Pierce County study finds much of trash could be recycled
We throw away a lot of stuff in Pierce County.
And about 60 percent of what goes into our trash and garbage cans is recyclable, according to a new study.
The No. 1 offender? Food.
Yep, we toss a lot of comestibles that easily could turn into compostables, researchers from R.W. Beck Inc. of Seattle concluded after an 18-month project that included picking piece by piece through tons of trash.
Nearly 106 tons of food a year gets dumped into trash and garbage cans in Pierce County homes and businesses, the company’s statistics show. That’s about 28 percent of everything headed to the landfill, the report says.
And it’s a figure that’s up from about 15.3 percent of county waste in 1995.
Roughly speaking, each of us accounts for about 3.5 pounds of trash and garbage a day. That’s about 106 pounds a month, 1,277 pounds a year.
That’s if you’re counting, and most of us aren’t.
There is an asterisk here: These figures apply only to residents in Pierce County’s solid-waste system, which includes pretty much everybody in the county except Tacoma residents. That city has its own review underway.
County Public Works and Utilities officials commissioned their study to get an updated reading on what they call the waste stream, that river of trash that flows from your home and office into the landfill.
Knowing what’s going in is crucial to devising ways to keep stuff out, Solid Waste Administrator Steve Wamback said. That could include developing more and different recycling programs and convincing you it could be easier, greener – and cheaper – to think before you toss.
The food figures were surprising, Wamback said. The report notes, in fact, that Pierce County residents throw away more morsels comparatively speaking, than residents of the Big Apple and other areas studied by R.W. Beck in recent years.
There aren’t any statistics to explain that, but Wamback said his anecdotal experience leads him to believe busier lifestyles and greater fast-food choices could be two culprits.
He speculates people buy more takeout than they can handle at one meal “with great intentions of eating the leftovers,” but end up tossing out some of the food.
Another factor could be more homes without garbage disposals because they’re hooked to septic systems, not sewers, he acknowledged.
Either way, public works officials and county residents need to work on ways to carve more food out of the waste stream, Wamback said.
Another big target: Paper.
Though residents recycle a lot of various types of it, compostable paper comprises about 8 percent of county trash, according to the report. This category includes things such as napkins, paper towels, paper plates, newspapers and other such material contaminated by food and waste.
It could be composted; it can’t be recycled with other mixed paper goods.
So how do they know what’s in the trash?
Teams from R.W. Beck systematically sampled trash coming from single-family homes, multiple-family complexes and commercial sites over three periods in three seasons: May 4 to 15, 2009; Aug. 3 to 14, 2009; and Jan. 24 to Feb. 8, 2010.
Their procedures ensured they got “inherently random” samples from refuse haulers’ garbage routes, according to the 61-page final report. They also took random looks at self-haul and commercial loads.
And, yes, gowned and suited for hazardous materials, they dug through it all, sorting out food waste, dirty diapers, hazardous materials, papers, boxes, plastics, glass and all manner of other stuff into 66 material categories.
They weighed each container. They employed other means to ensure they had representative samples. And they used statistical models to extrapolate their results.
The study, officially called a “waste characterization audit,” was needed to help the county meet its goal of reducing landfill disposal by more than 75 percent per person – from about 4.5 pounds per person a day in 2007 to 1.09 pounds in 2032, Wamback said.
The county budgeted about $450,000 for the study but bids came in lower; Wamback expects the final tab to be about $315,000.
The results will be used to shape recycling programs and policy.
Already, officials know they’ll pay a lot of attention to food waste and better practices for managing it, Wamback said.
He and members of the county’s utilities division and Solid Waste Advisory Committee are hoping you’ll pay attention, too.
Anything that doesn’t land in your trash might help keep green in your wallet, in addition to helping the environment, Wamback reasons.
If you’re a Pierce County Refuse Co. customer, you could save nearly $7 a month if you switch from two-can-per-week to service to a single can pickup, he said. You could save about $3.50 a month by downsizing from a 32-gallon can to a 20-gallon minican.
“We’re doing a good job with recycling in Pierce County,” Wamback said. “We have about 150,000 households who use the curbside recycling program on a regular basis.
“But all of us could do a better job of paying attention to what we’re putting into our garbage and doing a better job of diverting it into our recycling bins.”
YOU COULD RECYCLE THIS STUFF
What are Pierce County residents throwing away that could be recycled, including composting? Here are the top 10, along with their mean amounts in the waste stream and tons thrown away per year, according to a new study. MaterialMean percentage Tons disposed of waste stream of annually Food waste28.1% 105,354
Compostable paper8.1% 30,457
Other organic waste5.1% 19,036
Other film* 4.9% 18,354
Leaves, grass and wood chips2.9% 10,935 Clear glass containers2.7% 10,280
Asphalt roofing2.5% 9,216
Other ferrous materials (scrap metal, aerosol cans, etc.) 1.7% 6,437
Uncoated corrugated cardboard/Kraft paper1.7% 6,232
Uncoated paperboard1.4% 5,093
Totals:59.1 percent 221,394
*Other film includes plastic wrapping materials, bubble wrap, trash bags, sheet plastic and other such materials.
Source: Multi-Seasonal Waste Characterization Analysis, R.W. Beck, June 2010
