Search Listings
Materials Available
Materials Wanted

Link to U.S. and Ohio Regulations

Add A New Listing
(.pdf file)

Interchange News

Quiz the Wiz

Links and Resources

Recyclers World

Global Recycling Network

Paperexchange.com

Enviro$en$e

The Chemical Industry Homepage

Cornell Composting

Ohio Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention

National Pollution Prevention Roundtable

National Recycling Coalition

Other Material Exchanges

Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services
Air Quality
Solid Waste

Interchange News     

This page has been updated. Please click here for new link and reset bookmarks

Summer 2002

Understanding the Air Quality Permitting Process
Submitted by Lynn White, Air Quality Public Affairs Specialist.

What does clean air mean to you and your business?

Clean air could mean better health for you and your family, or making small changes in your lifestyle to cut down on pollution. But if you are a business that produces any type of emission into the air, this may mean that a permit is required. The staff at the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services, Air Quality Management Division (AQMD), are here to help you with the permit process.

The AQMD works together with local, state, the federal government agencies, businesses, schools, and communities to improve our air quality. Don=t be fooled by the name, the AQMD actually works throughout Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren counties testing the air quality to ensure that it is not harmful to our health or the environment. The staff investigates air complaints made by the public, calls smog alerts when ozone levels are high, analyzes pollen and mold, provides air quality presentations and resources, and works with facilities on permitting and enforcing emission standards.

One of the most important responsibilities of the AQMD is to issue permits and provide comprehensible information regarding the permitting process. In order for any facility to install or operate a Aregulated@ air emissions unit, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) requires the company to first obtain a permit. The pollutants that the OEPA regulates are the six criteria air pollutants: carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter. In addition to these criteria pollutants, they also regulate hazardous air pollutants. There are numerous sources that are exempted from air pollution permits under state law. Examples of these exempted sources include small boilers, detergent-based parts washers, and other various low emitting sources (pollutants must be less than 10 pounds daily for the six criteria and less than1 ton annually for hazardous). Please visit www.hcdoes.org for more details about the pollutants and the permitting process.

What kinds of permits are there?

The AQMD handles three types of permits for the OEPA. These permits include: Permits to Install (PTIs) which are required by all companies that want to install a new emission unit, Permits to Operate (PTOs) which a company needs prior to operating any emission unit, and Title V permits for major facilities that have emissions or hazardous emissions that are greater than a predetermined threshold.

Does your business need a permit?

Knowing if your business needs a permit is confusing. Environmental regulations can be complex, however, under state and federal regulations, it is the business owner=s responsibility to obtain all necessary permits. If you are unsure of whether or not your business needs a permit, please call our office at 513-946-7777 or visit www.hcdoes.org for more information. There are four rules that can help identify sources that need permits:

If you plan to expand your business and will need a permit, plan ahead! A permit will take approximately four to six months to be processed before you can install new equipment. However, this process can be as long as one or two years for a major new facility.

For more information about permits and the permitting process, please call the AQMD at 513-946-7777 or visit www.hcdoes.org. Be sure to check out the information on pollen and mold, the complaints program, and written materials such as ASmog: Who does it Hurt?@, and all of the other services available to your business from the AQMD.

Reuse and Recycling: The Healing Solution to Medical Waste
Submitted by Elisa Alonso, Public Affairs Intern

Have you ever wondered what hospitals and medical facilities do with unused medical supplies that have been opened but never used? Or, what about the used supplies that can be sterilized? Until recently, these supplies were thrown in the trash. But now, more U.S. hospitals are finding methods to save this waste from going to the landfill. Such methods include donating supplies to U.S. charities who will give them to other nations, or give the items to reprocessing plants who sterilize and resell them in the U.S.

The United States disposes approximately $200 million a year worth of unused medical supplies. This can be costly, contaminate garbage, and add to our already overflowing landfills. Now, though, there are programs that accept used and unused medical supplies for recycling, and donate them to developing countries. While the U.S. may have an over abundance of unwanted medical supplies that may be opened and unused, other nation’s hospitals are in desperate need of these goods.

