Future OF Houston's
Waste Management
For our research, the group focused on residential product waste that could be recycled through curbside recycling. The focus centered on plastic, metals and paper. By maximizing the collection efficiency of these materials, Houston can lower its carbon footprint and the amount going to landfills.
Product Waste
Houston Recycling and Collection
In order to demonstrate the positive environmental effects of recycling plastic, paper and metals, our team used data from the Texas Recycling Data Initiative 2015 Report to determine the amount of each material recycled in 2013. We then used data from the EPA data, California WM (waste management) and the Natural Resource Defense Council to determine how much emissions, kWh and barrels of oil were saved per ton of each material recycled. Using these data sets, the total amount of emissions, kWh and barrels of oil saved through each recycled material in Texas in the year 2013 was determined.
Unfortunately, the recycling rate of Houston is way below the 18.9% Texas average calculated by the TDRI. Houston has a 6% recycling rate which is very low [7]. The economic and environmental costs to have trucks go out and collect recyclables in neighborhoods with low participation rates as well as the costs to convert the material and the effects of cross contamination take away profits the city might have and the emissions saved. So increasing recycling efficiency is very important for the sake of the economic and environmental wellbeing of the city.
Some background on Houston recycling is that the city actually has a mixture of dual and single stream recycling. Dual recycling simply means that there are two recycling bins one for paper and another for all other recyclables. Single stream recycling just means that there is just one bin that all recyclables go into [11]. Houston is actually trying to make a transition to all single stream recycling in residential areas, but that has not quite happened yet mainly because of funding. Because of this mix of different recycling methods, education is hard to implement in the city as different zip codes have different recycling collections. In Houston, recycling is also automated to keep costs low [8]. Additionally, Houston is unique in that it does not have a recycling pickup fee. There have been considerations of imposing a $4 monthly fee but so far it does not look like it’s happening[9]. Without a fee, Houston does not have extra money to expand its recycling and sustainability efforts. Most people would not like a monthly fee stacked onto their recycling bill. A monthly recycling fee also would not make up for the amount of waste going on in the city and would be kind of like punishing the group of people trying to do the right thing by recycling instead of also including those who do not recycle. Everyone should be held accountable. Our group has set up a policy plan that makes it everyone’s responsibility to help the city achieve funds to support recycling and sustainable initiatives and in a way where most people would not even notice. More information on this policy can be found in the Waste Solution tab.
Recycling in general has the problem of cross contamination and that is no different in Houston recycling facilities. Contamination happens when trash is mixed with recyclables or when one recyclable gets mixed in the material of another recyclable. When recycled material is contaminated the final product has a lower quality making it harder to sell and results in a loss of profit [10]. Dual stream recycling actually lowers contamination but with the two separate bin system in place in Houston participation rates are low. Single stream is slightly better in participation rates, but with all recyclables in one bin contamination increases as paper can easily be soiled by liquids left in plastic containers, Single stream recycling also makes the separation of materials harder at the recycling facility and is more prone to error as machines and workers still do not get 100% separation.
Houston actually has a plan in mind that is just the opposite of its current efforts. It was to get rid of the recycling bin entirely the proposed policy called “One Bin for All”. All trash, paper, plastic, cans etc will go in one big bin and be sorted at a specific facility. The city was awarded a $1 million grant for the proposal, but the has already been facing opposition by environmental groups [7]. Our proposed product solution would ensure that the city’s current recycling efforts are not put to waste and that the city is moving forward in its recycling efforts rather than backwards.
Implementing a mixture of a dual and single stream recycling in the form of a dual split-cart collection system, Houston can ensure higher participation rates as well as lower contamination to yield higher quality material and higher profits. More on this proposed solution can be found under the Waste Solution tab in Product Waste
Materials
Resources
Please refer to our Policy Document for far greater detail and a full list of sources.
