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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-02-1997 - 5c r i ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 2, 1997 Action Agenda Item No. SUBJECT: Resolution-Task Force Regarding Development of a Solid Waste Recycling, Reusing, and Market-Based Economy DEPARTMENT: Public Works PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/1) BUDGET AMENDMENT: (Y/1) ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Resolution Wilbert McAdoo, ext 2625 5/6/97 Memo from LOG Chair 3/26/97 Memo and Background from Joyce Brown TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider a request from the Landfill Owners Group that the Board appoint one or two of its members to serve on a task force regarding development of a solid waste recycling, reusing, and repairing market-based economy. BACKGROUND: LOG Chair Richard Franck has written to each of the four Orange County governing boards requesting that they appoint one or two members of their own boards to serve on the task force described in the attached materials. A proposed resolution,based on a similar one adopted by the LOG at their meeting on April 16, 1997,has been prepared for consideration by the Board of Commissioners. RECOMMENDATION(S): As the Board decides. 2 y ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A JOINT RESOLUTION REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF A CITIZENS'/ELECTED OFFICIALS' TASK FORCE TO RESEARCH AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLID WASTE RECYCLING,REUSING, AND REPAIRING MARKET-BASED ECONOMY BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners endorses the establishment of a citizens'/elected officials' task force to research and make recommendations regarding development of a solid waste recycling,reusing,repairing market-based economy. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners further endorses approaching the City of Durham and Durham County to join Orange County governments in this effort. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners hereby appoints to a small committee of elected officials,which shall meet as a public body to further develop a proposed charge and process for such a task force. The Chair of the Landfill Owners' Group is authorized to convene the latter committee's first meeting. This,the 2nd day of June, 1997. 3 Memo to: Orange County Board of Commissioners Chapel Hill Town Council Q Carrboro Board of Aldermen Hillsborough Board of Commissioners _ 8 ��+9 From: Richard Franck, Chair,Landfill Owners' Croup j Subject: Development of a Recycling,Repairing,Reusing Market Based Pr Date: May 6, 1997 One of the needs of a society with a waste prevention,re-use, recycling ethic is an economic basis for dealing with the reusable, repairable, recyclable part of the waste stream. We now have an economic basis for disposal and burning of our solid waste. We need to develop a different economic basis for dealing with our solid waste. David Kirkpatrick, chair of the Durham Environmental Affairs Board and an entrepreneur in the field of Solid Waste reduction, spoke to an LOG meeting recently and pointed out the need for just such a recycling, reusing, repairing market based economy. The attached material was presented to the LOG on Wednesday, April I e, and the resolution was approved unanimously. The Landfill Owners Group requests your consideration of the following resolution for joint adoption by all four of the Orange County Governing Boards. Please contact me if you have questions about this resolution or the attached material. Model Resolution A JOINT RESOLUTION REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF A CI=NS'/ELECTED OFFICIALS'TASK FORCE TO RESEARCH AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLID WASTE RECYCLING,REUSING, AND REPAIRING MARKET-BASED ECONOMY BE IT RESOLVED that the endorses the establishment of a citizens'/elected officials' task force to research and make recommendations regarding development of a solid waste recycling, reusing,repairing market-based economy. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the further endorses approaching the City of Durham and Durham County to join Orange County governments in this effort. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the hereby appoints (names of 1 to 2 Board members) to a small committee of elected officials,which shall meet as a public body to further develop a proposed charge and process for such a task force. The Chair of the Landfill Owners' Group is authorized to convene the latter committee's first meeting. This the day of , 1997. 