A Quarterly Newsletter of El Dorado Disposal Services Customer Service 530-626-4141 or 916-985-1162 eldoradodisposal.com Winter 2013 Dealing with postholiday waste El Dorado Disposal wishes everyone a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year! The holidays will soon be over and you’ll be left with nothing but memories, photos, and lots of cleanup. El Dorado Disposal Services provides programs to help with all of your post-holiday waste. Christmas Trees The tree that decorated your home is probably drying out. It’s time to “undeck” that tree and recycle it! Please remove all decorations, ornaments, lights, garland, and tinsel, as well as the stand. Your tree should be bare for recycling! All residents of El Dorado County can drop off bare Christmas trees at the Material K6#+99 2= Throwita Way, Placerville. Bare trees will be accepted for free from January 5 through 9# a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. All residents of El Dorado County who have El Dorado Disposal curbside service may place trees at the curb. The trees will be picked up on regular green waste collection days. Please cut the tree into small pieces (less than 3’ long) and bundle the sections with string or twine. Residents of El Dorado Hills Community Services District can drop off bare Christmas trees for chipping on ##"# ==$ Q^} $ This drop-off event is for El Dorado Hills CSD residents only! Residents of Cameron Park Community Services District may drop off Christmas }Z996 =28X0~0#8 Road, in the lower paved parking lot (look for signs). The park is open every day '& 0 Businesses and multi-family communities now recycling © iStockphoto.com | Judith Bicking Electronics If Santa brought you some new electronic gadgets, you may have items you no longer need. If you need to dispose of old TVs, computers, tablets, e-readers, printers, CD players, radios, DVD players, cell phones, or iPods/MP3 players, do NOT mix them with your trash. Under California law, electronics cannot be disposed with household trash. The chemicals and metals in electronics can contaminate our water, air, and soil if they are not properly recycled. You can recycle your old electronics at any of our three recycling centers listed above Tuesday through Saturday. You can also take electronics to our Material Recovery Facility (MRF), which is 2=;9+Q# Placerville. The Electronic Waste Drop-Off at the MRF is " to 5 p.m. (closed Christmas and New Year’s Day). There is no charge to recycle electronics. © iStockphoto.com | Slobo Mitic © iStockphoto.com | Lisa-Blue Wrapping Paper and More Cardboard shipping boxes and gift boxes can be recycled. Please break down boxes to save space in bins and trucks. Nonmetallic wrapping paper is also recyclable, as are holiday cards. If you have curbside recycling, these items can be recycled in your curbside cart or bin. If you don’t have curbside recycling, these items can be dropped off at one of 9&22=~ K #^} $;0 Street, Placerville; and behind Bel @0=X}# Cameron Park. Last March, White Rock Village Apartments in El Dorado Hills kicked off a new recycling program and set an example for other multi-family complexes and businesses in El Dorado County. El Dorado Disposal Recycling Coordinator Melody Byers worked with Chirin Bekir, the manager of White Rock Village Apartments. Byers and Bekir began planning. Their goal was to make recycling simple for residents while using the existing trash enclosures. Byers suggested identifying recycling containers with bright lids. Byers and her team delivered new bins with bright yellow lids for recycling. In each trash enclosure, one trash bin with a black lid was replaced by a recycling bin with a yellow lid. Recycling began in March and has been a huge success at the complex. Under California law (Assembly Bill 341), businesses that generate 4 cubic yards of commercial solid waste per week and multi-family properties with 5 units or more must establish recycling programs. The goal of this legislation is to divert 75% of waste greenhouse gas emissions. If your business or complex is not yet recycling, contact the El Dorado Disposal Commercial Recycling Guidelines These materials are accepted in El Dorado Disposal’s commercial and multi-family recycling bins: z Newspaper and inserts z Corrugated cardboard z! ""# ""#""#""#" paper, junk mail, and envelopes z Magazines and catalogs z Phone books z Clear and colored glass bottles, jugs, jars, and beverage containers z Aluminum cans and clean foil z Steel, tin, and bi-metal cans z Clear and colored plastic bottles, jugs, and beverage containers z Paper shipping and packing materials z Plastic