[1] http://www.livescience.com/32231-does-recycling-plastic-cost-more-than-making-it.html
[2] http://www.recyclingstar.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/TRDI_Report_print-0204.pdf
[3] http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/2013_advncng_smm_fs.pdf
[4] http://www.starkstate.edu/green/recycling-fast-facts
[5] http://www.wm.com/location/california/ventura-county/west-hills/recycle/facts.jsp
[6] http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2007/02/20/picturing-a-ton-of-co2/
[7] http://www.texastribune.org/2014/03/21/houstons-bold-controversial-recycling-plan/
[8] http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/automated_recycling_B2013.pdf
[9] http://blog.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2012/05/no-household-recycling-fee-for-now/
[10] http://www.northstarrecycling.com/reducing-recycling-contamination/
[11] https://www.texasenvironment.org/ways-houston-news-post/
[13] http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/As-the-trash-business-improves-recycling-drags-6402454.php
[14] http://ecologycenter.org/recycling/apartments/
The primary advantage of recycled material to virgin material is the low impact that recycled plastic poses on the environment. It results in lower emissions, oil use and energy consumption. The second reason for recycling is that if we do not, these materials will end up in landfills that are filling up fast and can even create toxins that can contaminate groundwater. These landfills even release their own greenhouse gasses such as methane which is an even more powerful greenhouse gas that carbon dioxide. By throwing recyclable material away, you are not only throwing away a valuable resource as well as money but contributing to global warming more so than if you had recycled it. Climate change then is minimized through recycling as earth’s resources are conserved, GHG emissions, oil and energy consumption is reduced. These benefits though are not limited to the planet as purchasers of recycled material can save money by not having to create virgin material especially when oil prices are high or fluctuate [1]. For Houston, the benefits could lead to a larger revenue stream that could help the city fund other sustainable practice and to expand its recycling programs.
The Texas Recycling Data Initiative (TRDI) measured that in 2013 6.1 million tons of MSW material was recycled and that the total recycling rate was 18.9%, meaning that 18.9% of total waste generated was recycled in 2013. Of the total material recycled 2.8% was plastic, 23.5% was paper, and metal (ferrous and nonferrous) was 8.9%. This equates to 1,444,632 tons of paper, 169,216 tons of plastic, and 544,585 tons of metal [2].
Using the EPA’s 2013 data in its Sustainability Report and reducing it to relate to a ton of material, one ton of plastic would mean a reduction of 1.2 MTCO2, for a ton of paper a reduction of 3.4 MTCO2, and for a ton of metals a reduction of 2.8 MTCO2. For plastics a reduction of one ton would also mean taking 0.25 cars off the road, for paper it would be 0.72 cars per ton and for metals it would be 0.57 cars per ton [3].
Recycling also benefits society by providing energy savings. Generally it takes less energy to create recycled material than it does to create entirely new material. According to facts taken from the Natural Resource Defense Council, aluminum takes 95% less energy to recycle than to make saving 14,000 Kwh/ton of energy. The savings for paper, plastic and other metals are equally as high: office paper saves 33%, newspaper 34-60%, cardboard 24%, plastic 88% and for steel 60%. Energy savings in kWh for other materials are as follows: 601 Kwh/ton for newspaper, 4,100 Kwh/ton for office paper, 390 kwh/ton for cardboard, 5,774 Kwh/ton for plastic, and 642 Kwh/ton for steel [4, 5].
Additionally, energy savings are more profound when considering the amount of oil saved from recycling. One ton of plastic can save 16.3 barrels of oil by preventing the creation of raw plastic [6]. Savings are relatively the same with newspaper, office paper, cardboard, aluminum and steel saving 1.7, 9, 1.1, 39.6 and 1.8 barrels per ton recycled respectively.
Applying these conversions to Texas data, would equate to recycled plastic taking 42,304 thousand cars off the road, recycled paper taking 1 million cars off the road, and recycled metals taking 310 thousand cars off the road. The GHG savings equate to a total of 7.4 metric tons of CO2 just from Texas in 2013.
To visualize the emissions that Texas released in 2013, one metric ton of CO2 is equal to a balloon with a 10 yard diameter. That means that in 2013 Texas saved 7.4 metric ton balloon equivalents. The reason these emissions savings are important is because 50% of emissions released go back into the earth either in the ocean or in the biosphere which is a problem all its own as it causes the acidification of the ocean, a growing problem. The remaining 50% of emissions go into the atmosphere increasing the greenhouse effect and warming the earth which is detrimental to the environment and society. Warming from the greenhouse effect will lead to rising sea levels, rapid temperature changes and extreme climate changes which is detrimental to species in the climate and poorer countries that will be unable to keep up with adapting to the changing climates. With recycling, emissions are reduced and lower the rate of climate change [6].
By applying conversion data in the blue table to the recovery of recycled materials in Texas, recycling also saves a total of 7.41 trillion Kwh and 17.91 million barrels of oil. These savings are great as they waste less our non-renewable resources and mean less products in landfils.
WM Recycling truck using automated pickup. Photo taken from the Houston Chronicle [12].
Example of two bin dual recycling. Photo taken from the City of Berkely [13].
Workers sorting materials at a Houston recycling facility. Photo taken from the Houston Chronicle [14].