4 Memo to : Landfill Owners Group From: Joyce Brown Subject : Development of a Recycling, Repairing, Reusing Market Based Program Date : March 26, 1997 One of the needs of a society with a waste prevention, re-use, recycling ethic is an economic basis for dealing with the reusable, repairable, recyclable part of the waste stream. We now have an economic basis for disposal and burning of our solid waste . We need to develop a different economic basis for dealing with our solid waste . Our speaker of a few weeks ago, David Kirkpatrick, pointed out the need for just such a recycling, reusing, repairing market based economy. LOG Resolution: The LOG endorses the establishment of a citizens/elected officials task force to research and make recommendations regarding development of a solid waste recycling, reusing, repairing market based economy. The LOG further endorses approaching Durham City and Durham County to join Orange County governments in this effort . The LOG recommends that each governing body in Orange County endorse the establishment of such a task force at its next meeting. If the majority of the governing bodies in Orange agree to such a task force, a small committee of elected officials appointed by each governing body should meet to develop a charge and process for such a task force to take back to the governing bodies for approval . t � � 5 DDIRSIFICATION A:NID START-ITS ENTREPRENEURS SURF THE WASTE STREM Opportunities for creating marketable materials from paper mill sludge, mixed collet and low-grade plastics are now being fulfilled. T'S NOT easy to find ways to recover A fine of industrial absorbents products are created—initially with a con- "recvclable" materials with little per- are made from paper mill ceps, generally followed by feasibility stud- ceived market value, such as paper sludge generated at a New ies, engineering analysis and creation of a mill sludge, mixed broken glass and York State mill.After prototype. Then the manufacturing ca a ' p ci- low-?rade plastics. Nevertheless, Preprocessing,the sludge is ty must be built,as well as the difficult task these materials represent substantial packagedd, Pelletized and of creating markets for the new product. tonnages that could be diverted from Through it all,financing is a challenge. the waste stream. Often it takes an entrepreneurial risk tak- ADDING VALUE TO PAPER MILL SLUDGE er to create a new product or delve into mar- Most of the sludge produced at the Cham- kets that are not well developed. The fol- pion paper mill in Deferiet, New York,goes lowing examples illustrate how such new to the landfill. About one or two tons per day, however; are divert- ed into an on-site mechan- ical processing system op- erated by Cellutech Inc. This changes the consis- tency and increases ab- sorbent characteristics of the cellulose fibers mak- - ing up the majority of - _� sludge. After preprocess- �" ing,it is trucked to a plant in nearby Watertown for `^ - '" a _ granulation. pelletization and packaging into a vari- ._ T etv of shapes and sizes of sacks and flexible tubes. The material that had a nee ative value is now transformed into a family of industrial absorbent products. with the name o�.r� `,ice Liauick. which sell for ovVcr r�,�.'._ , - ` - "z._-ti 51.0 /t0 average. - 00 n on a e according to Geoff Perry, .. l/I�•.- s^ to LIQwa.` company-president. Cellutech can be com- cared to a beneficial or- Panism attached to the P9I host. Champion Paper. The paper mill allows: Cel- Ji BfC�CI'i;-$ NOl c. Sc:. 1 voo^ '� b lutecii to operate on Chant-.)ion oanw had a production version of Liquick property and in return zl-e waste scream i_ :hat was equal in perforr,ante to he :on,- reoUced. Cellutech's mar sceci.n is benetic• pony's original experimental product. For spills over in_, from a timely endorsement by the 'Min- By this time. the company had invested a nesota Department of Transportation million dollars in plant and equipment,and water, CellLltech (DOT). In 1995, just as Cellutech was be- another significant infusion of capital was ginning to produce Liquick on a commercial needed to market Liquick. and ;ear Cel has developed scale. the Minnesoca DOT was seeking a so- lutech up to a proticnble enterprise. `The hydrophobic lution to its industrial absorbent disposal company had gone four years, from 1991 to , problem.The Minnesota DOT has 1.11 sites, 1995, without volume production, and the all of which have automobiles and machin- initial investors lost interest."says Perry."I p roduct designed ery to maintain. The standard clay ab- believed the potential market for this prod- t0 s0ak Lip oil, but sorbent cannot be burned for energy recov- uct was substantial,so I agreed to purchase cry. and new regulations forbid landfilling the company from the original investors." not water. without expensive testing. Therefore. the He describes the purchase price as a"mod- Department advertised for alternatives to est sum,with the promise of future rewards go through an evaluation process. Seventy-si.x absorbent products were sub- micted by manufacturers. After prelimi- nary analysis, that group was whittled down to 22 products for more extensive test- ing. In an entirely performance-based eval- uation(recycled content was not taken into consideration), Cellutech performed in the WINDROWS top Five products, says Kim Chambers, an environmental engineer with the i MAKES CONSISTENT HOMOGENOUS MIX— show DOT. "That gives us the credi bility lity to to � show customers that we do have a superior REDUCES ODORS AND PROMOTES MAXIMUM product,"says Perry."Now we are talking to BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY WITHIN WINDROWS, major oil companies and industry and building a market base: '96 was the first STACKS, VESSELS AND PROCESS SYSTEMS. year that we began serious production lev- els and marketing." Getting to this point has been an arduous : and capital intensive process. Liquick was - invented by Ernest Schaefer during the mid- _ q �„�--- dle to late 1980s, and with a group of in- - �-�' �( vestors he formed Schaefer Associates in = 1991 with the intention of commercial-scale - production. "The first step for the company . was to test the patent ideas on a larger scale," says Perry. :after talking to several paper companies,the firm ended up making an agreement with Champion. Cellutech was created as a wholly owned subsidiary of Schaefer Associates." Perry, an engineer with a strong interest in marketing,joined the company in 1992. Early on, there was nothing to market, and so his engineering skills were in demand. The company began ordering equipment at the start of 1993, and the bulk of the year was spent setting up the plant. 