RE: [GreenYes] Waste generation rates

["Reindl, John" <Reindl@co.dane.wi.us>]

Terri asked if Wisconsin residents know that only about 20% of all landfilled waste is from households and whether that discourages residential recycling. She also asks if Wisconsin is turning its attention to these other wastes.

 

I would say that they don't know it and that the public enthusiasm for household recycling is very high -- it is a positive thing that people can do at home to help the environment and takes little effort. In my own community, over 50% of household waste is recovered, and participation rates of 97% are reported.

 

On the other hand, the data on the source of wastes suggests to me that we ought to not just focus on household waste, but instead expand our horizons to include all wastes and go for those materials that have the "biggest bang for the buck". My own view is that we should look at maximizing the reduction in environmental impact of the entire material extraction, consumption and disposal cycle, not just landfill volume. These two things are happening in Wisconsin to some extent, but more work is needed and could be addressed in the strategic plan under development by the state.

 

John Reindl

-----Original Message-----
From: Steen, Terri - Contractor [mailto:Terri_Steen@belvoir.army.mil]
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 2:40 PM
To: 'Reindl, John'; 'eric@ecocycle.org'; 'Justin Stockdale'; 'Helen Spiegelman'
Cc: 'GreenYes'
Subject: RE: [GreenYes] Waste generation rates

I think that might be the trick – the report also says:  Of all solid waste received at VA facilities, 66.77% was MSW, 16.54% was C/D/D waste, and the remainder was other types of waste.

So, if Virginia is counting 66% of it’s waste as “municipal”, then perhaps it is defined differently than Wisconsin’s is. Or New Mexico.  Or Colorado.  Or….

 

Here’s the site for the full report if anyone’s interested:  http://www.deq.state.va.us/waste/waste.html

 

John, does the trash-generating public in Wisconsin know that statistic?  It seems to me they might get discouraged if their best recycling efforts would only affect 20% of the problem.  Or, are you focusing your reduction efforts on the other 80%?

 

Terri

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Reindl, John [mailto:Reindl@co.dane.wi.us]
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 1:58 PM
To: 'eric@ecocycle.org'; 'Justin Stockdale'; 'Helen Spiegelman'
Cc: 'GreenYes'
Subject: [GreenYes] Waste generation rates

 

The other part of the question is what's included or not included in the waste generation rates. Here in Wisconsin, household waste is somewhere around 20% of waste generation; commercial and industrial process waste is the other 80 some percent.

 

John Reindl

Dane County, WI

-----Original Message-----
From: eric@ecocycle.org [mailto:eric@ecocycle.org]
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:15 PM
To: 'Justin Stockdale'; 'Helen Spiegelman'
Cc: 'GreenYes'
Subject: RE: [GreenYes] Landfill Tipping Fees

Hi all,

 

We don’t have very good data collection in Colorado, but every time someone tries to figure the wasting rates along the Front Range (where everyone lives) the per capita rates are always up much higher than the EPA 4.4 lb rate … how confident are we with the EPA rate?

 

Eric

 

Eric Lombardi

Executive Director

EcoCycle, Inc

Boulder, CO

www.ecocycle.org

303-444-6634

 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-greenyes@grrn.org [mailto:owner-greenyes@grrn.org] On Behalf Of Justin Stockdale
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 10:35 AM
To: Helen Spiegelman
Cc: GreenYes
Subject: Re: [GreenYes] Landfill Tipping Fees

 

I can't give any clues to what is happening in VA, but it is good to know, or at least suspect that New Mexico is not the only state posting numbers over 8 pounds per person per day.
Justin Stockdale

Helen Spiegelman wrote:

 At 11:27 AM 04/10/2002 -0400, Terri quoted:
21,796,507 tons of solid waste
were received at Virginia's permitted solid waste management facilities
during calendar year 2000.  Of this total, 17,324,961 tons originated in the
Commonwealth,

VA's population in 2000 was 7,078,515, working out to a waste generation rate of 2.45 tons per capita, or 13.4 pounds per day. According to the report 2/3 of this was MSW, amounting to 8.85 pounds per day. Compare this to the national average percapita generation of municipal solid waste in 1997 reported by EPA (Characterization update) of 4.44 pounds per person per day. Please check my numbers. If they're right, does anyone have any ideas about this?

Helen.