ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
APRIL 28, 2008 MEETING
RECYCLING UPDATE
SLIDE SHOW
UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP
100 GARRETT ROAD
UPPER DARBY, PA 19082-3135
Mayor
F. Raymond Shay Phone: 610-734-7622
Fax: 610-734-7709
Chief Administrative Officer
Thomas J. Judge, Jr.
Email:tjudge@upperdarby.org
MEMORANDUM
DATE: February 4, 2008
TO: Council
FROM: Thomas J. Judge, Jr., Chief Administrative Officer
Subject: Recycling Update to Council
As recommended by Council and the Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), the Administration has undertaken a review of the Township's recycling program. The current Township recycling program is bi-weekly pick-up of paper and aluminum. (The bi-weekly pick-up is impacted by holidays.)
There are several options that will need to be considered in changing the current recycling program. First and foremost would be the consideration of additional products, if any, to be recycled. Once this has been determined we need to determine the method of pick-up and disposal. We are currently looking at the feasibility of picking up the following items: paper, aluminum (tin, steel), cardboard, plastic bottles (clear and color), glass bottles/jars (any color).
We are also looking at picking up the products separately or in some multiple combinations of products. A driving force behind any decision will be a vendor's ability to accept the recycled material and in what form they can accept the product. At this point, we are looking at our current recycling vendor and a vendor that can accept all of the above products in a single stream (explanation of single stream later in the memo). In this evaluation we will need to consider the operational pick-up cost, pick-up equipment (current and future), manpower, cost associated with the delivery of the product to the vendor's operation and the revenue stream associated with the product.
I want to thank Councilman Dennis Carey for joining Fernando Baldivieso and myself on the recent tour of the single stream vendor in Southwest Philadelphia. We have previously looked at the current recycling vendors operation. Both vendors are efficient in the work they perform, and we feel the current pricing for the products received are reasonable. However, there are some gaps in the pricing information which we are attempting better understand.
At this point I want to give a short explanation of single stream. Single Stream is the curbside collection of multiple recycling products. The collected products are transported to a single plant were the truck with all products is dumped and processed. The single stream production uses the products physical properties; physics and geometry in the separation process as the recycled products are prepared for further handling.
No doubt Council would prefer that I give a hard solution to the recycling question immediately. With a community of 80,000 plus residents , 32,000 plus residential locations, and a number of employee contract work rules that need to be considered, the right answer will take prudent evaluation and should not be rushed. It is the administrations goal to present to council for review and consideration a more complete analysis within 45 days. Additionally we will provide you information on a concept called “ RecycleBank”. This is a very interesting concept, and one worthy of much consideration.
As for the recycling of commercial products, the administration in early January sent letters/surveys to all commercial organizations in the Township. We are currently working through the information developed from this mailing and will report out to you on this matter at a later date.
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Solid Waste Association of North America
(SWANA) offers technical assistance grants that can be used to help in the evaluation of recycling programs. If Upper Darby Township's application for technical assistance would be approved by DEP, they would assign the job to one of the approved SWANA contractors. The Township would be responsible to meet with the SWANA consultant, develop a mutually acceptable scope of work, provide needed information about the current curbside collection and provide other information as needed to help the contractor develop their report. The $7,500 grant money would be given directly to the contractor and would not be available to the Township. There are no local matching funds required. At this point, I believe the Administration has the manpower with required knowledge on staff to perform this evaluation. I am not inclined to delay our current evaluation by applying for this grant. Also, in reviewing the technical assistance website I did not see where SWANA had previously developed a report on single stream recycling.
As previously discussed with Council, the Township must consider a multitude of issues related to the environment such as clean water, clean air, sanitary sewer and open space. Under Pennsylvania law Act 148 and Act 177, local municipalities may create an Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC). The EAC's are not policy makers, rather they should advise local municipal governments in the making of policies.
On behalf of F. Raymond Shay, Mayor of Upper Darby Township, I would like to announce the creation of the Upper Darby Township Environmental Advisory Committee. The following individuals have agreed to serve on this committee:
Marianne Grace - Upper Darby Council & Chairperson of the EAC
Thomas P. Wagner – Upper Darby Council
Joan Toenniessen - Resident
Narinder Budwal - Resident
Stacey Hawley -Resident
[ Return to the Top ]
RECYCLING IS GOOD BUSINESS
But recycling is far more than a local waste management strategy; it is also an important strategy for reducing the environmental impacts of industrial production. Supplying industry with recycled materials, rather than virgin resources extracted from forests and mines, is environmentally preferable because it saves energy, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and other dangerous air and water pollutants, and because it conserves scarce natural resources.
Departments
| Community
| Payments
| Calendars
| What's
New |
Search
| Site
Map |
Links_
Most people know that recycling plays an important role in managing the trash generated in homes and businesses, and that it reduces the need for landfills and incinerators. 