utensils z Styrofoam (bagged) z Plastic grocery bags (bagged) z CDs and DVDs z Rigid plastics, such as buckets Unacceptable Items – Please do NOT place these items into commercial/multifamily recycling bins: yard waste, window and auto glass, food waste, construction debris, car parts, appliances, water hoses, bubble wrap, textiles, carpet, hazardous waste, mattresses, and electronics. Page 2 Winter 2013 A century of progress and innovation reasons, garbage trucks have been the inspiration for many children’s books and toys. Like many things, the garbage truck does its job so well that we tend to take it for granted. The ﬁrst trucks used to haul waste were simply ﬂat-bed trucks or dump trucks that were designed and used for general purposes. With mixed garbage, odors and pests are an issue, so it wasn’t long before specially designed trucks with covered beds and high sidewalls were introduced. The 1916 Model AC produced by Mack is one example. These early trucks still required workers to lift trash over their heads to ﬁll the bed. In the 1920s and ’30s, trucks were introduced that had an external bucket or hopper at waist level which the workers could ﬁll more easily. The 1929 model manufactured by Colecto was the ﬁrst truck with this innovation. Once the bucket was full, a motor lifted the bucket and dumped the contents into the bed. This was not only safer for the crew, but it also made them more productive. Compaction was the next major innovation. Beginning with the 1938 Gar-Wood Load Packer, trucks became available which could crush and compress looser materials, reducing the number of trips to the dump required for a crew to complete the collection route. This innovation really took off during the 1940s as older trucks Photos courtesy of ClassicRefuseTrucks.com In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, trash was removed from American homes in horse-drawn wagons or by human-powered handcarts. Today, the only place you’ll ﬁnd horses involved in trash collection is Mackinac Island, MI, a tourist destination where most forms of motorized transportation are not allowed. In the rest of America, the garbage truck is as common as, well, garbage. They’re in every community transporting waste away from homes and businesses and to disposal facilities, such as landﬁlls. Sometimes, the same trucks that carry trash will carry recyclables to a material recovery facility on a different day. If you’re a light sleeper or, maybe, if you get stuck behind one in trafﬁc, you may have a less than neutral opinion of these rumbling behemoths. Otherwise, as long as the trash is removed from your home on the correct day, you probably don’t give garbage trucks a second thought. Unless, of course, you’re a child. Like most equipment that is large and loud and moves things around, garbage trucks fascinate children. Front-loading trucks seem like giants ﬂinging dumpsters high over their shoulders as the contents empty into the truck. Rear loaders are the very image of a hungry monster as the powerful hydraulic door sweeps down, crushing the contents of the hopper and sweeping it into the truck where it seemingly disappears. For these Natural gas and hybrids haul trash into the future While today’s garbage and recycling trucks are incredibly advanced, manufacturers are constantly striving to improve their operating efﬁciency. Two technologies gaining traction in recent years are the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel and hybrid drive systems. Natural gas engines burn cleaner and are quieter than diesel engines. This reduces the need for extra equipment to reduce sound and emissions to acceptable levels. But, it’s fuel costs that have really driven this technology. Natural gas prices have been stable for over a decade. At the same time, the price of diesel fuel, which is used by most garbage trucks, has increased. This price difference has increased the rate at which natural gas trucks are replacing diesel models. Diesel costs about $4 per gallon, while each gallonequivalent of CNG costs about $1.40. While fuel costs are lower, the initial cost of each truck is 12-15% higher than diesel trucks and an expensive refueling station must be constructed. This tends to limit adoption of natural gas garbage and recycling trucks to locations where several new units are being purchased at one time. One way the industry is meeting this challenge is through the development of a portable fueling system which can be brought in as the ﬂeet operator increases the number of CNG vehicles to a point where construction of a permanent refueling station makes sense. Despite these