Programs such as REMEDY, (Recovered Medical Equipment for the Developing World), accept unused and some used medical supplies and devices, sterilize them, and donate them to U.S. based charities who distribute them to nations worldwide. Some Ohio medical facilities taking part in the REMEDY program are Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Coshocton County Memorial Hospital in Coshocton, Good Samaritan Hospital in Englewood, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Dublin, and Wright State University in Dayton.

Common items recovered include gloves, sutures, drapes, gowns, gas masks, catheters and even orthodontic braces! Many other supplies and devices are recovered also. With much concern over health risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed strict regulations on the reprocessing of medical supplies to ensure safety the for all patients in the U.S. Programs like REMEDY do not use all donated items due to health concerns. In fact, only a small portion of the donations are allowed for reuse. Some of the SUDs, or single use devices, cannot be sterilized for reuse due to the harsh heat and chemicals involved in the sterilization process.

REMEDY is not the only medical reuse program. A similar program, MIERP, (Medical Instrument and Equipment Recycling Program), is dedicated to the same mission. However, MIERP only targets medical schools across the country to donate reusable items. The difficult part of this program is that it relies on private funding, and medical school students and administrators must find the resources to fund the program. Countries benefiting from REMEDY and MIERP donations include Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Namibia, Kenya and others. The U.S. is also benefiting tremendously, by decreasing landfill waste, saving money and saving natural resources.

Medical waste and equipment is not all that is recycled. There are plenty of items for everyday living and comfort that are recycled. For example, organizations such as Trenton Materials Exchange in Trenton, New Jersey, and the Wheelchair Recycling Program in Madison, Wisconsin, recycle items such as wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches and prosthetic limbs. The Wheelchair Recycling Program alone has saved over 250 tons of useful medical devices from Wisconsin landfills. The recycled items go to children, families and adults in need.

Another environmentally conscience medical company is BioLucent technologies, maker of the MammoPad. The MammoPad is a soft-touch, single-use pad used during mammogram procedures that provides comfort for patients. BioLucent realized the potential environmental implications with making another single-use product, and therefore created a way for its customers to act responsibly while providing good patient care. To encourage recycling, the MammoPads are delivered to hospitals and other customers with a return shipping label addressed to BioLucent to return the pads once they have been used. The recycled pads are manufactured into cushioning for bedding, furniture, carpet and automotive needs.

Overall, the healthcare industry, like many other industries, is recognizing the benefits of reusing and recycling. Whether those benefits are monetary or humanitarian, the results are the same. Recycling efforts are making a difference around the globe because of the various industries and people choosing to make small changes in their daily activities.

Are you paying to have garbage delivered to your business? With such emphasis placed on recycling in the past decade, many businesses have overlooked one of the simplest ways to reduce their waste stream and cut disposal costs. By reevaluating current purchasing practices and incoming supplies, many businesses can greatly increase efficiency while decreasing the costs associated with hazardous waste handling, recycling and waste removal. Simply put, less material coming through the front door means less material going into the dumpster.

Many times, the biggest obstacle in establishing new and more efficient supply practices is battling the status quo. Businesses that have been doing things the same way for years are often uncomfortable with the thought of changing their current processes. They are also comfortable dealing with the suppliers that they have worked with for many years. The first step in overcoming this hurdle is having an individual or group from within the business reevaluate these processes with a fresh perspective. Companies are often shocked at the amount of money that can be saved by making very simple changes to their old purchasing practices.

Some questions to consider when evaluating incoming materials:

Once inefficiencies are pinpointed, there are two possible courses of action.

Research Alternatives:

First, a business may want to consider switching products and/or suppliers. Chances are very good that a more efficient and environmentally responsible alternative exists. It is just a matter of doing some research and selecting the best option.

Create a Partnership:

What happens if changing products and/or suppliers is not an option? In this case, it may be prudent to create a partnership with the current supplier. This is becoming more and more commonplace as businesses work together to improve efficiency throughout their processes. These partnerships work because both the customer and supplier share the common interest of efficiency and profitability. Suppliers should be willing to go beyond simply providing a product and work with a customer to create the most efficient product, packaging, and shipping possible.

