Re: [GreenYes] Olympic waste diversion hits a snag

[Gary Liss <gary@garyliss.com>]

To clarify, the final numbers are not in for
the Olympics waste diversion 
rates.  What has been circulated is preliminary data, showing only
5% of 
material has been landfilled to date.  The facility operators are
expecting 
another 5-7% residue from the screenings of their composting 
operations.  That would result in an overall waste diversion rate of
88-90%, which is far better than any prior Olympics. 

Did the Olympics do everything that GRRN asked them to?  No. 
Did 
everything go as planned? No.  Were there problems?  Yes. 
As anyone who 
works on solid waste and recycling can attest, the devil is in the
details, 
and many improvements could be made for future Olympics and other major
special events.  One of the lessons learned was that more source
separation 
IS important and clear signage and monitoring of the bins could have
improved the recycling rate, and recovered more materials for their
highest 
and best uses. 

GRRN plans to suggest improvements it would like to see to the 
International Olympics Committee for future Olympics, once the final data
is out. 

My understanding of the Wasatch Energy Systems (WES)/Green Valley Recycle
& 
Compost (GVRC) issue is that the financial responsibility for screening
the 
waste and disposing of the rejects has been shifted from GVRC to
WES.  GVRC 
has NOT abandoned the project, as reported in Resource Recycling. 

John Madole of GVRC is still involved and will be periodically in Salt
Lake 
City related to the compost operation (e.g., during screening 
operations).  Since the Salt Lake Olympics Organizing Committee
(SLOC) is 
in the process of closing shop and will not have personnel on staff at
the 
time of the screening and since John Madole does not live in Salt Lake
City, SLOC wanted a local organization to have responsibility for
this.  It 
also made sense, because WES now has money from SLOC to correctly
complete 
the project and all the insurance/bonding obligations between all three
parties can be completed now.  The compost site is actually in the
buffer 
land of the WES landfill. 

BTW, a detailed series of articles are being published in BioCycle,
written 
by the facility operator (John Madole, GVRC) and Carolyn LaFleur, a
project 
engineer with HDR Engineering (see March 2002 edition, p.46). 

At 05:17 PM 04/10/02 -0400, Jay Donnaway wrote:
> FYI
>
> > Welcome to Resource Recycling's electronic newsletter.  This
> edition
> > includes two stories.
> > __________________________________________________
> > 
> > IS THE OLYMPIC RECYCLING EFFORT AWARD-WINNING?
> > 
> > PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP MOVES FORWARD IN EUROPE
> > __________________________________________________
> > 
> > Is the Olympic recycling effort award-winning?
> > 
> > Although environmental groups and others have applauded efforts by
> the 
> > 2002 Salt Lake City Organizing Committee to attain a
> "zero-waste" goal 
> > as part of the operations of the February Winter Olympic Games,
> the
> > evidence 
> > to date suggests the acclaim may be premature.
> > 
> > Groups such as the GrassRoots Recycling Network (Athens, Georgia)
> say the 
> > recycling and composting system attained a 96 percent waste
> reduction
> > level. 
> >  However, disturbing local reports in Utah suggest this
> announcement may 
> > require revision.
> > 
> > Wasatch Energy Systems, the quasi-governmental agency that operates
> the 
> > Davis County, Utah waste incinerator, has stepped in to manage some
> 2,600 
> > tons of material generated at Olympic sites.  The material,
> which is
> > stored 
> > on WES property about a mile from the incinerator in Layton, will be
> used 
> > to make compost or will be landfilled.  WES took over
> management after 
> > Green Valley Recycle & Compost (Minneapolis), the contracted
> recycling 
> > service provider, abandoned the composting project, with the
> concurrence 
> > of SLOC.
> > 
> > According to published reports, WES is charging SLOC $38 per ton to
> handle
> > 
> > the material.  The agency expects to complete the composting
> activities 
> > by September 2003.  Until then, SLOC will not know if it has
> attained its 
> > 85 percent recycling and composting goal.
> > 
> > SLOC refuses to say how much it paid Green Valley.
> > ____________________________________________________
> > 
> > Product stewardship moves forward in Europe
> > 
> > The European Parliament today approved a law requiring industry to
> finance
> > 
> > a massive takeback system for obsolete electronic and electrical
> goods.
> > 
> > The measure, which now goes to European Union member states,
> requires that
> > 
> > manufacturers establish recovery programs for products such as
> computers, 
> > televisions, cellphones, radios and household appliances. 
> According to 
> > industry estimates, this will cost as much as $13.2 billion annually
> ($US)
> > 
> > and will affect some 10,000 equipment producers.
> > 
> > The European Union will leave it to individual governments to figure
> out 
> > the best way to establish recovery programs.  The member
> nations already 
> > have agreed in principle to the takeback system.
> > _________________________________________________
> > 
> > This e-mail newsletter is a new benefit of your subscription to
> Resource 
> > Recycling magazine.  If you do not wish to receive future
> editions, simply
> > 
> > let us know.  Write to: info@resource-recycling.com.
> > _________________________________________________
> > 
> > Resource Recycling Magazine
> > P.O. Box 42270
> > Portland, OR 97242-0270
> > (503) 233-1305; 233-1356 (fax)
> > info@resource-recycling.com
> >
> www.resource-recycling.com
> > 
> > 
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Gary Liss

916-652-7850

Fax: 916-652-0485