Re: [GreenYes] Office Paper Recycling

[Ann Schneider <schneiderann@juno.com>]

Nicely said Myra.

And as long as the cost of recycling is less than the "true cost of
disposal" the generator is still winning.  Along the way, we (local
recycling coordinators), haven't included this as part of the reasons to
support recycling.  For some reason this is a hard concept for generators
to understand.  To me, this points out why this concept needs to be
included in outreach material prepared by local govt recycling
coodinators (as long as the community allows for fee for recycling for
independent recyclers.)  But flow control of commercial recyclables is
another subject.

Ann Schneider

On Tue, 24 Apr 2001 06:36:52 -0700 Myra Nissen <myracycl@inreach.com>
writes:
> Hi Christine,
> 
> This is a philosophical comment based on my perspective on fee for 
> service as it
> has matured with my changing roles in recycling - recycling 
> coordinator for a
> company, a city, and a sourcing rep for a paper recycler.
> 
> I hope the company in question can find a solution to recycling that 
> suites them.
> 
> Free recycling service is nice to have. And at one time I could not 
> understand why
> a company would charge to recycle because it "was the right thing to 
> do." But that
> was when I was a recycling coordinator for a small company and not 
> working for a
> paper recycler.
> 
> Now I see that market prices (which are low right now), the cost of 
> transportation,
> labor, and processing are valid reasons for a recycler to charge for 
> service. (If
> the market value for a ton of paper is $150/ton than the cost of 
> creating a
> recyclable ton better cost less.)
> 
> A company must be profitable in order to continue to exist. I have 
> had small
> generators tell me they feel my company should pick up their paper 
> for free because
> it is the "right thing to do." But on the other reality is that all 
> the workers in
> our company want to have a paycheck and a job.
> 
> I am guilty of creating the perception that recycling should  be 
> free. When I was
> recycling coordinator for a city I think I spent too much time 
> promoting to the
> public that recyclables were too valuable to throw away and not 
> enough time on the
> realities of the markets and costs of collection. The value of 
> recyclable material
> is not always their market worth but in the avoided disposal costs 
> and the
> resources saved by recycling.
> 
> Myra Nissen
> 
> Christine_McCoy@afandpa.org wrote:
> 
> > Hello All -
> >
> > I had a phone call today from a gentleman, Larry Beiter, who is 
> trying to have
> > office paper recycled from his manufacturing facility in 
> Indianapolis, IN.
> > Apparently the company that was taking the paper said that they 
> aren't producing
> > enough and they wanted to start charging them to pick up the 
> paper.
> > Unfortunately, this is not an option for his company, but he's 
> still trying to
> > "do the right thing"!!
> >
> > The company generates about a toter full of office paper every 2-3 
> weeks, which
> > makes the economies of scale a little difficult - not to mention 
> they don't have
> > neighbors to consolidate their loads.  Another issue is that some 
> of the paper
> > is shredded for security reasons and apparently this posed a 
> problem for their
> > previous recycler.
> >
> > Any chance folks know of some recyclers in that part of the world 
> that would be
> > willing to pick up for free?  Larry's willing to work out a 
> strategy, pick-up
> > schedule that would limit the number of times the recycler would 
> need to service
> > the containers.
> >
> > Anything you can offer to him would be terrific.  I've cc:ed him 
> above, so
> > please respond to him directly.
> >
> > Thanks so much!!
> >
> > Christine
> > Manager, Fiber Recovery and Utilization
> > American Forest and Paper Association
> > Phone: 202/463-2777
> > Fax: 202/463-5171
> > Email: Christine_McCoy@afandpa.org
> >
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> 


> 

Ann Schneider                                               
Ann Schneider & Associates - Reuse, Recycling & Environmental Consulting
Services                        
SchneiderAnn@juno.com
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