City of Lawrence

2007 Recycling Annual Report

In mid-2007, the City’s Solid Waste Division placed two mixed paper recycling bins out in the community.  This new service diverted 50 tons of material from the landfill.

Solid Waste Division

Waste Reduction and Recycling

ANNUAL RECYCLING REPORT FOR 2007

This report summarizes the materials, quantities, associated revenue, and avoided landfill costs derived from diverting recycled materials from the landfill for 2007.  Numeric quantities of materials diverted for recycling by the City of Lawrence Solid Waste Division and other recycling entities are in the attached tables. 

TOTAL WASTE DIVERTED FROM LANDFILL BY THE CITY AND PRIVATE SECTORS

In 2007, more than 30,314 tons of materials were recycled through City and private sector efforts in Lawrence representing a 35 percent recycling rate, which is believed to be the highest in Kansas and is higher than the national average (last listed by EPA as 32 percent).

A total of 15,567 tons of grass clippings, leaves and brushy wood waste, Christmas trees, white goods and metals, newspaper, cardboard, mixed paper and office waste paper was recycled through City programs in 2007 for a savings in landfill costs of $298,108.05.  Revenue from the sale of recycled materials was $228,022.18.  The private sector recycling efforts which diverted 14,747 tons of materials from disposal saved the City an additional $282,405.05 in landfill costs.

The total waste landfilled by the city in 2007 decreased four percent (2,658 tons) from 2006.

In 2007, the City’s Solid Waste Division collected an estimated 72,538 tons of municipal solid waste.  Of this total, 15,567 tons of material was recycled by the City and 56,971 tons were landfilled.  An additional estimated 14,747 tons of material were recycled by the private sector, primarily through the Wal-Mart Community Recycling Center (2,846 tons), University of Kansas (552 tons), 12^th & Haskell Bargain Center (499 tons), Lonnie’s Recycling (119 tons), other private recycling collectors (831 tons), and in-house recycling by large retail, industrial and warehouse facilities (9,000 tons). Also included in the recycling rate is an estimated 900 tons due to backyard composting and grasscycling.

(Note:  The Solid Waste Division also landfilled an estimated 15,732 tons of construction/demolition and industrial process waste in 2007.  Those wastestreams are not included in municipal solid waste data.)

TABLE 1 presents Lawrence’s historical recycling rate and the tons of waste disposed and recycled per person from 1991 through 2007.

TABLE 2 shows the types and amounts of materials collected by all recycling providers within the city. 

TABLE 3 summarizes the 2007 results for the city-operated recycling programs.

TABLE 4 gives a historical comparison of the city-operated recycling programs from 1997 to the present.

MATERIALS RECOVERED THROUGH CITY PROGRAMS

grass clippings, leaves and brush

The City of Lawrence’s Solid Waste Division provides separate citywide collection services for grass clippings, leaves and brush from Lawrence residences on Mondays from approximately March until mid-December.  Brush is also collected through the Forestry Division’s Saturday drop-off collection and from city right-of-way tree trimmings.  These materials are processed at the City’s composting facility.  In 2007, 13,437 tons of grass clippings, leaves and brush were collected and composted resulting in a savings of $257,318.55 in avoided disposal costs. 

Beginning in 2005, by Ordinance, only cans, carts and compostable kraft paper bags could be used for yard trimmings for curbside collection.  Plastic bags were no longer allowed for the containerization of yard waste.  This policy for yard waste containers: (a) increased collection efficiency by reducing collection time; (b) improved worker safety by eliminating the need to cut open plastic bags with box cutters; and (c) yielded higher quality compost by reducing plastic contamination.

Compliance with the yard waste container policy has been fantastic in 2007 and is currently above 99 percent of homes which set out yard waste.

NEWSPAPERS

Eleven city-sponsored drop boxes for newspaper recycling are located throughout Lawrence.  In 2007, 865 tons were collected and recycled.  Diverting these materials from the landfill resulted in savings of $16,564.75 in avoided disposal costs.  The sales of old newspapers provided revenue of $86,887.42.

Corrugated CARDBOARD

The City’s Solid Waste Division serves over 550 Lawrence businesses with cardboard recycling services in addition to providing seven public drop boxes for corrugated cardboard.   In 2007, 1,061 tons of materials were collected for recycling resulting in revenue of $126,872.90 and an avoided disposal cost of $20,318.15.

Office Paper

Office waste paper is collected from approximately 140 businesses and schools.  This program diverted 33 tons of paper from the landfill in 2007.  Revenue derived from the sale of the paper was $5,532.94 and avoided landfill costs were $631.95.

MIXED PAPER

A mixed paper collection program was started in mid-2007 with two drop-off sites co-located with newspaper and cardboard drop-off boxes (four additional sites will be added in 2008).  This new program recovered 50 tons of mixed paper resulting in an avoided disposal savings of $957.50.  Revenues from the sale of the material was $4,329.82.

Christmas Trees

Following Christmas, three collection days were scheduled whereby the Solid Waste Division crews collected Christmas trees curbside for recycling from Lawrence residents.  Thirty (30) tons were collected, processed and used as erosion control and wildlife habitat enhancement at the closed landfill north of Riverfront Park.  Diverting Christmas trees from the landfill provided $574.50 in avoided disposal costs.

White Goods & Metals

Bulky item pickup for appliances like refrigerators, washers and dryers is provided by appointment by the City’s Solid Waste Division to Lawrence residents.  Metal appliances and other collected metals are sold to local metal salvage yards.  In 2007, ninety-one (91) tons were recovered and sold for revenue of $4,399.10 and provided an avoided disposal cost of $1,742.65.

Used Motor Oil

A total of 5,611 gallons of used oil was collected at the City’s Maintenance Garage in 2007 of which 4,250 gallons were recycled through oil recyclers. One thousand, three hundred and sixty-one (1,361) gallons were burned for heat at the garage.  Recycling the 4,250 gallons of used oil generated revenue of $1,253.00 in 2007.

Tires

A total of 2,616 tires were collected for proper disposal by the City’s Solid Waste Division in 2007.  The Solid Waste Division provides Lawrence residents free pickup for up to five passenger tires per year, per household.  Tires were collected by TireTown for shredding and monofill in Leavenworth County at the cost of $ 3,681.00.

Freon

Three hundred and ninety-five (395) refrigerators and other freon-containing units were collected for recycling by the City’s Solid Waste Division in 2007.  Eighty-two (82) pounds of Freon were captured by trained Solid Waste Division maintenance personnel with EPA-approved equipment.  The
Freon was sent for reclamation to approved facilities.  Federal regulations require Freon to be removed from appliances prior to salvaging.  By moving this responsibility in-house, the city has greater regulatory control of the extraction process and saves money.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

Over 185,997 pounds (93 tons) of hazardous waste generated by Douglas County households and small businesses were diverted from the Hamm regional landfill in 2007.  Three thousand, one hundred and eighteen (3,118) households used the program which included scheduled drop off appointments, homebound pickups, and abandoned and orphan waste collection services.

In 2007, the Small Quantity Generator program provided technical assistance and environmentally-preferred disposal options for hazardous waste to 92 small businesses and schools.