challenges, nearly 15% of garbage trucks are now fueled by natural gas. As with the switch to natural gas, reducing the costs of operation is the prime motivation behind hybrid technology. While the details vary depending upon the manufacturer, hybrid drive were replaced. Also in the 1940s, the use of side-loading trucks was expanded. With this conﬁguration, it became more efﬁcient to have the driver help load the truck and, in some cases, allowed the crew to be reduced from three to two. The 1950s saw the increased use of hydraulics in many types of heavy equipment. This led to improved compaction methods in rear- and side-load garbage trucks and to the invention of the front-load truck. The 1955 Dumpmaster by Dempster Brothers Inc. could pick up and empty a full commercial dumpster in one smooth motion. On commercial-only routes, this allowed the use of a oneperson crew. In 1969, the City of Scottsdale, AZ was looking for a way to relieve the burden on its sanitation workers, who had to lift trash barrels all day in temperatures as high as 120 degrees. They attached a device to the arms of a front-loading truck which could grab a residentialsized barrel. Phoenix followed a few years later with its own experiments and various manufacturers soon saw an opportunity. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, various forms of labor-saving devices were developed to allow residential-sized carts to be lifted, or “tipped,” into garbage trucks. In areas where space allows their use, automated side-load trucks are the preferred method to collect trash in residential areas. They allow a one-person crew to service a route. For the same reason, front-load trucks are the preferred equipment for commercial routes. Front- and side-loading trucks each have about a third of the garbage truck market. Our old friend, the hungry monster, is not yet extinct, however. Rear-load trucks and their two- or threeperson crews are the only way to collect trash from tight alleys and congested city sidewalks. They are also the least expensive design. As a result, they still represent about one-third of the trucks in use. For Garbage Truck Lovers, Young and Old Grandma Drove the Garbage Truck by Katie Clark, illustrated by Amy Huntington – This combines two of a child’s favorite things: garbage trucks and grandparents. Grandma and her grandson, Billy, really clean up for the Fourth of July celebration. I Stink! by Kate McMullan, illustrated by Jim McMullan – This bold, entertaining cartoon garbage truck takes the reader along on his loud, smelly, occasionally disgusting and often funny rounds as he collects garbage in New York City. systems can save fuel in two ways. First, they capture the energy used in stopping the truck and store it to help get the truck moving again after the stop. Second, once the engine is warmed up, the engine can turn off entirely while the vehicle is stopped, further reducing fuel consumption. The capture and reuse of the energy normally lost in braking can be accomplished through the compression of hydraulic ﬂuid into a reservoir or the generation of electricity which is stored in a battery. As applied to garbage and recycling trucks, this technology is most effective where the average distance between stops is 75-100 feet. Fuel savings and emissions reductions over a nonhybrid diesel are 30-50%. Another cost savings comes from dramatically increased brake life. Depending on the route, a garbage truck may require complete brake replacement as often as every six months. Since the hybrid systems are helping stop the trucks, they reduce the amount of work the brakes perform. This extends brake life from two to four times over a non-hybrid vehicle on the same route. Garbage Trucks by Marlene Targ Brill – Photographs show children the process of trash collection and the basic parts of the garbage truck. Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash! by Barbara Odanaka – Follow along the rhythmic verses and vivid illustrations as a couple of garbage trucks chomp their way through town. A Truck Named Travis by Tim Shockley, illustrated by Denis Proulx – Travis, who is a trash truck, has a self-esteem problem. But when he is called upon to save the town from a terrible trash problem, he discovers that sometimes the trash truck is the most valuable truck. Page 3 Winter 2013 © iStockphoto.com | Jon Schulte Photo courtesy of Michael Swaine “When we’re connected to others, we become better people.” ~ Randy Pausch in The Last Lecture A stitch in time Once a month for 11 years, artist Michael Swaine has hit the streets of San Francisco with a sewing machine. Anyone