August 2003 Newsletter
Small Business Recycling
Back to School, Back to Waste Prevention
The Gleaners and I, a film by Agnès Varda
RA Board Election Results
National Bottle Bill Alert!
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So what's the problem? The first of a two-part series
By Betty Patton
Small businesses such as an insurance agent's office, corner mini-mart, florist, tattoo parlor, coffee shop, and print shop have to overcome more obstacles to implement and maintain waste prevention and recycling than larger sites. What makes them so different? Why do they need special help? Why aren't they just like Intel and Tektronix?
The economy of scale is applicable in solid waste, just as it is in other things. Large companies create large volumes of recyclables and can negotiate site specific pricing with some haulers. They usually have abundant space for drop boxes or dumpsters, allowing materials to be stockpiled for less frequent collection. Large companies quite often have staff or hire services to manage and maintain internal collection systems. Small businesses simply don't have these same opportunities.
To better understand the challenges facing small businesses, one needs to start with the personnel structure of companies of this size. For example, if you are a five-person architectural firm, no one on staff has "garbage and recycling" in their job description. And no one has time to add that to their task list. If one of the employees takes an interest in pursuing recycling opportunities, then they will forever be saddled with the responsibility because the remaining employees always will turn to them for assistance. That person will be labeled by association.
If this architectural firm is in a multi-tenant office building, then the company has little or no control over the choice of the hauler and the services requested. This small company may generate a lot of blueprints. Is their unique paper recyclable with other standard office paper or does it need to be kept separate? Will the hauler collect it? Whom do they need to contact to find out this information and to get an internal collection system implemented?
In multi-tenant office buildings there is usually a janitorial service hired to handle the entire building's internal cleaning needs. One of the problems with a tenant's collection needs, whether they are standard materials or a unique product, is how to convey that need to the staff that collects your trash and recycling. This information needs to be transferred to the building manager and then to the janitorial service, hopefully with no misinterpretation.
Quite often the building tenants do not know who the hauler is, what kind of service is offered to the building, or what options are available. There is rarely the opportunity to discuss a site's individual needs directly with the service provider.
These problems for businesses in a multi-tenant situation can also apply to businesses at a single site. The isolated small business has other problems to deal with.
A small business usually has a small space, also. There is no spare real estate to stockpile medium to large containers either inside or outside for waste and recycling. So a small company must pay for more frequent collection, making their cost of service a bit higher per pound of waste than larger companies.
In the city of Portland, commercial garbage routes are not franchised. So with over 60 haulers licensed to collect in the region, gathering information needed for choosing the best one could be overwhelming. The website design business next door to the architect could have a different hauler. That hauler could have different separation requirements and different collection methods. So one business owner can't ask the next door neighbor about the rules.
The recovery goal for our Metro region is 64% by 2009 with an interim goal for 2005 of 62%. What that means is that of all of the materials that we put out curbside at our homes, or out on the loading dock or back alley at our worksites, 64% of it must be recycled, reused, composted, or decreased through an aggressive waste prevention program. As of 2001, we recovered 54% of our generated waste. Not bad compared to the national averages. But it is just not "Oregonian" enough.
Since almost half of our region's solid waste is generated by businesses, targeting this sector for increased recycling offers a good opportunity for us to increase our diversion rate. A quarter of the disposed commercial waste is recyclable paper and markets exist for all of the major fiber grades, so our only challenge is to get these papers and other recyclables out of the garbage and into market. There are fourteen items listed as collectable recyclables for businesses in our area and customers can request collection of any or all of these, depending upon their needs. Judging from the amount of recyclables in the wastestream, we have plenty of room for improvement. All we need now is to get programs implemented in businesses around the region.
How can a small business take steps to reduce waste without interfering with business itself? In September's issue of Recycling Advocates Newsletter, we will provide information on resources small businesses can turn to as they take part in our community effort to recover more recyclable material. The good news is that help is available.
Betty Patton has been a consultant with Environmental Practices, LLC for 10 years, a solid waste and recycling consulting firm in Portland. She is a member of Recycling Advocates.
Back to School, Back to Waste Prevention
Resources for preventing waste in schools
As many of us prepare to send children back to school, teachers, administrators and parents can renew their efforts to prevent waste in local schools. Fortunately, we have many resources in Oregon that support waste prevention in schools and other organizations.
The Oregon Green Schools Association is a first stop for anyone wanting to promote waste reduction in schools. The mission of the OGSA is to assist Oregon schools in setting up, maintaining and recognizing effective, permanent waste reduction and resource efficiency programs that improve the school environment and community. The Oregon Green Schools Program helps schools organize waste reduction programs, save money and save natural resources. The Association recognizes schools that excel in waste reduction efforts through levels of certification. Local coordinators help schools as they seek ways to reduce waste. Annually, the OGSA plans a "Green School Summit." The next summit will be held in February or March of 2004. For information about the Oregon Green Schools Association visit www.oregongreenschools.org or call (800) 527-7624.
Clackamas County schools can participate in the free Supply Our Schools materials exchange. The program, coordinated by Clackamas County Community Environment Division, provides a web site for educators seeking no-cost materials for school projects. Businesses join the web site and provide information on what materials they have available for the program. For more information, visit www.supplyourschools.com.
