Incidentally, Gurwitch grew up in South Florida and attended Miami Beach High School.

Read the entire article on The Daily Green. I especially like the bit about the Moses action figure…

Via – Hugg

We are on a month to month contract with our provider right now – BFI. Ask that the commission extends the relationship with BFI until we continue the RFP (request for proposal?) process. I believe that he said that they would like to consider an every other week recycling curbside on Wednesdays.

The manager IS committed to having a curbside recycling program.

Currently weekly, dual-stream – meaning that the glass/cans are in a separate container than newspaper.

Speaker: Current program isn’t working. Can turn this around, develop a program to educate the public. Increase the amount of materials that are being recycled. Can do it better. Ask that the commission & manager to take a closer look. (Think asking that they use his company?) Talk about glass recycling could be cost effective.

Comm. Diaz: Wanted to hear from the industry that was out there. Cost per ton: $280 / ton is the cost to recycle. Regular garbage: $153/ ton. My problem: this program is too costly and not working. RFP is for curbside recycling only. Commissioner Diaz wanted to hear other venues that were outside of just curbside. Outside the box. I could’ve thought of that, "let’s get a bigger container and pick it up once a month" looking for something more creative. Want to keep recycling but make it more efficient.

Survey was done: would you be willing to bring your recycling to drop off at a central location. The survey showed that the residents wanted curbside and were willing to pay for it.

Comm. Sejias: I applaud those that want the service and are willing to pay for it. But I have concerns…

Survey of residents: 56% of respondents – would not support replacing curbside, 28% would support it. Total 408 respondents.

Comm. Diaz: How many said they were totally satisfied? From what I understand there was a lot of complaints. Not getting picked up. 251 missed pick ups beginning of 2006. Over 500 in August 2006.

Actual survey question: The cost of providing curbside recycling services is much greater than central drop off. Knowing this, would you support the change?

Diaz: Need to think of the future, of our employees. Goal was to hear different alternatives to our current system. I think that’s what this thing was about. Now we have an RFP on the street that’s not really covering what I’m looking for.

Roger Carlton, asst. County manager: points out a few areas in the RFP seeking alternative solutions.

Comm. Sorensor: Inefficient, ineffective program right now. However wholeheartedly support curbside recycling. Think we can do it a lot better than we are doing it now. Could be recycling yard waste, tires, styrofoam. Mr. Manager – get with our employees and our unions and get their ideas on how this could be improved. That might be the way to go…I think the community is clear on what they want. Even though it’s a small sample, if it’s statistically valid, it tends to work. We could become a leader instead of an embarassment as we are now.

Comm. Jordan: Like the idea of managed competition. I know you are proposing that the staff work the regular five days…The other issue is to have a pre-designated location for disposing and reuse.

Speaker, Richard Ellis: We’ve thought out options, don’t have all the answers….

Jordan: Would there be a separate education program that would be part of the managing department, or would it go with each of the separate industries.

Carlton: We have to improve education through the schools, handouts, television, whatever…to make sure we get our percentage up. We could do the program ourselves, or we could see what the industry brings us through the RFPs. No matter what comes back, we will have a solution because that’s an area that needs much improvement.

Jordan: If we decide we want to split the county for managed competition purposes…would we be able to do that or would we have to start the RFP over?

You’d have to start over. We didn’t plan on splitting it.

Solid Waste rep: Easier the process,more likely people will do it. Larger container (not as often) and one that rolls. Single container makes it easier. The processing plant separates it later.

Jordan: What about managed competition

Solid Waste: Challenges, during the hurricane you get into a big problem with administration. Everyone following same rules, turning in the right paperwork. Have to pay all of them. Some areas of the county participates more than other areas. How do you split it up fairly/evenly with the numbers being so different. It has been tried and used in other areas, such as Broward. It can work, it just has to be set up appropriately.