A small change in the name of efficiency can save your business money while helping the environment by saving resources and landfill space. The possibility to combine increased profitability with increased environmental awareness is too compelling to ignore.

For more information on this topic visit:

"Purchasing for Waste Reduction" www.ciwmb.ca.gov/mrt/wpw/wpbiz/fspurcha.htm or

"Questions to Ask Your Vendor" www.epg.org/aa.ask.html or contact the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District at 946-7732 for a free, confidential waste assessment.

Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc., the largest recycler in Greater Cincinnati, has recently added a new and innovative material processing system at its St. Bernard Material Recovery Facility (MRF). Known as single-stream recycling, this new system is designed to separate a mixed stream of recyclables (papers, glass, plastics, and metals) into distinct, salable categories.

Recyclables are collected and transported to the MRF. The material is then transported, via conveyor, through a presort house were contaminants such as trash, cardboard, and municipal scrap are removed by hand. Next, the recyclables fall onto two large, upward sloping screens that utilize a series of shafts covered with rubber discs. These shafts rotate at a high rate of speed, allowing the discs to separate the materials according to size. Paper products are carried upward to another conveyor while rigid containers fall back and are directed to another area of the MRF.

The main benefit of single-stream recycling is that it allows for more efficient material collection. Because all recyclable materials are commingled until they reach the MRF, Rumpke can use traditional rear-load packer trucks as opposed to separate recycling trucks. The trucks that collect garbage route can also be used to collect the recyclables on the same route. Also, because there is no separation at the pick-up, each stop is much quicker.

Single-stream recycling can also greatly increase participation rates by lowering the amount of sorting required by the recycling customer. The less the resident or business has to sort their recyclables, the more likely it is that they will be a consistent recycler. Single-stream recycling can also reduce the space a recycler needs to allocate for collection bins because all material can be placed in the same container. This is a significant benefit for both residential and business recyclers.

Unfortunately, the switch to single-stream recycling doesn’t bring just positive results. There are some negatives associated with single-stream recycling that have yet to be solved by new technology or management practices. Moisture can hinder the effectiveness of the new separating systems. Single-streams collection systems also tend to have higher levels of trash contamination that leads to reduced quality in the salable end materials. Finally, the large amount of capital needed to update a MRF with the new material separation equipment can be prohibitive for a company or municipality wanting to make the switch to a single-stream system.

The movement towards single-stream recycling systems has been building for several years. Many waste management companies, recyclers, and municipalities are realizing the benefits of this efficient process. With more technological advances and improved management techniques, single-stream recycling could become the standard for the recycling industry.

For more information about single-stream recycling at Rumpke, contact Ben Pedigo at 513-242-4600 ext. 11 or visit:
www.recyclingtoday.com/articles/article.asp?ID=2894&AdKeyword=bollegraaf

Fall 2002

Matthew 25: Ministries is a non-denominational, non-profit organization, whose purpose is to rescue millions of pounds of merchandise each year to donate to the poor. Most of the donations are from US companies and hospitals with an over abundance of inventory or slightly imperfect goods or styles that consumers no longer want. Matthew 25: Ministries accept merchandise that is not good enough to sell, but too good to throw away.

In October of 2002, Matthew 25 Ministries celebrates its 20 millionth pound shipped since starting the organization. In an average month, the organization ships out 20 containers, weighing roughly 440,000 pounds, to US Indian Reservations, Central America, Africa, and Asia.

They accept clothing (new & used), hospital linens, medical supplies, cleaning supplies, personal care items (soap, shampoo, lotion), school supplies, fabric, etc. While they also accept some furniture, such as school desks and filing cabinets, they are hesitant to accept electrical powered equipment (computers) because many of the locations do not have access to electricity.

The organization has a handful of employees, but relies on volunteers to help sort goods and load containers. They are also in need of shipping materials, such as clean, empty 55-gallon plastic and fiber drums, gaylord boxes, and pallets.

