Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
An increase in contaminants in recycling materials has brought a looming cost issue for Whitman County Solid Waste after China reduced its minimum allowed percentage of contaminants.
Whitman County Public Works Department and Latah County are now studying the problem to explore options they may have.
“Essentially we shot ourselves in the foot with single-stream,” said County Commissioner Dean Kinzer, a liaison to the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee.
On Jan. 1, China, a large market for recyclables collected in the U.S., cut its level of contaminants it would accept from five percent to one-half of one percent. Contaminants can be food scraps, glass shards, moisture, the wrong type of plastics and other items.
“It’s devalued the single-stream materials,” said Mark Storey, Whitman County Public Works director. “They can’t really use it so it becomes garbage. For the last five months, the entire west coast has been paying to get rid of recyclable materials.”
Requirements
Single-stream recycling began in Whitman County in 2013, changing the practice of residents separating cardboard from aluminum from glass and paper at the curb. Recycling materials are only as valuable as what is or is not mixed in with it.
“It’s not getting recycled just because someone puts it in a bin. It’s only recycled if there’s a market for it,” Storey said.
Buyers of recyclable materials want to know its contaminant levels, such as glass shards mixed in with paper fibers that break down equipment.
“Now we’ve lost the confidence and trust of the other countries we’ve been selling it to,” said Kinzer. “And it may be hard to get that back.”
Before single-stream in Whitman County, workers from Empire Disposal or Pullman Disposal loaded separated bins of recyclable (paper, plastics, tin and aluminum) at the curb into a three-bin system in the truck. If they saw something that was not recyclable, it was left at the curb – and thus residents would learn more of what is and is not recyclable.
Rates
“We didn’t have a contamination problem before,” said David Nails, county solid waste and recycling director. “People put in an old football, a rubber hose, thinking it must be recyclable.”
“What we say now is ‘when in doubt, throw it out’,” said Aaron Lawhead, site manager for Empire Disposal in Colfax, for which single-stream recycling requires just one driver and one truck.
Aside from items which are not recyclable, contaminants come in the form of liquid as well.
“We’re preaching empty, clean and dry,” said Nails.
Empire Disposal hauls its single-stream recyclables to the county transfer station south of Colfax, paying a $30 per ton processing and bailing fee.
The county then markets and sells it. The price difference is then sent in a check to Empire.
Will the current situation cause collection rates at the curb to increase?
“Absolutely not,” said Lawhead.
Curb pick-up twice per month for the 65-gallon carts costs a state-subsidized $10 monthly.
County’s cost
With less of a market for higher-contaminants, it now costs the county more than the break-even point to process its single-stream recyclables.
Will rates at the transfer station go up as a result of all this?
“It is possible,” said Nails. “We always are looking at rates to see if we’re covering our costs.”
Nails and the Public Works Department will review rates again at the end of this year.
“It wasn’t a total surprise to me,” Kinzer said of the single-stream situation. “Things went upside down on us here. It’s just plain costing everybody. On the positive side, there’s always new technology coming down the line which may help solve this.”
“National Sword”
China’s waste imports inspections program, which includes recyclable materials, was formerly called “National Sword.” It was then changed to “Blue Sky” in March of this year — adding a focus to stop the smuggling of materials.
“I think they want to see blue skies again,” said Nails.
Last year China put 24 categories of solid waste on a list of banned imports, including plastics waste, unsorted waste paper and waste textile materials with 0.5 percent contaminant level.
The county’s contaminants levels have been running at 1.5 percent or more.
What can be done about all of this?
“I think we’re gonna have to see some domestic markets open up,” Nails said.
Another option Nails has put forth is for Whitman County to invest in a mini-MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) here to separate the materials out itself.
“That way we’d control our own destiny a little bit,” he said.
The nearest MRF is in Spokane, with none in Lewiston-Clarkston.
The county sells its recyclables to Republic Services, based in Phoenix, Ariz.
Republic hauls the loads in containers by truck to Spokane where it is loaded onto rail cars to go to Puget Sound. From there it goes through an MRF and is sold, or stored until it is sold.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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