A
REGIONAL COOPERATIVE FOR INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT
P.O. Box 159 1050 WEST 400 SOUTH Bus: (208) 432-9082 • FAX: (208) 432-6915
IDAHO
BLAINE COUNTY RECYCLING CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2004 Materials Processed 2,192 tons of materials were processed through the Blaine County Recycling Center year. This amount represents a 98 ton increase, or 4%, over last years level The following Table 1 identifies the amounts of cardboard, newsprint, metals cans, mixed residential paper, and plastic bottles moved through the recycling center in twelve months of this reporting period.
TABLE 1 COMMODITIES PROCESSED Tons per Month
Oct. 03 Nov. Dec. Jan. 04 Feb. March . April May June July August Se t.
103.4 77.7 108.2 85.4 64.8 76.4 61.2 57.3 74.6 86.2 82.6 70.6
18.5 18.6 25.4 18.9 18.5 23.3 24.1 19.5 21.8 23.9 25.1 23.4
36.9 28.8 41.6 43.7 43.4 46.3 44.4 30.4 46.9 58.9 63.0 48.8
20.0 13.5 10.6 16.3 8.0 11.3 7.8 9.1 23.6 18.8 8.2 16.2
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21.3 23.1 20.7 21.2 18.6 23.4 22.7 18.7 12.2 13.1 16.9 21.3
I I
While it is important to monitor the increases or decreases of each commodity, it is important to track those commodities that bring revenues back to the Blaine County I Recycling Center to offset the costs of operation. Of the commodities that represent consistent market value, cardboard increased by 98 tons (+ 10%), newsprint decreased 3 tons (-1 %), and aluminum decreased by 2 tons (-10%). Of the commodities that have marginal or no market value, glass increased 4 tons, tin decreased slightly, mixed paP9r increased 17 tons, magazines decreased 20 tons, and plastic hottles doubled (5 tons).
A comparison of the differing commodities processed at the Blaine County Recycling Center over the past five years can be derived from Table 2.
TABLE 2 COMMODITY VOLUMES BY YEAR
Cardboard Newsprint Aluminum Cans Glass Tin Cans Mixed Paper Magazines Plastic Bottles 1&2
876 tons 303 25 451 27 138 245
883 tons 270 21 446 25 136 227
836 tons 254 22 430 25 134 235
850 tons 264 21 530 25 146 254 5
948 tons 261 19 533 24 163 233 10
Over a five year period, some trends can be observed. Fortunately, cardboard volumes are trending up, which adds significant revenues back into the financial equation. Both newsprint and aluminum can volumes are on the decline. This decline trend is very important since these two commodities are also significant revenue producers as well. While mixed paper and on glass volumes are trending up and account for significant production tonnages, revenues are minimal.
Transporting Materials to the Recycling Center Recyclable commodities are transported to the Recycling Center by three primary entities. Clear Creek Disposal & Recycling transports materials from the curbside residential and its commercial collection programs; Recycling Services collects commercial recycling commodities; and local residents transport materials directly to the Recycling Center. In January, the initial recycling collection contractor, Wood River Rubbish, was purchased by Clear Creek Disposal & Recycling. For the purpose of this report, the amounts of recyclable materials collected and transported by both Wood River and Clear Creek are combined and reported as Clear Creek Disposal & Recycling totals. In this past year the collection system operated by Clear Creek Disposal & Recycling hauled in 863 tons of cardboard, newsprint, mixed paper, aluminum and tin cans, which comprise 52% of the total commodities processed. This ratio is up 5% over the prior year. The amount dropped off by the primary commercial recycling contractor, Recycling Services, was down approximately 100 tons or 8% from the prior year. This decline is due, in part, to Recycling Services marketing materials out of the Wood River Valley.
The amount of materials transported directly to the Blaine County Recycling Center by local residents increased dramatically this past year. The "self haul" recyclable materials was up nearly 100 tons more than in the prior year, which is a 5% increase. It should be noted that the quantities of glass processed are not included in this comparison. Table 3 provides for a more detailed comparison of the commodities hauled into the Recycling Center.
TABLE 3 COMMODITIES BY MAJOR TRANSPORTER
Cardboard Newsprint Mixed Paper Aluminum Tin Plastic
437 tons 217 172 12 20 5
329 tons 13 17 1
182 tons 31 207 6 4 5
The amount of cardboard collected by Clear Creek increased by 100 tons over the combined amount of the two companies from the prior year. Further, the amount of cardboard hauled in by local residents was up nearly 80% over last year. The amount of mixed paper hauled in by local residents, which includes residential paper, magazines, and phone books is also up by 23%.
Comparing Operation Costs and Revenues The combination of better market prices for cardboard and an increased volume of cardboard through the Recycling Center resulted in a significant increase in revenue. This year ending 9/30 saw a 38% increase in gross revenue, or $34,488 more than the prior year's revenue of $89,720. The following Table 4 provides a perspective of annual revenues and costs of the Recycling Center TABLE 4 ANNUAL REVENUES vs EXPENSES
The customary cost of operating the Recycling Center increased $4,324 or 3% above the prior year's operation cost of $116,551. Of the two traditional cost centers, personnel costs rose 1% or $1,300 and the buy-back program increased $3,000 to an annual cost of $20,662. This increase in the buy-back program, which is designed to increase the volume of marketable materials by paying individuals and collection companies for aluminum and cardboard, directly corresponds to the increased market value of cardboard. This year a new cost of operation was added. The cost of transporting 18 loads of plastic bottles to a recycling broker added $7,020 to the overall cost of operating the recycling center. Community service labor is essential to the operation of the Recycling Center. 1,670 hours of community service was utilized this past year. This valuable resource increased nearly 400 hours when compared to the prior year.
Other Recycling Activities The third year of computer recycling was undertaken as a part of the annual spring clean-up project in the Wood River Valley. 3.7 tons of computer monitors, printers, and peripherals were recycled last spring. The cost of the computer recycling program, which is the fee paid to the computer recycling company was $4,672.60.