If you or your company is interested in volunteering or donating items, please call (513) 774-9444 or visit their website at www.m25m.org. Your contribution is tax-deductible and an accountant at Matthew 25 Ministries will assist your company with all the necessary details.

Congratulations Matthew 25: Ministries on your 20 millionth pound of reused goods and for the countless people you’ve helped!

Governor Bob Taft recently announced that 16 brownfield sites around the state will receive $39.7 million from the Clean Ohio Fund. Of those 16 sites, 3 are located in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Clean Ohio Council, which oversees the distribution of the Clean Ohio funds, selected the American Tissue Mills site in Lockland, the Mosler Safe Facility site in Hamilton, and the former Green Industries site in Sharonville to receive a total of $6 million in cleanup funds. This grant distribution is the first action by the Clean Ohio Fund Program, which was implemented into law in July, 2001. The program was originally proposed by Governor Taft in 2000, as a way to clean up Ohio’s polluted industrial and commercial sites.

Southwest Ohio’s long history as a manufacturing region has left it with literally hundreds of former industrial sites that are currently vacant. Known as "brownfields", these sites are often difficult to redevelop due to the strong possibility that they are polluted. These brownfields lower adjacent property values, hinder economic development, and pose environmental hazards. The Clean Ohio fund plans on allocating over $175 million dollars to brownfield sites in Ohio over the next four years. These funds will be used to evaluate the sites, clean them up, and return them to productive use.

Each of the 3 sites located in the area has frustrated public officials, developers, and residents for years. The Village of Lockland acquired the American Tissue Mills site in 2000 and will receive $2.10 million from the fund. The site will be cleaned up after spending nearly 15 years as a community eyesore. The City of Hamilton will receive $2.38 million to clean up the former Mosler Safe facility. Most of the funds will be used to remove asbestos and demolish a 305,000 square foot structure located on the 9 acre site. The Port Authority of Cincinnati, which owns the Green Industries Site, will receive $1.5 million to clean up contamination caused by a chrome plating company.

The Clean Ohio Fund will select the next set of sites to receive funding in July, 2003. For more information about the Clean Ohio Fund visit, http://www.odod.state.oh.us/UD/clean_oh_fund.pdf.

For years now, we have been hearing about the Adopt-a-Highway Program. We see the signs on the side of the road, but most of us are unsure what they mean. What does it mean to adopt-a-highway and who is allowed to participate?

The Adopt-a-Highway Program is an international program that has been introduced to 48 states, including Ohio and Kentucky, seven Canadian provinces, Puerto Rico and New Zealand. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet both implemented the program in the late 1980s. The program was developed to encourage environmental awareness among communities and discourage littering.

The Adopt-a-Highway Program is open to any established business, association, community or public organization, government entity or even residents. Groups participating in the program "adopt" a stretch of highway and are responsible for picking up litter from this section of road a few times a year. By cleaning a two-mile stretch of highway, volunteers save ODOT time and money by allowing work crews to spend more time on its main functions, such as road maintenance and construction projects. Each Adopt-a-Highway group saves ODOT approximately $800 in litter pickup costs per year.

More than 1,800 volunteers have joined ODOT’s Adopt-a-Highway program since it started in 1989, and over 200,000 bags of trash have been collected each year.

In Kentucky, there are over 1,600 groups participating in the program, cleaning approximately 6,600 miles of highway annually. Each year, however, the Transportation Cabinet’s highway workers spend about 200,000 hours removing litter from Kentucky’s roads, and collect over 96,000 bags of litter, spending approximately $4-5 million a year in litter removal.

Ohio and Kentucky’s Adopt-a-Highway Programs provide trash bags, safety vests and roadside signs to let the community know of a group or individual’s involvement in the program. They also provide information for participating groups on how to keep safe when cleaning the roadways.

A commitment to the program usually lasts two years but groups are encouraged to renew their contract if desired.

To join the Adopt-a-Highway Program or find out more information please contact:

In Ohio: 800-372-7714, or contact your county representative or call Central Office Communications in Columbus at (614) 466-7170.

In Kentucky: (502) 564-4890 at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, or (859) 341-2700 in District 6.