'In 1994,we were able to performance-test - produ,::s chat were created on an experi- mental basis,"he says. we found that gear- in g,_p from experimental products to manu- SSI self-pr0peUed miter does it ac.uring teas more difficult than we all. This "-in-1 composting tool : anticipated."The problem was that the qual- mixes,Mauls and windrows— _ — ity of the sludge output from the mill varies according to what kind of paper they are Dn"fie-°O• Blends sludge, 1)IIle, �tustw �•ttgu�s-e'• mixing- making, how efficiently the plant is running yard waste, industrial byproducts and•.whether they are adding other wastes— and aeration agents. It saves time Such as incinerator fly ash—to the sludge. and labor—mixes in j t0 b The performance of the feedstock varies day minutes N1ixer is essential for -YSTims. Nk :o da%. and even hour to hour, Perry says. efficient Conit�Stlr1Q IIl row, Stack 1125 Starr AVG. .:We needed to put in a system to let us take Po Eau C:aire,wt$4703 in varied input and get a constant output," and in-vessel systems. Send for (T15)L-05-3151 phone i1a explains. 'The total redesign of the facil- literature. (715)835-es25 faX icy cost several hundred thousand dollars and another year." Early in 1995, the com- Ba c-'r.:. NowE7-iCF-*t 1996 :313 7 A total of $45 SEEKING RECYCLING INVESTORS million in capital INETEEN start-up and early stage vestment forum in New York City in May, was SOLlC"ht at the �businesses, including Cellutech and 1997. Businesses interested in participat- a Recycled Glass Products, attended ing can call(802)254-3636. Northeast an investment forum for recycling en- Other regions.of the country are also trepreneurs hosted by the Northeast Recy- holding similar events. For example, the investment forum, cling Council(NERC)in May, 1996.Also at- Southeastern Recycling Investment Fo- tending were investors, representatives of rum will be held in Charleston, South Car- and some economic development agencies, consul- olina on February 10, 1997. The first companies reported tarts and others.A total of$45 million in in- Southeastern Forum held last year attract- vestment capital was sought at the forum, ed more than.100 entrepreneurs, in- that they met with and some companies reported that they vestors, and economic development offi- met with success. Cellutech president Ge- ciais. Of the attendees, 78 percent found success, off Perry adds that the forum helped lend the Forum "very valuable." Three compa- his company credibility, facilitating a nies met investors or financial resources. $250,000 equity deal. The forum indirectly One of these companies_secured a loan led to investors from the United Arab Emi- while two others continue to negotiate with rates financing a feasibility study on the investors. For details, contact Ted Camp technology developed by Recycling Glass bell, South Carolina Dept. of Commerce,= Products. NERC is planning a second in- (803)737-0400. to the original investors." To gear up and building material, formed a partnership market the product, Perry received a loan with Timothy Newell.They launched Recy- from Jefferson County (where both facili- cled Glass Products (RGP) of Boston, Nlas- ties are located),$r 0,000 in grants from the sachusetts. Their product, ReFormedGlas New York State Office of Recycling Market insulation,is a rigid d cellular foam glass in- Development, and also capital from a pri- sulation and building material. It is de- vate investor. signed to be manufactured from mixed col- Industrial absorbents have been on the or cullet, which is a residual material market for a long time. They are generally generated by almost every curbside recy- manufactured from clay and polypropylene. cling program and has no market value. They are used in soaking up oil and other RGP is Iooking for investors to build the chemicals from machinery,from the floors of manufacturing capacity for the product. machine and automotive shops, and from The strongest interest, so far, has come spills: For spills over water, Cellutech has from a firm in Dubai, United Arab Emi- developed a hydrophobic Liquick product rates, which is conducting a feasibility on that is designed to soak up oil, but not wa- the RGP product as a potential commercial ter."We have introduced a lighter weight al- use for mixed cullet. ternative to clay and polypropylene that is RGP is a "bootstraps" firm that has sur- more effective,"says Perry. vived by keeping expenditures down and USING MIXED GLASS pursuing alternative sources of income while the primary product is under develop- David Solomon's recycled product venture meat.The first step,in 1992,was to find out had its roots in the early 1990s, when the whether