is welcome to bring clothing in need of repair, as well as to stop and help with the mending. Swaine calls himself the “librarian Use one and only one “Green Guides” Revised Consumers want to make greener choices. However, marketing claims can be confusing, and sometimes even misleading. That’s why the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently published revisions to its “Green Guides.” These contain guidelines to help marketers avoid making environmental marketing claims that are unfair or deceptive. The guides consist of general principles and speciﬁc guidance on the use of particular environmental claims, as well as examples to illustrate how most reasonable consumers are likely to interpret certain statements. The guides also show how marketers can qualify their claims to avoid deceiving consumers. The “Green Guides” were created in 1992 and were last updated in 1998. In the 2012 revisions, modiﬁcations were made to existing guidance in six areas and new sections were added. A summary of the revisions is available at www.ftc.gov/os/2012/10/greenguidessummary.pdf. To view the complete copy, go to www.ftc.gov/os/fedreg/2012/10/greenguidesfrn.pdf. The FTC also offers a site to help consumers ask smart questions about environmental claims. Visit the website, www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/ microsites/green. © iStockphoto.com | Christopher Steer At home, you use a washable towel. In some public places, you may opt for the air dryer. But, chances are, you often grab for a paper towel – or two or three – in a public restroom. And yet, if every American used just one less paper towel per day, we could save hundreds of millions of pounds of paper each year. That sounds like a pretty good trade-off, until you think about the damp hands you are wiping on your jeans as you leave the restroom. But the fact is, you can use less paper and have dry hands! In 2012, Joe Smith gave a talk that went viral online. More than a million people have watched his video. He demonstrates how to use a single paper towel and get dry hands every time. Are you skeptical? Watch the video at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=2FMBSblpcrc or www.ted.com/talks/joe_smith_how_ to_use_a_paper_towel.html. Then try it—it works! QUOTES REQUOTED of mending” and refers to his project as the Free Mending Library. Swaine hopes to show others that making a small and regular commitment, like his once-amonth mending library, can reap large and long-term rewards. His project conserves resources, reduces waste, builds community, and inspires others to share their own skills and talents. © iStockphoto.com | Jezper Klauzen A recycling truck made from recyclables Green Toys is a California company turning milk jugs into children’s toys. One of their popular items is a big, green recycling truck. The truck has a movable bed and an open and shut rear door. Plus, it has no metal axles, so it’s safe for ages 1 and up. Green Toys also makes dump trucks, a school bus, and a ﬁre truck, as well as sand and water toys and play kitchen sets. Green Toys products are sold in many stores and online. Learn more at www.greentoys.com. Photo courtesy of Green Toys FAST FACTS Waste is a verb, not a noun. Recycled paper is the top commodity, by weight, exported out of U.S. ports on container ships. ~ U.S. Department of Transportation ” Advocate Waste is an unrecognized opportunity. It shouldn’t be waste. It should be a resource. John H. Skinner Executive Director, Solid Waste Association of North America Americans now own approximately 24 electronic products per household. ~ Consumer Electronics Association The recycling rate for steel has reached an all-time high at 92%. ~ Steel Recycling Institute Transfer Station Facilities and Services 4100 Throwita Way, Placerville Material Recovery Facility $&"#' *+0 Closed: Christmas and New Year’s Day. Electronic Waste Drop-Off $&"#' *+0# except for Christmas and New Year’s Day. No charge. Large Appliances, Tires, and Bulky Items Drop-Off $&"#' *+0# except for Christmas and New Year’s Day. Fees apply. Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off $&2"#6 Saturday only. Item limits apply. No charge. Business Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Hours: By appointment between 2"#6 Saturday only. 8 99 Friday for appointment. Fees apply. Home-Generated Sharps $&2"#6 Saturday only. Curbside battery recycling available Have you called to request your battery container? If not, now is the time! We will >" with your dead household batteries. When it is full, you call us, and we’ll pick it up. It’s simple! These battery containers are an environmentally friendly way to recycle a multitude of household batteries at curbside—without contaminating your other recyclables. The containers will accept alkaline, lithium, and rechargeable batteries of all sizes, such as 4.5-Volt, D, C, @@#@@@#@@@@#@#J#8K# and LR44 cells. If you have corroded, lead acid, wet cell, or automotive batteries, they can be dropped off as household hazardous waste at the Material Recovery Facility on Fridays #+ 2" The Material Recovery Facility is located at 2=;9+QX The battery containers may not currently be available in all areas. Please contact © iStockphoto.com | Christopher Steer Hours of Operation ❖❖❖❖ Off-Site Recycling Centers 580 Truck Street, Placerville $&&2"#; through Saturday (Closed for lunch for ½ hour sometime between the hours of noon and 1 p.m. daily). Accepts Recyclables, Electronics, Household Batteries, and Fluorescent Bulbs. 3510 Palmer Drive, Cameron Park $&&2"#; through Saturday (Closed for lunch for ½ hour sometime between the hours of noon and 1 p.m. daily). Accepts Recyclables, Electronics, Household Batteries, and Fluorescent Bulbs. 4421 Latrobe Road, El Dorado Hills $&&2"#; through Saturday (Closed for lunch for ½ hour sometime between the hours of noon and 1 p.m. daily). Accepts Recyclables, Electronics, Household Batteries, Fluorescent Bulbs, and Yard Waste. ❖❖❖❖ Need more info? Visit: www.ElDoradoDisposal.com Progress in Paper In a little over two decades, the U.S. paper 9 [==# the rate of recovery for paper consumed +ZZ\[=#9+ only 33.5%. Paper is really the success story of recycling, material recovery, and [=#= paper were recycled, which is 334 pounds for each man, woman, and child in the U.S. By weight, more paper is recovered from the municipal solid waste stream than glass, plastic, and aluminum combined. One cause of this progress has been increased access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling. @99 '\ ]99 = Despite these gains, large quantities of ""] each year. According to recent research =^X@ #99 ""_= There remains much that you can do at your home, school, or workplace to reduce 9"" save money in the process. Reduce: ✦ Communicate by email and resist the urge to print hard copies. Instead, save messages in electronic folders. If you need a hard copy, print only the pages you require. ✦ Print and copy on both sides of each sheet when possible. ✦ Compose and edit documents on screen. Use the print preview feature to check your work before printing. ✦ Share documents by attaching them to an email whenever possible. © iStockphoto.com | Peter Burnett We want your suggestions, questions, and comments! El Dorado Disposal Services ! " #$% &' ( Customer Service: (( (( ) www.eldoradodisposal.com Funded by El Dorado Disposal Copyright© 2013 Waste Connections, El Dorado Disposal Services, and Eco Partners, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed on Recycled Paper 70% Post-Consumer News Content, Using Soy Inks. Way to go, El Dorado County! Our fall cleanups were a huge success! During September and October, we had cleanup events in Grizzly Flat, Placerville, Cameron Park, and El Dorado Hills. Here’s what we collected: =9 + 4.75 tons of construction waste and demolition debris == Snowline Hospice Watch for details about the spring cleanups in our next newsletter. © iStockphoto.com | Michael Hoerichs El Dorado Disposal Customer Service for ZZ2=2==Z ==Z Reuse: ✦ Save paper printed on one side for reuse. Print rough drafts on the other side or use it as scratch paper. ✦ Reuse envelopes by placing labels over the original address and any bar coding. ✦K "9 labels. ✦`0 + {! storage and future reuse. Recycle: ✦ Recycle your used paper. Place a recycling bin near the trash can wherever paper is used. ✦ Purchase post-consumer, recycledcontent paper. This completes the loop and helps increase demand for recycled paper. Good To Know ✧;9+ |""+ from recycled material. Around @}=#;|~#89 # 99 "" ✧[@}='=#69K de Réaumur suggested that paper could be produced from wood $+" wasps build their nests. ✧99 used to make paper comes from recycled paper. ✧0 ""Z2\ \+ than making the same type of paper from virgin materials. Attention, Youth! We offer a free workshop and tours of our MRF (Material Recovery Facility) for children of all ages, including classes, clubs, and scout troops. Please call our = details or to schedule. Like us on Facebook! “Like” El Dorado Disposal on Facebook and you’ll get the latest news. Find our page: On your computer at: http://www.facebook.com/ED.Disposal © iStockphoto.com | Zmeel Photography On your mobile device at: http://m.facebook.com/ED.Disposal