For many businesses, disposing of wood waste, specifically wood pallets, can prove to be a costly and time-consuming operation. Wooden pallets are an integral component of the product transportation system that keeps our economy running. Approximately 405 million new pallets are produced in the country each year! When you consider that nearly every product manufactured in this country is shipped on a wooden pallet, the shear amount of accumulated wood waste can be overwhelming. Fortunately, when a proper disposal plan is implemented, used pallets can be repaired or processed into other useful wood products. This saves money, resources, and landfill space.

Used Pallet recycling and reprocessing is not a new activity. Pallet recycling began in the 1960’s but has seen rapid growth in recent years. Several factors have made pallet recycling economically viable and an essential business practice for any company dealing with an abundance of used pallets. As timber resources dwindle and lumber prices go up, pallet producers have found that repairing and reusing old pallets is economically advantageous. Also, as new pallets become more expensive, pallet buyers have begun to view purchasing recycled pallets as a way to cut costs. With landfill tipping fees and transportation costs on the rise, sending old pallets to the dump is both expensive and wasteful. Finally, increased environmental awareness has alerted many companies to the huge impact that improper wood waste management has on precious timber resources and landfill space.

One area business specializes in helping all kinds of companies solve their pallet disposal problems. Irvine Wood Recovery can set up a customized wood recovery plan for any area business with a pallet disposal problem.

While many pallet recyclers are only willing to collect pallets that can be repaired and resold, Irvine has the ability to process both reusable and scrap pallets.

For companies that generate large volumes of scrap pallets, Irvine can place a 48’ trailer on site for periodic pallet removal. Depending on the quality of the pallets collected, this service may be provided at no cost. Irvine also has the ability to grind scrap pallets on site then haul them away. The grinding process lets Irvine’s crews reduce the volume and decrease the transportation cost for removing scrap pallets. Obviously, many used pallets are in good condition and can be reused. In order to create the most efficient recovery program, Irvine can combine its grinding services with reusable pallet removal. This is ideal for a customer with a mixture of scrap and reusable pallets. Finally, customers with their own disposal vehicle can drop off wood waste at the Irvine Wood recycling center. All of these options make Irvine Wood Recovery a good choice for any business looking to dispose of used pallets in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.

A recycling effort is only successful when there is a strong market for the end products it creates. Demand for recycled pallets remains strong due to the fact that they perform nearly as well as new pallets and are much cheaper. The wood waste from scrap pallets is either burned for fuel or processed into other wood products. . For example, Irvine Wood Recovery processes waste wood into several varieties of mulch and a unique safety surface known as Playground Turf.

To discuss a wood waste recovery plan or inquire about any of their products, call Irvine Wood Recovery at (513) 831-0060 or visit their website www.irvinewoodrecovery.com

Winter 2002

Last year the Hamilton County Solid Waste District recycled 111 tons of computers at its two day event. Due to this success, we will host an event in late May of 2003. Also, we are expanding the event to not only Hamilton County businesses and residents, but also to Clermont County, Butler County and the Northern Kentucky Counties of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton. Your Solid Waste District will determine if businesses and/or, residents are permitted to participate. Please contact them with questions.

This free event will once again be held at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. The only stipulation is you must register your electronic equipment, even if you are a resident. Registration forms will be available in the Spring 2003 edition of The Interchange. In February, registrations will be available on-line at www.hcdoes.org. If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive additional information about the event, please contact the Business Specialist at (513) 946-7732.

The recycled equipment is sent to Ohio Prison Industries, where it is either remanufactured into a viable product for schools and non-profits, or deconstructed and recycled properly. Certificates of Recycling are sent to the Hamilton County Solid Waste District and kept on file. Please call (513) 946-7732 with any questions.

Since 1996, The Interchange has helped divert over 29 million pounds of materials from local landfills. This material includes pallets, glass, plastic, metal, etc., and we have tracked this information in various ways. In early 2003, the Hamilton County Solid Waste District will be sending out the Annual Review to all those businesses that have contributed listings to the publication.