Solomon's product ideas were fea- former home building contractor planned to sible from an engineering standpoint.He be- relocate his business from New England to lieved that by adding certain gases to the Sweden. The only problem was that production process,or by conducting certain Solomon used a foam and plywood construe- manufacturing steps in a vacuum, the R- tion technique. and Sweden had banned value (insulation) could be improved. Also, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in accordance the use of recycled materials needed to be with the Montreal Protocol (Sweden was a tested (there is a rigid cellular foam glass few years ahead of the U.S. in taking this product on the market,made by Pittsburgh- step). CFCs are used in making foam, but Corning, %yith virgin materials). also are damaging to the Earth's ozone lay- For S.;0.000, they hired Arthur D. Litt'le, er. "I started thinking about another prod- the engineering firm. to test the vacuum uct to put into a wall instead of plastic and;as concepts and look at such issues as foam," says Solomon. "Through contacts, I optimal cell structure for the ;lass foam. Iearned of a product developed in Germany While -snufacturing in a vacuum W from recycled glass." ruled our., ADL determined that R-value He met with the inventor to negotiate a could be increased—by as much as 25 per- manufacturing agreement, but could not cent—if a specific gas is added to the pro- come to terms.`I came back to the U.S.,and cess to fill the bubbles in the glass foam. instead of throwing up my hands in frus- This concept has been dubbed "sweet.-as." tration,I decided to develop a product of my Solomon also believes that by processing re- own." Solomon. who had some ideas about cycled mixed color cullet, RGP will be able how to make an improved recycled Mass to save :honey o%:er its competitor. "We fig- used about 50 percent of Pittsburgh-Corn- In the commingled stream. a percentage 8 in-'s costs are from using virgin materials." of nonmarketable plastics are collected he says. "`4e will have some costs to clean (PET and HDPE, numbers one and two, are TO avoid IOSIna and crush the recycled glass, but we figure consistently marketable, but other resins O we will be able to save about 25 percent of are not). Cougle's also accepts shrink wrap, revenues and that(feedstock)cost." drums and other commercial plastics. RGP is still a long way from its ultimate "When you add up all of the plastics num- paying d1SpOSaI goal — manufacturing a new product from bered three to seven, you end up disposing Q recycled glass.The next step is to design the of as much as you are recycling, fees says Robert C Ouo le oven used to manufacture the product, a Cougle, company owner. p purchased plastic step which Solomon estimates will cost To avoid losing revenues and aging dis- $200,000. After that, a manufacturing posal fees, Cougle purchased plastic lumber lumber plant will have to be designed. These steps manufacturing equipment to create his own are going to require outside investors. No market for the residual resins. The $1 mil- manufacturing specific timetable has been set for having lion investment includes shredding, grind- products flow off of the.assembly line, ing, mining(i.e. a tank) and extruding ma- equipment t0 Create Solomon says. Through it all, Solomon and chinery. The company is now capable of his own market for Newell have earned revenues by operating producing a variety of dimensional lumber a side business, RGP Dental, which mar- products. Fine-tuning the process took up a the residual resins. kets dental equipment. large part of 1996,and only in the last three CREATING A MARKET FOR LOW6RADE PLASTIC months has serious marketing been taking place. Cougle sells directly to individuals Cougle's Recycling Inc. of Hamburg, and businesses, and is now trying to break Pennsylvania, has been in business for 50 into the mass retailing market. years. For many years,the company's niche Although plastic lumber is more expen- was sorting paper and recovering other sive than real wood, Cougle believes there scrap from commercial clients. Since Penn- are significant potential markets for spe- sylvania's recycling law went into effect, cialty applications, such as marine con- Cougle's has processed more residential re- struction and outdoor decking.He adds that cyclables.Currently,the company sorts sev- pressure treated lumber has a tendency to eral hundred tons/day of residential and generate leachate which may be regulated commercial paper for recycling, and about or at least avoided in certain circumstances. 35 tons/day of commingled containers from "I do believe that plastic lumber is the prod- curbside programs. uct of the future." —R.S.■ cien : in w tuaun ed aroun the: ammeters of optiiid�ecom_posl`�•h'on.an m VJK Sandberger Compost'lurners T pT'Compost Covers =14 rr.••:�• Compost NIOmtonng&Test K1tS ` o • Coasulting/Testing `- - _ • Composting Seminars - - For further information call: Autrusa,Inc. Your Benefits: P.O.Box 1133 Blue Bell,PA 19422 USA Phone(610)815-2973.Fax-39V- E-mail:autrusa@aoi.com • Easy to learn it Website:www.worldanthem com/autnua • Reduction of waste volume • Guaranteed compost quality „ ` • Low construction r intenance cost �`�'• • No odor problems ; • No groundwater pollution "Iqq■■.- BIOCYCCE NOtieMSE31996 37