Comm. Gimenez: What is the participation right now? (Answer: 30%) When you look at the survey, 85% of the respondents said they do it every week. This is how people that use the program feel about it…but there are 70% of the people that don’t use the program at all. I think it’s better to do a phone survey. How much do we pay today for the recycling program. (Around $9 million / year….net, put out 10 million, get one million back.) In order to increase participation, you have to make it easier. I’m intrigued by separating at the processing plant. One way to do it at home would be garbage in one and recycling in another. Wednesday is recycle day…we can do something with that. I like every week. People get confused if it’s their week or not. I would rather have it every week. If we did that, could we get the employees back up? If we had employees doing it, would it be cheaper than what we are paying now?

Solid Waste union rep: Yes, I think it would be cheaper. *then there is talk about separate days for paper, etc…

Comm Gimenez: We don’t have to have separate pick ups or even separate bins – can break the paradigm.

Mngr.: It would cost money to build another MERF(?) to be able to handle a single stream (all recyclables together)…right now it requires that the paper is separate from the others.

Gimenez: Like commissioner Diaz, I would like to hear some more ideas that are "out of the box". Want an analysis of what gets recycled, what doesn’t get recycled. I liked the idea of crushing the glass and putting it back on the beach. What happens with paper?

Marketplace for paper and glass is very weak, market for metal is okay. Those markets go up and down. You don’t want to make a decision today regarding current market conditions.

Mike Adams, World Waste Services: I have seen this market evolve over the past 15 (?) years…there are new alternatives and new ways out there. I haven’t seen the RFP as it came out late last night. Collection is collection, but there are many alternatives with what you do with it after collection.

Diaz: We are interested in alternatives. We want to know about cost of pick up. Single stream, dual stream, multi-stream. Single zone, multi-zone.

Adams: From the collection point of view, Palm Beach County is an excellent example.  Multiple providers, incentives, penalties. I disagree with the single vendor process, which this looks like it’s going that way, again. The current facility that you use now will need to me modified, upgraded. The RFP came out very unexpectedly, very late last night. We were not prepared, we won’t have time to put together a good proposal. You’ve done it again. You’ll be luck if you get one bid tonight.

Sejias: It was never a workshop to produce, create, or promote an RFP.

Another speaker: The RFP came out unexpectedly. I would like to have Mike Taylor from Recycle America come fly down this morning. I hope that you indulge me and let him come up. Waste Management is making a serious investment in upgrading the MERF to make it single stream recycling. You could have the process and the collection done separately.

Sejias: Many circumstances when an RFP has been put out, there are addendums. This is a viable system which we can work through…

Asst. Manager: The RFP was the product on an industry meeting..many of the people that are hear today were in attendance.

Mike Taylor, WM Recycle America: Been in the industry about 19 years. My area of expertise today relates to the processing side of the business. What happens to the materials once they are collected. As part of what we’ve viewed on the processing side. Relating to convenience…providing a service that is cost effective and convenient for the public…one of the things that we’ve seen in the industry is the rise in single stream processing. All recyclables collected together at the curb. On the processing side, we have a machine that separates materials using gravity, etc.  Paper, bottles, cans, plastic, glass, aluminum, tin can be separated at the plant when it arrives in one container. Now in single-stream, you are able to use the same collection vehicle that you use to collect solid waste to collect the recyclables. You can use the same vehicle – can be an old vehicle…do not need a new fleet. The purpose of the single stream processing is to make the collection more convenient. This allows greater competition because anyone that has a trash collector can do the collection. This puts the work on the processor, however. Would need a facility that can accept single stream. Refuse collection must be separate from recycling collection. There is a plant being constructed today that can accept this in Pembroke Pines. Cost could be price per ton or per ton plus a revenue share. Collier County has increased 20% tons recycled since switching to single stream.

Gimenez: I think that’s something that is attractive, an option.

Sorenson: We could use our current garbage trucks, our employees could do that, and it could be processed in Pembroke Pines. Wouldn’t need one armed bandits.

Jordan: I’m concerned that the RFP doesn’t give us the option of having multiple haulers. Is there anything we can do…addendum?

Asst. Manager: Comm. Jordan’s issue is understood and will be considered in this whole process.

Diaz: I was disappointed that this went out before we got to have this conversation.

Sejias: We never said it wouldn’t go out until this workshop.