This short survey helps the District gauge the success of The Interchange. If you receive an Annual Review, please take a few minutes to fill out the survey, and fax it to (513) 946-7779. Your answers are extremely important in tracking diversion rates.

Thank you to all those companies that have filled out past surveys and we look forward to receiving your results next year. If you have any questions, please contact the Business Specialist at christy.kellner@hamilton-co.org or (513) 946-7732.

If your business is not ISO 14000 certified, now is the time to consider certification. ISO 14000 offers a number of benefits to businesses, and promotes healthy, sustainable environmental practices for the future. By introducing a new, working Environmental Management System (EMS) to your business, ISO 14000 can increase financial growth and responsible environmental practices.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is a non-governmental organization that comprises national standards institutes from across the globe. ISO standards demonstrate good environmental practice that can be applied to organizations all over the world.

Through the process of receiving its ISO 14000 certification, your business will learn to take a more proactive approach to managing environmental issues and standards. ISO also offers a portfolio of standards for sampling and test methods to deal with specific environmental challenges including air, water and soil quality, as well as noise pollution and radiation.

ISO 14000 has been proven to improve financial performance, increase productivity and enhance competitive advantage. An implemented EMS can control the environmental impact a company’s products and/or services have on the environment. An EMS includes a review of all current environmental management practices, resources available, knowledge and skill of staff with environmental management responsibilities and compliance with legal requirements.

A new EMS can challenge employees to think differently and with creative innovation, thus creating new products and services. It also can help develop business objectives and strategies to improve stakeholder and employee relations. By adopting a new EMS and receiving your ISO 14000 certification, your business will continue to grow with our ever-changing global environment and be highly regarded amongst other manufacturers that have adopted the ISO standard.

For more information on receiving your ISO 14000 certification, please contact Christy Kellner, Business Specialist, at (513) 946-7732.

Recycling "High-Tech" Office Supplies

Submitted by Michelle Brotherton

Office supplies such as paper, binders, envelopes, and boxes are fairly simple to recycle and are standard to buy with recycled content. "High-tech" office supplies, like compact disks and toner cartridges, are just as recyclable. The market is now offering an abundant supply of products containing recycled content and there are increasingly easier ways to recycle unwanted supplies.

Floppy disks and compact disks can add up to substantial waste considering we throw away over 1 billion failed or surplus diskettes per year. (These take over 450 years to decompose in a landfill!) The good news is that floppy disks can be reused hundreds of times, and when no longer useful, can be sent to a recycler who will refurbish or recycle the materials to produce more disks. You can recycle disks by organizing an office collection and sending them to a company such as GreenDisk. GreenDisk will safely remanufacture your old disks by magnetically erasing (degaussing) the disk and then reformatting and relabeling them with a GreenDisk label (for more information visit www.greendisk.com or call 800-305-3475). Of course you can close the recycling loop by purchasing disks that are recycled and are 100% guaranteed to work as well as disks made from virgin materials.

When purchasing compact disks, look for those available with minimal packaging, such as on bulk spindles (individual jewel cases just add cost and excess resources). CDs contain polycarbonate and aluminum, both of which are recyclable, and recordable CD-R’s have about 20mg of gold that can be recovered. Some processors can remove the data layer and reuse the plastic disk while others recycle CDs into different products including automotive parts. To recycle compact disks send them to companies such as Digital Audio Disk Corporation ((812) 462-8323) or Plastic Recycling Incorporated ((317) 780-6100).

The toner cartridge in your laser printer contains between two and three pounds of plastic and metal that is completely reusable after you run out of toner. Cartridges that have been remanufactured can cost half what a new cartridge costs.

Be aware of the methods the company uses to refurbish the cartridge because some are inferior. Remanufactured cartridges are higher quality than the other methods of drill and fill or reconditioning. The drill and fill method, simply drilling a small hole in the cartridge, refilling the toner, and plugging the hole, is unreliable. Reconditioned cartridges are not always dependable because they are only cleaned and refilled without inspection. In remanufacturing, cartridges are disassembled, the toner is properly disposed, and all the parts are cleaned, inspected, and repaired or replaced if necessary.

