[GreenYes] Fwd: Clark County, NV Report concludes more can be done to improve recycling rates

[Gary Liss <gary@garyliss.com>]

Apologies for Cross-Postings

For Immediate Release: August 15, 2002
U.S. EPA RELEASES CLARK COUNTY RECYCLING STUDY
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     Report concludes more can be done to improve recycling rates

     SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today 
announced it has released a recycling report, Assessing the Potential for 
Resource Management in Clark County to Nevada officials and Republic Silver 
State, the county's contracted waste hauler.  The EPA commissioned the 
study with the Tellus Institute after a February 2001 public recycling 
forum conducted by the EPA, state of Nevada, and the Clark County Health 
District.

     Clark County has one of the lowest recycling rates in the nation.  The 
report concludes that there are significant opportunities to increase both 
recycling rates and recycling revenues despite the fact that Clark County's 
current franchise agreement and solid waste ordinance provide little 
incentive to increase recycling.

     Clark County has great potential to improve recycling rates and reduce 
the amount of garbage buried in their landfills, said Wayne Nastri, 
regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest region.  A little effort 
by everyone in Las Vegas can make a big difference.

     Clark County has one of the lowest recycling rates in the nation with 
a 4 percent residential rate and a 16 percent commercial rate for an 
overall rate of approximately 11 percent in 2000.  That year Washoe County 
had a 23 percent recycling rate and western communities of comparable size 
had recycling rates ranging from 45 percent (Sacramento, Calif.)  to 48 
percent (Phoenix, Ariz.).  Nevada has a recycling goal of 25 percent and 
EPA's recycling goal is 35 percent by 2005.

     The report assess opportunities for resource management an innovative, 
market driven model that rewards contractors who help their customers 
divert materials from landfills and increase recycling rates.  Contractors 
are rewarded through performance bonuses and other contractual incentives 
funded from cost savings resulting from cost-effective diversion.

Based on public data and average commodity prices over an 8-year period, 
the report finds:

Using an RM approach, increasing the residential recycling rate in Clark 
County from 4 percent to 12 percent could create a net revenue benefit of 
over $2 million;

Reaching a 35 percent recycling rate in Clark County could create a net 
revenue benefit of $11 million;

Resource Management is a type of performance-based contracting that has 
been successfully pioneered by companies and communities across the nation;

General Motors used RM to realize a 20 percent reduction in overall waste 
generation, a 65 percent  increase in recycling, and a 15-30 percent 
decrease in waste management costs.

     Interested parties can review the report at:

http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/solid/nevadarm.html

Copies are on file at the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection or 
the Clark County offices.

# # #

Source:
>http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/r9press.nsf/7f3f954af9cce39b882563fd0063a09c/ad6 
>ece32b53dbe3688256c1b00684861?OpenDocument

Gary Liss
916-652-7850
Fax: 916-652-0485

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