World Waste Services: Also building a facility in Okeechobee & the Turnpike, and we are a local company. Would like to see more local participation.

Jean Marie Masa BFI?: Our MERF is possible to become a single stream MERF.

Sorenson: Is performance part of the material for the RFP?

Asst Manager: Yes, they have to show that they have done this before, at least 50,000. Will have background checks, etc.

Diaz: If it’s done in another part of the country and isn’t being done here, we’ll still consider that, right?

Asst Manager: I can’t affirm enough that this RFP is very open for suggestions.

Diaz: The markets vary, they do, because that’s the way the market is. What I’m looking for is that whatever we do, is that the companies be efficient. I will be looking for outside the box, quality of company, quality of efficiency, ideas.

Asst Manager: We’ve removed ourselves from the market pricing. Whatever they can get, they keep.

Recycle America guy: Collectors and processors should be separate processes.

Asst. Manager: Current RFP doesn’t allow for separation, however if the collector wants to subcontract the processing. We need a total service, and to have separate bids is not advisable.

Diaz: I want you to sit with me because I believe differently and I want you to convince me.

Sejias: This was meant to be an all day workshop and we are now just two commissioners. Sometimes I’m here all by myself.

THE END.

There is also a recycling workshop at the county which is happening either right now or soon. It will immediately follow the 9:30am Infrastructure & Land Use Committee. You should be able to follow the discussion via a live webcast here.

I need to get caught up on this issue. In the meantime, any discussion on the topic?

Thanks for the tip to Rick of Stuck on the Palmetto.

As you may know, greenerMIAMI has tried to make it a priority to provide our readers with options on how to get rid of their junk and trash in the right way. That means donating items that could still be useful to others, recycling materials that can be used to create new products, and properly disposing of potentially toxic materials.

Well, it looks like greenerMIAMI isn’t the only one trying to make it easier for Miamians to do the right thing! Miami Beach 411 has created it’s own set of resources for recycling & disposal.

What’s really a cool tool, and one that I’m excited they took the time to create, is a Miami Recycling Map, a Google API with various recycling, donation, and disposal locations shown directly on the map.

They’ve also created a Recycling section, with links to other local resources for recycling, including our own page and Miami Dade Solid Waste. Also available en español. Check it out, and think about what (and where) you are going to toss before you toss it!

Related: greenerMIAMI’s A-Z Donation & Disposal Guide

Recycling bins all over the airport. Image that. (Too high tech for Miami?)

A "green" message in the hotel bathroom. One of these, help us reduce water, energy, and detergent usage by reusing your towels. The sad news? They didn’t deliver. New towels placed in the room in the evening. How disappointing. More on this in the future.

Lots of hybrids! This one even has a special license plate: EZONAIR.

Green cover stories on many magazines in the newsstand!

• Bloomberg Markets: VCs Get Pumped
• Natural Home: Greenspeak 101, Step into Sustainable Gardening
• Garden Design: Great Green Design
• Worth: Al Gore Interview
• American Way: MBA’s are the latest things to go green

Children’s nature books for sale in the airport. Suzanne Tate’s series focuses mostly on water and the creatures living in it. Crabby’s Water Wish hopes to improve water quality. Mary Manatee teaches the kids all about these sea cows. 28 books in all.

All of the rental car companies are located in a central hub, which shares a shuttle bus for passengers to the center (fewer shuttles necessary). Written on the top of the bus: Powered by Clean Natural Gas.

Thanks for showing me your green side, Maryland!

Some folks that drop by the Evangelical Ecologist are surprised to find out I’m a Navy environmental scientist. "Didn’t know the military even had environmentalists!" is an email I get a lot.

I mention this as a disclaimer ahead of the Q&A session that follows below.* But secondly, I understand where they’re coming from. Since its inception our military has had a great track record of doing good things. But as an industry over the past half-century or so, it’s also had a rather notorious reputation for environmental problems, and a lot of it well deserved.

As the country tuned into environmental stewardship in the ’70′s, the military (along with the rest of U.S. industries) got its wakeup call. Mostly through fines and notices of violation that tied up military lawyers and base commanders in paperwork and depositions and expensive fines and cleanups, but through public relationship nightmares and legitimate health issues too.