Finally, the cartridge is reassembled and tested. Equipment Sales and Services (ESS) in Cincinnati offers a 100% guarantee on remanufactured cartridges (for more information call (513) 661-3233 or 888-321-8862) and Queen City Office Supplies offers a 110% guarantee on toner cartridges (for more information call (513) 251-7200).

Next time you start to throw away a diskette or toner cartridge think of the recycling options. Recycled "high-tech" office supplies work just as well as those from virgin materials, often times cost less, and are usually guaranteed.

Submitted by Mark Mullholland

On August 19 and 20, 2002, government regulators and industrial waste generators from around the country convened in Chicago to discuss a number of issues surrounding the beneficial use of industrial by-products. The Midwest Industrial By-Products Beneficial Use Summit was a joint production of the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5. The meeting brought together 250 industry representatives and regulators to discuss strategies for boosting the utilization rate of environmentally safe industrial by-products.

Many industrial and manufacturing processes leave behind large amounts of low-hazard by-product materials. For example, the coal-fired electric power plants in this country produce over 100 million tons of combustion product each year. This by-product can be used in many applications including the creation of cement, concrete, wall board, and roofing materials. It can also be used as road base, structural fill, or waste stabilizer. Even with a multitude of reuse options, over 70% of this by-product is currently ending up in a landfill. Another significant source of by-product in the United States is metal foundries. These foundries use nearly 100 million tons of sand in their casting processes every year. This non-hazardous by-product is a perfect material for road sub-base, cement, pre-cast concrete products, bricks, pavers, asphalt, and potting soil. Unfortunately, even with many beneficial uses available for this by-product, the majority of it is never utilized.

Beneficial use of industrial by-products is on the rise and industrial waste generators are continually searching for innovative ways to boost utilization rates. They see the practice of by-product reuse as an environmentally friendly way to decrease their disposal costs. While government regulators share much of the same enthusiasm for beneficial reuse, they differ slightly with industry officials on several issues.

First and foremost, government waste regulators want to encourage waste minimization and pollution prevention as the most responsible practices. Many fear that placing too much emphasis on by-product reuse could push the concepts of reduction and sustainability into the background. Regulators also believe generators should be cautious when they start to call excess material a by-product as opposed to waste. The EPA and other government agencies want these industries to know that calling materials by a different name does not change their liability for that material. Finally, regulators are fearful that the overzealous marketing of some industrial products could lead to irresponsible handling of potentially hazardous materials. Overall, regulators are interested in developing and encouraging the use of by-products, as long as there are some limitations and they have a certain degree of control over the process.

One thing regulators and industry officials agree on is the need for by-product standards. A set of national standards would make it much easier for industries to market their by-products and help government agencies with the job of regulating the exchange of these materials. The differences in regulations and standards throughout the country have frustrated both industries and government agencies trying to encourage the environmentally responsible reuse of by-products. While both groups would like to see a set of national standards, neither is overly optimistic about seeing a lot of progress in the near future. The complex web of different state regulations and the huge variety of materials involved will make the establishment of national standards extremely difficult.

Hopefully, the recent meeting is the start of open dialogue between industries and regulators concerning the beneficial use of by-products.

District Unveils New Reuse Program

The Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District (District) is proud to announce its new reuse program - The Treasure Chest. There are two goals of The Treasure Chest program. One goal is to increase the amount of donations to non-profit organizations throughout the Greater Cincinnati region. The other goal is to decrease the amount of reusable material that is sent to local landfills.

This web-based program will feature the "wish lists" of all participating not-for-profit organizations, which will be updated quarterly. Residents and businesses that are looking for reuse outlets can easily check our website (www.hcdoes.org/sw/swhome.htm) for organizations that need their materials. Furthermore, if a local non-profit has an abundance of materials that can not be stored on-site, they can search our website to find another non-profit that may need those materials.

For more information on The Treasure Chest, contact Holly Christmann, Community Specialist, at holly.christmann@hamilton-co.org or (513) 946-7705.

I