Re: [greenyes] Recycling evicted from Post Offices

["Lacaze, Skip" <Skip.Lacaze@no.address>]

Regarding recent discussion about the possible elimination of recycling in
post office lobbies, RCRA made federal facilities subject to local solid
waste and recycling mandates.  The military and many other agencies didn't
comply, so there was a subsequent amendment where Congress essentially said,
"Yes, this means you."  With a few exceptions, it took a  long time for any
agencies to accept this decision.  [Unfortunately, states are usually exempt
from local control.]

The USPS had been heavily promoting their recycling program for the last
five or more years.  I remember in recent years they have partnered with
somebody to produce lobby displays or other furniture made from recycled
mail.  The documents that describe SOAR (Saving Of America's Resources) at
http://postal.tteam.com/emp/mypage/mypage.asp?UserID=2&PageID=-2 include a
fairly strong statement of policy:

"It is Postal Service policy to recycle all recoverable materials to foster
the sustainable use of natural resources."

If there has been any retreat from this position, I couldn't find it on the
USPS website.  The USPS documents are inconsistent in their discussion of
Discarded Lobby Mail, but it is clearly supposed to be part of the program.

Here's an excerpt from: 

Paper and Paperboard
Recycling Guide
http://postal.tteam.com/emp/PTCache/as550a.pdf?ID=31872&PTToken=88192C6EA6A6
062CC50E8F662607E6468F2606C62607860646C627&Name=.pdf

1 Introduction

[sidebar] Policy - It is Postal Service policy to recycle all recoverable
materials to foster the sustainable use of natural resources.

The United States Postal Service is committed to a national pollution
prevention program that will improve environmental quality and set a
positive example in every community we serve. The focus of this guide is on
recycling undeliverable standard mail (USM, also referred to as
undeliverable bulk business mail (UBBM)), paperboard (which we refer to as
old corrugated cardboard (OCC) or merely as cardboard), and mail that is
discarded in the lobbies of post offices (referred to as discarded lobby
mail or DLM). This guide offers Postal Service managers strategies for
identifying and carrying out ways to recycle paper and cardboard to conserve
our natural resources. It provides guidance for the design of a performance
cluster recycling program to meet the needs of every Postal Service
performance cluster and facility in the United States. Complementing this
guide is Handbook AS-550-B, Paper and Paperboard Recycling Plan. 

Recent developments have made recycling a cost-effective alternative to the
use of landfills. This guide, then, focuses on opportunities to recycle
paper and cardboard material since they make up the largest part of the
Postal Service waste stream. (Other solid waste materials are plastic, wood,
tires, and metals.) The guide also reviews Postal Service policy on
compliance with federal, state, and local recycling laws and regulations.

1-1 What Is Postal Service Policy?
Postal Service policy requires the recycling of all recoverable materials to
foster the sustainable use of natural resources. Consistent with that
policy, the decision to recycle must be based on state and local recycling
mandates and should also be based on sound business factors that include
cost avoidance, revenue-producing opportunities, availability of markets,
transportation, and logistical constraints.  

When state and local government regulations require businesses to recycle or
when they ban disposal of recoverable materials in landfills, the Postal
Service must comply with them.  

In addition to our commitment to recycling paper and paperboard, Postal
Service policy requires us to recycle all recoverable materials, including
(but not limited to) the following:
- Wood.
- Metal.
- Plastic.
- Glass.
- Gas filters.
- Oil filters.
- Oil.
- Antifreeze.
- Industrial rags.
- Fluorescent tubes.
- Electronic parts and equipment.
- Rubber.
- Other items that can be recovered.

--------------------------------------

Skip Lacaze
Civic Services Manager
Integrated Waste Management Division
Environmental Services Department
777 N 1st Street, Suite 300
San Jose, CA 95112

voice:	408/277-3994
fax:	408/277-3669
mailto:skip.lacaze@no.address
www.sjrecycles.org
100% San Jose. Recycle where you Live, Work and Play