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January/February 2009: Recycled News |
Recycled News
One town's trash is another's treasure
By Michael Pontacoloni
When more than a hundred tires appeared along roadsides in Jay last May town officials were angry, and a bit confused. The cleanup would cost the town $500 plus, and they had no idea why someone was illegally dumping car, truck and four-wheeler tires across the rural Adirondack community. "It looked like they were trying to get rid of them the easiest way they knew how," said Jay Supervisor Randy Douglas. The town of Jay had to recycle them—at five dollars a pop.
Recycling has long been the responsible way to dispose of many materials, from plastic to glass to rubber, but as the Jay tire dumping illustrates, it's rarely the easiest. This is especially true in the Adirondacks, where a small, dispersed population makes collecting and processing used goods difficult. "Transportation costs and low volume are our biggest hurdles," said Tracy Eldridge, solid waste coordinator for Hamilton County. "We want to get as many recyclables out of the waste stream as we can, without spending too many tax dollars to do it."
More-populated counties have an advantage. "With a dense population you can minimize transport costs and increase volume," said Dianne Woske, recycling coordinator for Fulton County. Although one-third the area of Hamilton County, adjacent Fulton has 10 times the residents, most living outside the Adirondack Park. As a result transportation costs are lower and substantial revenue can be generated from the sale of collected materials to private firms.
Fulton County nevertheless must deal with a problem that is prevalent across the region. "We have trouble getting seasonal residents and vacationers to recycle," said Woske. "It's difficult to educate someone about our recycling programs when they're only here two weeks a year."
The town of North Elba hoped to raise awareness of its recycling programs with both seasonal and permanent residents by changing a street name. Last June the town sponsored a contest to rename the road to its refuse transfer station. "People were tired of seeing Dump Lane," said Shannon Porter, town transfer station supervisor. "We wanted a name that would better represent our new recycling initiatives." Entries ranged from the encouraging "I Can Help Avenue" to the clever "Waste-a-Way" and deadpan "Old Dump Lane." From more than 60 submissions, "Recycle Circle Lane" was the winner. The Dump Lane sign is now about a dime's worth of scrap metal.
Regional Reuse
Idealism and educational initiatives aside, recycling is a business driven by material prices. Below is a sample of strategies that Adirondack counties and organizations are employing to get more green out of going green.
Paper
Many paper products are separated, pulped and made into new paper; however, there are other options.
U.S. GreenFiber, a national company with a manufacturing plant in Hagaman, New York, buys used paper from Lake George High School as part of the corporation's Community Paper Recycling Program. GreenFiber converts the material into blown-in insulation for homes by shredding it and adding an environmentally safe fire retardant. The high school's profits from the program fund extracurricular activities.
Plastics
Plastics are often down-cycled, or reprocessed into lower-quality plastic. Recycled #2 (HDPE) plastic, found in milk jugs and detergent bottles, is used to make plastic benches, decking and curbs, while #1 (PET) plastic, found in water and juice bottles, is used to make carpet and other flooring. Many shipping firms accept returned Styrofoam packing peanuts for reuse.
At the Fulton County Materials Sorting Facility, in Johnstown, any plastic (or aluminum) container with a deposit on it is separated from other recyclables and cashed in. It may seem like an extraneous effort, but last year's returns generated more than $36,000.
Metal
Metal is collected, sorted and recast—but the resource's value fluctuates from county to county and from year to year, based on variables like transportation costs and demand.
The market for scrap metal was so good in the southern Adirondacks last year that theft became a problem. In April two men were arrested in Whitehall for stealing more than five tons of old railroad track from the Broadway rail yard. At the time a local scrapyard might have paid $600 for the track; six months later it was worth only half that amount. Although metal isn't the cash cow it used to be, at press time Washington County's Department of Public Works, in Fort Edward, could still earn about $100 per ton for the commodity.
Glass
Glass is often ground and tumbled, then used in place of gravel and sand. It can also be melted and recast. Many bottles are simply cleaned and reused.
Because it doesn't turn a profit—a ton sells for less than $20—glass at the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, in Utica, is crushed and tumbled and then used to line the counties' landfill, in Ava. Pipes that capture methane created by decomposing garbage are surrounded by the processed glass; the methane is then used to generate electricity at the landfill facility.
Rubber
Rubber can be shredded to produce crumb rubber, which is used in road projects. Truck tires are sometimes retreaded and reused, and suitable car tires are recycled on farm equipment or exported to countries without large tire supplies.
The town of Jay isn't alone in having to shell out for tire removal. Franklin County pays the Lafarge Cement Plant, in St. Constant, Quebec, $45 per ton to cart away a portion of its tires. The plant, located just south of Montreal, burns the tires as fuel.
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