A
REGIONAL COOPERATIVE FOR INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT
P.O. Box 159 1050 WEST 400 SOUTH Bus: (208) 432-9082 FAX: (208) 432-6915
83318 •
SISW@PMT.ORG
BLAINE COUNTY RECYCLING CENTER
ANNUAL REPORT 2005
Materials Processed 2,227 tons of materials were processed through the Blaine County Recycling Center this past year. This amount represents a 35 ton increase, or 2%, over last years level of production. The following Table 1 identifies the amounts of cardboard, newsprint, metals cans, glass, mixed residential paper, and plastic bottles moved through the recycling center in each of the twelve months of this reporting period. TABLE 1 COMMODITIES PROCESSED
Tons per Month
Oct. 04 Nov. Dec. Jan. 05 Feb. March A ril May June Jul August Se t.
91.1 62.6 78.2 62.1 54.4 64.3 64.8 78.8 65.4 130.7 80.0 62.8
21.4 23.7 28.3 17.7 26.7 23.2 23.2 25.0 23.5 25.4 24.7 21.4
0.9 0.9 1.2 0.8 0.8 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.2 2.1 2.0 1.9
36.7 36.0 55.4 37.0 50.1 46.3 40.8 36.3 39.5 61.3 55.0 52.1
2.1 1.8 2.1 2.2 1.8 2.8 2.1 2.5 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.8
11.2 15.2 5.8 16.9 14.1 11.3 12.5 12.8 13.0 11.3 10.5 8.6
24.7 19.5 38.4 24.8 24.1 23.4 27.9 25.2 23.1 22.1 21.1 25.9
11.0 2!.4 1!.1 1!.1 11.2 1!.8 11.4 1!.4 11·9
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While it is important to monitor the increases or decreases of each commodity, it isl doubly important to track those commodities that bring revenues back to the Blaine County Recycling Center to offset the costs of operation. Of the commodities that! represent consistent market value, cardboard decreased by 53 tons (-6%), newsprin:t increased by 23 tons (+9%), and aluminum decreased by 3 tons (-19%). Magazme! commodities increased by 67 tons and mixed paper decreased 20 tons.
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Of the commodities that have marginal to no market value at this time, glass tons, tin decreased slightly, and plastic bottles nearly doubled again this year (8 ton
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A comparison ofthe differing commodities processed at the Blaine County Center over the past five years can be derived from Table 2.
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TABLE 2 COMMODITY VOLUMES BY YEAR
Cardboard News rint Aluminum Cans Glass Tin Cans Mixed Paper Magazines Plastic Bottles
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
895 to s 284 15 547 24 143 300 18.5
Over a five year period, some trends can be observed. Glass, magazines, and 1&2 commodities have consistently increased each year. Cardboard would have increase as well, but Recycling Services, a commercial recycling collection contra tor bypassed the recycling center for a number of months and marketed materials outs' de the county to capture a higher buy-back value. I
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Transporting Materials to the Recycling Center Recyclable commodities are transported to the Recycling Center from three prima y sources. Clear Creek Disposal & Recycling transports materials from the curbside residential and its commercial collection programs; Recycling Services collects I commercial recycling commodities; and local residents transport materials directlyl to the Recycling Center I
In this past year the collection system operated by Clear Creek Disposal & Recycling hauled in 1,398 tons of cardboard, newsprint, mixed paper, aluminum/tin cans, and plastic, which is 63% of the total commodities processed. This total is a increase over last year's amount. While noting increases in cardboard, newsprint, fnd plastic, this increase is primarily due to this year's accounting for glass collected curbside. I
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The amount dropped off by primary commercial recycling.contractor, Services, was down once agam by nearly 110 tons from the pnor year. ThIS due, in part, to Recycling Services marketing materials out of the Wood River
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The amount of materials transported directly to the Blaine County Recycling Center by local residents continues to be in the same ratio as last year. The "self haul" recyclable materials accounted for 26% of the total. Table 3 provides for a more detailed comparison of how the commodities are hauled into the Recycling Center.
TABLE 3 COMMODITIES BY MAJOR TRANSPORTER
Cardboard Newsprint Mixed Paper Aluminum Tin Plastic Glass
447 tons 224 277 10 18 13 409
213 tons 12 20 1
235 tons 48 146 4 6 6 138
Comparing Operation Costs and Revenues The reduced volumes for cardboard and aluminum cans, which are key sources of revenue, resulted in lower total income for the recycling center, when compared to last year. Increased operating expenses this year can be attributed to higher personnel expenses (+ $13K), professional fees for redesign of the recycling center (+$4K), and cost of hauling increased plastic volumes to distant processing centers (+$4K). The following Table 4 provides a perspective of annual revenues and expenses over the past four years of the Recycling Center operations. TABLE 4 ANNUAL REVENUES vs EXPENSES
Community service labor is essential to the operation of the Recycling Center. 1,339 hours of community service was utilized this past year. The value of this labor resource is estimated to be $20,085. This valuable resource decreased nearly 330 hours when compared to the prior year.
Other Recycling Activities Representatives of local government, private sector recycling collection companies, recycling program advocates, and operators of the recycling center began an extensive examination of the recycling programs in offered in Blaine County in November. The goal of this collaborative effort was to identify strategic opportunities for improvement in the methods used to promote, collect and process recyclable materials. The computer recycling program offered through the recycling center was suspended this past year.