After two decades and hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup and disposal costs, military minds decided to find a better way. The 90′s became the Pollution Prevention decade. Every military base around the world dug through its repair shops and hazmat storage lockers to find more eco-friendly ways of doing business. DoD loaned its green ideas to other industries and began working with communities surrounding military areas, influencing the country the way President Clinton and others had envisioned.

Today, making military ecology more effective (and cheaper for taxpayers!) is a priority. Recycling is a great example. At the urging of blogger Rebecca Carter, Greener Mag’s Harlan Weikle tracked down Eric Vichich, the Recycling Program Coordinator at MacDill Air Force Base at the recent Recycle Florida Today conference. Harlan suggested I get with Eric mano y mano and see what the boys in blue have been up to. Setting aside any friendly rivalries (Go Navy – Beat Air Force!), here’s our Q&A. I think you’ll be surprised at some of his answers.

DB: Why did MacDill get into the recycling business, and how long has the base been recycling?

EV: MacDill began its recycling efforts in 1993.  Several reasons guided the base decision, including a realization of the potential cost-avoidance, new policy direction from Air Force headquarters, and the desire to implement a program promoting environmental stewardship that would contribute to improving MacDill’s overall environmental ethic. 

DB: What sorts of items are typically recycled, and about how much of each? Are there things you’d like to recycle but can’t? Why not?

EV: MacDill currently recycles cardboard, office paper, mixed paper, newspaper, plastic, glass, aluminum, metal, tires, yard/wood waste, JP-8 (fuel), oil, antifreeze, universal waste (several types of batteries, fluorescent lamps, mercury containing devices), toner cartridges, biosolids (WWTP), fats and bones from Commissary, used cooking oil, concrete and asphalt.

Materials listed by weight (annual average)

• 8000 tons concrete and asphalt (crushed and reused on base) 
• 2000 tons cardboard 
• 220 tons JP-8/oil 
• 212 tons yard and wood waste 
• 200 tons paper 
• 120 tons tires 
• 100 tons metal 
• 100 tons biosolids 
• 32 tons newspaper 
• 20 tons used cooking oil 
• 5.5 tons plastic 
• 4 tons glass 
• 3.5 tons aluminum 
• 8 tons universal waste 
• 500 toner cartridges

As for items that aren’t currently recycled, I am investigating the feasibility of including organics (food waste) and packaging paper from housing, and plastic stretch/shrink wrap from incoming deliveries.  We are lucky to be in the large metropolitan area of Tampa Bay, so there is usually a purchaser for just about any commodity we have. The only limits to the program are when activities become cost-prohibitive.  For example, our office areas only have curbside service for paper. To recycle aluminum, plastic, etc. employees must transport their own materials to one of the collection centers around base. It would not be cost-effective to add another pick-up day for non-paper recyclables.

DB: How do you think MacDill compares to the rest of the Air Force and the rest of the military as a whole? How about as compared to an equally-sized industrial corporation? Way above average? About average? Making up for lost ground?

EV: The Air Force and the overall military do a pretty good job at recycling. There are Executive Orders, Air Force Instructions and CFR?s (federal regulations) that require it, so there are plenty of bases and installations that are experienced and working to further improve their programs. MacDill is better than average. There are areas where MacDill excels and can serve as an example to others, and there are areas where we are trying to improve by learning from installations successful in those areas. Our base was the recipient of the DoD Outstanding Installation Award bestowed by Recycle Florida Today in 2002 to recognize the continued efforts of the base to improve the scope and quality of our recycling program. MacDill routinely meets and surpasses the DoD target of 40% waste diverted from landfill/incinerators without counting the concrete and asphalt that is recycled. A main difference between us and some other bases is that we don?t process any materials on site. All of our recyclables are collected and sent to a processing site. Bases that process their own commodities are able to sell them at a premium because the product is clean, baled and stored long enough for them to accumulate a large quantity. We don’t get paid as well for our commodities, but we don’t have to worry about equipment maintenance and paying contractors to sort, process and market the material. 

