|
These
figures and Statistics can seem overwhelming.
Waste management and recycling can have a dramatic
impact on these figures. Recycling:
saves landfill space
saves energy
saves money by stabilizing disposal cost
conserves valuable resources
reduces pollution
reduces litter
Recycling
is only successful if it is performed in a "closed
loop," that is, the material is manufactured, disposed,
remanufactured, and repurchased. If recycled products are
not repurchased, recycling is not really taking place.
Implementing
a Recycling Program
- There are several conditions and actions, which must be
implemented to operate a successful recycling program.
There must be a commitment from all levels of the
facility to recycle.
A waste audit should be performed to determine the type
and amount of material generated. This is usually performed
by the waste hauler, consultant, or an established recycling
committee.
Select a recycling coordinator or committee within the
facility to research and head the recycling program.
A representative from the housekeeping department
should be on this committee.
Choose a vendor to haul/recycle your facility's
material.
Choose an internal collection, transport, and storage
system. This will
depend largely upon how many grades of paper and materials
will be separated as well as collection receptacles. Will the
materials be separated at the employees desk site (most
efficient method) by the employee?
Will the employee transport his own material to central
collection points? Will
housekeeping separate all material?
Selection of recycling collection and transportation
equipment is also necessary at this stage but they cannot be
determined until the sorting and internal collection
guidelines have been established.
Design and implement an employee education program.
This educational program can make or break your
program. At least three weeks before starting the recycling program,
begin to make employees aware of the upcoming program. This can be done with posters, paycheck stuffers, buttons, and
flyers. Employees
must also be taught the basics of the program; what materials
are recyclable, the method to be used for recycling, and how
to use the recycling containers.
Review the program after several months of operation.
Compare the original waste audit with present
conditions. Adjustments
can be made to the pick-up schedule, size of dumpsters, etc.,
based upon this comparison.
Adjustments may also be necessary in size and pick-up
frequency of non-recycled material dumpsters since there will
be a reduction in the total volume of material placed in these
collection sites.
Working with the Customer -
Recycling
requires all people in the facility to make an effort to
recycle their own materials since the most costly aspect of
the program will be the labor required to empty multiple
containers rather than just one.
Employees who do not take the responsibility to sort
their own trash can impede the success of the recycling
program. Small
memos that read, .Sorry, we were unable to remove your
trash last evening because it was not separated, are often
effective at prompting the employee to participate.
Minimizing
the Impact Upon the Housekeeping Department
- Building managers will, of course, want to know what the
economic impact will be to operate a recycling program.
The largest expense over time will be in increased
housekeeping labor hours.
People often assume that since there is no additional
material being handled, that there is no extra time required.
The truth of the matter is that additional time is
required to handle this trash in its sorted state, which
increases housekeeping labor hours.
Additional costs can also be recognized in the expense
for recycling collection containers distributed throughout the
facility.
Recycling
Collection Containers
- There are five basic types of collection containers that
will be required in an employee participation recycling
program.
Desk Top/Desk side - these are mini-waste
containers, which hang off of the existing trash container, or
cardboard collectors, which sit on the desk.
Intermediate containers - these are typically
the stackable plastic containers. They are placed in common areas such as copy machine rooms.
Employees can drop off their recyclable materials here.
Confidential Material Containers - containers
designed to hold confidential materials. They have locked
cabinets or hoods to prevent theft.
Mobile Collection and Transport - these
containers are designed to carry sorted material. They
typically have two or more containers on a cart for
collection.
Storage Containers for Hauler Pick-up - these
containers hold sorted material until the hauler is scheduled
for pick-up. They
are designed for durability and adverse weather conditions
since they are typically placed outside.
Environmental
Impact of Recycling Paper -
Each ton of recycled paper sent for reprocessing has the
following impact on our environment.
Saves 17 trees (about 3 tons of virgin wood)
Saves 4.3 cubic yards of landfill space
Equals 53.2 million BTU's (British Thermal Units)
Equals 380 gallons of oil
Requires up to 7O% less energy to make paper than from
virgin fiber
Produces 73% fewer air pollutants and uses 61 % less
process water when made back into paper than using virgin
fiber.
The
only way for these environmental impacts to be realized is to
close the, recycling loop.
This means that suppliers of recycled material must
also purchase re-manufactured products.
This purchasing encourages more recycling.
|