Other resources for local schools in Oregon include:
SCRAP (School and Community Reuse Awareness Project) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that collects reusable items from local businesses and distributes them to educators, artists, families and kids. SCRAP is located at 3625-B North Mississippi Avenue in Portland. For more information, call (503) 294-0769 or go to www.scrapaction.org.
The ReBuilding Center in North Portland offers used building materials that can be used for school projects and renovations. Visit their web site at www.rebuildingcenter.org or call (503) 331-1877 for more information.
Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts (MECCA) is a 501(c)(3) organization in Eugene that diverts useful materials from the waste stream and teaches others how to make art with them. For information on programs and services, call (541) 302-1810 or visit their web site at www.materials-exchange.org.
On the curriculum side, teachers can join the Environmental Education Association of Oregon. The EEAO is dedicated to creating an environmentally literate citizenry composed of people who have the skills and knowledge necessary to make informed decisions regarding natural resources. The 2003 EEAO Annual Conference, "Educating Towards Sustainability," takes place from October 17-19 in Bend. For more details call (503) 234-3326 or go to www.eeo.org.
Metro Regional Government provides materials and services for schools seeking to reduce waste. Programs include mini-grants for waste reduction projects, teacher workshops and community service projects for students in grades 6-12, assistance with becoming an Oregon Green School, and field trips related to waste reduction activities. For elementary grades, call Freda Sherburne at (503) 797-1522 or send e-mail to sherburnef@metro.dst.or.us; middle and high school grades, call Amy Wilson at (503) 797-1521 or send e-mail to wilsona@metro.dst.or.us. For online information, visit www.metro-region.org.
Metro also offers a Buyer's Guide to Recycled Products. The online guide includes more than 1000 recycled-content products that are available retail and/or wholesale, at stores, by catalog and online. The guide is available at www.metro-region.org.
Jan Rankin of the Oregon Green Schools Association suggests that teachers and administrators sometimes forget to contact their district offices for diverting or obtaining surplus materials. "Communication is key. Think internally before purchasing new materials," notes Rankin.
The Gleaners and I, a film by Agnès Varda
Redefining trash and treasure
By Tanya Schaefer
Partly inspired by François Millet's 1867 painting, Les Glaneuses (The Gleaners), which depicts women gathering leftovers from a wheat field after a harvest, this film explores the world of people who travel through life at their own pace and on their own terms, living off things the rest of us leave behind or throw away, from food to furniture. The age-old tradition of gathering the abandoned crops from harvested fields is still protected by legal statutes, and Varda finds that gleaning exists in all sorts of modern forms.
One of the most interesting points is the way different people view the same phenomenon, depending on their relationship to it. A supermarket manager explains how food must be removed from the store at a certain point, whether it's still edible or not; it's a matter of law and public health as well as good business. From the scavenger's point of view, the manager is crazy - in fact, so is the entire way of life he represents. People throw away plenty of good food every day, and it's almost a crime not to pick it up out of the trash and eat it.
One of the film's funniest moments turns on exactly this kind of difference in perspective. An artist, who bikes through the region looking for found objects to use in his creations, shows Varda how he finds his materials.
"Some of the towns are thoughtful enough to publish a map like this, showing the areas and times where objects will be available on the streets," he says, holding up just such a map.
"But isn't that actually a map of dates for people to put out their trash?" Varda asks.
"Oh, yeah, right," says the artist, as if he's never considered that the system wasn't set up for his benefit. Trash and treasure, clearly, are in the eyes of the beholder.
The Gleaners and I is fun to watch - part documentary, part eccentric personal essay, part unguided tour. It's a chance to understand ourselves differently by seeing the things we choose not to use; to gain perspective on our culture through the people on its margins; and to enjoy the game of Varda's own scavenger hunt among the fields and alleys and outcasts of France.
[The Gleaners and I, written and directed by Agnès Varda. France, 2000, 87 minutes, documentary. In French with English subtitles. Available at the Multnomah County Library and local video rental stores.]
RA members gathered on July 22 for the 2003 Annual Meeting where they unanimously re-elected Rob Guttridge and Wayne Rifer to two-year terms as President and Secretary, respectively. Members also ratified Tanya Schaefer's previous appointment to as interim Treasurer.
The RA board seeks nominations for appointment to the board of directors. If you are interested in serving on the board or know an individual who would have interest in the board of Recycling Advocates, call Jeffrey White at (503) 777-0909 or send an e-mail to info@recyclingadvocates.org.
Call your senators today
Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) will introduce his National Beverage Producer Responsibility Act when Congress reconvenes after the August recess. Sen. Jeffords' bill:
- Sets a performance standard for beverage producers of 80 percent recycling for their beverage containers;
- Allows beverage producers to develop any system they choose to recover their containers; and,
- Requires that beverage producers collect a 10-cent refundable deposit to ensure a high return rate.
Please call or e-mail Oregon's senators to ask them to co-sponsor the Jeffords' bottle bill:
Ron Wyden • (202) 224-5244 • wyden.senate.gov/contact.html
Gordon Smith (OR) • (202) 224-3753 • gsmith.senate.gov/webform.htm
Although the new bill has not been assigned a number, it will be essentially the same bill Sen. Jeffords introduced last year. You can view a synopsis of the National Beverage Producer Responsibility Act of 2002 at www.bottlebill.net/Campaigns/bpr/BPRASummary.shtml.