A
REGIONAL COOPERATIVE FOR INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT
P.o.
Box
159 1050 WEST 400 SOUTH (208) 432-9082 FAX: (208) 432-6915
IDAHO
Bus:
BLAINE COUNTY RECYCLING CENTER
ANNUAL REPORT 2006
Materials Processed 2,069 tons of materials were processed through the Blaine County Recycling Center this past year. This amount represents a 158 ton decrease, or 7% under last years level of production. Table 1 identifies the amounts of cardboard, newsprint, metal 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. 05
Nov. Dec. Jan. 06 Feb. March A ril May June Jul Au ust Se t.
65.0 77.4 82.2 63.8 46.5 36.6 48.9 52.4 65.1 66.9 65.0 62.2
26.1 25.2 23.1 19.9 18.7 19.3 23.1 21.0 22.6 25.4 22.0 26.3
1.3 1.0 2.0 1.5 0.9 1.9 2.9 1.3 1.2 2.4 1.9 2.1
54.3 44.0 49.7 50.8 46.0 44.2 38.5 43.3 33.9 63.5 52.6 43.5
1.9 1.7 1.6 2.9 1.6 1.1
1.4 1.7 1.7 2.3 2.0 1.7
7.1 15.8 12.8 11.7 9.4 1.9 11.3 8.7 14.3 8.6 5.0 7.7
30.1 41.5 29.3 29.2 22.4 12.6 18.3 26.3 32.4 20.0 26.1 36.9
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WWW.SISW.ORG
1.4 1.:6 1.2 0.,9 1.5
2.3
While it is important to monitor the increases or decreases of each commodity, it is 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 163 tons (-18%), newsprint decreased by 11 tons (-4%), and aluminum increased by 5 tons (+35%). Magazine commodities increased by 25 tons and mixed paper decreased 30 tons.
Of the. commodities that have little or no market value at this time, glass increased 18 tons, tm decreased by 10%, and plastic bottles remained the same as last year (18 tops). 1
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A of the different types of commodities processed at the Blaine Count} Recychng 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
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 tons 284 15 547 24 143 300 18.5
732 tons 273 20 564 22 114 325 18.5
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Over a five year period, trends can be observed. Glass and magazine commodities consistently increased each year. Cardboard has decreased over the past two years. ! Some of this decline can be attributed to Recycling Services, a commercial recycling collection contractor that closed up shop in January. It should be noted that the previously handled by this recycling service is still being recycled, but not through BCRRC. I
Transporting Materials to the Recycling Center Recyclable commodities are transported to the Recycling Center by three primary sources. Clear Creek transports materials from the curbside residential and collection programs. Local residents, or self hauls, transport materials directly to Recycling Center. Lastly, Recycling Services hauled commercial commodities the first four months of this reporting period.
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In this past year the collection system operated by Clear Creek hauled in 1,603 tonslof of cardboard, newsprint, mixed paper, aluminum/tin cans, glass and plastic, which is the total commodities processed. This is a substantial increase, 205 tons or 15%, o'fer last year's volumes. This increase can mostly be found in cardboard, newsprint, anq . mixed paper commodities. The amount of materials transported directly to the Blaine County Recycling Center by local residents is down by 34% or -195 tons. The "self haul" recyclable materials accounted for 19% of the total processed commodities. Table 3 provides for a morq detailed look of how the commodities make their way into the Recycling Center. .
TABLE 3 COMMODITIES BY MAJOR TRANSPORTER
Cardboard Newsprint Mixed Paper Aluminum Tin Plastic Glass
562 tons 239 326 14 17 13 432
74 tons 2 2
96 tons 32 111 6 5 6 132
Comparing Operation Costs and Revenues The reduced volumes for cardboard, newsprint, 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 professional fees for peer review of the strategic recycling study, personnel costs, utility expenses and cost of hauling plastic to distant processing centers. 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. 726 hours of community service were utilized this past year. The value of this labor resource is estimated to be $13,100. This valuable resource decreased nearly 700 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 undertook an extensive examination of the recycling programs offered in Blaine County. The goal of this collaborative effort was to identify strategic opportunities for improvement in the methods used to promote, collect and process recyclable materials. This study was
concluded in May, 2006. The primary outcomes of this strategic recycling planning exercise include: 1. Establishing a formalized process to examine and approve any changes in the scope of the operations of the recycling center or modifications to the commodities collected, sorted, and marketed prior to implementation. 2. Developing a commitment by means of a Letter of Intent for the local governments, recycling system operators and advocates to meet semi-annually to be ter coordinate recycling projects. 3. Moving forward with substantial improvements to the equipment and faci ities at the Blaine County Resource Recovery Center