are always welcome. Please contact John Alphin at (508) 867-9491, Regina Barrett at (978) 345-6918 or Janet Malatesta at (978) 568-1949 with your ideas, suggestions and questions.
Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexAt last, a regional answer to brush and woodwaste management! Douglas Cook, owner of J.M. Cook Company, Inc. would like to work with all Central Massachusetts towns, big or small, to solve their woodwaste needs. With over 15 years experience and degrees in forest and civil engineering, Douglas Cook can handle land clearing, woodwaste disposal and custom grinding. Cook Company can process 250 cubic yards of woodwaste an hour. Brush, tree stumps, clean construction woodwaste, railroad ties, phone poles and pallets are picked up by a crane and fed into a horizontal grinder at your own site. Horizontal grinders are much safer than large tub grinders at turning wood waste into usable mulch. The finished chips cross a conveyor belt that removes all metal (nails) and either go right into trailers or left for the customer. Fifty percent of the chips Cook processes go to paper mills and bioenergy plants to be burned as biomass fuel. The other half which are usually not clean enough for fuel are used for mulch, erosion control and composted with sludge at treatment plants.
SCRAM Director John Alphin met Douglas Cook at the 1998 New England Enviro Expo and invited him to speak at a SCRAM meeting. We learned that Cook Company has worked with a number of regional groups and over 50 Massachusetts municipalities. John negotiated a regional contract for SCRAM similar to others Douglas described. Regina Barrett, Director of Central Massachusetts Municipal Recycling Incentive Program (MRIP) expanded the deal to include all Central Massachusetts towns.
There are two options that apply to all central Massachusetts towns. For towns with less than 400 cubic yards of material, Cook Company can pick up 100-yard loads of wastewood with their crane and trash trailer for $6.00 a cubic yard. For the large community that generates woodwaste piles over 400 cubic yards, on-site grinding makes more sense. For $440.00 per hour (approx. 250 yds, per hour) Cook Company will provide all the equipment and labor to grind and remove your woodwaste. This is a discounted hourly rate with an eight hour minimum and can be shared by two towns or with a private job Cook Co. may have in your area. You can keep the chips on site but you must provide a means to move them yourself or pay for additional equipment.
If towns work together to schedule services, time and money can be saved by all. This is an opportunity for municipalities to cut down on brush burning, keep construction woodwaste out of landfills and provide mulch for residents.
Call Douglas or Jen Cook at 1-800-474-0747 to figure out what makes sense for your specific needs.
Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexAll Central Massachusetts towns now have a reasonable hazardous waste collection contract available to them, thanks to SCRAM Director John Alphin and Central MA MRIP Director Regina Barrett. The contract is a continuation of last year's, negotiated for SCRAM by Karen Bouguillon and John Alphin with Brenda Leonardo of Laidlaw Environmental Services. Laidlaw recently purchased SafetyKleen Corp and they are now doing business as SafetyKleen offering a full array of hazardous waste services. The contract has all the municipal protections necessary and is priced as follows:
The advantage of charging by the household equivalents is the ease in arranging regional collections for more than one town. The four Brookfields have done two of these collections together and just split up the charges based on number of households participating from each town. For more information about setting up a collection, call Brenda Leonardo at (978) 683-1002 ext. 5410.
Back to Top | Back to NewsLetter IndexSCRAM and FACE (Fundamental Action to Conserve Energy) have been working together to increase recovery and diversion of construction and demolition materials in Central Massachusetts. Using funding from the Farmers' Home Administration, real savings initiatives have been developed over the past year. Professional technical assistance available through the program for municipal coordinators, Boards of Health, and other responsible waste management leaders helped expand recovery of C&D materials in three sectors.
In the municipal sector, three towns met grant requirements to develop special facilities for reusable C&D materials. The reuse centers will offer alternative disposal facilities in the towns of Hardwick, East Brookfield and North Brookfield. Thirty central Massachusetts towns were mailed grant application packets and invited to a C&D meeting but only SCRAM communities applied. Look for updates on these programs as the facilities are built. Besides benefiting from the grants, SCRAM communities present at the C&D meeting learned about other markets or diversion opportunities for C&D materials.
The second sector includes increased commercial processing of C&D materials. Klem's in Spencer developed a baling system for corrugated cardboard (OCC) associated with their retail store which sells among other things, construction materials. SCRAM provided technical assistance to Klem's regarding the market options and handling procedures for their OCC. They are a model for other stores in the region, and have demonstrated the natural resource and costs savings of diverting this material. SCRAM helped them investigate purchasing another baler and expanding into mixed paper diversion. At least one other lumber yard is separating OCC for recycling but did not feel baling was an option for them at this time because of the arrangement they have with their regular waste hauler. SCRAM & FACE have been approaching businesses that deal in used C&D materials like doors, windows, etc., to develop markets for some of the municipally collected materials.
The third sector is regional cooperative processing. The Cook Co., processors of clean wood waste, offer a regional contract to Central Massachusetts towns (see associated story) as an excellent way to handle brush and clean C&D material. Mounsey Corp. in Oxford will also take clean wood waste and brush delivered to them for $150.00 per 30-yd. roll-off. They can be reached at (508) 892-8787.
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