Dealing with post- holiday waste - El Dorado Disposal

A Quarterly Newsletter of
El Dorado Disposal Services
Customer Service
530-626-4141 or
916-985-1162
2PEXGVPDQ В‡ 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
5HFRYHU\ )DFLOLW\ ZKLFK LV ORFDWHG DW Throwita Way, Placerville. Bare trees will
be accepted for free from January 5 through
-DQXDU\ GXULQJ QRUPDO EXVLQHVV KRXUV 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
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DW +DUYDUG :D\ LQ (O 'RUDGR +LOOV
This drop-off event is for El Dorado Hills
CSD residents only!
Residents of Cameron Park Community
Services District may drop off Christmas
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DW &DPHURQ 3DUN /DNH &DPEULGJH
Road, in the lower paved parking lot (look
for signs). The park is open every day
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Businesses and multi-family
communities now recycling
В© 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
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Placerville. The Electronic
Waste Drop-Off at the MRF is
RSHQ GDLO\ IURP DP
to 5 p.m. (closed
Christmas and New
Year’s Day). There is
no charge to recycle
electronics.
В© iStockphoto.com | Slobo Mitic
В© 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
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5RDG (O 'RUDGR +LOOV 7UXFN
Street, Placerville; and behind Bel
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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
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greenhouse gas emissions.
If your business or complex is not yet
recycling, contact the El Dorado Disposal
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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 0L[HG SDSHU LQFOXGLQJ FRORUHG SDSHU FRQVWUXFWLRQ SDSHU RIВїFH SDSHU SULQWHU
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 п¬Ѓrst 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 п¬Ѓll the bed. In
the 1920s and ’30s, trucks were introduced that
had an external bucket or hopper at waist level
which the workers could п¬Ѓll more easily. The
1929 model manufactured by Colecto was the
п¬Ѓrst 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
В© 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.
В© 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.
В© 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 п¬Ѓre 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
3DJH :LQWHU Transfer Station Facilities
and Services
4100 Throwita Way,
Placerville
Material Recovery Facility
+RXUV DP WR SP GD\VZHHN
Closed: Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Electronic Waste Drop-Off
+RXUV DP WR SP GD\VZHHN
except for Christmas and New Year’s Day.
No charge.
Large Appliances, Tires, and Bulky
Items Drop-Off
+RXUV DP WR SP GD\VZHHN
except for Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Fees apply.
Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off
+RXUV DP WR SP )ULGD\ DQG
Saturday only.
Item limits apply.
No charge.
Business Hazardous Waste Drop-Off
Hours: By appointment between
DP DQG SP )ULGD\ DQG
Saturday only.
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Friday for appointment.
Fees apply.
Home-Generated Sharps
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Saturday only.
Curbside battery
recycling available
Have you called to request your battery
container? If not, now is the time! We will
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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,
$$ $$$ $$$$ $ 9ROW &5
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
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The Material Recovery Facility is located at
7KURZLWD :D\ LQ 3ODFHUYLOOH
The battery containers may not currently
be available in all areas. Please contact
В© iStockphoto.com | Christopher Steer
Hours of
Operation
вќ–вќ–вќ–вќ–
Off-Site Recycling Centers
580 Truck Street, Placerville
+RXUV DP WR SP 7XHVGD\
through Saturday (Closed for lunch
for ВЅ 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
+RXUV DP WR SP 7XHVGD\
through Saturday (Closed for lunch
for ВЅ 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
+RXUV DP WR SP 7XHVGD\
through Saturday (Closed for lunch
for ВЅ hour sometime between the
hours of noon and 1 p.m. daily).
Accepts Recyclables, Electronics,
Household Batteries, Fluorescent
Bulbs, and Yard Waste.
вќ–вќ–вќ–вќ–
Need more info? Visit:
www.ElDoradoDisposal.com
Progress in Paper
In a little over two decades, the U.S. paper
UHF\FOLQJ UDWH KDV QHDUO\ GRXEOHG ,Q the rate of recovery for paper consumed
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only 33.5%. Paper is really the success
story of recycling, material recovery, and
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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.
$YDLODELOLW\ RI VXFK VHUYLFHV UHDFKHG RI 86 KRXVHKROGV E\ Despite these gains, large quantities of
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each year. According to recent research
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There remains much that you can do at
your home, school, or workplace to reduce
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save money in the process.
Reduce:
вњ¦ Communicate by email and resist the
urge to print hard copies. Instead, save
messages in electronic folders. If you
need a hard copy, print only the pages
you require.
вњ¦ Print and copy on both sides of each
sheet when possible.
вњ¦ Compose and edit documents on screen.
Use the print preview feature to check
your work before printing.
вњ¦ Share documents by attaching them to
an email whenever possible.
В© iStockphoto.com | Peter Burnett
We want your
suggestions, questions,
and comments!
El Dorado Disposal Services
32 %R[ 'LDPRQG 6SULQJV &$ Customer Service:
RU 2PEXGVPDQ www.eldoradodisposal.com
Funded by El Dorado Disposal
CopyrightВ© 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:
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В™ 4.75 tons of construction waste and
demolition debris
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Snowline Hospice
Watch for details about the spring
cleanups in our next newsletter.
В© iStockphoto.com | Michael Hoerichs
El Dorado Disposal Customer Service for
PRUH GHWDLOV DW RU Reuse:
вњ¦ Save paper printed on one side for reuse.
Print rough drafts on the other side or
use it as scratch paper.
вњ¦ Reuse envelopes by placing labels over
the original address and any bar coding.
вњ¦ 5HXVH ВїOH IROGHUV E\ UHSODFLQJ WKH
labels.
вњ¦ %UHDN GRZQ DQG ГЂDWWHQ ER[HV IRU HDV\
storage and future reuse.
Recycle:
вњ¦ Recycle your used paper. Place a
recycling bin near the trash can
wherever paper is used.
вњ¦ Purchase post-consumer, recycledcontent paper. This completes the loop
and helps increase demand for recycled
paper.
Good To
Know
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from recycled material. Around
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de RГ©aumur suggested that paper
could be produced from wood
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wasps build their nests.
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used to make paper comes from
recycled paper.
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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
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details or to schedule.
Like us on
Facebook!
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В© iStockphoto.com | Zmeel Photography
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http://m.facebook.com/ED.Disposal