Agenda - Council - 11/25/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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- 13 - Although no statistics are available on the potential effective- ness of public education strategies, it may prove to be the most important option. Because it provides a politically acceptable and cost-effective alternative, its chances of succeeding are heightened considerably. Any plan for a comprehensive program of solid waste abatement should include some degree of public educa- tion and advertising. Voluntary waste reduction has great potential at this time. Manda- tory programs would require legislative action and, thus, are not feasible for local government implementation. However since counties are charged with solid waste management, appropriate local government action may include support of new legislation addressing the Region's disposal problem. Inasmuch as broad-scale government intervention may have a significant impact on the market, legislative action on waste reduction should be initiated only after the potential effects have been thoroughly analyzed. WASTE SEPARATION Waste separation includes methods and procedures for extracting useful materials from solid waste that can be returned to the economy. The prime objectives in the development of waste separation systems are: 1) to conserve natural resources and energy; 2) to reduce land require- ments for disposal~ and 3) to facilitate the preparation of refuse- derived fuels for energy recovery systems. There are four basic types of waste separation systems: recycling centers, curb-side source separ- ation, picking (a technique whereby an employee manually removes items from mixed waste) and mechanical separation. Component separation is a necessary operation in the recovery of energy from solid wastes. The required separation may be accomplished manually or mechanically. When manual separation is used, preprocess- ing of the wastes is not required. In most mechanical techniques some form of size reduction, such as shredding, is required as a first step (see "Waste Processing"). The basic methods for waste separation include use of recycling cen- ters, source separation, picking and mechanical separation. 1. RECYCLING-CENTERS This type of material recovery system is currently widespread throughout the Metropolitan Area. Recycling centers are either operated as drop-off depositories, taking in one or more types of recyclable material, or as redemption centers where cash is paid for the more valuable materials such as aluminum or corrugated cardboard. Typically the neighborhood drop-off centers are organ- ized and operated by nonprofit civic or church groups. Redemption centers are combined with existing metal salvaging facilities or actual secondary materials markets and are operated as profit- making businesses. Recently there has been an emergence of new aluminum redemption facilities in the Region because of the increasing market price and intent of the beverage container indus- try to provide an alternative to potential mandatory deposit legislation.