There aren’t many corporations to which we could be compared. We act more like a small city than a large corporation.  We have industrial facilities, but we also have an airport, residential areas, a supermarket, marina, fitness center, movie theater, etc. Compared to similar sized cities, we are doing an excellent job with our waste minimization and diversion efforts. It helps because just about everyone working or living in our city answers to the Wing Commander. In a military situation, if a commander says ?We need to do this, then typically it gets done. MacDill, however, is a rather unique base for the Air Force in how many tenant organizations we have. In addition to Air Force personnel, we have several organizations representing all branches of the military and other federal and state organizations, all with their own unique rules, regulations and chains of command. It can be difficult to institute base wide policy when everyone answers to a different commander. In the end though, if they want to stay on our base, they have to follow our rules. 

DB: Does MacDill use Air Force personnel to do recycling or do you use contractors, or a little of both?

EV: MacDill is using contractors for lots of the daily operations around base. I am actually a contractor working under the broad civil engineering contract. Currently, MacDill has a specific waste and refuse contract to handle 95% of our waste disposal needs. Some smaller contracts exist for unique items, such as fuel, oil, tires, fats and bones, cooking oil, etc. when we can work directly with a purchaser or when an item will be picked up for free.   

DB: What are two things you would like these folks to know, as a USAF recycling program manager, or as a DoD environmentalist?

EV: Very interesting question.  I would first ask Why don’t you associate the military with recycling? As for two things I would like the folks out there to know:

1)  The military has stricter recycling rules than the average neighborhood and workplace.

2) The U.S. federal government is the single largest purchaser of goods in the world.  The DoD is one of the largest purchaser of goods in the federal government.  We are in the unique position of being able to answer the question What difference can I make?  Well, by choosing to recycle and buy recycled products, the DoD is capable of, and successful at, creating and influencing global recyclable commodity and product markets.

That’s 2,000 TONS of cardboard each year, folks. Sweet.

Many thanks to Eric for his time, and to Harlan for letting me post this one. If you want more info on all things "environmentally military," you’ve got to get over to DENIX on the Web DoD’s main eco website.

*For the record, I’m not blogging in any official DoD capacity.

Learn more about contributing articles to greenerMIAMI. 

(First photo: how it originally "came out of the baskets". Second photo: bags combined)

So, what have I learned?

1. No more fresh produce from Costco. As much as I think that my husband & I can finish a giant bag of broccoli from Costco, we can’t. I was filled with good intentions. Broccoli is so good for you. But I threw away almost an entire bag. So sad. So embarrassing to have to admit to the globe. Same goes for the 6 pack (or 8?) of giant portobello mushroom caps.

(Photo: All organic waste for 1 week. Potential to be composted.)

2. I really, really want to start composting. I’d do it any way that was available to me, which right now are zero ways.

3. Most of my trash comes from the kitchen. Between organic waste & product packaging, mostly from food, we create the majority of the household waste.

4. Product Packaging is a big deal. This is something that Melissa in LA is dealing with, too. We buy products that come in packages. So maybe we need to put a little more pressure on the industry to do two things. 1) Create less packaging, please! 2) Use materials that are typically recyclable.

(Photo: All (most) product packaging disposed of in one week.)

5. Paper comes from every direction. And I still don’t know what to do about all of it. I have a problem. I love to read. Miami has about a gazillion free publications, some weekly, some monthly. I love to read them. I learn from them. Yes, many have websites. No, I don’t enjoy reading off of the websites. No, I don’t know what to do with them after I’ve read them. It’s like the newspaper. It’s a completely different experience reading it on paper than it is online.

6. I (we) need to learn to say, "No, Thanks". No Thanks, I don’t need a bag with that. No Thanks I don’t need a brochure, I’ll look it up online. People hand out stuff everyday that is just garbage. We look at it for a second, or only use it for a second, and then this brand new item has just become garbage.

