[greenyes] RE: do glass data include upstream impacts?

["Reindl, John" <Reindl@no.address>]

According to my reading of the book that I cited (see page 432), yes, the
extraction of the raw material is included.  It says 

"In the following sections covering the environmental burden of reprocessing
each of the recovered materials, data will be presented for the following:

1. Energy consumption and emissions associated with production of the virgin
materials that this material could replace (starting from raw material
extraction). "

John 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Susan Hubbard [mailto:susanh@no.address]
> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 10:01 AM
> To: 'Helen Spiegelman'; greenyes@no.address
> Subject: RE: [greenyes] The environmental impacts of recycling glass
> 
> 
> Do the studies and the numbers John cites include the impacts upstream?
> The impacts from mining? How far back you stand to look at this issue
> impacts the information you get. The reason you do or don't recycle
> impacts where you stand.
> 
> Helen's point about glass aggregate points to another viewpoint. The
> reason the glass she refers to isn't being recycled back into glass is
> because it isn't being looked at as a resource but rather as a garbage
> to collect off the street. 
> 
> You can back up your own opinion easily. 
> Seeing another viewpoint is more difficult.
> 
> Susan Hubbard
> Eureka Recycling
> 624 Selby Ave.
> Saint Paul, MN 55104
> 651.222.7678
> 651.221.9831 (fax)
> susanh@no.address
> www.eurekarecycling.org
>  
>  
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Helen Spiegelman [mailto:hspie@no.address] 
> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 9:47 AM
> To: greenyes@no.address
> Subject: Re: [greenyes] The environmental impacts of recycling glass
> 
> Thanks to John Reindl for supplying yet another piece of credible
> testimony 
> underscoring the limited environmental benefits of recycling glass.
> 
> Everyone needs to understand that the environmental benefits 
> quantified 
> below apply only when the glass is recycled back into glass. The much
> more 
> common practice is to "recycle" glass into drainrock/aggregate
> substitute 
> at construction sites. This "recycling" application represents a
> complete 
> write-off of all the energy used to transform the sand into 
> glass in the
> 
> first place.
> 
> Is glass recycling a benefit to the environment or a 
> feel-good exercise
> at 
> considerable public expense?
> 
> Helen.
> 
> At 09:05 AM 04/14/2003 -0500, Reindl, John wrote:
> >Hi all ~
> >
> >I have seen various computer models that tally up the environmental
> impacts
> >of recycling glass. The latest -- and very clearly stated -- 
> is in the
> 2001
> >edition of "Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Life Cycle 
> Inventory",
> by
> >Forbes McDougall, et. al.
> >
> >On pages 441-442, Table 22.3 compares about 50 parameters, 
> and I would
> be
> >glad to copy and either mail or fax the tables to people.
> >
> >Here are some of the data, expressed on a metric ton basis 
> of finished
> >product:
> >
> >    Parameter                    Virgin          Recycled
> >
> >Engery (GJoules)                14.5                11.04
> >
> >Carbon dioxide                  145,600            57,000
> >
> >NOx                             1500                  2880
> >
> >Suspended solids - water        7760                    796
> >
> >Chlorides -water                        99,900               8,410
> >
> >Total organics - water              68.5                      80.7
> >
> >On the energy issue, a gigajoule is a billion joules and 
> there are 1054
> >joules in a BTU. Thus, making a metric ton of glass from recycled
> material
> >saves about 3.3 million BTUs, or 3 million BTUs per US ton, according
> to
> >this source. In comparison, according to data in the March/April 1981
> issue
> >of BioCycle, an article by Jerry Powell puts the savings at 2.95
> million
> >BTUs a ton, although the article has alternative estimates of 1.3 to
> 2.5
> >million BTUs. In the same article, it is noted that a gallon of
> gasoline has
> >128,000 BTUs.
> >
> >The data do not include the impacts of collection, processing or
> >transportation, which is included in other sections of the book.
> >
> >Other LCA models also exist, including one by Argonne National Labs,
> which
> >looked at the distance to which cullet can be transported before the
> energy
> >of transportation exceeds the energy savings. If  I can find the data
> of
> >these other studies, I will let people know.
> >
> >It should be noted that on a per ton basis, the energy savings from
> glass
> >are less than the savings from all other products listed in the above
> book.
> >The book listed above does not evaluate the relative 
> importance of the
> >various environmental impacts nor does it look at a possible economic
> value
> >for the individual impacts, as is done in environmental valuation
> studies.
> >
> >John Reindl, Recycling Manager
> >Dane County, WI
> >
> >
> >
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> 
> 
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