7. I need to find some courage to challenge the authorities. Through my Recycling Chronicles I have tried to find out more about why my building doesn’t recycle. I have no fear calling the city or the county with questions. Who do I fear? The property managers for the condo. Why? I don’t know, I’ve always been a ‘fraidy cat for certain things. I rent here, so I don’t pay maintenance fees, and I don’t pay these property managers. So I feel like it gives me no right to complain. But I have to find it in myself to really get to the bottom of this, directly with the source. Additionally, I think that I really need to talk with my commissioners, to try to make recycling a bigger deal, especially in the City of Miami.

8. Buy products made from recycled materials. From what I understand, if a municipality doesn’t recycle something that is, in fact, recyclable, it is because they do not have a buyer for that particular type of waste. If we recycle, but do not buy products made from recycled materials, we are not completing the circle and we are not creating demand for wholesale/industrial buyers of the materials.

(Photo: Of all of the trash, the only potential recyclables.)

9. Think twice before tossing it out…as if the whole world would know. I really thought about my trash this week. I even salvaged some things that were about to be trashed, and found some "reuse" for them. Throwing out trash should always be a conscious action, for all of us.

(Update 4/4/06: see all WoT posts, including links to Living Green in LA’s version)

Today I want to take a quick moment to talk about my organic waste again. Yesterday I had a ton of it. When I lived in Mexico (2002-2005), we didn’t have garbage disposals, and I missed them so much. I hated putting that stopper in the drain and then having to clean it out with all of the gook that wound up sitting inside of it.

Then, last year, we came back to the US. I figured that it must be a good way to get rid of organic waste – doesn’t go to a landfill, right? But now I find that everywhere I look, water conservation guides tell me not to use it. From the County website: Minimize the use of the garbage disposal. They are unsanitary, use tons of water and clog pipes. And I assume that all of that stuff in the water adds more process to the water treatment? (I have no idea, just a guess.)

So, that is why you see most of my organic waste in the trash, and not down the drain. I still use it a tiny bit, so as to avoid the whole "gook" situation…but I try to utilize water that would already be going down the drain.

Note: It seems to me that I should be analyzing how much of my trash is product packaging, in addition to what I’ve been looking at. (I just checked the definition in Wikipedia.) I’m not sure how I’ll measure it, but in my inventory, I think I’ll make a "PP" annotation to the side of something that is Product Packaging. Maybe also at the end of the week I can separate it all out to get a sense of the "size" impact.

City      County

No          No        Organic Waste

No          No        (PP) Paperboard: cream cheese box & other small boxes, paper napkins

Yes        Yes       Netflix paper

Yes        Yes       (PP) Aluminum Cans (we use these for the occasional guest or craving, because we found the 2 liter bottles just go to waste)

Mr. Greener took a few minutes yesterday to clean out some old magazines and papers. The ones that truly wound up getting the axed are pictured above. Others I sorted out: papers with a blank side remaining went to my scrap paper pile. Two nice magazines also got pulled out of the pile – I’m hoping to find a home for them. But would I have been so conscious to take that extra step to review the trash if I wasn’t telling the whole world about my waste? Maybe not. Because the truth is, I don’t know what to do with those magazines that I pulled out of the pile – I just know that someone still might enjoy reading them. A hospital in Colorado requests magazine donations. I can’t find any place around here that wants them.

But the WORST thing that happened yesterday in trash was the organic waste. Normally I don’t have much food that goes bad in the fridge…but lately we’ve had a lot of company coming in and out, and it has messed up my system. Yesterday I tossed: cooked broccoli, uneaten salad, almost 2 whole portobello caps, Indian food leftovers – all in addition to normal waste: egg shells, ends of squash, banana peel, etc.

City    County    

No         No        Organic waste

No         No        Yogurt container

No         No        Paper napkins (I should really switch to cloth)

Yes       No        Magazines

Yes       Yes      Papers, Junk Mail (still waiting for my removal from the list to take affect)

Note to City of Miami and Miami Dade County Solid Waste Departments: The websites are not sufficiently clear on what can and can not be recycled. I was on hold for 9 minutes with the county in order to ask about magazines. I wasn’t even going to call the city, assuming they would not take them either, but it seems that they do. Both websites only state newspaper and do not mention office paper or magazines.